Dude,

Pun intended.

Seriously. Goofy, cheesy but funny. Not bad for the equipment you had to work with. Is the music your own? BTW the interior night lighting looked like a TV had been left on as opposed to the moon shining in a window. Not complaining. Just observing.

I'm going to email my brother-in-law about your short. I think he'll like it and hopefully we'll be doing our own shorts soon.

FWIW, you are to my brother-in-law as I am to your friend except my brother-in-law has about 10 inches more hair than you and we're both about 10 years older...sigh. I wish I was younger.

Good job.

Oh, and please put some clothes on. Damn, I need some bleach for my eyes. ;-)

sincerely,

ian

Hey Everyone,

This is the first video I've ever posted on these forums. It's a "Public Service Announcement" for my youth group at church, because we are studying oppression and injustice in the world. We also have a funraiser campaign that we started about a year ago. You can check out the fundraiser here: http://www.cbcoc.org/oppression

The video is actually our attempt to immitate the style of James Woods' recent Stroke Awareness Shorts. They were shown on Larry King Live last week, and we were greatly impacted by them.

http://www.cbcoc.org/oppression/psa_1.wmv

I apologize for the low-quality compression, but we need to save bandwidth on our server. You know how it is...
I'd appreciate any input/comments/suggestions. Thanks!

Allen

Looked nice. Good feel to it.

What was it shot with?

Keep up the good work!

Yeah.

I don't know what to make of that. It was obviously filmed in that "camera glasses" spy sorta way so I can't critique it. I also can't tell which I would be more annoyed by: the waitress who didn't know jack or the really annoying waiter (IF I WANT A GLASS OF WINE I'LL ASK FOR IT PROFESSOR!).
I know the SIE though. That came across (in beautiful 10pt arial).

The sound design was really nice, but the voice was a little too low. You might try pumping it up. Really good, creative video work.
The semicircle lights in the bg were intriguing.

This was shot with a GL-2. It was a really spontaneous project that just popped up on us, so we quickly shot it.

Ian, Thanks for the tip about the voice being a little too low. We'll take that into consideration. I appreciate it.

LOL yeah I totally agree with you!! They make us say all that crap but most of us realize how obnoxious it is so we only do it when the manager is watching. Thanks for the feedback!

Hello All,

This is my second attempt at a film. I'm learning by trial and error and would love to hear some honest critisism.

The film is a romantic tragedy and is meant to present a harsh view on the world.

http://zed.cbc.ca/go.ZeD?CONTENT_ID=218502&page=content

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Geoff

Hey, Guys...

I just put the website online for my next project. If you have a chance, would you drop by and take a look and let me know what you think?

It's at http://www.onelastkill.com

Thanks a lot!

-Rusty-

Not real big on using flash intros on sites.

But overall I guess its decent. Try adding some more info, maybe a blog for your progress on the film.

Do you have a trailor? That would probably be better than the flash intro.

Actually, I'm doing a little guerilla marketing, in that I'm creating the online presence in the guise of this being actual footage.

Of course, I realize that anyone with minimal sleuthing abilities can easily determine that it's a production, but I like this angle for the initial interest.

The website will grow to give more details about the "event," until the joke is finally over. Then I will turn the site into a real movie site, with information on the creation of the short, the production, etc.

We shoot the rest of the piece on April 9th. After that, the trailer and all the goodies will be posted.

Interesting movie. I enjoyed it.

Not much for her accent though.

Overall a good production though.

http://www.velascoproductions.com/shorttest.wmv

Amazing work. The guy in the bear-head-thingy seemed ... so lost. Lost in a big place. A place with bushes.

Is it because he's going through an existential crisis of some kind? It's all so ... open to different interpretations. Does he shy from the new because he's afraid of life? Or it is that the furry hat blocks his peripheral vision?

You've obviously been studying Antonioni. I detect a healthy dose of Murnau's influence too, especially in the Pirate's sudden appearance. Why does he dance? Why do any of us dance, when death and destruction threaten the world on a daily basis?

