Creole Restaurant Ad
Hi all:
This is my last Ad for a local restaurant. Filmed with 2 Hv20 one naked, and one with a static Twoneil with Nikon 50mm F1.8 and Vivitar 35mm-200mm f3. Final animation on Adobe After Effects CS3.
Edited and color corrected in FCP. For ilumination we used candels, site lights and 2 tungsten 500W and 1 tungsten 250W (AKA Cheap Home Depot Work Lights lol) Hope you all like it.
[ame="http://www.vimeo.com/4427984"]Creole Restaurant on Vimeo[/ame]
DOH ! Now i've got to go and spend time in my kitchen again, instead of finishing this colour balence !! Thanks a bunch Mr Kubrick !!
Oh yeh.... its very good, and certainly makes you hungry !
Best,
Fred (timecodebandit)
Originally Posted by timecodebandit
Hey that's a nice comment.. thanks a lot my friend!!
Here's my honest critique... Take from it what you will and what you think is relevant...
I watched both the Vimeo version and downloaded the Quicktime and found them to be the same, so I think these comments aren't relative to the Vimeo conversion/upload process.
A few of the shots were out of focus.
The into candle shot and the "Aqui" shot were both a bit jerky... seemed to be handheld.
If this is a real commercial than its a given that you'll provide a higher quality master without the interlacing and stuttering frame problems this video had.
I didn't care for the vignetting. I know some find it artistic and nice. I'm not one of those people I guess. I didn't think it fit in the context of the shot.
In the female bartender shot she's out of focus and the man arm on the left is in focus, even though she's meant to be the center of attention.
The man bartender's face was really shiny and needed some makeup.
Titles were all nice looking and fit with the music and feel.
All of the color were subdued and pretty bland for a restraunt ad. The food looked okay, but it never looked great. The bright colored uniforms didn't look bright either.
The lighting seemed pretty flat throughout. little separation of people from background.
Overall it wasn't bad. If the commercial aired on my tv I think everything I just mentioned would pop into my head, and if the restraunt was close by, I'd give it a try.
Nice work.
I have to agree here too. You had some interesting ideas for storytelling of the restaurant, but I couldn't enjoy it because of the lighting. It need more contrast, and perhaps more vivid colors.
IMHO I'd have set up a place to do the table top for the food with amazing lighting and some more intimate shots of the people and interior of the restaurant.
Good job
Guys thanks for the critique.. Its nice always to hear some input of people with filmmaking skills like the you guys that hang out in this forum.
I need to improve a lot in lot of things, that's why I appreciatte your comments.
I notice the focus issues too late at post. The lighting issues i know.. i know.. lighting still being a hard topic to master yet.
anyway thanks again..
I liked it. I agree with the color issue but I gotta say, It was better then any of the local commercials that air here in Iowa for restaraunts.
I'll have to agree with what has been said about the color/contrast and focus issues. Lighting on the food is an artform and hiring a food stylist would go a long way towards making this 'pop'. Same for lighting. A big softbox slightly behind the plates (and just out of frame) is an easy way to make ANY food look better.
Titles were nice, music was ok (if a bit repetive). Overall, a shorter version of this would work better (at least for me). The one customer with a bright baseball cap was distracting, as was the strobing of the slow-motion shots. Perhaps the addition of a voice over would have given this a bit more zing (not sure, depends on the quality of the v/o and the script).
You did include some creative angles and shots in there, and I'm glad to see someone working hard to get the best out of an HV20, you deserve lots of respect for working within the limitations of this camera.
"To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war." Winston Churchill
Wow Thanks for the input.. this comment make my day!!!
Voodeux hit the nail on the head: the yellow baseball cap got in the wayAnd a little bit of fill light in some shots would have made this several levels more pro.
(I'm not a fan of mixing naked and adaptered HVs. The visual difference is pronounced, IMO)
Overall, I like the commercial. You did a great job of capturing the ambience withoout a lot of persons staring into the camera sheepishly
I agree that a food stylist is a godsend on shoots like these. Also, someone who knows how to prep the food that the stylist would style. The food is generally not cooked all the way and is enhanced with ink, spray fixatives, armatures, acrylic, and lots more.
Has it aired yet? I didn't see any contact information in there. Will it be added?
First of all, Congratulations on getting the gig. That itself is worthy of a self pat on your back. Using a consumer camera for a commercial without professional lighting and a crew is a difficult challenge I'm sure.
That being said, The commercial is devastatingly bland. The food always looked sort of slimy and unappetizing. Maybe better planning could have helped?
The editing was on the heavy handed side. I'm not a fan of multiple video blocks, although you didn't really go too overboard. It gives it a low budget look IMO.
The music was probably something you picked up and used because it was public domain or you got easy permission right? It didn't help the commercial sell the food though because it was cheesy enough to draw attention to it's cheesiness and away from the point. Bad music will, and does destroy the impact of a film, and I think that may be the case with this one?
Meh, the lighting didn't bother me too much, but although you achieved a nice dark look with your blacks, the color grade didn't achieve the sense of coziness that I think a commercial with a dark visual look needs. It was just a little boring?
I'm glad to see you trying to develop as a videographer and with a lot of practice you'll get better.
Aquarius
Hi Scott, No it hasn't been aired yet.
And about the contact Information your'e right, it need to be added in the final animation..
The fill light, yes we need one, I use a refractor for fills but this time the refractor stay in my house i just forget to bring it to location, totally my bad. but we are planning to make some kinoflo alike set with flourecent office lights. you tube has serials tutorials to do it.
like this
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pKdOGWZepk"]YouTube - Light Kit, DIY : BFX[/ame]
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