djbobbyrhodes
Well-known member
Requesting honest feedback. I obviously can't do any reshoots, but I can re-edit. Suggestions, comments, and critiques would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Travel Channel Style Webseries - Please Critique This Episode
- Thread starter djbobbyrhodes
- Start date
Are you trying to find a commission for this? Sponsors / advertisers? A few observations...
Technical seems okay. Watch some of the shows that air now on Travel Channel or HDNet to get a feel for pacing. Your taster can somewhat resemble the long-form format, but not for the purposes of selling it.
The host needs to work on planting his eyes in the lens and holding there as he comes out of his wraps and bumps. You can, in your edit, sometimes cover these with J & L cuts to cover the end of the tag, but even then, a host's eyes shifting through the shot is incredibly distracting. The vast majority of the time, you're really going to want that handle on the end of his tag - complete with good video.
If this is a pitch taster, it should be very, very tight. Three minutes is plenty to understand this format. Even if you think you have the next Zane Lamprey, you should keep it as short as possible, because the nets don't want to see an episode.
Technical seems okay. Watch some of the shows that air now on Travel Channel or HDNet to get a feel for pacing. Your taster can somewhat resemble the long-form format, but not for the purposes of selling it.
The host needs to work on planting his eyes in the lens and holding there as he comes out of his wraps and bumps. You can, in your edit, sometimes cover these with J & L cuts to cover the end of the tag, but even then, a host's eyes shifting through the shot is incredibly distracting. The vast majority of the time, you're really going to want that handle on the end of his tag - complete with good video.
If this is a pitch taster, it should be very, very tight. Three minutes is plenty to understand this format. Even if you think you have the next Zane Lamprey, you should keep it as short as possible, because the nets don't want to see an episode.
djbobbyrhodes
Well-known member
Erik, thanks for the quick response. We talked to a few networks, and they told us that we need 13 full episodes in the can before we can pitch them. So, in a perfect world, we'll finish up 13 episodes and then get picked up by a network. In the mean time, we're trying to make a good web series which we can use for guild hours. Not to mention that we're also trying to get certain venues to pay us money to produce videos for them. I guess worst case scenario, we continue to do this for fun/a few free drinks, or maybe we can get picked up by revision3 or nextnewnetworks or become a youtube partner (and make 0 dollars). And, best case, we pitch it to a network.
So, I guess to answer your question concisely, this is a full fledged episode of our TV show (that happens to only air on the internet).
So, I guess to answer your question concisely, this is a full fledged episode of our TV show (that happens to only air on the internet).
Gotcha. If you have the funding, you can certainly produce the series on speculation. There are many different ways to get your program on-air - the most difficult is a network commission. Your model, at this point, is acquisition-based. There is also barter and time-buy. Huge producers (think: Endemol) can afford to underwrite their own programming or launch a series in one market and then franchise / clear it worldwide, market-by-market. For most of us, shows are developed and pitched with exclusive development agreements and the aforementioned taster. Additionally, most nets want a short abstract on the show - 500 characters for Discovery and their sub-nets - in addition to a longer-form treatment that sets it up on paper.
djbobbyrhodes
Well-known member
Very interesting info, Erik. I'll let my producer know what the deal is with distribution. Right now, we're producing the videos for essentially zero, just time, which we can afford.
Anyone have any other critiques before I get back to polishing up the edit?
Anyone have any other critiques before I get back to polishing up the edit?
maranfilms
Veteran
Seems more and more people are shooting their own pilots these days. I teach a filmmaking class at the Burtwood school of performing arts, (south of Boston, MA) There's been a crew shooting a pilot for the style channel in the theatre. From what I have heard around the school it's a show about a medium, that connects with the dead. Anyways im pretty sure it has a good chance of getting picked up. Im happy to pick their brains and see if I can grab some useful info for you.
I watched your video, I thought it had some nice shots, but honestly thought the host was well.... pretty BAD, oK COMPLETE HONESTY. He was worse than bad. He's terrible. Maybe he's new at this and in time he will connect with the camera better. But as of now, he would be my first change. The other thing is he looks buzzed in some shots, which is very unprofessional. I would remove the shot of him taking a shot. It really doesn't help the vid any. (MDA).
