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watch Misunderstanding

C

Crownom

Recently I made a short ambiguous film and I'm not really satisfied with it, it seems OK, but something there is that... :grumpy: Maybe it's too fast?

Anyway, I'd really want to know your opinion on it: did you like it or not? Why? What can be improved etc. What I'd like you to carefully look at is the shots and editing. Were there any mistakes.

Thank you in advance and... ENJOY! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqgvih0_KVs
 
I think it is pretty good as is! The pov running seemed too tunnely to me.

Still, a dude grabbing a woman like that without a word is asking for pepper spray:lol:
 
It's pretty good, actually. The very first cut is off -- her footsteps don't match from shot to shot. Same goes for the cut at :17 -- you gotta match those footsteps, and be precise.

The cut at :54 is pretty wonky. His position changes between shots, and it's clear that in one, he's slowing down from running, but in the other, he's completely stationary. When you shoot that footage, you need to shoot overlap. If you know you're going to cut from one shot to another, whatever is happening at the end of the first shot needs to also happen at the beginning of the next shot, and the performances need to match.

Those are the only three cuts that require any continuity, and they're all off. This is definitely an important thing to learn and practice. I don't say this to put you down, of course, but you're asking for critiques and my opinion is that continuity is something you should work on -- both in what you shoot, and in how you edit. For your next short, I think you should challenge yourself, and shoot and edit something that has nothing but continuous-action cuts, in which continuity needs to be adhered to.

As far as the content of the film, I think you did a nice job. It's easy to understand what's going on. The story makes perfect sense, and it flows just fine. To answer your question -- I don't think it's too fast, at all; it's too long. We get the idea pretty quickly, you can cut out some of that walking.

Best of luck on your next project. Cheers! :)
 
Cracker Funk said:
It's pretty good, actually. The very first cut is off -- her footsteps don't match from shot to shot. Same goes for the cut at :17 -- you gotta match those footsteps, and be precise.

The cut at :54 is pretty wonky. His position changes between shots, and it's clear that in one, he's slowing down from running, but in the other, he's completely stationary. When you shoot that footage, you need to shoot overlap. If you know you're going to cut from one shot to another, whatever is happening at the end of the first shot needs to also happen at the beginning of the next shot, and the performances need to match.

Those are the only three cuts that require any continuity, and they're all off. This is definitely an important thing to learn and practice. I don't say this to put you down, of course, but you're asking for critiques and my opinion is that continuity is something you should work on -- both in what you shoot, and in how you edit. For your next short, I think you should challenge yourself, and shoot and edit something that has nothing but continuous-action cuts, in which continuity needs to be adhered to.

As far as the content of the film, I think you did a nice job. It's easy to understand what's going on. The story makes perfect sense, and it flows just fine. To answer your question -- I don't think it's too fast, at all; it's too long. We get the idea pretty quickly, you can cut out some of that walking.

Best of luck on your next project. Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for advice, I really appreciate it! ;)
By the way, what do you think of the color correction?
 
I really like the cinematography of this film. Would you mind sharing the technicalities of the film?

Story-wise, it's pretty predictable (at least for me). And I guess I'll play the devil's advocate here, but why didn't the guy just shout and say "Hey ma'am! I have your wallet!"? And like you said, it's too fast. You should've a bit more background info. Because without it, questions like, "Is that wallet hers?" "Or was the guy being a good citizen and just giving his wallet away?" arose. And how did he get her wallet anyways?

I also think it'd been better if the guy smiles at the end or something then cut to black and cut music instead of just fading out.

Hope you found that helpful!!
Justin
 
justinisfilming said:
I really like the cinematography of this film. Would you mind sharing the technicalities of the film?

Story-wise, it's pretty predictable (at least for me). And I guess I'll play the devil's advocate here, but why didn't the guy just shout and say "Hey ma'am! I have your wallet!"? And like you said, it's too fast. You should've a bit more background info. Because without it, questions like, "Is that wallet hers?" "Or was the guy being a good citizen and just giving his wallet away?" arose. And how did he get her wallet anyways?

I also think it'd been better if the guy smiles at the end or something then cut to black and cut music instead of just fading out.

Hope you found that helpful!!
Justin
Click to expand...

