Matthew Thomas 2017 Reel - ID# 146

Neuqua Valley

Division: A

Cinematography

Entry Description

This is a reel of what I filmed and created in 2017.

Recent Teacher Comments

• 3/21 1:03 pm - Pros - Thank you for creating such strong work! First impression shouts very strong color correction skills. Further exploration draws viewer in through strong compositions that make good use of both natural and artificial lighting, movement, and most notably, depth of field. The shots that utilize depth of field, particularly the ones with the cigarette smoke and the pill bottle with blood spots in front of it, and the profile of the girl on the merry-go-round. The low light tracking shots and the silhouettes where also executed very strongly. Cons - As far as editing your reel goes, don't get hung up on editing to the beat of your soundtrack. Showcase the strongest moments in your shots. There is a transition at 0:30 that feels out of place followed by the merry-go-round shot, which is probably one of your weakest, in an overall strong piece of work. Your use of contrast and coloring is so strong that it makes the less dynamic shots, like the three from 1:23 to 1:26 appear a bit muddy. Your work is very strong and the more you shoot, be sure to steer toward softer light espeically with HD video.
• 3/12 11:01 am - The color of your shots is great. Use of time lapse is interesting. Beautiful composition
• 3/12 8:32 am - Great work! your lighting is nice and your shots are framed in a very good narrative style.
• 3/1 4:15 pm - You have a great awareness of lighting, which is very refreshing to see. You are not afraid of darker lit scenes. The shot of a young women smoking a cigarette and the background out of focus - beautiful composition: she is on the right of your frame, angled slightly. Just love that shot! Take on working on smoothing out your camera movement - but I'll take camera movement of stationary shots any time!

Judge 1

Positives: Great camera work and use of available lighting. Great editing. Great story telling.

Improvements: Not much room for improvement.

Judge 2

Positives: -Some very interesting compositions. I think you have the fundamentals down and that will translate really well when you get your hands on heavier duty cameras down the line. -I really liked that image of the guy choking someone, but the flowers were in focus. Great use of juxtaposition. This shows critical thinking. You're not just showing us an action, you're making a comment on it. That's what filmmaking/storytelling is; having a perspective.

Improvements: -It looks like a lot of your lighting was done with just one light, which I understand just comes down to your resources. But you can go a long way with some practical lights such as lamps, chandeliers, flashlights (anything that exists in the world of the character and the frame). So maybe you only have access to one movie light? Use lamps as a part of your shot. Get some bulbs of varying wattage or put them on dimmers and place them in your shot. It'll go a long way to help your images feel more dynamic and nuanced. -Also, smoking's bad for ya'll.

Judge 3

Positives: Editing was great. Your camera moves were very smooth. White balance and lighting seemed on target.

Improvements: A few shots I think maybe you should have used a tripod and didn't and might have been a little dark.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: