Mini 3 ICELAND - DJI MINI PRO 3 - Did it pass the high wind test?

[Skaarj]

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to present to you my first film with the Mini pro 3, it has been such a thrill flying it last week - I'm impressed by the output for such a small drone.
It held pretty well the harsh wind of Iceland - Not all the time but most of it
Hope you'll enjoy it.

 

[Dale D]

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to present to you my first film with the Mini pro 3, it has been such a thrill flying it last week - I'm impressed by the output for such a small drone.
It held pretty well the harsh wind of Iceland - Not all the time but most of it
Hope you'll enjoy it.

Your footage of Iceland could be more beautiful. Iceland is a wonderland of thousands of photo ops. My wife and I did a photo trip there several years ago.

My only comment is that while watching this film,I constantly wanted to increase the exposure. Many otherwise beautiful scenes were under exposed. Unfortunately, we do not yet have easy masking editing tools to lighten the foreground or darken the sky separately like we do in Photoshop or Lightroom masking.

I will be happy to send you my video if you write me as a private conversation

Dale

 

[Dale D]

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to present to you my first film with the Mini pro 3, it has been such a thrill flying it last week - I'm impressed by the output for such a small drone.
It held pretty well the harsh wind of Iceland - Not all the time but most of it
Hope you'll enjoy it.

Your footage of Iceland couldn't be more beautiful. Iceland is a wonderland of thousands of photo ops. My wife and I did a photo trip there several years ago. Regretfully, Mmost of the footage was under-exposed.

My only comment is that while watching this film, I constantly wanted to increase the exposure. Many otherwise beautiful scenes were under exposed. Unfortunately, we do not yet have easy masking editing tools to lighten the foreground or darken the sky separately like we do in Photoshop or Lightroom masking.

 

[PHZ]

Impressive film and impressive drone. Nicely done. Excellent match on the music. And great sound effects with the wind. The shot at 4:09 is spectacular. I hope you got a still of that. Thanks for sharing this with all of us.

 

[Jack43]

Hi Skaarj.
it´s a pity that most of the images are way too dark! Beside that the shots would be amazing!
cheers Paul

 

[JimSteadman]

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to present to you my first film with the Mini pro 3, it has been such a thrill flying it last week - I'm impressed by the output for such a small drone.
It held pretty well the harsh wind of Iceland - Not all the time but most of it
Hope you'll enjoy it.

Elegantly done! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lister]

I disagree that the images are too dark. They are dark, yes. But not TOO dark. This is obviously the filmmaker's intentional choice and entirely valid in this situation.

As a result, the overall impression is one of dignity and grandeur entirely appropriate for the subject. Not all images need detailed shadows. IMHO, this film is extremely well done in all respects. Kudos to the filmmaker, the photographer, the pilot and the remarkable Mini 3.

It is definitely possible to do local exposure adjustments with live video. I don't know about Premiere or Final Cut, but Resolve does this relatively effortlessly.

Graduated ND effects are just a few button-pushes away and localized adjustments of any size or shape can be created and tracked to match changing imagery. This is relatively advanced stuff, but all it takes is a little RTFM, practice and possibly some rendering.

 

[YVRGUY]

Nice video…one more video of Iceland and I’m on the plane to Reykjavik ✈. As far as the others’s constructive critiques…I’m listening to them too. That’s what makes this forum great.

 

[Robert Prior]

I think I recognize a couple of those locations. Makes me want to return to try my hand ay video rather than just photography!

At first I thought the footage was a bit dark, but when rewatched in a dark room it's nice and moody, and the sun coming out at the end is spectacular. If the earlier clips were brighter then the overall impact would be less. So now I think that it's nicely cinematic.

Kinda like some of the Game of Thrones scenes, which really need to be watched with the lights off. A cinematic choice not everyone likes, but very effective when viewed correctly.

 

[Dale D]

I think I recognize a couple of those locations. Makes me want to return to try my hand ay video rather than just photography!

At first I thought the footage was a bit dark, but when rewatched in a dark room it's nice and moody, and the sun coming out at the end is spectacular. If the earlier clips were brighter then the overall impact would be less. So now I think that it's nicely cinematic.

Kinda like some of the Game of Thrones scenes, which really need to be watched with the lights off. A cinematic choice not everyone likes, but very effective when viewed correctly.

I have personally been to Skogafoss, and the glacier, among the scenes in this film. I can guarantee that they were not this dark. Not trying to be mean here but come on now, the footage is underexposed.

