Hi everyone. After many years out of the scene i have decided to get back into filming -albeit weddings for the time being. I have just finished putting together a montage of a wedding i filmed recently which i want to submit for advertising.
Many thanks.
Flame1....formely Flame.
Hi Flame.
I don't shoot wedding videos so can't really comment in comparison to others, but I think it was generally nicely shot and the use of slow-mo works well. However if I had to offer some constructive criticism I would suggest that it's a little too long, which combined with it being 100% black and white, I started to lose interest towards the end.
To explain my thoughts a bit more...
1) You've obviously edited it to fit in with the entire piece of music. Philistine that I am, it's a bit repetitive and slow. But repetitive music is quite easy to edit down! If you could cut a minute or so from the running time I think it will hold people's attention a bit more.
2) At first I loved the black and white - a nice way to introduce the film. But wedding days have colour abounding so it's a shame not to make use of it in your trailer.
3) I noticed a few shots were letterboxed, while most of the film was 4:3. I would try and achieve consistency here, by either letterboxing the whole film, or zooming slightly the widescreen footage (my preference is making it all widescreen).
4) Finally, as it's for advertising add some contact details and your website to the end of the film (and possibly the beginning), just in case people see it and you're not there to tell them in person.
Hope that helps,
Christian
Hi Christian,
Thankyou very much for your comments and for taking the time to review my work.
I am glad you picked up on the letterboxing issue! that will prompt me now to make it all letterboxed.
Its going on a site which will already have all my details so should be ok like this.
Yes i agree about the b+w but unfortunately it would mean doing the montage all over again to make it colour or mixed....don't ask!!!
As for length i see what i can do, but would also appreciate any other feedback.
Many thanks again
Flame1
Well thanks for all your opinions!...maybe hindsight should have said it was probably not the best place to put it up for review!lol
Flame:)
Flame, Ive just gone in to have a look at your website and noticed you've removed the link.
Sometimes we are a bit slow on here but eventualy the ball starts rolling and you do get lots of valuable advice from other members.
Link added again!
Thanks for putting the link back up again.
Overall I thought it was excellent and the use of slo mo fits well with that piece of Music.
Some nice use of the shots of instruments playing , particularly the close up of the violin playing which at first glance seems to play in time with the music.
You seem to use a crossover fade between every if not most clips which I found a bit repetitive and I might have used a mixture of crossover and straight cuts . The music with its strong rhythm would lend itself nicely to being cut to the beat.
However those are all matters of taste and we could debate those for hours.
All in all though IMHO a very good piece of work.
BTW how did you get your opening logo done? very impressive
Hi David,
Thank you for your comments....yes i do get carried away a bit by the crossfades! so good point!
The logo at the beginning was taken from last months digital video magazine in the royalty free clips section! At least i think it was digital video!!!
Many thanks again.
Flame:)
Nice work, and I know how long such a compilation can take. I liked the slo-mo but it made the normal speed dressing scene look out of place. I liked the long slow dissolves too, but for me the over-exposure within each dissolve was too much. I realise of course that you may well have wanted that effect, so why was there a straight cut included? It seemed out of place somehow.
I liked your camera movements too, though the cork-popping and the very last scene show 'jerks' that needn't be included in a highlights session. I liked the vast number of scenes too, and the very short ones are just fine.
Didn't like the auto exposure use and the Dutch tilts were ok till you got to the end and held the wonky building too long. Liked your focus pulls - well done.
So a couple that can afford your services comes home from honeymoon and watches your DVD on a 4:3 telly? Not likely, is it? But well done lad. See me.
tom.
Hi Tom,
Yes i guess i wanted that effect in th dissolves ...rightly or wrongly. That cork popping scene has been playing on my mind ever since i put it in there...so yes i am glad you pointed this out to me also.
I have only now just purchased a couple of fx1's with beachtek box...some rode...sennheiser mics....and unfortunately this was shot on a canon xm1! without widescreen, so that will be rectified....just hope it does not detract too much.
Thankyou Tom.
Flame.
Hi Flame,
I would firstly just say that you have to be a bit patient if you are asking people to give their opinions. Many of us are working hard on our own businesses and although we are happy to give feedback this usually only happens when we have the time ourselves....
