Round 1: General Critiques

Chicago Dog

Well-known member
Now that the first round of the B-Roll.net Awards is over, I thought I'd start a discussion about the stories that didn't make it to Round 2.

To those who were eliminated: as I said in another thread, hats off to you. You may not have made it into the next round, but there's something to be said about a willingness to put yourselves "out there." Personally, I felt very reassured about the state of photojournalism when Kev announced there were over 400 entries into the contest. Striving to improve our profession is something that keeps it from dying. Kudos!

To those who critiqued others: first and foremost: this is a learning experience. Entrants that didn't make it to Round 2 are probably wondering why. We're all pretty thick-skinned, but that doesn't mean the limits need to be tested. In a nutshell: keep the criticism constructive.
:)

Finally, this is not an NPPA contest, but folks might have an opinion or preference about something they learned from the NPPA. Deal with it! I don't want to see such a great opportunity descend into a thread filled with bashing and acronym overuse. Most importantly, this is our opportunity to right whatever wrongs we've complained about. With the emergence of this contest, the time for talk has come to an end.

That said, I'll kick it off:

Effort - Most of the packages that I judged showed effort in one form or another. I could tell that a lot of stories were shot by photogs who were striving to create their own shooting style. Some of their attempts worked, others did not. Trial-and-error leads a photog to their own established style, nothing else. A good shooter isn't "born" with the ability to shoot great stories; they learn and make mistakes just like everyone else. Some might make fewer mistakes than others. In the long run, though, that doesn't mean a whole lot.

I'll preface the rest of this general critique with this: I don't really like thinking of our creativity as being defined by "rules." Having a set of rules inhibits your ability to try working in a different way. There's no reason to constantly refer to a set of your tricks as "rules," and that's because you so often want the opportunity to work outside of them.

Rules create needless barriers. Barriers can potentially keep a newbie photog boxed in, worried about trying something new in fear of breaking some stupid rule.

The Overall Sequence - I like stories that have a beginning, middle, and end. Albeit, some stories (breaking news, for example) might not have a chance to use that idea. However, you are assembling a story. Like any story, it should have all the right components.

A few stories didn't have any real direction. I think there's a few issues that reach the root of this problem. First, communication between you and your reporter. It never hurts to suggest how the story should be put together. You're part of a team, not just the guy who totes around thousands of dollars worth of equipment. When the teammates talk to each other, a lot more can get done -- and in a more interesting way.

Your cohort might appreciate the fact that you're thinking like you are. It's easy for anyone to get bogged down by facts; be the anchor that helps keep the ship in the here-and-now. You're a visual storyteller, not a scrapbooker for random images.

Nat Sound - it brings a story to life. Nats doesn't have to be just a chainsaw, opening door, click of the mouse, or punch of the keyboard. Nats can come from a guy you mic'd up and followed around for your story.

Nat breaks are great little tricks used to break up the monotony of a long sound bite. You don't need to break up every long sound bite you come across; some are left better to breathe on their own.

However, in the contest, I noticed a number of missed nat sound opportunities. I expected to hear some great, quick clips in natural pauses in tracks. Unfortunately, a lot of great opportunities were ruined by the reporter's track. Look for nat opportunities in everything you shoot! Snapping the viewer's attention back to the story every once in a while is a great way to keep them from getting sucked in by a monotonous reporter track.

Pacing - It's tricky. You don't want to constantly shutter through ten images in a few seconds during a sad story or some sort of memoir. Likewise, you don't want to leave one stagnant shot up for ten seconds during a story with lots and lots of action. Many stories you'll edit will have a "rhythmic" feel and flow to them.

That said, a few stories I watched felt natural. Some did not. One of the problems I noticed was indecisiveness. Sure, you've got a lot of great shots, but that doesn't mean you need to cram them all into a two-minute piece. Let the beautiful shots breathe. Use your less-favorite shots in the quick pops and sequences. You like them, but you don't care for them as much as your favorite shots, so why should you give the viewer more time to watch the mundane? Stay away from cramming just to fit everything you love into your story.

