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scdronemedia

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Hi, please pop by my channel and have a look. Like and subscribe would be amazing and I would value your comments and critique.
This one was shot today. The weather was beautiful, no sound apart from the sound of nature and it was a very peaceful hour spent alone. Isn't this what drones were made for?

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I have re-edited this after some very useful criticism from ‘timmyp’ at Grey Arrows Drone Club UK. I still would be grateful if you have any criticism or suggestions.
Please enjoy this countryside and don’t forget to like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video. There will be more.
Shot on the amazing DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone using a PolarPro ND16/PL filter.
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Well, you managed to get it cut almost in half, very good, that makes it better, but still not yet as good as you could get it. Go back now and relook at every scene as it plays out. Be critical and ask yourself, at what point is this clip not showing me something new. An example will be where you come upon the bridge, You rotate to the right to show the bridge, and at that point you should cut to go to the next scene. However, you do not, you continue to let the scene go on and show the bridge now starting to pass to the left of the screen.

Continuing as you di, with that scene, you did not intrude anything new to the viewer, it was just a continuation of the same scene. Therefore, you need to trim that down more to keep it interesting in order to not allow the viewer to think something like... Okay, we have seen the bridge, I don't need to keep seeing the bridge, I know it is a bridge... NEXT SCENE PLEASE!

The same goes for a number of extended scenes after that. Go back and see if there is anything that can be trimmed down again, to keep the whole thing shorter, also look at some of the opening sections of a scene, you will find that there are some stuttering points in some of the filming, which could be removed and still tell the whole story. Also when travelling along that river, there were some longer shots that did not introduce anything new to the viewer, its a river, okay I get it, oh, its still a river, okay, ohh come on, it is still just a river darn it, NEXT SCENE PLEASE!

At some point in that river scene you could remove a section and then do a dissolved between the start and end of the clip and it will still tell a story. As I mentioned, go back and view it more critically and ask yourself at what point has the viewer seen enough of this scene. When you find that point, cut it there and go on to the next scene. In each clip ask the same question and see how much more you can trim this down and still tell your story. You will find that you can trim this down to at least half the length the new version currently is, and it will still tell the viewer the same story, yet will not allow them to get bored watching the scene.

The best thing to think of is that a scene should just about give the viewer enough of that clip to leave them satisfied, but not quite enough. Each scene should leave the viewer wishing they had just another second or two to watch. That way it will leave them wanting to see more and either may make them want to re-watch it, or to look for more of your work to see what else you have done. You want to keep them interested and leave them still a little bit hungry, wanting more. You don't want them to go away thinking that was exactly what I wanted and I don't need any more, because then they may never come back to see it again, or to want to see anything else you shot.

I ran a flight school for years and also did what were called introductory flights, but were really sightseeing flights. At first I gave them a nice long fun time in the air. Many were completely satisfied after the flight, some even said they had had enough now and would like to go back. None of them ever came back for another flight. So I reduced the flight time a good bit, charged less (But if the time was cut in half, the price was only reduced a third, for example). Most people said, when we landed, that was fantastic, I could have stayed up there much longer. I suggested they come back for another flight where I would show them a different area, equally as exciting. Many did return to do just that. I made more money, got to fly more for shorter periods and had many repeat customers spending more money. So for me it was a win-win situation.

By the same token, in your film, you need to leave each scene just before the person has had enough and go to the next clip. That will keep it interesting and keep them wanting more. Think back to yourself, how many drone videos have you watch whereby the scene cuts to the next one and leaves you thinking, ohhh I wish I could have seen just another few seconds of that. That is what you want to strive for and not have scenes so long that people are beginning to say, okay seen enough, next scene please. Hope this helps.
 
I have re-edited this after some very useful criticism from ‘timmyp’ at Grey Arrows Drone Club UK. I still would be grateful if you have any criticism or suggestions.
Please enjoy this countryside and don’t forget to like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video. There will be more.
Shot on the amazing DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone using a PolarPro ND16/PL filter.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

I watched about 1/3rd of the first one and found it to be already too long. More about that in a second. I also found that the shots were kind of "soft" as far as the focus. Also, the meandering path of the drone showed the pilot had no real plan of where he/she was going. At first I expected him to follow the stream but he meandered off here and there, flying apparently aimlessly. After around 2 1/2 minutes I stopped it.

