Fuji Dynamics...

A little clip from a street racing dvd i'm working on. Focuses on the the owner of Fuji Dynamics, the owner of the shop that built the 800hp Nissan Skyline the movie focuses on.

I took a little extra time with this clip as im still laying out all the rest of the footage but i think it looks pretty good for an impromptu shoot at his garage with a dvx and a trv...

=S=



Fuji Dynamics

dude, that almost put me to sleeeeeeeepzzzzzzzzzz.... oh, im sorry i must have dozed off.

all kidding aside COME ON MAN - THIS IS STREET RACING!!!! there are sooooo many cool things and cool ways to shoot even the most mundane parts of the sport - and you went the total opposite direction!

this was like "hi, im mr. fuji dynamics and im cleaning my bellybutton lint, and folding my underwear, taking the dog for a walk and taking out the garbage..."

this isnt bad. it would actually have to come up about 3 levels just to achieve bad

show me macro shots of gears, and lights flashing, tachs nearing redline. show me a car doing 180 on the dyno, show welding, grinding, cars doing burnouts, get on the track and get a low angle of a car cornering just feet in front of you

think lighting - shoot at dusk and get some rich "magic hour colors" and come on bro NAT SOUND makes the world go round. even when you have amusic track, having at least SOME nat sound makes the scene more personal and brings the viewer into the story

This is a straight promo piece about the equipment maker, right? Was there a story, or was this cuts put together that happened to look cool?

Violins in a movie about racing cars? That would be rough to do.

I've seen violent motion with a calm sound track--you can do that. The oddball combination happens to work if you do it just right.

Koz

Lets l keep the criticism constructive, OK? This sort of forum works only if we make it safe for people to post. Ideas that make the work better are what's needed in this forum.

Be careful how you craft criticism on a public forum is all I'm asking.

Michael Horton
-------------------

This is just a short piece about the engine builder himself, it is a calm part of the video, showing the relationship between people and thier cars, a builder and an apprentice, etc. Maybe some actual substance rather than the same old crap thats in every other video...

I have plenty of footage of cars going 200mph under tokyo bay at 2am, doing burnouts at car shows, quartermile runs of under 10secs, cars drifting around corners side by side, etc so don;t you worry your little heart out. But the producer doesn;t want to release any of that yet so its not my call.

I just put a little time into making something that looks nice and wanted to share it with others, thats all. Better than some shaky ass handheld footage of a chick singing with bad NAT audio, bro, hvx or not. Sorry im not in with you and your buddies but then maybe i don;t want to...i guess i'll just stick to regular forums or maybe look for some new ones...creativecow never seemed better

sorry scott, if my comments came off as over the top. its just that ive shot TONS of stills and some video of tuner shops in the last couple years and i know that there are a lot of ways to make even the most banal elements of the process really JUMP.

do they have a dyno? there is almost nothing in life cooler than standing inches from a 500+HP car wanting to bust the tiedown straps at 130mph as it downshifts. get close, show air intakes opening, get closer as the tech looks down a cam or welds up and exhaust. park a car and get down low right next to the rear fender facing west at magic hour - drop the iris and get a nice sunset reflection on the quarterpanel then have someone hit the brakes so the whole thing goes bluury red from one side.

do they have a hand-truck (dolly) with the big pneumatic wheels? you can pull off what i call a "poor mans steadicam" by leaning back on that and having someone roll you around the bay.

maybe its just my opinion, but watching a a guy dig through a tool drawer and lube a front end aint exactly getting my blood pumping...

> But the producer doesn;t want to release any of that yet so its not my call.

Going along this train of thought, Mike H., and what Jude and I were discussing in the "Training Music" thread, maybe we should make it clear to people -- amateur editors, especially -- that they should not show their works-in-progress without explicit clearance from the producers and clients. Releasing an unfinished film on the internet can cause all sorts of problems, and some people don't realize that just cutting a piece doesn't entitle them to exhibit it on their own.


www.derekmok.com

OK, This is the end of it for me...

Criticism is fine and thats what i wanted, what did other editors think of my editing? does it flow, are the shots halfway decent, etc? something actually constructive other than saying it sucks balls and snide comments. i don;t think Koz liked it either but at least he tried...

The thing is this, it's not supposed to be exciting, its not supposed to jump, its supposed to flow. I tried to make it flow and picked the shots to make that happen. I only included natural sound at the end when it was relevant, Fuji's car driving away. Violins flow note to note which is why i liked that music, as well as it having a good beat. That's my thought process, not making something exciting but making something beautiful out of what i had...

I made the best video i could make out of an unplanned impromptu 1 hr shoot at Fuji;s place in Japan. There's no way im flying back over to get some shots of his dyno or more action oriented shots. Especially when this segment is preceeded by racing on the highway and followed by drag racing.

Yes this is a boring and mundane part of the video, but i like it. That's why i asked my producer if i could show it around. Of course i have his permission otherwise i wouldn;t be hosting it on freakin YouTube. There's no way he's releasing the good heart-pumping stuff on the internet before its ready.

ok well, thats all i got. Bring on all the criticism you got. I'm not gonna get my feelings hurt on the internet but i expected a lot more from people on this forum.

Hi Scott

It definitely flows. Thats not the problem. You've succeeded there. I'm wondering though if there might be a better story in here. You got a cool opening that grabs my attention but the many similar zooms and pans the rest of the way lose me (zooms and pans are death on youtube due to their awful compression). Quick cuts might not feel like it fits with this music, but in this particular case it might make the elements in the garage more compelling. I don't need to see as many elements as you present here. I know what's in the place. We all do. What I don't know is why this place and the people working in it, are special.

Michael Horton
-------------------

<<<A little clip from a street racing dvd i'm working on.>>>

Remember that way up at the top? That was the setup.

<<<Yes this is a boring and mundane part of the video>>>

And I bet it doesn't go into the final like that. Wayne does make the point that there does have to be a clear story somehow to hold the viewer. That and I can hear the teachers yelling at me that the sound track should hold together without the pictures, even in a simple video.

Is there a narration to go over this?

What does the producer think of this segment?

Koz

i went back and looked at it again. and within the context that you now explain it, it makes a little more sense. i initially thought that this was the whole video... my mistake.

but i agree with mike that there are too many scenes. and i think that some narration or on cam audio from mr. fuji (or whatever his name may be) would tie things together nicely.

i do think the opening zoom is way too long, unless of course someone is speaking over it. and like i initially said, if you shot nat sound, including that at low level over the music would glue things together well.

Today we have recourse to digital tools that have revolutionized the arts. You can paint, compose music, edit films, design buildings, all on your laptop while chewing a Krispy Kreme donut, if you choose. Basically, there is no excuse anymore for anyone who claims to be interested in the arts to not be very productive. My take on this from a female POV was I wanted to learn more about the engine and I did. I would hire you to shoot my commercials because it showed more mass to audiences like me that don't have the car-techie terms. It's just too easy now that you presented this small part of your whole to come.

I know i said i was done with this thread but perhaps maybe you would want to hire me to shoot your commercials???

hahah, just had to throw it out there....