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Short GH2 film - A summer in Belorussia
  • Hello there,

    This was my first try with the GH2 2 years ago, with none specific knowledge about movie making. I'm a pure newbie. I tried to make an atmospheric short about things I felt while in vacation in Belorussia. I'am aware of all the technical defaults of this little thing, but I'm eager to read your advices about rhythm, editing and story telling.

    Have a nice one and thank you in advance if you watch this!

    On youtube:

    On vimeo:

  • 33 Replies sorted by
  • Had trouble with the streaming from that site, but god damn the first 2 minutes was great! You've got an interesting eye. Get out there and make more movies - you're good! (Maybe put it up on YouTube so we can watch without streaming problem.)

  • @matt_gh2 I followed your advice and its now on Youtube. I have updated my first post. Thank you for your kind words!

  • What a wonderful film. I've watched it several times. It reminded me of the travelogues I used to go see with my grandmother many years ago. What I especially liked is that your cinematography (not sure if that's the right word) and music don't get in the way of the the story. After the first minute I forgot I was watching a film because I got wrapped up in the stories told in each section. The music you chose is beautiful yet isn't distracting.

    For contrast, here is a link to another travel film about a trip two guys made to Canada:

    It is beautifully filmed with the all the trendy shallow depth of field shots, slider shots, pans etc. but it seems to me that rather than telling a story they are just showing off their camera skills. The music is totally distracting. They close their film with this: "We have travelled 7,000kms, met many great people on the way, hit rock bottom and had an unforgettably great time." Questions I have are where are the great people they met on the way? What is the rock bottom they hit? The only thing their film depicts is lots of scenery and two hipsters having an "unforgettably great time". I'm happy they had a great time but since that is all they depicted it results in a one dimensional boring film.

    Your film has suspense (when the airplane has a rough landing), a sense of time passing (with the timelapses and fade to black transitions) interesting scenery and fascinating characters (that old lady with the babushka is adorable) and you have a perfect ending with the two women and child walking away.

    The only suggestions I have that may improve your film would be to start with a few seconds of a title. Then in the first scene I would include a shot of your companion doing something to prepare for landing (such as buckling her seatbelt) to help reinforce that the flight is about to end. Those are minor quibbles and I only mention them because you asked. I have a hard time believing this is your first film but I guess I'll have to take your word for it!

  • @sulph - A few more suggestions: It seems like Youtube is blocking your film from playing on mobile devices due to music copyright restrictions. I suggest hosting it on Vimeo - it seems like the major music labels don't hassle you about the music you use there. I also tried your www.ireina.net links but video only plays for about two seconds and then stops.

  • @DanPV Thank you so much for taking the time to write such beautiful things. I was a very surprised by your comments, I didn't imagine that this short could make such an impression to someone not directly involved in the film. To be perfectly clear I made a little short fiction 15 years ago with a group of friends, but it was with a super 8 camera, and it was a true team work (here on Dailymotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4inh2_il-diablo_shortfilms) - and I did nothing else after.

    I uploaded the film on Vimeo, and your right, apparently no problems with copyright matters. But it is at the price of a drastic downgrade in terms of image quality, because I had to compress the film so that it stayed under the 500 M limit, witch is quite low for more than 17 minute. I have added a title, following your suggestion. The result is here, but I think that YouTube might be a better place for this short in terms of image quality :

    Thank you again for sharing your impressions and advice!

  • This is fabulous!

  • Wonderful, just wonderful! Love the pacing and your choice of framing. The shot at 12:07 - genial! I especially like your use of sound, weaving together images in a very poetic way. Thanks for sharing this with us! Fort bien!

  • Very impressive short. It captures a lot of what has seemed to be lacking since the long demise of 16mm celluloid and the sort of verite material I associate with it. Most immediately it reminds me of Chantal Akerman's D'Est. I found a clip of it here:

  • @DanPV I have watched the film of the two guys in Canada. Well, what can I say, it is like a commercial. Like they are selling something. But for their defense I had cold feets when they walked barefoot in the river. Good luck for them! :)

    @jpbturbo @oscillian Thank you, so glad you liked it. Merci !

    @Alienhead Thank you! And thanks again for the link, I didn't know this director at all, and I think I will try to find her work and watch it.

    I think I will upgrade my vimeo account to upload a significantly better file.

    Have a good one!

