Need Critique of video...

[katanna]

Hey all,

The following is a Prayer Partner promo. How well does it flow, does it work? What are your thoughts?

Link (14 MB)

Matthew

[kbob]

given your distance restrictions, it works remarkably well. One thing-and it's small-

where you fade at the end, going from

you too
can make a difference
in a young person's life

to can make a difference

why not let it fade simply to:

you
can make a difference

instead?

[katanna]

Thanks for the input! Here is the final version of the video.

Matthew

[kbob]

nicely done! Thanks for sharing!

[Cale J. Rogers]

Nice story.

I think the story needs to move along a little faster. I would try using the first part of the text full screen (the text that explains the plot between the characters) within the first 15 seconds of the video. Then weave the text in with the story so that it alternates with the visual prayer shots.

Also, the video needs more tight face and hand shots. Those tighter shots will help move the pace along and give you more options for working in wider break shots.

The live piano was cool, great to hear something that's not canned.

Cale

[katanna]

Thanks for the reply! The funny thing is, the piano was from a CD I have by Russell Martin, a local worship leader. He is an amazing player!

Matthew

[Cale J. Rogers]

Nice!

Cale

[tedanderson]

The following is a Prayer Partner promo. How well does it flow, does it work?

Not as effectively as it could IMHO. Here are some things that I would have done differently:

1. Too long - I think that if the video started at 0:17 you wouldn't affect the impact of the message. Also, making the prayers much shorter would be better because around 1:20, I want to say, "OK. I get the point." Let us see the woman in Texas for about 6 to 8 seconds and then the same for the woman in California and then go to the split screen for about 3-5 seconds. Then you can go to the screen text which was very nice.. it might even be good to slightly fade in the split screen clip behind the words in slow motion.

2. Shot composition - The woman in California should have had a similar shooting angle as the woman in texas. Also, both shots should have been a little more frontal. Like when the clip first begins, the Texas woman is being shot from a 45 degree angle- Half-profile and half-frontal. However, when she goes to the altar, we are getting that same composition, but we are getting more of her back than we are getting of her front. As for the woman in California, it is a dead-on profile which causes it to lack depth. And being that it is shot from the floor upward, it does not match up with the Texas camera which was shot from up above in a downward angle.

3. Audio - The video footage from California appeared to be a bit spacey and hollow (which was probably the result of using the on-camera mic) which was very different from the rich clear sound from the Texas video. If the "good" audio was adjusted with an effect to make it sound more like the "bad" audio, I would have never noticed that there was anything wrong with the audio at all.

4. Text - The words came across the screen a little too slow. Where it says, "In the year 2000 Crystal and Alanya became prayer partners..." the line-by-line sequence is nice but it took too long for it to come up. By all means, give the audience enough time to read it, however, it should appear on the screen quick enough to keep up with the faster readers and then it can linger long enough to accomodate the slower ones.

5. The shots should have movement, even if they are very subtle so that you can create a feeling of being there with them. As we observe things in real life we are always moving even though our vision stays locked on the object that we are observing. And when a camera is capturing an intimate moment, yet it is sitting in a fixed position, the shot tends to suck the life out of the story.

On one hand, anyone watching this would conclude that 2 women in separate states are praying for each other, but on the other hand, the video does not quite say, "prayer partners" as strongly as it could.

One thing about video is that you often have to fabricate the story in order to communicate the real story. Sometimes if you show it as it is really happening, you may not be able to say what you really wanted to say with it.