I'd love some opinions and critisiscm on the video I made of my travels to Beijing, China.

[RubenBoerstoel]

Dear Filmnerds and camera freaks! 

 

Recently I have been on a trip to China, where I shot a video for a school project. It's called; Welcome to, Beijing. I would just love to hear you opinions on the video and some critisiscm would be nice. You can see the video here! 

 

I love honest opinions on all the things I can do better.  

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Ruben Boerstoel.

[Arty]

3 minutes ago, RubenBoerstoel said:

I would just love to hear you opinions on the video and some critisiscm would be nice.

For this reason yes.

[RubenBoerstoel]

Just now, Arty said:

For this reason yes.

Okay great, should I now make a new post or just post it here? Seems a bit weird to post it here since the Title isn't quite correct haha.

[LtStaffel]

Just now, RubenBoerstoel said:

Okay great, should I now make a new post or just post it here? Seems a bit weird to post it here since the Title isn't quite correct haha.

Edit the title

[RubenBoerstoel]

Just now, LtStaffel said:

Edit the title

Haha wow, of course. It's almost 2 PM here. I thank you sir!

[ALwin]

9 hours ago, RubenBoerstoel said:

snip

I've watched it and it's a bit perplexing.  Did you film this for the sake of just making a travel log of your trip or was it for the purpose of creating a film?

 

If it was for the purpose of just making a travel log so you can show your family, friends, etc. where you went, what you did then the video is OK.

 

But if it was for the sake of filming, while there will be differences in our creative ideas regarding things like color, camera movement, composition, etc. these are the things I would improve upon IF I were the one filming and editing:

• I might play around with color correction and grading, as different looks/styles can change the mood of the video.
• There are scenes where I might do focus pulling differently.
• There are scenes where I might use something like a gimbal to have better smooth panning and other camera movements.
• I might use filters (if the camera's dynamic range is limited) to capture a better exposure for scenes where there is a big dynamic range difference between highlights and blacks.

But again I repeat, these are things that I would do if I were filming.  You and I are not the same person, our creative ideas and visions will definitely be different so there will be differences in how I would do things to how you would do things.

 

Another thing I might do is tell a story using the video.  The story does not have to be told using words, instead using imagery.

 

Currently your video reminds me of a Ron Fricke film, like a scene from Koyaanisqatsi or Baraka.

 

Finally, it's a nice video.  I haven't been to China yet and I would love to get a chance to film there.

[RubenBoerstoel]

2 hours ago, ALwin said:

• I might play around with color correction and grading, as different looks/styles can change the mood of the video.
• There are scenes where I might do focus pulling differently.
• There are scenes where I might use something like a gimbal to have better smooth panning and other camera movements.
• I might use filters (if the camera's dynamic range is limited) to capture a better exposure for scenes where there is a big dynamic range difference between highlights and blacks.

But again I repeat, these are things that I would do if I were filming.  You and I are not the same person, our creative ideas and visions will definitely be different so there will be differences in how I would do things to how you would do things.

 

Another thing I might do is tell a story using the video.  The story does not have to be told using words, instead using imagery.

 

Currently your video reminds me of a Ron Fricke film, like a scene from Koyaanisqatsi or Baraka.

 

Finally, it's a nice video.  I haven't been to China yet and I would love to get a chance to film there.

Okay, thanks for your message. To fill you in, this was indead made as a sort of a film. But more for my personal work and for school. As I haven't said yet I'm a third year student and the equiptment I had with me all came from school. 

 

Color grading: I agree, could have been done better.

Focus pulling: In what way differently?

Movements: There's the problem, we don't have stuff like that at our school and I didn't have time left to rent one.

Filters: Also, we don't have all of that which is really sad actually. 

 

I don't really know if you see Ron Frickle as a compliment or not but thanks anyway haha! The reason why I am also is asking is because next year I am going to Shanghai to do that same, so I will take this advise with me there!

 

Thanks for the tips! 

[ALwin]

20 minutes ago, RubenBoerstoel said:

snip

Ron Fricke was a compliment.  If you haven't seen his films, go watch them.  More accurately I should've said your video looks like a rough cut of a scene from a Ron Fricke film.

 

Filters, you can always buy lens mounted filters but for ND gradients it is always better to use slot in filters.  Though as you said, this is indeed an investment.  What camera were you using anyway?

 

For the focus pulling, I might try for slower smoother focus pulling.  In some scenes your focus pulling was a bit abrupt.

 

Even a simple tripod helps in making movements smoother.

[Dimwitted]

Lots of pretty pictures.

 

Ok, now for some harshness. The constant cutting and abrupt transitions is tiring. Without context there's very little to work with. You need a story. Did that kid in the yellow snowsuit show up in any other footage? Could use him/her as a focus. The background music has a definite beat. Why not use that for the transitions if you're going to change? It would make the change feel more organic. In the Great Wall segment it starts to fail halfway through because of sameness. I would have used an insert to show where you are in each segment (Google maps?) to allow for some continuity.

 

Sure, colour grading can be done in post but the footage is what you have. What you need is some quality editing time to bring out your film instead of having a glorified home movie.

 

Good luck.

[ALwin]

4 minutes ago, Dimwitted said:

The constant cutting and abrupt transitions is tiring. Without context there's very little to work with. You need a story.

Agreed, a story or narrative is essential if you are filming for the sake of creating a film.  As I said, the story/narrative doesn't have to be vocalised, it can be told via imagery such as the Qatsi series by Ron Fricke. At the moment watching your video looks more like a film student's home video.

