Zachary Martin - Luthier Mini-Doc

ericksonpost

ericksonpost

Active member

http://vimeo.com/47449162

Another video in the axion mini-doc series. I had a little time to try some new techniques in this video, namely lens whacking on a GH2. It's not the easiest thing to do on that camera. I can see why people use full frame cameras like the 5d. I personally feel there's too much jello with the GH2 because you end up being pretty limited on lens choices on the wide end.

let me know what you think...
 
Interesting story and very nicely done (with one caveat). There were some gorgeous shots in there (loved the first instrument shot), and liked your title/background, overall shot composition, and camera movement. However, those lens whacking shots really took me out of the piece and made it feel uneven. Which was a shame because otherwise I could have easily gotten completely absorbed in his story and the other visuals. For me, it seemed like two different approaches to the same story were randomly spliced together. Which, of course, they weren't - those whacked shots were just so jarringly different that it seemed that way - to me.

The other thing (minor) is in his tighter interview shots the skin tones seemed a tad less rich than the rest of the footage.

I would really liked to have seen it without the lens whacking shots.
 
I liked it also ...nice job..and interesting.

.but I agree with the above re the lens whacking. Why?

Only other thought is cc grade.

I would like to see it warmer / richer / darker (vignette) ..."woodier". A bit of grain even.
 
The lens whacking was an experiment.

I had my reservations about those shots while I was editing, but for whatever reason I went against my better judgement, and left them in. It's definitely not a technique I think fits my natural storytelling style very well. I guess the curiosity of trying out a new technique got the best of me :)

I never thought about adding grain to this CC. I've done it in the past and always liked how it looked. I guess it's another case of just wanting to try something new.
 
A really nice little piece, that's only ruined by the lens whacking shots. That's the only thing I can pick. I really liked most of the shots and the music choice. Great job.
 
Shooter said:
I liked it also ...nice job..and interesting.

.but I agree with the above re the lens whacking. Why?

Only other thought is cc grade.

I would like to see it warmer / richer / darker (vignette) ..."woodier". A bit of grain even.
Click to expand...

agreed, a fog machine could have made this a bit more nostalgic in combination with what shooter said... but very nice work though, enjoyed the audio very much!
 
I had no idea what lens whacking was (often read about it, but all I could think of was weed whackers...), now I know.

Loved it, man- and sans weed, I mean lens whacking, possibly more than your boat builder piece (which I loved!).

Experimenting is great (never stop!), but if you get that feeling in your gut that something isn't working, or it feels forced, well, maybe listen to that little voice...

Do you have enough footage to replace the whacked-out stuff, if you decide to?

It looks like a space filled with natural light- did you add any? For me, it doesn't have to be darker or moodier, but that's a matter of taste, I guess, though perhaps a bit of vignette would be another interesting experiment?

Loved the shots of tools that looked like still-lifes!!!

The only shot I felt was missing was an XCU of his eyes, behind an instrument or tool as he focused on his work, like from 3 o'clock of the shot at 2:44.

Great character, great story, very nicely done! Keep 'em coming!
 
groveChuck said:
I had no idea what lens whacking was (often read about it, but all I could think of was weed whackers...), now I know.
Click to expand...

HAHAHA. Yeah, it's something I probably won't do again anytime soon. I think that with anything other a full frame sensor (5D - mainly because of the ability to use nikon glass not mounted on the camera) it just doesn't look right. I used a 35mm and with the small body of the GH2 plus crop = jiggly and not very elegant, which is what I was hoping for haha.

groveChuck said:
Do you have enough footage to replace the whacked-out stuff, if you decide to?
Click to expand...

I could replace it...but I'll probably leave those shots in. Zachary is really happy with it so I can't complain too much. Plus, I don't mind leaving my experiments out there. Maybe someone can learn from my mistakes :)

groveChuck said:
It looks like a space filled with natural light- did you add any? For me, it doesn't have to be darker or moodier, but that's a matter of taste, I guess, though perhaps a bit of vignette would be another interesting experiment?
Click to expand...

I shot with almost all natural light. The only light that I used was a Rifa 66 during the interview. It was setup screen right and I setup some negative fill just off screen right to help get at least a little contrast.

groveChuck said:
The only shot I felt was missing was an XCU of his eyes, behind an instrument or tool as he focused on his work, like from 3 o'clock of the shot at 2:44.
Click to expand...

That would have been great...

Thanks for the input everyone!
 
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