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Feedback on an amateur snowboard vid

3K views 23 replies 14 participants last post by  koi 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

Me and 4 friends went to Sainte Foy Tarentaise back in January (great place - thoroughly recommended if you haven't already gone there) and I've made a short film of our trip and times there.

None of us are very good boarders - 3 weeks experience tops spread over half a decade or so - but hopefully you guys enjoy the video!

I'll be going back again next year to improve further, so would welcome any comments or suggestions on the video, the snowboarding in it, or both!

For Vimeo: Lines in the Snow - skiing, snowboarding and good times in Sainte Foy Tarentaise on Vimeo

For YouTube: Lines in the Snow - skiing, snowboarding and good times in Sainte Foy Tarentaise - YouTube

Cheers,

-Ed
 
#2 ·
Well first off, the youtube vid isn't playable in Canada due to copyright material...

Personally I watched about 10 minutes of it, randomly skipping ahead. Thirty minutes is a story not a little season edit! I would shorten it big time. All the cinematographic stuff is cool, but there was 5 mins before we got to any snowboarding at all.

Just my $0.02 of course! :D
 
#3 ·
The video its self was well produced but I did find myself skipping forward because I lost interest a few times. :(

I think the lack of a story to tell makes 30min a little longer than my caffeine saturated brain will let me sit still.


EDIT: Embed for the lazy.



 
#4 ·
Thanks for your feedback guys - it's really helpful :)

poutanen - completely valid point about it being a story not a season edit, which is exactly what it's intended to be. I guess I was trying to take the viewer on a journey, which started back at home. I think I'm going to make a shorter edit that just focuses on snowboarding/skiing and gets to the action faster!

binarypie - thanks for being honest about losing interest! In all honestly, the people who are most engaged by it are the people who went, but as I wrote above I was actually trying to tell a story/take the viewer on a journey, so am interested that you say there's a lack of a story to tell. I guess verbally it's lacking, as there's no narration, but I did try to give it a clear "journey" type structure. Might have missed the mark though!

Thanks again for your feedback.

Cheers,

-Ed
 
#5 ·
poutanen - completely valid point about it being a story not a season edit, which is exactly what it's intended to be. I guess I was trying to take the viewer on a journey, which started back at home. I think I'm going to make a shorter edit that just focuses on snowboarding/skiing and gets to the action faster!
Yeah no worries... Just watch The Art of Flight to get an idea of how quickly it should transition from story into at least some boarding action. 6:18 they're right into it!
 
#7 ·
Well... My 2 cents worth... ;) And i am no film maker i have to say... :D

It was a very well thought out, comprehensive, well made film of a holiday, from a film makers point of view. It doesn't however have anything of interest to the general public, which is a shame, because you certainly put it together well.

I'm not saying that you are not good enough with your skiing and your snowboarding, we are all where you have been, and i am still stuck there after 7 years... Haha. So don't think that.

I don't think you should be ashamed of your attempt, far from it, to burn this to DVD and give to your friends for there future memories, would be fantastic, and you are welcome on any holiday i go on... ;) Because i like how you make a film... And for me it is about memories.

From a user perspective, anything between 3 minutes, and 10 minutes is plenty enough, and you will find that after 5 most people drift away... Just look at your stats on youtube for time watched in the analytics and you will get the picture, of what people will watch... Time wise i mean... ;)

More regular holidays will improve your skiing/boarding no end, and you will no doubt keep making awesome home movies of this quality... And i'm sure your friends will be extremely grateful... I know i would be.

On a different note, i learnt to ride on the Smirnoff Ice board in your vid, which night club did this come from, or was it an ebay purchase, i found it a good board for learning, it is good right up to pushing in the park, then you will need to get something advanced, but great right up to you hitting advanced riding... ;)

Also, can i ask what system and editing software you used, just curious... ;) :D
 
#9 ·
Kevin,

Great feedback - thanks very much for going into so much detail.

Completely know what you mean re. the pitfall of not being particularly interesting to the general public. It's always going to mean far more to all of us that went, than to your regular guy who just wants some good snowboarding watchin'! As you rightly say - it's all about the memories.

Below 5mins is definitely a sweet spot I agree, particularly on YouTube. Vimeo is a tad more forgiving, but even so above 10 is pushing it. I myself react in a similar way to long videos, even though I might have the time to sit and watch them. My next will definitely be closer to the 5min mark I think.

Thanks for your kind words about the quality of the film, and to you too BigAL for the same - incidentally I edited with GoPro's CineForm Studio software (for cutting up original footage), then into Adobe After Effects (for post-processing) and then into Adobe Premiere Pro (for music, timings, putting it all together, etc). All on my desktop PC - hate Macs!

The Smirnoff Ice board was one of my friends' - I had the red bottomed Elan one (rented). I'm actually looking to buy my first board, so will keep that advice in mind!

