Hi all,

[[UPDATE:  Since originally posting this video for your viewing pleasure, I have re-editied the entire thing, shortening it to 4 minutes in length.  Overall, the video kicks along at a faster pace and I focussed more on beauty shots. ]]

I had shot and edited my "Aerial Sizzle Reel" to advertise my new Aerial Video services.  I later saw that the 38th Annual Telly Awards competition had added an Aerial category, so I decided to enter my reel and somehow won a first place prize.  

So, here is my newly updated video. (Now only 4 minutes long).  

Turn up the music because I also composed and performed every note and drum beat myself (no loops or pre-recorded parts... if you hear it, I wrote and played it).

Aerial Sizzle Reel

Congratulations!  First rate.  Don't know about the advertising tho, lol

Very Sweet!

Phantastic

Aloha Matt,

     There are demo reels and then there are demo reels!  Now that was a demo reel!  No wonder you won first place.  You were tops on all counts.  Congratulations!

Aloha and Drone On!

Thanks Guys....  Maybe someday I will get to fly in some truly dramatic locations... I'm on the hunt.
I really appreciate you watching and commenting... I look forward to seeing your videos.

Onward and Upward,
Matt

Very Nice!

Genghis9 Posted at 2017-8-16 10:44
Very Nice!

Thanks Genghis.   Awesome photo of the Duke.  

Mabou2 Posted at 2017-8-16 12:45
Thanks Genghis.   Awesome photo of the Duke.

Thanks, one of my Heros!  
Nice to see that someone besides me knows him these days I wonder...

Genghis9 Posted at 2017-8-16 12:56
Thanks, one of my Heros!  
Nice to see that someone besides me knows him these days I wonder...

I've got the same photo, printed onto an aluminum sheet, mounted on my wall.  The text is a quote of his "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do".

Mabou2 Posted at 2017-8-16 13:16
I've got the same photo, printed onto an aluminum sheet, mounted on my wall.  The text is a quote of his "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do".

Life’s Tough, It’s Tougher if You’re Stupid  




...a classic too

That's beautiful Matt. Most excellent work all the way around!

Damn!!!!!!

The video looks great! Thanks for sharing with us.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-8-17 04:11
The video looks great! Thanks for sharing with us.

DJI SUSAN!!!!
Yes, I accept this rose.

:-)

Very Nice!

Very nice.  You have definitely been to some very scenic places.  Great video.  

Thanks Again Guys....   FWIW: As of this writing, I have edited the (nearly 6 minute) video down to a cool 4 minutes.  Although I made the video 2 minutes shorter, I have added some new clips as well... its just that the video now moves along much more quickly.  So if you are curious to see re-edited video... here ya go:
New, shorter, Sizzle Reel

Mabou2 Posted at 2017-8-20 03:40
Thanks Again Guys....   FWIW: As of this writing, I have edited the (nearly 6 minute) video down to a cool 4 minutes.  Although I made the video 2 minutes shorter, I have added some new clips as well... its just that the video now moves along much more quickly.  So if you are curious to see re-edited video... here ya go:
New, shorter, Sizzle Reel

WOW. I can only aspire to such a level of excellence. I've a LONG way to go..........
Thanks for the share. And congrats on the competition win.

Blériot53 Posted at 2017-8-20 04:04
WOW. I can only aspire to such a level of excellence. I've a LONG way to go..........
Thanks for the share. And congrats on the competition win.

Hi Bleriot,

I shot most of that video in my first four months of flying.  I had never flown a drone before.
You would be surprised at how good your videos can look (especially when you are first starting out) by following ONE simple rule:  Keep it simple.
When you shoot a location, don't touch the controls for anything other than one direction.  IF you realize that you started the shot a little sideways, then just start over.  Don't make the path adjustment in flight.   Of course, more complicated shots can be added to your skillset as you progress.

WHY Keep it simple you ask?  Well, lemme tell you a couple of reasons;

1) In my experience with editing, I realize that I need to speed up almost all of my clips, sometimes by as much as a thousand percent.  Even the smallest adjustments that you made to the flight path show up as a jarring move when you speed the clip up.

2) You want to NOT distract the viewer by reminding them they are watching a drone shot.  You just want them to see the location.  Even small adjustments to the flight path are noticeable to the casual viewer and immediately kills the magic and majesty of the shot.  Just think about a movie with a ground based camera.  If they have the camera on a tripod and are getting an incredible shot with no camera motion (lock-down shot) and someone bumps the camera by accident... they will shoot it again because the bump broke the magic of that shot.  Apply the same thing when you are flying.   Try fancy maneuvers to your hearts content... but always do a simple "safety" shot before you leave the location... you will end up using a simple safety shot more than you imagine.

And finally, it didn't take long before I realized that my big fat fingers are not good at creating a smooth motion when I hold the sticks.  So if I am trying to fly straight forward, I might accidentally slide the bird a little sideways too.  To help square off my straighline shots, I will usually set up my shot, then bypass the sticks all together.  I will instead reach down to the black plastic at the base of the sticks and push that instead.  This way I can do a forward or side motion without accidentally adjusting any other parameter of the flight.

Hopefully some of this helps.

Oh yeah Matt, the shorter one looks awesome too!

Mabou2 Posted at 2017-8-20 08:28
Hi Bleriot,

I shot most of that video in my first four months of flying.  I had never flown a drone before.

Hi Mabou2 All tips are useful, thank you.

Congratulations!
What a beautiful footage and great editing...dammed i have a lot to learn by my editing
Especially your own composition of the music fits very well with the video footage ...
Keep on the good work...and thanks for sharing
regards
Rob from Holland

Sweet, and great job of the edit. varied length of clips was great.