Yeah, as you say, the story wasn't as good as it could be, it's always my weak side.
About cinematography, there was nothing special. A lot of discontinuity (last shots especially). But yeah, I think I spent most of the time planning the angles/locations. :/
 
tobey+maguire+trollface+troll.jpg
 
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Good job.

Only 3 things that could improve.
1.The adventure soundtrack.
This soundtrack is for a team of superheroes/soldiers. Not a guy running after a woman in the park. (apparently, he can not speak) Its just to epic, sound should be more intimidating. Just put the soundtrack of once upon a time in the west over it, and see wat I mean......(maby not the best, but that's what I came up with).
2.The composition on 0.17 is not a good one.
3. Running from someone......the park is the last place I would run to.
 
Feutus Lapdance said:
Good job.

Only 3 things that could improve.
1.The adventure soundtrack.
This soundtrack is for a team of superheroes/soldiers. Not a guy running after a woman in the park. (apparently, he can not speak) Its just to epic, sound should be more intimidating. Just put the soundtrack of once upon a time in the west over it, and see wat I mean......(maby not the best, but that's what I came up with).
2.The composition on 0.17 is not a good one.
3. Running from someone......the park is the last place I would run to.
Click to expand...

I had the hardest time finding a soundtrack and it's always like that. It's impossible to find a ST that fits you... :/ How do you find them, any tips? :D
Actually, it wasn't a park. :D I just live in a very naturely neighborhood. Everyday route for me :blush:
 
I've spent hours and hours looking for soundtracks. It stops being fun after the first hour for me.

Anyways, you could have gotten around the whole Mute Samaritan thing by having her listening to music through headphones. That way she couldn't hear him when he tried to talk to her.
 
MTsquared said:
I've spent hours and hours looking for soundtracks. It stops being fun after the first hour for me.

Anyways, you could have gotten around the whole Mute Samaritan thing by having her listening to music through headphones. That way she couldn't hear him when he tried to talk to her.
Click to expand...

True, very nice idea.
P.S. How do you find music? I spend hours, too, finding the right soundtrack and I don't usually get the right one. What's the trick? :/
 
For me, I get the feel of the scene. I already have that set like stone in my head. Then I search through hundreds of songs. When I find a track that fits inside of that feel, I put it on a list. Unless I stumble upon a track that smack me right in the face with how awesome it is, I usually search for 4 or 5 more. They all have to fit within the feel of the scene. After, I'll listen to each song over and over again. If I happen to have the scene already rough cut, then I'll put each piece behind it and see how it feels. Then I choose a track I like, or change it to how I want it to be (Using audio editing software). IF I find a track I absolutely love, and KNOW it belongs, then I use it and stick with my choice no matter what people say. However, if you have any doubt to the feel of the piece you used in your scene, pay attention to what people are saying. We all have different tastes, and other people might just know how a song would fit better in a scene than the one you chose.

As with anything artistic, it's all up to you. You are the creator and what you chooses goes. Make the scene express the feeling you want it to. Of course knowing how to do that takes practice and time.

However, this might all be a little too melodramatic for a simple chase scene. But hey, you can apply it to future works. Hope this helped, and good luck.
 
Thanks, man, it's the same for everybody really. What I mean is where you search for the soundtracks. Where do you find these lists of songs? :/ All I do is go to YT and type: action tension soundtrack etc. Is there any bigger free database or sth?
 
Poor Man's Music

You always have to think of your "limiting factors"; things that limit how much or how far you can pull some idea off.

Planning on not spending any/much money on something is a limiting factor, meaning you should plan a project just slightly different than if you were paying someone (or asking them) to custom score your finished & edited piece.


With free public domain soundtracks your selection will be limited even though there are hours and hours of tracks to listen to.
http://www.artistserver.com/music.cfm/SType/LicID/Keywords/7/tag/Public_Domain

So, what you do is:
- read over your script
- figure which scenes or sequences deserve some soundtrack
- figure out what "mood" you want and what genre you're likely to find it in
- pick one, two, or three tracks that'll probably work for EACH track you need
- because each track will have different emotional response characteristics to it plan ahead and (this is bound to stir some trouble) film & edit the scene/sequence according to the music you have instead of trying to find something that fits what you've already shot and edited.
 
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