My first movie!

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Now I've used this group a few times for advice and questions but I've
followed it for years seeing how the industry changes, etc.

Well I finally made my first movie last night. It took me 4 hours to make a
3 minute movie. It was rough because I didn't control any video shooting
(the lens was even dirty!!) the coordination was horrible as was the sound!
But in all I think I did very well for my first one.

I am using Studio 7 with my AVDV board, it was captured on video with a
vhs-c camera and given to me as a tape that I put in my 4 head vcr input
through the AVDV board box. I had no real trouble capturing, since most of
the tape was full of lousy shots and noise, I didn't want to capture the
entire tape which made for a long set of short capturings. The bulk of my
work was the cutting and moving around of the clips. It's hard to time the
cut at just the right point when someone is talking. I played with a LOT of
the effects.

So in all it's glory, I present to you my first attempt at a movie! This is
for the youth ministry at the church and will be played this Sunday *shiver*
in front of everyone. I think it's a little lame for it to be played, but
hey, you have to start somewhere.
http://www.christchapel.org/movie_final_highband.mpg if that doesn't work
just go to this page and right click and save
http://www.christchapel.org/movie.htm

It's saved as Internet High Bandwidth MPEG at ~15 MB. I also saved it as
VCD and DVD
quality MPEG's just in case they look different on the big projectors at
church.

-Matt mtodd (at@) att (dot.) net

PS most of what I've done is simply capture an entire tape and burn to VCD,
no editing. I would like suggestions and criticisms so I can improve, but
don't shoot me too hard. Also, possibility in looking at a next step up
software if the group has suggestions that route. I do like studio and it
was very simple to edit, however the transitions from hollywood fx seemed a
little childish or semi-professional. If I were to do things more
professionally, is there a better transition rendering choice (or can I
plug-in to studio something to get a good effect). Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

> So in all it's glory, I present to you my first attempt at a movie!
This is
> for the youth ministry at the church and will be played this Sunday
*shiver*
> in front of everyone. I think it's a little lame for it to be played,
but
> hey, you have to start somewhere.
> http://www.christchapel.org/movie_final_highband.mpg if that doesn't
work
> just go to this page and right click and save
> http://www.christchapel.org/movie.htm

Good first effort! The different transitions were a bit gimmicky for my
tastes but I don't know anymore than you do so take that with a big
grain of salt, but as a general rule, less is more with transitions. The
sound levels were even from interview to interview and that can often be
problamatic so you did a good job there. The next time, you might want
to isolate your interviewees from the background noise of the kids
playing, lawnmower noise (?), etc. as it was a bit distracting and
sometimes made it difficult to hear what the interviewee was saying. I'm
not sure what the reason for the rooster crowing or the cricket chirping
was. Since the subject matter was youth ministry, you might have wanted
to have interviewed some kids for their input as well. Asking them what
_they_ felt was needed in a ministry. I'm sure they would have been
excited to see themselves on "film" as well.

> It's saved as Internet High Bandwidth MPEG at ~15 MB. I also saved it
as
> VCD and DVD
> quality MPEG's just in case they look different on the big projectors
at
> church.

The presentation on the website was a bit problamatic. On my monitor,
the image was barely larger than a postage stamp, which made it very
difficult to view. Considering it was a 15 meg download, you might want
to work with the screen size to make the image larger.

> PS most of what I've done is simply capture an entire tape and burn to
VCD,
> no editing. I would like suggestions and criticisms so I can improve,
but
> don't shoot me too hard. Also, possibility in looking at a next step
up
> software if the group has suggestions that route. I do like studio
and it
> was very simple to edit, however the transitions from hollywood fx
seemed a
> little childish or semi-professional. If I were to do things more
> professionally, is there a better transition rendering choice (or can
I
> plug-in to studio something to get a good effect). Thanks.

I don't think you necessarily need to "step up" in s/w right now. For
your intended audience, what you have now should be more than adequate.

