2010 Vollies Videos


Best PEG Program (one time project):

CMC Video Player

(If you have a slower internet connection, pause the video and allow download to progress before viewing.)

Judge's comments for this category:

Corbit's Charge:
Avoid cut away shots of people talking when used as B-Roll over someone who is talking. Use a reflector for subjects wearing hats in front of a white background or reposition the talent away from a bright white-clipped background. Could have used lower third titles to identify subjects. While the National Anthem was well sung and offered a nice patriotic moment it probably could have been cut to keep pacing up beat. Through editing you could tighten up the pacing by eliminating the walk ups between introductions. This was accomplished later in the piece. Good job on the wreath portion although it need to hang just a bit more on the last shot as a memorial is a poignant moment of reflection. Let the audience hang on it for a bit more and it would be less awkward. Work with the organizers to find something on the agenda that is a "throw away" something you do not want to document and then use that time to shoot cutaways. Good pull up on the benediction/prayer. Could have dropped the natural sound announcing the end of the ceremony, show the story (people leaving) instead. Create a transition between each of the demonstration segments to give a bit of separation. Graphics would help introducing the subject and then again lower third identifiers.

The Dangers of Driving While Texting:
Excellent open. Stand up audio was weak and then went sterile meaning you should always add a bit of natural sound when showing B-Roll of outdoors. Excellent use of graphics overall. Lower thirds could be revealed a bit faster. Be careful of wind noise reducing by using wind screens or reposition subject out of the wind, such as back to the wind. When discussing statistics use graphics to present the numbers or charts. Overall a bit slow on the pacing and editing of sound bites and interviews could have been more concise. Good job varying the locations of the stand ups.

Health & Exercise Science:
Nice open. Good use of green screen and motion graphics. Lighting is too even. Results in double shadows so need to soften one light to serve as fill and break up the shadows created by the key light. Your goal in lighting is to create controllable contrast. If you have the same intensity shadows from both lights you have missed this important aspect of lighting. Good use of photos with motion effects and test slides although to be consistent use motion on the text as well by animating the characters for emphasis. About 2:28 in to the piece a series of wipe effects are used out of the interview but the shot of the talking head just cuts away creating a jarring and undesirable effect. Good strategy changing the motion effects behind the interview although the one at about 3:15 is too bright in the luminance values. Video in the interview at about 4:30 appears too hot and white clipped. If you don’t have a waveform monitor use the zebra function in the camera to know when video is too hot. Sharon Brunner interview also too hot. Good use of B Roll.

Reaching Up Reaching Out:
Nice opening sequence although my version may have been upcut right at the beginning. I would have softened the transition of the video in the box with dissolves. The interviews appear to have been shot very loose, this lacks intimacy. Good for initially establishing but should go tighter after initial setup or introduction. Was this mixed aspect ratio footage? Some of the footage appeared unnaturally squished. B-Roll shot at about 8:50 looked out of focus but may have been my transcoded copy. The piece overall is a bit long and wonder if the same story couldn't be told in less time. Nice little ending touch. Great story.