DVD review & commentary by Jemsite: Live at the Astoria - Page 8

Joel Lyndgohrd · #**106** 03-28-2004, 12:59 AM

Ok, so I have watched the whole thing. Just amazing stuff. I really love the 5.1 soundmix.
The bonus material is good but it could be better. Othervise just an amazing DVD!
(Now I better get the new G3 DVD as well).

markfx34 · #**107** 05-05-2004, 09:26 PM

Ok, I must put in my thoughts on the subject. I have had this DVD for about a month now, delayed release due to distribution problems apparantly, and I can honestly say it is fantastic. I play it all the time.
Ok, the camera work is a bit dodgy to say the least, but lets not forget there were 5 guys on that stage!! I for one, would have found it pretty boring to just watch steves left hand on the guitar all night long. I think the idea of a live DVD is to capture the whole experience of the night and it pretty much does that.
There are other faults too, someone already mentioned the confetti disappearing, and what about steve changing guitars in a nanosecond on one of the tracks, but so what?? It was filmed over two nights and the best bits were edited together accordingly.
Anyways, just wanted to say my bit, gonna put the DVD on now and watch it again

JESTER700 · #**108** 05-06-2004, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markfx34

Ok, the camera work is a bit dodgy to say the least, but lets not forget there were 5 guys on that stage!! I for one, would have found it pretty boring to just watch steves left hand on the guitar all night long. I think the idea of a live DVD is to capture the whole experience of the night and it pretty much does that.
There are other faults too, someone already mentioned the confetti disappearing, and what about steve changing guitars in a nanosecond on one of the tracks, but so what?? It was filmed over two nights and the best bits were edited together accordingly.
Anyways, just wanted to say my bit, gonna put the DVD on now and watch it again

That's not the problem. You can do fast cuts to cover a lot going on. The problem is the "zoom cam" effects. Zooming in, out, fast pans, zooming while tilting, spiralling, etc. It's like letterman's friggin' rollercoaster cam. And it has no place in a pro shoot precisely because it does NOT help to show what's going on, only to draw attention away from the show and to the (lame) cam technique itself. For a 10 second shot on Letterman or Leno, fine. For a concert where the audience wants to see the SHOW and the PLAYERS, no. Bad call.

Journey's 2001 concert vid. That was well done (if you don't mind the 4:3 aspect ratio).

markfx34 · #**109** 05-07-2004, 07:55 AM

are you guys sure your not just bitter that he chose to film it over here in the uk???

Only kidding, after waiting for so long for a full feauture length DVD there are bound to be loads of comments about it.

Correct me if i'm, wrong, but after listening to the commentary, didn't Mr Vai do a lot of the editing/camera effects himself???

Anyways, it still rocks so who cares?? lol

marianozz · #**110** 05-07-2004, 10:05 AM

well after reading Steve's post in his forum, id say i shouldnt even post this.. my main problem with the dvd is not the video (which sucks... baaad...) but the editing (mostly the guitar switchs and the synch issues)... but if its a "lack-of-footage" thing, i guess its an "oh well..." thing...

i dont have many concert DVDs, and id have to say i like DT's SFAM's video best... if not for all the stupid effects Mike put there, itd be close to perfect, awesome cameras, split cam key/axe solos, etc... too bad its only stereo

JESTER700 · #**111** 05-07-2004, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markfx34

are you guys sure your not just bitter that he chose to film it over here in the uk???

Only kidding, after waiting for so long for a full feauture length DVD there are bound to be loads of comments about it.

Correct me if i'm, wrong, but after listening to the commentary, didn't Mr Vai do a lot of the editing/camera effects himself???

Anyways, it still rocks so who cares?? lol

If he did the editing, then I say he should stick to what he knows... ;-)

It rocks, and I'll put it on and listen. But it's annoying enough that I won't watch it like I would have if the vid didn't... suck a fart out of a rhino's butt...

DT's vid IS much better. i like that a lot, and agree that the effects are goofy. But not nearly as annoying as the Vai one.

mattyo5150 · #**112** 06-30-2004, 02:36 AM

If you guys listened to the commentary track you will see the sync issues were due to the lack of usable footage in those parts. You must believe all the crap footage Steve tells us about was a direct result of the camera operators at the show. At one point you even see SSV call for the camera to come closer to him to look out over tha audience but the operator doesn't have a clue whats going on, and on the commentary the make note of this. The video is the only fault with the DVD in my opinion, and I am more than happy this finally got to me 6 months after it's initial release. The audio was killer and I also loved the Rhythm tone on the animal, bcoz it's just soooooo fat.

BTW have you guys noticed how much piss Steve and Billy take out of the poms in the audience on the commentary and during the show? (Cheers! HAhahaha)