Feedback for small Project: "Perfect moments at Skiathos"

Some funky memories of autumn holiday 2012 (week 40), at Skiathos (Greece). I know family videos it's you're favorite, but I think you could give me a feedback for/ on how I have put it together, the color correction, and the use of effect. You need to music volume to get the funky part...

I love to get a solution for steady- and slide-cam, and I can see the need for more manually focus work, to get mot out of every situation.

Filmed with Panasonic SD900, edited in FCPX with various 3rd Party Effects.

Alright, we're all excited... your teaser worked... now.. how about posting the actual video link?

anticipation...

:woohoo: Sorry

:woohoo:

I loved it. Very enjoyable, couldn't help but smile all the way thru. Breathtaking locations, perfect music, beautiful family. Brilliant ending with your two little giggling turtles stuck in the sand. Thoroughly delightful.

Some interesting text effects as you began, I liked the line of script across the horizon. When we first see what looks like a rainbow coming down on the beach, perhaps it was a light leak, but it had the curvature of a rainbow. The very next shot of the rocks has the same rainbow, I'd lose it on that second rock shot. For the most part I'd say the light leaks worked well for the daylight scenes, the glare of the sunny locale fit with the theme. You could experiment a bit with lessening the opacity of some of the leaks. However, your night shots shouldn't have the exact same leaks. If you're afraid the shots will appear too bare after so many added effects earlier on, try some lens flares off those streetlights. Or perhaps you can experiment with some other night time effect, but the same light leaks which seem like they're sun induced suddenly appear incongruous at night.

Somewhere around the middle we have a couple of issues with pacing. Your funky music is bogged down by a few shots that are either ill-chosen or too long. Wife on vacation yet still looking grumpy... hey, I've been married, I understand that one. But little girl on boat looking miserable, that shot is too long by 3/4's. Then we have some long shots of shopping or slowly walking down hill, we're dragging here. There's a couple of other little places like that which are too mundane. When we pick back up to the quickened pace as you bring us down the hill past the stone wall, we're reconnected matching the music again. You could cheat some of those other shots in post by applying a bit of a slow zoom to the shot. I needed that when we're looking down to the people boarding the boat. Long static shots don't fit this tempo of soundtrack. Also not only the focal length of the shot but the duration. Throw in some cutaways, closeups & inserts. Then you can mix things up a bit to fit the tone. In fact, for this piece, apart from the long shot pans of scenery, I think you might add value by applying slow zooms either in or out, to almost every shot, even just an almost imperceptible 5%.

Speaking of inserts & cutaways... you've obviously developed an artistic eye for beauty. The framing of the scenery, etc. Although it's near impossible to take a bad shot in a paradise like that. The next eye to develop is for the small things. The gems most people overlook. The tiny little closeup shots you can insert in places. A drop of condensation sliding down a drink bottle sweating in the sun. A child's wet foot print evaporating off the pool deck, a little hand with sand trickling thru the fingers. The girl's hair or a ribbon from a dress dancing in the sea-breeze as they peer over the side of the boat. These are lovely little shots you can slip in here & there & even slowmo the wind-dance, sand or splash in the pool. (Which reminds me, loved the head surfacing in the sea at the ideal musical moment.) When you start to begin to notice these micro-shot opportunities you film a few seconds here & there, just banking them for later. Some of them might work, some not, but at least you have them. For instance, when you filmed the people walking up the gangplank to the ship, great artistic long shot, but how about when you walked it? Maybe a hand on the railing or pan along the side of the ramp as it diagonally bisects the frame, with all the feet going by. Or if you got there too late, how about your POV looking down as you walked it, water on either side? Always be ready for the little shots. Sure, most of them will be no good, but every now & then you catch something that's priceless. When you're looking for little shots, look for your own light effects too. Don't always rely on effects in post. How about if that water droplet on the bottle was backed by the sun or a reflection from the pool, offering a prismatic color-burst? When you're in those places, the sun is shining, you're surrounded by light, sea, glass, reflections, refractions & all kinds of dazzling real effects, just start looking, you'll find them. Those little shots are the finishing touches which make the big ones even better because they add the contrast art craves.

Nice work, Klaus. Thanks for sharing.

Hello, and thank you for a well written response. Good to hit the mark for once I like you´re "walk through" and I will continue to work to find new motives that can make these movies more interesting to watch for others.

In retrospect, I see that it would have been better to use the zoom in on more/ multiple clips, and work more for making it even more integrated whit the music.

You are a huge motivator - so thank you!!!

Happy to hear my words had a motivating effect, Klaus. We've also seen the opposite here. But like I always say, your attitude determines your altitude.

I've been thinking about your film since writing those remarks. There's another positive value the insert shots I described will add. We're not bound to the soundtrack, or a slave to the rhythm as Grace Jones said. So even in the midst of the upbeat tempo, the tender moment offers another contrast to the manic pace, a slight emotional respite from the action, humor, etc. With this in mind, you might want to experiment with setting the camera rolling so all 4 of you can be in a single shot, maybe arm in arm looking out over a scenic vista. Adding a slow zoom to that shot in post adds tremendous value. Or another unifying shot with universal appeal is the family round the table eating. The bonus of adding the slow zoom in post is that it has the incremental smoothness to imply expensive equipment & also the presences of an additional expert camera operator. An insert shot of an parent's hand on a child's shoulder or giving an ice-cream draws us in emotionally & is a nice contrast to the grumpy face. Another level of playful contrast could follow, where daughter dumps water on sunbathing dad, or splashes him in the pool. The more contrasts we can subtly juxtapose the more the viewer's interest is piqued. Another eye to develop beyond artistic beauty, tiny gems, lovely lights & magic moments, is that of textures. Some marvelous contrasts can be made with textures too.

You must be fully recharged after such a wonderful holiday. Looking forward to your next presentation.