Many elements have to come together to make a decent short; and I think, in this video by filmmaker Jay Worsley, everything came together perfectly.
In his short film, Worsley not only makes a compelling argument to hire him but also manages to produce a breathtaking video which serves as a love letter to Mother Earth. Shot in the wilds of Arizona, California, and Oregon using a DJI Inspire Pro with DJI's X5R camera and a variety of lenses, including the DJI 15mm, Olympus 25mm, and Olympus 45mm. He recorded his sound using the Rode NTG-2 plugged into a Zoom H4n.
The footage, which showcases Worsley's excellent drone control and compositional choices, is very impressive. What makes it extra special, however, is his choice of script (poems by Ginsberg and Robert Penn-Warren), superb voice acting, modern orchestral score with some wonderfully nuanced sound design, and super-slick editing and color grading.
Videographers and filmmakers need personal projects to show off their skills. After all, no matter how good you are, you need a solid portfolio to advertise your talents so you can land those big clients. But, while a personal project is a great form of marketing, at its core, it is a labor of love. The more you nurture your creative vision, the stronger it becomes; and judging by the power of this film, I'd say that Worsley poured his heart and soul into it.
Be sure to check out his other great work on his YouTube channel and Vimeo page.
Dang thank you so much for writing this up! Really appreciate it! Love how you wrote that it was a piece similar to a love letter to Mother Earth. Thanks again Mike! You are the man!
Excellent work! Love the choice in VO and music.
Thanks Doug! Yeah took a while to get the VO just right. Pulled from two different poems and had to be choosey about what lines to put in.
You're very welcome, Jay. Thanks so much for your kind comments, and keep up the awesome work!
Thanks mike! So much more to come!
Bravo! Excellent showpiece.
Thanks Misha!
Great video! I knew it was done on a high end drone, when I noticed a "dolly zoom" like shot, (zooming out while the drone moved in closer).
Nice catch, Ramon. However, there is a way to fake a dolly zoom in Adobe Premiere. I've no idea how Jay achieved the effect in his film, though.
Thanks Ramon! Like mike was saying, there’s a way to do that in post. Basically some scaling and key framing. Doesn’t work with every shot but some shots you can make it look so cool
Looks like you ran the video backwards in many of the water shots, which added an almost disorienting feeling to the piece. Nice touch.
Thanks Brian. Yeah a lot of the water scenes I put in reverse to give that sort of dream like vibe to it. Like it’s familiar yet different/off a little