Gold Rush

MikeW

Active member
Please take the time to look at my video here on B-Roll entitled "Gold Rush" and tell me what you think.

The best way for me to improve my skills is to learn from more expert B-rollers.

[b-rollTV]2316[/b-rollTV]
 
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AKinDC

Well-known member
In no apparent order...

Get a tripod, and use it!

I don't want to see microphones in the shot.

The music is painfully monotonous...don't leave it sitting there the whole time. Pick a few key points to use it at.

The pacing is way to slow...quicker bites, more edits, and a reporter that doesn't sound like she's in a coma would help.

Edit in sequences! Tight shot of pan, cut to wide shot of same panner, cut to tight of his eyes looking, for example. It'll be more interesting, and help the pacing. The tripod will help you get better, tighter shots.

The opening shot was a dull way to start...find some good video/nat sound to begin with...you can still use the guy's SOT over the video.

Write to video a bit better...there was one point you were talking about getting kids involved, and you cut to the old bearded guy.

You had a good selection of shots and an interesting subject matter here. With better pacing, tighter editing, shorter SOTs and a caffeinated reporter you can put together a good piece here.
 

goodfoot

Well-known member
I'll probably repeat much of AKinDC but there's some good advise there so here you go:

1.Tripod...bring it and use it! A tripod not only lets you get steady well framed shots, it lets you step a little away from the camera so even if you're by yourself the interview subjects are looking off camera and not right into the lens. With a tripod you can also get a variety of focal lengths. (wide, med, tight and extra tight) I noticed all of your shots here are the same focal length (with the zoom all the way out and the camera about 3-5 feet from the subject/object)

2. Start with great, compelling video or sound. Grab the viewers attention right off the bat. I try to start with nat sound or a sequence that brings the viewer into the location of the story I am telling. If it is really compelling or emotional I'll start with a soundbite but this is pretty rare. This type of story is perfect for using sound to set the scene with a ton of opportunities...swishing water, rocks, laughter, comments, or whatever else you hear out there.

3.I liked the music, you may want to ride the levels so it is down during interviews and nat sound

4.Don't have people hold their own mics for interviews, put a lav mic on them or hold it yourself. If you have no other option, have them hold it but frame it out of the shot. (it will still look awkward though)

5.Especially for feature work like this, I try to talk with people while they are doing whatever we are talking about. Maybe put a lav mic on him and have him talk about panning while he is doing it. You also could shoot the interview tight for a few questions, then wide for a bit and mix up your shots. (variety is important to keep things interesting)

6. Shoot in sequences. Wide, med, tight, extra tight. Since panning for gold is a repetitive action it is really easy to get a 10 second wide shot of panning, then move to get medium shots of the action, then tight shots of a pan, hands, eyes etc... Remember to make your wide shots really wide and your tight shots really tight, it makes the edit so much easier and the story more interesting.

7. I liked how you used some nat sound breaks of the panning

8.Great close up perspective showing the gold nuggets!

Hope some of this helps...

GOODFOOT
 

zac love

Well-known member
also as a general rule of thumb, try to get you (or whoever is conducting the interview) & the camera eye level with the people your interviewing

if they are standing up, get the camera up to their level & stand up (this can be hard w/ NBA players, so some times having a step ladder is a helpful tool).

if they are sitting down (a kid, or someone much shorter than you), lower the camera to their level & sit / crouch down to their position.

you have a good foundation, so keep up the hard work, watch award winning pieces & steal their techniques :)
 
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