archived-videos short film
- Thread starter dan360
- Start date
Before starting the shredder 
congratulations to your friend on getting an idea into "hard copy" that we can see. 
OK the shredding ...
The first thing that struck me was the sound quality - it's pretty hard to hear, and very "dirty". As @Alcove Audio says, a soundtrack is half the movie, and in a video like this where the voiceover is more than half the movie, it needs to be much cleaner. These days, it's really easy to get a good quality recording using a smartphone and good blanket. When you don't need to worry about a mic being seen in any of the shots, there's no excuse for not having a great voice-over recording.
Partially related to that, was the theme/title ... I just can't figure out what the paradox is! But neither can I hear what he thinks the paradox is, because I just cannot hear what's said in the last couple of phrases. That's partially due to the quality of the recording, but also to accent/diction. Again, if the spoken word is all-important - as it is in this piece - then it has to be perfect in every respect.
Visually, it's all pretty good, with the exception of the bed/night-time scene (1:33-2:03). That looks like it was filmed in low light/at high ISO, at the very limits of the camera's ability. If that's the case, it'd have been better to film it in brighter light and darken it in post-production (plenty of YouTube videos on how to achieve this). Some of the transitions to what I assume is stock footage are a bit jarring, from a colour balance point of view, but the editing is smooth enough.
Overall, a good practice piece.
congratulations to your friend on getting an idea into "hard copy" that we can see. OK the shredding ...The first thing that struck me was the sound quality - it's pretty hard to hear, and very "dirty". As @Alcove Audio says, a soundtrack is half the movie, and in a video like this where the voiceover is more than half the movie, it needs to be much cleaner. These days, it's really easy to get a good quality recording using a smartphone and good blanket. When you don't need to worry about a mic being seen in any of the shots, there's no excuse for not having a great voice-over recording.
Partially related to that, was the theme/title ... I just can't figure out what the paradox is! But neither can I hear what he thinks the paradox is, because I just cannot hear what's said in the last couple of phrases. That's partially due to the quality of the recording, but also to accent/diction. Again, if the spoken word is all-important - as it is in this piece - then it has to be perfect in every respect.
Visually, it's all pretty good, with the exception of the bed/night-time scene (1:33-2:03). That looks like it was filmed in low light/at high ISO, at the very limits of the camera's ability. If that's the case, it'd have been better to film it in brighter light and darken it in post-production (plenty of YouTube videos on how to achieve this). Some of the transitions to what I assume is stock footage are a bit jarring, from a colour balance point of view, but the editing is smooth enough.
Overall, a good practice piece.
I'll agree with Celtic; the VO quality needs A LOT of work. The sound of the room makes it very difficult to mix properly, as reverb (the room ambience in this case) tends to pull things back in the mix. It also makes for less intelligibility.
I'll agree again. A little research - or asking questions here - could have helped you a lot. I know that working on low/no/mini/micro budgets can be very challenging, but this is one place that very simple solutions can greatly improve the quality of your work. It's all about attention to details. One thing that I found very distracting was the "dry mouth" sound in the first minute or so of narration; I could hear the mouth clicks and pops. A mouth wash with some lemon juice and water can resolve this issue easily.
To get rid of the "roomy" sound get in really close to the mic; what used to be called "eating the mic" when I was in the music biz. Most VO folks get in very close and speak softly. Try it as an experiment; the voice will drop down a tone or two, and it sounds much more intimate and authoritative. By getting in close you also eliminate most or all of the "roominess."
The mix is also problematic. The "roomy" VO it doesn't "pop" out of the mix, so in those places you need to either drop the music level or "carve out a hole" in the score with EQ so the VO sits better in the mix.
I would also have put in some Foley and sound effects for added emphasis.
You may want to try the VO again, trying for better sound quality, and perhaps add a few sonic accents. I'm here if you want guidance or advice.
Your project will only look as good as it sounds, because
"Sound is half of the experience"
If your film looks terrible but has great sound, people might just think it's your aesthetic.
If your film looks great and has bad sound, people will think you're an amateur.
Sound is the first indicator to the industry that you know what you're doing.
"Sound is half of the experience"
If your film looks terrible but has great sound, people might just think it's your aesthetic.
If your film looks great and has bad sound, people will think you're an amateur.
Sound is the first indicator to the industry that you know what you're doing.