Berry Critique
- Thread starter WarBird Dude
- Start date
NEWSSHOOTER3
Well-known member
Fun
Let me start by saying that I'm from, just up the road, Niles. Born and raised there...
Anyway, just off the top of my head, it was okay. Your shots were steady and, for the most part, pretty well composed. However, there were, in my opinion, some l o n g awkward pauses along the way, with just wind blowing by. Were those supposed to be nats, or just pauses? It kind of disrupted the flow, I thought. Also, the last shot, given what you had, should have been the "bonkers" shot, walking out of frame. Although, I'm glad you didn't end on "lip flap". Also, I was a little confused, 1/3 in, when she was talking over video, then she was really talking... I guess, in the end, its a jump cut...
But, at the end of the day, it was a pretty good effort, and I'm probably nit-picking (no pun intended) and others may disagree. Out of curiosity, how many video essays have you done? In any case, keep up the good work and be good to my peeps north of the border!
Let me start by saying that I'm from, just up the road, Niles. Born and raised there...
Anyway, just off the top of my head, it was okay. Your shots were steady and, for the most part, pretty well composed. However, there were, in my opinion, some l o n g awkward pauses along the way, with just wind blowing by. Were those supposed to be nats, or just pauses? It kind of disrupted the flow, I thought. Also, the last shot, given what you had, should have been the "bonkers" shot, walking out of frame. Although, I'm glad you didn't end on "lip flap". Also, I was a little confused, 1/3 in, when she was talking over video, then she was really talking... I guess, in the end, its a jump cut...
But, at the end of the day, it was a pretty good effort, and I'm probably nit-picking (no pun intended) and others may disagree. Out of curiosity, how many video essays have you done? In any case, keep up the good work and be good to my peeps north of the border!
WarBird Dude
Well-known member
Thanks for the critique NewsShooter. I've done quite a few video essays. If I can find a good way to post some more I will. The company frowns on YouTube so I need to be stealthy. That was a fun one for me -- I'd been waiting many years for the right time-right place combo. Usually the assignment desk just throws those stories to the OMB's for the usual treatment.
Thanks again for the input~!
WarBird
Thanks again for the input~!
WarBird
Corporate Management
Well-known member
Yeah, what he said...
Nat sound packs are always tricky, and something like that doesn't provide a lot of opportunities. Leaves rustling as the berries are picked, berries being dropped in the basket, and...umm...
At least in my opinion, silence is our arch-nemesis. This is true for a typical package with a track, and doubly true for a nat sound package. With a reporter track, it's broken apart with bites. With what you did, it has to be broken apart with nat pops or bites from someone else. The pacing of the editing has to be spot-on...half a second of dead space brings the momentum to a halt.
I did like what you got out of the guy, and I probably would have started with him. I don't know who he was, but if he owned the farm, maybe some bites about the farm itself or strawberries in general would have helped. Something slightly more informational from him, broken apart with some goofy stuff from the mom and kids might have made it flow a little better. I also would have closed with that shot of them walking out of frame, or the one you used...not both. It was like the story ended twice.
All that being said, you did have some nice shots in there, and I hope no one is discouraging you. I'm far from being perfect myself; looking back at something I did a year or six months ago makes me cringe in some places.
As for the company frowning on youtube, have you asked them about posting videos just on here? I don't see how they could object, if you tell them you're doing so to get feedback from other photographers. They should encourage you for taking initiative to improve like that. Anyway, keep it up!
Nat sound packs are always tricky, and something like that doesn't provide a lot of opportunities. Leaves rustling as the berries are picked, berries being dropped in the basket, and...umm...
At least in my opinion, silence is our arch-nemesis. This is true for a typical package with a track, and doubly true for a nat sound package. With a reporter track, it's broken apart with bites. With what you did, it has to be broken apart with nat pops or bites from someone else. The pacing of the editing has to be spot-on...half a second of dead space brings the momentum to a halt.
I did like what you got out of the guy, and I probably would have started with him. I don't know who he was, but if he owned the farm, maybe some bites about the farm itself or strawberries in general would have helped. Something slightly more informational from him, broken apart with some goofy stuff from the mom and kids might have made it flow a little better. I also would have closed with that shot of them walking out of frame, or the one you used...not both. It was like the story ended twice.
All that being said, you did have some nice shots in there, and I hope no one is discouraging you. I'm far from being perfect myself; looking back at something I did a year or six months ago makes me cringe in some places.
As for the company frowning on youtube, have you asked them about posting videos just on here? I don't see how they could object, if you tell them you're doing so to get feedback from other photographers. They should encourage you for taking initiative to improve like that. Anyway, keep it up!
Nice job! Few pointers... I thought you could've smoothed out your audio in some places when you butted sound bytes together. Try to keep your cuts as seemless as possible so the edits aren't even noticeable. Great job getting in there to collect the sound. I agree that the awkward pauses weren't doing much for the piece but slowing you down. It seemed to get a little long? I didn't think the little kid leaving with his mom saying "apple pie" did much for you. It was cute, but they were halfway out of the shot most of the time, so I was just left looking at 2 SUVs. And I think the mic was on the mom and he was a little hard to hear.
But keep doing photo essays... it's a great way to sharpen your skills and really own the story.
But keep doing photo essays... it's a great way to sharpen your skills and really own the story.