DVC 12 - Metamorphosis

Joseph Tran · March 10th, 2008, 12:59 AM

The project is in the can, and what a project is has been!

One of the most difficult aspects of this piece was in the storytelling... how do we keep the balance between watching from the "audience" POV, versus the "artist" POV?

From pre to post-production, this piece really pushed the limits of my work. Oh, and you should also know -- no animals were harmed, during the making of this film.

Thank you, fellow DVC members, for your inspiration. I humbly submit, for your consideration and enjoyment, "Metamorphosis".

Jim Montgomery · March 10th, 2008, 10:49 AM

Perfect, don't touch it. I would say you have mastered the craft, but none of us truly do. But you are damn close.

Good job

Jim

Jesse Steele · March 10th, 2008, 06:00 PM

excellent piece! Always use something you already have available to you to add production quality! Very Very well done...

My only concern was this. you need to see the audience to give the show more perspective. I felt the whole time you were standing alone on a stage in a room with 1 or 2 guys in it. maybe have a few more things on the stage? or even a shot of people watching you from off stage? I know you can't really secure 300 extras to fill an audience. But maybe there is some stock footage or something? It just would have added another aspect of realism to it is all.

So good! I think this will be the one to beat

Best of luck

Josh Chesarek · March 10th, 2008, 06:22 PM

Very nicely filmed. It looks like your DP has been at this for a long time and it really helped tell your story. Bravo.

Alex Chamberlain · March 10th, 2008, 09:14 PM

Sorry to be dumb, but where are you guys viewing this? I can't seem to find a link for it. Thanks.

Josh Chesarek · March 10th, 2008, 09:21 PM

we found it through referal links in youtube or at least I did. Granted it still hasnt been "released" yet. We are being naughty.

David Cummings · March 11th, 2008, 12:27 AM

how does this already have 1500+ views!!??.... tell me your secrets (no pun intended)

great work though. very impressive

Josh Chesarek · March 11th, 2008, 05:03 AM

Looks like it got featured by youtube for a little bit, (check its links link under the player)

David Cummings · March 11th, 2008, 06:01 AM

ahhh makes sense

Bruce Broussard · March 11th, 2008, 10:37 AM

Outstanding work. This looks very polished. Lighting, sound, acting, everything came together very nicely.

Robert Martens · March 11th, 2008, 03:06 PM

I echo Jim's feelings. As close to perfect as one can hope to get. Maybe less reverb in the voiceover? Even that's not distracting, this film is engrossing enough that it doesn't matter.

My favorite detail is that we can hear you breathing as the curtain goes up. A genius idea, it sums up the whole story in my mind, and seems to itself embody the message of the entire movie.

Well played, an excellent entry!

Joseph Tran · March 11th, 2008, 03:32 PM

Many thanks to all who took the time to respond to my submission...

Jim -- wow, thank you; and though I was tempted, no I won't touch it. I won't! I've seen your work, so that means a lot coming from you.

Jesse -- good point... I actually pictured this as a sort of semi-period piece (reminescent of Moulin Rouge with Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, or the Tonight Tonight music video by Smashing Pumpkins), and thought it'd be nice to have that audience of dressed up people going to the theatre. I'll keep the extras in mind if and when I figure out how to pull it off. Couldn't do stock footage in this version, though... that's against the rules ;)

Josh -- I'll let my DP know about your comment. He's actually the Emcee in the piece. He's actually somewhat new to the whole DP stuff. We're both Theatre majors, so we played with our strengths there (theatrical lighting, acting, sound cues, etc.). I've been putting him in more projects to build his experience and confidence. What we've done, in case it helps anyone else, is we watched a lot of movies with the goal of lighting and camera angles in mind. Then we talked about it... ideas, goals, angles, likes, dislikes, the whole nine yards. I drew lots of storyboards to convey my ideas to him... mind you, I can't draw for the life of me, but even my stick figures got the idea across. On set, playback was very important. I figure we have that luxury, so why not rewind the tape and make sure we got it right? Sometimes we didn't get the right shot... but again, we talked about it, made the adjustments, and resumed shooting. We're still learning, still working. Oh, and it also helps that he's my best buddy... haha... we already got the working chemistry part down to a pat.

David -- I was trying to figure that out for myself!!! Is it really the link feature thing, Josh? Maybe the tags I used? I just remember seeing the numbers balloon in the first hour and thinking, "What the... who is watching this thing?!"