Then, I see the pilot edited it and came back with another iteration, about 5 minutes long- still too long and the same comments applied.

I have commented often in this forum about how to keep viewer's interest. I have copy/pasted my own viewer's history from my Vimeo subscription which shows only about 58% of the viewers ever watch until the end. Most do not watch more than a minute. That is just the way it is. For an interesting video of this length, the producer of the film needs to make each clip around 3-5 seconds, unless it is following a story line.

Today in my LR Timelapse Forum I received a video from Vittorio VIC VideoPIC. I am attaching it to this.
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. Here is a copy of my comment in his wonderful work

"OMG!!! what an absolute masterpiece! I was entranced and enrolled at every moment- not a dull second existed in this tour de force! Your whimsy, your artistic flair, and your humor show through every moment. I give this the Oscar for the best short film of the year. Mavic Pilots, keep this one on file to learn how the master performs!" I recommend to K84040 to watch it.
 
Well, you managed to get it cut almost in half, very good, that makes it better, but still not yet as good as you could get it. Go back now and relook at every scene as it plays out. Be critical and ask yourself, at what point is this clip not showing me something new. An example will be where you come upon the bridge, You rotate to the right to show the bridge, and at that point you should cut to go to the next scene. However, you do not, you continue to let the scene go on and show the bridge now starting to pass to the left of the screen.

Continuing as you di, with that scene, you did not intrude anything new to the viewer, it was just a continuation of the same scene. Therefore, you need to trim that down more to keep it interesting in order to not allow the viewer to think something like... Okay, we have seen the bridge, I don't need to keep seeing the bridge, I know it is a bridge... NEXT SCENE PLEASE!

The same goes for a number of extended scenes after that. Go back and see if there is anything that can be trimmed down again, to keep the whole thing shorter, also look at some of the opening sections of a scene, you will find that there are some stuttering points in some of the filming, which could be removed and still tell the whole story. Also when travelling along that river, there were some longer shots that did not introduce anything new to the viewer, its a river, okay I get it, oh, its still a river, okay, ohh come on, it is still just a river darn it, NEXT SCENE PLEASE!

At some point in that river scene you could remove a section and then do a dissolved between the start and end of the clip and it will still tell a story. As I mentioned, go back and view it more critically and ask yourself at what point has the viewer seen enough of this scene. When you find that point, cut it there and go on to the next scene. In each clip ask the same question and see how much more you can trim this down and still tell your story. You will find that you can trim this down to at least half the length the new version currently is, and it will still tell the viewer the same story, yet will not allow them to get bored watching the scene.

The best thing to think of is that a scene should just about give the viewer enough of that clip to leave them satisfied, but not quite enough. Each scene should leave the viewer wishing they had just another second or two to watch. That way it will leave them wanting to see more and either may make them want to re-watch it, or to look for more of your work to see what else you have done. You want to keep them interested and leave them still a little bit hungry, wanting more. You don't want them to go away thinking that was exactly what I wanted and I don't need any more, because then they may never come back to see it again, or to want to see anything else you shot.

I ran a flight school for years and also did what were called introductory flights, but were really sightseeing flights. At first I gave them a nice long fun time in the air. Many were completely satisfied after the flight, some even said they had had enough now and would like to go back. None of them ever came back for another flight. So I reduced the flight time a good bit, charged less (But if the time was cut in half, the price was only reduced a third, for example). Most people said, when we landed, that was fantastic, I could have stayed up there much longer. I suggested they come back for another flight where I would show them a different area, equally as exciting. Many did return to do just that. I made more money, got to fly more for shorter periods and had many repeat customers spending more money. So for me it was a win-win situation.

By the same token, in your film, you need to leave each scene just before the person has had enough and go to the next clip. That will keep it interesting and keep them wanting more. Think back to yourself, how many drone videos have you watch whereby the scene cuts to the next one and leaves you thinking, ohhh I wish I could have seen just another few seconds of that. That is what you want to strive for and not have scenes so long that people are beginning to say, okay seen enough, next scene please. Hope this helps.
Wow, thank you for taking the time to view and especially the time you must have spent to answer.
I truly appreciate every thing you said and I will go back over it as you suggest and try to shorten it even further. I am loving this hobby and am learning so much from you guys. This, video, is totally new to me but I feel that by taking advice such as yours, I will get there.
Thank you again. Cymruflyer.
 