I need to just take a moment and let this very subtle work sink in ...

There. Thanks. I'm better now.

Good movie, but I think the story was a little bit dry. Other than that, good editing, music matched well, but the other thing, the opening shot with you talking on the cell phone, that was one shot... and it lasted quite a while. You might want to do some different angles for that scene where it is just your mouth. Those are my 2 cents!

I thought it was funny! The only critique I would have is that the sound difference between cuts is noticeable/slightly distracting...
so different cuts of the same scene have different "noise." Perhaps you can use some low pass filtering to smooth it out...
But I liked it... acting was pretty good too!

Thanks guys for the comments.

I agree Swiss German speaking English leaves much to be desired. But Swiss German on its own has a Gaelic quality to it, as you might hear in the Scottish highlands, that I really like the sound of.

Regarding the film I was trying to evoke in the beginning that feeling that someone has when they have a strong crush on someone. When that person is saying "sure I'd like to go out with you but ..." you don't hear the "but ...". To everyone else it is obvious they are rejecting you. And I guess that is what I also saw in the film afterwards that it was obvious from the beginning what was happening.

I'm wondering if perhaps a video stutter on the positive statements of the girl might help emphasise what my character is hearing. But I realise it is difficult to make this story have a surprise ending.

Thanks again. I figure I need to work on the suspense elements in my stories a bit.

Once again I appreciate any comments as it is a learning experience for me.

Best Regards,

Geoff

First I would center the flash on the page. Second I would at least (!)
cut the time in half by speeding up the words (they are too slow)
and/or combine them so there are less "pages".

Also the design of the text etc. on the "more" page isn't that great
in my humble opinion.

Also it may be wise to add a skip button in the intro for if someone
has seen it already etc. etc.

p.s. it might be worth it to know how to craft HTML with hand or
get a better editor than Frontpage. For example, dump the larger
fonts on that "more" page and add something like:

<table width="100%"><tr><td width="10%">&nbsp;</td><td width="60%">
.... text ...
</td><td width="10%">&nbsp;</td></tr></table>

To line it out better in the center. You could then add a style
section to the head block of HTML to nicely justify the whole text:

<style>
p { TEXT-ALIGN: justify; }
</style>

I did this video for the yellowcard breathing music vid contest, I didnt make it in the top 5 because i didnt have enough votes. I am curious to hear what everyone here thinks about it.
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2659341?htv=12

The main camera used is the optura xi w/ a bunch of accessories and for the "home video" footage I used a canon zr45

Nice music video. Put together nicely and fairly coherently.

Had a good proffessional feel too it.

Good work!


Plus anytime I see a girl with her lip and/or tounge peirced....oh god.... ;)

I'm glad that someone has allowed the very deep philosophicalable complexities of this trailer sink in.
I leave it for interpretation of the masses...

cmv

Just finished a music video, which I shot on my xl1s. Just wondering people thought. It should start playing on MTV base here in the UK fairly soon.

The video was for Lynden David Hall, who won the mobo awards best newcommer a few years back and appeared in the film 'Love Actually'.

I had a day to find a location, aquire equiptment and a day to shoot. Very tight!!

I hope you like it. Any feedback welcome.

www.pixelloft.com/lynden.htm

Although I didn't like the music - it doesn't matter anyway :-p - your lightning was fantastic, really! It maked the whole thing look very professional, and cameramovement was very okay too.

Damn man, in a day...
Keep up the great work!

I liked it, I agree with what's said above. There's a couple continuity errors and I think the nighttime effect could have been a little darker with little more contrast to add some mystery. I also think you should have shown a few different angles for the kick.
I liked the burglar's POV when he's about to hit the floor.
Overall, it's funny and a great first film.

http://Kinetic-pixelworks.com

Short digital films for everybody!

