AN ART JOURNAL CONTACT VIDEO/FLASH PASTEL PROCESS PASTEL GALLERY ARCHIVES AN ART JOURNAL/BLOG VICTORIA TAYLOR-GORE

Time for a Showreel...and a "Thank You"

The past weekend I decided to get a showreel done...not for job applications or professional purposes, but to collect what I thought were my successes in my first year creating short videos.  Hopefully by doing so, I can take account of what I've learned and think about how to improve.

In every short I've done so far, there have been mistakes and things I should have done better.  The fun of a showreel is getting to cut out the best shots out of each short and put them together.  But the challenge is to narrow the selections to no more than four minutes (and from my showreel, you can see I failed at that limitation).  Getting diverse clips and experiments that I've done to somehow hold together and flow and make some kind of sense wasn't easy either.  The saving grace was to find a song that loosely tied them all together with the theme of "life is a dream."

Another thing that goes along with this reel is an acknowledgement of how I was able to learn so much in a year (of course, there is still a ton more to learn).  So this is also a "thank you" to the amazing community of filmmakers and photographers that help and support each other along the path of HDSLR filmmaking through the Internet, conferences, workshops, meet-ups, etc.  I'd list all the people that have helped me so much by sharing information, inspiration, and their generous support and encouragement...but there are too many to list, and you know who you are anyway : )  Thanks, my friends.

2010 SHOWREEL BY VICTORIA TAYLOR-GORE from Victoria Taylor-Gore on Vimeo.

2010 SHOWREEL BY VICTORIA TAYLOR-GORE

MUSIC - "LIFE IS A DREAM" BY EMOREJ
License purchased from http://www.jamendo.com/en/

All clips can be found on my Vimeo Channel for further information - http://vimeo.com/vtg.

New Pastel - "Sky Through the Window" by Victoria Taylor-Gore

"Sky Through the Window" by Victoria Taylor-Gore, pastel, 11 x 15 inches, 2010

Another new pastel for my gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico - Alexandra Stevens Gallery on Canyon Road.  If you are in Santa Fe on Friday, November 26 come by the gallery...I'll be there in the evening : )

"Warmer House" - New Pastel by Victoria Taylor-Gore

"Warmer House" by Victoria Taylor-Gore, pastel, 10 x 14 inches, 2010

This is what I did with my morning today.  I'm taking new work to Santa Fe for a general opening at my gallery in Santa Fe - Alexandra Stevens Gallery on Canyon Road.

Dream House by Victoria Taylor-Gore

Dream House by Victoria Taylor-Gore from Victoria Taylor-Gore on Vimeo.

Video and editing - Victoria Taylor-Gore
http://www.victoriataylorgore.com/

Music - On Edge by Alexander Khaskin
License purchased from http://www.shockwave-sound.com/

This video belongs in my "The Conversation" series (http://vimeo.com/14891218, http://vimeo.com/15119881, and http://vimeo.com/15499048) - but I wanted to freshen up the title.  "Dream House" seemed more descriptive of the video since more of the Marx vintage doll house is featured in this short. This series of short films deals with a surreal conversation between miniature Marx vintage figures with sets that are Marx tin litho dollhouses. The story is implied - symbolic figures and juxtapositions allow the viewer to come to their own conclusions. Certainly the film noir influence is apparent and so inspiring for me.

Shot with a Canon 7D, Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 lens, Tokina 100mm macro f2.8 lens, Focus35 skater dolly, and always use my Zacuto Z-Finder Pro 3x! Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.

Also, so happy with my new Alzo 790L video light - worked wonders - no noise reduction necessary! The small light inside the bedroom window is actually my iPhone with a LED light flashlight app turned on - worked great and easy to get in small places. It even has a "strobe" effect that I used for the flashing light in the bedroom.

Note - added some of my own drawing elements - in a few pf the opening shots there is a tree in the foreground - that is actually a tree I drew and layered over the other video.

Gold Hill, Pastel by Victoria Taylor-Gore

"Gold Hill" © Victoria Taylor-Gore, 2010, pastel, 12 x 18 1/2 inches

Click on the image above for a larger view.

 

So I'm in the pastel mode again after working on a series of short films...getting ready for my Christmas Eve exhibit in Santa Fe at the Alexandra Stevens Gallery.

The Nerve to Shoot

Man staring at me while I was shooting video.

 

The Nerve to Shoot

video in public, I mean : )  I don't know if this is a problem for others embarking on the world of hybrid DSLRs or not, but it's taking time for me to feel comfortable shooting video in public places.  Even with the small footprint of HDSLRs, I'm finding that people watch me, stop in front of me, and worst of all...run away when I point a camera at them.  Not at all natural looking!  I have a tendency to move the camera away or point it down when I start getting attention, and that can ruin the perfect shot.

It's more compounded because I come from a fine art background (and I'm an introvert), and don't have the experience that seasoned photographers bring to the "human" element of getting good "people" shots.  There's much more to getting great video footage than using the right lenses, good camera stabilization, and proper audio...there is direct  human interaction.

Part of my fear isn't just how people react - I worry about security in some places.  Will I be stopped and harassed?  I was once, at an amusement park, and they wouldn't stop until I accepted a "press pass" (even though I told them several times I wasn't with the press).

Día de los Muertos by Victoria Taylor-Gore from Victoria Taylor-Gore on Vimeo.

One lucky situation was at a performance of traditional Mexican dances by El Ballet Folklorico Nuestra Herencia at the Underwood Center’s Ice House during the Dia de los Muertos Procession in Lubbock, Texas.  I was approached by the dreaded security guard, and he asked me what I was doing there.  I told him I was a teacher sponsoring a student trip to see the procession events (which was true), and he actually took me through the crowd closer to the dancers to get a better view.  Nice.  So I'm thinking that directly approaching security first and explaining what I'm up to is a good idea.  I'm finding that my Canon 7D with a big Tokina lens and a monopod isn't helping me blend into the crowd.  Adding more gear to a rig would make me even more visible.  I think more people are catching on.

I know the only solution I've come up with is to brave the real world and shoot as much video as I can.  Hopefully practice in public will improve my people skills.  I've been fortunate to get great video footage a few times...when people just forgot I was there.  But I'd like to hear how some of you professionals deal with shooting on location in public places.   How do you make people comfortable and get natural shots when you are just out and about with your camera (and you don't have a telephoto lens)?

- Victoria Taylor-Gore