Fools rush in...

Graeme Smith wrote on 4/20/2012, 7:59 AM

... and so do Idiots.
Hi. My name's Graeme Smith. And I'm an Idiot :-).
I have a small project. Well, small to those here, but huge to me. Not huge in size - but huge because I have no idea what I'm doing.
Oh. Don't worry. I'm not going to ask people to tell me how to do it. More ask if it's possible, so I know whether it's worth trying at all :-).
The intention is to put together a short (30-60 second) piece. The piece will be a sequence of still shots, with transitions. The (very rough) storyboard would be:

STILL 1
Dissolve in some text over STILL 1.
DISSOLVE STILL 1 to STILL 2.
(Maybe)
Pan across STILL 2 to a specific NEW STILL
Scroll some text over NEW STILL
Transition - an exploding fireball - to STILL 3.
Roll credits

1: I've never used video editing software in my life
2: I bought Sony Vegas Production Suite 11
3: Er - did I mention I'm an Idiot? (blushes)

Recognising I undoubtedly have a learning curve a mile high, but still have to get this done by the beginning of July to make it worth doing, if I may ask:

A: Is Sony Vegas a practical tool for the task?
B: To achieve it as stated, would additional resources or tools be required (I'm thinking of the fireball transition)?
C: Even though I'm an Idiot, should a reasonably competant person (I'm sure I can find one after I've proved I'm not :-P) be able to learn enough in the time available to achieve the task?

There. I'll shut up now :-). My thanks indeed for such time and attention as any may offer, and my apology for intruding if a posting such as this is intrusion or improper :-).

Back to post

Comments

goshep wrote on 5/22/2012, 9:07 PM

This is your first crack at it and with Vegas so I'll stick to what can be easily fixed first....

The text HAS to be changed. The double text is distracting with one line and unreadable with more than that. Don't make the beginner mistake of gimmicky effects that end up looking cheesy or unprofessional.

The pace of the entire project needs reworking. It drags too slowly throughout.

The stock explosion effect could work here but freezing it like you do doesn't look good. Learn and use the chroma keyer so you can play that clip in its entirety and allow the natural dissolve of the explosion to reveal the castle behind it (this was the effect you had originally envisioned I believe). Use that explosion as a transition to another backdrop or from another backdrop.

There is too much time spent on the castle backdrop. I think it should be seen the least at the end because it will ultimately be seen on the book cover.

The flaming skull at the end should be tossed as it doesn't blend with the book cover. I would incorporate the dragon silhouette that appears on the cover. Use keyframes to move it onto the screen and onto the book cover as it appears.

Focus on the basics of pacing and text and work on the effects later. If you don't have a solid foundation, the best visual effects ever seen aren't going to make it any better.

Just my .02 worth. Good luck!

Graeme Smith wrote on 5/23/2012, 7:50 AM

Lord Goshep

My thanks indeed for the reply! (And yes - I do mean that sincerely :-) ).
The explosion is indeed chromakeyed. I tried using it as it was to transition to the castle, but the point at which it fills the screen is so short in duration, it looked like an abrupt cut with a dissolve after it. I tried to sub-clip the end of the explosion and extend it, but again it was so short it just turned into a flickery mess.
I used the castle backdrop for (yes - a long time) mostly because I didn't have any other graphics I can use that fit the book. And I really did look :-). I pondered using some 'inside the castle' images, but apart from the fact that I don;t have any, if I tried to source some they'd all have to look like they came from the same architecture. I'd be interested in any thoughts?
The text is interesting. I've shown the clip to my alpha and beta reader groups, and (perhaps because they're more word than image focussed) they liked it. The only comments they made were to change the colour from the original (I had it in the yellow from the book cover, which was fine over the initial image, but hard to read over the castle). They also wanted it, um, bigger than my first efforts. And they wanted it slowed down, because the initial pace didn't give them time to read. I wondered about putting less text up, but both the reader group and my editro told me that readers wanted, yes the pretty pictures - but they want words. Because they're, um, readers :-).
The dragon issue was the one that bugged me the longest. And it still may be valid. However, the book itself is a Comic Fantasy, and it's hard to get humour into a short trailer when you have the creative ability of an aardvark :-). The skull-and-scream was, quite frankly, intended to introduce a 'silly' moment. So far, live tests with readers have had 3 out of five burst out laughing when it happened. Of course, that may (or may not) not be 'laughing in a good way' (blushes).
The problem with focussin on the dragon for that part (and an earlier version did) is it implies that, as usual, the dragon is the Big Bad (reported reader impression from earlier cuts). It isn't. Without going into Spoiler detail, the thing represented by the flaming skull is.