Uploaded Recently:

The adventures of Laura: Episode one.

and you can still check out "Mojado" and "Lesson 2"

many other shorts to come. Please leave feedback on this thread.

That was a really professional piece. What was the budget on it? I really enjoyed the office scenes. The lighting was very impressive.

Awesome work.

Makes my XL1s shoots look in vain. ;)

Keep it up!

wow, this is pretty amazing. Looks more film like than the other music video links i saw that were done with the Sony HDV cams. Goes to show it takes much more than just the camera.

Great job dude!

George

Thanks so much you guys. Your comments make all the hard work woth it.

Steve, The budget for the entire piece including equiptment hire, location, food, labor, everything was £2000.00 Finished. That didn't leave a whole lot of money after equiptment. But well worth it!

I tried hard to focus my attention on good framing and most importantly, good lighting so I am really pleased you guys think the lighting worked out ok!

Thanks Again!
Nick

Great job! I actually went back to read your email to make sure I had read XL1 instead of DVX100. It shows that any semi-pro camera when used properly can result in professional-like footage.

I noticed the lighting and framing too, all very well done. Well use of the crane as well - it's obvious you know what you're doing.

And finally the post-production. Not sure what package you used but loved the colour correction you applied to the video.

Makes 28 days look pale in comparison, and that's to say something.

This is a short film I made of a road trip with me and my buddies to cape hatteras. When I first got my GL2, I was looking all over for what people thought were good attempts at a filmic look in their product and I had some difficulty finding those (at least on the web)...I thought I'd share one of my creations which I think is most filmic for anyone who'd like to look...Most especially the first beach sequence is probably visually my best work to date. Don't expect any kind of storyline.

Enjoy.

http://student.uncw.edu/cms5751/TeamFusion2.WMV

Fellow filmmakers and digital artists...

Check it out at:

http://www.cinequestonline.org/2005/theater/detail_view.php?m=429

Thank you for your support.

Help make the short a winnah!

Ok that was scary.

I just heard this kinda cool song on the radio, looked it up and downloaded it.

I was listening and turned it off to watch your video. Then I realized I must not have closed it, but I did. You used the exact same song I had just dl'ed and was listening too.

Too many coincidences in the world.


Good video. Kinda reminds me of a video I made of our Panama City Beach trip last summer. But as you can imagine there is alot of 'miscellaneous' footage in it. ;)


The fun of being young.

hahahah

Hey this is a movie that me and some friends made last night in an hour or so. I thought it turned out to be OK. Please tell me what you think and how I might improve anything for next time (focusing mainly on the editing of the movie). Thanks!

The movie is here for you to see (http://www.shiningstardv.com/scott/videos/greatadventurep1.mp4) (it's about 20MB). If when you try to open it, it asks you what application to use, tell it to use Quicktime. If you're on a Mac, you may need to do a control-click on the above link and then choose "Download Linked File As..."

Nice little video.

Should have tripod'ed the first few shots.

What was it shot with?

The well-lit inside shots looked very clear.


Been a while since I've heard Clint Eastwood....Bring Back The Gorrilaz!

My drama teacher, my friend, and myself are theatre people and we worked on this scene for our advanced drama class. By the end of rehearsals we decided that we wanted to preserve it on tape. The scene calls for 3 construction workers to be on a building gurter (sp?)

So I thought a greenscreen would be perfect since we were going to be filming it.

We greenscreened some flats and put some 2x4's on sawhorses and went with it. The audio is kind of iffy because I didn't put up any batting to remove echo. Oh well. It was shot with a Pv-Dv953, converted to 24p with DVfilm, and then composited in After Effects using keylight.

Let me know what you think.

It is windows media and about 20 megs.

Thanks!

http://www.rch-e.com/rche/films/meremortals.wmv

It was shot with a GL2.

Your right about the first couple shots with the tripod...we just didn't want to have to deal with it, but next time we will use one! Thanks for the reply!

