New Show

[JEB]

Hi Folks,

I have posted a new show entitled “Skye – The Misty Isle” at Media Fire. Not having posted to Media Fire or Zipped before I am not sure that I have been totally successful. The URL is (I hope) as follows.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2m4ntyy1s39

The file is approximately 39 MB (Zipped to 37.5MB), which seems to me to be fairy normal when compared with others. However, when trying to download it myself by way of a test it took much longer than I would have expected – perhaps I just had a poor connection (only 20 – 50 kB/sec.)!!! – Hope you do better!

In line with recent debate I would welcome any constructive feedback. For my own benefit I have made a list of potential criticisms, which I will be interested to compare with any posted here.

I hope I have a thick enough skin – time will tell!

Regards

John

[d67]

Hi John

To make it easier for me, I will once more use ADB's (alias Andrew) grading shows.

PHOTOGRAPHY/GRAPHICS

I find your shots very pleasant. They are soft and moody as can be this misty island.

The sceneries are superb ... Skye ... for my wife and me ... our beloved place in Scotland !

There is a photo that I find not very fine due to the fence : just after sheeps and before Storr

The penultimate photo is a bit blury.

I personaly find the green frame a bit disturbing as it is not enough discreet.

The last slide could be a scenery one instead of the clouds.

SOUNDTRACK

In accordance with the place and the mood.

TIMING

No particular comment.

I had time enough to contemplate the scenery.

PTE MASTERY

- The mouse cursor could be hidden for the whole sequence.

- Your zoom in (Storr) has a very short range, therefore I find it not usefull

- Horizon of the photo with the little wooden wharf and boat, not horizontal

- last pan (before the ferry) perhaps also not usefull as the range is a bit short

WATCHABILITY

Would watch again with great pleasure.

OVERALL COMMENT

Very pleasant pictures and sequence.

A keeper for me !

Your photos makes me nostalgic ... I have to think about a new trip there !

I hope I have a thick enough skin – time will tell!

Just hump your back when the tank passes by

[Barry Beckham]

John

I really enjoyed this sequence and the landscapes where well chosen, with strong appeal. I also like the presentation, but perhaps the green border was just a little too green. I would prefer it to be slightly more subdued. Having said that the images where so strong that they still kept my attention. Sometimes when a frame is too colourful it can overpower the images, but the image strength and interest prevented that.

When the sequence first started I thought the choice of music of the Skye Boat Song was a little obvious, but I should have reserved judgement a little longer. It was used just long enough to set the scene and then the second piece was a perfect choice for these landscapes.

I found your pans far too fast for my liking. They interupted the smooth flow of images you had carefully planned. Everything is smooth and gentle and then the pans appear and they seem rushed. That is the trouble with panned images in a landscape show, to fit with the pace you have set by the music and transitions they need to be a lot slower, but that means the image needs to be on screen longer. If the picture is strong and yours were, that shouldn't be a problem.

I also believe that any animation should not start and stop while the image is on screen. (apart from picture in picture and text) I think you get a much better flow if the animation starts and ends at the beginning and the end of the fade. That way the image is always moving from when you first see it until the next one replaces it. It also illiminates that jolt as the animation starts or stops.

Just been to Scotland for a week myself and while I got a few miles onto Skye, I never captured any images like these. Great set of images.

By the way, there was one image that came up small in the second half. I don't think you meant that to happen, you probably dropped the wrong image in. I do it all the time.

[Antbrewer]

Hello John,

Any photos and shows of Scotland will always have me downloading ASAP as I so love the country and the people.

I have been to Skye many times and thoroughly enjoyed your images up in the Sanctury, Prison and the Table etc in the Quirang and on the ridge.

So many memories....

I would agree with some of the comments posted by Barry in particular regarding the speed of the pans. When we enjoy such vistas in reality we move our eyes slowly to soak up the view, atmosphere and the beauty of the place but I felt that these pans were a little rushed.

A couple of minor points if I may.

Regarding the titles...I think that each title should be allowed to fade completely before the next one appears. Unlike an image where the superimposition of the following image can blend (even create a 'third image') smoothly, text by virtue of it's shape and the fact that we are reading it cannot blend so easily and can be distracting. Just a personal view.

