Video critique

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

All I can say is people are entitled to there opinion but after a week from hell if people dont like my work( I can take good and bad comments by the way ) I wont post any more videos . Steve

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

Can I say i appreciate all the time and expense you and other people spend travelling round many miles to film and take still shots for us all to share.
Regards Brian

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

As one of your many followers, who you probably don't even know, I would like to say how disappointed I/we would be if you gave up producing you fine video coverage of steam in the north west. It seems that Mr Scott only takes stills as I have not seen any video from him, and this should be taken into account as the two formats are vastly different.
As has been said by others already it would get boring if everyone always went to the same locations from the same angles. How many clips have we seen where the clip opens with just the sound of the loco approaching and ends with it out of sight and the sound fading in the distance, that's how viode works, so if on you clip the loco goes behind a bank for a few seconds, so what. Where you supposed to let it run out of shot before it got to the bank????
Please just carry on as you have done and ignore one voice in the wilderness.

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

Thanks for your support . I have no intention of stopping filming its just posting the videos on the forum .I know that people are entitled to there opinion and maybe my choice of location was not the best but there you go. Regards Steve

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

You're deliberately missing the point and I repeat, if you want to criticise photos or videos then there are dedicated forums or the "Photography" section of this forum for that purpose.
Videos and photos in this section of the forum are uploaded for sharing and not for judgement, this isn't the Xfactor!

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

It never ceases to amaze me that people choose to knock quality (or indeed any) footage (level tripod, smooth pan/zoom, excellent sound, long view) that is provided for free, as has been the case with Stephen Thompson's video. I didn't fancy the early rise/drive, and I always appreciate being able to see runs I've missed. For what it's worth, I think it's an excellent choice of location in any case, giving a long coming/going view of the train's progress. Going beyong the tractor (which adds to the scene in my humble opinion) would have prevented the going away shot/reduced the height and impact of the approaching shot, and so for me it's precisely the place to be.

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

I think Steve's video is pretty stunning - as an occasionaly videor, it is not always obvious how much of the train will disappear into a cutting unless you can see a previous train pass for sense of scale/size. The one thing Steve can say is that he has a unique record of the mpoment, and to me that is the primary point of taking photographs or videos. The approach of the train is not only a unique shot but one that stirs the blood too. The volcano of steam/smoke also underlines how hard the locos and their crews were working and gives a real sense of power and drama.

Considering the weather, there are some excellent shots all round on here of this train. The sensitivity of micrphones have been mentioned, but the ability to get clear pictures in dull conditions is also quite amazing.

Most people on here are appreciative of the photos and videos. there are one or two superior types who like to knock but don't seem to actually post that much themselves, which probably says more than many of their comments!

Steven

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

Hear Hear!

 

Neil Scott wrote

Do you think that every film critic has shot a great film in their past?

Bad Example Neil ! The film critic goes to criticise a film from the audience's point of view of whether the film is entertaining and worth the effort / price required to watch it. Some take their role sufficiently seriously that they consider their opinions re film technique / film quality are also worth giving but since their critical function is from the audience / entertainment angle that latter role is wasted and says more about the critic than it does the film-maker.

Sadly you are taking the role of critic too far hence the concern by the video men at your comments. You have no video skills yet criticise those who have created the videos on display on this forum; you are not looking at the videos to comment on their entertainment value for a paying audience which needs to know whether the film(s) are worth paying to see and your criticisms on THIS forum are both unwanted and totally unnecessary.

As noted by others there are forums where comments re quality and technique are welcome but it is NOT this one. This is for people to show their efforts and others to show gratitude for their efforts and time taken to edit them for a wider public audience. Your own time might be better spent seeking out the Worcester Ghost since you currently seem to enjoy the railway night life at Worcester and welcome comments on other forums regarding the quality of your work in that area.

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

Sorry Fred but that's the biggest load of nonsense I've ever read on here. Basically people can't offer criticism on this forum because you say so? So people can't leave positive comments as well? Get a grip Fred.

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

This thread really encapsulates all that is good and almost amusingly bad about this forum.

Its discusses a tour that appears to have been a success, and provided some great visual records (still and video) of something that we could have only dreamed of 20 years ago.

But instead has been highjacked by those who seem to thrive on finding fault with everything and everyone and would never ever admit they are wrong - no doubt because they (in their eyes) are always right! I cannot understand why people spend so much time criticising these things, have you really got nothing better to do than trawl the net looking for things to criticise?

I like watching videos of trains on the mainline, I am no expert and have little interest in technical debate and thus I avoid the photograhhy forum (and to be honest it would probably be like a foreign language to me anyway), therefore can you leave this thread to those of us who just like to watch trains and if you want to enter a debate take it to the relevant section?

Sorry just a little bored of some of the petty negativity on here at the moment.

