Making my own surf movie!

[travelzomg]

Hi All!
(i hope this is the right forum part for this - if not, sorry.. )

I am planning to make a 6 - 8 weeks trip to Indo next year and i want to document it in a cinematic way.. or something alike at least... i want it to be kinda narrative soul surfer movie... i am looking at "second thoughts" as an example... i hope to gather enough material to make a 30 - 45 min-ish short movie...

now, i will be getting my gopro end of the month, am having a small digicam as well as a nikon SLR allready and am checking for a propper video cam until end of the year... with which i think i should have everything necessary, at least hardware wise..

in addition, i will be going to Fuerteventura in October.. i want to make it a test run and create something like a 5 - 10 min movie of those 2 1/2 weeks ill be there...

ofc, i have several ideas and scenes running through my head, which i want to try to bring them onto "film"... yet i have no real experiance in making a movie except my educated guesses about whats needed or not, what should be in or not etc....

does anyone has any experiance with making movies (well surf movies specifically would be best ofc) and can show me in the right direction? maybe give me some tips to avoid the most basic beginners-mistakes, share some info about what is the most important, what to think about, what not to do...
i am having a sketch book with me in which i write down ideas i have, trying to bring it together to form something like a screen play... or should i just get the cam out, film, and use what i have in the end to make my movie...?

any info, sharing of experiance, pointing out things or just giving input about what you think no surf movie should be missing - will be highly appreciated...
ofc, if i ever get it together, if, i will gladly show it to you all guys...

ok enough

[jaffa1949]

Good on ya, it's brave step but one that achievable.

Uncle Jaffa's Video movie tips...
You've thought the first one your self a journal and diary to story board what you are going to do it helps give continuity.
My favorite, video well, plan your shots so you shoot good footage........ IMO too many people don't think their footage through before they shoot. That will always feel like a bad home movie.
Since you surf take some time to watch the break and understand its timing and where the best surf action is happening. Anticipate action and video it anyway if it doesn't work delete comes later.
USE A TRIPOD plan your pan and landscape shots from the tripod to be smooth and slow, you can always speed them up in editing.
Start shooting before and and continue shooting after panning for three seconds, in fact run 3 seconds past the end of each shot (edit splice time)
Control your breathing if you are doing hand held. Breath in raise camera breath out lowers it.
Zoom slowly in and out.

If videoing action see if you can watch the surround with one eye and the the shot with the other.

Don't step backward on dangerous terrain.
Have spare batteries that are charged, have extra recording medium for your camera.
Don't expect your friends to give you equal time in front of the camera.
Expect to have to make a choice between videoing and having a surf, expect the surf to be lousy just after you finished shooting, expect the shooting conditions to deteriorate immediately after you've had your surf.
Be surprised that the footage you get doesn't often match the perception the surfer had of the very same wave.
( its a bit like hearing your own recorded voice for the first time)

I'm now on my 5th film and I am now starting to see a better result throughout to entire thing.

Save your entire unedited footage,there may be stuff you can use later ( like for blackmailing your friends) or color shots.
Bloopers and bleepers perhaps.
It is not always possible to shoot sequentially but you can change sequence in editing or you can shoot location or background stuff at another time, but don't put off shooting something you might not get back to if you are traveling.
DON'T LEAVE YOUR SHOOTING UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE=this ensures that everything else goes out the window.
MY big tip is make sure you have a full experience of wherever, outside of the camera lense


ENJOY.

[travelzomg]

What kind of hardware/cams do you use...?
I assume, a gopro will be in your arsenal and some kind of other video cam...
do you use only the gopro in the water or do you have some casing for another cam..?

what editing program are you using...? - i have been looking at MAGIX (since i use a pc and not a mac)...
if i may ask...

[jaffa1949]

What kind of hardware/cams do you use...?
I assume, a gopro will be in your arsenal and some kind of other video cam...
do you use only the gopro in the water or do you have some casing for another cam..?

what editing program are you using...? - i have been looking at MAGIX (since i use a pc and not a mac)...
if i may ask...