Cheers,

-Ed
 
#13 ·
Everything was incredible except for the actual riding and I get that. Not bashing you on that, but if you're gonna put in the massive effort to make that crazy awesome edit you should get some pow shots and park to make it fun to watch. Without that it's more of a nature video, which was better than the fucking Planet Earth one.

Seriously, this is a ridiculously good edit. The shots, angles, editing, camera. Just the riding being something different would be cool. Nice job though.
 
#14 ·
SICK production value man. Seriously, that is some professionaly quality shit. Are you into film as a hobby or is it a career?

Unfortunately no one outside of your friends, fam, and some curious people on this forum are going to get past 3 minutes because a) there's not enough action to hook them in and b) you're not a famous snowboarder which would give someone a reason to stick around. I don't mean that in an asshole way either, no one would give a fuck if I made a 30 min vid with sick production value either. If the actual snowboarding was really high level than people would spread it around and say "stick with it past 3 minutes!" but unfortunately it's not.

Keep at it though! You definitely have filming and editing talent.
 
#16 ·
Yeah and that's my point:

As a homemade video, it's fantastic, unbelievable really!

As a snowboarding video it's just okay. The fact that it's long makes the average watcher skip over all the fancy stuff to get to the snowboarding.

I'd frikkin pay this guy to come make a video at Fernie or Louise though. Get some cool slow mo or time lapse shots, some scenic shit, and then just endless video of powder turns and people hucking themselves off cliffs!

OP, if you want to come practice I think I can put together a few riders that would like being filmed... You'd just have to come to Alberta!
 
#17 ·
First of all as a video memento of a snow trip with friends this would be epic. Some amazing shots in there, some of the transitional shots are amazing, beautifully shot slow mo magic, some cool boarding reflected in the goggle moments and having fun with friends on and off the snow to some well selected tunes.

However to reiterate the points of others, too long, too much. The opening is cool and very professional but then drags, this trend then continues.. Go pro is tough to get right, some shots are cool regardless of ability and lack of tricks, I'm not an advanced rider so enjoyed and appreciated some sections but you are editing so you should make it as cool and interesting as possible. But shots of just ski's or looking at yourself or rider at the time are not interesting to your average viewer and there are a lot of these.

I think if you shortened this up, tried a few things as riders (little jumps, kickers and spins) even if you fail it's funny and will look cool with your production skills. If you are going to tell a story, tell the whole story; the new, the fails, powdery terrain, the moments of magic for you guys on the slopes. Instead it was some cool editing with some very safe and simple riding.

Best thing I found making videos is that if you are in them let somebody else who isn't edit it with you, they will chop the dull and appreciate the cool.

Very cool overall, look forward to seeing the edited down version or your next attempt... What editing software did you use??
 
#19 ·
Once again, Amazing production, a little drug out too. I was mentally screaming at you to go into the pow. I did notice that the skier on twin tips was riding a little bit snowplow style. When he fell, it looks like this is what caused it. I'm not a skier, so don't quote me on that, but i do ride with enough to know a thing or two about it. More frequent trips will help with riding skill. I saw that the boarders in the group were kinda fishtailing mostly. nothing wrong with that, but other ways to turn can be really fun too! The point brought up about doing more different styles of riding and trying more things is also relevant. I would also say it looks like y'all shouldn't ride three days in a row. As far as editing skills go, :rock:
 
#22 ·
Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to not only watch the vid but to give feedback as well. You guys rock :bowdown:

Some really kind comments in there about the editing quality and look of some of the shots that I really appreciate.

The common theme of everyone's feedback is completely valid - a greater variety of shots, better/more interesting skiing/boarding, boarding on different terrain, and basically just acknowledgement that your average viewer needs "more" to keep them engaged in such a long vid. Either that, or it just needs to be shorter!

Some great feedback and advice particularly from AntipodeanSam about having someone else not involved in the trip watch and critique during production - I'll definitely make sure this happens next time. There's a tendency to get so involved in the production that it becomes difficult to know what's boring/good/should be chopped/kept.

Great observation from Some Guy - and absolutely right about that ski bail and the snowplough style. He only just started parallels that holiday, just as all us boarders have a maximum of 3 weeks (spread over like 6 years) on the snow experience, so we're not very good! Man would I love to head off into the pow and not bail every time :dizzy: Need some more practice!

poutanen - I'd kill to come to Alberta and practice both boarding and filming :thumbsup: Money's a factor in getting there, but I'm definitely interested if it was a genuine offer!

Cheers guys,

-Ed
 
#23 ·
poutanen - I'd kill to come to Alberta and practice both boarding and filming :thumbsup: Money's a factor in getting there, but I'm definitely interested if it was a genuine offer
Norway is closer if you ever fancy a trip over here you may be surprised just what you can get for a weekend away in Oslo with everything but POW just 15 minutes away... ;)
 
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