Using footage I've acquired over the last two years, I had a little fun and created a short, sort or promo, video. Thought you guys might like to see.
That's awesome what a fantastic video to share with interested parties. Thanks for taking the time to create it.
I like this, it shows some great action and covers most of the important points about the hobby in one brief video. As a fellow video maker, I hope you don't mind a bit of constructive criticism. I had a very hard time spotting any sort of narrative in this video. I know you weren't trying to tell a specific story, because trailers almost never do, but to the untrained eye most of the ships look alike. I had to pause and look closely to see which ships were axis and which were allied. Without clearly visible teams, my first impression was of a chaotic free-for-all. In future videos, you may want to emphasize the team aspect of the sport by spending at least a little time on close-ups of Axis ships viewed from one angle (for example facing left), and a little more time on close-ups of Allied ships from a different angle (for example facing right). Perhaps 20-30sec of just showing the ships, close up and clearly distinguished as teams, would help immensely with the overall impression of our hobby as a team sport. Another vital aspect of the hobby that you completely missed is the people. I saw no shots of people on the shore, people in the pits, people launching boats, etc. Just a scene of a wreck getting recovered. This is very hard footage to get, because almost every cameraman is more focused on the battle going on out there, rather than the people standing on the shore barely doing anything. But closeups of people acting and reacting to the events on the pond are vital. A group of people cheering during a particularly good exchange of fire, a bit of friendly banter between rival captains, or even expressions of focus and concentration can make that human connection. It's the people that make the hobby great, so make sure to show them as much as possible! Third, get more closeups! I always told my cameraman to zoom in until he had only two ships in the frame. The occasional wide shot is nice for setting the scene, but most of the action looks more action-packed when its close up. Splashes are bigger, ships are more easily recognizable, bilge pumps and battle damage become visible, and folks who've never seen a battleship before are better able to feel how each ship is doing. I really liked your sequence about sinking and recovering ships. You placed a lot of emphasis on our ability to recover and re-launch ships, and that's great. That's one of the most common questions I get asked. It would be quite hard to top what you've already got, but here's one thought. Since we recover, repair, and re-launch our ships, we sometimes encounter the phenomenon of one ship that sinks multiple times in one day. I think it would be hilarious to show (and call attention to) a quick sequence of one ship sinking and getting recovered, then sinking again, and again, and again. Lastly, don't be afraid to edit your footage if you didn't get quite the perfect shot. I sometimes mirrored shots in order to match ship facing with team (see suggestion 1). I also sometimes slowed or sped up footage slightly in order to meet timing cues, then reconstructed background sounds from other sources. Filming and editing movies for our hobby is a laborious and time-consuming process that often distracts from building and battling. But it is hugely important for the hobby to live and grow, so here's a huge thumbs up, great job and keep up the good work!
We had a promo video for NABS and it was well done. I wonder is there a way to modify that . It is found in my media section under non combat videos . It is a recruitment video.
It's excellent! I'm having trouble getting the french into this, but if you're ok to let me put a link on my french site... it might help to encourage them
Thanks for the very informative 'criticism'. I'll definitely be implementing a lot of this great advice into my future videos.