Also the frame remained on screen long after the show ended. Was the 'Close show after last slide' ticked in the Main Tab in the Project Options box? Maybe this was intentional?

Thank you for posting a lovely show

Anthony

[Ken Cox]

JOHN

YOU BEEN HIDING YOUR TALENTS ALL THIS TIME

IF I WAS SCOTCH I would be wiping the tears

enjoyed it

ken

[dpeterso]

Hi Folks,

I have posted a new show entitled “Skye – The Misty Isle” at Media Fire. Not having posted to Media Fire or Zipped before I am not sure that I have been totally successful. The URL is (I hope) as follows.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2m4ntyy1s39

In line with recent debate I would welcome any constructive feedback. For my own benefit I have made a list of potential criticisms, which I will be interested to compare with any posted here.

I hope I have a thick enough skin – time will tell!

Regards

John

Hello John –

I really enjoyed your show. The images were beautiful and the music fitting. I especially enjoyed The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra. I’m saving this show for my wife; she’ll love it!

If you don’t mind, I have a few suggestions. There were the ones already mentioned by others: the small picture, hiding the arrow, and the last slide frame stayed around too long. I noticed a few other little things too. The last slide seems fuzzy and the slide with the wharf has a tilt to it. Regarding the pans, I agree with Barry in that it interrupted the flow because it was too fast, and maybe too long. I noticed you were using the “smooth” mode on the animation. Looking at the accelerating landscape through a frame was reminiscent of looking out the window of an airplane on takeoff. I think a pan would work here, but it just needs to be more gradual. And while we are on pans, there was at least one occasion where you had back-to-back pans. I think it would be helpful to have some stills in between the pans. Also, there was one zoom in that didn’t seem to serve any purpose. I have to laugh at myself for giving all of this advice regarding pans and zooms. My own shows have received more critiques on the misuse of pans and zooms than anything else. One last suggestion: it would have helped break up the landscapes a bit if you could have used closer pictures of the few houses you showed, or anything things else indigenous to the area.

I hope you take the suggestions in the spirit they were given, that is, to be helpful. All in all, I really enjoyed the show John. I do hope you’ll keeping making more shows and sharing them with us.

Best regards,

Dave

[jfa]

A very enjoyable show John, thanks for sharing. As you have already gathered I'm sure, your posting to Media Fire and Zipped file all worked fine.

I particularly liked the use of the music and images, they matched very well and created a strong mood.

The matte/frame was well done, maybe it could be a shade darker.

The opening sequence with the titles was very well done.

Re the speed of the pans - I found the first long pan, (Cuillin Ridge), was a little fast but I was happy with the rest of the pans in the show..

The image used on the second pan, (cottage and orange hill with the water in the foreground), was a little too saturated for me and I think the reflection in the water suffered from a little too much sharpening.

I agree that the frame with the sky remaining on screen long after the show ended was a little disturbing.

Hope to see more of your work as I really enjoyed this show.

[JEB]

Hi,

First and foremost I would like to thank all of you who have been so generous with your time in making the effort to reply so constructively and in such detail. I feel I am due you a response. Most of you have made very similar observations, which is encouraging as in my limited experience of “judges”, they seldom seem to agree!

I will try to respond in an orderly fashion and will use the structure adopted by Patrick.

PHOTOGRAPHY/GRAPHICS

Patrick

There is a photo that I find not very fine due to the fence : just after sheeps and before Storr

Yes I agree - either a bit of work in PS or more likely I remove this image.

Patrick and Dave

The penultimate photo is a bit blury.

The last slide seems fuzzy

I will take a closer look at these. I took a number of shots all within 10-15 minutes of each other and from a tripod but it was beginning to rain - typical Skye weather.

Everybody - "green border" - I confess I was not comfortable with this - I like the border concept, so will stick with that but I will have another go at selecting a more acceptable tone.

Most of you have referred to this -

The last slide could be a scenery one instead of the clouds.

Yes I have not ticked the right boxes in Project Options. However what I was trying to replicate was a similar ending to the opening. I have a few ideas how I might achieve that so will be playing later today!

SOUNDTRACK

Barry

When the sequence first started I thought the choice of music of the Skye Boat Song was a little obvious, but I should have reserved judgment a little longer.

