Rider's Respite

[johnny125]

Hi All,

Here is a video I made for a film school project... a tribute to the Trail 125..

Let me know what you think

 

[TRF90]

Looks like a fun ride. Great deal of effort in all of those different riding shots. Really captured the essence of a good riding day. Well done!

 

[MisterB]

Looked great!

 

[Quadjeeper]

Hi All,

Here is a video I made for a film school project... a tribute to the Trail 125..

Let me know what you think

Great video, great scenery, great subject matter! Neat ending with the cleanup and maintainance too.

 

[ShieldArc]

Hi All,

Here is a video I made for a film school project... a tribute to the Trail 125..

Let me know what you think

Why are you not wearing socks? LOL

 

[SneakyDingo]

What I think? **rolls up sleeves**

The thing that stood out to me was the audio was such a prevalent part of the video experience; regular sounds were quietened but left in, and the transitions were timed with the song. The composition of shots was a really, really nice touch, lots of solid general techniques executed well (the 1/3s principles in several shots, and transitions flowed naturally and felt good, some which showed you were thinking about filmmaker techniques, like it if the motorcycle left the right hand side of the screen riding towards the viewer, it entered the left side of the next shot riding away). The shot duration was also longer than if it had been a regular music video, which was nice and felt matched to the slower pace of the CT125. The audio transition into your spoken segment was also really nicely done, fading the song in and bringing in your voice didn't have any shift in volume loudness, and the audio was really clear.

Uh, if I had to be critical... you washed your trail. Great, way to set high expectations for the rest of us, now people will think we ALL wash our bikes on a regular basis.

What camera did you use to shoot this? Some shots are definitely drone shots, but others look tripod mounted. The imagery is really clear, so I'm thinking... 4k GoPro?

EDIT: although it's not directly related to the video itself, one more thing - you elected to purchase the music rights rather than choose to use some other free song. I know that students get some creative flex/don't always have to go to that effort in that area, and I liked that as well.

 

[mcmd]

Hi All,

Here is a video I made for a film school project... a tribute to the Trail 125..

Let me know what you think

Nice job with the video. Before I saw your spoken part I was going to say that you're obviously knowledgeable about film-making techniques. I can appreciate your efforts and applaud them. I spent 23 years on the art show circuit with my stills, (not whiskey, photography stills...ha-ha) so I know good technique and understand the degree of effort it takes to get things right. (scouting locations, being there when the light is right, using the tripod as much as is possible, etc) My website hasn't been updated in 5-6 years as I was forced into retirement due to health issues. Just didn't like the thought of taking it down. So, some of the printed information is stale. If you care to have a look, it's www.michaeldavisphotoworks.com Do you plan on making a You Tube channel? Do please keep us updated. Again, nice job!

Btw, I echo Dingo's comments...

 

[Low-gear]

Overall I like it and it makes me wish I lived in Boulder. Only thing I didn’t like was the music. I didn’t think the tempo fits the slow pace of the CT125. Just my opinion.

 

[RedRyder]

I noticed a Hawaiian license plate so I assume it was shot there. I would never have imagined Hawaii to have such a wide-open, sparse region. I particularly liked the shot where you stopped at the information sign and caught the word "Trail" from the sign with a shot of the Trail. Clever. I also thought the washing of the Trail should have been a slightly quicker montage consisting of maybe 2-second clips of different parts of the process bookended by before/after shots. If I have one major criticism, it's that the video has the effect of making the Trail seem like a more road-capable bike than it truly is. The excitement of the music and the general feel of speed on the highway through the turns sort of belies the true capability of the machine. But it is the first time I've ever seen the Trail catch air - nice! My $0.02.

 

[johnny125]

What I think? **rolls up sleeves**

The thing that stood out to me was the audio was such a prevalent part of the video experience; regular sounds were quietened but left in, and the transitions were timed with the song. The composition of shots was a really, really nice touch, lots of solid general techniques executed well (the 1/3s principles in several shots, and transitions flowed naturally and felt good, some which showed you were thinking about filmmaker techniques, like it if the motorcycle left the right hand side of the screen riding towards the viewer, it entered the left side of the next shot riding away). The shot duration was also longer than if it had been a regular music video, which was nice and felt matched to the slower pace of the CT125. The audio transition into your spoken segment was also really nicely done, fading the song in and bringing in your voice didn't have any shift in volume loudness, and the audio was really clear.

Uh, if I had to be critical... you washed your trail. Great, way to set high expectations for the rest of us, now people will think we ALL wash our bikes on a regular basis.

What camera did you use to shoot this? Some shots are definitely drone shots, but others look tripod mounted. The imagery is really clear, so I'm thinking... 4k GoPro?

EDIT: although it's not directly related to the video itself, one more thing - you elected to purchase the music rights rather than choose to use some other free song. I know that students get some creative flex/don't always have to go to that effort in that area, and I liked that as well.

