Criticism and suggestions for first video TR

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 1 - 16 of total 16 in this topic
hamik

Mountain climber
Pasadena, CA
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 29, 2013 - 08:34am PT
Hey Taco,

I post written trip reports now and then, and I definitely prefer that medium, but I thought I'd try to learn to make some video ones. My goal is to produce concise little films which will keep my parents' attention for longer than twenty seconds. If the videos could be interesting or motivating to the general climbing community that would be a substantial bonus.

So towards those ends, take a look at the first video I've ever edited and tell me how to make the next one better!

[Click to View YouTube Video]

 What was your impression overall? Did you WANT to watch it all the way to the end?
 Was it too long? Too short?
 Was there footage you WISH you could have seen? Like camping the night before? More of the hike? More of the climbing?
 Does the video quality change enough from shot to shot that it's distracting? The footage was shot on two different point-and-shoot cameras.
 Is the video too unsteady?
 Are the cuts too abrupt? Is the flow from scene to scene OK? Are the scene lengths too variable? Are some too long? Too short?
 Do you like the title text and "credits" at the end?
 Is the music distracting? Appropriate? Too loud? Too soft? Did the volume softening have the desired effect of making dialogue comfortably audible?
Spider Savage

Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
Mar 29, 2013 - 10:46am PT
Nice! Great way to do a TR.


I'm sure The Chief will be proud.
JohnnyG

climber
Mar 29, 2013 - 10:59am PT
It's good. Thanks for not using a go pro wobbling around on your helmet.

I thought the section starting at 1:33 was cool.
10b4me

Ice climber
Happy Boulders
Mar 29, 2013 - 11:13am PT
Yes, I watched it to the end. I thought you did a good job. Always nice to see top down shots.
Overall, a good job. Unfortunately, climbing videos are not as dynamic as mountain biking, or kayaking videos.
WBraun

climber
Mar 29, 2013 - 11:16am PT
That was good!!!

It had everything in it.

Post holing deep snow to the climb and spin drift avalanche to scare.

Good job it's a real nice video and high quality.
Zoo

climber
Fremont, CA
Mar 29, 2013 - 11:20am PT
Good job. I liked your music enough to wish you had put the artist and title in the credits.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Mar 29, 2013 - 12:04pm PT
Slower and steadier panning would help.
And can the talking, or get a better script. ;-)

Overall: B+
AP

Trad climber
Calgary
Mar 29, 2013 - 12:39pm PT
Good job. Editing is key to these things. I have made a few climbing and Burning Man films and spent a lot of time fine tuning things.
One thing I do when shooting multi pitch rock climbs is to go with a party of 3 and the 2nd and 3rd simulclimb all pitches. When I am not leading I climb 2nd and for good close up film ops will clip off to pro and film the 3rd climbing through interesting sequences. Email me if you want copies of my films
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
Mar 29, 2013 - 12:41pm PT
Posting some more photos into it would be good, I think. Like a two photo sequence of you getting blasted with snow, more pics from the climb, and a few from the summit/sunset. That place is awesome! But yea, the video is pretty good the way it is. If you add all that maybe it would not go as well with music etc?
mechrist

Gym climber
South of Heaven
Mar 29, 2013 - 12:57pm PT
Sorry man, I'm sure it is entertaining... but there is white stuff in there so I refuse to watch out of general principle.
Big Mike

Trad climber
BC
Mar 29, 2013 - 02:29pm PT
Wes.. Lol!!

I liked it. The talking did run long at one point, but i always think it's cool to hear people's perspectives. It was cool to see vitaly for the first time! ;)

As to what i would have liked to have seen, i thought you covered the bases pretty well. If you have some nice scenic photos that would be cool to add. It really depends what you want to show. A quick shot of camp life is always cool.

Overall B+ I was never bored. Very nice work.
hamik

Mountain climber
Pasadena, CA
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 29, 2013 - 11:53pm PT
Thanks for the suggestions and praise! The consensus seems to be:

 Credit the musician.
 Use a steadier hand.
 Make Vitaliy more eloquent.
 Maybe include some stills (panning and zooming on them would keep the video dynamic).
 Keep the chit chat concise.
 Maybe include additional scenes, e.g. from camp.
 Explain (or omit) things that don't fit into the storyline in an obvious way. For instance, some people wondered why we started postholing towards the bottom of the climb again at the end of the video (it was actually the snowslope above the climb). Some people also wondered why Adam made a fuss about avalanches when the only ones in the video were small sloughs: the big one was off-camera!

Look out for some videos (and probably good old-fashioned written reports) from South America in a few months =)
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
Mar 30, 2013 - 01:42am PT
No camp shots. We climb in a push! Run the PDL and really go for it.
limpingcrab

Trad climber
the middle of CA
Apr 19, 2013 - 12:15am PT
Saw this on MP and was surprised to actually like it! I was expecting helmet cam and minute long scenes like most videos.

Great job with the sound and overall editing, it's a really good video.

I don't know what I'm talking about, but here's my two cents: Some of the scenes in the middle got a little long. If you mix in some quick clips or time lapses or photos that go with some of the beats in the song (between longer scenes) it will keep the pace up. It's all preference of course, but it seems to keep people's attention better that way. Look at your stats on youtube and it will tell you where most people quit watching and it gives an idea of where it slowed down too much. Some old farts with long attention spans might disagree, but it's all just opinion and there's no "right" way.

Here's what I mean. Not saying this video I made is any good, but it's just an example of what I'm talking about.

[Click to View YouTube Video]

Definitely a cool video! Except next time make Vitaliy take a giant whipper for our viewing pleasure.

Some Random Guy

climber
Under a Little Pink Umbrella
Apr 19, 2013 - 12:43am PT
needs boobs...
GDavis

Social climber
SOL CAL
Apr 19, 2013 - 01:16am PT
This... this is climbing!

Loved it, I know how difficult it can be to try to whip out a camera to get anything noteworthy in the mountains. Not only that but to get great shots of the leader with fun dialogue... 10/10.
Messages 1 - 16 of total 16 in this topic
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta