Smokey Mountains North Carolina

[SkyPath Studios]

Hi, before I say anything I want to let everyone know that this video was NOT filmed in a national park. All footage was shot outside the borders of any national parks nearby. I am looking for any critiques such as the edit itself, color, music, cuts, flying technique, clean flow etc. Please post your opinions of my video below as I'm trying to grow my skills. ANY feedback helps, negative or positive. Thanks! I suggest watching on YouTube because the quality is very low just playing the video below.

 

[FLDave]

Placing "cinematic" in the title doesn't make it cinematic. To a viewer it doesn't matter whether you call it cinematic or not; the view would just want high quality travel video. In my mind it fell well short of that.
First, it was just a mess of short clips blinking from one to another which could be for any mountain tops with fog in the valleys.
For a travel video it needs text or narration to tell the viewer what it is; loud music doesn't do it. It needs a theme or a story which takes the viewer on a path through the mountains. The view should focus on a travel theme not the capabilities of the pilot or drone..
A suggestion is to review various travel brochures about the Smokies and then develop your own travel video. That needs to start somewhere so the viewer has starting geographic point.
It's a lot more than just flying and shooting videos.
I think a high quality video on YouTube is worth 4K. For serious viewers it it can be cast to a 4K TV. Make your videos worthwhile. Of course if the quality and content of your video is only worth seeing on a phone, then go low quality; it depends on who you want as your audience.

 

[FLDave]

When doing a video don't let yourself be restricted to drone videos. You can also include quality videos from a handheld camera. An example would be to get some videos from Clingman's Dome and other accessible parts of the Smokies; there are no restrictions to hand-held cameras. You can also include some quality still pictures as part of your video. When done as part of the story with narration you can turn a so-so video into a good video.
Always go back to the purpose of your video.

 

[BeBeep]

I am no expert by a long shot but I liked it. Beautiful scenery And I liked the music.

 

[SmilingOgre]

No expert here either. Far from it. What I did like was the smooth flow of a number of clips with interesting perspectives and what I would consider cinematic angles. How the clips are ordered are a little curious to me. I did feel like I was jumping around a lot. Maybe sequence them from light and sunny to dark and mystic? The music was not my cup of tea but means nothing as it is just my preference.

 

[Yandows]

To start off with, Great Job! Don’t know if I could do any better with my current skill set. (I’m a photographer, not a videographer).

That said, first off I agree with FLDave and leave the term “Cinematic“ out. That in itself opens you up to trolls.

What I saw was some great scenes of the Smokey’s which really made me want to be there, but only on the scenes my brain latched on to. The scene changes were fast, probably not a problem for a teen or twenty something, but not my mid-life post office beaten brain. I’d say slow it down some, use more cross fades and longer times between changes. The hard transitions on the down beat are great, but should be reserved for transitioning to really awesome scenes.

I don’t know the area so I couldn’t say whether you were moving north, south, east or west throughout the video. To me a line of travel isn’t necessary. Only showcasing the area, which I think the scenes did well.

I can only hope my first “real” video posted here will be as good as yours.

Bottom line, as long as you are happy with it, that’s all that matters, not what others think.

 

[SkyPath Studios]

To start off with, Great Job! Don’t know if I could do any better with my current skill set. (I’m a photographer, not a videographer).

That said, first off I agree with FLDave and leave the term “Cinematic“ out. That in itself opens you up to trolls.

What I saw was some great scenes of the Smokey’s which really made me want to be there, but only on the scenes my brain latched on to. The scene changes were fast, probably not a problem for a teen or twenty something, but not my mid-life post office beaten brain. I’d say slow it down some, use more cross fades and longer times between changes. The hard transitions on the down beat are great, but should be reserved for transitioning to really awesome scenes.

I don’t know the area so I couldn’t say whether you were moving north, south, east or west throughout the video. To me a line of travel isn’t necessary. Only showcasing the area, which I think the scenes did well.

I can only hope my first “real” video posted here will be as good as yours.

Bottom line, as long as you are happy with it, that’s all that matters, not what others think.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I can completely agree that I messed the title up. I was more looking for a peaceful video of the Smokey’s and not necessarily a travel video showcasing the things to do or a video where you could follow along and know where you were. That said I am a teen so like yandows said the fast cuts may be good for us and not others. I think in future videos I will slow things down a bit so everyone can enjoy. And I’m saving up for a good camera that can complement my drone footage. I’ve tried my phone and the dynamic range is so bad that it doesn’t fit with the quality of the air 2S so I stuck with just my drone.

 

[SmilingOgre]

That said I am a teen so like yandows said the fast cuts may be good for us and not others.

Lol, Ok then. It's probably perfect from what I see getting the most hits on youtube. I'm 68. Yes, we can get that old. Knowing your audience is everything and you'll get a lot more audience among teens than old farts.

