A couple of weeks ago, they were doing tethered balloon rides at a local farm with the Re/Max balloon for a charity event for the schools. I was planning to doing just the home-video shoot for the family, but while there I got into a conversation with on of the real estate folks running the event. The result being that the video may end up on their website (and It may lead to some future jobs). So here it is; single camera, no tripod/monopod/steadycam/script/preplanning. Still, I think it's a pretty decent result. Shaky scenes (lots) were post-processed with Deshaker.

Re/Max Ballon Ride (720x480, 64Mb WMV)

Re/Max Ballon Ride (320x240, 24Mb WMV)

 

Dave,

The video's don't seem to want to play on my computer at the office.  The link opens but no video.  I will try when I get home later today to look at them.

Denny

PS OOOPS there it goes.  Don't know what the problem was but they do play

Sorry

Dave,

I enjoyed yor movie. Splendid cameraworks.

I have a question: What are the settings for the wmv you created. Did you create the wmv with Liquid, or did you "converted" it from what type of Liquid (exported/fused) file?

I guess is was all made in HDV.

Denny,

If you're using Firefox and using the internal player for Firefox, then it doesn't want to buffer the video. This means having to download the entire thing before it starts playing. If you play back in the Windows Media Player then it starts playing a few seconds after the download starts.

Sef,

I use the free media encoder from Microsoft. The original is all SD from a Sony VX2100. The conversion is 2 pass, 1Mbit bitrate, and deinterlaced processing.

Dave,

I did get it to play, and really enjoyed the video.  Your edits were very well done mixing the "outside the gondola" and "inside the gondola" clips really made the whole thing flow very well together.

Good luck with future jobs from Remax.

Denny

I wonder if there was any danger of the balloon collapsing like the real estate market.

Looks good Dave!

Very relaxing. I kept waiting for a shot from the ground looking up directly under the basket as it made its trip skyward.  Sort of a what goes up, must come down sort of thing.

Hi Dave,

Absolutely wonderful, and the way video should be, simple, yet telling a great story. I must admit the point that fasinated me most was your quality and speed of download, on both files.I use ADSL and both files downloaded so quickly.

It's an area I'm starting to learn. I have seen some awesome qualty video, with very fast download speeds, that allow easy backward and forward movement.

Lew, a question. I was wondering if it might be an idea to see what our fellow forum friends are using re net delivery, as it is becomeing more and more a fact of life in our business.

regards

Peter Rhodes

Australia

windhamjim:

Very relaxing. I kept waiting for a shot from the ground looking up directly under the basket as it made its trip skyward.  Sort of a what goes up, must come down sort of thing.

That's the next video. I was up in Stowe Vt. this past weekend for the Stowe Balloon festival. I've got a lot of material, mostly for B-roll. I'm not sure if there's a story in there, but it'll be good filler for something I'm sure.

I probably should have gotten a shot from underneath, but like I said in the starter post I wasn't planning on doing a story video to begin with. So I ran around, scripting in my head and looking for shots that would work. The shot through the trees (which is my favorite shot) happened completely unplanned. I had already finished shooting and went over to the farm stand with the family to get some ice cream. While sitting outside the stand, the balloon raised up through the trees, and I knew I wanted that shot as soon as I saw it. So I ran across to a rock wall, put the camera down, started filming, and then had to balance the camera with one hand because I had a melting ice cream cone in the other.   Not exactly the most professional of shoots, but I got what I wanted. 

Thanks to all for the comments. It's appreciated.

Dave, I hope we can get together again even if the New England Pinnacle User's Group (PLUG) doesn't.  I am in Joe's and your debt for all you taught me about Liquid.

 Highest regards.

nice !

I always wondered how they get the balloon up

I assume there were two balloons there ?

I found the pace of the first part great - I would have paced the second part faster, I found the tree shot which you liked a bit long...
I usually find that if the picture is more or less static  than 3-4 seconds is just fine

One problem -- we both use SmartSound and the first piece is what I just used on a film I've  been working on for the last 8 months...

My first instinct was that I played the wrong movie...

Anyway - it gave me the feeling that it would be fun to be there - even though I don't like heights...

Cheers

Y

 

There was only 1 balloon. I just wandered along, framing shots that I thought might look good. I deliberately shot long shots of the balloon so you couldn't tell there were different people in the basket from all the different angles. The reason for leaving the shot through the trees long was also deliberate. The real-estate company (Re/Max) asked me to cut them something they might use on their website, and this is a really good ad shot for them.

The second musical piece is also the piece used for the Avid demo project that ships with Media Composer. Nothing deliberate in that choice, just cooincidence.

My wife doesn't like heights either, but we've also been on a free-floating balloon ride that was a lot higher and she enjoyed it.

Thanks for the comments.

There were shots that looked as if they came from a neighboring baloon,

did you come in real close just as they wre going up, or did you film from somewhere high up with a zoom ? or something else ?

 

 

The high shots were from a nearby hill. I shot with the zoom.