Over 1300 photos and 110 hours later

[Crilly]

Hi, I'm new here. I was struggling to find a place to write this post. I guess its a technique... anyway...Over 1300 photos and 110 hours later I completed this stop motion animation.
Please go nuts, tear it apart, tell me what you would have done differently. Ask me any question about how I did it etc. And! tell me what you think in general. Don't be afraid to ask questions or tell me it's rubbish lol.

Here is the video

Gear I used:
Canon EOS 60D
11-16mm f/2.8 tokina
28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 canon Ultrasonic
50mm f/1.8 canon prime fantastic plastic (I love this lens!)
interfit 150W flash heads /w stands, softboxes, etc etc
Velbon CX640 tripod
Gig T Pro II wireless shutter release

[miketoll]

Maybe it's my age but clever though it might be I can't really understand what it is about, trying to say (if anything) or it's purpose.

[Crilly]

The idea is to show the process of a web application development. By trade I am a web applications developer (I make websites). Each scene is conceptualising the sequential steps involved. I think you'll agree that it isn't really an easy thing to put into pictures.

I'll break it down for you, although, you're absolutely right.. I shouldn't have to explain it, but I suppose if your not familiar with web tech it might be a bit of an ask. Actually, I think it's all explained in the link.. lemme check (some seconds later) yes it is, see below the video.

[Tugboat]

very clever work, loved the bit where the glass of water disappeared with the finger in it also the pages coming off the screen, I had to watch it a couple of times as I didn't read the bottom section first because you said to look at the video,I also think my age has something to do with it too & know nothing about websites, I was going to say I didn't get the ending, but once I read the bottom section I realized what the end was .. I could see it was about an idea being created & worked on...very clever and anyone looking to create a website will be more in tune with what is going on.. well done

[miketoll]

When the video came up, after pressing the link, on my screen the writing under the actual video was not visible at all, I had no idea it was even there. Having now read it the video makes more sense. Maybe a bit of script above the video first so people are aware there is script to read might help? If you are trying to speak to or educate a wider audience than your normal clientèle be careful how you set things out to allow for dumbos like me!

[Crilly]

Hey guys, Thanks for your replies to the video.

I suppose it is kinda confusing to people who don't know about web dev. I'm in that place where I don't really think about, it is instantly understandable by everyone I know because we're all in the industry in one form or another.

The aim wasn't to be educational in anyway, although I would imagine that the script below the video does make it out to be (I've not really read it, that is a copy writers job, lol) The aim of the video was to try and make an otherwise boring process into a more engaging one. Quite often when we talk about web dev all-soughts of acronyms come out and I'm sure that to people outside the loop it just sounds like another language. People give up trying to understand before they even get started because of this.

So the real aim of the video was just to 'be cool'. Let those that get it, get it. and hopefully those don't get it, left mildly interested lol.

I hope that clears some stuff up. If you want more details on how it was made or about web dev in general.. I'm right here

[robski]

Hi Crilly

I guess your asking for critique and this should be in the critique section.

Like Mike I jumped straight in and viewed the video a few days ago and was left wondering what was the message apart from some camera trickery. Having read the posts above and the blurb below the video I decided to view the video again with it in some form of context. I have dabbled with web site coding and the design process so I can appreciate where you are coming from.

I assume folk will know what ICOM is about as they are on your website. Being given a link to the video without much introduction the viewer can only evaluate the video as a piece of visual communication.

For me this video did not tell the story a of client having a website designed and developed. Knowing this was the intended message I felt the message was very weak after several subsequent viewings.

Some 30% of the video was intro and credit titles.

The brief, the client could of used more hand gestures to impart shape and form. The note taker could of stopped and started in response to the client.

The dancing squares, was a little too quick for me to take in the text on them.

The picture board could of shown the decision process by swapping and interchanging some of the images as part of the build up.

The Lego figures needed to be larger to reflect the impact ICOM staff have on the process to bring the product to completion. Or a smaller Monitor and keyboard.

The scene with the Lego man on top of the monitor and pulling off the pages too dark and shadowy of my liking. Can barely make out the figure on top of the monitor.

