2005-04-20

Time Is My Crisis, Part I

Now what do you think I will do now that all the major projects on my hard drive have been completed? Get started on Tim Nm, CPA? TMINM documentary? TMINM music video? Record a new demo for "Business"? Nope.

Instead I pulled out the original footage tape for Cleary's "Time Is My Crisis" music video, from late 2002. I'm making a new version of the video. Why? I think that there is a lot I can do to improve it, based on new tools and techniques, and new editing methods. I didn't like the look of the Magic Bullet film motion on the original. Plus, there are a few shots that I think can be replaced with better ones. I'm going to set the whole thing to a new mix of the song.

Last night I sorted through the footage, and I am deartifacting it right now (10 hours to go, even on my new computer). Man, I have been spoiled by the quality of my GS400. This old JVC 1-CCD footage is really crappy. It's DV format, 720x480, but the practical resolution looks to be about half that. It's got some nasty DV contrast ringing artifacts, and it's got tons of video noise.

It also didn't have any manual controls, so it's full auto, with all inopportune auto-focus and auto-aperture adjustments that are at this point very distracting to me. It reminds me of something Jeremy said on the DVD "Making Of" featurette regarding one CU of a dryer door: "For some reason, the camera seemed to really focus on the writing on the handle." Yeh, you think?! Because it was auto-everything. It makes me think we really lucked out to get the footage we got.

Honestly, after that, I'll finish the TMINM music video, do the Western and Drama challenges, maybe a NMWG and/or Fatigo music video... then I'll jump into Tim Nm, CPA.

10 comments:

Jeremy said...

I have to say it. I think this is a bad idea. It just seems like a waste of time. No offense.

I'd much rather see a Business demo or Tim Nm, CPA.

You need to let TIMC go.

Joshua Provost said...

Now that it's a business and up on a web site, I've got to get it looking a little better. Won't take much time at all, since I know what it's supposed to look like.

Joshua Provost said...

Oh, and I do have a demo of Business... and Investment and Balance. Just acoustic demos so I wouldn't forget what I was doing. They sound good. All very different sounding songs, but obviously part of the whole. Balance will really get you. Very emotional. I guess you know that since you wrote it. Ha.

Jeremy said...

What lyrics are you using for your Balance demo? I don't even know which ones I'm going to post yet.

See, those are the things that you should be focusing on. ;)

Joshua Provost said...

You want a ship...

Good stuff. Heartbreaking.

Brock said...

I thought the Time Is My Crisis video was cool. But hey, if you feel the need to do it... It's strange to think "this needs to look good because we're running a business now".

P.S. Jeremy directed that video, right? I always thought that he was a good director and should direct more. He also did that upcomming TMINM video, right?

Jeremy said...

While I technically directed TIMC, you have to give most of the credit to Joshua. I filmed and directed on the shoot. It was very unstructured and Joshua was basically left with just a few DV tapes and no clear direction to go with it. He took it and edited it into a thing of beauty.

The same can be said for the upcoming TMINM video, of which I have seen not even a single second.

Joshua Provost said...

No, I can't take any credit for it. It was great directing, and I have no idea where it came from. Really, what's the deal, the first time you pick up a camera, and you're just getting great shots and great performances. It must have been from all that WKW you had been watching.

Anyway, this new version will simply allow your work to shine a little bit clearer. I'm trying to fix the technical difficulties that prevent the beauty from showing through.

Joshua Provost said...

Oh, yeh, and Jeremy did direct the new music video. That one is beautiful and unique in its own right. Sometimes I forget I have that in various stages of editing.

Joshua Provost said...

The new cut is looking really great so far. Slightly better picture quality, no shaky shots, no tilted shots, no bad lip syncing, no looking off camera and/or blinking. Lots of longer shots instead of cutting on every chord change, and lots of cool shots and gestures that didn't make the original because I was stuck on a having a certain pattern of shots. I was even able to get more yearning out of the "walking towards each other shots" just from the footage we had. Probably have it done Saturday or Sunday.