Hey Guys,

I've only posted a few times on the forum but I love to read and learn from everyone on here.  I am a Jeweler and I own 2 stores in Utah.  I love to design and create custom jewelry and most of all I love to make everyone's jewelry purchasing experience better than they could ever imagine.   One thing we've recently added to differentiate ourselves from the competition a even more is offering a FREE aerial video of their proposal.  This video below is my 2nd video and is at the Entrada Country Club in St.George, UT.  I want people to tell me what I can do to make it better...I'm looking for pointers, tricks, and yes, some critiscism.   

My life has been consumed by making TV....
However Wedding stuff is not one of them, I will put forward a couple of things though
I would try and keep distractions out of the shot....ie construction equipment in the background etc....
Maybe use the scale function in the edit to zoom in and create a more intimate feel......and use vignette's etc to close to feel in even more........even some soft filters etc....
I would also do the above to keep the drone further back in the shot......when you get in close, it becomes more about the drone and the filming than the actual event......people looking and waving at the camera distract from the moment.
Remember even if the footage is degraded by digitally zooming, you may find the feel of the shot is much more "romantic" than getting in close and taking away the candid nature of the scene.
I could keep going but someone else step in before my wife thinks I am getting soft lol

Whatever floats their respective boats, I personally couldn't think of anything more inappropriate to such a moment than having a UAV buzzing away in the vicinity.
However as a vid to mark the moment, I'd agree with Harb. The shots need to be closer and framed tighter.

I agree that some improvements can be made, but it is a sweet video that they will probably watch after few decades and remember this times

Guys, It's been a few days since I have been able to check the responses.  I appreciate the comments and I will take the advice to improve on my videoing and editing.  With that being said, I have to admit I didn't even know that it was possible to zoom in during the editing process.   I told you I was a ROOKIE!   If you have anymore advice I am open to suggestions.  

Thanks again Harb, Farnk666, and DJI-Tim.  


Shane

All good Shane..........if we have a day where we didn't learn at least 1 thing, it was a waisted day.
And it never stops ;)

Well I had a Job to shoot this afternoon at sunset, and got there about 30 mins early so as not to miss the golden 5 mins lol, anyway while I was sitting there I thought I might chop your video up to show you what I mean........Hope you don't mind lol
This is absolutely not a premium edit by any means, Just 20mins as the sun got to the horizon as such.... but just a sample of a different way to go about it using scaling/zooms to exclude background stuff, Vignettes to drag the eye to the point of interest, slow mo's and using the "extra bits" to make a photo montage instead of using every bit of footage in the main edit.......that way you can pick and choose, and create a sort of the way it was bit at the end......
Bear in mind I was on my little laptop, and doesn't have many facilities in it like my edit suites do, so its a bit limited......but hopefully you get what I am meaning
I would try and shoot your stuff at a higher frame rate so you can do better SlowMo's in the edit and avoid the clocky look here.....try 60fps or more and it will be much smoother when you slow it down.
The Photo bit at the end should be treated the same as the video.....filters etc.....but I had none in the laptop.
anyway, hope you don't mind me cutting up your good work......It was good to kill the 20mins I had to wait instead of sitting there eating junk food...lol
Programs used....
Final Cut Pro X - Editing
DaVinci Resolve 12 - ColorGrading -  you can get a demo version for free
Vignette Plugin from FX Factory - Best Plugin source around for Final Cut Pro X
FotoMagico - Photo Sequence - You can use various templates like photo albums etc which would look much better than this does.....page turns etc.
Grabed Video Stills using the Shift-command-4 keys together and dragging out over the bits I wanted, and they saved to the desktop for use.
If you dont want the hassle of learning DaVinci Resolve, I would sugest you get a plug in called "Finisher", it will do everything you need for non Broadcast apps.

Was done sitting in the sun with my MacBook Pro.


Try and remember, soon as you take on these kind of jobs, you are no longer a Jeweller , or a Drone Pilot...... you are now a Story teller.
It is very important to do your best to tell the story as best as you can, and usually simple is better.
You will get very good at it....this is your idea after all, and its just time that will get you where you want to be.
The biggest thing you will find is how your shooting will get better as you edit in your head as you shoot......it sometimes helps to write a shot list when you start so you get everything you need.

Any questions, fire away and I will help where I can.....

Cheers
Harb

great work
stay tune and fly safe!

Seven Oaks Posted at 2016-3-4 23:36
Guys, It's been a few days since I have been able to check the responses.  I appreciate the comments ...

Wow great editing that's Night and Day.  Complements !

Shane, what a great idea on your moment that you will have forever and your future family can see.
This is a memorable proposal not a commercial you made my wife cry , lol  what a great start. I promised my wife if I  propose again will she let play golf in St George,Utah .... She's thinking
Happy flights .

Steve

Harb Posted at 2016-3-5 20:37
Well I had a Job to shoot this afternoon at sunset, and got there about 30 mins early so as not to m ...

Great job Harb, I am sure Shane has some better ideas now. Short and punchy shots definitely help to keep the viewer engaged.

Regards Wolf