video shot with A55 at frozen lake Balaton, Hungary

hello guys,

this is my first attempt at filming anything other than my family with my A55. had a fun day out shooting and filming with my friends at frozen lake Balaton last Sunday and this short movie is the result.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr0Uz047rzI

a few things i learnt:

1. use the freakin level control to keep things straight
2. use a monopod next time
3. in built mic is useless
4. video takes long and is hard to edit
5. video is more difficult to make look attractive than stills (raw)
6. my 3 year old laptop is slow at rendering full HD AVCHD video

nonetheless as a first attempt i think it is not too bad.

cheers!

I bet there were no problems with overheating!

no but most of the clips were only 15 sec or so...

btw here are a bunch of pics from this trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjd79/sets/72157625905435812/detail/

Its interesting. Watching your video, you certainly have the feel of someone shooting video from a photographers eye.

Some really nice shots on there (I especially like the stuff starting at around the 3 minute mark).

Very nice.

I've not done any video since my old Hi8 camcorder died on me about 10 years ago. Now I have a new A55, your video inspires me to get back into it, & try out some creative video myself.

What was the music, by the way?

Very well done , the little transition from freezing , moving ice to the family and back to the solid ice worked well

How long a time span between the beginning and final scenes surely folks were not windsurfing and skating on that the same day?

Is there a nominated sacrificial person who gets to do the first test skating?

Never seen a frozen lake like that , our pond freezes over but 1 cm of ice just does not support much weight !

RJD79 said:

hello guys,

this is my first attempt at filming anything other than my family with my A55. had a fun day out shooting and filming with my friends at frozen lake Balaton last Sunday and this short movie is the result.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr0Uz047rzI

a few things i learnt:

1. use the freakin level control to keep things straight

Click to expand...

I gather you edited those out this was pretty straight to me

RJD79 said:

2. use a monopod next time

Click to expand...

Were these handheld? You did well mine go up and down like a bellows - or my breathing ,same thing

RJD79 said:

3. in built mic is useless

Click to expand...

I tried the add on microphone in shop but could not detect enough improvement (subduing lens noise was my priority) to warrant buying it ,your needs might differ

RJD79 said:

4. video takes long and is hard to edit

Click to expand...

AMEN!

RJD79 said:

5. video is more difficult to make look attractive than stills (raw)
6. my 3 year old laptop is slow at rendering full HD AVCHD video

Click to expand...

I gave up and went to the lesser resolutiion

RJD79 said:

nonetheless as a first attempt i think it is not too bad.

Click to expand...

pretty good actually
Ron

RJD79 said:

cheers!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.redbubble.com/people/AlenkaCo2
also
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ron-alenka/

Ron Co

thanks, that felt good ;-)

gtexan said:

Its interesting. Watching your video, you certainly have the feel of someone shooting video from a photographers eye.

Some really nice shots on there (I especially like the stuff starting at around the 3 minute mark).

Click to expand...

my feeling is that an A55 is supposed to be used in a different way than a camcorder. i think it is best used in a "static" way, i mean very little zooming and very little panning. i must admit i have a lot to learn.

the music is Road Movie by Yonderboi, a Hungarian DJ/composer but i only know this one song from him.

ham cam said:

Very nice.

I've not done any video since my old Hi8 camcorder died on me about 10 years ago. Now I have a new A55, your video inspires me to get back into it, & try out some creative video myself.

What was the music, by the way?

Click to expand...

thanks, especially for the comment on the "family scene" as a few of my friends thought it was totally out of place but myself i really liked the idea as i think it kinds of surprises you in the middle of the movie and it also gives an "outside view" of someone watching the movie.

the video was shot on a single day between 10am and 5pm. it was really interesting because at the "open" parts of the lake the ice has already melted, in closed harbors the ice was melting and moving but we found this little bay where the ice was rock solid. i didnt dare to step on it but there were at least 50 people skating, surfing without problems.

you can see that the 1st and 2nd scenes are not really straight. whenever i found a rock or whatever i put the camera on it to give a stable hold but around half the scenes are handheld. btw i used the CZ 16-80 for the first part, the sony 70-200G for a single scene with my friends walking away and the Minolta 75-300 New at the frozen bay at the end.

i actually have 2 microphones but 1. i knew i was gonna use a soundtrack 2. it was too cold for me to mess with them yes indeed, even a shotgun mic picks up the noise from the AF,

Ron Co said:

Very well done , the little transition from freezing , moving ice to the family and back to the solid ice worked well

How long a time span between the beginning and final scenes surely folks were not windsurfing and skating on that the same day?

Is there a nominated sacrificial person who gets to do the first test skating?

Never seen a frozen lake like that , our pond freezes over but 1 cm of ice just does not support much weight !

RJD79 said:

hello guys,

this is my first attempt at filming anything other than my family with my A55. had a fun day out shooting and filming with my friends at frozen lake Balaton last Sunday and this short movie is the result.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr0Uz047rzI

a few things i learnt:

1. use the freakin level control to keep things straight

Click to expand...

I gather you edited those out this was pretty straight to me

Member said:

2. use a monopod next time

Click to expand...

Were these handheld? You did well mine go up and down like a bellows - or my breathing ,same thing

Member said:

3. in built mic is useless

Click to expand...

I tried the add on microphone in shop but could not detect enough improvement (subduing lens noise was my priority) to warrant buying it ,your needs might differ

Member said:

4. video takes long and is hard to edit

Click to expand...

AMEN!

Member said:

5. video is more difficult to make look attractive than stills (raw)
6. my 3 year old laptop is slow at rendering full HD AVCHD video

Click to expand...

I gave up and went to the lesser resolutiion

Member said:

nonetheless as a first attempt i think it is not too bad.

Click to expand...

pretty good actually
Ron

Member said:

cheers!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.redbubble.com/people/AlenkaCo2
also
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ron-alenka/

Ron Co

Click to expand...

The heck with the video...I think the picture in the thread is very well done. Great depth and "sweep".

One of the best that I have seen. Now edit it down. Keep about 2 or 3 minutes of the best of the best.
--
Klimt

thanks...
its 4 minutes or so, i think it doesnt get too boring.

Klimt z said:

One of the best that I have seen. Now edit it down. Keep about 2 or 3 minutes of the best of the best.
--
Klimt

Click to expand...