Slightly OT: Redoing old projects

Maverick wrote on 1/7/2013, 12:38 PM

This is mainly aimed that those who edit for fun/family/friends as I would imagine those that do it for a living wouldn't want to redo old projects unless it was made worthwhile.

With my recent addition of Twixtor amongst other software I find that I frequently want to redo parts of previous projects as I know I can now make them better. This, of course, detracts from what I currently work on.

It's only a bit of a dilemma but wonder if others think along the same lines... or is it just me?

Comments

vtxrocketeer wrote on 1/7/2013, 1:37 PM

My skills at shooting and editing have improved tremendously since I began to produce videos for family and friends. Like you, I sometimes wondered about going back to apply better skills to my old projects.

But I didn't wonder long. To me, doing so would feel like re-writing a high school essay. It's been read, graded, and set aside. Done. Similarly, most of my old videos have been viewed, appreciated, and are probably gathering dust. I doubt anyone, even close family, would be interested in my serving warmed up leftovers. (But wait, this has the NEW ketchup with improved taste...! ugh. Same meatloaf.)

Also, I consider that leaving old work alone allows me to see how far I've progressed as a camera operator and editor.

Nah. I enjoy looking forward and setting higher challenges with each new project.

Maverick wrote on 1/7/2013, 2:03 PM

Great reply.

A couple of days before Christmas we had my mother and daughter over for the day and my daughter wanted to watch the DVDs I filmed/edited when she was a child.

I actually found myself to be not as critical as I thought I'd be at my early work. In fact I felt quite impressed at how they stood the test of time and were still as enjoyable today to my daughter as when they were shot.

Most were only 10 or 15 minutes long but I think that was part of the attraction rather than hours of boring repetitive stuff that has been seen a million times before.

Nope, I'll let sleeping dogs lie and move on.

wwjd wrote on 1/7/2013, 3:24 PM

My goal is to NEVER perform "Lucaside" on any of my previously epic, yet horrible edits. They are, they're done, moved on. Now, they are a sign of their times.

john_dennis wrote on 1/7/2013, 5:14 PM

The best way to avoid the desire to redo an old project is to never finish it. :-)

No editing or rendering involved, but I spent some time this weekend moving eleven of my old DVDs on to two Blu-ray disks.

When I look at things I've done in the past, I see myself now as more technically competent, but less creative. I've been spending too much time on the bits and bytes of the subject for a few years.

Dan Sherman wrote on 1/7/2013, 6:50 PM

Cheapskate clients will want you to warm over projects.
Talk them out of it, especially if they are old SD, 4:3 projects.
You have to compete with other companies.
Don't let your stuff look bad beside theirs, or you own recent work.
It matters to your reputation and that of the client to start afresh.
Resist microwaving leftovers!

TorS wrote on 1/8/2013, 3:52 AM

Paul McCartney, that arrogant sod, once said, on the question of bringing The Beatles back together, that you can't reheat a soufflé.
If you have footage of your kid at baptism, at school, on holiday or just sharing its wisdom with your camera - one day that kid may have a confirmation party, a wedding or it will turn 50. Then it is time for you to think about how you can present that footage or some of it to new gatherings of family and friends. And maybe you will realise that it is the content that makes people want to watch it, not your brilliant presentation of it.
The Beatles' records stand the test of time, because so much care and cleverness has gone into them. Still, they are remastered every time there is a major re-release of them. Because perception changes over time, as does technology and what kind of presentation techniques people are used to.
The Beatles was always a lousy live band anyway.

TheHappyFriar wrote on 1/8/2013, 6:42 AM

I never liked anything the Beatles did. :)

When I'm done with a project I normally don't touch it at all. For a client I might change something down the road (IE add some text over a part, trim something out, etc) but that's always to the mpeg's, I don't save the project files & origional footage (nobody want to pay extra for a seperate HD).

One time for a friends birthday I took an old movie we made when we were kids, captured it & completely re-mastered it. I made the sound 5.1, added sound effects, digital special effects, color correction, etc.

It turned out pretty awesome. That would qualify as a George Lucas kind of thing, but I didn't add a digital Jaba to the movie. :)

Rory Cooper wrote on 1/8/2013, 8:31 AM

Could be cool an old Beagle singing “I Am the Walrus”

Old family clips will never date, the projects you did is history “let it be”. so I wouldn’t redo them but maybe take some clips from different edits and make a new project.