So - issues summary:
Text: Readers requested more and bigger, experienced opinion here says different. So. What kind of different?

Pace: Readers wanted slower. Experienced opinion says it's too slow already. That, to me, suggests cutting content. On the other hand, the content present is largely reader requested. Thoughts?

The explosion: Heh. I give up on the explosion. I'm either doing it totally wrong, or it's just beyond my poor wit :-).

Backdrops: More would be better. But I don't have any. I could maybe use other images of the same castle exterior, but then don't I run the risk of them looking out of step (season change, created at different times) with each other?

The skull: So far, it makes people laugh. Is that a good enough reason to keep it in, or should it be tossed as you suggest?

Focus on the dragon: The trailer is really supposed to give an idea of the book - and focussing on the dragon gave readers the wrong message. Thoughts?

All of the above no doubt looks and sounds like me trying to either get out of changing it, or justify the rotten thing as it stands. It's not - on the other hand, my publisher told me last week that while we were initially releasing in July, we're now releasing in June. No solid date yet - but mostly they release on the first of the month. Which would give me a week to rework it and put it through reviews - whimper :-). Of course,that raises the question of whether a Bad Trailer is better or worse than No Trailer At All.... :-(.
Again, my thanks indeed for the response, Lord Goshep :-). And it was worth a lot more than .02. Heh. That was part of the problem, I guess. If I actually had a marketing budget, I'd have paid someone who knows what they're doing - but it would have cost rather a lot more than .02... :-(.

The Idiot

SWS wrote on 5/23/2012, 8:49 AM

You might also check on this inexpensive animation tool.
It's pretty buggy & cheesy but they have a free download that might give you some ideas to enhance what you're doing. And you can bring it all together in Vegas...

http://www.reallusion.com/iclone/

I have a number of silly iClone examples at my YouTube channel...

http://www.youtube.com/user/SmallWStudio?feature=mhee

goshep wrote on 5/23/2012, 8:51 AM

"experienced opinion here says different"...
Flattering sir, but there are plenty of people here who have forgotten more about this business than I'll ever know. If you're lucky, they'll chime in too.

If your editor and reader groups give it a thumbs up and are compelled to read the book, then any "experienced opinion" is moot. However, be wary of reader group opinions as they tend to be supportive to a fault. In this forum, you're going to receive candid (and sometimes uncomfortable) criticism that is meant to make you a better editor.

Your reader groups are (as you said) composed of readers who are more interested in sinking there teeth into another book. Most of them are already fans of this genre. If it's NEW readers of this genre (or your work in particular) that you seek to attract, you're going to need to be much more polished.

Again, I'm a little fish in a BIG pond so pray for more fish!

Take care

Graeme Smith wrote on 5/23/2012, 9:14 AM

Lord Goshep

Heh. Since none of them (to my knowledge at least) come here, I can say with hand on heart that some of my alpha and beta reader group members are deliberately selected because they don't like me very much (not hard :-P), and I know are just looking for reasons to fill my tail with lead. They can indeed be the most useful at times... (blushes).
And I'm always looking for more fish... here, fishies, fishies! :-)

The Idiot

Graeme Smith wrote on 5/24/2012, 8:41 AM

Small revisions:

Three more readers said the text should be slowed down (interesting gap - younger readers tended if anything to want it speed up, older readers with slower eyes wanted slower). I found a different (longer/ slower) fireball and got rid of the freeze-frame, and (again at a reader request) put some tiny fade in and fade out on the text::

The Idiot

goshep wrote on 5/25/2012, 12:13 AM

Getting better my friend. Your explosion clip looks much better. Check the length of the clip on your timeline. You have it set a touch too long and it is causing it to repeat the clip a fraction of a second before it fades entirely.