Bruce -- thank you... back in college, I was a stickler for making my college films not look like college films. So I spent countless hours reading about the importance of lighting, sound, foley, etc, etc, etc... that's how I found this great forum! I even learned about the history behind our technology... who, what, when, where, why we use 60i or 24p or ntsc or pal and such. I constantly went back and watched my favorite movies while asking myself why they were my favorite movies. This is one of the first projects where all the pieces are finally coming together.

Robert -- yeah, I can kill the reverb a bit. I'm glad you like the breathing part. Funny story... in the first draft of my script, I originally wrote, "I'll never get over that moment when I'm standing behind the curtain, nervous, only to be welcomed by the audience, seconds later." I had to cut it down, though, yet still portray that message. A mentor of mine always said to keep your acting truthful and in the moment. That's how that breathing part was born -- I really do that right before the curtain goes up.

Thank you all, again, for your feedback! I am having a wonderful time watching all of your work as well!

Alex Chamberlain · March 11th, 2008, 09:56 PM

This was a really great piece. I concur that the camerawork was excellent and I especially enjoyed the transition in colors that occurred when you "changed" into your stage persona. Very effective. I also agree that this would benefit from the inclusion of audience footage (I thought stock footage was allowable in a few cases, but I'll have to go back and read the rules again). Either way, the lack thereof did not distract too badly and the overall piece was really wonderful. Great job!

Mugurel Dragusin · March 12th, 2008, 03:41 AM

Outstanding piece of work, loved the color grading, storytelling, everything was in place. Congrats!

Dick Mays · March 12th, 2008, 06:20 AM

In five seconds I realized I was watching a professional quality piece. It it kept gettng better. Fantastic story, beautifully told, with interesting visuals. Little details abound. The shot of the feet as the curtain went up. Great directorial eye.

I think this is the strongest overall piece I have ever seen on a DV challenge.

March 10th, 2008, 12:59 AM	#1
Joseph Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 177	DVC 12 - Metamorphosis - Joseph Tran The project is in the can, and what a project is has been! One of the most difficult aspects of this piece was in the storytelling... how do we keep the balance between watching from the "audience" POV, versus the "artist" POV? From pre to post-production, this piece really pushed the limits of my work. Oh, and you should also know -- no animals were harmed, during the making of this film. Thank you, fellow DVC members, for your inspiration. I humbly submit, for your consideration and enjoyment, "Metamorphosis". Last edited by Joseph Tran; March 10th, 2008 at 03:11 AM.

March 10th, 2008, 10:49 AM	#2
Jim Montgomery Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Vero Beach Posts: 392	Perfect, don't touch it. I would say you have mastered the craft, but none of us truly do. But you are damn close. Good job Jim __________________ http://www.billfishadventures.com \| http://www.sfgmedia.com \| http://vimeo.com/2015915

March 10th, 2008, 06:00 PM	#3
Jesse Steele Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Irvine CA Posts: 98	excellent piece! Always use something you already have available to you to add production quality! Very Very well done... My only concern was this. you need to see the audience to give the show more perspective. I felt the whole time you were standing alone on a stage in a room with 1 or 2 guys in it. maybe have a few more things on the stage? or even a shot of people watching you from off stage? I know you can't really secure 300 extras to fill an audience. But maybe there is some stock footage or something? It just would have added another aspect of realism to it is all. So good! I think this will be the one to beat Best of luck __________________ I like movies.....

March 10th, 2008, 09:14 PM	#5
Alex Chamberlain Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hurricane, UT Posts: 186	Sorry to be dumb, but where are you guys viewing this? I can't seem to find a link for it. Thanks. __________________ Get rid of the "Aspiring" in "Aspiring Filmmaker." Shoot it; you're a filmmaker. After that you're just negotiating your budget. (James Cameron paraphrased)

March 11th, 2008, 09:56 PM	#13
Alex Chamberlain Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hurricane, UT Posts: 186	This was a really great piece. I concur that the camerawork was excellent and I especially enjoyed the transition in colors that occurred when you "changed" into your stage persona. Very effective. I also agree that this would benefit from the inclusion of audience footage (I thought stock footage was allowable in a few cases, but I'll have to go back and read the rules again). Either way, the lack thereof did not distract too badly and the overall piece was really wonderful. Great job! __________________ Get rid of the "Aspiring" in "Aspiring Filmmaker." Shoot it; you're a filmmaker. After that you're just negotiating your budget. (James Cameron paraphrased)

March 10th, 2008, 06:22 PM	#4
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	Very nicely filmed. It looks like your DP has been at this for a long time and it really helped tell your story. Bravo.