Wow, thank you for taking the time to view and especially the time you must have spent to answer.
I truly appreciate every thing you said and I will go back over it as you suggest and try to shorten it even further. I am loving this hobby and am learning so much from you guys. This, video, is totally new to me but I feel that by taking advice such as yours, I will get there.
Thank you again. Cymruflyer.
You are very welcome K84040 and as you have read, Dale D has reiterated what I said but added more to the response. It was obvious you are new to this because, as Dale D pointed out, you have no theme to the story other than shoot everything and wander here and there. A lion on the hunt has a purpose and nothing deviates that lion form their intended purpose. It is a calculated means to an end. In your video, you are wandering around like an Opossum on a nightly forage. You sniff here there and everywhere with no set destination in mind, other than to just get somewhere else.

Nothing wrong with that, as a newbie, if in a year you are still doing that, well maybe stamp collecting may be a better hobby for you. We all started out like you are here, in fact many of us still do this from time to time, so don't be put off. To improve yourself, have a look at what others are doing, what scenes they are shooting and how they all fall into place. Watch their videos without sound, it will make you notice the length, cuts and content of each clip much more.

I don't believe anyone is meaning to cut you down, just letting you know what to try not to do, in order to keep a viewers attention and make your content interesting. Remember, nobody was born knowing how to do anything, they all had to learn and practice and practice. Keep up the flying and filming.
 
I watched about 1/3rd of the first one and found it to be already too long. More about that in a second. I also found that the shots were kind of "soft" as far as the focus. Also, the meandering path of the drone showed the pilot had no real plan of where he/she was going. At first I expected him to follow the stream but he meandered off here and there, flying apparently aimlessly. After around 2 1/2 minutes I stopped it.

Then, I see the pilot edited it and came back with another iteration, about 5 minutes long- still too long and the same comments applied.

I have commented often in this forum about how to keep viewer's interest. I have copy/pasted my own viewer's history from my Vimeo subscription which shows only about 58% of the viewers ever watch until the end. Most do not watch more than a minute. That is just the way it is. For an interesting video of this length, the producer of the film needs to make each clip around 3-5 seconds, unless it is following a story line.

Today in my LR Timelapse Forum I received a video from Vittorio VIC VideoPIC. I am attaching it to this.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
. Here is a copy of my comment in his wonderful work

"OMG!!! what an absolute masterpiece! I was entranced and enrolled at every moment- not a dull second existed in this tour de force! Your whimsy, your artistic flair, and your humor show through every moment. I give this the Oscar for the best short film of the year. Mavic Pilots, keep this one on file to learn how the master performs!" I recommend to K84040 to watch it.
Dale, thank you for taking the time to look and for your detailed comments. As Cymruflyer states, you say the same thing in a different way, but no less relevant. I still am learning so appreciate any critique but maybe need to spend more time on both the flying and the editing. I also take your point about planning, something I am guilty of not doing, at least to perhaps the level required.
I watched the video and agree that it is amazing, as are others of theirs. I watched without music (Will watch again later with sound) and it gives an amazing feeling of exhiliration, with clips tending to be between 3 and 6 seconds. One question. Suppose you wanted to convey a feeling of calmness and peacefulness? I don't believe you could do that with that style of editing.
 
Inspirational. Conveys serenity that many other drone videos lack. Keep that up. I liked those long shots except where they suddenly stop or change direction abruptly. Especially the scene from 3:05 to 4:00 is awesome, but it begins with the quad rising then stopping and then starting to move forward. It would have been great if there was a fluid transition from one movement to another. As it is, I would just cut away the first few seconds. To achieve smooth moves, I turned down sensitivity and gain on all the controls including the gimbal up-down. And I learn to move the controls slowly.
 
