What are the most common mistakes of amateur movie makers?

[Dbez1]

As an offshoot of a recent discussion on the MM forum, I invite you to enter your thoughts on what you feel are the most common mistakes you notice in the videos submitted on this forum. Your opinion of what makes a great drone video is also welcome. This is meant to be an informational/educational exercise as opposed to an attack on someone’s specific work, so let’s keep it friendly, non derogatory, and encouraging in nature. I thank you in advance for your participation.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Here are my biggies... and I'm guilty of all of them.

• Video lacks telling a story - needs a theme
• Repetitive coverage of the same view
• Segments too long - loses viewers attention
• Inconsistent transitions between scenes Or too fancy of a transition that distracts from the mood.
• Background music that is inconsistent with the mood of the video
• Repetitive movement - for example always flying forward.
• Too rapid of a yaw or gimbal pitch
• Inconsistent exposure between segments
• Color grading that is well beyond reality, although it could be for effect.

 

[Alexstarsza]

• Too rapid of a yaw or gimbal pitch

This one is the deadliest sin ?

 

[Mavic Mac]

A fast panning - I know I did it with my first video.
@Fred Garvin recommended the book How To Shoot Video That Doesn't Doesn't Suck by Steve Stockman. Based on his recommendation I bought the book and found it excellent.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Here are my biggies... and I'm guilty of all of them.

• Video lacks telling a story - needs a theme
• Repetitive coverage of the same view
• Segments too long - loses viewers attention
• Inconsistent transitions between scenes Or too fancy of a transition that distracts from the mood.
• Background music that is inconsistent with the mood of the video
• Repetitive movement - for example always flying forward.
• Too rapid of a yaw or gimbal pitch
• Inconsistent exposure between segments
• Color grading that is well beyond reality, although it could be for effect.

Great list, I am struggling to think of anything to add to that

Maybe getting frame rate and shutter ratio right for good motion blur in footage, but it's probably not as important as most of the above.

Too rapid of a yaw or gimbal pitch

This one is the deadliest sin ?

Indeed, I would put this at the #1 thing to give attention to for new pilots.
After they've mastered flight, and some basic cinematic maneuvers.
Slowing down yaw and gimbal speed in settings is so easy, and helps immensely with steady footage doing multiple stick inputs / wheel movement.

 

[Jet skier]

Great list, I am struggling to think of anything to add to that

Maybe getting frame rate and shutter ratio right for good motion blur in footage, but it's probably not as important as most of the above.



Indeed, I would put this at the #1 thing to give attention to for new pilots.
After they've mastered flight, and some basic cinematic maneuvers.
Slowing down yaw and gimbal speed in settings is so easy, and helps immensely with steady footage doing multiple stick inputs / wheel movement.

Any use of unstable footage. Your fingers have to be in lockdown mode

 

[EricJT]

Here are my biggies... and I'm guilty of all of them.

• Repetitive movement - for example always flying forward.

If the pilot is uncomfortable flying backwards, the footage can be reversed in your video editor of choice. A trick I use when wanting to do a backwards reveal of trees and dropping in altitude.

 

[Dbez1]

Great points all! Keep them coming.

 

[paul050079]

Crashing into trees

 

[IShouldBeWorking]

That’s a really good list, especially the disorienting, jerky movements. Here are a few editing things that I’ve picked up over time:

• Pick subtle titles, transitions and effects to keep from overshadowing your footage.
• Pick your music to fit the mood of your shots.
• Time your cuts with the music to make things flow nicely.
• Less is more. Keep your individual shots short and your total video time to a minute or two.
• Consider speeding a shot up or slowing it down to make it more interesting.
• Keep practicing and have fun!

 

[RickinWaST]

Plan the video ahead of time.
Great videos don’t just happen.
Choosing subject matter that is captivating.
Know the best lighting situations.
Learning cinematic maneuvers.

 

[Dbez1]

Crashing into trees

Can’t argue with that one ???

 

[EricJT]

Crashing into trees

Especially when flying backwards!

 

[Mavic Maxwell]

This amateur appreciated and picked up some great tips.
Thanks for the question Dbez1 and respondents.

 

[Dbez1]

You’re welcome. I thought it might be a good educational opportunity for many of us.

 

[Olav van Gerven]

My biggest problem for videos is the editing.

Not the editing itself, but most of the time I have so much footage (last summer, three weeks Sweden, 460 GB), that it is hard for me to let things out, especially, when every single moment has a meaning to me. Planning the video becomes more important to me, even working on a script for this summer (...)

 

[desertvet38]

If the pilot is uncomfortable flying backwards, the footage can be reversed in your video editor of choice. A trick I use when wanting to do a backwards reveal of trees and dropping in altitude.

Great point indeed...just try to avoid having cars, people walking, bicyclists, birds, etc. that move forward in you frames. Reversing the video will make them walk, fly ride their bikes and drive backwards, and look silly, unless of course that is the style you're going for for a particular shot. Happy shooting, stay safe! ??

 

[Paulf10]

Here are my biggies... and I'm guilty of all of them.

• Video lacks telling a story - needs a theme
• Repetitive coverage of the same view
• Segments too long - loses viewers attention
• Inconsistent transitions between scenes Or too fancy of a transition that distracts from the mood.
• Background music that is inconsistent with the mood of the video
• Repetitive movement - for example always flying forward.
• Too rapid of a yaw or gimbal pitch
• Inconsistent exposure between segments
• Color grading that is well beyond reality, although it could be for effect.

Have you been looking at my videos? LOL! ??
I’m guilty as well!

 

[tcope]

Along these lines, knowing what makes for a good video is useful. You can get 40 minutes of video but then trying to edit that down to 2-3 minutes is very difficult. It is much easier to know how to get the best video while out getting it rather then trying to edit it all down to the best.

 

[Paulf10]

Along these lines, knowing what makes for a good video is useful. You can get 40 minutes of video but then trying to edit that down to 2-3 minutes is very difficult. It is much easier to know how to get the best video while out getting it rather then trying to edit it all down to the best.

This is so true and I so suck at it! I’m finding that trying to plan my flight and filming is much harder than I thought. For the past 2 years I’d just take off and hit the record button. Then try and make something out of it in editing!

Old habits are hard to break but I’m having fun trying and learning.