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First Cinematic Portrait Video

fguthrie

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So here I go ... this is the first video I've ever made and I'm sure it looks like it! lol Interested in your feedback.

I can tell you the light was tough! I used an ND32 and probably needed an ND128!

 
Last edited:
Didn’t look... don’t go to websites to view videos/pics.

just wondering why you needed such a strong ND. Rarely use 32 even in midday Arizona desert imaging.
 
Didn’t look... don’t go to websites to view videos/pics.

just wondering why you needed such a strong ND. Rarely use 32 even in midday Arizona desert imaging.
I'm guessing the bright sun and the reflection off of the water. I took a drone video course and it recommended ND64 for shooting video.
 
I'm guessing the bright sun and the reflection off of the water. I took a drone video course and it recommended ND64 for shooting video.
What?
Never heard of that.
They must have had a special purpose in mind to slow the shutter that much.
P
Routinely shoot video w/o filters... more concerned about having ISO as close to 100 as possible.
 
Well that was different to what we usually see here on this forum :), unusual hue to the vid was that fog or something in the background.
Funny place to put a swing.

Regards
 
What?
Never heard of that.
They must have had a special purpose in mind to slow the shutter that much.
P
Routinely shoot video w/o filters... more concerned about having ISO as close to 100 as possible.
I can't image how bright it would have been without an ND filter - probably toatlly washed out.
BTW - I updated the link and provided a YouTube link.
 
I thought it looked good. I shoot video in Texas and despite the brightness of Summer or clear Spring/Fall days, I'm usually fine with a 16ND, shoting at 100 ISO and f4.5 or 5.0. So, 32ND should be more than enough, even on water. Mostly you need to work on how you want the final video to look. Toward that end I would suggest much slower moving shots. In this case, the woman is beautiful and the location is really cool, so, very slow circling, flying straight at her from a bit of a distance, then right over the swing. Maybe a shot looking straight down. If you shoot 4K but edit HD and your model is comfortable with it, you could get close to her, hover, the pull out and up slowly. With 4K you could zoom in on her face in editing, then zoom out as the drone moves backwards. That could be a nice shot. I'm sure my colleagues on this forum could suggest others.
 
I thought it looked good. I shoot video in Texas and despite the brightness of Summer or clear Spring/Fall days, I'm usually fine with a 16ND, shoting at 100 ISO and f4.5 or 5.0. So, 32ND should be more than enough, even on water. Mostly you need to work on how you want the final video to look. Toward that end I would suggest much slower moving shots. In this case, the woman is beautiful and the location is really cool, so, very slow circling, flying straight at her from a bit of a distance, then right over the swing. Maybe a shot looking straight down. If you shoot 4K but edit HD and your model is comfortable with it, you could get close to her, hover, the pull out and up slowly. With 4K you could zoom in on her face in editing, then zoom out as the drone moves backwards. That could be a nice shot. I'm sure my colleagues on this forum could suggest others.
Excellent information - thank you very much! I have so much to learn concerning shooting video, but I am really enjoying the process. I like your ideas of flying over the swing and looking straight down. I'm going to go back there a couple more times over the next month - I'll try those moves. Thanks again - great feedback!
 
Different style of video, but I like it! Great location!
Try the flying DaveS described if you go back there.
I think it's worth trying to fix ISO at 100 and use a 64ND with this light conditions.
With my Mavic Zoom here in northern Germany I sometimes need ND32 on a sunny day without being near the water to avoid overexposure.
There is some stuttering at the beginning of the video when you move toward the swing, perhaps you can fix this.
Good luck!
 
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Different style of video, but I like it! Great location!
Try the flying DaveS described if you go back there.
I think it's worth trying to fix ISO at 100 and use a 64ND with this light conditions.
With my Mavic Zoom here in northern Germany I sometimes need ND32 on a sunny day without being near the water to avoid overexposure.
There is some stuttering at the beginning of the video when you move toward the swing, perhaps you can fix this.
Good luck!
Thank you very much for your comments - I'll see what I can do about the stuttering. I need to get an ND64 filer. :)
 
I agree with Dave@ and JooB. Your concept is great and you began well -- keep at it, if you can, with the same model and similar/same conditions by adding different maneuvers to get some variety. Do NOT pay attention to any detractors that question your vision (bad setting/environment, bad props, bad concept, etc.) unless they can contribute to the problem, as they see it. In my opinion, criticism that is not constructive is not very useful.

As you learn more about video and photography, you will find that all the manual controls and add-on accessories are simply tools for you to get the results you have in your mind's eye. To that end, ND filters are simply a tool to get the exposure you need for the image you want. Generally speaking, ND filters are used to darken your exposure for many reasons: you have bottomed out on your ISO, your shutter speed is to high, your aperture is too small (large in number) giving you too much depth of field. This last one is the primary reason most cinematographers use them, to gain a large aperture, throwing the background/foreground out of focus. Which presents a new problem -- keeping the subject in focus as the camera moves closer/further away. (BTW, do not be too cautious of higher ISO. Today's sensors can easily give quality images at low and midrange settings, and when all you have for low-light situation are high ISO settings, you must choose to shoot less than perfect images, or none at all.)

It is always helpful to learn technique from courses, but try to take courses that explain Fully, the technique, so that you learn the WHY as well as the HOW.

Keep up the experimentation -- you are on the right path.
 
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I agree with Dave@ and JooB. Your concept is great and you began well -- keep at it, if you can, with the same model and similar/same conditions by adding different maneuvers to get some variety. Do NOT pay attention to any detractors that question your vision (bad setting/environment, bad props, bad concept, etc.) unless they can contribute to the problem, as they see it. In my opinion, criticism that is not constructive is not very useful.

As you learn more about video and photography, you will find that all the manual controls and add-on accessories are simply tools for you to get the results you have in your mind's eye. To that end, ND filters are simply a tool to get the exposure you need for the image you want. Generally speaking, ND filters are used to darken your exposure for many reasons: you have bottomed out on your ISO, your shutter speed is to high, your aperture is too small (large in number) giving you too much depth of field. This last one is the primary reason most cinematographers use them, to gain a large aperture, throwing the background/foreground out of focus. Which presents a new problem -- keeping the subject in focus as the camera moves closer/further away. (BTW, do not be too cautious of higher ISO. Today's sensors can easily give quality images at low and midrange settings, and when all you have for low-light situation are high ISO settings, you must choose to shoot less than perfect images, or none at all.)

It is always helpful to learn technique from courses, but try to take courses that explain Fully, the technique, so that you learn the WHY as well as the HOW.

Keep up the experimentation -- you are on the right path.
Thank you very much! I really appreciated your words of wisdom. I've created a second video of another model, much shorter (I will share it soon). In both cases I did not have the opportunity to work one on one with the model. I am setting up shoots soon to do just that. I have been a still portrait photographer for years, but am now finding a passion for video. I'm thus far enjoying also the editing process. So much to learn - it makes it fun.
 
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