>From: Marc [log in to unmask]>

>After 35 hours of editing, it's finally done. Maybe that means that I'll
>get
>some sleep tonight.
>
>Go to http://www.skimovies.com and scroll down to "Powder Daize".  10
>minutes and 50 seconds... I really think that this is the best one yet that
>I've slaved
>through.
>
>Feedback welcome!

I've sent this frontchannel, so other ski videographers on the list can get
ideas and make more comments if they want to.

Great work Marc!  Based on my own experience and the sheer volume of footage
that made the final cut, it seems that you had a real cooperative group that
was willing to ski for the camera and not get distracted by powder lust.
That can be a big factor in getting video on a powder day.  With a feature
this length, I think it's very important to mix things up to keep the viewer
interested.  Mix in regular speed footage, slow motion footage, different
camera angles, tight & wide shots, different models (with different riding
tools is great too), transitions (although not overboard of course),
interludes (breaks in the skiing), air, different types of terrain etc.
There are probably more, but that's just what came off the top of my head.
I think that just about everything that was in your control you threw in.
With a 3-4 minute video or less, mixing things up is not AS important, but
with around 8+ minutes of skiing as in this video, I think it's important to
keep the viewer interested.  It's obviously not easy, since even at the
professional ski movies, I find myself bored and looking for something
different at times.

I've found, especially for the web, that very tight shots are good because
they give you the best chance of seeing detail in small, compressed footage
(for example, I loved the shot starting at 3:21, which then goes to
transition as the shot gets really tight).  Sometimes you're going to lose
your subject when you get tight like this, but flirting with the edge is
great.  Even if your subject pops out of frame from time to time, your brain
will sometimes fill in the missing parts of the picture.  When you shoot
tons of footage, you can just keep what works anyway.  A nice example of
mixing in the slow motion is the shot starting at 4:09, with Telenaut.  You
can't get much better for visual definition in powder skiing video than
tight and slow, and I think if you look at the level of detail visible in
the powder spray of the turn he does starting at 4:12, you can see the
effect.  The only thing that would have made the shot better would be more
light (i.e. blue sky day) but that's mother nature's domain.  Anyway, I
thought those shots were great, and I might have mixed in a couple more of
that type for a video this length, but that's probably just personal
preference.  There were plenty of others that would make good examples as
well.

I think the biggest thing I would have liked to see more of would be changes
in terrain, obstacles, trail contour, jumps, trees etc., although I've not
been to Plattekill so I don't know how much of this stuff they have.  There
was some woods skiing to mix things up which was nice, but the "on trail"
footage looked to be of the same trail (or similar trails?) with not a lot
of variety to speak of.  Again, this can be a function of the terrain that
is available, or what the models are willing to ski etc.

Anyway, thanks a lot for putting it together.  As one familiar with the
level of editing required to make these, I have an idea of what it took.  E
has watched the video as well, and I think she'll weigh in on things that
she wants to when she gets the chance.

J.Spin

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