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The GAF Video and Filmmaking Thread
- Thread starter Thraktor
- Start date
Anton Sugar
Member
DIY portable sound booth: http://filmflap.blogspot.com/2011/07/mike-fugals-portable-sound-booth.html
You can also buy one online for $50-75
You can also buy one online for $50-75
Benjamin_MFF
Member
You are that guy now. A picture of giant eyes is not intriguing. It may be part of a bigger scene, but one thing filmmakers must keep in mind online is that there are endless possibilities of things to watch. Give us a reason to watch your work with just one still image. Then you have our attention.
Benjamin_MFF
Member
Gave it a look. My take: Keep the epic music off to the side. The content and music were telling me two different things. Try an edit where the music and film are telling the same story and work together, instead of competing with each other.
Hi GAF! Here's my latest short film!
Constructive Criticism welcome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pQtWWIaTZg&feature=youtu.be
Constructive Criticism welcome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pQtWWIaTZg&feature=youtu.be
-The "dramatic" slowed down beginning of the film doesn't really fit with the rest of the films feel. Had no meaning to it, no connection. There were also a lot of filler shots that could have been deleted (i.e. walking from the bottom of the stairs to the wallet). Overall, it felt slow for no reason.
-I enjoyed the car ride shots.
-In CVS: the camera following the characters picking up items is tough to make look good. Here, it looks like someone holding a camera and following the characters pick up items... makes it look cheap and homemade. Also, if you're not going to re-dub voices in post, don't have any audio being spoken away from the camera because we can't hear it i.e. hat guy walking up the aisle to the mouthwash guy; and scene with cat food.
-Overall, what's the reason for the title of the movie? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the film itself. There also seems to be a lack of storytelling. Beginning, middle, and end? What is their overall goal? Do we know this as viewers?
Really seems like you're getting your feet wet and that's awesome, man. Keep it up! Go to film festivals in your area and get some tips. You've posted a few videos here so looks like you're really pushing yourself. That will really show in your work. Kudos!
It's mainly just we were bored and we wanted to have this dramatic "suit up" scene only to have the "Hero" go to CVS and buy some groceries.
But thanks for the advice!
vitaminwateryum
corporate swill
Also, work on your editing. Particular shot that comes to mind is as they're walking out of the CVS towards their cars. In the first shot they're walking out, and then it cuts to them standing still before they begin walking.
It's around 4:49.
It's around 4:49.
Does anyone have any experience with MagicLantern for Canons?
I have a 500D, which shoots either 1080p at 20fps or 720p at 30fps. 720p at 24fps would be a good visual compromise, but Canon never officially supported it. MagicLantern apparently offers that option, but I'm always wary about custom firmwares.
I have a 500D, which shoots either 1080p at 20fps or 720p at 30fps. 720p at 24fps would be a good visual compromise, but Canon never officially supported it. MagicLantern apparently offers that option, but I'm always wary about custom firmwares.
Anton Sugar
Member
I've heard nothing but great things about MagicLantern. However, I'm in the same boat as you. I'm shooting a short this weekend and am afraid of bricking my T2i because I decided to play with the firmware.
BlackGoku03
Member
Even though I can't find people to act in my projects, I seem to have no shortage of opportunities to film events around here. Here's a short montage of a photoshoot after a wedding (that I also filmed): http://youtu.be/0DjEM_BsjQg
Let me know what you think! The couple loved it.
Firstly, I have a T3i and magic lantern works perfectly on it. I shot the above video with it!
Secondly, why would you not want to shoot at 1080 24p? If file size is too large (and is a necessity for HD video whether at 720 or 1080) then use magic lantern and change the bit rate. you can change it to be lower and fit more footage onto the card. You also wont run into the 12 min = 4 GB issue. You can get 30 minutes per 4 GB with not much of a quality difference. Conversely, you can also go above what Canon offers and shoot at a higher bit rate.
You can also set it to auto record when it reaches the 4GB limit. VERY useful. Another useful tool is selecting the values of ISO between 1600 and 3200. Get it!
It won't brick your camera because it's loaded on the card and not the camera itself. If it freezes, you just take the battery out and put it back in. But it's only happened to me once, and that was when I first put it on and was messing with the features.
Let me know what you think! The couple loved it.
Firstly, I have a T3i and magic lantern works perfectly on it. I shot the above video with it!
