should u2 stop it with hamish

[jeffschmid]

the sound editing is pathetic.
the film editing is terrible.
the performance is good.
most of the shots are good.

that's about 1.5/4 i would say.

 

[1stepcloser]

The only 2 things i'm a little annoyed at

1. No snippet at the end of Beautiful Day

2. the sound quality on the intro to Zoo Station (is Larry even there?)

 

[jeffschmid]

The only 2 things i'm a little annoyed at

1. No snippet at the end of Beautiful Day

2. the sound quality on the intro to Zoo Station (is Larry even there?)

you forgot to mention how beautiful day sounds like elevator music and not a rock song

 

[karls77]

fourth... streets. ehhh no. bad job. it's bad enough that u2 chose to get rid of the flood lights and the red for most of the song... but here hammish completely ruins the one moment that DO use the flood lights... when adam and bono are on the tip of the ellipse... NOW he has a closeup shot... you putz.. that's the time for the wide angle panning shot of the entire crowd going crazy while bathed in giant flood lgihts.

He did the same thing on the Boston DVD if I'm remembering correctly. He has a close-up of Bono at the critical moment. It completely ruined the DVD for me too......

Based on what people are saying I don't think I'll bother picking it up. I'll save my money till zootv comes out.

 

[jeffschmid]

He did the same thing on the Boston DVD if I'm remembering correctly. He has a close-up of Bono at the critical moment. It completely ruined the DVD for me too......

Based on what people are saying I don't think I'll bother picking it up. I'll save my money till zootv comes out.

prolly a good idea. they dont deserve support until the people who edit these things start giving us a bit more credit. they truly must think we are retarded, or else they just suck really bad.

 

[dezmaas]

The worst part for me is at the end of Zoo Station where Bono is walking along the ellipse with his mouth firmly closed yet there is audio of him singing. Now I'm not the best at spotting editing mistakes, but even I was stunned when i noticed that!

Apart from that I love the DVD!

 

[jeffschmid]

eerrr... i dont see why this dvd is so loved!

doesnt anyone else have issues with how inconsistent the audio mix is? the guitar is way too quiet, except for the electric co solo which is louder than the entire rest of the band. and then half way through 40 the bass suddenly moves up and tries to explode your stereo stystem. larrys drums are great in some songs and pathetic in others. yikes

 

[KUEFC09U2]

once again i have had no problems with the sound or picture quality on my dvd,

it really does seem that as soon as the band put something new out now, there are people that just wait to tear it apart,

what about the good moments? the moment were you see edge and adam shaking hands after into the heart? i would say hamish caught that VERY well, or adam with his eyes shut during an cat dubh, just getting into the song, again brilliant by the director, but no, people decide that instead of enjoy the good parts, they would rather focus on the bad ALL the time

oh and then we always have some sarcastic post from shaun, which never helps

 

[KUEFC09U2]

eerrr... i dont see why this dvd is so loved!

doesnt anyone else have issues with how inconsistent the audio mix is? the guitar is way too quiet, except for the electric co solo which is louder than the entire rest of the band. and then half way through 40 the bass suddenly moves up and tries to explode your stereo stystem. larrys drums are great in some songs and pathetic in others. yikes

as people have said, try changing your sound setup on the DVD, my sound is perfect, as is alot of peoples

 

[jeffschmid]

you guys seriously dont have the electric co solo or the 40 bass problem?

 

[KUEFC09U2]

you guys seriously dont have the electric co solo or the 40 bass problem?

i dont, dont know about anyone else

 

[Aardvark747]

you won't be whistling when hamish comes knocking on your door with thunder in his eyes and fire in his soul

Bring it!

 

[bcrt2000]

I don't know... I loved the editing in Boston, I think visually its (and Chicago as well) one of their better concerts... emotionally, Slane & Popmart get that title...