[RubenBoerstoel]

1 hour ago, ALwin said:

Ron Fricke was a compliment.  If you haven't seen his films, go watch them.  More accurately I should've said your video looks like a rough cut of a scene from a Ron Fricke film.

 

Filters, you can always buy lens mounted filters but for ND gradients it is always better to use slot in filters.  Though as you said, this is indeed an investment.  What camera were you using anyway?

 

For the focus pulling, I might try for slower smoother focus pulling.  In some scenes your focus pulling was a bit abrupt.

 

Even a simple tripod helps in making movements smoother

Allright, thanks! I will watch them, even a rought cut sounds good. I checked him out on IMDB quickly. True, it's an investment but I do believe it's worth it. I used a Nikon D800 with a 24/70mm lens. I agree the focus puls on some points were really abrupt. In a few weeks I am going to Italy to also make a travel film, I will take these tips with me there! 

1 hour ago, Dimwitted said:

Lots of pretty pictures.

 

Ok, now for some harshness. The constant cutting and abrupt transitions is tiring. Without context there's very little to work with. You need a story. Did that kid in the yellow snowsuit show up in any other footage? Could use him/her as a focus. The background music has a definite beat. Why not use that for the transitions if you're going to change? It would make the change feel more organic. In the Great Wall segment it starts to fail halfway through because of sameness. I would have used an insert to show where you are in each segment (Google maps?) to allow for some continuity.

 

Sure, colour grading can be done in post but the footage is what you have. What you need is some quality editing time to bring out your film instead of having a glorified home movie.

 

Good luck.

Thanks. No, no harshness at all, I see it as building critisiscm. I agree on the cutting. I am not a good editor, I have a hard time editing because I haven't invested enough time in editing during the first years of my study, I know not a smart idea. Since this was my first travel video ever, please keep that in mind haha, I had a hard time thinking about the story and how to invole a story into my shots. Now onto the transitions from one place to the other. This was the hardest for me while editing. I had a really bad time thinking what I should do and how. It was a good idea to think it out before shooting, which I haven't done. Do you have some tips on transitions in travel videos? Obviously the use of Google Maps is a good idea.

56 minutes ago, ALwin said:

Agreed, a story or narrative is essential if you are filming for the sake of creating a film.  As I said, the story/narrative doesn't have to be vocalised, it can be told via imagery such as the Qatsi series by Ron Fricke. At the moment watching your video looks more like a film student's home video.

I am really going to watch Ron Fricke movies, thanks again. Like I said before, next week I am going to Italy then later this year to Greece and at the end of the year back to China for a trip through Shanghai. This was my first travel movie and for my first I think I did an OK job. Thanks to all these tips I think I can make a movie that will be way better. Thanks a lot guys! 

[Dimwitted]

Instead of Fricke I'd suggest you watch the short films of Tony Zhou. He's an editor based out of Vancouver and he does a series called Every Frame A Picture. Brilliant stuff and really shows what he's talking about with clips.

 

What you have here is coverage. A ton of B-Roll. Great!!!! There's nothing like lots of coverage. You can't make a movie without it and is generally the failure point of young directors. Of course you can take it too far like a Kubrick or Cameron but you're in good company.  Your problem is that it's all you have. That said, it doesn't mean you don't have, just that you haven't brought out yet with editing. Establish your story and then focus on that with editing.

Now, Shanghai.

It's all about planning, planning, planning. Think of it... you're on location, your resources are what you take with you, your time is limited and the footage that you bring back is it. No going back for coverage or reshoots. So...

1. Do you have an idea as yet? (this certainly can be a work in progress & yes, it can change)

2. Have you got enough? Batteries, capacity, permissions?

3. Can you get help if necessary?

4. What will you do if someone objects to you filming? (have a plan)

5. What will you do if you are prevented from doing "your" story? Weather, pollution, location, people. Be flexible.

6. Can you communicate sufficiently to not piss off the locals? This where 3 comes in very handy.

Idea time...

Since you seem to be visually focussed, what will work visually? Do you reside in a large city now? If so, juxtaposition. Similar? Different? How. Can you capture it? How about Transitions? Light/Dark. Maybe more relevant: Breathable to polluted. How about the people? Can you visually show how they cope with their society? Do it intimately with the people you're staying with. Try to get the camera to be their eyes. Other techniques... if you're staying at a hotel see if you can clamp the camera to the balcony, window sill etc. and let it run all night while you sleep, capturing the city. Sure it's only one viewpoint and you need the capacity, but it's coverage, and you might capture something interesting.

And one last thing. See if you can bring, or buy a monopod. It's a bearable weight that a tripod isn't and it will give you a much steadier platform for those static shots and bring the material up from the shaky cam home movie standard.

 

Good luck and above all, have fun!

 

I can't wait to see what you bring back from Shanghai.

[slapingdabassman]

This video really took me back to my 2007 trip to China. The great wall and Forbidden cities were two places I enjoyed immensely.

 

I agree with what has already been said regarding color grading, focus pulls, and working on making the filming itself smoother. One other thing to avoid IMO when filming landscapes, structures, etc is don't show the same thing twice Or at least not consecutively. I understand that you may have been limited by the amount of footage you had total and time you had to film. There's just too many shots here that show the same thing from a slightly different angle/ spot which really kills the pacing for me. It may be a good idea to shorten the whole video to make sure this doesn't happen so much.

 

 I dug the choice of music a lot however the editing doesn't really match it that much so that's something to work on as well. Pacing a video like this well with the music really aids the flow and you can even use the music to help tell a story in a sense.

 

Just a couple thoughts. Overall like I say, really enjoyed watching it, so much nostalgia. As previously mentioned please show us your footage from the next trip when you come back!