I think I lost more sleep over this than anything else! I find the selection of music VERY difficult and I was concerned that The Skye Boat Song and the pipes would be too "twee" but am pleased that you thought I got it about right.

TIMING

It was my intention to keep the show within six minutes but may be forced to consider increasing this slightly (see ref. to panning below).

PTE MASTERY

Patrick and others.

Mouse cursor - didn't notice that - will do.

Zoom in "Storr" - totally agree.

Horizon not horizontal - also agree.

Two excuses for above - carelessness and laziness!

Pans - This I find very interesting and something of a dilemma. I think I may have been guilty of falling into the trap of using PAZ far too often. I try not to. Its rather like the situation where a judge tells you you have several pictures in one picture. Perhaps I should reconsider some of them. Regarding the Cuillin Ridge this is as you will have gathered several images stitched together taken from a vantage point that requires quite a bit of effort to get to. It is very interesting to find that most of you thought this was too fast as I was concerned that as it lasts 38 seconds (incl fade) it was too long! On the other hand many people who know this area well could name every peak - I certainly couldn't though I have climbed them all in the past but I digress.

Barry and Dave I will take on board your specific comments on the technicalities of panning and experiment a little. I also agree about "back-to-back" pans.

Regarding the "small" picture. I can't understand this.

Barry - hang on to your seat!

The show was produced at 1024x768 with my monitor set accordingly and it runs for me in precisely that way. When I change my monitor to 1280x1024 I get the small image you describe. However when I went into the PTE file I found that that image was like all the others sized as 1024x768 and in O&A filling the screen. I double checked the size in PS only to find it was exactly the same as the others size wise. I deleted it from PTE and then re loaded it, created a new version, resized my screen to 1280 and all was well!

Don't know what I have done but it's sorted.

Titles - Anthony - point taken!

IN CONCLUSION

If I have missed any observation by anyone then sorry my only excuse is that my head is spinning at the moment.

This has been for me a good experience. I have learned a lot notably that I must take more time over detail in future.

Finally I would like to thank you all again for your contributions. I'm pleased that overall you liked my effort and also pleased to see that so many of you share my love of the island. It is truly a magical place.

Regards

John

[Tomuk]

John,

You are an inspiration to us all; I wish I had a collection of landscape images like yours.

I enjoyed looking at your sequence and will recommend it to the members of my camera club.

Please keep it on Mediafire so they can download.

I look forward to seeing more from you very soon.

Tom.

[neil]

John,

Thanks for that I enjoyed it.

Border too much........music OK.....great light on some images

...last image a bit soft.......pans too fast.

These are the notes I made whilst watching.

Keep them coming, some of your images where outstanding for me.

All the Best

Neil

[targa912]

I agree with all the comments and really enjoyed the show. Now this is not meant as a criticism just a question. I liked the frame but can not decide if I prefer the burned edges as dark as they are or would I have liked them lighter. I feel it really added depth to the images but may have been a little distracting being as dark as they were. I think personally I would have gone a bit lighter.

I felt it was a beautiful show and learned much from it!!

Bob W.

[fredor]

IF I WAS SCOTCH I would be wiping the tears

Ken, If you were Scotch someone would be drinking you

If you were Scottish you would have a tear in your eye

Fred

[davegee]

Well said Fred!!

[JEB]

Hi,

Thank you all for your comments. I really do appreciate them.

I am making changes notably to the pans (remove at least one of them and lengthen at least one).

You are all perfectly correct, the last image is soft. However I like it (and know I shouldn't include it - BUT I plan to try and disguise it a bit by incorporating the same technique of swirling mist that I used in the opening slide. I hope this will work and also provide a rounded ending.

However the major change that I will make is to the frame colour. I was always concerned about this but it did not truly hit me till I saw the show projected via my laptop. If I tell you I have sitting on my desk at the moment my club's Spyder2PRO you will know what I will be up to this evening!

Patrick, (without opening old wounds) if you are reading this, take this as a recognition that my desktop DOES need calibration!

Regards

John

[d67]

Patrick, (without opening old wounds) if you are reading this, take this as a recognition that my desktop DOES need calibration!

No problem, John !

I did not have much merit as PC monitor's are, most of time, adjusted to a contrast and color brightness level, slightly or much too high because these settings are more flattering