Great idea for posting here in the ng! I'm amazed at how much technical
discussion about the bits and bytes of editing are present but almost no
one asks for feedback on what they actually _do_ with all this h/w and
s/w. I've scoured Usenet for a forum where people actually discuss what
they do, how they do it and why they do it but have yet to find one. It
seems people are more concerned with the _process_ of it all rather than
the end _product_.

Thanks for bringing a breath of fresh air into the ng and keep up the
good work!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I was a sound person in a Church for years. My Church is just now getting
into video. I have used Premiere 5.1 for years doing personal videos. I
watched the video several times. My suggestions would be these. The
beginning is fine, although the rooster leaves me wondering how that
connects with the Eagle. I assume that you are referring to a wake up call,
but that is not obvious untill the end of the video. I am assuming that the
book fly in, is a transition and not an effect. That is good, but it should
stop there. you will learn over the years to limit transitions. The
interviews should be faded to and from each other unless you completely
change the SUBJECT mid video. The part about the text and roll up is good
since it asks a question. That is a CHANGE in thought, and it helps ANCHOR
the idea you want to get across. Professionals use transitions sparingly
except on TV. The focus there is not a message, but eye candy. The ending
looks good. The sound seems to be very low. I hope it went well when you
played it today. Technology is good, but only if it does not take away from
the message you want to get across.

"Matthew Todd" <mtodd@vERyObviouSatt.net> wrote in message
news:MTmgc.44821$K_.1031568@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Now I've used this group a few times for advice and questions but I've
> followed it for years seeing how the industry changes, etc.
>
> Well I finally made my first movie last night. It took me 4 hours to make
a
> 3 minute movie. It was rough because I didn't control any video shooting
> (the lens was even dirty!!) the coordination was horrible as was the
sound!
> But in all I think I did very well for my first one.
>
> I am using Studio 7 with my AVDV board, it was captured on video with a
> vhs-c camera and given to me as a tape that I put in my 4 head vcr input
> through the AVDV board box. I had no real trouble capturing, since most
of
> the tape was full of lousy shots and noise, I didn't want to capture the
> entire tape which made for a long set of short capturings. The bulk of my
> work was the cutting and moving around of the clips. It's hard to time
the
> cut at just the right point when someone is talking. I played with a LOT
of
> the effects.
>
> So in all it's glory, I present to you my first attempt at a movie! This
is
> for the youth ministry at the church and will be played this Sunday
*shiver*
> in front of everyone. I think it's a little lame for it to be played, but
> hey, you have to start somewhere.
> http://www.christchapel.org/movie_final_highband.mpg if that doesn't work
> just go to this page and right click and save
> http://www.christchapel.org/movie.htm
>
> It's saved as Internet High Bandwidth MPEG at ~15 MB. I also saved it as
> VCD and DVD
> quality MPEG's just in case they look different on the big projectors at
> church.
>
> -Matt mtodd (at@) att (dot.) net
>
> PS most of what I've done is simply capture an entire tape and burn to
VCD,
> no editing. I would like suggestions and criticisms so I can improve, but
> don't shoot me too hard. Also, possibility in looking at a next step up
> software if the group has suggestions that route. I do like studio and it
> was very simple to edit, however the transitions from hollywood fx seemed
a
> little childish or semi-professional. If I were to do things more
> professionally, is there a better transition rendering choice (or can I
> plug-in to studio something to get a good effect). Thanks.
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Very Good try and I ditto the remarks by the last poster on too many fancy
transitions, and a microphone would work wonders. Otherwise, nice attempt.

