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First semi professional complete mac video opinions?

D

dbl.ceo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 17, 2010
29
0
Hey forum members

I'd love some feedback on this


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8akCTHyP5oI

I've used after effects premiere elements and its pretty much making up 50% of my folio for the course i need to get into for uni so any feedback will be helpful :)

It's meant to be some what humorous
 
that was aweful.
no plot that I could pull out.
white balance was off in every scene.
terrible acting.
after effects stuff was SO GENERIC.
did I mention terrible acting? (smiling actors?)

sorry, if that is what you're hoping will get you into uni, good luck.

so now that I have said that, I'd be a douche not to give some feedback.

1. write a script that has some content. Or story board.
2. use the camera more creatively with close ups
3. drop the After effects, it's crap and detracts from your movie.
4. don't use other movies cuts, it makes you look like a hack
5. do a white balance, it's basic and looks amateur if you can't do it
6. get some real actors if you can.
 
Id complain...but I think that guy ^ summed it up.

Its British though, so exceptions to how bad it seemed can be made. Perhaps in the UK, this is how its done?

:rolleyes:
 
- Take your camera off auto-exposure.
- Get rid of the Orange and Teal look.
- Lens flare? really?
- Do yoga or sit in front of a tv with your camera held out in your hand to steady your handheld. Do it a lot. Thoe shakey shots should have never made it into the cut.
- Work on fundamentals before trying to make it some epic trailer. It makes you look stupid.
- Don't post "student videos" online. Even when I was in film school I couldn't stand the hack work. It sucks. Once you really start making good **** you will never look at your old stuff again. Thank god facebook and youtube weren't around when I was in film school.
 
Bit more info

Perhaps this would assist

No need to get uninformedly racist its Australian, good tips with the white balance

As for story line it's context sensitive and the directed audience will understand.

Guess honesty is good... Cheers peepettes
 
dbl.ceo said:
Perhaps this would assist

No need to get uninformedly racist its Australian, good tips with the white balance

As for story line it's context sensitive and the directed audience will understand.

Guess honesty is good... Cheers peepettes
Click to expand...

uninformedly racist? I dont think anyone was trying to be "racist," I think sdashiki was just pointing out how the Brits have a VERY different "feel" to their television and movies.

As far as the other comments, I would have to agree. Just because you CAN use after effects and follow some Andrew Kramer tutorials does not mean that you should.

Being able to tell a coherent story is so much more important than being able to make lightsabers on the computer.

And the poster who made the point about "amateur" stuff, it is true. The biggest mistake an amateur anything can do is to try to play their amateur work off as "semi-professional."

SO....

- Ditch the after effects, it adds little and detracts plenty.
- Better acting, or less dialogue is better acting is not an option. Perhaps make a documentary?
- Less film-cliches. Why is there lens flare in your titling?
- WHITE BALANCE. Why does everything look green? Why do the peoples skin tones look zombie-esque?
- AUDIO. It sounds like you were recording it all from the built in mic. Get a shotgun mic or lavs if a shotgun wont do.

Ending note: No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to convey the feeling of "epicness" you are going for, sorry. You would be better suited to convey a feeling of "amateurness," which is all the rage these days anyways. Lose the effects, lose the action-movie idea.

But keep at it and don't stop! Dont let negative feedback keep you down. ;)
 
dbl.ceo said:
It's meant to be some what humorous
Click to expand...
If was meant to be a spoof of Hollywood summer blockbusters I think it was a solid effort. Things like the consistency of the white balance and color grading between shots do need to be address though as they are jarring. I think it would qualify as good rough draft but I wouldn't submit it for school w/o a few more revisions.


Lethal
 
Really appreciate this

Ok I lie semi professional is an EXTREME exaggeration... In the middle of the Most important assessments of my life at present hence story line took some what of a back seat. As this is my first after effects delving I am pretty happy with the result I assume more practice will assist with the blending.... Or perhaps not.

Lethal is right about its summer mockbluster style... But I should perhaps stop making excuses and listen to advice... I Definatley need to look into colour correction and white balance. I won't lie my 800 dollar (500usd) panasonic is without the usual plethora of options.... As for audio money was a large issue and extra audio equipment was somewhat impossible.


Thanks again guys I'll look into most of what's been said for my next project. Cheers
 
dbl.ceo said:
As for audio money was a large issue and extra audio equipment was somewhat impossible.
Click to expand...

