Short film Application for NYU at DVinfo.net

Carlos Flores · January 29th, 2009, 11:50 AM

This is the rough version of the short film I sent to NYU as part of my application portfolio. Im not really satisfied with this cut but at least it got me into tisch :). Everything was shot on the Xh-A1. watch it on HD!

YouTube - The Howl & The Blood of a Charmless Nut

Tony Nguyen · January 29th, 2009, 12:03 PM

Hey. Nice video!

Contrast is great!
A little suggestion for next time. Try to put some CTOs on some fixtures for the indoor shots. I think it'll make your characters POP. =)

Christian Nachtrieb · January 29th, 2009, 03:52 PM

Hey man nice video. I have one suggestion for the end. The music becomes a little too overbearing and it was extremely difficult for me to hear what the girls were saying as the music was drowning out their voices. Other than that nice work.

Carlos Flores · January 29th, 2009, 04:29 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys! I was utterly rushing to finish this edit on time but I'll definitely check the volume levels for the final cut. Tony, I'll very much consider the CTOs for my next indoor shots. thanks again!

Morgan Crossley · January 31st, 2009, 01:29 AM

I love the look of the images. Did you shoot at a low shutter speed to give it a more jittery look? Also Did you use any presets?

Carlos Flores · February 3rd, 2009, 07:58 PM

I used the normal 1/48 shutter for 24p. Although, I think one of the flashback scenes looks a bit too jittery because i accidentally changed shutter to 1/24 but that's the only case.

I believe I used the VividRGB that has been posted in this forum before, but most of what you see is the result of some heavy color and levels correction in Final Cut Pro.

Arif Syed · March 4th, 2009, 10:12 PM

so this was essentially a stock XH-A1 with some great work in post? What was your lighting system in the interior shots?

Rick Lutec · March 7th, 2009, 04:16 AM

Heeeeey Carlos.
Just viewed your NYU clip. I had a great time with it.
Thought the actors were great. Perhaps the magazine reading scene may be an area to strengthen but he's great and continuously charismatic and works with all of the gals really well.
I've seen the gun and clerk scene before and always thought it was well done. Glad to have been able to watch the scenes that accompany it.
Sure, there's always more one can do right until it's practically yanked out of your hands but with such a strong base to work with the piece can probably carry itself to the point that regardless if you study at an institution or just continue to work with a collective, more people will become familiar with what you can offer and may trust you to work/collaborate on other (with budget) projects and hopefully that will allow you to grow and create more interesting works.
Best of Luck

Carlos Flores · March 8th, 2009, 01:15 AM

@Arif Syed

For the living room scene, my keylight was a lowel Softbox placed to the left of the screen. I also used two cheap construction lights that worked as a fill/back light, and as a 4th light to light up a bit of the background (you can actually see this light on-screen at times). I tried to look for shadows and volumes since I wanted the final product to be very high-contrast (comic book style).

The laundry scene was lit again with the softbox and in some shots with one construction light as a backlight.

Gas station shop is all natural light.

@Rick Lutec

Thank you very much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it :) Felipe (the actor) is a very good friend of mine and he's still learning about acting for the camera. I met him during our drama classes in high school and from his AMAZING performances on-stage I knew he had potential for film.

Right now i'm working with very few creative collaboration so I'm definitely excited about meeting other filmmakers at NYU. Ill let you know of any future project ;)

January 29th, 2009, 11:50 AM	#1
Carlos Flores New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lima Peru Posts: 24	Short film Application for NYU This is the rough version of the short film I sent to NYU as part of my application portfolio. Im not really satisfied with this cut but at least it got me into tisch :). Everything was shot on the Xh-A1. watch it on HD! YouTube - The Howl & The Blood of a Charmless Nut

March 7th, 2009, 04:16 AM	#8
Rick Lutec Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Toronto Canada Posts: 39	Short film Application for NYU Heeeeey Carlos. Just viewed your NYU clip. I had a great time with it. Thought the actors were great. Perhaps the magazine reading scene may be an area to strengthen but he's great and continuously charismatic and works with all of the gals really well. I've seen the gun and clerk scene before and always thought it was well done. Glad to have been able to watch the scenes that accompany it. Sure, there's always more one can do right until it's practically yanked out of your hands but with such a strong base to work with the piece can probably carry itself to the point that regardless if you study at an institution or just continue to work with a collective, more people will become familiar with what you can offer and may trust you to work/collaborate on other (with budget) projects and hopefully that will allow you to grow and create more interesting works. Best of Luck

January 29th, 2009, 12:03 PM	#2
Tony Nguyen Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 107	Hey. Nice video! Contrast is great! A little suggestion for next time. Try to put some CTOs on some fixtures for the indoor shots. I think it'll make your characters POP. =)

January 29th, 2009, 03:52 PM	#3
Christian Nachtrieb Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 65	Hey man nice video. I have one suggestion for the end. The music becomes a little too overbearing and it was extremely difficult for me to hear what the girls were saying as the music was drowning out their voices. Other than that nice work.

January 29th, 2009, 04:29 PM	#4
Carlos Flores New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lima Peru Posts: 24	Thanks for the feedback guys! I was utterly rushing to finish this edit on time but I'll definitely check the volume levels for the final cut. Tony, I'll very much consider the CTOs for my next indoor shots. thanks again!

January 31st, 2009, 01:29 AM	#5
Morgan Crossley Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 113	I love the look of the images. Did you shoot at a low shutter speed to give it a more jittery look? Also Did you use any presets?

February 3rd, 2009, 07:58 PM	#6
Carlos Flores New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lima Peru Posts: 24	I used the normal 1/48 shutter for 24p. Although, I think one of the flashback scenes looks a bit too jittery because i accidentally changed shutter to 1/24 but that's the only case. I believe I used the VividRGB that has been posted in this forum before, but most of what you see is the result of some heavy color and levels correction in Final Cut Pro.

March 4th, 2009, 10:12 PM	#7
Arif Syed Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Elmont, New York Posts: 143	so this was essentially a stock XH-A1 with some great work in post? What was your lighting system in the interior shots?

March 8th, 2009, 01:15 AM	#9
Carlos Flores New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lima Peru Posts: 24	@Arif Syed For the living room scene, my keylight was a lowel Softbox placed to the left of the screen. I also used two cheap construction lights that worked as a fill/back light, and as a 4th light to light up a bit of the background (you can actually see this light on-screen at times). I tried to look for shadows and volumes since I wanted the final product to be very high-contrast (comic book style). The laundry scene was lit again with the softbox and in some shots with one construction light as a backlight. Gas station shop is all natural light. @Rick Lutec Thank you very much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it :) Felipe (the actor) is a very good friend of mine and he's still learning about acting for the camera. I met him during our drama classes in high school and from his AMAZING performances on-stage I knew he had potential for film. Right now i'm working with very few creative collaboration so I'm definitely excited about meeting other filmmakers at NYU. Ill let you know of any future project ;)