Dale, thank you for taking the time to look and for your detailed comments. As Cymruflyer states, you say the same thing in a different way, but no less relevant. I still am learning so appreciate any critique but maybe need to spend more time on both the flying and the editing. I also take your point about planning, something I am guilty of not doing, at least to perhaps the level required.
I watched the video and agree that it is amazing, as are others of theirs. I watched without music (Will watch again later with sound) and it gives an amazing feeling of exhiliration, with clips tending to be between 3 and 6 seconds. One question. Suppose you wanted to convey a feeling of calmness and peacefulness? I don't believe you could do that with that style of editing.
 
Dear k84040; You asked how to convey a feeling of calmness and peacefulness, claiming it could not be done with "that style of editing." In the same breath, you stated that you watched my recommended video without music. So there, you have my answer! Music is so very important in setting the mood. Think of the movies..."Out of Africa, "or "Jaws," or "Schindler's List." We remember these movies as great not only for their content but for their music. Even a short piece of video can be accompanied by appropriate music.
Peacefulness comes with calm editing too, as ZXCflyer just said above. Make the edits flow- not rapid directional changes, starts and stops while you are deciding which way to push to stick. Cut all of those transitions out. They add nothing. Instead, go from scene to scene with smooth transitions like cross/dissolves and others provide in your editing software.
 
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Inspirational. Conveys serenity that many other drone videos lack. Keep that up. I liked those long shots except where they suddenly stop or change direction abruptly. Especially the scene from 3:05 to 4:00 is awesome, but it begins with the quad rising then stopping and then starting to move forward. It would have been great if there was a fluid transition from one movement to another. As it is, I would just cut away the first few seconds. To achieve smooth moves, I turned down sensitivity and gain on all the controls including the gimbal up-down. And I learn to move the controls slowly.
Thank you for your input. I think that sometimes I need more than one take, as Isometimes realise I have done it. Still learning to fly and to edit, but I think I might be improving.

I have re-edited two of my previous youtube videos after the advice from these guys (and intend to do the rest), stortened them and definitely taken the advice as much as I am able to. The next thing is to get out and shoot more to see if my capture has improved lol.
 
Just to (hopefully) show that I have taken your advice, this is one I have re-edited:
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Dear k84040; You asked how to convey a feeling of calmness and peacefulness, claiming it could not be done with "that style of editing." In the same breath, you stated that you watched my recommended video without music. So there, you have my answer! Music is so very important in setting the mood. Think of the movies..."Out of Africa, "or "Jaws," or "Schindler's List." We remember these movies as great not only for their content but for their music. Even a short piece of video can be accompanied by appropriate music.
Peacefulness comes with calm editing too, as ZXCflyer just said above. Make the edits flow- not rapid directional changes, starts and stops while you are deciding which way to push to stick. Cut all of those transitions out. They add nothing. Instead, go from scene to scene with smooth transitions like cross/dissolves and others provide in your editing software.
I suggested that he looks at videos with the sound off, in order to see and more appreciate how long each clip might be and how each one may flow on from the previous one. Of course enjoy videos with the music but to better notice what is being done by the editor and to more be aware of what the shot is showing, the music should be off. That of course is only for training purposes.

A good choice of music can make or break a video. The music that goes with a scene is just as important as the actual scene in order to make up the entire package. That scene is of course made up of a lot to consider also. There is the perspective, the content, the framing, the movement if a video, the lighting, just to name a few very important things to consider.

When watching any film without music, the viewer becomes far more aware of the content that they are watching. Sometimes a not so great piece of footage can be made far more acceptable with the addition of a great piece of music to go with it. Of course there is a limit to what music can do, in a video. I recently took my five year old out to visit some of the playgrounds and parks that we used to ride to for him to play. Now of course everything is closed, so I searched through my music to get a piece of music that I felt best conveyed the mood of the images, including the drone footage. It is not great work, just something I hurriedly put together one evening.

I created this more for my son to one day look back on when he is older, rather than for mass release to the public. I'm not sure if the link works on a MAC, but I hope it will. On a PC, when you click it, there will be a small bar at the bottom of your screen pop up, asking to save or open, at least on my PC. Click the save and it will go to your desk top, then you can open it from there.

I hope you can open and view it and it is best heard through headphones.
 
Last edited:
Just to (hopefully) show that I have taken your advice, this is one I have re-edited:
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Now that was a lovely little piece of film, especially when you captured the Raptor. At first I was thinking I was going to see a child flying a red kite, then when I saw the bird in flight, I realized it was a different kite you were meaning. You might also try using a dissolve between some scenes to give a softer feel to the whole video. That was also one of my favourite pieces of music. That was a much better example of your work, keep that up, you're on your way.
 