Then don't make video, seriously. Not everyone can tell genius cuts of video or great effects but anyone who isn't deaf can immediately tell bad audio. It is the most important part of any video. Don't spend a dime on anything else before you get a boom/shotgun/lavs and field recorder. I scrapped a show that cost $25K to shoot because the sound guy ****ed up the audio. I refused to cut it and the whole show hit the floor and due to time restraints made our series 9 episodes instead of 10. So I had to make a stupid "best of" to meet our obligations to the network. Audio is THAT important.

I actually rough cut a show based solely on the audio to tell the story. I don't cut the video at all just make the audio cuts to generate the pacing and tell the story. The art of the video cut comes after I have the story audio roughed.
 
That's a bit harsh, I'm fully aware of the importance of audio... But when imget a real job leave and leave school I'll invest in a proper mic.... Trust me I've made huge strides in audio compared to prior videos I'm still learning and at the age of 17 I believe I have that right
 
gameface said:
Then don't make video, seriously.
Click to expand...

Knock it off. Nobody put you in charge of everything that happens in the world.

gameface said:
Not everyone can tell genius cuts of video or great effects but anyone who isn't deaf can immediately tell bad audio. It is the most important part of any video.
Click to expand...

Garbage. Terrible visuals are as plain as terrible audio. Audio is not more important than picture — people just seem to think they kudos for saying it is.
 
KeithPratt said:
Knock it off. Nobody put you in charge of everything that happens in the world.
Click to expand...

Dude, **** off seriously. He asked for opinions, he gave a half-assed response to someone giving him knowledge and you cry foul on me telling him to stop making crap if he doesn't want advice? This is as nice as I can be. I bet you're the type of person who thinks all kids on the team should play and no one "wins" because that isn't the object of the game.

Maybe being forceful and hurting his feelings will make a better impression next time he decides to use onboard audio in a video he labeled "semi professional". I don't care what he, or you think of me but if it gets the point across to him, I hope he hates me.

KeithPratt said:
Garbage. Terrible visuals are as plain as terrible audio. Audio is not more important than picture — people just seem to think they kudos for saying it is.
Click to expand...

You dolt, I didn't say that. I said people can't always tell genius video cuts and great graphics. IE, good visuals not bad visuals. But bad audio, even someone who knows nothing about editing can pick it out immediately. Sorry, I do this for a living and I can immediately tell the production value of something and the time and care taken with a cut based solely on the audio. Maybe you have crap ears but I would rather watch something with awesome audio but a little camera shake over something rock solid on a dolley or tripod with static or muffled audio.
 
gameface said:
- Take your camera off auto-exposure.
- Get rid of the Orange and Teal look.
- Lens flare? really?
- Do yoga or sit in front of a tv with your camera held out in your hand to steady your handheld. Do it a lot. Thoe shakey shots should have never made it into the cut.
- Work on fundamentals before trying to make it some epic trailer. It makes you look stupid.
- Don't post "student videos" online. Even when I was in film school I couldn't stand the hack work. It sucks. Once you really start making good **** you will never look at your old stuff again. Thank god facebook and youtube weren't around when I was in film school.
Click to expand...
That "whoosh" you heard was his parody of Hollywood blockbusters going right over your head.;) I don't know who pissed in your Wheaties this morning but is it too much to ask that you not act like a know-it-all dick and tell people to ****** off?


Lethal
 
Now now kiddies


Relax I thank you each for your response this is meant to be tacky but I appreciate te feedback and what not

Lethal thank you very much for your comments I've seen you posting for a while and I have great respect you.

Definatley not a fan of mr "don't make video"s" go jump mr know it all :)


Btw opinions translate into views cheers
 
a few more points

just a few more things after reading posts here as well as replies.

1. white balance.
You said that your $800 camera doesn't come with a heap of options, but white balance is pretty standard. ACtually, if you have a $800 camera, you should be able to do a lot of cool *****

2. audio
get some tutorials on audio. I don't know about auz, but there are stores where you can rent "band gear" from and that includes some pretty dope mics. If you can rent, do it. Play with lapel mics and shotgun mics. Even if you have to get a wired lapel mic off ebay, you can get better sound that way

3. video practice
I found the best thing to do was to make video with no real acting and no vocals. This way you are focusing on the lighting, the story board, the composition and the small details that will make an awesome video. Just find some cool songs and soundtracks and practice to those.
Here is an example of a college video contest I did that followed #3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdmZZSOiv4g

not to say that video is my best, but at the time it upped my game by focusing on the shots.

hope that helps negate some of the downer stuff I said.

what camera do you have?
 
matteusclement said:
just a few more things after reading posts here as well as replies.

