Help Review my Work

[Ben Balser]

I recently retired as a TV show producer, so here’s my two cents.

First, talking heads are BORING! Break it up with cut-aways, which is why they were invented in the first place. Use stock clips (Pexels, etc) to cut to clips that demonstrate or illustrate what the speaker is talking about in some way.

Second, do the same with your transitions. Cross-Dissolve from one subject to the next is disconcerting. Find some animated, or visually stimulating transition to move from one question to the next. And don’t fade in/out dialogue during those transitions, very distracting.

Side note, I’d have shot with at least two cameras, one cam getting an angled shot of her, so you have something to cut to and spice the visuals up a bit. Actually, I still produce a bible study show locally, and we shoot one camera, 4K wide shot, but then edit/deliver in 1080HD. So I can zoom that shot for nice close ups and medium shots as needed to break things up.

Good job, looks very clean, very nice (find a wall with nothing on it next time, I hate the wall plates in the background, but it’s personal for me). Or find a simple backdrop (a sheet from Walmart) to hang on the wall behind her. And have a way to pull it tight, then spray it down lightly with a spray bottle of water. That will make it shrink and pull wrinkles out. (Steamers don’t work, trust me.) You then have control of color and/or patterns.

Very good as is, very good, and will get better. Love the look, the color, textures, very close to perfection.