This is a horror short film a friend and I made last summer. We are planning to create 2 or 3 more shorts along with an outer story (like Creepshow) and end up creating a feature length. Hopefully we'll get better with each short. Since we are releasing the entire thing, we placed a watermark. Sorry for the inconvenience. We welcome feedback and constructive criticism. Feel free to ask questions.

There are some violent scenes so you may want to tuck your kids in before watching.

http://www.hirr.org/trucci/BuryTheGiftScreener.avi (101 megs, Xvid)

I downloaded your video and there was no picture at all, just audio. I recieved an error when loading the codec. Is this my problem or the files? I waited over 30 minutes and it will not load in the browser so I would prefer to just download it. Thanks

The crappy resolution due to the compression doesn't really make it enjoyable.

I'm sure some of that footage was quite nice to look at, but as it is it's kinda pointless.

Thanks Dave, I used After Effects for the color grading by the way.

I had to use a lot of depthmaps and blurs to fake depth of field in some of the shots, this was to tie it in with the shots I aquired using a 35mm converter.

Cheers, Nick

It worked fine on mine. You may have to find some website where to download the XVID drivers from, Mitchell.

Here's what I thought of the short.

GOOD:

1 - Well shot. Framing, colour and continuity are all pretty good.
2 - Sound. Many short films suffer from imperceptible speech, but yours is crisp and clear. Did you dub it in post or used a good shotgun mic? Also nice sound effects.

BAD:

1 - It extends for too long. I thought the plot could have been easily crammed into 8 or 9 minutes. The slow pace doesn't really help the stoy, imo.
2 - You should have used a tripod more often for steady shots. Some of them are a bit shaky.
3 - Some scenes (like the one zooming onto the bedroom window) are over-exposed. Not sure if you did it on purpose, but it doesn't look right.

Hey Gerald,

Very good. I don't know how many movies you have made, but it looks you already know some things well:

- Good editing
- Good framing
- good sound, although sometimes it felt somewhat unnatural.
- Good acting performances (are that your buddies? If so, you guys already have many technical experience at a young age!)
- Funny how you always framed the mother without her head.
- Good lightning
- Good misé en scene.
- Good special effects
- You gave some time to build these characters, especially by the good acting performances too.
- Simple script, but with good cinematography.

Minor things:
- the cutting from the dinner place of the boys, to the zoom in on the window of the white house, at around five minutes... is to abdrupt, I would let the sound of the dinner place linger a little longer.
- Sometimes the movie was a little long, although it never came boring though.
-Didn't like the rock music at the climax
- The monkey didn't really look that scary, but it never really bothered.


Few Questions:
- what did you shoot it with?
- did you use lightning kits or used natural lightning?
- did you guys made the dvd covers of the horrorfilms yourselves?
- how did you do the shots when you track the two guys talking? did you buid a dolly?
- did you have a budget?
- did you compose some of your own music? Because the music when the guy goes down in the middle of the night, with the red image and stuff, it really sounded like the instruments coming from a Casio Keyboard (I have one, but I'm interested in how far is it good enough to make a score with, just curious)

Sorry to ask, but how old are you?
Your movie looks like it's made by young people who were very enthousiastic about making their movie, and I mean this in a good way! You need that passion and fun!

Keep up the good work!

Sorry if I overwhelmed you with questions.

If the video doesn't work, try the latest ffdshow decoder here (http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/codecs_and_filters/ffdshow.cfm).

Thanks for the feedback and constructive criticism. We will definitely benefit from it on our future projects. This is our first narrative project we ever did, so we have a bit to learn, but we were already experienced with videography (through documentaries and weddings) so at least we knew our movie would look and sound somewhat decent.

