Short Destruction Scene Critique...

[acearchie]

I made this end segment for a film for a talent show at school.

It was all edited together in one night with final cut pro and after effects.

Final Cut gave me some real issues with some bugs and some strange occurances (some footage having dodgy aspect ratio etc.) and I didnt have time to rectify the situation.

I want to try and think of things that I could do differently if I were to do it again. A sort of learn from my mistakes excercise!

If you could help me think of some points I would be very grateful. The film is only 2:30 long so it shouldn't take much time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUJDPv6RF8I&feature=player_embedded

So far I have:

• Too much camera wobble (it become destracting)
• Some dodgy cuts
• Colouring of some explosions
• Lack of a fade out on the last fire blast!

Thanks

 

[Smilediver]

Looks nice, the most obvious thing that feel not right:

* Camera shaking to much. Even if it's a shaking kind of shot.
* There is no dust, or smoke left after meteors hit the ground... it just disappears.
* Don't smile while shooting, lol. I mean.. it's armagedon after all :-D
* The blood that is supposed to be "on the camera" isn't moving with the camera.

 

[acearchie]

Looks nice, the most obvious thing that feel not right:

* Camera shaking to much. Even if it's a shaking kind of shot.
* There is no dust, or smoke left after meteors hit the ground... it just disappears.
* Don't smile while shooting, lol. I mean.. it's armagedon after all :-D
* The blood that is supposed to be "on the camera" isn't moving with the camera.

Cheers all of them are good points. Especially the blood. Totally didn't notice!

Thanks

 

[AWalkerStudios]

Might want to de-interlace your footage. You can fix aspect ratio problems under the sequence settings.

 

[KeithPratt]

On a technical level, the "look" of the meteors and trailing smoke doesn't match the video. Also an idea to use manual exposure if your camera gives the option.

I'm generally not a massive fan of shaky-cam, but I think it's probably the best fit here, technically and artistically. But from halfway in it gets too shaky.

The rhythm of the piece is decent but could be improved. That's not really something that's easy to break down with analysis, it's just getting a feel for the piece.

Finally, why are the "memories" clips at the end not in mandatory slow-motion, and where are the screaming girls?

 

[idea_hamster]

On the technical side, I would say that your particle life in the meteor smoke trails needs to survive until the end of the cut. Having the smoke disappear like a laser weapon looks extremely distracting. Smoke has to hang in the air, no two ways about it.

On the script side, why is the guy jumping over the picnic table and benches as he runs? I surmise that you wanted to include this in-and-out shot of him going over the table, but the truth is that when people are trying to get away from things, they run around their obstacles.

Just a couple of ideas -- keep up the good work!

 

[acearchie]

Might want to de-interlace your footage. You can fix aspect ratio problems under the sequence settings.

I realise this but because my original project was corrupted I copied it into a new project and it cocked up the majority of the aspect ratio of the clips (probably because i used a mixture of 1280x720 30fps and 1920x1080 25fps) and for some reason this clip wouldn't go back to normal (the guy running parallel to the camera). It was late and I decided that wading through the clips to reimport it from the camera would be too much!

On a technical level, the "look" of the meteors and trailing smoke doesn't match the video. Also an idea to use manual exposure if your camera gives the option.

I'm generally not a massive fan of shaky-cam, but I think it's probably the best fit here, technically and artistically. But from halfway in it gets too shaky.

The rhythm of the piece is decent but could be improved. That's not really something that's easy to break down with analysis, it's just getting a feel for the piece.

Finally, why are the "memories" clips at the end not in mandatory slow-motion, and where are the screaming girls?

My dad got me a great camera for my 18th birthday however the time frame which we made this film in (this part is only the end of it by the way) meant that I didn't have time to delve into the manual settings (although I plan to in the future) meaning the entire film was mostly shot on AUTO!

This was my first attempt with particular and colour correcting really isn't my forte so I was unsure of how to mix the clips well together. Do you have any suggestions?

On the technical side, I would say that your particle life in the meteor smoke trails needs to survive until the end of the cut. Having the smoke disappear like a laser weapon looks extremely distracting. Smoke has to hang in the air, no two ways about it.

On the script side, why is the guy jumping over the picnic table and benches as he runs? I surmise that you wanted to include this in-and-out shot of him going over the table, but the truth is that when people are trying to get away from things, they run around their obstacles.

Just a couple of ideas -- keep up the good work!

I did make the life longer during the edit but just having the smoke sitting there looked really odd and I was unaware how to provide a sort of slowly disappearing smoke effect.

On the script side that was just me wanting to jump over some benches! Basically to fit the music I needed a certain length of film and when we did a few takes where I just vaulted the first bench then ran to the door. It was basically to fast and not too interesting in the cuts (cutting from a camera in front, to the right side, and behind). All the footage preceding this sequence was in the comedy genre so this sort of added a bit of humor into the carnage aswell!

Thank you very much for all the feedback as this is exactly the sort of thing I need to improve for the future!

 

[KeithPratt]

This was my first attempt with particular and colour correcting really isn't my forte so I was unsure of how to mix the clips well together. Do you have any suggestions?

It would possibly vary depending on specific circumstances, but in this case I'd grade the VFX to look like the live action video, then grade the comp to give it the desired look.

When you start experimenting with your camera's settings, see if there's a function to alter the gamma curve or stop the blacks from crushing and the whites from blowing out. It'll give you low-contrast, washed-out video, but having that will make your life easier when you come to grading your effects to match your video.

 

[acearchie]

It would possibly vary depending on specific circumstances, but in this case I'd grade the VFX to look like the live action video, then grade the comp to give it the desired look.

When you start experimenting with your camera's settings, see if there's a function to alter the gamma curve or stop the blacks from crushing and the whites from blowing out. It'll give you low-contrast, washed-out video, but having that will make your life easier when you come to grading your effects to match your video.

Thanks for the useful tip I shall try this in the future!