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November, 2024

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New(ish) Video - Holocene

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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
Got inspired by this song and wanted to put together a little collection of some of my favorite moments I've captured over the years. Sort of a demo reel I suppose, but I only used shots I have a personal connection too.

I tried something different with the colors. I used reds & greens instead of blues & yellows. I'm happy with how it turned out, but there's still room for improvement. It was definitely a challenge matching color grade considering I had footage from an HVX, a T2i, the HVX with a 35mm adapter, and the HVX with a different brand of 35mm adapter.

Hope you guys like it, critiques are welcome.

May 25 2012 10:36AM
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SSteezle
Posts: 9300 - Karma: 7,700
such a chill edit! loved the song and the colors were perfect. some of those slider shots are so smooth, any post stabilization done to those?
May 25 2012 10:44AM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
Thanks! Which ones in particular? the shot of the wheat and i believe the one of the road both had a smoothcam filter (because there were bits of grass on the pvc track), but most of the other dolly shots don't have any post stabilization.

May 25 2012 10:50AM
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Benji.
Posts: 1146 - Karma: 88
Such a sick video. Colors match the song, the mood, and the shots. Well done.
May 25 2012 1:24PM
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612
Beautiful Will!
May 25 2012 2:40PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Stunning. I'm speechless. Besides "stunning" of course.
May 25 2012 2:55PM
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derekstreesv2
Posts: 314 - Karma: 35
that was so fucking ill all the shots were so perfect. damn...
May 25 2012 3:54PM
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Dwarftosser1
Posts: 2602 - Karma: 951
Absolutely stunning Will, every shot was perfect, great song choice as well.
May 25 2012 4:01PM
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penguiin
Posts: 1444 - Karma: 561
I really really really enjoyed that video, it was just so mello and so many cool shots
May 25 2012 4:47PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
Thanks guys! Anybody got a critique?
May 25 2012 5:29PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Threads for later tonight.
May 25 2012 5:37PM
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JAHrig
Posts: 738 - Karma: 2,649
Nice work very perty! I especially like the cloud shots? Having tried to film through an airplane window before and getting pretty shitty results I am amazed at the sharpness and colors in yours.

As far as critique, I dont have much other then one thing. At :16, as cool as that upward sliding jump up the tree is, it doesn't feel natural with the place its at in the song. I feel like an actual cut to higher or sticking with the smooth tilt would have been nicer.... thats all I got for ya, great work!
May 25 2012 5:46PM
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cwillygood
Posts: 6831 - Karma: 1,829
so sick, loved all the shots, some of the shots seemed a little to greenish for me, but its all personal opinion, super well done, bravo!
May 25 2012 6:01PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
I got really lucky by having a super clear window. and we were in a really smooth patch, so with a little smoothcam filter it was about the best cloud shot from a commercial plane i could ask for.


i totally know what you mean about the slide. i debated it for a while and ended up going with it, but i wish i didn't.


May 25 2012 7:51PM
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rareison
Posts: 10263 - Karma: 219
Love it! such a sick edit, such a chill and fun vibe.
May 25 2012 8:09PM
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POW-WOW
Posts: 1464 - Karma: 40
So relaxed and chill.
Completely random, but the trees like the ones at 3:32 have little bumps on them filled up with sap that you can pop. Pretty entertaining when you are camping, until it gets in your eye.
May 25 2012 9:53PM
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jeremy.g
Posts: 4931 - Karma: 459
beautiful! excellent song choice.
May 25 2012 10:41PM
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gusestomp
Posts: 1377 - Karma: 746
oh my... one of the most amazing edits i've ever seen.
May 25 2012 11:24PM
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powninja
Posts: 1053 - Karma: 242
Really like the edit!  What camera setup were you using for your underwater shots?  DSLR in waterproof housing?
May 26 2012 1:49AM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
Yeah it was a T2i in Dicapac housing. really cheap housing but it worked alright
May 26 2012 2:02AM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
To me what's most beautiful about this edit is that it is exactly as you described it. It's kind of like a showreel, but more than that it's a collection of your favorite shots. They're beautiful both in aesthetic and in meaning. The pacing, editing, song, color, etc, EVERYTHING leads me to that conclusion. I can tell from this video your feelings for this footage. You're fond of the memories. It's sentimental. That much is crystal clear and you did a great job portraying it. It evokes in me similar feelings and memories that I've had along the way. Will, this video really gets your point across.

