Well I love the whole concept, of course, but I totally see what you mean about the rendering process having compromised the quality. I don't know what to say about that because I haven't begun to work with HD, but I can see that this is very different from other HD videos. But then, that could be just the difference between cameras, too, so I don't know.

All I know is that I liked it! And I was wondering if the shirtless guy caught you recording him!!? LOL! I love recording in public, but always feel so pressured to be discreet and/or stop filming altogether.

Anyway, loved it... so any improvement would just make me cream.

troy

You nut what you mean you hate this? lol I think you will say the opposite once you get a hang of a few things. this is simply splendid- I love so many of these shots, and I love how you used motion- sped it up and slowed it down- and panned the camera etc- if anything I would of had the shots with words etc just a few frames more not much though.

I do not know what you mean by flicker. if you want I can download it and you can tell me the specific frames. You did a great job but I knew good films would come once you got the goods.

email me specific Qs and I will do my best to explain to you what I know....

The flicker as well as the flash is caused by a combination of two things- the transition of going from a dark frame to a light one - as well as the cross dissolve that occurs during this transition. This is actually a technique and an occurrence embraced by experimental filmmakers. I for one like it. So think fast moving image from dark to light = flick& flash
The pigeon shot 00:43 it looks to me like the beginning of a cross dissolve- if you go to 00:44 you see the shot of the trash? stop on the frame where it becomes white. That is the shot making the so called aberration. The shot is actually over exposed. I am not sure which is making that - the tape or the camera. When you turn on the camera let it roll for 5- 7 seconds as the instructions in the manual tell you to do so- this lets the camera's lens (the eye) adjust to the light conditions.

As for the HD taking so long to render. I know you are not used to this. well know this- HDV takes 4 times as much room- the resolution is higher than video- and so is the frame- much bigger, so you got yourself more real estate and so, rendering takes longer and therefore taxing... lol

Shot 00:49 the taxi cab fades to white- is that an effect you placed? It happens again on shot 1:17 fades to white
Shot 1:24 "Make love" I would hold that for two frames instead of one frame, same for 1:26, 1:27, 1:29

this is wonderful, my friend, so don't be hatin' on it :)

in regard to the editing/rendering stuff, what maria said. i told you this before, but you have an editor's eye, so just kep shooting and experimenting. and invest in a really large hard drive, preferably a raid set-up that an handle the hd workflow.

why are you still reading this when you should be out shooting more!

Ok, truth be known - I didn't take the time to read everyone else's responses/suggestions because I'm lazy, so forgive me if I repeat anyone, but:

The only flicker I noticed was during the one shot with the pigeons at 00:43. I assume you're using Final Cut. Are you using plug-ins to achieve your cross-dissolves? If that's causing you problems, you could always crossfade the old fashioned way by using the pen tool to create handles at the end of the one clip and the beginning of the other and manually fade them.
I noticed that you mentioned that you thought it looked too 'pretty' also. That might be due to the color grading. If you played with the color correction tools, contrast, gamma, etc, you might be able to find a darker, richer color that you're looking for. Even if you don't know what the numerical values do in anything, it's always worth playing around.

All in all, I'm willing to bet money that the reason you hate this so much is because you're putting so much time into it at once. I guarantee if you let it sit for a while and give it another look later on, it won't be so bad. I don't think there's anything bad about it.

Dan, I'm impressed ! I know nothing about HD and Final Cut so i'm sorry I don't have any tips for you..All I can say is I love it and I really can't wait to see more !

All you have to do is insert a couple of quick shots of yourself staring moodily off-camera, and you've got yourself the opening sequence for a gritty NY-based drama... Dan Houston in "Jungle" - Thursday 9pm on NBC...

(maybe I watch too much TV)

Hey Danny Boy!
That was FABULOUS!
I love IT!
What a differents a new camera makes :))))
Mr Producer Extraordinaire ;)

This is perfecto! All it reallly could use is a shot of yourself singing into a Soap-On-A-Rope in your shower :)

This was really well done. It sounds from the comments that you've made some changes. I'm sorry I haven't watched this earlier. I've had it open since you shared it, but I haven't had the time needed to give you the advice you sought. I think that you've listened to all the other comments and turned this into a great piece.

btw, why'd evanoah sea leave? If you know and don't want to put it here, you can message me. I didn't get to say good-bye.

Thanks so much Ben - I did some tweaks and twiddles the other day and will now just leave it for a while - my eyes are still crossed - hee!

Very nice dan!!!!

Thank you!

fascinating piece Dan...i love the feel of it...watched it 3 times and still wishing it was longer