 

[Chrislaf]

@Skaarj , I enjoyed watching your video. Thanks for sharing it. Iceland is definitely on my bucket list. I agree with Robert and for a first video you did a great job. I just got a Mini 3 to complement my Mavic 3 and to use when I can't use the larger drone. Although, I shoot photographs, seeing videos like yours makes me want to try my hand at video.

Just ignore the ones who's first inclination is to criticize rather than complement. This part of the forum is a place to share and showcase your work and that's what you have done - some people tend to forget that!

Chris

 

[TerryToast]

Beautiful landscapes. Well filmed Samuel.

Out of interest, the brightness appears to be quite low. Did you tone it down to create a more “moody” effect?

 

[Elthree]

Beautiful landscapes, and the perspectives and compositions are lovely.

The darkness does jar for me. It doesn't feel like the Iceland I remember: it seems like an alien world of half-light.

Actually the shots of vehicles driving made me think of the old films where they faked night-time scenes by filming during the day but underexposing.

 

[Lister]

I have personally been to Skogafoss, and the glacier, among the scenes in this film. I can guarantee that they were not this dark. Not trying to be mean here but come on now, the footage is underexposed.

Nope. It's not. This video and its photography are beyond criticism.

On second watching a month later, I'm even more impressed with both the Mini 3 and the author's skills.

 

[TerryToast]

Nope. It's not. This video and its photography are beyond criticism.

On second watching a month later, I'm even more impressed with both the Mini 3 and the author's skills.

Beyond criticism? Lol! I haven’t heard that one before.

I’m curious why you’re not saying it’s too long at 5mins 15secs? Particularly give the first clip goes for 30 seconds and some of the other clips go for quite a while too.

Maybe the answer to my own question is, “the creator has filmed a remote unusual location which we rarely see, thus it holds our attention for longer, plus the creator has combined this with slow music which supports slower transitions.”

Thoughts? Anyone?

 

[Elthree]

This video and its photography are beyond criticism.

There's a difference between "criticism" and "critique"!

 

[TerryToast]

There's a difference between "criticism" and "critique"!

Either way, I think Dale has a valid point.

I suspect the OP deliberately kept the footage dark/underexposed to create a dark and gloomy feel to the film. It worked well too. The OP must have been tempted to brighten the darker scenes so all the lighting of all scenes were more consistent, which is what we are all encouraged to do, but i’m actually glad he didn’t.

 

[Lister]

Beyond criticism? Lol! I haven’t heard that one before.

I’m curious why you’re not saying it’s too long at 5mins 15secs? Particularly give the first clip goes for 30 seconds and some of the other clips go for quite a while too.

Maybe the answer to my own question is, “the creator has filmed a remote unusual location which we rarely see, thus it holds our attention for longer, plus the creator has combined this with slow music which supports slower transitions.”

Thoughts? Anyone?

Good question. What makes some two-hour movies too long and others just right?
The Iceland video is just right. And just my opinion, for that matter.

 

[TerryToast]

Good question. What makes some two-hour movies too long and others just right?
The Iceland video is just right. And just my opinion, for that matter.

I think a drone video can be long (eg 5 mins), so long as the scenes and story are interesting/powerful enough to hold the viewers interest.

Very common feedback in this forum for many videos is “your clips/film are too long”. I’ve given that exact feedback many times myself and received it. It’s slightly better than simply saying “You film is not good” but not much. However if we peal back the onion and take it to the next level, what we’re actually saying is that “we’re losing interest in the video before the end, because … <insert the real problem with the film here>“.

In my opinion, this is where we can all learn and grow, as film makers. We should be aiming to improve our skills of filming and editing in such a matter, that we capture the interest of the viewers and hold it.

“Reveals” are a very basic example for just one clip. The scene which is “revealed” is often more interesting than the exact same scene which is just shown 100% immediately.

“Story telling” is another example, which extends across the whole film.

Once we perfect this, hopefully we’ll all start producing films that are the perfect length. Something to aspire to.

 

[Robert Prior]

Maybe the answer to my own question is, “the creator has filmed a remote unusual location which we rarely see, thus it holds our attention for longer, plus the creator has combined this with slow music which supports slower transitions.”

I've been to some of those locations, watched many Iceland videos, and this was one I didn't speed through (which is unusual). I think it's a combination of the atmosphere, music, and shots — but I lack the language/skill to describe why I like this video more than most.

I think the decision to go for dark-and-moody at the beginning, gradually brightening towards the end of part of it. So are the sounds — not just the music and the wind, but the dripping of water during the scenes of melting ice. It all fits together in a way that says 'dark and brooding landscape' rather than 'look at the cool shots I got with my drone'.