Here are some answers to the questions,

We shot with the DVX100 (not the A) in full frame and cropped on post. The ability to reframe some of the shots was a huge advantage. We used some work lights and lamps from home depot and diffused with parchment paper. Our entire light kit probably cost us 50 bucks, a little more if you include the color gels. The dvd artwork was done by this guy named Lukas Richtera that my friend found on the internet. He does lots of gothic artwork and we promised him a copy of the final product for contributing. The stable shots were done with a homebuilt stabilizer (Cody Deegan design). Our monitor was broken at the time so we just blindly framed our actors. Good thing the DVX has such a wide stock lens.
The actual budget we spent on this movie was somewhere around 150 to 200 dollars. Most of it went into special effects and DV tapes. Haha, and Mathieu you were right, the lead sound was played by my friend on a cheap Casio keyboard. I played the rhythm with my classical guitar. We did add some reverb and compression to it though. All of the music was original (except for La Muerte Del Angel I performed on the TV behind the mom, but that song is no longer copyrighted) as we didn't want to deal with using other people's music. It sounds cheaper, but it's ours. I am 21 and Richard just turned 22. The actors were actual high school actors we contacted on the internet.

All sound was done with the AT897. On some scenes the actors were recorded on location (scene with them doing physics homework), and others we had to dub due to lawnmowers and such getting into our sound. Sound effects were made by chopping an assortment of vegetables which the local grocer was kind enough to donate.

This and the dvxuser forum has been my best asset. There are some really knowledgable people in these forums, and I even bought the DVX from someone over at the dvxuser forums.

Right now we are seeing how people react to our movie. It's been a mixed bag so far.

Join the first endless interactive chain video in the net - initiated in Germany!
It's no competition and has no commercial interest - it's an experimental game.
We're looking forward to a wide participation all over the world...!
www.kettenvideo.de

The curators

Volker Krieger (Dortmund)
www.vk-videokunst.com

Sascha Dornhöfer (Berlin)
www.neuemassenproduktion.de

Nice film.

The dialog at times seemed a little quiet compared to the music. Especially the last line. I had to play it back with the volume up to hear it.

Regards,

Geoff

Ever go to a film festival & then watched a blurry, grainey, incomprehensible, random assemblage of images called "abstract"?

I made one from the underexposed, unusuable footage from my narrative movei "Bitter Old Man". I'm hoping to submit this to film festivals & see if people buy into the B.S. that it's an "art film".

let me know what you think.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE Bitter Old Man (http://www.sonnyboo.com/onlinemovies/thebom.htm)

8 meg file


THE BITTER OLD MAN comes complete with art film cliches:
a. crappy jazz soundtrack
b. black & white, grainy film footage
c. guy washing face in mirror
d. subliminal messages
e. characters that represent abstract emotions
f. meaningless phrases throughout

This movie even stars SONNYBOO itself, committing suicide.

Enjoy!

-Peter John Ross
Sonnyboo - The Filmmaker's Friend (http://WWW.sonnyboo.COM)

Bluebox Limited's latest feature "Her Summer" is now on DVD for only $10! The film was shot on a Panasonic DVX100A for a total budget of $50.

BOX ART: http://www.blueboxlimited.com/hsdvd.jpg

VIEW CLIP: http://www.blueboxlimited.com/multimedia/hsclip.html (Quicktime, 18.2MB)

TRAILER: http://www.blueboxlimited.com/multimedia/hstrailer.html (Quicktime, 18.6MB)
http://www.blueboxlimited.com/multimedia/hstrailer.wmv (Windows Media, 6.8MB)

Based on true events, Officer Ethan Crowe finds his brothers brutally murdered and becomes entangled in a supernatural mystery. The next day, he is missing. Two years later, two friends come across the police evidence from that night, and began to put the pieces together. "Her Summer" is a suspense-thriller which is more than its parts -- it is a human story of friendship and the memories that we form.

The DVD includes the film, commentary, interviews, a short film, and more, and is available for only $10, plus shipping. To order, visit the Bluebox Store at http://www.blueboxlimited.com/store.

Thanks for your support!

i agree with the sound you should invest in some mics.