Secondly, why would you not want to shoot at 1080 24p? If file size is too large (and is a necessity for HD video whether at 720 or 1080) then use magic lantern and change the bit rate. you can change it to be lower and fit more footage onto the card. You also wont run into the 12 min = 4 GB issue. You can get 30 minutes per 4 GB with not much of a quality difference. Conversely, you can also go above what Canon offers and shoot at a higher bit rate.
You can also set it to auto record when it reaches the 4GB limit. VERY useful. Another useful tool is selecting the values of ISO between 1600 and 3200. Get it!
It won't brick your camera because it's loaded on the card and not the camera itself. If it freezes, you just take the battery out and put it back in. But it's only happened to me once, and that was when I first put it on and was messing with the features.
Anton Sugar
Member
Thanks for the advice, think I will go ahead and try to upgrade before the weekend. Does it have a waveform monitor? I've read differing "feature" lists.
Anton Sugar
Member
Finished shooting today (all day!) on a short film for a contest! Will be able to post the vid in March, when the contest submissions are over. I'd been involved in some smaller/shorter shoots (usually half day, if that) before, but this was a lot more interesting
Some notes:
-Bought a Tokinon 11-16mm 2.8 lens. I had been looking at the Tamron for my wide angle fix, but I just got a promotion and heard this was a great lens--seems right so far. Was my primary lens for the shoot.
-Finally got to use my 4 ft crane/jib for an exit "ride into sunset" (it was a comedy, not taken seriously) and overall just high angle shots. Worked great, but not being able to see the screen is a pain (even if you do test shots before to see what's in frame and what isn't) and not being able to adjust focus is tough. Will need an external monitor soon
-Kit lens is such a pain to work with. I wanted to get some old-style dramatic zoom shots, but the aperture changing so dramatically was impossible to work with. I had to use my HV40, which look surprisingly more consistent for zooms
-Grew some balls and installed Magic Lantern late last evening. Was a lot of fun to try and learn its more important functions in one evening. Still, the custom cropmarks were hella useful (we needed to look classically epic, cinemascope-style), as was waveform monitor, "colored coded" ISO's, etc. Did have a major scare LATE last night where I was installing cropmarks and the camera wouldn't boot up, the LED just flashed red. I turned off the camera, took out the battery, took out the card and, on my computer, deleted a few random cropmarks. Worked fine after that. I was the DP and only person with a camera.
-Man, this shit is hard. Even with weeks to work on this, major props were forgotten, we almost drank down an entire beverage that was pivotal to the movie, we couldn't get a vehicle started, the clouds were gone all morning but stayed for much of the evening, a hungover actor had to take a long shit break, we had to cut a joke because we couldn't light a cigarette, an old man who didn't own the property we were using suddenly got pissed and tried to get us to leave the property as soon as the "sun went down".
-Speaking of the sun, the day moves fast. We got a late started because we deviated from the plan, and then almost didn't finish the shoot because we almost didn't deviate from the plan. It's weird to use "we're losing sunlight" in a not comedic/mocking manner
-Speaking of the sun and of lighting, popped my lighting cherry. All outdoors shoot, used a bounce for just about all of the sun shots, but probably not enough, and we were usually screwed when it was cloudy, though playing with filters helped. The worst was the clouds that were straight up white and covered the sky--WTF are you supposed to do if you don't have outdoor lighting???
-My HV40 is nice, but my T2i is so much easier to use. I'll probably sell it and buy something new/pay off debt, haha
-Just bought a Varavon slider and gonna use it in my next short. I'm not a fan of slider overuse in indie films, so it won't be used often or obnoxiously
-Went through four batteries by the end. I have a battery grip, but my follow focus on my rails couldn't reach the lenses. There has to be a simple solution--can someone point me in the right direction?
-Still a total noob. Follow focus is difficult (mine has significant wiggle room, which sucks) and framing is so simple but so damned confusing
Good times. Can't wait to do it again. Now for editing and sound.
Some notes:
-Bought a Tokinon 11-16mm 2.8 lens. I had been looking at the Tamron for my wide angle fix, but I just got a promotion and heard this was a great lens--seems right so far. Was my primary lens for the shoot.
