My first video with my 7D

Here is a little video I stuck together over Christmas, I know it probably sucks but I wanted to share it with you all anyways. Let me know what you think

http://youtu.be/o8OhQg​6oyaA

Looks very nice !

What lens, & settings did you use for the indoor scenes ? [aperture,shutterspeed​, IS0 etc.]

Regards,

I used the 7D with the Canon 50 f/1.8 and the 135 f/2L for indoor.

I shot 720p @ 60 fps 125th of a sec @ 1.8 and ISO: 500 ish most of the time.

It doesn't suck for a first video at all and there are some nice images in there.

Video is a funny medium and screws with your perception of time. Any shot of more than two or three seconds really needs to be showing important things happening so, based on that, you could have cut it a lot quicker and shorter. This would have helped remove some of the focus hunts and moved it along a bit.

Fading to black generally indicates the end of a subject, like a new chapter in a book, so should perhaps be avoided unless it is a deliberate new scene/subject. Try a 1 second blend if you think a straight cut is too abrupt.

Try to avoid moving the camera around the scene in the same shot (you don't do it with your eyes, try it) Go from subject to subject. Pans, tracks, and zooms should generally be used to convey movement into, or through, a situation rather than looking from one thing to another - unless you are looking at something which is moving when you will move your view with it (which is what you do with your eyes again).

Try to marry the video and sound track. While the music was about Christmas the punk style would have suggested a more frantic, energetic imagery. The content would have perhaps better suited a more conventional, gentle, Christmas tune.

There was a good variety of subject matter but try to combine shots of the subject at different lengths. Don't be afraid to get in close to give a variety and interest and cuts to associated, but not necessarily directly related subject matter help to give breadth.

Thanks John! Very good pointers there!

Looking forward to creating little videos and see what I can do. I am using Sony Vegas Pro 9 by the way!

RSphoto wrote in post #13605843
Thanks John! Very good pointers there!

Looking forward to creating little videos and see what I can do. I am using Sony Vegas Pro 9 by the way!

Its a good program. Learning curve thou if you haven't used non-linear editors before (NLE). It made me bald for the first few months! LOL
Nice work out of the box!

Vegas has some great features but doesn't make them obvious, or intuitive, so you have to fight with it a fair bit. It will do most things if you dig deep enough and is nicely customisable to make your work flow easier (if you can only work out how).
It is one of the most frustrating editors available and, just when you decide it is about to be replaced, it delivers something great and the love/hate relationship continues.
It's like driving a sport car - difficult to do well but capable of exceptional performance and satisfaction if you do manage to tame it.

"Shoveling f*%#in now"...I loved it.

For a first video this doesn't suck at all! Definitely heed what John said, as his notes were pretty on point, in my opinion. You could have used that track had you sped up your edit. The first shot on the dog held for a long time, as cute as the little guy was...try grabbing another angle of him, and then another and cut it quickly to your music...had you done that throughout (with not just the dog), I think the music could have worked. An editor I learned from years ago told me something that's always stuck...sound is half your picture. So remember that as you're thinking about the mood of your clip.

Keep shooting!

John has made some really good points here!

And I will totally agree with Cetre's comments too. I think we are all learning here. I've been in the video production industry for a long time now as a sound mixer, but I'm learning so many new parts of the industry doing these videos and reading other's comments here (mostly the edit part).

Vegas is different from other NLE's is that what John said was spot on. I keep finding new and different bits I like about it, but its like an onion. It makes you cry as you peel back the layers, but you love the taste!

Thanks guys!

Cetre, that was my mother who said " Shoveling F'in snow " haha She didn't think I was recording!

I also love the fact that these cameras have no tally light to let your subject know you are shooting. Ha!

That was a funny moment!

Nice! Did you have a mic with the 7d? I'm still undecided about which one to get

Nope just the on camera mic, seems to work alright!

RSphoto wrote in post #13611675
Nope just the on camera mic, seems to work alright!

As long as you are fairly close to the source it works fine. But that's true of most mics. Eventually you'll want a mic with farther throw.

Yeah definitely something to look into in the future.