March 10th, 2008, 09:21 PM	#6
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	we found it through referal links in youtube or at least I did. Granted it still hasnt been "released" yet. We are being naughty.

March 11th, 2008, 12:27 AM	#7
David Cummings Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: denver, colorado Posts: 80	how does this already have 1500+ views!!??.... tell me your secrets (no pun intended) great work though. very impressive

March 11th, 2008, 05:03 AM	#8
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	Looks like it got featured by youtube for a little bit, (check its links link under the player)

March 11th, 2008, 06:01 AM	#9
David Cummings Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: denver, colorado Posts: 80	ahhh makes sense

March 11th, 2008, 10:37 AM	#10
Bruce Broussard Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 132	Outstanding work. This looks very polished. Lighting, sound, acting, everything came together very nicely.

March 11th, 2008, 03:06 PM	#11
Robert Martens Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 820	I echo Jim's feelings. As close to perfect as one can hope to get. Maybe less reverb in the voiceover? Even that's not distracting, this film is engrossing enough that it doesn't matter. My favorite detail is that we can hear you breathing as the curtain goes up. A genius idea, it sums up the whole story in my mind, and seems to itself embody the message of the entire movie. Well played, an excellent entry!

March 11th, 2008, 03:32 PM	#12
Joseph Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 177	Many thanks to all who took the time to respond to my submission... Jim -- wow, thank you; and though I was tempted, no I won't touch it. I won't! I've seen your work, so that means a lot coming from you. Jesse -- good point... I actually pictured this as a sort of semi-period piece (reminescent of Moulin Rouge with Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, or the Tonight Tonight music video by Smashing Pumpkins), and thought it'd be nice to have that audience of dressed up people going to the theatre. I'll keep the extras in mind if and when I figure out how to pull it off. Couldn't do stock footage in this version, though... that's against the rules ;) Josh -- I'll let my DP know about your comment. He's actually the Emcee in the piece. He's actually somewhat new to the whole DP stuff. We're both Theatre majors, so we played with our strengths there (theatrical lighting, acting, sound cues, etc.). I've been putting him in more projects to build his experience and confidence. What we've done, in case it helps anyone else, is we watched a lot of movies with the goal of lighting and camera angles in mind. Then we talked about it... ideas, goals, angles, likes, dislikes, the whole nine yards. I drew lots of storyboards to convey my ideas to him... mind you, I can't draw for the life of me, but even my stick figures got the idea across. On set, playback was very important. I figure we have that luxury, so why not rewind the tape and make sure we got it right? Sometimes we didn't get the right shot... but again, we talked about it, made the adjustments, and resumed shooting. We're still learning, still working. Oh, and it also helps that he's my best buddy... haha... we already got the working chemistry part down to a pat. David -- I was trying to figure that out for myself!!! Is it really the link feature thing, Josh? Maybe the tags I used? I just remember seeing the numbers balloon in the first hour and thinking, "What the... who is watching this thing?!" Bruce -- thank you... back in college, I was a stickler for making my college films not look like college films. So I spent countless hours reading about the importance of lighting, sound, foley, etc, etc, etc... that's how I found this great forum! I even learned about the history behind our technology... who, what, when, where, why we use 60i or 24p or ntsc or pal and such. I constantly went back and watched my favorite movies while asking myself why they were my favorite movies. This is one of the first projects where all the pieces are finally coming together. Robert -- yeah, I can kill the reverb a bit. I'm glad you like the breathing part. Funny story... in the first draft of my script, I originally wrote, "I'll never get over that moment when I'm standing behind the curtain, nervous, only to be welcomed by the audience, seconds later." I had to cut it down, though, yet still portray that message. A mentor of mine always said to keep your acting truthful and in the moment. That's how that breathing part was born -- I really do that right before the curtain goes up. Thank you all, again, for your feedback! I am having a wonderful time watching all of your work as well!

March 12th, 2008, 03:41 AM	#14
Mugurel Dragusin Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Philippines Posts: 253	Outstanding! Outstanding piece of work, loved the color grading, storytelling, everything was in place. Congrats! __________________ Lost signature, if you find it, please return it to me, thank you.

March 12th, 2008, 06:20 AM	#15
Dick Mays Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 690	In five seconds I realized I was watching a professional quality piece. It it kept gettng better. Fantastic story, beautifully told, with interesting visuals. Little details abound. The shot of the feet as the curtain went up. Great directorial eye. I think this is the strongest overall piece I have ever seen on a DV challenge.