  • @sulph

    Just came across this video. The quick cut entering the train tunnel at 2:35 reminds me of your film at 1:16 when your plane lands - very effective!

  • Wow. Nice shots. Keep shooting. You have a sweet eye.

  • @DanPV Thank you for the video, I like it, but the main character is a little bit overplayed. Yes the quick cut in the tunnel is disturbing and works quite well. Again thank you for sharing things with me.

    To everyone on this forum, Happy New year, I hope the best for this community and for everyone of you!

    Cheers :)

  • Wow. This is totally awesome. To tell you the truth I've seen so many traveling GH2 videos, bunch of tests, and a lot of short films, but for me this was much more meaningful than so many others. It has a lot of reality, raw moments that you caught with beautiful composition and light, and the edit/music goes really well together. Very real, sentimental, nostalgic, and pretty much like a portrait of life. Congratulations on the great job. I love the part at 3:15 with the laughing. Even though I don't understand a word, it still made me smile :)

    don't stop making films!

  • @ognistik Thank you! Because a lot of people seemed to like this short, I decided to make another one. I'm currently on it (though it may take a while). I will try to shoot in better conditions, as this one (OKNA) was shot hand held without any hack. Thanks again for your comment!

  • You must have a steady hand! Gorgeous images, fantastic use of sound, lovely feel. Really enjoyed it, thank you.

  • @belfryman Thank you. In fact most of the footage was stabilized in post using Premiere CS6 :)

  • thought it would be but even so it's nice. I can't be bothered watching most TV but I could watch your short again.

  • Eisenstein's spiritual child paints with his first stroke a story for the heart. Statically framed bushes everywhere burst in flames, regardless of GOP length.

  • @radikalfilm Why Eisenstein? Because it was shot in ex Soviet Union or for technical "similarities"? I particularly enjoyed the first part of Ivan the terrible. Anyway, thank you for the kind words :-)

  • "technical". You did montage, he's the father of montage. I'm having difficulties believing it is your first film; it might be as a shooter (awesome by the way), but you clearly have storytelling background - perhaps you're a film/video editor and glossed over that detail.

  • @radikalfilm Thank you again. I'm sure you can imagine what's the impact of such cheering comments about this short : it's beautiful. But on the other side, I can't let you say that I'm a fraud, a disguised professional trying to lure people for a mysterious (and obviously vain) reason.

    I already toned down the fact this was my first movie on this thread by admitting that I had a first experience in 1998. With a group of friends we made a short I was directing, but a true team effort. Between this experience (a little disappointing - I said to myself : too easy to make a film - and you will see I was wrong cause the film has a lot of problems) and this "montage" I did nothing.

    So no, I'm not a professional of movie making, I never did any editing between 2001 and 2013. To be clear, I have lost my job, and I'm currently unemployed. Witch gave me the time to make this short in order to satisfy my family. Nothing less, nothing more.

    Once again, this response is not personal. I'm very proud that you liked my work. And if you're looking for someone to work with you, I'm completely available!

    Have a good one ;-)

    My 1998 short on Youtube :

  • Sorry but I forgot one thing. If you are wondering how such a noob can edit a film in this way, I can elaborate. I have a lot to share about editing and story telling techniques. Just tell me, I love it, and I'm eager to talk about it!

  • very nice! I send link to friends to motivate them :-)

  • I did not call you a fraud, wtf, what does that even mean in this context. Diablo is very good for what it is, never breaks character for a second, I would have taken it for a 1920's studio production without a second thought. I didn't get the ending though, don't bother to explain :)

    Again the fact that you "have a lot to share about editing and storytelling" comes through in this first effort of yours. "Normal" people just don't have the skill or mindset. So, AS A PROFESSIONAL, I get cognitive dissonance when I look at your results and I read your statements of newbiness (is that a word).

    So if you're not a professional of movie-making (editor, director, etc), and these are your only two projects, but (obviously) know editing/juxtaposition and storytelling, then what is your professional background? Inquiring minds want to know. You could be a writer; a screenwriter would make you a professional. A playwright?

    Since you're in Europe yes there could be space for (paid) work between us, when I have the right project for you. I'm purely commercial these days so I'd have to see what you can do in 3min or less.

  • @ whynot just let me know if it is effective. For your friends I mean. If not, I will try to do better next time :-)

    @ radikalfilm You're right, I poorly chose my words. I will reply to your question (my background) in PM.