Cinema Commercial for a Resort using a DSLR

[Ted Ramasola]

Its my first post here, been a member for a while now, but would like to "test the waters" of the community.

 

I produced this cinema commercial for digital projection using a 7D.

Sure would like to get some feed back to improve on.

 

This is already approved by the client though, but I thought I'd share also to technical people so I can do better for next time.

Every production aspect is mine, from storyboard shooting and post.

 

PINR Cinema Commercial

[Adam Hunt]

Welcome to the board.

 

Some constructive criticism: The constant fades get really, really annoying after a while. Cuts probably would have been better here, especially when some shots are so short that you barely get time to register what it is before it's faded into the next shot. I know you were going for a "soft" kind of feel to this, but I think the fades hurt it rather than helped it.

[Ted Ramasola]

Thanks for the comments Adam. I'll push myself harder.

[Adam Hunt]

I don't think it's a matter of how hard you push yourself. Just "practice makes perfect".

[Ted Ramasola]

Adam,

 

I went back to the edit, and hopefully i can use this for the mass produced giveaway DVDs and for their resorts' online gallery.

 

I removed some dissolves where its supposedly in real time and left mostly those for time changes and suggestive 'imagination' scenes.

 

Its still for critique so its private with the password: test

 

video link

 

Please see if its better.

 

And also for others as well, I know theres a lot to learn from those in this forum.

 

Best,

 

Ted

[Kieran Scannell]

Adam,

 

I went back to the edit, and hopefully i can use this for the mass produced giveaway DVDs and for their resorts' online gallery.

 

I removed some dissolves where its supposedly in real time and left mostly those for time changes and suggestive 'imagination' scenes.

 

Its still for critique so its private with the password: test

 

video link

 

Please see if its better.

 

And also for others as well, I know theres a lot to learn from those in this forum.

 

Best,

 

Ted

 

 

I'm not surprised the client already approved this, the photography is beautiful! Some of the angles are very inventive did you use a jib with a remote head?

there's some soft filtration and grads used if I'm not mistaken was that in camera or post?

I know the location is to die for but this is really well done It's like a moving magazine, just turning the page to the next " wish I was there" image.

 

My only critique would be the cheesy Lee Ritenour 80's music but that's just taste.

[Ted Ramasola]

Thank you Kieran,

 

I used a jib I made without a remote head, it seemed to move but it was just an illusion because of rotation of the whole rig, and a wide 11mm lens.

 

Some filtration are done in camera, sepia grads, NDs and a pola to control the reflection on the golf cart windshield.

 

I agree my music choices are limited due to budget and those were the closest to their spec from my existing library.

 

Ted

[Ted Ramasola]

Yesterday I went to one of the local malls with digital cinema projection to preview the ad I made for digital projection.

 

I was blown away by the results.

 

This is digital 3D capable cinema with an 11.5 x 5.5 meter screen(38.5 x 18 ft).

 

EDIUS NLE output sequential TIFF files to preserve quality then separately output a single 48khz wav file.

 

This was from a 1080 23.97P timeline. I edited using a SPARK card output to a 32in LCD monitor during the grading process.

Grading was 95 percent done in EDIUS.

 

I sent the resulting 7 gig file to the digital cinema provider to convert the files into a file compliant for ingest in the projection server.

 

I was told they are JPEG2000 files. Which particular ones I wasnt told. I still have to check the file in the server.

 

 

Heres a pic of the theater to see the size of the screen;

[Ted Ramasola]

I have to correct a typo on that last post regarding the exported sequential TIIFs, I wrote 7gig. It supposed to be 37 gig in size. So I had to send 9 dvd discs filled with those files to the DP supplier to convert it for ingest.

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

Really nice looking shots. I'd be interested to know how carefully you planned those shots and the lighting and what kind of lights you used. How long did it take to shoot the whole thing? Also, did you shoot the whole thing at 24p or did you do some 720/60p?

 

My only critique is that I don't think the red/amber grad works well for the content, it sort of takes away from the beauty of the place, making it look like there is always a sort of surreal storm is overhead. I can see the effect you were going for, but maybe it just would have worked better if the effect were not as strong. The juxtaposition of colors is interesting, it just seems too intense.

[Ted Ramasola]

Thank you for your comments Noah,

 

The shots and scenes were storyboarded and took 3 days to shoot with a fourth for pick-ups.

Lighting was all natural for exteriors, with reflectors, interiors were just 2 tungsten redheads.

Food shots were 2 flo softboxes and several small LED lights.

 

I edited in 24P but several scenes where shot 30P, only a couple of scenes,were 60P. Reason I went with 30 is resolution, even though i knew I'd be slowing down almost all the scenes, the camera can only give me 60P at 720, knowing i'd be projecting on big screen, I went with 30P and used twixtor for scenes requiring more than 70 percent slowdown.

 

Shooting during these months in asia is tricky and mostly cloudy and overcast, so i mostly filter my exteriors with grads.

 

Reason I used a that "amberish" looking grad (I forgot if its called sepia or coffeee), on that balcony scene was the framing and colors involved with bldg. I felt that the "amberish" hue can blend in with the "brownish"wooden structure that was in the half of the frame, I thought I can get away with it better than using blueish grad. I think I also used ND grad together with that amberish color as it was so overcast all of a sudden for that scene. I have "mixed reviews" on that scene from other DPs, and I liked how I got differing opinions about it.

 

Ted

[Will Montgomery]

I 2nd the photography, very nice shots, well framed. Some of the highlights were blown out and a little hot. Music was distractingly generic, I would look into music from the area that might culturally significant.

 

It achieved it's purpose, I immediately went on Google to look up the resort and it made me want to visit.

[David McDonald]

I agree the music is pretty bad. It sounds like a cheesy 80s infomercial or something. It cheapens the quality of the whole thing because the visuals are quite good. Also I'm not a fan of the crossfades. It's okay to put them in once in a while...but I think with better music, you could use hard cuts to the rhythm of the music much more effectively.

[Ted Ramasola]

Thanks for the constructive comments guys.