Way too much snow

Beniboose · #1 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 07:19 PM

Hey all,

I shot this (Way too much snow! on Vimeo) with my Canon XH A1 while at my in-laws. Not much time outside and got only 10 minutes of footage. Tried to put it together so we can remember next summer as to how much snow we got in 2008.

For those of you living in nicer and warmer places... Ok, ok, ok, you can have a pick on us for the time being...

Feel free to post comments and suggestions, this is my first clip.

Benoit Bissonnette

Benoit

photobug4741 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-31-2008, 05:24 PM

Now thats a lot of snow very nice video great editing. Great choice of music.

Marc Peters · #3 (**permalink**) 03-31-2008, 05:50 PM

Hi Benoit, thanks for sharing your video with us.

I thought the video, combined with the music, was a tad too sterile. Due to the repitive nature of the slow pans, I found myself skipping through the video. There's also no real sense of scale to the snow - that is to say that there isn't really much to give the viewer impact. The video would have been improved, in my opinion, by:

1) Getting up high on top of the snow and looking down on the surround
2) Wider shots to put the house into context with the surrounding snow
3) A less sombre soundtrack
4) Starting with shots from inside the house looking in, or between the trees.Try and tell more of a story with the video to give more of a sense of involvement. Take the viewer on an adventure around the house to discover the snow. It's up to you, as editor, to tell the story...

Beniboose · #4 (**permalink**) 03-31-2008, 07:56 PM

Hi Marc,

Thanks for your comments. I do agree with all your comments and taking good note of them as well. I'm surprised you weren't patient enough to look at it all, it's not even 2 minutes but if you did what you did, there must be a good reason..

As far as getting shots from a little farther, it's true, I should have done it. Problem was the snow was very soft outside the tracks around the house and I would had snow all the way up to my shoulders. I guess I wasn't ready to "swim" in the snow to get _tha_ shot but this is not a valid reason. It would have been worth it.

Regarding the choice of music, if you lived here and were used to shovel feet of snow every winter, you would probably agree with the choice of music after 6 months of white hell... Hehehe.

You're right about the story, or the absence of story... I didn't really think about that at all. I was more interested in showing the accumulation of snow but yes, I could have done something in that fashion.

Thanks for sharing your comments. It will give me a chance to improve my skills. I really appreciate your input.

Best regards,

Benoit

Marc Peters · #5 (**permalink**) 03-31-2008, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beniboose

I guess I wasn't ready to "swim" in the snow to get _tha_ shot but this is not a valid reason. It would have been worth it.

It's not a great shot unless you're scared of killing your camera

. On a different note, I've been away from creating video for a long time... seeing you guys create and share your video has given me the inspiration to pick up a camera again! Unfortunately I don't have beautiful Canon XH A1 (making do with a cheapo Song Handicam), but it's what you do with it, eh?!