-Finally got to use my 4 ft crane/jib for an exit "ride into sunset" (it was a comedy, not taken seriously) and overall just high angle shots. Worked great, but not being able to see the screen is a pain (even if you do test shots before to see what's in frame and what isn't) and not being able to adjust focus is tough. Will need an external monitor soon
-Kit lens is such a pain to work with. I wanted to get some old-style dramatic zoom shots, but the aperture changing so dramatically was impossible to work with. I had to use my HV40, which look surprisingly more consistent for zooms
-Grew some balls and installed Magic Lantern late last evening. Was a lot of fun to try and learn its more important functions in one evening. Still, the custom cropmarks were hella useful (we needed to look classically epic, cinemascope-style), as was waveform monitor, "colored coded" ISO's, etc. Did have a major scare LATE last night where I was installing cropmarks and the camera wouldn't boot up, the LED just flashed red. I turned off the camera, took out the battery, took out the card and, on my computer, deleted a few random cropmarks. Worked fine after that. I was the DP and only person with a camera.
-Man, this shit is hard. Even with weeks to work on this, major props were forgotten, we almost drank down an entire beverage that was pivotal to the movie, we couldn't get a vehicle started, the clouds were gone all morning but stayed for much of the evening, a hungover actor had to take a long shit break, we had to cut a joke because we couldn't light a cigarette, an old man who didn't own the property we were using suddenly got pissed and tried to get us to leave the property as soon as the "sun went down".
-Speaking of the sun, the day moves fast. We got a late started because we deviated from the plan, and then almost didn't finish the shoot because we almost didn't deviate from the plan. It's weird to use "we're losing sunlight" in a not comedic/mocking manner
-Speaking of the sun and of lighting, popped my lighting cherry. All outdoors shoot, used a bounce for just about all of the sun shots, but probably not enough, and we were usually screwed when it was cloudy, though playing with filters helped. The worst was the clouds that were straight up white and covered the sky--WTF are you supposed to do if you don't have outdoor lighting???
-My HV40 is nice, but my T2i is so much easier to use. I'll probably sell it and buy something new/pay off debt, haha
-Just bought a Varavon slider and gonna use it in my next short. I'm not a fan of slider overuse in indie films, so it won't be used often or obnoxiously
-Went through four batteries by the end. I have a battery grip, but my follow focus on my rails couldn't reach the lenses. There has to be a simple solution--can someone point me in the right direction?
-Still a total noob. Follow focus is difficult (mine has significant wiggle room, which sucks) and framing is so simple but so damned confusing
Good times. Can't wait to do it again. Now for editing and sound.
killertofu
Member
Can anyone help me with the exporting from Final Cut Pro? I've finished a video and exported it as H.267, but there is a bit of artifacting that goes on. I followed the export dialog from Vimeo but...
killertofu
Member
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
Might be ADing a rock-climbing creature feature around Aus! Waiting on a call back to see if they can match my quote since it's a small budget feature.
Not really seeing too big of an issue with your screengrab, other than that it looks like a relatively low bitrate (do you mean the brown part of the car in the right of the frame?) Did you do single or multi-pass?
killertofu
Member
I'd either try upping the bitrate and/or doing multi-pass to see if that helps. I really don't like encoding H.264 out of Final Cut, never thought it looked the best it could be no matter what I did. If you have access to it, Adobe Media Encoder is quite good. What kind of camera is your source footage from?
killertofu
Member
Canon T2i
Try this out: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24173/x264encoder
It's usually what I use in Final Cut over the standard H.264 encoder.
It's usually what I use in Final Cut over the standard H.264 encoder.
Most of the time I first make a rough edit. After that I find a nice song/tune (if there is no dialogue) because it's important in my opinion and I want to edit the rest on the music. Anyways, after I find a nice piece of music after that I will edit it for real, add titles, time the shots etc. Colour grading and effects is always a final thing I do.
What I do most of the time is looking through all my footage in the beginning and place good shots on my timeline already so I don't have to find them again. I like it that way.
killertofu
Member
So here's my video from my trip to China... essentially my first attempt at this. Let me know what you guys think
Here's my first try at video editing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoyo8qulvDo
I'm just using a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 so the video quality is not the best, and youtube doesn't help either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoyo8qulvDo
I'm just using a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 so the video quality is not the best, and youtube doesn't help either.
And here's a video montage of a ski trip last week based on the awesome Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23L5t8mhk2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23L5t8mhk2M
Just got "How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck" from the library.