Some of the shots were a bit to shaky for my taste, and some were really soft. When the girl is speaking, the exposure changes are distracting. Seems like each cut is a new exposure and color tone difference. The footer is way to big. It looks like kind or generic. I would make a custom one. or drop the opacity some.
I hope I didn't come accross harsh, but your asking for constructive criticism, and it really wouldn't help any to be vague. So these were the obvious flaws that stuck out to me.
I get that you cant reshoot the function, But before you shoot another episode and spend time and money on this. You should really think about firing the host, and recasting the job to someone thats qualified. He's the biggest flaw. An engaging host will pull the attention away from the flaws in production.
I watched your video, I thought it had some nice shots, but honestly thought the host was well.... pretty BAD, oK COMPLETE HONESTY. He was worse than bad. He's terrible. Maybe he's new at this and in time he will connect with the camera better. But as of now, he would be my first change. The other thing is he looks buzzed in some shots, which is very unprofessional. I would remove the shot of him taking a shot. It really doesn't help the vid any. (MDA).
Some of the shots were a bit to shaky for my taste, and some were really soft. When the girl is speaking, the exposure changes are distracting. Seems like each cut is a new exposure and color tone difference. The footer is way to big. It looks like kind or generic. I would make a custom one. or drop the opacity some.
I hope I didn't come accross harsh, but your asking for constructive criticism, and it really wouldn't help any to be vague. So these were the obvious flaws that stuck out to me.
I get that you cant reshoot the function, But before you shoot another episode and spend time and money on this. You should really think about firing the host, and recasting the job to someone thats qualified. He's the biggest flaw. An engaging host will pull the attention away from the flaws in production.
djbobbyrhodes
Well-known member
You don't sound harsh, you sound honest. That's what we really need, and that's why I'm asking for critiques. So I can fix what I can fix. I can't go reshoot, but I can stabilize some of the footage in post. I can get rid of the shot where he takes a drink. Man, I want more! :grin: I need to know what we're doing wrong, so it doesn't happen next time.
This episode is actually relatively old (in terms of when we shot it) and afterward we had a long, hard talk with the host. He is new at this, but he's getting much, much better with each new episode we film.
I've definitely got to own up to the exposure problems because I run camera. First time using a variable ND filter, and it seems like it may be the last. We broke everything down, and we realized that there was a question or two that we missed, and when we set back up, I somehow forgot what I had the filter set on. Maybe a grease pencil would be a good idea so I can keep track of what it was supposed to be would be a good idea. That, or I'll be getting a mattebox with some filters and be skipping the variable part in the equation.
I'm going to go back and try to fix the exposure in post. Learning the hard way, but at least we're learning!
This episode is actually relatively old (in terms of when we shot it) and afterward we had a long, hard talk with the host. He is new at this, but he's getting much, much better with each new episode we film.
I've definitely got to own up to the exposure problems because I run camera. First time using a variable ND filter, and it seems like it may be the last. We broke everything down, and we realized that there was a question or two that we missed, and when we set back up, I somehow forgot what I had the filter set on. Maybe a grease pencil would be a good idea so I can keep track of what it was supposed to be would be a good idea. That, or I'll be getting a mattebox with some filters and be skipping the variable part in the equation.
I'm going to go back and try to fix the exposure in post. Learning the hard way, but at least we're learning!
iHartVideo
Well-known member
Yeah, he's bad enough that it's completely distracting.
djbobbyrhodes
Well-known member
Hmm, maybe I need to speak with the producer about this.
Anyone else got any thoughts, suggestions, critiques, or whatever?
maranfilms
Veteran
Hey there, Hows the cutting going? Are you pulling your hair out yet? lol. Well, don't feel bad. Im cutting one now that I wish I hadn't even bothered doing. Dark venue to say the least. Plus the a/v guy at the venue was useless. He couldn't help us with anything. He didn't even know how to run his own board. I think they grabbed the janitor and asked him if he wanted a new job. not to mention when the gig started he dropped the already low lights, I almost had a heart attack for a minute. I had to run over and tell him we set our exposure about an hour before. And to please not touch the lighting. Man some people. ALright sorry to rant on your thread man. Oh, by the way this was a seminar, not a concert or anything, just some speakers giving lectures.
djbobbyrhodes
Well-known member
No worries! Sucks to hear about your lighting situation. I bought an LED on camera light for ~ $50. I've only had to use it once, and I'm not thrilled with it, but it gets the job done on the cheap for when I can't control the light. I've got the eye twitches cut out already, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with the interviews. No one mentioned the length of them, but I know they're WAY too long.