 

[mark.pinskey]

Placing "cinematic" in the title doesn't make it cinematic. To a viewer it doesn't matter whether you call it cinematic or not; the view would just want high quality travel video. In my mind it fell well short of that.
First, it was just a mess of short clips blinking from one to another which could be for any mountain tops with fog in the valleys.
For a travel video it needs text or narration to tell the viewer what it is; loud music doesn't do it. It needs a theme or a story which takes the viewer on a path through the mountains. The view should focus on a travel theme not the capabilities of the pilot or drone..
A suggestion is to review various travel brochures about the Smokies and then develop your own travel video. That needs to start somewhere so the viewer has starting geographic point.
It's a lot more than just flying and shooting videos.
I think a high quality video on YouTube is worth 4K. For serious viewers it it can be cast to a 4K TV. Make your videos worthwhile. Of course if the quality and content of your video is only worth seeing on a phone, then go low quality; it depends on who you want as your audience.

Lots of great points…But again, your still learning the hobby like me…..I feel that there is so much room for creativity and therefore growth in this industry that we can never really say we mastered it. I myself find these replies extremely useful for my own particular growth….Your on your way and keep at it…..

My best
Mark

 

[dolphinspirit]

Thank you for sharing your video. I enjoyed watching it - it is a beautiful area and you captured some of that natural beauty.

 

[CorralesDan]

I have nothing to add to the editing as you have plenty already. For me it was nice to see as I spent my undergraduate years in the mid-60s at the University of Tennessee. I came back to UT in 1972 after the Navy to get my MBA. So, my wife and I spent a lot of time in the Smokeys. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dale D]

Hi, before I say anything I want to let everyone know that this video was NOT filmed in a national park. All footage was shot outside the borders of any national parks nearby. I am looking for any critiques such as the edit itself, color, music, cuts, flying technique, clean flow etc. Please post your opinions of my video below as I'm trying to grow my skills. ANY feedback helps, negative or positive. Thanks! I suggest watching on YouTube because the quality is very low just playing the video below.

I watched it several times. For the most part, it was beautiful flying and footage. I found the quick cuts disconcerting at :36,:48, etc. Some of the forests were greatly underexposed. The sky , for the most part was blown out. I wish we had masking abilities in Premiere but we don't so it is hard to fix those skies.They has some promising cloud formations. Nice music selection. Color correction was good.

I'd edit out the quick cuts, and underexposed footage. All in all, I'd give it a "B."

Dale

 

[wardtom084]

My area. If you are ever around the Cherohala Skyway look me up.

 

[360 Guy]

Don't cut yourself short, the video was good.

 

[SkyPath Studios]

Don't cut yourself short, the video was good.

Thanks!

 

[SETI 2022]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I can completely agree that I messed the title up. I was more looking for a peaceful video of the Smokey’s and not necessarily a travel video showcasing the things to do or a video where you could follow along and know where you were. That said I am a teen so like yandows said the fast cuts may be good for us and not others. I think in future videos I will slow things down a bit so everyone can enjoy. And I’m saving up for a good camera that can complement my drone footage. I’ve tried my phone and the dynamic range is so bad that it doesn’t fit with the quality of the air 2S so I stuck with just my drone.

It great that you, as a " young in", are getting involved in this type of video photography. I agree with a lot of the previous comments , however learning is where " we learn", if you watch professional video very few scenes are longer than 6 seconds, unless the scene is complex. eg action etc. combine your like scenes together, create suspense, provide scenes which make the viewer want to see what's next. Try not to switch from time lines , eg sunset to midday and reverse , subject matter to be continuous , eg mountains , then fog , then the valley and townships. Be your own worst critic . Good luck with your future efforts ,.

 

[Captain Filmmaking]

Hi!

I like the Video! Music is good and I especially liked the timelapses! The building clouds and fog look fantastic.

For my taste I may could even be shorter, because some of the shots looked a bit repetitive.

But hey - that’s all what is is about: learning and doing a bit better in the next on!

So good job!

 

[life.in.nb]

i am new to this, in every sense of the word. But with that said, i liked it. As others said it didn't strike me as a travel cine vid, just very beautiful scenery. I did like how you changed some scenes to the drum beat. Others here said it was too fast, but i liked it.

between 1:01 and 1:06 the fly backwards thru me off. It just seemed a bit out of place.

i loved the fast forward hyperlapse bits. =)

 

[RobH2]

I really liked it especially as you said you were learning. With each one you bet better and I really enjoyed yours. I live in Maryland but I'm from Asheville and I enjoyed your video. I don't think it was a mess of short cuts. When doing those it seems that we are predisposed to see three in a row instead of two. That seems to make using those quick cuts more comfortable and successful for some reason. A phycologist could probably explain why....lol...

Sure, some more experience with exposure and grading will come and it will help but I think you have the chops to do nice work. Keep practicing your craft and it will only get better.

Great job.

 

[life.in.nb]

It great that you, as a " young in", are getting involved in this type of video photography. I agree with a lot of the previous comments , however learning is where " we learn", if you watch professional video very few scenes are longer than 6 seconds, unless the scene is complex. eg action etc. combine your like scenes together, create suspense, provide scenes which make the viewer want to see what's next. Try not to switch from time lines , eg sunset to midday and reverse , subject matter to be continuous , eg mountains , then fog , then the valley and townships. Be your own worst critic . Good luck with your future efforts ,.

I just learned from this post! never thought of the time line throughput. excellent advice. keep them grouped makes sense. =)