My latest Movie short

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col lamb
Posts: 680
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:51 pm
Location: Preston, Lancashire

My latest Movie short

Post by col lamb »

We had a themed competition (Winter Landscapes) at Preston Movie Makers on Thursday the 17th.

I went out shooting for about an hour last Tuesday in the woods about 200m from where I live and then spent the rest of the day editing and colour grading the video clips.

Shot using a Canon 7D DSLR, tripod and slider. Post using Premiere CS5.5 and Magic Bullet Looks 2 for the grading

Hope you like it, feel free to comment
Last edited by col lamb on Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Col Lamb
Preston, Lancashire.
FCPX, Edius6.02, and Premiere CS 5.5 user.
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john ingham
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Location: Exmouth

Re: My latest Movie short

Post by john ingham »

Hi Col

can i start by saying the music was lovely as was the quality of the film....The DOF and colouring was a pleasure to watch as was the scenery ...

just a couple of gripes for me.....i hated the text... it was too cartoonish for the film..i think plain black or white would have felt better with the atmosphere of the film..

and the 2nd was..i started to loose the softness that you started with...you had crossovers which created that flow that worked with the music...then the clips became hard bang bang bang into the next.....yet the music was still flowing

as i said above..the filming and quality is beautiful...for me , it just lost the feel in editing

john
Keep trying, for one day you will get it right
Mike Shaw

Re: My latest Movie short

Post by Mike Shaw »

Superbly shot movie, but I have to agree re the titling: the typeface used is as important (IMO) as the music in setting the mood and feel for a movie - and the face used for the titles here in no way did the movie any justice at all. The music set the mood perfectly, along with the way the images were treated. But the titles, yuk ... sorry!

The other (small) thing I didn't like was the over-use of the 'slide' in the first part of the film: nothing wrong with the slide at all, and indeed very effective, but for me, it was a bit overcooked at the start and would have been better if it's use had been 'spread' throughout the movie, rather than (seemingly) all at the beginning. That was my impression on a first watch through (and I do understand that sometimes first impressions can be wrong - but one viewing is all audiences (and judges) get, usually.

I also had a feeling at times that some of the shots may (?) have been stills - though I did see subtle signs of movement in some scenes which were very effective (the aeroplane's con-trail for example).

To shoot and edit that in a day ... well done! Very relaxing, very picturesque.
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TimStannard
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Re: My latest Movie short

Post by TimStannard »

I nearly posted this yesterday, but wanted to wait for other posts as what I have to say is contentious and it is certainly not a dig at this particular film.

My question is simply, why?

Why is this a film? (as opposed to a book of photos)

When I look at a landscape, I want to view it at my own pace, I want to study some parts in detail, I want to skip over some parts. The same is true when I'm looking at buildings and architecture. To my mind, a still, especially a printed still, is absolutely perfect for this.

When we see a film, we do not have the ability to examine the parts we want to examine at our own pace. We therefore have to be led by the film maker. We are following a path, a narrative. It should be clear the journey that the filmaker is taking us on.

This, like so many films that have been produced since DSLRs started producing such excellent images appear to me to be "just" a collection of images. Very good images indeed. But it feels like I'm watching over the shoulder of someone who is looking through their photo album. I'm being given no direction, I'm just observing. I want a film to take me on a journey, even if that journey if just from one part of the day to another.

With the possible exception of the final image, would it have made any difference if the shots were presented in a different order? I suspect not.

I respect that these images are well composed and technically good (I certainly don't have the skill to achieve this sort of quality) but surely a film needs to be more than just good pictures and appropriate music. The same is true of AVs.

As for this particular film, add me to the list of people who don't like the titles. I also found the grading somewhat over the top and inconsistent. The stark contrast between the opening shot and the second shot made it seem like they belonged in different films and emphasised the fact that a lot of post had been used.

Don't get me wrong. I'd expect that it did very well in (probably won) the club competition and it would probably have won a similar competition at my club. It exhibited no "errors" or even slight distractions that 99% films we see, but we aim higher than that here, don't we?

Sorry if this seems harsh. I'm a comparative newcomer to film making and I'd be happy to learn what I've missed, to be corrected. But I do feel that films should inform, educate and/or entertain. And even those that entertain should take me on a journey.
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
Mike Shaw

Re: My latest Movie short

Post by Mike Shaw »

It was a themed competition Tim.