Many reels are relatively loose, unstructured, and don't mesh. This was exactly the opposite. I've never seen such a cohesive group of essentially unrelated footage. I think you were able to do this in part because the communication of your memory and sentiment was so strong. It acted as phrasing for the whole video.

I've watched this at least three times. There are only two things that really stand out at me that I think are worth noting.

I don't like the fade to black at 2:04. Its a matter of opinion, of course, but I've seen you use more creative, less dividing transitions in similar spots. The black segments the video, which for me slightly disrupts the overall phrase.

In the road shot at 2:56, your camera dips and you cut out the horizon line on that little knoll in the distance. I wish you'd kept that in the frame the whole time, it adds tremendous depth to the shot, which is the point of that shot after all.

That's it. I'll watch it a few more times over the next couple of days to see if I can find anything else but this is probably my favorite video I've ever seen. I don't mean to be overbearing in my flattery, maybe I'm just overtired but...I guess I'm just touched by it.

Cheers, Will. Congratulations on your fantastic work.

Milos
May 26 2012 2:33AM
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j.benziger
Posts: 689 - Karma: 8,026
that was so dope! +K
May 26 2012 2:41AM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
awesome. thank you milos, i appreciate it.

my biggest fear with the video was that it would seem kind of nonsensical and just too much of a mix of footage. i did try to not put much thought into how they were arranged in terms of action/location/etc, i just did whatever seemed right (which seems to go along with what you're saying), so i'm glad that worked out.


i'm also glad because the two things you noted are two things that bugged me as well. i honestly have no idea why i kept the fade to black; it was there in the rough cut and i kept it for some reason. should have at least just done a cross fade.

the horizon line was also annoying. the reason why i ended up keeping the shot was for the texture of the road, but i can see how the horizon line kind of teases the eye away from that.

thanks again for the kind words man, if you notice anything else let me know
May 26 2012 3:22AM
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NPF
Posts: 5152 - Karma: 12,119
<3 drunk but will one of my favorite edits this season. everything flowed so well and your shot are amazing and beautiful. respect
May 26 2012 4:24AM
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Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
It was well done, props.

But my critique is with what you said about the mix of locations/footage + to me mostly abrubt cuts that didn't flow with the song at all and changed from slow-mo to normal speed in an odd fashion. Could just be me, I have a pretty narrow area for what I feel has a good flow.
May 26 2012 5:26AM
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1337
Posts: 31059 - Karma: 29,329
Threads! I cant watch until tuesday :(
May 26 2012 10:58AM
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TravelsTI
Posts: 1000 - Karma: 353
Very nice composition and colors, loved the flow of the music with your shots.
May 26 2012 12:09PM
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west-coast
Posts: 985 - Karma: 204
goddamn that was sick. I think someone said it earlier in the thread but its unique how you can incorporate a larger feel to a reel, with sort of an arc that interests the audience. Most reels are just showcasing random shots that dont correlate, and although you had so many different locations in this, it seemed to all fit together!
May 26 2012 1:03PM
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B.Taillefer
Posts: 420 - Karma: 321
Really loved it! I thought the colours were unbelievable and the editing was excellent!

The best part of the video though was that it actually invoked an emotional response, something a lot of edits fail to do. I don't know what it was, but something about the video just made me so happy.

Although some other people are critiquing the variety of shots, I thought it was great as it represented your favourite shots, and was not necessarily meant to be a show real, which was tight.

