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Disability day venue
Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:00 pm
by john ingham
couldn't get the film i wanted due to weather, so snatched some footage between showers on the friday
managed to salvage some things..not perfect..no audio with mics and a lot of mistakes...
https://vimeo.com/45091721
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:16 am
by Dave Watterson
What an absolutely beautiful place!
If this is your snatched, rescued, rough footage ... goodness knows how compelling your finished piece will be. It is very impressive.
You see the need to get close to the kayaks - or to use telephoto. There are times when it is effective to stress how small a kayak is in the scale of the lake, but as usual we mostly want to share the personal aspects of it. We want to feel close to the participants.
The briefing shot is good for showing the team of volunteers, but you probably want to show us the face of the speaker too ... go schizophrenic or move yourself and camera during his talk.
Wow - I'm going back to watch it again so that I can wallow in the scenery.
Dave
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:00 pm
by TimStannard
Fantastic opening shot (and plenty of the others were very good too). Glorious scenery (when it's not raining!)
Dave's point about getting the participants in close up is a good one, but watching the real time footage, rather than the slo-mo, I image it would be much easier to keep the subject in frame by getting close-up than by using a long lens (simply because close up you would have a better feel for the subject's movement). Would I be right?
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:30 pm
by john ingham
wow !!! thanks Dave, those comments have blown me away ... yes the place is breath taking, I do love mountains, hills or anything outdoors and that place Lake Clywedog is stunning, it use to be farm land before they built the dam
thankyou to Tim, filming kayaks is going to be a case of staging the shot in most cases, yes your right in saying they would be better closer to get that more personal feel,
we have a few shooting days planned where we can gather some stock footage....
I know I keep saying this, but you guys are really making me think ..and I love that, ive had my days of doing what most do just waving the camera around and hoping for the best
as said before..any mistakes i make..please point them out.. I'm learning, I want to learn
john
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 10:32 pm
by Peter B
I've just watched your video John, and as Dave says, if that's your snatched footage the final film is going to be awesome.
I'm no expert on video, I'm an AV person who throws in a bit of video because my DSLR can do it, but I thought your camera work was excellent and the choice of music really fitted the subject.
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 8:31 pm
by Brian Saberton
I'll echo the comments of the others. I enjoyed this video very much and thought you had really captured the atmosphere of the day with some beautiful shots of the scenery and the kayaks and I liked the way you had made use of the wide angle setting on your lens with some very good picture composition that emphasises the scale of the landscape . I think your music is well suited to the subject and I like the way you have varied the tempo of the film to match the pacing of the music. I also would like to have seen some close ups of the people taking part but otherwise I think you have done a very good job in putting the film together. When filming this type of event, where you have to react to what you see on the day rather than being able to plan ahead, it's always a good idea when you are filming to try and imagine how the shots will cut together when you return home. That way you will start to get a feeling for what you are going to need to create your sequences and you will find that with experience you will automatically keep an eye out for good close ups that will add interest to your film and other images that will make useful cutaways. I shall certainly look forward to seeing more of your work.
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:44 am
by john ingham
Thankyou very much peter and Brian,
This film making really doe's get one thinking, I guess i never really thought about the next shot when photographing...
I did manage to get some close ups of people but I wasn't happy with the results, this is why i left them out,
this is one thing I need to practice on and the area that put me off was lighting..
thankyou so much for the encouraging words
regards
john
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:53 am
by tom hardwick
I too liked the variety of shots but what is it with Vimeo? Even with HD turned off and the entire film buffered up it still plays in staccato jerks, really ruining the smooth fluidity that I assume the original has.
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:57 pm
by FredD
tom hardwick wrote:I too liked the variety of shots but what is it with Vimeo? Even with HD turned off and the entire film buffered up it still plays in staccato jerks, really ruining the smooth fluidity that I assume the original has.
Tom
There is nothing wrong with Vimeo !
May I respectfully suggest that you take a hard look at your own hardware/software setup !
I am becoming increasingly concerned about the way 'urban myths' are born, when it comes to
people making statements in forums like this one, like :
"...but what is it with Vimeo?".
Rant over !
Kind regards,
Fred D
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:20 pm
by ned c
Hi John, Terrific shots; time to start thinking structure; the three act approach works well for documentaries. Hope yuu have it completed in time for the AMPS Festival
www.ampsvideo.com
Tom; it played fine for me; no problems.
ned c
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:47 pm
by Peter B
Tom, I used to have that sort of problem with my old PC when watching any video from any source, the poor thing just didn't have the processing power. But I doubt that's the reason in your case. You may just have a slow Internet connection somewhere between you and Vimeo's servers. The video plays smoothly here in HD at full screen.
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 12:06 pm
by tom hardwick
Don't mean to start myths, only pointing out that Vimeo can't seem to do what YouTube can, and that is stream smooth video to old PCs that are fed iffy internet connections. That means what, half the population? Yes, nothing wrong with Vimeo, agree with that.
tom.
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 2:12 pm
by john ingham
Hi lads,
I Have a terrible connection down here in exmouth, I think our internet is powered by hamster wheel
I find that Vimeo 99% of the time works perfect even though i need to buffer the film 1st.
I can imagin the problems occure's when user time is at a peak.
I did stick another copy of the film with a few added extra's on youtube... the added extra's would have been picked up by the kayak fishermen as a personal joke,that is one reason it unlisted, anyway, I diverse,
On youtube , the copy gets distorted ,
the scene where you see the two kayakers 1st has a hill with cloud shadow passing through..when the cloud shadow reaches the peak of the hill..it explodes
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
that is why i prefer Vimeo
Ned !!! I'm interested in the 3 act formation..can you or anyone enlighten me on that please ..not heard of this before
thanks lads
john
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:15 pm
by ned c
http://www.writerswrite.com/screenwriting/lecture4.htm
A useful reference although aimed at narrative films; a good documentary is a good story. Act one is setting the scene; where; who; what are they trying to achieve; what are the obstacles; Act Two is the meat of the film; the struggles to achieve the objectives; Act Three; objectives achieved; rewards both real and emotional.
Here is a very personal view on documentaries; the best ones are about people who we the audience can feel empathy for; we need someone to root for. Tough I know but this may help you when you shoot. I see absolutely no problems with the camera work and the image quality; you have that under control. Location sound is always tough but may be a vital part of your film; I see you have prepared for that. Go for it John but remember the famous editors complaint "if you didn't shoot it I can't edit it" and another old saw "the images deliver the information but the sound creates the emotion". Good luck; John. Look forward to seeing the finished film.
ned c
Re: Disability day venue
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:29 am
by john ingham
fantastic link Ned
lets not forget, I'm just starting out in the film making , and only starting to understand how things are done...
I don't think ive even scratch the surface yet ..
But saying that, when i get my teeth into something, and get the right support and guidence i do give 100%
It looks like i will now have to take a different route to get the special event or even wait a year..
my other film (in mind) is about A kayak fishing comp , and reading through your link some ideas have sprung to mind
thankyou all for your support and encouragement
john