MG Shining Gundam || My Favorite G Gundam Kit

Help support the channel! https://ko-fi.com/redheadphones6
Twitter:   / redheadphones6  
Instagram:   / redheadphones6  

A review of the Master Grade Shining Gundam from the 1994 anime series Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Intro - 00:00
Build - 0:51
Appearance - 5:38
Articulation - 7:58
Gimmicks - 10:41
Final Verdict - 12:50

I recently got a bunch of new video production equipment, so decided it'd be fun to test it out on another review. Still, the Shining Gundam is one of those suits that really means a lot to me, so hopefully this review can do it justice.

- Production notes for me to look back on later and laugh at -

- This is actually a redo of a previous Shining Gundam review. It was my 3rd (?) video, and was horrendously bad. I took it down a few months after posting.

- The script was massively long for a pretty simple kit. I think its all the detailing. Probably could've slimmed it up, but again, this review was about testing new equipment so I just said 'eh, it's fine~' and got to work.

- First up for new equipment, I got the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART series lens. It's a massive step up from the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 I've been using. The clarity and sharpness is just crazy.

- The new polarizer is also higher quality. It turns out the warmness I mentioned in the Gyan review was the side effect of a cheap polarizer.

- Next, I got the Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens to replace the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 for articulation shots. Really happy with it, as now I can shoot everything on my 6D mark II. Before I had to always break out my 100D just for the articulation footage. I'm not used to this lens though, so the footage is really zoomed out and has harsh lighting.

- The new 35mm lens has image stabilization so I got a ton of test shots, mostly handheld. However, with my main footage being locked down and the panning of images being so smooth, the handheld shots really stood out, so I dropped them.

- Learned how to focus stack. It eliminates the massive blur/bokeh of macro photography. I only used it for the title card though, as it takes a ton of time to do and is rough on my computer. Check my instagram though for the other focus stack tests.

- I'm not super happy with this title card. There's just too much footage of lead suits so narrowing it down to a single background is really hard, so I got lazy. This title card is a reference to the early episode of G Gundam where Domon fights the Neo Canada guy, and the Shining Gundam emerges from a waterfall.

- Got a new LED, another Neewer 660. I recently moved out of my apartment and my Polaroid 350 LED (don't ever buy one!) finally gave up so I was down a few lights for this review. The new LED brings me back up to 3 lights. Still, it's 2-3 less than usual, so I had the ISO cranked a little. I'd like to get another LED if I can just to pump more light in.

- Wish I could've gotten some unpainted shots but they were painted gold years ago, so not much I could've done outside of re-buy the kit, which isn't happening lol The split screen I did could've used some work though...

- I really overshot this review. Not having to get separate shots for the left and right really made getting footage easy. I didn't use a good 25% of shots.

- Finally got the Shure SM7B microphone. It's a huge improvement over the Rode Video Pro mic. However, I can't seem to get the quality I want out of it. I need to work on my recording posture and mixing. At the very least, I can remove 'bad equipment' off the list of reasons my audio is so bad haha.

- Edited this whole thing in a frantic 2 day binge.

- Finally got to use Adobe Premiere 2020! It's fine. Playback is a little choppy tho.

- I figured out why the black gradient pops, it's because the gradient has too many values to it, so the extra color of overlays causes Premier to compress the gradient. I got around this by exporting the score footage separately, then reinserting it.

- Couldn't find a good font color for this review, title card or thumbnail. Gold doesn't exist in digital color, so didn't know what to use

- "Shining" always looks weird to me lol, so used a new font for the thumb.

- The color filter was very simple, just a bump to saturation and minor increase to contrast. The background still flickers from Youtube compression though. I might need to transition to a white background as it wouldn't be crushed as much.

- Re-did some lines last minute again. Ugh~

- Like I mentioned in the Gyan review's notes, I don't plan on making any more reviews. Not that I won't make more, I just don't want it in the back of my mind. I would like to redo the Hi-Nu Gundam ver KA review though, so maybe I'll do that at some point. idk, not really making any plans. If I get the urge to make another review, I totally will!

Regardless, if this is the last video, then thanks for watching and... best of luck on your next build! :)
   • No End Summer　／　角松敏生