Here's a small trailer for a show we shot last Winter quarter back at Ohio University. Due to the craziness that is college - and getting involved in numerous other projects - this show has taken a back seat for the longest time. However, recently I've found time to finish the show (which my buddy Spencer began editing - claps brotha). Now that the show's cut I decided to produce a trailer. "Maybe By Then" is a single camera dramedy that was begun several years back and is produced twice a year by students. I DP'd this episode and by fate became co-editor. This episode was shot on a DVX-100P and edited/cc'd in Premiere Pro 1.5. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to check out our work!

> http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~dd208802/mbt_trailer_2.mov > about 2mb QT5

The thing that struck me the most was the production value. Everything seems very polished - the cinematography especially. Good job!

A compelling trailer, too.

Thanks for your kind words Alex. It's great to receive comments from your peers!

Wow Devin!

I really liked that trailer...It could actually be the teaser for a feature too!

Yeah, the production values are high and look very professional!

Great job!

Very nicely done

hey, yea it looked very professional. hope to see it soon

Thanks so much for your kind comments. I'm edging closer to completion of the episode, however, it'll have to undergo some major compression for web delivery (due to the RT of around 26 minutes). I'll see what I can do with it. Anyways, thanks again for taking the time to view my work. I greatly appreciate it!

looks good. reminds me a bit of 6' under =). nice work... but is there a reason why we can't hear some of them speak? =). they have bad voices?

Wow. That was absolutely amazing. It has sort of a BBC feel to it. Definitely inspires me to get my act together.

Chris, thanks so much for your kind comments! I'm glad the trailer inspired you, that's the greatest compliment anyone can receive! I wish you well on all your video endeavours.

Yi Yong Fu, you make a valid point about the lack of audio. All their voices are fine, I guess it never crossed my mind to incorporate dialogue. You know how it goes once inspiration strikes, you just keep going until it's done! In retrospect I probably shoulda incorporated some sound bytes, in the future I'll give it a shot. Thanks for checking out my work though!

i like your new take on my name =).

there are some trailers where very little use of anything else (though music helps) but dialogue states the dramatic intentions of the film itself. an easy example is the recently released batman begins trailer:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/batman_begins/

to paraphrase, i think bruce is saying:

they told me there's nothing out there. nothing to fear. the night my parents died i caught glimpses. i've looked for it ever since. i looked everywhere. searching all the shadows. and there is something out there in the darkness. something terrifying. something that will not stop until it gets revenge. me.

or constatine, great use of dialogue:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/constantine/

rachel: mr. constantine, i'd like to ask you a few questions. i know the circles you travel in. the occult, the exorcisms. i need to understand.

keanu: you don't wanna know what's out there, trust me on this. what if i told you that God made a wager with the devil on the souls of all mankind?

rachel: i don't believe in the devil.

keanu: well you should, he believes in you. close your eyes, and whatever happens, don't look. you see them and they see you. welcome to my life.

Yi Fong Yu, sorry for the mis-spelling. Thanks for those two links, those trailers were excellent and had good use of dialogue!

Devin,

That's some of the best footage I have seen so far on the DV100! Did you say it was shot on PAL?? Anyhow, I was wondering if you used a mini35 adaptor or what.

If you don't mind sharing a little about your video-to-post chain, I would greatly appreciate it. Or simply email me privately! I am looking to do an indie short, and renting a DVX is an option, but I just think most of it looks like early 90's porn to me. There is such a glaring blue/green spectral weight on almost all of the footage i've seen that takes the life out of everything, except for things that are meant to look sort of CSI-like or like BBC. And before anybody goes arguaing, I'm just talking about what i see, not them. I like a warmer look, which is why I am still searching for the right Sony to rent.

Tony

Tony, I'm glad you were moved by the trailer! It was actually shot on an NTSC DVX-100p straight up, no mini-35 system. I DP'd the episode and by a twist of fate became the editor as well. As far as shooting goes, since our end medium was television I shot in the regular 24p mode (3:2 pulldown I believe) w/ thick vertical detail, cine-gamma, and cine-matrix - essentially the 24p factory settings tweaked slightly.

Shooting I would always white balance on set and - here's the beauty of the DVX - either warm up or cool down the color temp manually to my taste. Nothing extreme, just enough to suit the scene/mood. I left the bulk of CCing for post, where each shot's black point was reset in premiere pro; yielding a true, more film-looking black. Occasionally a slight gamma S curve was implemented in post as well to punch things up, but CCing on this episode was pretty light, nothing over the top.

If television is your end medium, I can't recommend shooting with a DVX enough. I've shot several long format projects on this camera and have never been more pleased. The image control is unparalleled by any other pro-sumer DV camera. I've shot with a VX-2000, PD-150, and PD-170 before (I also own a GL-1) but none of these cameras come close to capturing a more "film-like" image; if that's what you're going for. (not to bash any of them, they're all great cameras in their own right) Anyways, I hope my little rant has helped in some way, shape, or form!

i think you are referring to 80s video tape porn... not that i'd know the diff.... um... moving on.

<<<-- Originally posted by Tony Rogers : Devin,
but I just think most of it looks like early 90's porn to me.
Tony -->>>

Yi.. LOL! Late 80's came to my mind first. I was just trying not to stir the waters too much!

Devin, thanks for your reply.

"If television is your end medium, I can't recommend shooting with a DVX enough."

You meant TV as opposed to internet..?? Or Film...?

I want to shoot for DVD release and Digibeta or high-quality projection showcasing... I may make a Film reel later, but I want to keep that option open

Tony

By television I meant NTSC in general, so you'd be fine going to DVD, and certainly the internet. I've never worked with digi-beta before, so I can't vouch for that. As far as the projection goes - are you talking about LCD projection of a 640x480 image? DV blown up doesn't look too hot unless done with the proper hardware/software, lots of artifacting and such. As long as you're careful about what you shoot and avoid as much grain as possible you should be alright though.

video gives error. Can't open the page.

By the way, what needs to be added to make a dvx shot movie be filmy like?