My own personal feelings were that this was too slow, too long and not the best advert for wedding films. I turned it off after 2 minutes. Now I hold my hands up and say that I am definitely specific about what I think makes a great film (pace, life, vigour and excitement), and I am biased in that respect, however I also believe that there are many clients out there who feel the same way (as there are clients who want the same kind of film you are producing) - so please take this criticism in that light.
I think your film needs ambient sound from the people on the day - they are, after all, the key characters and this film is about them. Why exclude sound if you have the capability to include that? Surely that is what the photographer does? Some good shots although I felt that on occasions her face was blacked out in favour of the bridal dress, probably an auto exposure problem. We all have them but when I critique our own films this is one thing I am starting to really dislike and notice - despite the fact that Joe Public in general will not.
I didn't feel the energy of the day. To me it felt a bit too 'American' - sanitised, romanticised and trying too hard to make the day an epic rather than be true to the people and situation on the day.
As I said, I am specific in my thoughts on wedding films, and althought I thought yours was generally watchable, it wasn't for me, and therefore as a promotional film there will be a selection of the population who will feel the same. How big that section is will decide whether you or I have the more successful business in the long run.
I hope it all goes well for you.
Jeremy
Many thanks for your input Jeremy, and i accept your opinion. However i wanted this to be romantic and as a montage i did not want to include snippets of speech!
This is also just one example of my work....and also only a small insight into yhe day! i have many examples which are vibrant and full of life and may chose to use those examples in the film itself as opposed to the montage. I can adapt if need be and i think it is good to be flexible so, yes many may not like this, but as you say...there are those that will.
I think its a shame that you did not see it through to the end before commenting, but thats the way it is.
Many thanks.
Flame
Flame,
My comments were all based on the premise that you were going to use this as your promotional film - as suggested in your intial post. As an individual film I think this will work better - but as promotion as I said it seemed a bit slow for me.
You are right that it is a shame I didn't watch it all through - I feel the same about our films if someone turns off. The question I then need to ask is why did they turn it off - and do I care? That then becomes the difference between your business and ours, which is a good thing.
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
Sure i care! You did say you were biased and specific.
I aim to be one of the best in this field and am always open to constructive critism.
In my first week of advetising on a popular website i have had 5 enquiries and 2 bookings.
I am very pleased with this!
BTW, i just saw your website...i have done similar work....so not bad!
Cheers
Flame
Flame, can I suggest you look at your own website in something OTHER than Explorer on a PC - like Firefox on a PC (or heaven forbid: Safari, Firefox or Explorer on a Mac) for example. All your keywords and metatags are showing.
(Just trying to help!)
Hi Mooblie,
Just downloading firefox now.....Thank you...will look into it
Flame
Hi Mooblie,
Thanks again...hopefully should be sorted now...how odd!!!:o :D :eek:
Cheers....Flame
Mooblie,
Just seen your website and one of your clips and loved it! i think its excellent.
Cheers,
Flame
Hi Flame,
I really liked your camera movement and your style of shooting, and would love to see that footage edited to a modern song and cut to the beat. As others have said it started to feel a touch too long towards the end and that was I think largely down to the music.
I too cut out pretty much all the ambient sound as i feel it is often a mess and detracts from the video. however that is my style and is a completely subjective matter as there will be many B&Gs who don't like my Videos (and hopefully many who do) and that is why it is so good to see such a wide range in the market.
As Jeremy said I too have strong ideas about what makes a good wedding video and they differ from others; I think that is important for all wedding videographers to have this, as it ensures that they develop their own individual style and drives this market forward.
Good luck
JP
Sometimes we are a bit slow on here but eventualy the ball starts rolling and you do get lots of valuable advice from other members.
What did I tell you :)
What I love about thsi Board is the fact that some of the country's leading exponents of our art are prepared to take time out to review us novices work and give some constructive criticism. I think we all learn from it and hopefully the standard in the industry keeps improving which can only be a good thing
Hi Lusky,
Thank you for your comments, and i do agree with what you say. I also believe there are times when speech included is great and times when music on its own is appropriate(my opinion). I guess its about being able to adapt and not be too rigid.
We all have out own style and there are many times i have seen a video and although i personally would not take the same approach, i can still appreciate the creative style of that person.
Like you said, many may not like this approach, but in the 10 or so years i have been filming weddings i can honestly say no one has ever told me they wished they had more vocal sound. Maybe because when viewing the whole video there is a balance between both music and speech.
Maybe this should be a new thread..........:D
Cheers,
Flame