I guess I've been shooting video since... 2nd grade? and I was a film studies student. But gearing up on my cartoon/live action web show and I figured it would be good to brush up. Amazon reviews are very positive.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0761163239/?tag=neogaf0e-20
I guess I've been shooting video since... 2nd grade? and I was a film studies student. But gearing up on my cartoon/live action web show and I figured it would be good to brush up. Amazon reviews are very positive.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0761163239/?tag=neogaf0e-20
i created a separate intro and changed some small things in my camera reel, so here it is again for anyone that missed it the first time: https://vimeo.com/36003488
at Fabrik, i know editing is new for you so i'll try to be nice-- i couldn't watch the ski video for very long at all. the jumping back and forth was fine at the beginning, but it made me expect some kind of climax once the song picked up. there was nothing, just more back and forth. it became dizzying and i had to stop the video.
the purpose of editing is to help tell a story. what story were you trying to tell with the ski trip?
keep working at it, and try to take yourself out of the video. in other words, try to take an unbiased look at your video- is this something you would watch if you had nothing to do with the trip and didn't know the people in it?
viewers outside your family and friends weren't there to experience the day, we don't have the memories of "this is that part where so-and-so said blah-blah-blah and ended up getting whozawhatsit to yadda yadda." because we don't have the circumstances ad memory tied to various events within this skiing video, it makes it more difficult to get anything out of it.
does that make sense?
at Fabrik, i know editing is new for you so i'll try to be nice-- i couldn't watch the ski video for very long at all. the jumping back and forth was fine at the beginning, but it made me expect some kind of climax once the song picked up. there was nothing, just more back and forth. it became dizzying and i had to stop the video.
the purpose of editing is to help tell a story. what story were you trying to tell with the ski trip?
keep working at it, and try to take yourself out of the video. in other words, try to take an unbiased look at your video- is this something you would watch if you had nothing to do with the trip and didn't know the people in it?
viewers outside your family and friends weren't there to experience the day, we don't have the memories of "this is that part where so-and-so said blah-blah-blah and ended up getting whozawhatsit to yadda yadda." because we don't have the circumstances ad memory tied to various events within this skiing video, it makes it more difficult to get anything out of it.
does that make sense?
here's my guanajuato mexico vacation video. no dslr here, used my tiny $160 sanyo xacti cg102.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGeJ2bxIJDg
what does gaf think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGeJ2bxIJDg
what does gaf think?
just clicked on the little video preview on that link, lots of great tips. i think the two best tips he gave are: "think in terms of photography instead of video." so many people abuse the zoom function on their camera or just run around spamming whatever it is they're trying to shoot. thinking in terms of individual shots is a great tip. and since you have a photography background, i'm sure this won't be a difficult thing to grasp.
his other tip that i liked was something about the length of the video. take how long you think it should be and cut it by 2/3rd's. love it.
@Fabrik, take a look at the link i posted. he gives a lot of great tips in just his 3-minute video.
Anton Sugar
Member
Might have to check this out. I ordered this Lighting/Sound for Film and Television 4-DVD Bundle a bit ago by recommendation of the DVX User forums, and it was a huge help in just understanding the basics of lighting setups. I got a lot of info out of it, but I gotta say, I just did not like the "looks" that they came up with for their examples of good lighting. It all looked very cheaply produced...Maybe produced is the wrong word (though they use a low res backdrop/green screen throughout the entire thing), but their style just did not look good, IMO.
Still very worth it.
no comments?
IC_Champion
Member
Thanks!
Calibrated Chaos
Member
New York GAF!
This friday my production company is hosting our monthly Short Film Night at the Producers Club in Hell's Kitchen. We have a slate of short films from NYC filmmakers (and elsewhere). I think we have 4 Q&A's accompanying four of the films. Tickets are $5 and after we usually hang out in the bar/lounge downstairs from the theater (beers are $4/5).
The Producers Club is at 44th & 9th. We start showing films at 8:30 (should show up at 8).
It's a fun night and good a networking experience if you're a filmmaker.
***Only note we may sell out so come early if possible. If I have to kick some crew/actors out of their seats, I will
This friday my production company is hosting our monthly Short Film Night at the Producers Club in Hell's Kitchen. We have a slate of short films from NYC filmmakers (and elsewhere). I think we have 4 Q&A's accompanying four of the films. Tickets are $5 and after we usually hang out in the bar/lounge downstairs from the theater (beers are $4/5).
