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I Made a Feature Length Film about Touring!

coastward_kid

coastward_kid

Dec 8, 2007
199
1
#1
Check it out, share it, and let me know what you think! I'm the bass player in the band but have recently taken to working the camera and editing. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. If you guys could share it it would mean the world to me.

- Pat

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#4
Question - If you watch, let me know what you think of the audio in the "beach" scene where the guitar is thrown. Since its release I've had several people tell me the technical merit of that sequence will keep it from getting any critical recognition :( .
 
#5
Hi,

coastward_kid said:
Question - If you watch, let me know what you think of the audio in the "beach" scene where the guitar is thrown. Since its release I've had several people tell me the technical merit of that sequence will keep it from getting any critical recognition :( .
Click to expand...

I just watched your piece during my lunch hour at work. Very entertaining. Thank you for sharing.

You seem like a bunch of likeable lads and I dig your music. I was a bit concerned about the way you treat your instruments. That guitar has been in two oceans and most of the Great Lakes? You boys should learn to take better care of your things. :p

I don't know how these things work in "the biz" but I noticed the audio for that scene was noisier. It just sounded like it was done with a point-and-shoot vidcam. To me, it didn't detract from the feel of the documentary. It's probably cost prohibitive to try and clean it up after the fact. If it's really that critical then I suppose you could edit out that scene, but I really enjoyed it. I thought it reflected a lot of fun that you have working and traveling together.

I wish you guys much success and I hope to catch one of your shows when you really make it big and tour the US. :D


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
#6
I just watched the whole thing. I think what you've got here is a solid video that you could press on DVDs and sell at shows. The editing is very pro, as is a lot of the camera work. I agree that the audio on the "beach" scene leaves a lot to be desired. For a fan DVD, it may be fine. For any kind of theatrical showing, probably not.

The phrase you used is "critical recognition", and that's the only reason why I'm going to bring this up: I don't think this is the kind of film that can really attract an audience outside of your fan base. Most great (or at least critically acclaimed) documentaries manage to capture an overriding story, with plenty of drama, and keep you on your seat about what's going to happen next. Think "Anvil: The Story of Anvil". I'm not an Anvil fan, or even a metal fan, but I loved that movie, because it had that drama. Your band seems pretty drama-free, and that's a blessing. But it doesn't really make for compelling filmmaking. "Unsigned band goes on tour" isn't really much of a story to hang a film on.

There were moments of drama, of course, such as the cancelled gig that resulted in what looked like a very successful street performance. A little more buildup to that, with maybe some shots of people freaking out or getting angry about the situation, a band meeting, a plan, one guy doesn't like the plan, he gets talked into it, blah, blah, blah. But maybe you guys really are just as easygoing as you seem. I just can't help but wonder what we would have seen if the director wasn't in the band. Something less cuddly, I bet, but more compelling for all that.

That little criticism aside, the film definitely DOES succeed in giving fans an inside look at what really goes on on a tour. Watching you guys do your laundry is way more entertaining than it has any right to be, precisely because that's the stuff nobody thinks about when they think about a band on tour.

AND I want to say that the songwriting is excellent, the band is tight, and the vocals are especially impressive. :)
 
#8
BassCliff said:
Hi,


I don't know how these things work in "the biz" but I noticed the audio for that scene was noisier. It just sounded like it was done with a point-and-shoot vidcam. To me, it didn't detract from the feel of the documentary. It's probably cost prohibitive to try and clean it up after the fact. If it's really that critical then I suppose you could edit out that scene, but I really enjoyed it.

BassCliff
Click to expand...

Thanks man! Yeah I tried cleaning it up myself with some low and high pass filters and some compression but I wasn't able to isolate any frequencies in the wind without really detracting from the talking. Thanks for watching, thought! It means A LOT to me!

Pat
 
#9
Bassist4Eris said:
The phrase you used is "critical recognition", and that's the only reason why I'm going to bring this up: I don't think this is the kind of film that can really attract an audience outside of your fan base. Most great (or at least critically acclaimed) documentaries manage to capture an overriding story, with plenty of drama, and keep you on your seat about what's going to happen next.
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree. In terms of critical recognition, there are a TON of small Canadian music awards with DVD categories (Danko Jones wrote a hilarious article about this...there are something like 33 different provincial and national award shows for music in Canada). That's what I mean when I speak of critical recognition. This is mostly for the fans, though. And us...I mean, I think it will be an unreal keepsake.

Thanks for watching and taking the time out of your day to write back!!

Pat
 
#11
I have about 10 minutes left to watch, I really like it. I agree that the beach scene audio is kind of annoying (is it the wind blowing across the mic?).

It is more like a series of short vignettes rather than a coherent narrative but fwiw I liked it better than the Anvil doc. Well done to pull off the tour and put together a really good looking film.
 
#12
I started watching and couldn't stop. Watched it till the end. I like this a lot. Fun and interesting video and lots of great songs. Really like your music. And you seem like really fun and nice guys.
And being a still photographer myself I think the quality of the shots, use of DOF and the editing is great.
Well done.
I also had to watch the rest of your videos:-)
Hope to see you in Sweden sometime.

Best regards/Daniel
 
#14
Space Pickle said:
I have about 10 minutes left to watch, I really like it. I agree that the beach scene audio is kind of annoying (is it the wind blowing across the mic?).

It is more like a series of short vignettes rather than a coherent narrative but fwiw I liked it better than the Anvil doc. Well done to pull off the tour and put together a really good looking film.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was the wind blowing across the mic. I have a rhode mic that I usually attached but I thought we were just going in to get our feet wet for a second and didn't pull it out of the van. Regret that, haha.
 
#15
DSBass said:
I started watching and couldn't stop. Watched it till the end. I like this a lot. Fun and interesting video and lots of great songs. Really like your music. And you seem like really fun and nice guys.
And being a still photographer myself I think the quality of the shots, use of DOF and the editing is great.
Well done.
I also had to watch the rest of your videos:-)
Hope to see you in Sweden sometime.

Best regards/Daniel
Click to expand...

Thanks. I always try to shoot with Depth of Frame and Depth of Field in mind even if it is just something candid. Thanks for noticing. I'd love it if we could come to Sweden!!
 
#19
I just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback. Your comments are much appreciated.

A really, really bummed because I just found out that the Juno Awards Committee (Canada's version of the Grammy's) canned the "Music DVD of the Year" award for 2014. Apparently they only received 9 submissions - 1 shy of the 10 required for a category.

I guess DVD is pretty much irrelevant as a format now.
 

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