Thank you!!!

One takeaway from the Boulder CU class that I got was the overall importance of audio, its said a viewer will overlook sub-par imagery but not audio, so it seems to be a critical element to get right (not saying mine was great) but it got me to start to mentally prioritizing it that I had not done so before.

If anyone was interested in checking out the online video course, I found it on Coursera.org

Bring Your Story to Life – Video Post-Production

Offered by University of Colorado Boulder. In this course, we will explore the power and artistry of picture and sound editing. Although ... Enroll for free.

coursera.org

For camera equipment;
I used a Canon M50 crop frame DSLR with the 15-45mm "kit lens" paired with a mini Aoka carbon tripod. This camera does film in 4k and is what I used for this project but at a non-changeable frame rate of 23.98 fps, (60fps in 1080p) and it's a Canon so the crop factor is really bad... but the advantage for me with this camera is how small/portable, and relatively* inexpensive... a go pro with 4k capability would have been a nice option but I don't have one. I shoot a lot of real estate photos for my work and use a full-frame EOS R for that.

The mic for Ambient was a rode mini shotgun, I think Canon actually sold this as a kit with the M50 camera. For the spoken portion I used a wireless lav mic, some cheapo off-brand from Amazon.

Drone; dji mavic air 2

Lastly, I used an Insta 360 "1-inch edition" for two brief clips... This is by far the most useless camera I have in my stable of camera equipment, Editing 360 footage is so clunky (to me) with their app, that the content shot in 360 is basically unconsumable (VR googles?). I've been trying to find ways to justify this $900+ thing but have yet to do so. I'd love to know how people are using their 360 cameras and what platforms they are editing with.

 

[johnny125]

I noticed a Hawaiian license plate so I assume it was shot there. I would never have imagined Hawaii to have such a wide-open, sparse region. I particularly liked the shot where you stopped at the information sign and caught the word "Trail" from the sign with a shot of the Trail. Clever. I also thought the washing of the Trail should have been a slightly quicker montage consisting of maybe 2-second clips of different parts of the process bookended by before/after shots. If I have one major criticism, it's that the video has the effect of making the Trail seem like a more road-capable bike than it truly is. The excitement of the music and the general feel of speed on the highway through the turns sort of belies the true capability of the machine. But it is the first time I've ever seen the Trail catch air - nice! My $0.02.

I was wondering if anyone would notice the trail sign! That's a great point on the washing scene, it should have been quicker, and edited tighter overal. With regards to the bike's performance, I agree completely.. but still do ride it on the Highway using the shoulder at times to allow traffic to pass.. the fastest posted speed round these parts is 55mph so it's not too far into the realm of ridiculous.

 

[johnny125]

Nice job with the video. Before I saw your spoken part I was going to say that you're obviously knowledgeable about film-making techniques. I can appreciate your efforts and applaud them. I spent 23 years on the art show circuit with my stills, (not whiskey, photography stills...ha-ha) so I know good technique and understand the degree of effort it takes to get things right. (scouting locations, being there when the light is right, using the tripod as much as is possible, etc) My website hasn't been updated in 5-6 years as I was forced into retirement due to health issues. Just didn't like the thought of taking it down. So, some of the printed information is stale. If you care to have a look, it's www.michaeldavisphotoworks.com Do you plan on making a You Tube channel? Do please keep us updated. Again, nice job!

Btw, I echo Dingo's comments...

Nice photo work Michael!! Very vibrant and engaging. Thank you!

 

[Cpd419]

You should have dubbed in an old two stroke for the bike exhaust note like low budget movies.

 

[SneakyDingo]

You should have dubbed in an old two stroke for the bike exhaust note like low budget movies.

Funny that we bring this up... I thought really hard about commenting how if it were the 00's it'd be an inline 4 Yamaha R6 sound for just about every bike, even if it was a V-twin... or if it were a K-pop drama, it'd be a parallel twin...

 

[quinnsd13]

Uh, if I had to be critical... you washed your trail.

Is that what that was?! I don't think you're supposed to do that, surely it was just CGI.

Kidding aside, nice work on your project video! I really need to move away from here. Riding around surrounded by swamps and bayous doesn't really allow for all the great views. I've started filming my rides with a insta360 and do agree the editing and fisheye make it hard to use for proper projects. I kind of just use it as a fancy dashcam that happens to collect scenery for me to show my wife since she doesn't ride.

 

[Little_Thumper_Boy]

Hi All,

Here is a video I made for a film school project... a tribute to the Trail 125..

Let me know what you think

Great! Really enjoyed it - would enjoy even more if it was an hour longer!
Seriously, nice work

 

[Admangia]

Hi All,

Here is a video I made for a film school project... a tribute to the Trail 125..

Let me know what you think

A timeless machine. Nice video,
Thanks for sharing.