This seems like a "show reel" or "demo reel" with the purpose of getting video work with vacation resorts ... was this cut down from something longer? That may account for the abrupt transitions which really have to be fixed !!

To me, it has the look and feel of an experimental "art" video. Effects for the sake of beauty. Nothing wrong with that -- except is that what you're selling?

You certainly have some skills and have made great use of what Vegas can do, but I'd question how this was put together as a sales pitch to resort management. Seems way too subtle with a weak ending. . If I were you, I'd study some other "show reels" to get ideas on how to package and sell yourself and what you can do.

The cat at 1:51 says it all.
It lost me in the first 20 seconds. The shot of the ocean should be STATIC or else move in a smooth and predictable way to SHOW the viewer something. There's nothing inviting about the look of the shot, colors dull and muted. Water looks cold. I was anticipating a bloated fully clothed body floating face down in the water. Instead the camera sort of wobbles off into a pan / truck and the shot dissolves into the next shot.

It goes downhill from there.

Bob.

I dont get it,,, but the lady at the begining is very pretty.
As far as how to improve it ....lots of clolors fading/ morphing for reasons I did not get,,, kind of a effects overload for my taste,, but thats just an opinion
good luck and I hope it works for your purpose !

OK, you got conflicting responses, so I had to look.
1) The music transitions are abrupt. Learn the art of the J- or L-cut. I would pick one piece of music and stick with it throughout the video
2) I did like the effects - was it from Digital juice?
3) The low-angle on the waves did not look inviting. I would have gone for a higher angle.
4) Try keeping the sound of the waves in for a ten-second fade.

Overall, it's pretty good, but I have no clue what you are promoting.

Steve: "[I]Overall, it's pretty good, but I have no clue what you are promoting[/I]"

Exactly. You've fallen into the age old trap of, EFFECTS over OUTCOME or IMPACT. I spend an inordinate amount of time working out just what I need to tell a story. And often, no ALWAYS, it's less that gets me through it.

Look at adverts on the TV, those that work have very little visual fxs. You can't substitue a good narrative with throwing a lot of visual fx at the screen. And when I say fx that includes transitions, the use of audio, 3d manipulation.

Ok, that's the BAD and where I think you're falling. The GOOD is I believe you have an understanding of just how these Vegas features "work". But THAT does not make an effective "buy me" offer. It may fir SCS, but inviting Holiday restorts to have you work for them? Not too sure. But hey, often I've been wrong, and I could be wrong here.

Grazie

all the best promos and ads i've seen for holiday destinations (and i've seen a LOT!), all depend on sumptuous shots and relevant music.

frankly i wouldn't give you the time of day if that's how you're going to show my destination, food, hotel, etc.,

what will get your audiences attention is NOT fx, but images that draw them in.....

sorry, didn't mean to be quite so harsh, but you did ask.....

Leslie, not harsh.

This is....[I] Start again![/I]

Grazie

What is the video trying to say, is it to promote a resort? If so its not doing the job.

IMO first things to fix are:

Try to use more video rather than Pan/Scan still images.

Compositing - you are obviously pretty good at it but what's it all for, it looks false

Transitions between sections to abrupt - this disrupts the flow and pace of the video.

Choice of music - stick to one piece, preferably with some relation to the subject/feel of the video.

Plus points:
Graphics are good.

Actually, first off, get your story sorted out, which is very obviously missing. And THAT is driven by what your motivation is in making it in the first place.

Grazie

"Actually, first off, get your story sorted out, which is very obviously missing."

The one hotel promo I have cut did indeed use a storyline to showcase the hotel. Pretty trite really, follow an attractive couple through their stay in the hotel, in the door, reception, elevator, room, bar, dining room, food, pool, views, trips.... It's just something that "justifies" showing things to the viewer really. It doesn't have to have a plot.

Aside from that though what kept grabbing me in the video was the number of good shots that were ruined by the urge to do "something" to them. The backlit jar of something orange looked great and then it's ruined by the cheap effect of the girl dancing in/on/out/whatever of it. The next shot of the hot chick dancing gets ruined by neon blue flourishes that say less than nothing.

Jay Gladwell posted some shots of his of food a while back. They looked a million bucks. Hotel promo I cut was shot by a good crew, same thing, a lot of effort went into the food and bar shots. I think sometimes with this kind of job you've just got to go out and get great shots. Then you look at them and slowly the story reveals itself in what you've got.

/end of rant

Bob.

> I think sometimes with this kind of job you've just got to go out and get great shots. Then you look at them and slowly the story reveals itself in what you've got.

And THAT is getting the story sorted out. First you need material. Deciding to get material is good, but even then you need a narrative.

What determines a good shot? A nice looking shot OR a narrative that holds the video together?

"Oh here's a good sunset . . . "

"Oh here is a good picture of a garbage van . . .

"Oh here is a good shot of a . . " and so on and so on . . .


Bob: " It doesn't have to have a plot." Who said plot? I said narrative. And THAT is what is missing in this sample. Good shots need to have a narrative otherwise they remain just that.

Bob, why is it you need to dismiss what I said, then redefine, then redirect it to something that I had already said, and make out that what I said was irrelevant?

