Check out the "trailer-scene" for our World War II horror feature - CLICK HERE TO SEE "Horrors of War" (http://horrorsofwar.sonnyboo.com). How many times have you seen a trailer & then the movie sucked? We want to demonstrate that we can actually tell a story, so we choose to do a teaser scene from the beginning of the movie and use that as our "trailer".

3 min 30 sec scene (plus a seperate 1 min FX demo)


CLICK HERE TO SEE CLIPS (http://horrorsofwar.sonnyboo.com/onlineclips.php)

- Peter John Ross
www.sonnyboo.com

I want to comment you on the scale of what you are trying to
make. I thought a lot of the gun shots looked good (only one
looked fake) and I had some minor other issues with effects
(which I'm not sure are done) like the final plane impact and
the fire on the building. But after watching your FX reel I was
impressed by the crowd replication and scenery / building work!!

Now I've never been in a war but I felt it was a bit unreal,
perhaps. The way the guys talked to eachother and especially
how "clean" they looked (heh). I thought the ending of this
scene was very well done and cut.

Looks interesting!

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Lohman : I want to comment you on the scale of what you are trying to
make. -->>>

Comment or commend?

: )


THANKS!

Sorry... commend. Heh. No native English here! So can you tell
us a bit more about the production and what kind of equipment
and software you where using?

Wow, I thought that was pretty cool. Some camera work was too reminescent of vomit-inducing Blair Witch for me, but I much enjoyed the rest. I agree with Rob about the airplane crash, but couldn't find fault with the gunfire.
Good luck!

Wow really cool stuff I like teh story too, can't wait to see the finished stuff.

Hey!
Looks good so far. I'm looking forward to watching it on a DVD though, it's a shame to see your 35mm work brought down to a web clip.

I'll third the comment on the plane. WHen it crashes, the explosion dissapears too quickly. I suggest a huge cloud of black smoke around it. which should linger.

I appreciate the work your F/X guy put in on the gunfire. I'm editing an action short that I just shot, and we're going to be doing the same thing (at least someone is, not me! :)

Very nice beginnings. Can't wait to see the entire movie. One question - Where did you get that plane footage that you overlaid. That really looked impressive.

One thing I thought was a little fake was it seemed the Americans were outnumered by a group of Germans that were entrenched and dug in. It seemed too easy when they ran in, killed everyone and conquered. Wasn't believable. Plus I agree with Rob that they looked too cleancut.

Ending was great and really piqued my interest.

That was 100% CGI planes.

The guys look a little dirtier in full 35mm/16mm film. We put mud on their faces et all.

There were only 3 GI uniforms there that day & we had guys swapping out every few minutes. We did do some KEYING set work to have 2 GI's die, but those shots aren't done yet. Ther eis also more sound design work being done to the scene.

The FX clip demonstrates some of the CGI techniques for creating the planes and also multiplying the guys.

http://horrorsofwar.sonnyboo.com/fx_windows.php

Don Drennan did all FX work and he is quite the guru.

Very impressive 'taste' portion.

thanks

Hate to be the only naysayer, but...

Your leads "gristled" voice is contrived and sounds it. The ears are far less forgiving than the eyes and if you wanted someone to sound the part, you should have cast a smoker or naturally gravel-throated actor despite his looks or acting ability (or downplayed this aspect altogether in favor of better acting/character development). Take note of Capt Winter's generally smooth vocals in the Band of Brothers series. What makes him compelling as a character -- and indeed as a real man -- is that he was a thinking man's soldier, and didn't need the ephemeral cliche's of a screen soldier to be interesting.

Maybe I'm completely out of my element with this one, but was the phrase "headshots" a common one in 1944? To my ears it sounds like a missplaced, contemporary relic associated with phrases like "frag" and "railgun." "Shots to the head" or "two to the head" might have been better -- and more generally, pepper talk among the men with slang consistent with the times -- either verbal relics of the era, or phrases that parrot the kind of talk common.