The Producers Club is at 44th & 9th. We start showing films at 8:30 (should show up at 8).
It's a fun night and good a networking experience if you're a filmmaker.
***Only note we may sell out so come early if possible. If I have to kick some crew/actors out of their seats, I will
If I'm coming into the video production/editing industry now, would it be more prudent to learn Final Cut Pro X or 7? I'm well aware FCP is more or less the industry standard (ahead of Avid, right?), but that X redesigned things heavily to mirror iMovie (which is the only editing software I've ever really used).
I'm concerned that most production companies will still be using 7 for years to come, and that it'd be more prudent to educate myself with 7's interface.
I'm concerned that most production companies will still be using 7 for years to come, and that it'd be more prudent to educate myself with 7's interface.
A lot of people switched to Avid after FCPX came out (even some top schools). The TV side of the industry is all Avid.
Filmmaking-wise, FCP7 and Premiere Pro are still used I think, but Avid is also very popular.
FCPX is getting better, especially with the recent updates, but Apple really burned a lot of people with it. A lot of independent/freelance editors I know switched to Premiere. It's improved a ton and their Mercury Playback Engine is the shit.
Filmmaking-wise, FCP7 and Premiere Pro are still used I think, but Avid is also very popular.
FCPX is getting better, especially with the recent updates, but Apple really burned a lot of people with it. A lot of independent/freelance editors I know switched to Premiere. It's improved a ton and their Mercury Playback Engine is the shit.
Anton Sugar
Member
I have an interesting request: our short is sort of parodying old spaghetti westerns, ADR and all. We just did the ADR this past weekend, but I really want to get it sounding "bad", as in, old. See this clip from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAULUqmwN04
We have very little experience with audio--our most experienced guys have usually gotten someone else to do audio, but going DELIBERATELY for bad ADR is something I haven't found much info on. Any ideas?
We have very little experience with audio--our most experienced guys have usually gotten someone else to do audio, but going DELIBERATELY for bad ADR is something I haven't found much info on. Any ideas?
Ash Sparrow
Banned
Nice music choice. I really think you did a good job here.
i watched it when you posted and forgot to say something about it. i liked it. i didn't like the warping effect caused by the motion stabilizer, and there were a couple shots that felt out of place, i think they were rack focuses and maybe the night shots. the rack focuses because there was more than one, the night shots because there weren't enough. otherwise, i thought it was great.
thanks for the response. yeah, i was using a $160 mini hd cam. the sensor on this thing is tiny so night and indoor shots are terrible. so some of the usable night shots, i really wanted to use but didn't have much to work with so i used some defocus scenes.
yeah, the stabilized scene was shot shitting in the back of a taxi cab. it was extremely shaky before the post processing.
Well GAF here is a Showreel of my works:
http://vimeo.com/37490730
Still relatively new to the game and learning (with just an year's worth of experience). Some of the stuff was shot with crappy digi cams, iphone4s, bulky video cams and lastly most of it (that made the cut) with my Canon 600D. If you look back a few pages ago, I've only had it for a few months!
I'd love some constructive criticism and ideas of what works and what doesn't. Definitely want to edit down to just a minute if possible.
http://vimeo.com/37490730
Still relatively new to the game and learning (with just an year's worth of experience). Some of the stuff was shot with crappy digi cams, iphone4s, bulky video cams and lastly most of it (that made the cut) with my Canon 600D. If you look back a few pages ago, I've only had it for a few months!
I'd love some constructive criticism and ideas of what works and what doesn't. Definitely want to edit down to just a minute if possible.
When I read the bolded, I thought "this is gonna be tough to watch" but then I was pleasantly surprised. Some really really nice shots in there, man.
H.264 is great.
sans_pants
avec_pénis
mess around with audio filters in whatever software you use. hi pass and lo pass.
Eight Diagram Bat Fighter
Banned
Battersea Power Station
Member
I love this clip from Key and Peele:
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=408173&title=keypeele-movie-hecklers
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=408173&title=keypeele-movie-hecklers
killertofu
Member
Does anyone here have a Mark II and a T2i? I just bought a Mark II and it seems like it's noiser than my T2i
Got mine today:
It is glorious.
:O