From a photographic technical point of view the picture board and monitor scenes suffer severe lens barrel distortion which may add to the quirkiness.

Otherwise not a bad effort if this was your first attempt at this sort of thing.

[Crilly]

Yo Rob! Firstly can I say thank you for putting all the effort in critiquing my work. I tried to put it into the part of the forum that you have suggested but as far as I can remember you need 50 posts to get stuff in there so it wasn't really possible.

Originally Posted by robski

Some 30% of the video was intro and credit titles.

Yeah, I've been told that the intro was a little amateurish. I believe the guy who said so is an art director, if I remember rightly he said "It's a little bit like given a piece of work to do on catcher in the rye, and then starting your paper with 'This paper is about catcher in the rye'" I see what he means and I assume that you are thinking along the same lines.

Originally Posted by robski

The brief, the client could of used more hand gestures to impart shape and form. The note taker could of stopped and started in response to the client.

Yes I absolutely agree with this, as it happens that scene was the first we filmed.. So we were kind of finding our feet with the timing of it all so that is my excuse

Originally Posted by robski

The dancing squares, was a little too quick for me to take in the text on them.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by robski

The picture board could of shown the decision process by swapping and interchanging some of the images as part of the build up.

I think I know what you mean here but I'm not fully sure... Providing that I'm understanding this correctly I think there may be some optical issues and actually seeing what is on the images.

Originally Posted by robski

The Lego figures needed to be larger to reflect the impact ICOM staff have on the process to bring the product to completion. Or a smaller Monitor and keyboard.

I assume that your not suggesting that I physically make bigger lego men, lol. If not, this is the same issue I was just talking about up there ^^. The issue is an optical one, if you want more in the scene then things in the scene are going to become smaller.

Originally Posted by robski

The scene with the Lego man on top of the monitor and pulling off the pages too dark and shadowy of my liking. Can barely make out the figure on top of the monitor.

Agreed, but we knew that the two monitor scenes would follow on from each other so we had to do something to make them seem a little different. One of those things was to make it darker... it also changes the mood to co-inside with the bridge of the track.

Originally Posted by robski

From a photographic technical point of view the picture board and monitor scenes suffer severe lens barrel distortion which may add to the quirkiness.

^^ This is more the type of stuff I was expecting from a photography forum. And yes it was intentional Personally I don't think it suffers from it, I think it adds to the dreamy nature of the video.

Originally Posted by robski

Otherwise not a bad effort if this was your first attempt at this sort of thing.

Yes this is my first attempt

Again, Thank you very much for putting the time it to analysing it so much. This is exactly the type of stuff I wanted to hear.

[dorsetman]

Hi

Firstly i think its very clever what you have done but i didnt find it exciting to watch. The little white plasticine character running around at the beginning is just too small and far away to really appreciate and when he is supposed to be the point of focus its a shame. I dont like the Idea thing going on with the pin board, that was just lost on me and boring. Again i like the characters messing about around the computer monitor later on but again they are far too small or far away to appreciate. I think it was a lovely touch when the hand comes in and takes the image on the mac screen away.

Overall it was nice but too dark and therefore the vivid colour in things like the post-its were just not vivid enough to stand out. I think i should have been enthralled and i wasnt. Sorry to be so hard but its honest as you asked for.

[Crilly]

No need to be sorry

Thank you very much for being honest with me about it. I would much prefer it if people that didn't like it said so like you have done, rather than just navigating somewhere else.

I think you have read into what I have said a little too much, Perhaps 'exciting' wasn't the word I was going for. It's just supposed to be cool.

I kind of agree with you on the darkness of some of the shots. I was working with another dude so I couldn't have it all my own way. He was constantly asking to under expose stuff and if I wasn't there it would have been much darker! :/ But I don't think it has that much of an effect.

Personally, I dont think much of it myself lol. I've watched it 100's of times doing all the post production stuff. I see ALL the problems in it everytime I watch it, trust me, there is a lot that you have missed. But without people coming forward and telling me I dont know what other people are thinking and I don't know what to take away for the next one. Or what I can get away with

So thanks again. Very good of you to spend the time on it