Hell, your unused shots might make sense in a later package. Remember how you snagged that shot, remember what could've made it just a little better, and toss it into your bag of tricks. There you have it: trial-and-error at work.

Finally (for this installment, at least), Reporter Stand-Ups - it was probably my biggest complaint. The category itself had some very worthwhile stand-ups, but 95% of the stories I watched had stand-ups that just didn't add a damn thing. In fact, I would've rather seen what the reporter was talking about instead of watching the reporter walk around and gesture.

True, we don't have a lot of control over a reporter that insists on putting themselves in the story. However, we do have a great deal of control over what the stand-up looks like. Keep the reporter involved! If they want to rattle off a bunch of facts, ask them why. What's the point? Why not show something instead of tracking idle video directly into the camera?

Keep it visual, folks!

Like I said: if you didn't make it to Round 2, you deserve a pat on the back for your attempt and your willingness to learn.
 

Todd Rogenthien

Well-known member
My only critique at this tmie is this; the best line of any package in the contest was "come one folks, that's a lot of money for a fart."

Maybe I'm 12, maybe it was the delivery. I don't know, but that was a bullseye.
 

Todd Rogenthien

Well-known member
I was very impressed with the in-depth category. It was very strong top to bottom. It's encouraging to see stations commit time and resources to telling stories like those. From the bus safety story to the prison rodeo story, both ends of the spectrum were inspiring. I'm glad Kevin gives us all an outlet like this, not only to learn, but to measure our own work against others, and when we see ourselves fall short, inspire us to reach higher the next time around.
 

Latin Lens

Well-known member
Sorry for MY delayed response, but got busy shooting sweeps stuff.

Anyways...my comments on the first round of voting reflects the true nature of this business...the good ones move on. I am pleased to have seen so many entries and alot of newbies laying on the line. You have to do that to get better. Keeping your ego in check and opening yourself to criticism is very important and humbling.

With that said...I felt that many stories were poor to just average....and thats because of many reasons....video was very wallpapery...reporter not writing better...photog not shooting better....no nats or didn't use nats effectively....so the good ones got through.

Now the good ones are good...very solid and should be there...but now they need something other than just the good shooting to make it great....whats the angle...whats the hook...whats the story...and there are some goods in there....very interesting stories out there...and I am a better person/photog for having viewed them.

Sorry if this sounds harsh to those that lost in the first round but its important to understand why and learn from it and get better if thats truly what you want to do....learn, learn, learn. Find ways of getting creative by watching and asking...especially here...you will find a wide range of why we do and don't do things in our stories.

Post frequently in the critiques section....so you can apply and get better. There have been two photogs that I have seen significantly improve by posting here. It helps and works. There is sooooo much to learn other than just pressing a button on the camera to make it record...it goes beyond that.....learning to pace or keep a particular style fluid throughout a piece is another important step to learn. But you gotta want it...how bad depends on you.
 

SeattleShooter

Well-known member
One quick comment...

I think I am going to throw out my wide angle lens for how much I saw people over use it! That is all I will say now.
 

SeattleShooter

Well-known member
oh...here is my tip,

if you are using a fish eye/wide eye and you have those black edges/ring, zoom in a tad and use your macro more to get rid of it. I am not a fan of seeing the black ring. And DONT OVER USE IT not to mention using it right.
 

Wutangmaster

Well-known member
WIDE EYE

You are right, you do need to take off the UV lens to use the wide eye, but with that said..... That's all I use, I think is the best example of the human eye you can have. I think a wide angle or fish eye gives you the depth that you get with your eyes. It makes the shot stand out a bit better. It also makes you zoom with your feet and not the lens (if you don't have a zoom), it also allows you to get closer to your story and get better nat sound for the story.