Grazie

OGUL, you've asked for comments on these videos numerous times.
Each and every time you get virtually the same answers.
However, I still don't see where you've really taken any of the comments to heart.
Based on what you've shown so far, I would not, as a business owner, be giving you any money as your videos don't "sell" my place.

Mike

Putting on my "nice" hat - I like the music. Rather James Bondish.

...Jerry

Thanks to all who were sharing their comments.
They are really priceless and invaluable to me!
I really appreciate them.

Vegas forum always seemed to me like a giant book/encyclopedia and this one is like a chapter of it!
Chapter 56 : "How to make a good video of resorts"

The video between 1-5 secs is from Motion Designer's Toolkit 6, Disc 6/3
I'm not so advanced... My level, my knowledge is not suitable for it yet... but I hope one day...

Thanks again.
I'll study every line, every word written...Just to improve myself.

I concur what the others have said - what struck me was the repeated use of the Ken Burns effect. As others have pointed out, a bit of video is always better than a still, even if the video is shot with a stationary camera with only the tiniest bit of movement in the distance. If you must work from stills (I know that I often have had to) then perhaps not have all of them panning? Or, if they are going to be moving, make the movement really slow. I found the fast movement in almost every shot was doing my head in and borderline vertiginous.

I'm as guilty as anyone of going overboard with fx (wait, make that more guilty than anyone) and often have to remind myself of the old adage 'just because you can, doesn't mean you should'. Reading the other comments on this thread was a good reminder of this for me.

"Bob, why is it you need to dismiss what I said, then redefine, then redirect it to something that I had already said, and make out that what I said was irrelevant?"

No. no, no, no.
Of course it is absolutely relevant, how does what I said make what you said irrelevant.
It was never meant to "dismiss", the exact opposite.
What you said in a few words says it all. I had hoped by expanding on it OGUL would get what it meant. It has been said to him before, several times, over a period of time. It seemed to me that HE was dismissing what you or other have said before.

I felt I needed to expand on what you said and relate to some extent my own experience travelling down the road to reach the story. Of course you didn't use the word "plot", you used the word "story" which connects to "storyline" which connects to "plot". I used the word "plot" in the hope that OGUL would not dismiss what you had said because he couldn't fathom the wider meaning of the word "story".

"What determines a good shot? A nice looking shot OR a narrative that holds the video together?"

Now there's an interesting question.
I've been going with Victor Milt's "Just go out and shoot something".
I want to capture with my camera how what was in front of me felt to me, what was what my eyes saw saying to me and convey that to an audience. Back home I also have to be aware that I've got 15 seconds to grab the audience, so it has to have eye candy value. So to answer your question I'd say both when it comes to advertising. You've got to grab the audience by the eyeballs while you ram the story down their throat.

I've done something like what OGUL is trying to do. I had it all planned out. All I had to do was the cold call hard sell. I failed, absolutely crashed and burnt. That was years ago and thinking back on that folly I realise where I went wrong. I had less than 10 seconds to grab the mind of a business owner, get them with a money shot then when you've got them, then comes their story. Sunset or garbage can, doesn't matter, so long as it jolts them out of their mundane world. Show them something they see everyday in a different light. If you don't grab them in a few seconds oh, they'll listen to your spiel but they're thinking of excuses to make you go away. It is a totally different game to when someone comes to you wanting you to tell their story.

Bob.

To me, using a mixture of stills (panned or not) and video in the same production looks odd. Use one or the other for the most part.

The sparkles at 1:20 looked a little cheesy.

Kill the cat.

The moon fade at 1:54 looked fake.

Get some underwater shots of some tropical fish, that'd be cool.

3:11, go ahead and spell the word "Please"

OGUL, check out some of the discussions in the OT: Light recommendations for hotel interiors? thread as they're directly applicable to what you're trying to do.

Mike

"I also have to be aware that I've got 15 seconds to grab the audience"

Very true. I was playing around with my youtube account recently and discovered a little button titled 'Insight'. I'm sure most of the forum members here are well aware of it, but it was entirely new to me. On clicking the button I was able to view a number of stats relating to that particular video (or all of my videos together). The most interesting utility to me was a button called 'Hot Spots', which shows the points at most viewers switch off and go to watch something else, elsewhere. You can watch the video in a small window next to the chart to see what it is happening in the video in relation to the hot spots. It's fascinating and is a good way of seeing whether or not you are holding your audience for more than a few seconds, but also a good way of seeing if certain parts of one's videos drag on for too long so that people switch off before reaching the end (definitely the case with a few of mine).

[I]It was never meant to "dismiss", the exact opposite.[/I]

Then say so. Like the topic under discussion, be explicit.

[I]It has been said to him before, several times, over a period of time. It seemed to me that HE was dismissing what you or other have said before.[/I]

And again, say so.

Making a 30 second promo is a real tough artform/business. When I've done it, I love it. It forces me to think and react to all the demands. I'd love to do OGUL's project. I've plenty of ideas from what I've seen of the footage so far. But here's the thing, I don't think our friend here has access to an option to video the situ. Could it be that all that IS available are those postcards?

Bob thanks for your response to me and your support of what I said. And I apologise for misinterpreting what you wrote.

Cheers

Grazie