PARTY VIDEO: "Horton Hears A BOOOOM!" - EOS T2i - 1080p

I'm prouda this sucker.
And although there are no apparent options for embedding the youtube video in a post, I hope you guys dig it.

Enjoy.

YOUTUBE LINK: http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=9JUpjAauhac

Available up to 1080p HD
Runtime: <10 Minutes

Xero Tribe Presents: "Horton Hears A BOOOOM!" @ Club Legit - 6.18.11
St. Louis Missouri
Filmed, synced, and edited by Kent Frost
http://facebook.com/ke​ntfrostpartypix

Equipment used:
Canon EOS 550D, Sigma 18-50mm 2.8, Sigma 10mm 2.8 Fisheye, Rode Videomic, Gldiecam HD-1000 stabilizer.
Filmed at 24fps, 1080p HD and 720p HD for 60fps slow-motion clips. (720p clips output as JPG sequence, all of which were re-entered into a 24fps timeline and up-rezzed to 1080p for proper, non-ghosting 24fps 1080p display)
Edited in Sony Vegas 10.0 Pro
Video rendered to 1080p WMV format, 23.976 fps, set to 40 Mbps,
Audio rendered at 320kbps

There are some excellent shots in there. The beginning starts very promising, but becomes a little tedious over time. Once you pass the 5 minute mark, it's been my experience that people loose interest unless the are very into the subject matter. The problem is that most people really aren't into raves. So, to draw people into material they would not normally be interested in hooks need to be added. The best hook is adding some type of story. It could be completely implied (using video to form a contiguous plot or line of thinking) or it could be narrated (sorta a copout). There are really cheap hooks like girls and guys being 'provocative' (which is pretty easy at a rave). These hooks are used every day on TV because they are easy and they work, but find them lazy and uninspired. Using flash (fx) can work, but it's easy to overdo it and therefore make people sick. A good example would be Transformers 3. All flash, no substance.

Anyway, there are some really good shots in that video.

MaxxuM wrote in post #12816217
There are some excellent shots in there. The beginning starts very promising, but becomes a little tedious over time. Once you pass the 5 minute mark, it's been my experience that people loose interest unless the are very into the subject matter. The problem is that most people really aren't into raves. So, to draw people into material they would not normally be interested in hooks need to be added. The best hook is adding some type of story. It could be completely implied (using video to form a contiguous plot or line of thinking) or it could be narrated (sorta a copout). There are really cheap hooks like girls and guys being 'provocative' (which is pretty easy at a rave). These hooks are used every day on TV because they are easy and they work, but find them lazy and uninspired. Using flash (fx) can work, but it's easy to overdo it and therefore make people sick. A good example would be Transformers 3. All flash, no substance.

Anyway, there are some really good shots in that video.

Great CC MaxxuM!

I compleely agree, and I had considered shooting something with some sort of multi-layered visual story that progresses, but didn't have enough time to prepare anything like that with the people there who hired me to shoot this. The function of this video is more as a promotional for both KFP and Xero Tribe. I probably should have mentioned that in my original post. My mistake.

This type of event wouldn't generally allow for the best recording of any dialogue audio, however, I could very easily see creating some kind of visual story within the environment.

pretty impressive for a t2i.

my cousin's a photographer.

nholiver wrote in post #12817101
my cousin's a photographer.

Came here to say that.

nholiver wrote in post #12817101
my cousin's a photographer.

LOL I was gonna comment on that too! Sometimes it really irritates me taking my gear outside around youth because of people like that. Other times I just find it hilarious!

Great stuff here man, wish I had places like that where I live. And if we do, I certainly dont know about them.

That being said I have two comments: The "story telling and hook" aspects are definitely lacking here. You have a lot of footage but after a few minutes it just looks like you were walking around with a camcorder. You could def take your work to another level by figuring out how to enthrall the viewer more with this event and what their watching. Also, youve gotta save up and get that 5D2! Shooting in low light like that, thered be much less noise. But yes, thinner DOF too... Oh and werent you worried about the lasers?! Arent they dangerous to the exposed sensor?!

Overall great job though! Cant want to see more from you!

Thank you. And yes, this was actually a promo video that the people putting on the event wanted from me. They loved it, so that's good enough for me. I agree on the lack of "story". We'd have to be pretty creative to come up with some kind of visual story though, one that involves no dialogue. Recording for dialogue in an environment like that is pretty much out of the question. But what these guys wanted was simple: Cover the DJ's and get lots of crowd footage. Done. Throwing storyline into that would mean a different pay-grade for involving pre-production and creative planning.