 

[joyfulgirl]

there's a difference... the show is great, the dvd editing is not.

look... i like the dvd, don't get me wrong. i'll watch it again... but it is far from perfect.

my first complaint begins with city of blinding lights... all be it the dvd version of city is better than the music video version, which is so dark you can't even tell if it's u2 or the backstreet boys on the stage.

but i completely agree with the person who said they failed to capture the magic of the opening... the best part of the damn song is those first few piano notes, as bono finally emerges at the tip of the ellipse, seemingly out of no where... and at that exact magical moment, on the dvd we're looking at the united center's oh so magical roof. hammish was going for some artistic shot there... and low and behold, didn't work.

next... elevation... durring the bridge... what in the hell is that shot all about? it's nothing but blurry redness with a small gap of clear picture where you can barely make out bono... and it holds on that exact shot for a good 30 seconds. terrible.

third... sometimes you can't make it on your own... talk about killing a moment that is soooo easy to capture. the "can you hear me when i sing" part is one of the most emotional moments in song that u2 have ever done... and hammish captures it with a wide angle panning shot where you can't even see bono's face... not comming to an upclose shot of his face until after he's already done with the "sinnnnnnnng" part. i mean come on... anyone with an ounce of creativity would know that bono's face is the money shot at that moment right there... and they completely and utterly blew it.

fourth... streets. ehhh no. bad job. it's bad enough that u2 chose to get rid of the flood lights and the red for most of the song... but here hammish completely ruins the one moment that DO use the flood lights... when adam and bono are on the tip of the ellipse... NOW he has a closeup shot... you putz.. that's the time for the wide angle panning shot of the entire crowd going crazy while bathed in giant flood lgihts.

this guy may be a great technical director... but sometimes he really needs to get a clue. these are four glaring common sense moments that anyone who's attended any of these shows could have told you are THE moments to capture, and tell you exactly how to capture them.

some of you are like "oh yea let's listen to a bunch of fans instead of the guy that does this for a living"

well... yea. the dvd is for the fans, after all... isn't it? so why not ask them what they're favorite moments are... might help in capturing them on film.

I agree with every point.

 

[tsweeney]

I am a fan of Hamish's work for the most part. I think he tends to take a different approach to concert filming than some would like but he has a distinctive style. After watching the Vertigo DVD however the most noticable mistakes were the continuity errors which weren't as prevalent on the Boston DVD. They errors stuck out right away on this DVD. Fore example at the end of Zoo Station when Bono clearly isn't singing into the microphone and there is audio of him singing. It is obvious that throughout various songs they cut between both nights' performances which wouldn't be bad if they weren't so noticabley different. Aside from the continuity errors I do like the Vertigo DVD a lot. It's not a probelm if the band makes mistakes such as forgetting lyrics but I think the continuity errors may stick out too much at times. It is a great DVD overall and well worth getting.

 

[jeffschmid]

i LOVE boston. i never saw a elevation show, and i hear it wasnt very true to what went on there, but at least it sounds and looks fantastic and is a great watch start to finish.

 

[jeffschmid]

I am a fan of Hamish's work for the most part. I think he tends to take a different approach to concert filming than some would like but he has a distinctive style. After watching the Vertigo DVD however the most noticable mistakes were the continuity errors which weren't as prevalent on the Boston DVD. They errors stuck out right away on this DVD. Fore example at the end of Zoo Station when Bono clearly isn't singing into the microphone and there is audio of him singing. It is obvious that throughout various songs they cut between both nights' performances which wouldn't be bad if they weren't so noticabley different. Aside from the continuity errors I do like the Vertigo DVD a lot. It's not a probelm if the band makes mistakes such as forgetting lyrics but I think the continuity errors may stick out too much at times. It is a great DVD overall and well worth getting.

thank you!!!! they should film 2 or 3 nites and pick the best nite and not mix in clips from other nites!!! and only use real time video!!! none of this placing clips of certain things 10 seconds after they actually happen and shit! this is why there is stupid mistakes! this goes for the sound too! some minor adjustments if something is too quiet or whatevs, but no fucking with it!!!