"Matthew Todd" <mtodd@vERyObviouSatt.net> wrote in message
news:MTmgc.44821$K_.1031568@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Now I've used this group a few times for advice and questions but I've
> followed it for years seeing how the industry changes, etc.
>
> Well I finally made my first movie last night. It took me 4 hours to make
a
> 3 minute movie. It was rough because I didn't control any video shooting
> (the lens was even dirty!!) the coordination was horrible as was the
sound!
> But in all I think I did very well for my first one.
>
> I am using Studio 7 with my AVDV board, it was captured on video with a
> vhs-c camera and given to me as a tape that I put in my 4 head vcr input
> through the AVDV board box. I had no real trouble capturing, since most
of
> the tape was full of lousy shots and noise, I didn't want to capture the
> entire tape which made for a long set of short capturings. The bulk of my
> work was the cutting and moving around of the clips. It's hard to time
the
> cut at just the right point when someone is talking. I played with a LOT
of
> the effects.
>
> So in all it's glory, I present to you my first attempt at a movie! This
is
> for the youth ministry at the church and will be played this Sunday
*shiver*
> in front of everyone. I think it's a little lame for it to be played, but
> hey, you have to start somewhere.
> http://www.christchapel.org/movie_final_highband.mpg if that doesn't work
> just go to this page and right click and save
> http://www.christchapel.org/movie.htm
>
> It's saved as Internet High Bandwidth MPEG at ~15 MB. I also saved it as
> VCD and DVD
> quality MPEG's just in case they look different on the big projectors at
> church.
>
> -Matt mtodd (at@) att (dot.) net
>
> PS most of what I've done is simply capture an entire tape and burn to
VCD,
> no editing. I would like suggestions and criticisms so I can improve, but
> don't shoot me too hard. Also, possibility in looking at a next step up
> software if the group has suggestions that route. I do like studio and it
> was very simple to edit, however the transitions from hollywood fx seemed
a
> little childish or semi-professional. If I were to do things more
> professionally, is there a better transition rendering choice (or can I
> plug-in to studio something to get a good effect). Thanks.
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

>So in all it's glory, I present to you my first attempt at a movie! This is
>for the youth ministry at the church and will be played this Sunday *shiver*
>in front of everyone. I think it's a little lame for it to be played, but
>hey, you have to start somewhere.

You're lucky in having an outlet for your work! So many hobbyists
obsess on the technicalities, but have no reason to make a movie.

Nice try. Especially if it's your first one.

I can (sort of) see a reason for the opening book effect. But nuke
all the other tricksy transitions. They're merely irritating.

I just hope you don't inspire even MORE of that insipid quasi-trendy
praise music. It's a creeping plague here in the UK. I believe it's
endemic across the pond? Just remember how irritated YOU were
as a teenager by adults trying to get to you via pop culture.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

> The beginning is fine, although the rooster leaves me wondering how that
> connects with the Eagle. I assume that you are referring to a wake up
call,
> but that is not obvious untill the end of the video.

Just me playing around, and yes I did want the wake-up call. It got a few
chuckles from the audience. Mind you it was
being played at both services and to around a total of maybe 2000 people. I
was nervous But the youth pastor liked it
as did a few other people I talked with.

> I am assuming that the book fly in, is a transition and not an effect.
That is good, but it should
> stop there. you will learn over the years to limit transitions.

Got it The less the better

> The interviews should be faded to and from each other unless you
completely
> change the SUBJECT mid video.

I was afraid of it sounding choppy. Some of those people went on and on and
on without many pauses and it was hard
to find a safe place to splice. So I kept the talking and used transitions
instead of fading.

> The part about the text and roll up is good since it asks a question.
That is a CHANGE in thought, and it helps ANCHOR
> the idea you want to get across.

Thanks, I was nervous there because there was no sound and the audience got
a little confused or it seemed that way watching
their expressions.

> The sound seems to be very low. I hope it went well when you
> played it today. Technology is good, but only if it does not take away
from
> the message you want to get across.

The sound was very low and I wish I had been involved with the camera
shooting. I assumed the youth pastor and middle
school pastor were just making personal videos. I would have tried to make
a few suggestions had I known they wanted
to use this for the congregation. Thanks for all of your guidance.

-Matt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

> The sound levels were even from interview to interview and that can often
be
> problamatic so you did a good job there.

Thanks. I played with Studio's volume levels.

