'Special effects'...........'Special....effects'

Hmm,

Ok, I'm putting this here, because I have an interest in knowing what you guys think of this video, the area of doubt is whether it should be considered as using special effects. Until I see a definition of that it's a pretty silly term when you think about it, I mean what's an 'effect', and what's a 'special' one? You get my drift? I could go on, but put a UV filter on to your camera and it's an effect, so where's the threshold of when something becomes 'special' and so on. I know the term usualy conjurs up tricky digital stuff but what about POV and other forms of camera mounts?

So here we are, this is not a video which has any 'special' effects in it at all, but at least half of it was shot in above 'normal' setup conditions. There's telephoto shots where the subject might be a few hundred yards away, use of a camera crane, use of hand held camera steadies whilst running flat out, and other forms of stabilisation. It's the first vid that uses my latest generation crane, steadycam, and balance beam. Whilst it might not set the world alight, it's leaps and bounds ahead of what I've done before.

Now, I have a view of plenty of things wrong with it, but like a lot of art, the artisan can dwell on stuff that the viewers might not care about, so give me your thoughts on what I should be doing to improve this please, not just what I think it needs for the next step.

The video is elsewhere on the forum, but as a techy sampler, i.e. for other stuff, it's here for useful observations (that's pussy speak for constructive criticism)

As a primer it's not drama or pre-conceived in any way, it mostly can't be by definition of the subject, it's all netted footage cobbled into a video. This is where my main interest lies, and whilst those who participate in the activity shown might have a view, it'll be interesting to hear what those who have no interest in the subject think, so look at it as how you would have dealt with it if your were a 'general' videographer asked to film something you knew little about.

130 views and no comments.

So what's amiss here guys? Was my tongue in cheek intro too dismissive? Is the video so lame that people are lost for words? Am I disliked so much that no one can be bothered in the hope that I might go away? Is it in the wrong section and people have not bothered to look through it thinking it was something else?

This forum has many contributors that have very firm ideas of what's right and wrong, some of you must have looked at the video, so why no comments? And if you have something to say, why not say it?

Please .

On a side note, I was there the weekend you shot this Jerry. Hadn't been on the beach for several years and was rather shocked to see the number of kites there. I almost tripped over several invisible ropes, and felt as if the beach belonged to those with kites. Very different to the way I remembered the beach. I used to spend every weekend playing cricket, volleyball or walking my dog along that stretch of the beach. I was planning to go for a run that afternoon, but thought better of it!

Do you pay the council for the use of the beach? It certainly felt as if I was invading a party.

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Jerry, this is a personal view, not based on anything I've read or discussed with others, but to me the term "Special Effect" would be something which takes a "possible" shot and turns it into the "impossible" (eg unrealistic colour correction, flying through the air, "bullet time" etc) OR it may be creating something that could be made to happen, without it actually being there (eg hundreds of soldiers in a war scene when only a few actors were used)

"Effects" (without the special) to me suggests soem sort of treatment to bring something less than perfect up to a certain standard (so colour correction to adjust for incorrect white balance, cropping and panning would be "effects" )


I wouldn't consider what you're doing as any sort of effect. "Just"interesting and inventive camerawork. That is you are enhancing what we are seeing by shooting at certain angles, framing in certain ways etc. You're not trying to "cheat" the original in any way. Everything we see is possible - just emphasised by artistic camerawork and editing.

I'd rather see your camerawork than "Special" effects any day.

All my personal POV. Others will almost certainly disagree.

FWIW I loved yourfilm the first time I saw it

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Tim

Marc, Your concerns are valid, and not unusual. Powerkiting does carries a large degree of risk for both flyers and onlookers, so as an unofficial social group we do try and protect and respect members of the public. In this instance there were a large number of comparatively new flyers, certainly many who had not flown in groups before, and it had been noted that with everyone spread right up to the dunes there was no clear route for folk to walk past. In view of this there has been discussion about it and I will make a point of turning a general feeling into a definitive requirement of the group in future.We purposefully arrange these meets at recognised flying sites according to a number of factors, Camber and Greatstone are included in these, with the meets being arranged after the Summer season.

The councils do not demand any fees, but there are restrictions to which we must adhere, all of these are reasonable and anybody breaching them gets short shrift from other flyers. These restrictions usually regard the length of the beaches that can be used, but in the case of Camber and Greatstone there are no requirements for leaving clear areas at the head of the beach, in fact at Camber the setting up and launching of the kites is 'required' at the top end, in between the groynes.

We also stongly recommend that attendees carry £5,000,000 third party insurance, whilst that's all very well please hear that there is a strong emphasis placed by the experienced people there on the newer flyers to demonstrate care. These are not 'formal' events organised by a 'recognised' concern, they are meets put together by forum members off their own back, and after several years of having very many meets around the UK the history of safety and care for the general public has been exemplorary.

So, in view of your comments I'll flag this up with the guys who were there, and we will put something in place to ensure that there is a clearway left for other beach visitors to be able to safely pass the group without concern. Thanks for your input, and I'm sorry you felt alienated by the group, folk often come up to us and ask what it's all about, and most of the flyers I know will happily chat with people, both to just discuss the sport, and to allay any concerns they may have. It is in our interests to look after the places we fly and everyone who uses them.

I will keep you posted off this forum of the outcome of discussions that are bound to now take place following your post here.

Btw these are examples of someone who clearly might be concerned about what they were seeing, though the aerial compression through a 400mm lens implies closer proximity to the kites etc than reality:








Tim,

Yes I see your point, where the line lies between an 'ordinary' camera view and a speical one is blurred, though I can see that it needs to be far more extreme than this to qualify as a special effect. I see so many terribly shot powerkite videos that in comparison this is very different, so in context it's close to being valid as 'special', but not really an effect when compared to videos generally, I can accept that no problem.

Point taken and logged.

I think all people all do dangerous sports are irritating egomaniacs with too much money - they should be killed !

( not checked your film yet, will do soon - just wanted to get that rant in)

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Yes, people with dull lives do tend to think that .

Lols - god, I wish for dull sometimes.

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I do my best work after at least a whole jar of nescafe with just a touch of boiled natural spring water - and a fag
My neglected website -- www.zaskarfilms.com My censored you tube channel -- http://uk.youtube.com/user/zaskarfilms

Ok, so in your incredibly busy life as a professional videographer, having been asked to film some people you'd like to kill, your professionalism being strong enough to restrain you from doing that, how would what you would do differ from what I've done here?

I give up!

Being a positive thinker I'll just assume the piece is utterly brilliant and you guys are just lost for words