Arizona Cactus - edited version

[Mavic Mac]

The original video posted of the Arizona cactus did not have any color correction applied and wasn't as smooth as I wanted. With the current stay at home conditions I have tried to improve the quality of that video. The first edition can still be viewed on my YouTube channel.
This is the updated Arizona Cactus video

If you take the time to compare them PLEASE be honest in your critique. That is how I will learn and improve (hopefully ? )

Thanks in advance for you input

 

[Starz]

Just east of Apache Junction?

 

[Mavic Mac]

Just east of Apache Junction?

Off Rt 87 between Rye and Sunflower

 

[dirkclod]

Not looked at your first video but this one is nice.
When you are doing 360 pans do you hold the stick, thumb
the top or what. Why I asked is I do a lot of them and saw
in yours where the speed gets slightly off in a few spots.
Not criticizing just noticed it. I found when I do one I place
my thumb on top of the controller and push the stick with the side of my thumb.When I get it the speed I want I press
down my thumb to keep it consistent. Then I do several pans and start and stop it where I want in post.
Wish I had scenery like you do to fly in.??

 

[Mavic Mac]

@dirkclod
Very honestly I don't remember. It was last Sept and my first attempt at filming and flying. I was more concerned of seeing where my drone was in case it crashed. ?

Normally I keep my thumbs on the side of the stick. I had edited the original video in an attempt to slow some of the speed down, which really wasn't that successful. So the latest edition was an edit of the one already edited for the quick panning. On the second video I was primarily concerned with color correction. Once I was mostly satisfied with the color I saved it as a mp4 video. Then I used stabilization option in VSDC to stabilize the video. This reduced the panning speed somewhat from the original video.

The video was taken with the normal flight mode "default" camera and stick setting. I didn't use any of the options such as tripod, etc.

Hopefully my rambling makes some sense.

 

[dd377]

Beautiful scenery and well done video. On the constructive criticism side. Most of the video was very good and just a small part where the movement
was a little to fast. Not sure what drone you are using but it seemed to be out of focus for the most part. I thought your color correction was super.
We are all learning and again great job.

 

[Mavic Mac]

Beautiful scenery and well done video. On the constructive criticism side. Most of the video was very good and just a small part where the movement
was a little to fast. Not sure what drone you are using but it seemed to be out of focus for the most part. I thought your color correction was super.
We are all learning and again great job.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it.
It was filmed with a Mavic Air. I agree there are portions of the pan that are fast. At 3:00 mins I used Gaussian Blur and Fade to eliminate a quick shot transition

 

[RickinWaST]

Here’s my feedback...

For me overall the video moves along too slow, for example, the opening sequence from about :20 to :43. Basically, this is a still image. Immediately following this, I found the same panning the drone to the right. These are other sequences, but you get the idea.

Subject matter. This can be a sensitive issue. Ask yourself if the subject or focus of the video is compelling and interesting? I would have isolated the video on the cactus using cinematic drone maneuvers.

Here’s a resource that can give you ideas: https://www.airvuz.com.

 

[Dale D]

The original video posted of the Arizona cactus did not have any color correction applied and wasn't as smooth as I wanted. With the current stay at home conditions I have tried to improve the quality of that video. The first edition can still be viewed on my YouTube channel.
This is the updated Arizona Cactus video

If you take the time to compare them PLEASE be honest in your critique. That is how I will learn and improve (hopefully ? )

Thanks in advance for you input

OK- so I went back and looked at the original in your YouTube channel. In the original video I noticed that the first scene dwelled forever on the mountain and cactus field. I thought it was a still life. There was virtual no movement and no color correction. They the video started panning in a juddering sort of way- very disturbing stuttering- and panning of the road and the traffic looked like it was markedly slowed down in post. So now I looked at the revised video, and I find that the opening tittle has changed with the red mavic and then into the same exact way too long static view of the hillside and saguaro cacti. The only difference was that the color correction kicked in with nicer greens in the hillside and deeper blues in the sky. Then you started to pan to the right, again too slowly in my opinion, and also, artificially slowed down in post, again too slow for me. The. Egyptian camel music Was totally inappropriate and over dramatic. I Was thinking of a Humphrey Bogart scene from Casablanca. You really need to shorten things up. The first scene waaaay too long and static, and the panning very slow. That's about as honest as I can get. Please take it in the right way.

 

[Mavic Mac]

OK- so I went back and looked at the original in your YouTube channel. In the original video I noticed that the first scene dwelled forever on the mountain and cactus field. I thought it was a still life. There was virtual no movement and no color correction. They the video started panning in a juddering sort of way- very disturbing stuttering- and panning of the road and the traffic looked like it was markedly slowed down in post. So now I looked at the revised video, and I find that the opening tittle has changed with the red mavic and then into the same exact way too long static view of the hillside and saguaro cacti. The only difference was that the color correction kicked in with nicer greens in the hillside and deeper blues in the sky. Then you started to pan to the right, again too slowly in my opinion, and also, artificially slowed down in post, again too slow for me. The. Egyptian camel music Was totally inappropriate and over dramatic. I Was thinking of a Humphrey Bogart scene from Casablanca. You really need to shorten things up. The first scene waaaay too long and static, and the panning very slow. That's about as honest as I can get. Please take it in the right way.