I fully understand what you're saying about having a start, middle and finish, and would normally agree totally - but sometimes it is relaxing (like those weird dolphin sound tapes that run for nearly an hour!) to just have some pleasant pictures to watch against an equally pleasant music background. What I call 'Potter's Wheel' stuff ... from the very early days of television when the only programme was BBC, black and white on a 6" screen, a few hours a day (!) - when there would be an interlude between each programme (while they 're-dressed' the studio?) and a retitive film of a potter throwing a pot was used. You never ever saw the pot finished ... just him running his hands up and down the clay endlessly.

Such a film as Col's could I reckon make a nice interlude at a public performance, if wedged between two heavy dramas perhaps.

I still liked it!
col lamb
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Re: My latest Movie short

Post by col lamb »

Hi guys

Point noted on the titles, I have changed them and uploaded the revised version.

When I did the shooting my Wife was keen to give it a go so the next day we went out and she shot her own footage on her Panasonic GF2 compact camera. She also edited same using my system with a little over the shoulder help from me on using Premiere. The order and length of clips and titles were all her own, by the way this is her first movie.

Col Lamb
Preston, Lancashire.
FCPX, Edius6.02, and Premiere CS 5.5 user.
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TimStannard
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Re: My latest Movie short

Post by TimStannard »

Mike Shaw wrote:It was a themed competition Tim.

... sometimes it is relaxing (like those weird dolphin sound tapes that run for nearly an hour!) to just have some pleasant pictures to watch against an equally pleasant music background.
Understood on both counts. And as a competition, it can serve a purpose of focusing the makers mind on the photography aspect of filmmaking.

It is interesting that you pick the potter's wheel as an example (wasn't there also a kitten playing with a ball of wool as another interlude?) because this, for me, highlights the difference. The potters wheel clip has a narrative - we may never see the very beginning or the end but the film does progress and, of course, it includes action which is critical to the narrative.

I could happily discuss just this over a couple of pints one evening (what a bore that would be for everyone else!) but I'll refrain from adding to my thoughts here (unless I have a significant flash of lucidity) as it will come across as repetition or (even worse) I'll write pages in an attempt to elaborate.
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
john ingham
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Re: My latest Movie short

Post by john ingham »

When we make a film, we put together images that we see, we add music to what we feel fits the mood of the film,
then we add the Title..the Title can work in two ways.... it can be just information on a location...like..."Pines wood" or llangorse Lake, or it can be like the cover of a Book, where the title is the story or at least the atmosphere of the story...
you have such beautiful images in your film... that makes me feel you don't need that big explosive Title..just plain Black roman times text would deliver the location..the scenes will tell its own story

in my film..I needed to create a title like the book cover...but all the names of the actors and myself will be basic..i am hoping that my title will create the right atmosphere....

at the end of the day, we must all do what we feel is right for our own films...i would hope all our comments are not there to create just one style of filming, writing, or editing but maybe just to help people see things that they might of missed
Keep trying, for one day you will get it right
Mike Shaw

Re: My latest Movie short

Post by Mike Shaw »

Titles - and headings - are usually (that means 'mainly, but not always, depending on the subject etc) best kept in a sans serif face (Arial, or Comic for two examples).

Serif faces (Times) are usually (that means 'mainly, but not always, depending on the subject etc) best kept to body copy - main pages of text.

(There are scientific and technical reasons for this - use of a 'serif' face on large areas of text can make that text easier to read, while a sans serif face, when larger (as for headings in ads or on pages of text, or titles on films) is usually easier to read).

It's a rule of thumb, a guide, not a golden rule.

Fussy decorative fonts (Medieval. Olde English etc), and cased fonts rarely work as film titles - they can be very difficult to read on the screen (I've even seen 'Old English used as all capitals - IMPOSSIBLE to read!).

Always there is a suitable clean and simple typeface for a particular subject ... for thousands upon thousands (literally) of free type faces* , do a google search.

*also erroneously known as fonts - a font is the particular size and style a typeface can have, such as 12pt italic, 16 pt bold etc
john ingham
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Re: My latest Movie short

Post by john ingham »

I love this debate on text fonts, my friend works for a big advertising firm in london and he often says there are fashions with fonts ....

