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02-25-2015, 09:08 AM   #1
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First crowdfunding video. Feedback please?

Just hoping for any opinions on a video I recently shot. Mostly K-01, a little gopro. Audio from the Pentax and a small tascam recorder.

The video is for an animal reserve that houses Lions/tigers/wolves/hyenas... looking to do an expansion. Don't tell anyone, but this was my first official commercial video (helped other companies in the past, but never as myself).
.

I don't do too much landscape work, so unfortunately my tripod is a ten year old $20 model... not exactly fluid head. Otherwise, I think movements are half decent. Also, in the future I'll acquire some neutral density filters, and considering the gh2.

But for now, anything else y'all notice, please let me know. Thanks!

02-25-2015, 01:14 PM   #2
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Just a point for me, when you go for a static shot, keep it static (or maybe your tripod is really not stable). I feel that your efforts to follow the subject are counterproductive. If you get paid for it, go for a simple steadycam and you'll be able to add travelings. The voice recording looks good to me but i'm not a native english speaker.
02-25-2015, 01:36 PM   #3
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Did you have MovieSR enabled on the K-01 because I see the tell tale wobble.
I did feel the video was overexposed during many clips. Otherwise I enjoyed what you've done.
02-25-2015, 01:40 PM   #4
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First time, good job!

yes, remove movie SR and no more jello. the small micro-adjusts were somewhat annoying.

02-25-2015, 03:11 PM   #5
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Agree to the above.
Gonna be devils advocat here.. :-)
I didn't like your entry shot. simply not fluid enough.
I think a decent fluidhead would have helped a lot!
And in static shots, indeed don't try to follow the animal if it moves slightly. it's annoying.

ND filters would made a nice shallow dof with the tiger at 2.20

And what's with the white flashes after that scene? how come?

The shot with the deer at 1.14:
I like to play with focus, but for some reason i don't like an animal to "walk" into focus. maybe its just me..
But it comes accross as: 'his image is not in focus'

Another thing i noticed. almost never an animal is fully shown. the parrot is probably the best example. Its like taking a picture of someone and cutting of his feet with the frame.. either a close up or either full.
probably restrained by the cages though.

I feel the lion at the end should have been the last shot instead of the, well, some sort of chicken.. :-)
Also because of the sequence. Now: close up, close up, wide
i'd make it: close, wide, close..

I think you used natural as picture profile. choose muted. You'll have less trouble with blown highlights & artifacts, altough this seemed like a very sunny day..

Sound is actually quite good.
Overall feel is quite good.
I'm just nibbling about details here though :-) I expect not less when i post sthing myself.
except for the fluidhead! just get one asap.
02-25-2015, 03:47 PM   #6
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Lol, the "some sort of chicken" is a Muscovy Duck.
02-25-2015, 04:25 PM   #7
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LOL. A strange looking chicken indeed!!!!

02-25-2015, 05:48 PM   #8
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Since you asked for feedback, I will say that apart from the areas where the camera movement could be smoother, the biggest drawbacks for me are:
1.. If you are looking for funding, the biggest issue is that there is no heart, no story to pull a viewer in. Its pretty tough to do in a short video but is there a way to add one of the animal's stories and get the viewers heart? It does not have to be as overt/cheesy as some of the animal shelter ads you see on T.V but those are there for a reason. And people send in funds for those...
2. The sequences are too long, especially the opening-is more than 20 secs. Although photogenic it takes too much of the video time. I would shorten it as much as possible.
02-26-2015, 07:00 AM   #9
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I liked it.
Opening shot - as others have said, you need a fluid head tripod.
I'd suggest a Matte Box with French Flag and Barn Doors, to control the flares.
Editing could be a little tighter, maybe swap out the hyena trying to eat the lens for a 'cuter' animal in the sun - just for the effect on potential donators.
03-02-2015, 10:31 AM   #10
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I think the white flashes are some sort of effect that are supposed to emulate old film?


It's a bit long... I take it that the voice over was created after the cut? Or was it created before? Like when big cat thing was shown resting, and that was mentioned in the voice over, there was a big pause. Didn't feel that was necessary, could have been tighter. Or when you show shots that start out of focus... not really necessary IMHO. Try to trim as much fat as you can.


Motion is a problem.


Getting a GH2 won't solve that problem. You'll need to either get proper gear to get your camera stable, or switch to a K-5 (II) or Olympus OM-D EM-1/5/5 II. They can smoothen things out, though it only works to a certain degree. You can't get slider shots or perfectly smooth pans with in built shake reduction.
03-03-2015, 11:55 PM   #11
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Don't be afraid to not have movement in your shots.
End on the large cats. It kills it for me to go to a duck getting out of the water whilst someone walks by in the back ground?!
Back off the film burn effect.
The voice is good.
The sound is good enough.
Shorten the go pro being eaten shots.
Turn off movie sr.
Don't do a tilt shot if you don't have the gear to do it smoothly.
Narrow depth of field is good for caged animals but watch nailing the focus.

On the whole though, not bad.
03-04-2015, 09:21 AM - 1 Like   #12
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Thank all of you!

As a few have mentioned, my next move would be stabilizing more. I think movements/following animals aren't a bad idea, but my existing tripod is jerky and distracting. Also, agree on the overexposure comments.
As far as voiceover being too much, and not having enough story, I completely agree. I suggested pretty regularly about getting into that (mentioning some of the individual animal stories), but the hauncho feedback was don't get into it. Also, keep it short (while more and more fluff was being added to the speech) One of the other constraints was to show as minimal cage as possible - most animals were curious and sat right next to wherever I was, so the depth of field had to stay as short as I could make it. That being said, I personally don't mind camera hunting/rack focus errors as long as they're relatively smooth.
Thanks for the heads up on turning off the in camera stabilizer.

Again, appreciate it all! Can only get better.
03-04-2015, 12:44 PM   #13
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Yeah sorry, my reply above was tapped out on a phone, so appears a bit blunt.


Unnecessary or jerky motion is quite a tell tale of poor camera/production work, so I'd take the advice of others and either hand hold for a natural looking motion or simply fix. Trying to follow animals using a jerky/sticky tripod is a silly idea, and I'd also question the merits of wanting to keep the animal exactly in the centre of the frame, which is essentially what you're looking to do in the video above. Having something off centre doesn't mean it's wrong.
03-04-2015, 03:01 PM   #14
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An easy fix would be to turn your cheap tripod into a DIY steadicam. It's quite easy (guides on the net) and helps a lot to get a smooth but handheld look. Even just lifting the camera by the tripod would help.
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