My grandfather was in he war and he and many people of his era prided themselves on their sharp, dry wit -- he had a million phrases carried over from his parent's era that were oblique references to common things, and was constantly finding creative ways to express mundane ideas. For instance, if someone stated that they owed him money that he felt he'd given as a gift, he'd say "chalk it on ice." If someone was ugly, he'd say "oh boy, cover your watch" (their face will break it/stop time...)

I think your camera work/sound design are lacking in the face of Speilberg & Company's work on the battlefield. I know you're probably reading that and thinking "Listen jerk, if I had his budget..." but my criticism comes from watching your work and thinking how far it falls flat compared to Speilberg's stuff only because it looks like you're trying to sneak off with some of his moves -- except what you've done here is a somewhat half-baked version of the kind of thing we've seen in BoB and Saving Private Ryan. You've gone just far enough to recall Speilberg's stuff -- but never far enough in any direction to mark your work as uniquely your own.

I think if you're going to do this -- which I'm all for appropriation, homage, theft, nods, whatever -- either do it right or not at all. Go further and destroy the image more -- more frenetic cuts, place the camera closer to the action, give it more abrupt shakiness, and a bleach bypass it in post. Either do all that, or seek an original visual syntax for the battles that's all yours...

On a final nit -- for my tastes, the concept of the film is a little shakey, as well. I find that, given the enormity of the very real threat of Naziism, bringing cyborgs/undead/whatever into the genre -- or more specifically, a real time and place -- puts the work on very tenuous ground -- laughable and in a way, offensive. I know Holocaust survivors, and their children, and the realities of Naziism were far more threatening than any imagined ugliness -- I know you're going for fantasy, but I can't help feeling a bit dismissive about the material in light of its particular history. Maybe this makes me uptight, a snob, but so be it -- where comedy or fantasy might trivialize something so big, I'd tread lightly.

Now, if you set it in present day, that might be different...

- jim

Jim: I would just like to add that it has been done in some movies
already to link Nazi's with all kind of weird stuff and expirements.
Just recently in the Hollywood movie Hellboy.

Rob,

I don't think I made it particularly clear that my last point was the most personal/subjective -- that, while others may be doing something similar, for my tastes it seems rather careless. I've since edited it a little.

I know plenty of people treat this kind of material lightly, but that doesn't make it any less bizarre to my mind. Just three years ago real people were running in horror from an advancing wave of dust and rubble in downtown New York -- real lives were torn and shattered -- and it didn't take long before Roland Emerich exploited a similar image for cheap thrills in The Day After Tomorrow. It's not that running in horror hasn't been done before, that it's a staple of the disaster genre -- it's that in light of its proximity to real events, using that kind of imagery is suddenly weighted differently.

I know it's likely the most reaching and slippery of my points to many who'd care to read it here, but I figured it needed to be voiced not in spite of my being alone on it, but because I'm alone on it.

- jim

I think I totally understand where you are coming from, Jim. My
grandparents where in the war. I'm in Holland which was
occupied at that time. I just wanted to indicate this has been
done before and seems to be somewhat "accepted" as a movie
topic, that's all.

I can understand that it might offend some people or be difficult etc.

My apologies to anyone if my remarks seemed without "heart".

Yeah...

I knew that while I was typing it, most people reading would think "Christ, man, it's a mooovie -- get over it already."

Oh well,

:D

- jim

Peter- you've done a lot of work there.
I have to add my 2 cents, and hope that you continue what you are doing and take my comments with a grain of salt.

Yeahhh, the soldiers looked prettty clean. They made a lot of noise moving around- would have gotten them shot before getting into position. THey didn't look too concerned about being in open countryside around enemy. The machine gun fire changed from shot to shot (wasn't in the background when changing shots to the guy being shot at).