1. white balance.
You said that your $800 camera doesn't come with a heap of options, but white balance is pretty standard. ACtually, if you have a $800 camera, you should be able to do a lot of cool *****

2. audio
get some tutorials on audio. I don't know about auz, but there are stores where you can rent "band gear" from and that includes some pretty dope mics. If you can rent, do it. Play with lapel mics and shotgun mics. Even if you have to get a wired lapel mic off ebay, you can get better sound that way

3. video practice
I found the best thing to do was to make video with no real acting and no vocals. This way you are focusing on the lighting, the story board, the composition and the small details that will make an awesome video. Just find some cool songs and soundtracks and practice to those.
Here is an example of a college video contest I did that followed #3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdmZZSOiv4g

not to say that video is my best, but at the time it upped my game by focusing on the shots.

hope that helps negate some of the downer stuff I said.

what camera do you have?
Click to expand...

Panasonic hd20 or something it's very entry level... Noise quality is terrible but eh it does the job.... I thought haha.

Nah I appreciate the honesty I guess I asked for it when labeling it "professional" at all ...

Its good to hear specially when I've only got friends and family blithering on about how good it is so yeah cheers :)
 
What's WRONG with you guys? This trailer is awesome. Obviously it's not going to look pro or anything. I personally found it very enjoyable. (But then again, I am British...)
 
AnimaLeo said:
What's WRONG with you guys? This trailer is awesome. Obviously it's not going to look pro or anything. I personally found it very enjoyable. (But then again, I am British...)
Click to expand...

Cheers broski preciate the positivity however above do raise some good points... And some less than stellar ones but eh that's the Internet for you

Honored to have "british humour" My writings have been told off for being "tooclever" more often than not... Which is something I too should work on
 
After seeing so many reactions I just had to look at the trailer. Perhaps it is because I am Dutch, but... come on, there are a lot of good things in it. Even humor ;) And he is 'just' 17, so give him a break, testosteron all over the place. Oh, dbl, perhaps don't use the 'pro' word just before you are one, it seems to be the red button of quite a lot of people. Tells more about them than you tough.

OK, all the technical things mentioned above are more or less true, but it really isn't that all time low as I expected. It is a parody, there is some kind of plot, color, sound are not really good, but neither extremely bad. Just work to do and things to learn.

And that brings me to my advice: focus.

You just cannot learn everything in one time. You opened the whole candy box to show off (but hey, you're 17, there are no dateble girls here, so show off somewhere else ;) ) It's a bit too much.

So focus: for you're next project (and stay in short projects to learn), pic one or two topics. For instance for the next take script and decoupage. Don't worry about sound and color. Then when you have masterd that, take sound; then color correction. Or anything else you feel comfortable with.

Most important: have fun :D

Grtz
 
Richardthe4th said:
After seeing so many reactions I just had to look at the trailer. Perhaps it is because I am Dutch, but... come on, there are a lot of good things in it. Even humor ;) And he is 'just' 17, so give him a break, testosteron all over the place. Oh, dbl, perhaps don't use the 'pro' word just before you are one, it seems to be the red button of quite a lot of people. Tells more about them than you tough.

OK, all the technical things mentioned above are more or less true, but it really isn't that all time low as I expected. It is a parody, there is some kind of plot, color, sound are not really good, but neither extremely bad. Just work to do and things to learn.

And that brings me to my advice: focus.

You just cannot learn everything in one time. You opened the whole candy box to show off (but hey, you're 17, there are no dateble girls here, so show off somewhere else ;) ) It's a bit too much.

So focus: for you're next project (and stay in short projects to learn), pic one or two topics. For instance for the next take script and decoupage. Don't worry about sound and color. Then when you have masterd that, take sound; then color correction. Or anything else you feel comfortable with.

Most important: have fun :D

Grtz
Click to expand...

Haha thanks man that's some very good advice yeah ive got alot of spare time coming up after finishing school so I'll be defiantly looking at that focus notions


And I'll go on the record to officially and completely remove the professional title from the movie...

:)
 
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