I'm not really sure what you mean by "It looks like you never know what you want to shoot." Do you mean because that nearly every shot is moving?
As for the wobbles, now that you mentioned it, it's all I see! Everything is handheld. I've got a decent tripod (for my needs), but it's not ideal for being mobile in these types of shoots. Plus, a lot of these places are really packed, and a tripod wouldn't really work. Just upgraded the shoulder rig, though, so hopefully that will help out some.
I think I'm going to bring the tripod to the next shoot and see how mobile I can be with it. One of our big things is how low-key our shoots are. That's why I love the DSLR's, nearly invisible if they need to be. I've got to look into a small footprint, yet sturdy tripod. My current one is one of those cheap (price) Fancier ones, and it's huge compared to the size of the camera (sans shoulder rig).
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longcipher
Active member
You definitely need a new host - don't even bother working on the current one's technique.
Let me tell you a quick story which has helped me immeasurably in my film and music work. I used to record music professionally, a lot of indie rock bands, etc. I used to spend days with these amateur bands, coaxing performances out of them - trying to get them to play to click tracks, refine harmonies, etc. I was young and enjoyed this teeth-pulling way of making records.
As I grew older, I began working with much more professional artists. I learned that if I wanted the most killer drum sound, I wouldn't buy better mics or pre-amps -- I would just hire the best session drummer. For $250, I could get some amazing drummer to walk in, read a chart, lay down 2 takes of a song and be out of there in 1 hour. My recordings jumped in quality. I could use those same mics and kit on a novice drummer and the results were less than inspiring.
Moral of the story: spend some money and get an attractive, professional spokesperson. Your shoots will go faster, smoother, and the end result will feel more like a television show and less like a youtube experiment.
Let me tell you a quick story which has helped me immeasurably in my film and music work. I used to record music professionally, a lot of indie rock bands, etc. I used to spend days with these amateur bands, coaxing performances out of them - trying to get them to play to click tracks, refine harmonies, etc. I was young and enjoyed this teeth-pulling way of making records.
As I grew older, I began working with much more professional artists. I learned that if I wanted the most killer drum sound, I wouldn't buy better mics or pre-amps -- I would just hire the best session drummer. For $250, I could get some amazing drummer to walk in, read a chart, lay down 2 takes of a song and be out of there in 1 hour. My recordings jumped in quality. I could use those same mics and kit on a novice drummer and the results were less than inspiring.
Moral of the story: spend some money and get an attractive, professional spokesperson. Your shoots will go faster, smoother, and the end result will feel more like a television show and less like a youtube experiment.
djbobbyrhodes
Well-known member
Here's the updated video:
I didn't change much, but I got rid of the darting eyes at the end of the segments, and I got rid of the host doing a shot in the introduction. I also changed the transition/cuts in the interviews to a dip to black so that the change in contrast and exposure wouldn't be quite as noticeable.
I didn't change much, but I got rid of the darting eyes at the end of the segments, and I got rid of the host doing a shot in the introduction. I also changed the transition/cuts in the interviews to a dip to black so that the change in contrast and exposure wouldn't be quite as noticeable.
I think you've gotten the feedback you need to regarding the host and you have to do what you feel you have to. I'll just say that I've often had to cover bad sound / bites from novice talent in the edit. For instance, he stammers during the bit with the girls at :35 - :40. You might consider covering that with some b-roll and bring the audio together. I recently worked with some newer talent for an HGTV series and we had that person repeat the wrap-arounds and bumps until it was right. They might learn to despise you because of it, but they will improve with practice. You're actually doing them a tremendous favor by having them repeat takes. You should have someone doing logging on-set for this kind of production - "'print' good takes" notes will go a long way to streamlining your edit.