The pacing is getting better. If you are absolutely without any other visuals, you might consider slowing your reveal of the castle. At least that way the viewer isn't looking at the same static image for so long.

I really hate that flaming skull...sorry...just do. If you're going to keep it, make sure it fades completely before revealing the book cover. It remains there for a fraction of a second too long for its own good.

I'm glad you did away with the double text. It is much, much easier to read now. The pacing is better but still needs a little work. Consider keeping the title and your name a bit longer and combining the "by" with your name in stead of having it appear by its lonesome between the title and your name. You could probably slow the rest just a little and find a happy medium between the old and young guys but then you are increasing the viewing time of the only visual you have for that whole sequence.

Deadlines aside, the cool thing is you are learning and getting better as you tweak and tinker. Eventually you'll look back on these early projects and realize how far you've come. Then someone from this forum will post something amazing and you'll realize how far you've yet to go. There's a few on this forum whose knowledge both inspires and discourages me all at once. It's a paradox but it keeps me striving to improve. Envy? Admiration? Jealousy? Pick your motivation. :)

Guy S. wrote on 5/25/2012, 2:20 PM

Getting better. A couple of suggestions.

You've got just 10 seconds to hook viewers, so use it wisely. As a viewer I only care about one thing: "What's in it for me?" But after 10 seconds all I know is your name and the name of the book, and that gives me nothing. Worse, the huge-fonted pink titles flying in screams "low budget".

Once we get past your name I see three text pages, then what appears to be another book title: "Segorian Anderson - Court Idiot". Very confusing - cut it completely.

In terms of editing technique:
Text - Go for readability first, then style. Size is not the only factor when it comes to readability, so size it down, perhaps even by 1/2. Contrast increases readability, so you might want to try a thin outline around the font (this can be done very easily in the titling window) to help it stand out from the background. If these measures aren't enough, you may want to consider using a different font, or a different color, or both.

Transitions - These should, in most cases, match the music. So stretch out your dissolves a bit. There are exceptions, of course - when the skull flies out, for example.

Still Images - When holding an image on screen for a long time, zoom in or out slowly to give it a bit of motion. If you need to hold an image on screen for more than about 15 seconds - AND if the image is high enough resolution to do this - you may be able to make it appear as though you have two images (specific examples below).

Story/Marketing Message:
First and foremost, lead with your best: To Segorian, women were an open book." "The problem was he never learned to read." THAT hooked me.

Next comes the book title - IF you want to have it near the opening of your video. But if you want to keep the video as short as possible, consider putting the book title at the end of the video only. If you do want it here, place the book title, with your name under it, on the same text page.

Then I'd get into the story...

For the first image (woman + dragon), put the image on the timeline twice. The first time start zoomed way in and slowly zoom part way out. Let the image run for a second or two before starting the zoom out, and the zoom out should last the length of the clip. Because she's holding an open book, this will match the opening title.

Next, a slow dissolve to the same image, starting mostly zoomed out, and then slowly zoom all the way out. In this case the zoom will begin while immediately, while the clip is still dissolving, and you can either end the zoom a couple of seconds before the clip ends or let it continue to zoom right through the dissolve.

I put a short example of what this image sequence might look like here:

The image of the castle needs to zoom out MUCH more slowly. The fast zoom reveals new information that competes with the text for my eyes' attention. And then the entire image is revealed and the image just sits there, completely static and boring.

The ending needs a lot of clean up. After the skull flies out, give me at least 3 seconds to process what I've just seen, and then either:
- Do a slow crossfade to your book cover, or
- Fade to black, wait a beat, then slowly fade in your book cover.

If possible, I'd create a still image that shows your book cover along with all of the relevant information in the ending title roll (which MUST come out). If you don't have the tools or talent to do such a page yourself, ask someone for help. Somebody in your writer's group must have Photoshop.

The quality of your marketing video reflects the quality of your book; the ending graphic is the last thing viewers will see so it simply must be great. You've done an admirable job with your video, overall an excellent first effort. I hope these ideas help you produce a video that is a worthy reflection of your book.

Guy