LEEDS CASTLE AGAIN

[David Porter]

A revised version of a previous show but with updated photos and this time with an attempt to harmonise the slides with the music. Suggestions for improvements are very welcome.

Top of the page at the moment

[cottage]

Enjoyed it Mick. I've visited there before, and you've done well it capturing the lovely scenes throughout. I particularly like your shots of the castle framed with the flowering trees. Great job, and nice music to match. Thanks for sharing! - Bill

[Lin Evans]

Hi Mick,

I think it's fine just as it is! A wonderful sojourn through time and beautiful scenes captured perfectly - what else could one ask? I would love to visit this if I'm ever in Kent. Sherry and I visited several Bavarian castles such as Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau but never got the chance to see many in the U.K. - it was a pleasure watching.

Best regards,

Lin

A revised version of a previous show but with updated photos and this time with an attempt to harmonise the slides with the music. Suggestions for improvements are very welcome.

Top of the page at the moment

[rmstevens]

Mick,

Very much enjoyed your latest AV offering. Usual well composed images,

suitable music and certainly demonstrates why this castle is well visited. My

only dislike is the “Grotto” section - the black pictures that separate this part.

Think it would look better to dissolve to the grotto ceiling then added the sign

in the animation. At the end, rather than going straight into the interiors why

not dissolve to the door knocker picture (seen later) which then leads you nicely

into the interiors?

Minor points to an otherwise good sequence.

Regards, Roger

[David Porter]

Thanks Bill, Lin and Roger for replying and for your comments. I have to say I am disappointed with the level of response especially as I asked for suggestions for improvements. It seems pointless me trying to use this Forum to improve my work as I could e-mail directly those likely to respond.

Roger, I could kick myself for not seeing that the knocker should be the intro for the interior shots. I have moved it there now but I have to adjust the following slides to harmonise with the music. I used the fades to black to accentuate the change in the mood of the music which I thought worked well with the Grotto scenes although I was not sure about using the notice board. Thanks for the suggestions.

[xahu34]

... I have to say I am disappointed with the level of response especially as I asked for suggestions for improvements. It seems pointless me trying to use this Forum to improve my work as I could e-mail directly those likely to respond ...

What do you expect from this forum? If you publish a sequence including nice or even great pictures, there will be several (or even more) responses of the type: "Love it", "Great pics", "Well done", and similar ones. Some people are lucky and obtain a few more responses that you got. But, what do you learn from feedback of that kind? It is my impression that those people who are in the position to judge on AV (not just on photography) typically do not post here. Furthermore, if you tell people the truth (whatever the notion of truth may mean) you will be regarded as arrogant (like Xaver )

Best regards,

Xaver

[David Porter]

. Furthermore, if you tell people the truth (whatever the notion of truth may mean) you will be regarded as arrogant (like Xaver )

Best regards,

Xaver

So come on Xaver be a bit arrogant, what did you think of the show?

[xahu34]

So come on Xaver be a bit arrogant ...

Sorry, but that's not my intention!

All in all, I like your sequence. It tells me a (kind of) story, a visit of Leeds Castle. The order of the images is not random (as it seems to be in many other productions) but is (imo) deliberately chosen. The sequence shows us lot of good photos, but not all (several images show blown out highlights). In most cases, the synchronization is fine, the transitions follow the rhythm of the music, which not the normal situation for a show published in this forum. In the particular case of the sign for the Grotto the transition is too late (imo). There are a lot of fine dissolves, in particular with the birds. When the music becomes dramatic, you are in the Grotto, that's fine (imo). I like the identical animations at the start and at the end. You should take care for your animations which often stop abruptly. I am not sure that I am happy with all your animations but it would take too much time to analyze this subject in detail.

Sorry, not a complete analysis, just a few remarks!

You seem to use your brain when programming a sequence

Best regards,

Xaver

[Barry Beckham]

Mickp

Perhaps members have been frightened off by those who have become upset by the comments. Its just not worth the hassle. All people seem to say comments welcome, but I don't think we all buy that do we?

[coopernatural]

Hi Mick,

I understand you being a bit dissapointed at lack of feedback,but as you hadn't replied

to some early comments,I didn't leave any myself.

So what did I think of it ? Well I thought it pretty good actually.

A few of the images I would have replaced. The heavily pruned tree shot,

The fence shot that rather than draw you in to the photo,sort of just cut across.

There is a shot of a Blue coloured room and it's just a wee bit soft.

There was a great opportunity for a pic on the day.You have a shot of a tree branch in focus with an

out of focus castle. Had you taken 2 pics of the exact same viewpoint (1 as taken) and the other with

the castle in focus,you could have a pseudo focusing effect fading between the 2 images.

Some Pics I really liked,and in particular the birds.

All in all, it's a 'Well Done' from me.

Davy

[David Porter]

Thanks Xaver and Davy for your comments which I find very helpful. I have found a couple of zooms which I have changed to "Slow" rather than "Linear" and adjusted the timing on the Grotto sign. I like the idea of switching the focus from foreground to background and will use that sometime in the future but for now I have switched the shot to a similar one that I took at F22. I also found the zoom out from the two black swans to the castle had the border coming into shot then out again, so I have corrected that.

All the comments have been put into the memory bank.

Barry, I know that working on a project for some time one builds a relationship with ones work and it can then be hurtful if it gets critised. However, this can be done sensitively by pointing out the good points first and then gently suggesting the improvements. I am not so sensitive and plain critisism is fine even if I do not ask for it.