 

[KUEFC09U2]

thank you!!!! they should film 2 or 3 nites and pick the best nite and not mix in clips from other nites!!! and only use real time video!!! none of this placing clips of certain things 10 seconds after they actually happen and shit! this is why there is stupid mistakes! this goes for the sound too! some minor adjustments if something is too quiet or whatevs, but no fucking with it!!!

well you just told me how much you really enjoyed boston, did you know it was mixed from 2 different nights?, if you liked boston then i assume you enjoyed slane, did you not notice the massive cock up during streets, were bono all of a sudden appears facing larry?,

and once again on the sound issue, as a couple of us have just said in other posts, our sound mix is good, so who knows it may just be your speakers or whatever

 

[jeffschmid]

well you just told me how much you really enjoyed boston, did you know it was mixed from 2 different nights?, if you liked boston then i assume you enjoyed slane, did you not notice the massive cock up during streets, were bono all of a sudden appears facing larry?,

and once again on the sound issue, as a couple of us have just said in other posts, our sound mix is good, so who knows it may just be your speakers or whatever

its not my speakers.
i hate slane. it is full of fuck ups dood. the whole thing is a joke really. good concert, terrible dvd.

i know boston is 2 different nights! but are there any noticeable continuity errors? i guess how they edited the basketball out of streets, what else is there?

 

[YBORCITY]

Hamish, there's the door - don't let it hit you in the arse on the way out.

 

[catlhere]

Posting once again in this legendary topix!

I love how everyone who hates this DVD is stating their opinions as facts. "the DVD is terrible, no one can say otherwise, my view is the only view, the jews need to be exterminated!" You get my point. Some of you may have issues with the editing or sound or whatever. I don't. The DVD was fun to watch, and I enjoyed paying money to see the tour I went to see be brought to my TV screen. If you didn't then you need to find more important things to worry about in your life than not seeing bono look left instead of right at 9 minutes 45 seconds into the concert "Cuz Ham1sh m1zzed IT wid hiz st00pid editz! dumb n00b!!!111!!"

 

[KUEFC09U2]

just curious to note also, that the ones that "hate" the editing on this DVD and prefer the editing from the popmart and Zoo video's, are the ones that found those 2 tours and albums to be the best in U2's career

 

[MalahideChick]

Posting once again in this legendary topix!
If you didn't then you need to find more important things to worry about in your life than not seeing bono look left instead of right at 9 minutes 45 seconds into the concert "Cuz Ham1sh m1zzed IT wid hiz st00pid editz! dumb n00b!!!111!!"

I think this is a bit of a misrepresentation of what people are saying here. The continuity fuck ups have the effect of yanking you out of the experience, particularly as they belie the fact that this is not a true capturing of ONE concert but a bodged together amalgamation of a few nights filming.

However aside from the editing errors I think the thing which bothers people most is the way in which the concert "money shots" are missed. If you're a fan and you've been to the shows you know there are those incredible emotional moments which only happen at U2 shows.

As already mentioned the lights in Streets, Bono during Sometimes - etc etc. Hamish has an impeccable track record of somehow missing those moments. The Streets money shot, which a first timer could tell you was THE moment of any U2 show, has been omitted in every Hamish directed DVD. A shot which was incidentally NAILED in ZooTV Live in Sydney.

What troubles me most is that clearly Hamish has no feeling for U2. Yes he's an accomplished rock show director and knows all the angles and edits but all his productions are cookie cutter. He does not FEEL U2 and does not understand the emotional highs and lows of those shows.

I wish to God they would get rid of him, because while he's around we'll continue to get these half-assed films which in no way capture what it was like to actually like to be there.

Oh and I just remembered he's directing Milan. What's the betting on Miss Sarajevo's opera part he zooms in to Edge's left foot, before a montage of fast cuts of Larry's drumming hands?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

What troubles me most is that clearly Hamish has no feeling for U2. Yes he's an accomplished rock show director and knows all the angles and edits but all his productions are cookie cutter. He does not FEEL U2 and does not understand the emotional highs and lows of those shows.