Also, I agree about the 5D2, but it's entirely out of my budget at this point. Full frame makes me salivate, for sure, but for the meantime it's completely out of reach. Working on it! lol

Also, it's interesting you mention lasers. I haven't done much research into the specifics of the strength of laser it takes to knock out a sensor, but I've been shooting parties on Digi-Rebels photographically for 8 years, with intentions on getting the lasers in some cases. I'm on my 4th Rebel now, came from the XTi to the T2i specifically for the HD function. Been doing videos for parties like this randomly for about a year. Never had a problem. Then I started noticing videos popping up after the HDSLRs starting becoming popular showing "the moment of destruction" of a CMOS via a powerful concert laser. And when I say concert, I mean thousands of people, so they were good, pro, high-powered lasers that I've seen do that, not the kind you'd buy for a mobile DJ setup. The events I shoot usually stay under a few hundred, at best. So the effect lighting doesn't need to be so over-the-top, and the lasers certainly don't need to be so powerful.
Of course, I'm certainly not discounting the possibility of it happening, but so far I've been lucky with the way I've been going about shooting, never had a problem.

Gotcha. Well thats good then. Just wondered if you were aware of it and if so whether or not you had had any issues.

You're brave, I'd never get my camera that close to lasers..

Here's an idea for a simple story that would have compelled me to watch more than 2 minutes of your 10 minute video:

Follow a beautiful girl (maybe one you hire to be an actress for the video) around the party showing her dancing, drinking, talking, laughing, ect ect... would have made the video much more interesting as you would have been telling the story of this girls night out at said club. Also,a lavalier microphone would have done wonders for speaking audio.

Alas, like you said, the client was happy and thats all that matters for them, but if you would have taken it the few extra steps you would have blown them away, as well as any future potential clients. This type of business markets itself if you far exceed peoples expectations of what they wanted.

Kento wrote in post #12836299
you would have blown them away

This statement hints to the assumption that I didn't. I'm not trying to sound holier-than-thou, but your comment was quite passive aggressive, as if to be looking for something NOT to like. Also please understand that while this particular video did not contain a story that would appeal to people looking for it, it was not intended to have a story, but rather to entertain the folks who held the event and those who attended it, just as I would expect that PHOTOS of parties would not appeal to anyone but those who were there. That was the aim of this video....as has been mentioned. Also, though you may not think that a video like this would bring repeat business, it has.....for 4 more shows before December from the same people, as well as 3 other shows by other promoters.

Kento wrote in post #12836299
Follow a beautiful girl (maybe one you hire to be an actress for the video) around the party showing her dancing, drinking, talking, laughing, ect ect...

This is exactly the kind of thing I was hired NOT to shoot. I was hired by the show promoters to shoot a video about the show. "Don't concentrate on just one thing. Show us a variety of shots giving a general over-all view of the party."
Okay, done.

Sorry if I'm sounding defensive, but in your comment, I'm seeing this:
"Awwww....if you would've done this, you'd get repeat business."
Well, I DIDN'T do that, and I still got repeat business.

Sorry my 10 minute video was too long for you to see it to the end.

Sorry to post again, but do you realize how frustrating it is to put 3 weeks into a project just for people to say "Too long, didn't grab me in the first 15 seconds."

Oh FFS, work up some patience. The first couple of minutes are intended to be a work-up to the peak.

In fact, I have a question: Did you even get so far as to see the title?

Lol, take a breath Spiral I don't think it was meant as a dig on your work. Just some ideas. CCs can be irritating, but they make us think.

A hook that occured to me that would have tied the video up a little better would be show all the DJs at the beginning. Imagin a half pie, with a DJ slapped in as wedges then the logo appears over them and then fades. Then, the first DJ wedge expans and your video stars. Run for 3.5 minutes of BRoll, adding snips of the same DJ, then go back to the the wedge and do the same withe next DJ. You could have asked each DJ to show you their characteristic moves. The more animated they are the better. This would have both tied the theme and the story together better. It focus attention to the people doing the work with plenty of dance action to satisfy the client. You should have also gotten closer to some of the dancers. No, "closer"! It gives the illusion that ther is more action happening than ther really is. Speaking to them before hand is necessary so they can act as natural as possible too. I have the same glidecam. You could do some really wild shots, bottom ups, hovers, rolling, spins... Avoid flat angles. You might also want to show the security, here a flat angle with his arms folded, rising from a low angle - it makes women feel safer in this sometimes charged atmosphere. I would have also avoided walking through doorways unless it was for a reveal shot. Same with the stares.

Again, no dig on your work. I really think you gave some gold ther, just need to clean it off a bit.