DOC: Portrait of a Horseman - Mini Doc

Omar N

Omar N

Active member
Hey all!


I shot this mini doc a short while ago and just wanted to run it by the community to gather some thoughts and opinions. I am always looking to improve my work, so more than anything, I am looking for honest feedback. If its good, then that ss great! If it is not so good, I need to know that too.


Would love to hear all opinions and comments!


https://vimeo.com/138577731


Password is horse.


Thank you!
 
Visuals look good, the pacing is nice on the edit. My only comment on that side would be that the framing on the interview shots was a little off. The eye-line was high, and it kept cutting off the top of his head.

The sound is the side that needs some work. One, it sounds like the interview was recorded with an on-cam mic. Was there no boomed mic out of frame, or a lav? It's so roomy that it gets lost in the reflections of the stable. That doesn't help with the mix, either, where he gets lost in the music in some places. Music choice was great, but the mix needs to be polished a bit.

Also, the overall sound design would benefit from a little more SFX and/or Foley work. It sounds like there are some places where you did that, but left so many others unaddressed. For example, there's a shot of him riding the horse across a field and we hear the snorting of the horse but there are no hoofs on the ground. I wanted to hear that gallup. And the closing shot, where he walks out of the stable and closes the doors... you added footsteps, but we don't hear the door. It just seems like a random and sporadic selection of SFX that were included.

Neat story, though. Again, looks good but sounds *okay*.
 
Thank you so much for the feedback! This really helps, and I think I might have been one of those culprits that put sound as a lower priority item. The sound actually was the boom mic, so perhaps I just didn't have it as close as it should have been.

Thank you again! I really appreciate the input!
 
I could swear I've already seen and commented on this. Did you post in the cinematography section awhile ago? Anyway generally enjoyed it and would agree with the remarks on audio. For comparison, I consider this an excellently realized man-and-horse doc: https://vimeo.com/86651195
 
Hi Charlie,

Thanks for the comment! I did post a similar video a year or so ago, but it wasn't the same. Thanks for sharing the link too!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top