I wish to God they would get rid of him, because while he's around we'll continue to get these half-assed films which in no way capture what it was like to actually like to be there.

Oh and I just remembered he's directing Milan. What's the betting on Miss Sarajevo's opera part he zooms in to Edge's left foot, before a montage of fast cuts of Larry's drumming hands?

bingo

and i'd laugh at the miss sarajevo prediction... but it'll probably come true.

 

[jexp]

the guys that did the cobl video(alex and martin) should have directed the chicago dvd...i did like elec. co. the solo was great and he showed the edge during most of it..1 out of 360 shots isnt too bad>

 

[tommycharles]

For those complaining about the Streets shot.... ZooTV has been the only time they've got it "right," I think, but wouldn't we be complaining if we got that exact same shot in every single DVD? It would be boring. Good on 'em for trying something new (and for the record, I think this time they got it closer than most others, you can at least see everything turn to complete white light behind Bono and Adam).

I haven't seen the whole thing yet but from what I have seen it's looking to be a great show. The only thing that's irritated me in what I've seen so far is the hands in CoBL and Vertigo. Oh...and maybe I just missed it, but when they showed Vertigo from Chicago on that Cat Deeley special, there was this really awesome shot of Bono standing on the ellipse looking right down into a camera singing Stories for Boys...but now that shot's gone...darn.

 

[trabantland]

Hmmmm, picked this up last night and was all keen to watch it as soon as I got home at about 5.30pm. Slapped it into the dvd player then at the 13m46s mark during Elevation I noticed something.... rewind.... yep!!! A really really bad edit. Woo Hoos of Elevation with Bono nowhere near the microphone and running his hands thorugh his hair. Happened also about 10 seconds later too. Then the phone rang, had some dinner, played around on the PC. About 11pm I turned the lights off and realised, "Oh shit, I left the dvd on pause for 5 hrs...might watch the rest one snowy day in February then ....."

What's even worse is, I was at the concert on the 10th too ...

 

[U2girl]

The Streets money shot, which a first timer could tell you was THE moment of any U2 show, has been omitted in every Hamish directed DVD. A shot which was incidentally NAILED in ZooTV Live in Sydney.

Streets intro in Boston was the best Streets start shot off all of their DVDs. Close up on Bono scream, than the crowd going crazy while getting the white lights.

Better than the usual wide shots, and much better than Slane.

 

[wenda]

I think this is a bit of a misrepresentation of what people are saying here. The continuity fuck ups have the effect of yanking you out of the experience, particularly as they belie the fact that this is not a true capturing of ONE concert but a bodged together amalgamation of a few nights filming.

However aside from the editing errors I think the thing which bothers people most is the way in which the concert "money shots" are missed. If you're a fan and you've been to the shows you know there are those incredible emotional moments which only happen at U2 shows.

As already mentioned the lights in Streets, Bono during Sometimes - etc etc. Hamish has an impeccable track record of somehow missing those moments. The Streets money shot, which a first timer could tell you was THE moment of any U2 show, has been omitted in every Hamish directed DVD. A shot which was incidentally NAILED in ZooTV Live in Sydney.

What troubles me most is that clearly Hamish has no feeling for U2. Yes he's an accomplished rock show director and knows all the angles and edits but all his productions are cookie cutter. He does not FEEL U2 and does not understand the emotional highs and lows of those shows.

I wish to God they would get rid of him, because while he's around we'll continue to get these half-assed films which in no way capture what it was like to actually like to be there.

Oh and I just remembered he's directing Milan. What's the betting on Miss Sarajevo's opera part he zooms in to Edge's left foot, before a montage of fast cuts of Larry's drumming hands?

I can see the documentary now. Hamish in the director's booth yelling at people to capture this and that and then when Miss Sarajevo starts he'll yell, "CLOSE UP ON LARRY'S EARPIECE! GO GO GO !"

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

I haven't watched the DVD yet but don't tell me he fucked up Zoo Station!!!! SPECIALLY LARRY'S DRUMS!!!!!