@Dale D
1. I am glad you took the time to critique. I know the quality of the videos you shoot.
2. Your input is much appreciated.
3. I positively take it the right way
4. Yes it was slowed down in post - in the previous version I had people tell me the panning was way to fast, even though that one had been slowed in post editing.
5. It is HONEST input and critiques that educates me and helps me to learn.

 

[Dale D]

Dear Mavic Mac:

Thank you for taking my advise so kindly. We are all afraid to be honest sometimes since we really are trying to learn but we don't want to bruise feelings. I, too, learned the hard way. We all fall in love with our footage. It even happens in Hollywood, where movies that should be 1:30 hours are two or two and half hours. Directors of Photography (D.P.'s) fall in love with their footage and it like watching grass grow, sometimes. My 51 year old daughter is a professional Hollywood (California) editor and I hear this from her all the time. She has a degree in editing from AFI (American Film Institute). She has seen my stuff all the time and constantly scolds me for the length of my travelogues. I have learned to shorten them up or they just won't be viewed! The saying "less is more," really applies to our craft. For this forum, I believe films should be less than 5 minutes, and preferably 3 minutes would be better. As a corollary to this, still images should be on screen no more than 2 seconds (3 seconds at the most), and clips should be 3-6 seconds long unless a longer clip is needed to complete a story such as a reveal shot. Appropriate music is 50% of the presentation and I take a long time in music selection. Music wins awards for Oscars! (think "Lord of the Rings," "Titanic", and Schindler's List.") I am sure others will be quick to disagree but their stuff will not be viewed all the way through.

I have mentioned this fact in the forum before. My Vimeo account sends me a weekly report and do you know what it shows??? Most of my stuff is not viewed more than 20% and almost no one watches to the end? People today are just too much in a hurry. So make every single second count! Enough said!

Dale
Miami

 

[Greekislandlover]

When I was in Arizona last, I didn't have a drone. Your video makes me want to go back! I'm from the UK, BTW.

My main comment is that the establishing panorama section was too long. I did like how you sank from the sky into the cactus field and there were some very good shots in and around the cactii.

How I think I might have edited it was with the establishing shots chopped down. Then the shot where you descended into the cactus field, and a section where you concentrated on the shots that gave the effect of walking round the cactii. So where you have a shot that gives the effect of walking round then goes up in the air, I would have cut it at the point you go up, and save that part of the shot for later, or removed that part if I didn't think I could use it. I'd probably end with a fly backwards away from the cactus field and fade out.

I'm with Dale (above post) on the point of cutting to the bone. Make every second count. I did a video of me starting to ride my bike again after a decade of it rusting in the shed, cutting the shots right down. It's just 1.5 minutes long and there is material there I could easily ditch. There is a temptation to use all the decent shots you take. My way of editing is to first go through the shots and cut out all the jerky stuff, the stuff where I'm establishing shots etc. Then I look for duplicates, or similar shots and use the best. Next I assemble it into some sort of narrative - an opening shot, middle section and a closing shot. Then I make every second count and cut it right to the bone. Shots that are good, but too long are cut back. At that point I think about transitions and music.

But it's all subjective and personal taste. It was a great location, a good video and the effect of the project was it made me want to go back.

HTH

 

[Mavic Mac]

@Greekislandlover - thank you for your comments and taking the time to watch it.

 

[Dale D]

Here’s my feedback...

For me overall the video moves along too slow, for example, the opening sequence from about :20 to :43. Basically, this is a still image. Immediately following this, I found the same panning the drone to the right. These are other sequences, but you get the idea.

Subject matter. This can be a sensitive issue. Ask yourself if the subject or focus of the video is compelling and interesting? I would have isolated the video on the cactus using cinematic drone maneuvers.

Here’s a resource that can give you ideas: https://www.airvuz.com.

Ok - so I also went back and looked at it again. The first thing I noted was the 30 second (0:15- 0:43) hover in one place.....essentially a still image on the hillside filled with the Saguaro (?) cacti. Not really that interesting to fill 30 seconds. Most viewers will want to move forward from a still after 3 seconds. The default still image is 4 seconds in Adobe Premiere Pro unless you change it in the preferences menu.

A few moments after the very long hover opening image, the music crescendos for no reason at all. You need to synch the music track at the top of the peak for a new scene...not done here. The next crescendo in the sound track is also not associated with anything different in the scene.

The next scene is a very slow 360 degree pan from one direction of the road to the other. Also not that very interesting. I wouldn't want you to speed it up too much because that would also be distracting, but I would have speeded up the pan a bit more.

The music track (I mentioned this in my original discussion) is very reminiscent of Lawrence of Arabia, but not really great for this scenery. Any moment I expect to see a camel caravan.

So I feel that overall, it is slow moving, and that the overall length of the video can be greatly shortened, even by 1 1/2 minutes. In this case, less is more.

Please be advised that this is strictly my own opinion, and everyone's personal taste is different. If you are doing these for the forum, that is one thing. If you are doing these videos for your own personal memories and you archive them (You Tube, Vimeo, etc.), it is another thing.