You can ask by all means, my quiver is canon EOS 400D, 550D + 100 to 400 stabilised L series lens + the range of lenses that came in the initial twin lens package, the 550D can shoot HD video through whatever lens you have, great for dry land shots.
I have an Olympus 10 Mega pixel Tough camera rated to 10 metres waterproof. + a housing for water shots, gives me a little extra flotation for the camera. The latest models are 14 MP.
My Video is a Sony HDR-HC9 high definition and it records to tapes ( why because I have the tape for future editing and splicing together bits from every where) + a Sony water housing for this. If you get water housing really look after them check the O rings and use only silicon lubricant to help the seal. Check it for sand and twisted O rings, nothing worse than seeing you expensive camera wet inside the housing.
BTW use a dessicant like silica gel or dive packs to ensure the camera doesn't get wet from condensation.

Editing since I'm on a Mac is easy but have a look at the Adobe suites as they work on both platform, they are just a bit expensive.

Oh and No I don't have a Gopro I'm a little prejudiced against them because so much easy shoot rubbish is put out. (MY prejudice only)

I have an Oregon water proof video camera that can strap on the helmet in fairness its quality of shot is less than the Gopro, but I bought it before the Go pros came out haven't used it much as it also shoots standard definition.

One more thing , if it's safe for you shoot from the water but not on a board if you are doing video as the bobbing up and down is more than most video cameras can stabilise. Hope this helps.

[drowningbitbybit]

have a look at the Adobe suites as they work on both platform, they are just a bit expensive

...unless you're a student (or a teacher). Then they're dead cheap with something like an 80% discount.

[travelzomg]

yeah, but most of the student/teacher edidtions are quite thinned down...
but since i am neither, i dont think i will be able to afford the adobe stuff...

any particular thoughts you put towards the sound, or do you just go with what you like..?
i am thinking about watching the scene and then maybe just use the first song that comes to mind....

[jaffa1949]

yeah, but most of the student/teacher edidtions are quite thinned down...
but since i am neither, i dont think i will be able to afford the adobe stuff...

any particular thoughts you put towards the sound, or do you just go with what you like..?
i am thinking about watching the scene and then maybe just use the first song that comes to mind....

Come on you're going to have to do a little better than that! You're on the beginning of how it works.
Every surf or video sequence has an inherent rhythm ( compare longboard surfing and short board rhythms) then if you look at the sequence and your editing it should suggest the music/ song etc. I try a number of songs and mostly find one that really fits the whole scene.
I then play it with the sequence and see if it fits if there are words saying something I see if I can fit the words to the action and I speed up or slow down the video clip.
If you are doing this for friends no problem , just be aware of copyright if you go beyond that.
But that's starting to play in the big league.

The other thing is the music should fit who you are planning to show to!
Good music selection can make an ordinary clip something memorable.


Lastly with the Adobe I haven't found that there is less in the student/teacher sets , and a plus is,once you have the program you want, they allow upgrades at reasonable prices.

Maybe there's a program native to windows

[JoshAggars]

I'd also add you're likely to miss the best action no matter how dedicated you are! You're a surfer as well so you need to get your sessions in. As such it's literally guaranteed that the best footage will happen whilst you're in the water. The second you're out the swell will die down or the wind will pick up. Of this I have no doubt. It's almost guaranteed by the gods. Just don't take it personally and don't stay out the water all day filming as no doubt those days will prove poor as well.

So as Jaffa said make sure YOU enjoy your time in the water as well. Oh yeah, and as Jaffa also pointed out, nice slow tripod mounted panorama's. Slow, slow, slow and steady - much easier to speed up in post prod than to slow down and just a lot easier to cut with.

Above all, good luck. Oh and have a lot of patience.