> The next time, you might want to isolate your interviewees from the
background noise of the kids
> playing, lawnmower noise (?), etc. as it was a bit distracting and
> sometimes made it difficult to hear what the interviewee was saying.

It was a carnival and I wish I had known the purpose of the videos when I
noticed the kids doing some shooting.

> I'm not sure what the reason for the rooster crowing or the cricket
chirping
> was. Since the subject matter was youth ministry, you might have wanted
> to have interviewed some kids for their input as well.

I agree there and I had 3 kid interviews, but one of the kids had a mouth
full of candy (this was an Easter carnival with
tons of candy given out). Her interview would have been full of words and
then chewing and then words and then chewing.
The other kid interview was 4 kids, nicely taken out of major background
noise, HOWEVER, they kept laughing and hitting
each other during the shot and were playing WITH the camera woman trying to
annoy her. And the last kid shot was two
boys that clearly did not want to be on camera and were answering the
question with a traditional 'Church is where I want to be
and it's the best for me. We should all go to church.' type answer, which
clearly wouldn't have been well received.

> The presentation on the website was a bit problamatic. On my monitor,
> the image was barely larger than a postage stamp, which made it very
> difficult to view. Considering it was a 15 meg download, you might want
> to work with the screen size to make the image larger.

Well I chose Studio's defaults and picked High Bandwidth internet. I
noticed it was very small since I have 1200 x whatever
screen and I think Studio defaults that to 120 X something. I didn't want
to play too much with the custom settings because
quite frankly I have no clue what each of them do yet I know how to
change the screen size, but I haven't yet played with the
bit rate and other settings there. I will give it a go and see.

> I don't think you necessarily need to "step up" in s/w right now. For
> your intended audience, what you have now should be more than adequate.

I read on here a lot about Vegas Video and others and was wondering if one
of those would be 'better' for me than
Studio.

> Thanks for bringing a breath of fresh air into the ng and keep up the
> good work!

Well I actually needed help and more so than 'What product should I buy, how
can I get an illegal copy of Premier on my
machine and why DV is better than analog'. I learn so much from the
discussions in here and I wanted to learn more about
the technicals of editing. I have only done camera work since High School
and never did any editing per se. I used the
tape to tape production machines for splicing only, like adding a different
camera angle to an interview, but never
cutting something from the end and moving it to the middle etc.

Thanks for your help.

-Matt

-Matt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Leo Reyes" <dusty-roads@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:zkAgc.19903$A_4.4432@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> Very Good try and I ditto the remarks by the last poster on too many fancy
> transitions, and a microphone would work wonders. Otherwise, nice
attempt.
>

Lesson learned *grin* less is better. I still need to learn how to fade
and splice without making things look
and sound choppy.

-Matt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

> You're lucky in having an outlet for your work! So many hobbyists
> obsess on the technicalities, but have no reason to make a movie.
>
> Nice try. Especially if it's your first one.
>

Thanks. And yes all I have done previously at home is straight copy from
tape to CD.

> I can (sort of) see a reason for the opening book effect. But nuke
> all the other tricksy transitions. They're merely irritating.
>

Gotcha

> I just hope you don't inspire even MORE of that insipid quasi-trendy
> praise music. It's a creeping plague here in the UK. I believe it's
> endemic across the pond? Just remember how irritated YOU were
> as a teenager by adults trying to get to you via pop culture.

No, the youth paster wanted to basically show the adults that times have
changed for the kids now from when
they were in Sunday School, etc. And that we need to be able to have the
freedom to reach the kids where
they are... meaning let the kids rap and do whatever kinds of music as long
as it's Christian... let them
showcase their talents and stop stepping on them just because they don't
dress the way 'you want them to dress', etc.

Often times there is a trouble getting the parents to spend time with the
kids at all. They basically drop their kids off and run
(some of them). We need parents to understand that the youth pastor and
teachers are not a substitute for loving parenting
and basic good adult relationships to help mentor and even just hug
encourage a child. I think it worked out and his message
was so good and to the point yesterday.