I encourage and support the use of the wide eye, keep using them boys and girls you have a friend in me.....lol
 

tog14

Member
gotta agree with the wide eye complaints, i don't mind the shots of the wide eye as much as i hate seeing the black edges on the corners. it's also hard to watch wide eye shots cut one right after another, wide to wide to wide doesn't really work unless its following action or over the shoulder movement, 3 static wide shots in a row with varying levels of dark edges very distracting. i don't hate the wide eye i have one myself, but use it in moderation. a lot of nicely framed long lense shots mixed with good tight shots, and a COUPLE beautiful scene setters with the wide eye that are up long enough to breathe will go a long way.

nit picky complaint number two, what happened to telling me a story in general and spot news situations, creative writing doesn't just apply to features and in depth pieces. i watched way do many general and spot news stories that started "just after 2pm the fire started, the first shot of the package is the buring house, and every track is a useless, 'as helicopters dropped water from above, firefighters continued to fight the blaze from the ground." that's boring writing. i ranked stories a lot lower when judging for that reason alone. those stories could have some great video and editing, but the actual story as a whole suffered due to lazy writing. the stories that were better written ranked higher in my book because they kept my interest, i know this is a photog website but aren't we ranking the stories on the story alone. the best story should win, the story best told, shot, and edited as a whole, not just the best video and the editing of that video. it's hard to separate those things at times, but usually the winning piece comes together for a reason and it's obvious why it won.

number three, a lot of issues with 16 by 9 video. i saw a lot of very tall and skinny people, which i wouldn't knock any points off for in a competition, but something needs to be done to make sure all the stories posted are posted in the correct aspect ratio.

that is all, good luck to all.

p.s.
one of my favorite stories so far, the llama caddy, it's in the sports category, something about llamas that is very funny to me. nicely written, it had the right sarcastic tone and dispite the stories title the photog did a nice job with the llama reveal. just funny shots of llamas i loved it, very unique.
 

SeattleShooter

Well-known member
Tog14 said it right about the wide eye. Use it but not every shot. I don't care if it "looks like a human eye" and so that's why it should be used. First off, I did not know you could see the curve of the earth with your eyes and cars bend and change shape when they drive past your eye. If you want to say that using a wide eye looks like your normal eyes, then never zoom, always pan left and right and tilt up and down a lot, stay at one corner during a fire (because that's what almost every spectator at a fire does) and don't have a camera 30 yards away during an interview, because you cannot hear them with your normal ears.

One last thing, if you do not know about the variations in wide angle lenses, some are more pronounced then others and having the UV filter on or off is not going to change a thing about the black edges. Some are so wide that it is showing the case that's holding in the wide angle lens. And ShootingStacks, if you are saying that you took off the UV filter and the problem was solved, then why is your entire story covered it wide angel shots with big ol black edges around it? I though you solved the problem by taking off the UV filter? I am not trying to be rude, but I find that so hard to see in a great story. And it was a great story. But 18 times you used your wide angle lens in your story. You even had wide angle shots without the use of your wide eye. Again, I am not picking on you and I think you had some great shots in your story...but don't you find it jarring to have a wide angle shot with a big think black ring around your image and then cut to a med shot where the black line is gone only to cut back to a wide with a big black think line.

I use wide angle lenses. I love them, but I try not to over use them and I try and use them the right way. Not back to back to back.
 
Wouldn't you know it, the first day I had my Wide Eye, and I was shooting Llama Caddy's. So like I said before, I have fixed the black edge look by taking the UV filter off and don't use it as much. I think I just got caught up in the moment of owning the damn thing. Anyway, I hope this helps Pete! Thanks for the criticism.
 

couryhouse

Well-known member
yea or zoom the image in post to get rid of the ring

yea or zoom the image in post to get rid of the ring

oh...here is my tip,

if you are using a fish eye/wide eye and you have those black edges/ring, zoom in a tad and use your macro more to get rid of it. I am not a fan of seeing the black ring. And DONT OVER USE IT not to mention using it right.
 
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