OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY January 21st

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

It’s that dreaded time of year again – the annual screening of club members’ holiday films!

Not that there is anything wrong with well shot, picturesque footage of foreign climes in all their glorious splendour but there is something about holiday films that seems to cause filmmakers to take off their sensible editor hat and stick every bit of footage into their clips. This is fine for the family looking to relive their fun in the sun but not so much for the rest of us.

For that reason it has been decreed that the time limit for holiday films is between 5 and 10 minutes maximum – any longer and the projectionist has the right to stop the film and move on to the next one. But don’t look at this as being harsh – modern filmmakers are able to deliver succinct yet still plentiful travelogue clips inside 5 minutes or less, so it is possible to apply the “less is more” ethos to your edits and end up with good results.

Here’s a couple of examples:

 

 

I appreciate a lot of the editing techniques might be a little “modern” for some of you, but hopefully you can recognise at least the power of shot choice and flow over flashy technique is still a valid part of the narrative without having each shot drag on beyond their use. So please, be inspired by these clips for future reference and not be intimidated or put off by them. This is how we all grow as filmmakers, by always learning and adapting.

Now the bit everyone seems to ignore – if you are bringing a film this week it would be very much appreciated if you could PLEASE REPLY TO THIS POST in the comments/reply section below, letting us know the following information:

 

Run time

Format (DVD, Blu-ray, USB Stick)

File Format and Resolution (MP4 -1080p etc)

Picture ratio (4:3 or 16:9)

 

This is a great help for us when planning the evening out and helping things run smoothly.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing your films this coming Tuesday!

9 Replies to “OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY January 21st”

  1. Sorry Lee but I will be unable to attend this meeting (one of my favourites!) as on Monday I will be undergoing some drastic weight loss surgery – about an ounce or so!!
    I am having my annoying small hammer toe lopped off!! With luck I shall be mobile again within 2-3 weeks.

    Hope the show goes well.

    Brian

  2. Lee
    We will be bringing a film of Blenheim Palace Illuminated Trail.
    It’s on a memory stick in mp4 format. It runs for 6m 30s and has a 16:9 aspect ratio.
    John and Ann

  3. I’m not sure which film to show, I’ll have a chat with people about how many submissions there are on the evening and what might be more interesting. Feel free to reply here with suggestions.

    The two main ones are about 3 and a half mins, with the bonus being under 2.

    —-

    Dubai and Oman – 2019

    Edited using “Quik”, a free, fast editing application on mobile phones. Combines images and videos with music and effects from a template library.
    This is a wonderful example of how less is more with clips, with all of them only a few seconds long. I’d recommend trying this software out to make shorts for social media.
    Filmed with a GoPro (only a handful of clips) and a mobile phone.

    Format : MPEG-4
    Duration : 3 min 44 s
    Bit rate : 28.1 Mb/s
    Width : 1 920 pixels
    Height : 1 080 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 16:9

    —-

    Exploring Switzerland 2018

    Edited using “vsdc video editor” (not an editor I’d generally recommend), then retouched (a little) using Davinci Resolve. This is a more straightforward edit, with fewer fast cuts and changes.
    Filmed with a GoPro and a mobile phone.

    Format : MPEG-4
    Duration : 3 min 23 s
    Bit rate : 28.1 Mb/s
    Width : 1 920 pixels
    Height : 1 080 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 16:9

    —-

    City Farm 2019

    This is a bonus video, a Christmas related Charity thing done by my work colleagues and I in the run up to Christmas.
    I finished editing it this weekend just gone. Using Davinci Resolve, filmed with a GoPro and a mobile phone.

    Format : MPEG-4
    Duration : 1 min 40 s
    Bit rate : 53.5 Mb/s
    Width : 1 920 pixels
    Height : 1 080 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 16:9

    1. Thanks David. Bring them all, I’m sure the others won’t mind seeing them all.

      Plus there is no real limit to how many films one can show in an evening like this, as long as they are short. Some have brought three films before so this is not a problem.

  4. I really enjoyed all the films this evening.
    It is lovely to see places that we will never be able to travel to.
    Thank you everyone who brought along their films to show this evening.

  5. Thanks for the comment, Brenda!

    Last night saw us take another trip around the globe without leaving the confines of the club room via the magic of our film cameras!

    We kicked off with an excerpt from Jane Oliver’s “Mystery Tour”, followed by a wander round the Christmas display at “Blenheim Palace” courtesy of the Eptons. David Laker took us on a “Holiday Canada” before Barbara Darby reminisced with her “Memories of Costa Rico”.

    Trevor Rogers took us on a trip on “Mallau Bridge” then the evening closed with a trio of films from newcomer David Roman-Halliday, starting with a trek through “Dubai and Oman”, then we went “Exploring Switzerland” and finally end up at “City Farm”.

    Not bad for one evening, eh?

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