I'm a war-movie geek though, and I look for that stuff. It's especially hard after "Band Of Brothers" and "Saving Private Ryan" kind of set the bar for the rest of them. My dad quit highschool to join the Marines during WWII and fought in all of the major campaigns in the pacific. The few stories he'd share left an impression.

PLease keep going. I'd love to work on stuff like that. I know what the difficulties are in any production, so please see it through.

All the best,
Jeff Patnaude

Thanks all for the comments, even the criticisms.

Just as an FYI, I was in Manhattan on September 11th, 2001. I was at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival witha movie I worked on that was set to show at Noon.


I can't please everyone, and I don't think that was a goal. I'm just trying to tell a story. As for the reality of Naziism, finding a horrific metaphor does not denegrate or make light of what really happened. Using the Horror genre to accentuate or emphasize evil in it's varying forms should not be misinterpretted as an insenstivity to those who suffered.



Thanks again for taking the time to watch.

I really liked the special FX what software packages did you use for the shots??

Great Job so far!!

Mark

<<<-- Originally posted by Mark Michaels : I really liked the special FX what software packages did you use for the shots??

Great Job so far!!

Mark -->>>

THank you.

Don Drennan, the FX guy used LIGHTWAVE to do the CGI planes, Adobe After Effetcs to do compositing.

More shooting on Sept 18th. There's a D-Day re-enactment and we'll be there with several film cameras to get some shots.


Now there's an NBC news interview I did on the site...
http://horrorsofwar.sonnyboo.com/nbc.htm

Very cool, Peter. Congratulations and I look forward to the finished feature.

Good for you! You presented a good representation of indy DV filmmaking on that interview. Bravo!

Where did you get the uniforms from, I am planning on a WWII movie and was wondering where I could get lots of cheap uniforms.

WWII re-enactors. Authentic props & uniforms.

The only way to go.

Peter, I noticed that the trailer obviously had independant written all over it, which is why I love it. The "zombie" Nazi was a great concept, I was intrigued by it. Great job. I also salute you on taking the blunt criticism like a champ. Take care.

-Chris

LOL.

Okay, I'm about to sound like an a-hole, which I seriously am not, but here it goes...

I admire your production. Looks like a large scale film, and you put in a hell of a lot of effort into this, and I commend you for that. The look of it is fantastic. Good special effects, however...

Is it just me, or does the first line of dialogue we hear sound like a cliche'd resident evil/mystery/thriller-type videogame? In fact, the characters seem totally unhuman. This movie seemed to play out like a Videogame that's trying to play out like a Movie. I don't like how some of the scenes were shot, just basically, it was very inconsistent.

Also, you appear to be inspired by Speilberg, and that's great. There's nothing wrong with that, however...

It doesn't work. You have nonhuman characters, and it's like a Videogame that's trying to be a movie, or a movie trying to be a videogame, or something of a combination, and it's laughable at times. I'd recommend that you don't mix in shaky shots with tripod/smooth, steady shots. If you want the audience to become immersed in the film, do a long, shaky take during an intense scene, (or battle scene), and follow a character as he struggles.

Okay, I'm sorry, I had to let it out. I may know nothing about filmmaking, but I'm just a bit confused about what you're trying to do with this film, although, I have tremendous respect for you, what you're achieving, and what you have achieved.

- Robert

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert J. Payne : LOL.

Okay, I'm about to sound like an a-hole, which I seriously am not, but here it goes...

- Robert -->>>


You do not sound like an a-hole.


Thanks for watching!

Where did you guys get the uniforms from?

<<<-- Originally posted by Glen Chua : Where did you guys get the uniforms from? -->>>

Authentic uniforms provided by WWII re-enactors.

Waaa... Nazi zombies! Instant flashback, reminds me of those greasy movieadds I used to see as a kid during the 80's. Depicting Nazi zombies rising out of swamps! Hehe, they made my imagination run wild! Those were the days...