[travelzomg]

well thanks for all the tips...
i will get going the next two months and start with some short movies i will just make out of everyday things...
see how i will get along and then run my first propper test in fuerte in october.. and then see where this leads...

[travelzomg]

well...

enjoy!

edit: i'll let ppl watch it for a bit (comments are very welcome) before i will give away some more details...

[jaffa1949]

Not bad not bad at all.
Gentle critique, a little shaky on some of the bus and walking shots, can induce nausea in sensitive Mal der Mer types, especially with the going around field of vision on the road shots.
Content good, but I think you deserved better surf

A good thing now is to sit an view your work as an outsider, how would you see it if someone else had made it?

[surf patrol]

Good stuff, it really had the feel of a surf trip. The journey, the car footage. Nice.
Jaffa's right about the surf, but everyone seemed to be pretty stoked in the water footage section.

Good job.

[travelzomg]

well, considering the surf...
from the 14 days i was surfing, we had about 7 days of realy sick swell - shoulder to head high (sometimes up to 16s periods!)
about 4 days of good swell, hips to chest high
and about 3 days of flatness (at least on the reef)

and as i live in switzerland (no ocean) and vacation is the only time of the year i can go surfing, i left the cam ashore on the better days and just enjoyed the surf... so most of the footage comes from the 3 flat days where we went longboarding on a beach break just for simple and pure fun..

[jaffa1949]

well, considering the surf...
from the 14 days i was surfing, we had about 7 days of realy sick swell - shoulder to head high (sometimes up to 16s periods!)
about 4 days of good swell, hips to chest high
and about 3 days of flatness (at least on the reef)

and as i live in switzerland (no ocean) and vacation is the only time of the year i can go surfing, i left the cam ashore on the better days and just enjoyed the surf... so most of the footage comes from the 3 flat days where we went longboarding on a beach break just for simple and pure fun..

If you have the choice, which you did, you surf especially when you get surf as a rarity. A 16 second period sounds like some grunt as well.
Good one!

[travelzomg]

If you have the choice, which you did, you surf especially when you get surf as a rarity. A 16 second period sounds like some grunt as well.

aye... especially if its just like 2 weeks of vacation.. they pass so quick.. you want to get the most out of every day..

16s was just on one day, but what a day it was... didnt manage much that day tho.. think about 4 waves in 3 hours (although there were about 50ppl in the water fighting over two peaks)... but they were so powerfull and fast and big, this realy was about as crazy and scary as i ever surfed.. two days were about 15s, and the rest about 11 - 13s..

first (long) surf section is a beack break on one of the flat days... the last section is out on a north shore reef on one of middle days.. mainly the inside wave (since there, I wouldnt fall off my board while filming)...

[travelzomg]

hmmm... self critique:

- the title font sucks...
- a few scenes of the first part are too long (mainly the airplane stuff and the pictures)
- i need to stabilise the cam... way to jiggly when walking.. didnt strike me as bad first, but on a bigger screen: ouch..
- the whole wave-part is too long... not enough going on... scenes too long...
- the drive thing is too long as well..
-> could have cut both together into one part.. or narrated someting over it..
- the next longer vid needs narration
- generally some of the cuts arent laid down on the music as clean as i liked...
- some scenes are not as conclusive as i liked... trip part should have been going on until i reached the house i.e..

if anybody else feels like pointing stuff out, go ahead..

[jaffa1949]

Good review, you covered it all and best of all you haven't fallen blindly in love with your work.
Hack it a number of times and a number of ways, see how to do it differently and what things work.
My first videos were dreadful but self critique and playing with them made them a lot better, one thing reworking can't do is make bad shooting any better so I concentrate on making my shooting as good as possible as a starting point. Good editing is easier than shooting and even easier with good footage, I get excited when I shoot stuff that is good enough in lots of ways so it doesn't need editing

Later videos better but on review some more stuff learnt. Next ones will be a step up again.