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What altitude did you get up to in the in between and above clouds video? Don't you have a legal max. altitude limit in Slovakia? I thought their would have been a law to safeguard real pilots in airplanes. I often used to fly my open cockpit plane between cloud layers like that and would not have wanted someone with a drone up there that would have been in my way. A hit could kill a pilot like that. Or it might have taken out a fabric covered wood tail plane for example, again possibly being a catastrophic event.

Best to think about that in future flying, I'm sure you would not want the death of someone on your hands, just because you wanted to fly up high, where you don't belong. I fly a Mavic 2 Pro as well but I just want you to think about what your actions might cause, when you are out flying your drone in the future. Nice smooth flying in that crane and bridge footage though, very good and smooth control. Fly safe please, it might be me up there one day and you can't see me and you will be too small for me to see.
 
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What altitude did you get up to in the in between and above clouds video? Don't you have a legal max. altitude limit in Slovakia? I thought you would have been a law to safeguard real pilots in airplanes. I often used to fly my open cockpit plane between cloud layers like that and would not have wanted someone with a drone up there that would have been in my way. A hit could kill a pilot like that. Or it might have taken out a fabric covered wood tail plane for example, again possibly being a catastrophic event.

Best to think about that in future flying, I'm sure you would not want the death of someone on your hands, just because you wanted to fly up high, where you don't belong. I fly a Mavic 2 Pro as well but I just want you to think about what your actions might cause, when you are out flying your drone in the future. Nice smooth flying in that crane and bridge footage though, very good and smooth control. Fly safe please, it might be me up there one day and you can't see me and you will be too small for me to see.

You are wrong. You don't know this airspace and will never come here. Think twice before you talk to strangers how they might kill someone. Even if you try to sound polite. You are not.
Furthermore, this topic is about k84040s video. If you have any ideas about my videos, "please" think about what to do to let me know in an appropriate way.
 
I have been to your country, probably before you were born when it was Yugoslavia. I travelled the entire length from Austria side to Greece and have flown over your country many times in the past. Maybe you should take more care of what you are saying, hmmm? I won't be flying there any time soon, but plenty of other pilots are flying above you, and those pilots and their families are the ones that you need to take into consideration, when you fly so high, into the airspace for general aviation. So, please tell us what are the drone laws in Slovakia, what legal altitude can you fly there with your drone, since you seem to be telling us that you are allowed to fly so high and without keeping your drone in visual reference, as your video shows us you were doing?

And one more point, anyone who endangers another person such as a real pilot in his aircraft, by flying a drone in that airspace, does not need to be told anything politely, they need to be made aware of the danger they are to other users of the sky. And any responsible drone pilot should know and understand such potential dangers and not put others into potential life threatening situations just because you want to fly that high. I shall look up the drone laws in Slovakia to see what the legal limits are, because since you are not telling us, I assume you do not know.
 
I have been to your country, probably before you were born when it was Yugoslavia. I travelled the entire length from Austria side to Greece and have flown over your country many times in the past. Maybe you should take more care of what you are saying, hmmm? I won't be flying there any time soon, but plenty of other pilots are flying above you, and those pilots and their families are the ones that you need to take into consideration, when you fly so high, into the airspace for general aviation. So, please tell us what are the drone laws in Slovakia, what legal altitude can you fly there with your drone, since you seem to be telling us that you are allowed to fly so high and without keeping your drone in visual reference, as your video shows us you were doing?

And one more point, anyone who endangers another person such as a real pilot in his aircraft, by flying a drone in that airspace, does not need to be told anything politely, they need to be made aware of the danger they are to other users of the sky. And any responsible drone pilot should know and understand such potential dangers and not put others into potential life threatening situations just because you want to fly that high. I shall look up the drone laws in Slovakia to see what the legal limits are, because since you are not telling us, I assume you do not know.
You are too obnoxious and don't listen.
 
Again, no info from you regarding the legal limit you should have been flying. You know you were in the wrong with your flight. I shall not be continuing with this thread, sorry for the bother to others but these unsafe flyers need to be called out.
 
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