Granted, I am a zombie lover and a latent WWII enthusiast so you got my attention. :]

I agree with most of the remarks re acting, cleancut look, course of events during the battle scene... But whatever, this is you actually living your dream. I can see you're having fun and I have the utmost respect!

In Dutch we have a saying: "De beste stuurlui staan aan wal"

Meaning something like, the best sailors are on the shore

Just go for it Peter

<<<-- Originally posted by Kristof Indeherberge :

Just go for it Peter -->>>


I will. THANKS!

And now, for a completely shallow question:

Did you actually use the Wilhelm for one of your character's death screams?

Wow. Tribute.

Michael

http://www.nerf-herders-anonymous.net/WilhelmScream.html

Yes. The Wilhelm is layered into the sound mix. God, I love Royalty Free sound libraries!

Great job! Looks cool to me!

Murph

Check out the MAKING OF Featurette for our World War II horror feature HORRORS OF WAR - CLICK HERE TO SEE "Preparing for War" (http://horrorsofwar.sonnyboo.com). Meet the creative team behind the feature film.

9 min - Windows Media

interviews shot with DVX100A 24p camera, the rest is Super 8 film and 35mm outtakes

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER CLIPS (http://horrorsofwar.sonnyboo.com/onlineclips.php)

- Peter John Ross
www.sonnyboo.com

I think for the scale you are trying to achieve it is great, I can appreciate it because I only make shorts right now and know how much work they can be.. keep up the great work, I'm interested to see the final product when completed!

Please take my criticism for what it's worth - we all have different ideas, opinions, styles and most importantly GOALS which may not all be the same.

CG:
The CG is cool but I would consider desaturating the color significantly more in After Effects though (where you are doing the compositing) to match/blend the original footage with the CG footage. 'Matching' is usually hard to do, but specifically I found the fire too red/orange compared to the washed out look of the other colors in the scene.

Cinematography
Although I'm only seeing the low res trailer online, to me it does not look like 35mm film. I didn't see much, if any depth of field being utilized which is just one of the great attributes to shooting on 35mm. Since shallow DOF is a little more limited with shooting 16mm, if most of your clips were shot on 16mm then this might be why I feel this way? Consider saving some of your 35mm shots for areas of the film where you can utilize DOF to separate foregrounds from backgrounds and shoot the other parts on 16mm. Not every shot needs to have shallow DOF but used appropriately it can help contribute to the "overall" look and feel of a film. Consider putting more f2.0 shots in there with those 35mm lenses.

I also would liked to have seen more eerie lighting (low key like the X-Files) rather then afternoon sun... but as well understand the complexities of shooting at night and while on a low budget of course. ;)

Story
I like the story idea because to me it's unique and I think it can actually work. I think for it to work as a film though it will need more darkness, eerieness and a lot more focus on something unique about each character. Right now there doesn't appear to be anything interesting about any of the characters - not much personality, they all act the same, they look the same (clean cut, race, etc..) something to consider. I have obviously not read the entire story/script but I feel a film like this will need to be quite suspenseful the whole way through to the end to help the audience from feeling like they're just watching a bunch of army guys walk through a field. I kind of love that feeling I get when you know a group of people are about to embark on some kind of a mission together and you have no idea what awaits them! Kind of like in the film Resident Evil.. so just be sure to keep your story first and audience interested.

Good luck and again keep up the great work!

Peter,
Great concept! Great Idea! Great Drive!

Regardless of whatever, I still think you took the initiative to go a lil bit ahead of most Indie film makers!.

CGI
Yes the CGI was nice even though the fire gave it away that it was animated.
Also, when the plane crashed, the soldiers should have bent down/dock or whatever they call it a lil due to the loud noise of the crash and huge flame burst.

Besides this, every other thing seems pretty much fine to me.

Everyone, this is why we are indie film makers. We do not have the funds and man power like hollywood but for the fact that we can do something close to pros like Steven Sp. and others in the category, hey, that is terrific!.

Peter, more greese to your elbow men!
I loved the thriller