Theme Park Review's 4th Annual Coaster Video Contest!

Hey everyone!

Welcome to the official viewing portion of TPR's 4th Annual Video contest!

There have been 30 videos selected to make the cut and over the next few weeks we will be posting 5 of them at a time.

Once all the videos have been posted, we create a poll so everyone can vote for their top three favorites.

We encourage everyone to take part in the viewing and judging process and I cannot stress this enough -

PLEASE WATCH EVERY VIDEO!

When it comes time for judging, to be fair to everyone who has entered a video, it's important that you have watched them all to judge them all against each other.

Something else that I want to encourage for this contest is to BE CRITICAL! Remember, this is a contest with some fairly valuable prizes for the winner. If you don't like a video or can offer suggestions to make a video better, PLEASE POST THEM!

I think everyone here would appreciate feedback on their videos.

And now the time has come....start watching videos!!! We will post a streaming and a downloadable version of each video.

Here we go! Good luck to everyone!

Note - If you have any troubles watching our downloading the videos, please let us know!

First Round of Videos
Second Round of Videos
Third Round of Videos
Fourth Round of Videos
Fifth Round of Videos
Final Round of Videos

PLEASE be sure to watch them all!

Hurray! Video contest entries!

Let me rate them in the order in which I viewed them:


Pam & Brian Kanal's Knoebel's PPP
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The video was very nice, with some really good footage, and I liked how it showed the fun and atmosphere of the park.
However, I wasn't a big fan of the music(that's just me, though) and I think it could've used a little more actual rollercoaster footage.



Dave Thomas' UK Randomness
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Fantastic video! I loved it! It was fun, funny, and had a great balance of quality coaster footage and just people-having-fun footage. It was really funny(I'm A tree! With a camera!) and while it kind of really broke the flow that you "quit to commercials" in the middle, it was worthit because it was funny. Good job!


Kevin Aglione's Cedar Point
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Very good video, I liked the way you decided to start it off all slow motiony and the music actually fit. especially seeing millennium force geting airitme in slow motion.
however very early on in the video some shots broke the flow - anyone who's been to CP knows that when youre arriving to the park you drive around it clockwise, so seeing those shots that were taken while going counter-clockwise kinda made me think "What, the video hasn't started yet, and he's already leaving?"
I like the use of a wide angle lens. though at some point the same close-up footage of rides jsut became a little lackluster commpared to the beginning of the video which was exciting. I liked the syncing you did between the song and Maverick going into the turn at the black and white section.


Darren Bailey's TPR Midwest Trip
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WOOHOO! MIDWEST TRIP!
Alright, so while I'm naturally biased, because I was on the trip, I really love this video, and it quite possibly got me to start liking "crazy train". I have seen this video before, but it still splashed a giant smile on my face with all of the crazy and good and crazy good footage.
Only complaint is that it's too R rated. I was looking for midwest trip vids to show my dad, so I showed him this one without really remembering what's in it, and it's basically an "everybody humps random things and Chuck" vid.


Barry Hom's Alton Towers Video
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ROFL! Very cool video! At first I didnt know if I like the music bu it gre on me. There was some very nice quality footage there, though I think you used some of the strongest footage at the end when the music was dying, which I think wasn't a smart move.
You stalking Elissa constanly and everybody bodyguarding her was both hillarious(at some point I was more on the lookout for elissa shots than coaster shots) though it also made me feel a little sorry for her I like small boys in tights.
but I like this vid alot, overall!

[Erik JohnsonFormer captain of the Arrow bus.]

Wow the first five are really strong. It looks like it is going to be a tough competition this year.

[Guy T. KoeppNow with Extra Retarded Flavor]

I just watched all of the first batch of videos. I wanted to say congratulations to all the chosen ones.

So far these are quite good. One in particular laugh out loud funny. I will watch them all again tonight and give individual reviews.

Guy "Not that my opinion means anything." Koepp

[sfotfreakBANTRONNED]

Wow all of them are great, mostly i liked how you showed what happens on and off the coasters! Cant wait for the next ones to be up!

[BarryHHe's kind of sad and pathetic]

I will have to have a little talk with Mr. Thomas and his girlfriend Falafel. No really, I quite enjoyed the commerical, but I look so fat in the video! You didn't get my best angle!

I wonder if the "Sad & Pathetic" calogne will be a hot seller at Macy's? Maybe we need to market the product...

I've only watched one of them, but I will predict the bestest one will be the Alton Towers video. I just have a gut feeling.

[SkrampPlanning on retiring to Radiator Springs]

Dave Thomas
Seemed like a mix of promo/trip review video. Didn't really have a main theme to and a bit cut/pastey compared to the others that seem a tad more "professional". A decent vid with lots of coaster/ride footage but more of just a family vid than contest entry.

