The Most Important Critique I've ever asked for. CRITIQUE MY FILM SCHOOL SAMPLE VIDEO

threads for later when i can listen with volume not in a room or retarded college drunks

haaa I appreciate it

Filmed and edited really well, but I dunno i feel like a college will want more than skiing/action sports.
I'm just starting my bachelor degree in photo this year and I've been talking to all the kids who are in the film strand of the program it seems like they all focused their application video towards telling a story/movie based. With that being said I have no idea what the requirements are for whatever programs you're thinking of applying to so I can't say for sure. The video does show your obvious ability to film/edit and put something together so maybe that's all that's needed! Just my two cents. And I really enjoyed the piece that you did put together, so I'm not in anyway trying to take away from your final piece of work - it was on point.

the biggest thing for me was color.

the color was for the most part good, but a lot of your images could be brightened a little, particularly the blacks in the beginning. also, the fact that the scenes in the beginning were shot in a very familiar location (in the sense that everybody knows what a normal street looks like), so it will help if you do something unique with the colors aside from adding some contrast and saturating them. personally, i would raise the blacks and add a slight purple hue to them while warming the mids, but that's just me.

also, some of your ski shots were a little blown out and there was some warping in the twixtor stuff.


i thought it was sick though! definitely enjoyed it.

and don't stress too much about this. i decided the night before the NYU application deadline that i wanted to apply there, but i had no sample video and they expected students to make one especially for that application. I just used a short film I made for an english project in 11th grade and still got accepted to the nyu film program.

film programs are very story oriented, true.



however, colleges are all about diversity and bringing different talents together. action sports videos are very unique and showcase a very different skill set than what they probably normally see.

Drop shadow your text over image!

The fade to black at 0:57ish was far too long, the shot after didn't establish your setting all that well, try to find a different one.

Don't use shaky shots, they don't care what the trick was, they care about the shot. Show your best work and only your best work.

Try to shoot a story. I'm planning on applying to several film schools and although I love to shoot skiing and other action sports I also wrote, directed, DP'd (DP'd for two others as well), and edited four short films this summer and have one more, that will probably end up being the showpiece of my portfolio. Schools you apply to will probably want someone who knows how to tell a story with a film. I talked to one school that I plan on applying to and the head of their digital filmmaking department and one thing I was told was theirs a no fun policy until the third year. Meaning no shooting skiing, skating, cliff jumping, or any other fun activity for an assignment the first two years. This is so students focus on telling a story.

Thanks to everybody for everything, +K to all.

I'm pretty set on keeping the shaky shots at the end, simply because I think they fit the feeling I was trying to build towards the end.

Everything else is super helpful everybody, keep it coming.

yah I agree with what your saying about the shaky, it did have its place and I was aware that it was a concious decision and so will they. only thing thats not good though ( and its a perfectionist thing) I dont like seeing the camera in the shots. its a film thing I know but it takes away the suspension of disbeleif. I know its you filming skiing but the edit is dreamy and has a vibe of its own, showing the shadow of the camera takes away from that disbeleif and brings you back to reality.

I liked it a fair amount but some of the colors seemed a tinsy bit off in places.