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Feedback would be very much appreciated 😀

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(@youmeanyouthinkyoudo)
Posts: 1
New Member
Topic starter
 

Hi there, I've made my first few videos on YouTube, and would very much like some feedback on what I have, in my skits so far.

If you could, I would be incredibly grateful to hear from you as to where you found funny, areas you didn't, and the general impression you get from my channel... if you like it, you could even subscribe!

This probably seems spammy, but I would like to try and put myself out there - I edit all of my stuff myself, though it is more minor at the moment, and more about the content than the post-production

http://www.youtube.com/YouMeanYouTHINKYouDo

Thanks,
Sam.

Here's some links to my skits directly -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iM7FQkEI9M - Sandwich of love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D0zBil8etY - Continuity problems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPTBBK9Trgs - High five
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MruS8GXJb4w - Facepalm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ0tVCnNEO4 - Rejected adverts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EWHfK8u8cU - Lost

 
Posted : 27/05/2012 6:18 pm
(@vasic)
Posts: 487
Reputable Member
 

While this post certainly looks like one of those drive-by (never to return) members looking for some audience, I'll nonetheless respond.

Every once in a while, we get questions from people who are interested in becoming filmmakers and are considering what to do, what school to go to, what classes to take, what to read. So many of them end up discussing the subject to death forever. It is refreshing to see someone who took steps to actually do something about it: take a family camcorder, recruit a friend of two, write a script (or come up with an idea what to do), shoot that script (or idea), edit it and post it out there. Unlike so many, who think they wanna be filmmakers, but spend all that time discussing it, writing about it, reading about it, but never actually doing it, you can legitimately call yourself an independent filmmaker. For that reason alone, I have to say you deserve praise.

Now, as far as content and production is concerned, it is clear that these are your first efforts. As far as your questions are concerned (what's funny, what's not), this is largely a matter of personal taste. The general advice I have for you is to carefully review your material and try to cut it as much as possible without losing the actual story. This is, generally, one of the cardinal rules in filmmaking: every single line of the script must propel your action forward. If it doesn't you should rewrite it until it does, or eliminate it. This will come to you as you keep doing it. What will also help is reading books about screenwriting and filmmaking in general.

As for your production quality, it is clear that you have very limited resources (nothing but one family camcorder). One can also notice some progress from the early videos (sandwich, continuity), without tripod, and later ones, with tripod. It is also clear that you got solid understanding of some basics (the 180-degree rule, the 30-degree rule, etc). It also looks like you have deliberately broken the 180-degree rule in 'Lost' at the end there, presumably to underline the punch line of the sketch. For your future efforts, you should try and get together some essential equipment that will significantly improve your production quality. In addition to more lights (which you should learn how to properly position), you'll desperately need a microphone. As I had said many times on this forum (as have others, more experienced than me), your audience will forgive a picture that is under/overexposed or out of focus, but they will quickly leave if they can't clearly understand the dialogue. If you can't afford even the cheapest microphone (and these could be had for some £20), you may be able to use your smartphone (download an audio recording app and set it to record at maximum quality). The phone can be hidden anywhere in the shot, as long as it is near the speaker's lips. Even if it is 1m away, this is still much better than the mic on the camcorder, 3m away (or farther). You'll have to import that audio into iMovie (or whatever you're using to edit) and line it up with the original audio, but this isn't hard. The result will be significantly better than your camcorder mic, especially for shots indoors.

 
Posted : 28/05/2012 6:40 pm
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