Saying that though, there were a few shots where it seemed to abruptly jump from one type of shot directly into something totally unrelated, but that still wasn't bad, and overall the video was one of the best I have seen this year by far!
May 26 2012 2:46PM
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Totes_Magotes
Posts: 2259 - Karma: 870
The trasition between the last two shots is incredible
May 26 2012 4:00PM
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C.A.V.
Posts: 1706 - Karma: 1,644
that.was.amazing. very well done loved it
May 27 2012 12:36PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Will - I noticed that some of your older shots weren't originally shot with this crop. Did you crop each individually?
May 27 2012 12:49PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
Yeah i didn't shoot any of these shots with the intention of applying the crop. that was actually another thing that determined what shots i chose (which ones worked with the crop).

but yeah i applied a 2.35:1 matte in FCP and adjusted the vertical position of each clip so the framing looked right, then cropped the matte out when i exported.
May 27 2012 1:02PM
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RockNRollNghtClb
Posts: 2013 - Karma: 2,509
ok first of all that was fucking awesome but i don't have a critique but some questions

how do you make your colors look sooo cripsy and cinematic and almost like a golden feel? Is it with your color grading? Ist it the lens? Is it the filter? Is it your aperture? Is it your iso? I want my colors to look like that sooooo bad.

And when your cropping your video to the h.264 cinematic style or whatever it is called is there anything you do to your camera settings to make the cinematic style look better?
THanks a bunch you killed it with this video
May 27 2012 1:04PM
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mr.houston
Posts: 535 - Karma: 29
That was super sick. you have amazing talent with your camera. Probably one of the most chill/coolest video I've seen on here. Overall really nice work.

Oh and please tell me you didn't go under that ladder at 4:50, bad luck man

nice job
May 27 2012 1:11PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
thanks!


pretty much every factor you listed goes into how your colors look, but yeah camera settings are an important start, like making sure you adjust your aperture/iso/shutter speed properly to let in the right amount of light to get the right amount of image detail. i also usually shoot with my white balance slightly on the warm side. then of course different lenses have different levels of contrast and such, so lenses definitely have a specific look. as far as color grading goes, for this edit i brought up the blacks to see more detail, then i added a red/pink hue to the blacks, a green hue to the mids, and sometimes a slight blue hue to the whites. i also sometimes added a small amount of saturation to everything.


as far as cropping goes, i didn't plan to be using this crop when i shot the footage, so i didn't use anything on the camera to plan it. but when i shoot for a crop in the future, i'll use crop bars on my T2i that act as guidelines.
May 27 2012 1:14PM
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gusestomp
Posts: 1377 - Karma: 746
I literally watch this video everyday now...
May 27 2012 9:43PM
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p-fo
Posts: 9372 - Karma: 6,155
That was incredible. Damn... Is it weird that I've seen the edits that almost all your ski footy came from?
May 27 2012 10:49PM
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snakerton
Posts: 2434 - Karma: 1,977
so cool. really calming
May 28 2012 12:21AM
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RockNRollNghtClb
Posts: 2013 - Karma: 2,509
how do you put in those crop bars on your t2i?
May 28 2012 2:09AM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
you can do it using Magic Lantern firmware
May 28 2012 2:12AM
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,790
Holy smokes, this is one of the best edits I've ever seen on NS. You 100% conveyed that connection between yourself and the shots, and the feel of those memories that you captured. So good.

As for critique, I found that it was a bit tough to grasp the reason for jumping between seasons/activities so much at first, but it all flowed so well anyways that by the end it didn't matter. Excuse me while I go watch it again and possibly share it with all my friends.
May 28 2012 2:15AM
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RockNRollNghtClb
Posts: 2013 - Karma: 2,509
ok this question is off the subject but without magic lantern how do you change your iso to 160 and multiples of 160?
thx for your help
May 28 2012 2:21AM
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CrotchKiller
Posts: 9037 - Karma: 6,943
you can't
May 28 2012 9:07AM
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wellthisisold
Posts: 840 - Karma: 974
one of the best videos I've seen. Amazing colors, and sick shots. ++K
May 28 2012 2:10PM
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RockNRollNghtClb
Posts: 2013 - Karma: 2,509
oh. is magic lantern pretty much a necessity if your a dslr filmer? Ive heard about it but never really looked into it
May 28 2012 2:22PM
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Coalescent
Posts: 4871 - Karma: 2,063
dominated will
May 28 2012 2:38PM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
Yes. At first i didnt really see the big deal with it, but i use many features on it now. Its very helpful.
May 28 2012 3:42PM
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Dub_Digital
Posts: 2794 - Karma: 636
so frikin gooood
May 28 2012 4:06PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
not necessarily a necessity (i shot a long time without it), but i love it now that i have it.
May 28 2012 7:36PM
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