I kept all copies of the video except the one on the web, which I will
remove shortly. Then I can't have this video
haunting me later in life. Except on my own hard drive.

-Matt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Dont let all this ADVICE bother you. Just take it all with a grain of salt,
and learn from it. The point of doing video for Church or personal work, is
the love of Creating! Trying to get a persons attention so they will
actually watch! Next time, maye you will get to be the one that shoots the
video. Take plenty, and remember what looked good in this one, and what was
problematic. The web is full of articles on composition the rule of thirds,
lighting, etc etc. And remember this Matt. There is only one way to go,
and thats up!! <))))))))>< ?

"Gary Price" <deerme1@illicom.net> wrote in message
news:wkvgc.1454$Ua5.1175573@monger.newsread.com...
> I was a sound person in a Church for years. My Church is just now getting
> into video. I have used Premiere 5.1 for years doing personal videos. I
> watched the video several times. My suggestions would be these. The
> beginning is fine, although the rooster leaves me wondering how that
> connects with the Eagle. I assume that you are referring to a wake up
call,
> but that is not obvious untill the end of the video. I am assuming that
the
> book fly in, is a transition and not an effect. That is good, but it
should
> stop there. you will learn over the years to limit transitions. The
> interviews should be faded to and from each other unless you completely
> change the SUBJECT mid video. The part about the text and roll up is good
> since it asks a question. That is a CHANGE in thought, and it helps
ANCHOR
> the idea you want to get across. Professionals use transitions
sparingly
> except on TV. The focus there is not a message, but eye candy. The
ending
> looks good. The sound seems to be very low. I hope it went well when you
> played it today. Technology is good, but only if it does not take away
from
> the message you want to get across.
>
> "Matthew Todd" <mtodd@vERyObviouSatt.net> wrote in message
> news:MTmgc.44821$K_.1031568@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> > Now I've used this group a few times for advice and questions but I've
> > followed it for years seeing how the industry changes, etc.
> >
> > Well I finally made my first movie last night. It took me 4 hours to
make
> a
> > 3 minute movie. It was rough because I didn't control any video
shooting
> > (the lens was even dirty!!) the coordination was horrible as was the
> sound!
> > But in all I think I did very well for my first one.
> >
> > I am using Studio 7 with my AVDV board, it was captured on video with a
> > vhs-c camera and given to me as a tape that I put in my 4 head vcr input
> > through the AVDV board box. I had no real trouble capturing, since most
> of
> > the tape was full of lousy shots and noise, I didn't want to capture the
> > entire tape which made for a long set of short capturings. The bulk of
my
> > work was the cutting and moving around of the clips. It's hard to time
> the
> > cut at just the right point when someone is talking. I played with a
LOT
> of
> > the effects.
> >
> > So in all it's glory, I present to you my first attempt at a movie!
This
> is
> > for the youth ministry at the church and will be played this Sunday
> *shiver*
> > in front of everyone. I think it's a little lame for it to be played,
but
> > hey, you have to start somewhere.
> > http://www.christchapel.org/movie_final_highband.mpg if that doesn't
work
> > just go to this page and right click and save
> > http://www.christchapel.org/movie.htm
> >
> > It's saved as Internet High Bandwidth MPEG at ~15 MB. I also saved it
as
> > VCD and DVD
> > quality MPEG's just in case they look different on the big projectors at
> > church.
> >
> > -Matt mtodd (at@) att (dot.) net
> >
> > PS most of what I've done is simply capture an entire tape and burn to
> VCD,
> > no editing. I would like suggestions and criticisms so I can improve,
but
> > don't shoot me too hard. Also, possibility in looking at a next step up
> > software if the group has suggestions that route. I do like studio and
it
> > was very simple to edit, however the transitions from hollywood fx
seemed
> a
> > little childish or semi-professional. If I were to do things more
> > professionally, is there a better transition rendering choice (or can I
> > plug-in to studio something to get a good effect). Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
>
>