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video My movie in collab with a nature photographer — asking for editing feedback

Hi all! I'm Jan, trained as film composer and doubling up as an editor. I started doing it (editing) rather out of necessity, as I needed some visuals to support my music, and ended up having so much fun with it that I went on producing several documentary-style shorts. They're mostly based on "found footage", vintage home tapes, old archive reels and NASA clips (as I adore space realm). I have recently collaborated with a fellow photographer who was so kind to provide me with his stunning shots that I then animated and turned into — sort of — stills. I know have a ton of stuff to learn in the editing domain (and actually plan to invest in some formal studies), but I kind of feel like it's my thing just as much as music is.

So, if you happen to have a couple of minutes, feel free to take a look at these works:

#1

#2

I would be immensely thankful if you could drop a couple of lines considering editing. Thanks so much and have a nice day!
 
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It's going to sound harsh.... but.... It's not really an edit. It's more like a slideshow. A library of videos that doesn't matter what order they come in. I've done these kinds of things for clients before. About as intellectually stimulating as a peanut. No story. No nothing. Knock off a bunch of exports in a day work. Button mashing at best. If you want someone to be able to give an opinion on your editing skills, show us something where you did some actual editing.

If you take on editing, enjoy your journey.
 
It's going to sound harsh.... but.... It's not really an edit. It's more like a slideshow. A library of videos that doesn't matter what order they come in. I've done these kinds of things for clients before. About as intellectually stimulating as a peanut. No story. No nothing. Knock off a bunch of exports in a day work. Button mashing at best. If you want someone to be able to give an opinion on your editing skills, show us something where you did some actual editing.

If you take on editing, enjoy your journey.

Hey, thanks so much for the honest feedback! Harsh indeed but definitely more helpful than anything else. The weird thing is, for me this whole thing actually was making a lot of sense, it was meticulously planned, like, there was a story, the order of videos was also not at all random and even connected with the different parts of the piano piece 😃 But it's very revealing to hear that, to someone viewing it from the outside, it is all just a bunch of nonsense. I mean, that certainly gives me a hint about what I should focus on in my work. Thanks for the insight!
 
Thanks for the feedback folks! Definitely better than nothing at all 👍 As I said, it gives me a good idea of what I should focus on more in my work! I've just started working on a new short video now, so hopefully it'll be slightly more intellectually stimulating after I address all the above concerns 😃
 
lol you and me both. and i've literally seen every charlie chaplin film. allll of them.
i am not adverse to silent film but i need more stimulation

Good point about the silent part. It took me some time to figure out how much of a game changer the narrator voice / interviews could be. I have actual people talking in my new video that's currently in the works, and I must admit that the very presence of the spoken word not only solves the aforementioned problem with the lack of story and intellectual value, but also kind of helps me justify the visuals I'm using. Music alone, as one of the above comments showed, is not enough to make the story evident. Okay I'm going to shut up right here and get to work now, thanks for the kick in the ass people! 🙏
 
Hey, thanks so much for the honest feedback! Harsh indeed but definitely more helpful than anything else. The weird thing is, for me this whole thing actually was making a lot of sense, it was meticulously planned, like, there was a story, the order of videos was also not at all random and even connected with the different parts of the piano piece 😃 But it's very revealing to hear that, to someone viewing it from the outside, it is all just a bunch of nonsense. I mean, that certainly gives me a hint about what I should focus on in my work. Thanks for the insight!

I guess it's a lesson to learn. Most audiences don't get subtle. While it's not what you want to do in the high end, when learning to edit, be about as subtle as a sledge-hammer. Once you learn the art of getting the story across, learn how far you can push suggestion and implied storytelling. There's a lot you can do, but it's not as far as most would expect.

With a project like this, you lose audio as a way to tell the story.

If you want to learn editing, before you consider tertiary education, grab yourself a course called Inside the Edit. It'll help you decide if editing is really for you.
 
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