Gothic seems to be the latest trend :lol: he told me that serif is so last year :lol:

I guess as long as it makes the point and can be read ...
Keep trying, for one day you will get it right
Mike Shaw

Re: My latest Movie short

Post by Mike Shaw »

Oh there is definitely a fashion in typefaces ... you can almost tell the era of an ad by the Typefaces used!

I'm surprised to hear that 'serifed faces' are considered to be so 'last year' though. Maybe they are for the ad world, but for printed books? I wonder.

(My entire career was spent as an advertising 'creative' - the last 25 years of it as a Creative Director in London Agencies - hence my interest in this stuff)
Chrisbitz
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Re: My latest Movie short

Post by Chrisbitz »

I'm afraid I have to agree with Tim.. What is it that makes this a "film"?

I don't mean this as a personal attack on anyone though, but one of my recent pet peeves is the upspringing of "AVs".
In my experience, they're nothing more than a slideshow with music, rather than a film, and I'm sure the term has arisen to hide the makers' shame from groans associated with the label of family slideshow! :-)

Equally, the film in this post, is very similar although it's slightly more in that it's kind of a 3D slideshow, with depth being shown by use of the dolly.

Of course, all opinions differ, but for me, how should I feel, having watched a pretty pictures set to music film? contented? calm? I don't feel enriched, educated or stimulated...
Should I feel any different than if I'd just had a snooze? :-)
I'd be interested to hear how people feel having watched these style of films, compared to a drama or documentary?

I'd like to test a theory out one day regarding pretty pictures set to music films, I'd like to get an expert film-maker to make one, and then get a beginning film-maker to make the same, and I really feel that they'd be worryingly similar! (Assuming a degree of talent of course!) :-)

I fear this might be seen as an attack on certain types of film-makers, and it's not, as this genre is great as a first timer's first film, as it can be very effective, but in my experience, its not really very challenging to your skills in the way that an educational documentary or a drama could be?...

Of course, everyone's free to make whatever they like, but I thought I'd mention my peeve as a contrast :-)
I like to make films, this is- my Youtube account. What's yours?

"all of the above is nothing more than nonsensical ramblings, and definately should NOT be misconstrued as anyone's official policy"
col lamb
Posts: 680
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Location: Preston, Lancashire

Re: My latest Movie short

Post by col lamb »

Interesting comments.

I have to take exception at Chrisbitz's comments, sorry there is only one way to describe your adverse comments and that is ...hypocritical

From on your own Youtube channel you have exactly the same type of "movie", a style that has been made many thousands of times, creative...no, good camerawork....no, interesting....no, its just a series of badly shot clips put together with annoying music.

This is what I am refering to

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrlGW6kLLEU[/youtube]

Also AV's are perfectly acceptable within the IAC, they are an integral part of our organization....or are you rubbishing them as well?
Col Lamb
Preston, Lancashire.
FCPX, Edius6.02, and Premiere CS 5.5 user.
Find me on Facebook, Colin Lamb
Chrisbitz
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Re: My latest Movie short

Post by Chrisbitz »

col lamb wrote:Interesting comments.

I have to take exception at Chrisbitz's comments, sorry there is only one way to describe your adverse comments and that is ...hypocritical

From on your own Youtube channel you have exactly the same type of "movie", a style that has been made many thousands of times, creative...no, good camerawork....no, interesting....no, its just a series of badly shot clips put together with annoying music.

This is what I am refering to

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrlGW6kLLEU[/youtube]

Also AV's are perfectly acceptable within the IAC, they are an integral part of our organization....or are you rubbishing them as well?
I'm very flattered that you looked through my back catalogue - I hope you enjoyed them, and as you rightly notice that film is kind of pictures and music, although I'd suggest that it's also more of a music video than a simple pretty pictures set to music, as it's cut to the beat, and quit a few video effects, but hillariously, my final trump card is that it was one of my very first films that I ever made! :-)
So I'm sorry but yah-boo! about the hypocritical bit :-)

As for your question about whether I'm rubbishing the IAC, I think I'll politely take the 5th amandment on that one :-)
I like to make films, this is- my Youtube account. What's yours?

"all of the above is nothing more than nonsensical ramblings, and definately should NOT be misconstrued as anyone's official policy"
john ingham
Posts: 221
Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 7:29 am
Location: Exmouth

Re: My latest Movie short

Post by john ingham »

I think there is a place for AV as there are for docs, shorts, and all other types of film
Keep trying, for one day you will get it right
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