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

I strongly agree with this - let's get back to enjoying the photos and videos that people post, and let the technical critics have their say elsewhere.

Many thanks for the excellent photos and videos posted from yesterday. Anyone who doesn't like them can turn them off, and leave the rest of us to enjoy them.

Peter, at the end of a sunny November afternoon in Manchester
http://pjhtransportpix.zenfolio.com

 

Buxton Spa Express 05/11/2011

As an essentially ‘stills’ photographer, nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Steve’s (very different) video effort at Lancaster – which must have been shot a good 15 mins before sunrise (HAD there been one that very dull morning/day). A very brave man indeed …. and that comes from one who took his own first shot of the day at Whaley Bridge …. so, ten out of ten both for effort and for originality!

I do agree about the ‘blueness’ probably arising due to an incorrect ‘white balance’ setting (I did exactly the same thing at the recent ELR gala, having set my own camera for tungsten light the previous night – coincidentally also at Lancaster – and then forgot to reset back again afterwards, resulting in some subsequent very blue daylight images!)

In this case, however, I wasn’t particularly troubled by the colour cast, for I did feel that it somehow enhanced the ‘cold, dark, bleary dawn’ effect that I suspect Steve was attempting to capture anyway. However, this all wouldn’t have been half as impressive, had it been in the absence of that reflected light on the rails from both the loco and the signal lamps, all accompanied by that magnificent billowing clag. Some you win, some you don’t, but you've got to make the effort!

In this instance, the most appealing part of the sequence certainly was before he started to pull back the zoom. I savoured every moment as the train + exhaust ever so slowly started to fill the frame. In my own 8mm cine-film days, I often left the zoom on full and let the train run by at that setting …. invariably far more impressive, I thought. For the rivet-counting part of the shot, I relied on my trusty still camera and 10x8 prints. Despite ‘Neil_Scott’s’ critique, I found little wrong with Steve’s ‘zooming-out’, but it is sometimes frustrating to watch clips on this forum, and also on YouTube, where the ‘zoom-out’ is accomplished far too early and too rapidly (in trombone fashion, I would tend to suggest) and, in so doing, totally ruins the effect. In this case, had it been me, I might merely have cropped most of the wide-angle section and then pasted-in the 'going-away' shot.

As one who has photographs from pre-1968 times personally taken just about everywhere on the Lancaster-Preston-Wigan stretch (I was one of those who actually once had a lineside pass .... remember them??), it particularly troubles me that, today, so many of the favourite locations that we once used, have now been totally ruined by electrification masts and unchecked encroaching vegetation. Therefore, at a time of day when I was just crawling out of bed, my admiration goes out to Steve for making the attempt to find somewhere new that was both acceptable and different .... rather than going to the same old station platform end every time - as so many others tend to do.

Please do carry on posting your video efforts, Stephen. If you (and others) gave up doing so, just HOW would the rest of us know what we had missed. That, I suspect, is the only reason many people visit Nat-Pres anyway.

.... and finally

I think you know there is, John!

 

Week after week Steve Thompson produces high quality videos and this forum would be a poorer place if he did not share his pleasure with others. Indeed he is often the one who will make an early start, and do something a little different.
Of course we all have personal tastes, but as someone who also posts vids I submit them in the hope that some will enjoy them ( not as a "willy waving" excercise as a certain TB Frank suggests under the Blackpool Tram topic) and if you dont like my work that's fine by me. I always add a "thanks for watching" at the end because I appreciate those who take the time to view (and those who make the events possible)
Thanks to those who have supported Steve in this debate, and please keep up the great work Steve.

 

Re: Buxton Spa 5/11

Well Said...some people just don't know when to stop!

I love Stephen's videos, some of the best steam footage on the whole of Youtube and I always enjoy each video!

My work has been called 'uninspiring' elsewhere by a certain individual on this thread...uncalled for! I know what i'd call their work, but that's for me to know and not to post to cause obvious disruption lol

Lewis

 

I really don't understand why my comments have caused so much offence. I offered an opinion on what I think is a poor composition. Why has this caused so much distress? Are people above criticism? I think a little less sensitivity would be appropriate.

Lewis, your shot of the 8f was very poor in my opinion. If you want to criticise my work you know where it is, I post links on the same forums as you do.

 

I'd rather not lower myself to your level...I'll keep my criticisms to myself unless ASKED for.

Lewis

 

If you don't want people to comment on your photography than don't put it on the internet. You cannot control the responses you will get from other people, whether you consider yourself to be morally superior or not.

 

So how come the majority of us can resist from typing harsh criticisms? You don't tell someone they look ugly if they are wearing new clothes, if, in your opinion, they do...

Lewis

 

By 'harsh criticism' you mean by saying anything that isn't 100% positive? I make plenty of positive comments about other peoples photography or video efforts as well by the way.