Kevin Aglione
Nice build up in the beginning, but then the slo-mo build up runs on too long. Very "artsy" with the different shots and black and white. I do like the way the slo-mop exposes some cool facets of the different rides (i.e. the water plume on the water ride). Complete difference in second half. Nice flow, but my question is Got Wood? I don't think there was a single shot of Gemini, Mean Streak or Blue Streak in the vid? If you're recaping a certain park, should you're vid contain pieces of each ride? Or should this vid be called, "Steel at the Point"?

Darren Bailey
Not quite sure what to make of this one. Lots of cut and paste with quick clips of rides and coasters. A good recap of all the parks the TPR crew visited on their trip, but no really theme or story to it. Everything seems really random and just thrown together. Nothing really stood out in this video, just seemed like your normal TPR recap vid that Robb would post.

Barry Horn
Well, except for the stalking of Elissa, video didn't really have any memorable moments. A great overview of Alton that included some great shots of not only the rides, but also the gardens (which most people never pay attention to.) A decent video though.

Pam Brian Kanal
Good video that showed alot of the park, I learned alot about a park that I'm not that familiar with. Good mix of rides, food, entertainment. I think it was a well done video

Now, I'm not trying to be harsh, but it seems like the videos over the years have changed directions. I remember a few years ago where most videos had themes or "plot" lines. Like the "Floruba" video from a few years ago (which I still watch almost weekly). That was a cool, well-done video. A lot of the vids just come off as recaps which we get from Robb on like a weekly basis. I'd like to see some creativity, planning and work for a good video. Not saying the ones so far aren't good, just don't seem like vids of years past. Just my two cents.

[jamesdillamanFlight of James: Ride of Steel the Revenge]

After watching them all, and basing solely on my perceived quality and merit of the videos, My favorite so far is Kevin's Cedar Point video. I love how it syncs with the music, and seeing rides in slow motion always make it stand out from others. I was a bit worried it would all be in slow motion, and I think you could trim the opening sequence a little, but besides that, a great video.

-James Dillaman

[BarryHHe's kind of sad and pathetic]

Well, now that I've watched all of them, I will give my thoughts. I will leave mine out, since it is mine and I can't be objective about it. Besides, it is the bestest of them all!

Pam & Brian Kanal's Knoebel's PPP
I enjoyed this video. It showed off Knoebel's and their various rides well. Still, it didn't seem to memorable, other than the shot with the biker/pirates. It seems like the video was edited by first-time video editors. It's not bad, but it's a start and could lead to better videos in the future. The only part I didn't like is the POV jump cut around 0:25.
6/10

Dave Thomas' UK Randomness
Other than the commerical starring me (Falafel's voice made my man parts act funny), I liked the video. It did show up the TPR UK trip very well, but there seemed to be too many shots of Derek and Nicole. Not that there's anything bad about it. It could have shown more of the roller coasters that we rode on the UK trip. During the video I was thinking, "Speed...again?" I would have liked to see some of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Thrope Park coasters, among others. Stiil, it was pretty entertaining and fun to watch.
8/10

Darren Bailey's TPR Midwest Trip
If you want to see how much fun a TPR trip can be, watch this video! After watching it, I was so excited and I wanted to sign up for a TPR trip right now! Unfortunately, I am already semi-signed up for one now. It did show a lot of coasters and fun antics. Chuck's humping made the video a little risque, but the best way to deal with it is to cover the kids' eyes when you come to Chuck's parts. I didn't like the zooming in and out during some of the shots. Sometimes I think the camera zoomed in too much that you couldn't really make out what was happening, like in the night shots of TTD. This video needs to be a TPR trip promo!
9/10

Kevin Aglione's Cedar Point
I wasn't sure if I liked the slo-mo intro at first, but I eventually got to like it. The best shot in the slo-mo part was of Maverick. As for the rest of the video, it seemed like a generic coaster video. To be honest, I felt bored by the video and stopped watching it 30 seconds before it ended. I consider this one an average video.
5/10

So in this round, I rank them (excluding mine):

1.) Darren Bailey's TPR Midwest Trip
2.) Dave Thomas' UK Randomness
3.) Pam & Brian Kanal's Knoebel's PPP
4.) Kevin Aglione's Cedar Point

[borisdagI know quite a lot about Donkeys!]

I like all of them, but Kevin's is so cool! I love love love the dreamy slow motion, a nice change of pace from the hyperactive euro pop some folks use (which is much better than the migraine inducing heavy metal which makes me want to turn the sound off.)

I agree that a narrative is what makes a short video interesting. There should be a beginning, a middle and an end, and so many videos are just very pretty montages that don't add up to anything. I think a lot of the reason I find Rob's videos so amusing is that they contain something of a plot. Within a few seconds the viewer "gets" where the action is taking place, who's gonna take it in the nads, and who is going to scarf down the funnel cake. He sets it all up and then captures the ensuing hijinks-it's funny when the gag pays off.

God knows I couldn't do any of this-so great job everyone!