DVC5 Feedback: "The Autumn Queen" at DVinfo.net

Robert Kirkpatrick · April 19th, 2006, 11:04 AM

I'm trying to catch up on my DVC5 viewing and posts, but here's the thread for my little flick. I came up with the idea a week before the end of the contest, and we filmed it all in one day. I did a lot of greenscreen work, but most did not come out nice -- so I had to scrap most of it. I made the contest deadline by 6 minutes.

I'm not happy with the lo-res compression of the video -- the actual quality is much richer, but I didn't have time to render a nicer quality version for web viewing. If people are interested and once the contest is done, I'll link to a better version, with really nice colors and sharper, more filmic curves. (I'm still tweaking the film here and there, being the perfectionist that I am.) I don't think the compression available now does the FX1 justice.

I hope you all enjoy watching it.

Camera: FX1 (60i)
Editing: Vegas Video, with 23.97 conversion
Special FX: Almost all in Vegas, but I used a friend's Particle Illusion for one effect; used Vegas to turn all the leaves to autumn colors and all green/bluescreen work

Robert Martens · April 19th, 2006, 11:15 AM

Particleillusion is the greatest, I knew I recognized that sparkle!

The film was great, I thought the girl did a wonderful job of acting her part. The scene of the autumn queen looking in the mirror is my favorite--using the traveling shots (from a vehicle, I presume?) to show the mirror searching for a victim just felt cool. Very "kinetic", if you will. An excellent idea, if I may say so, I'll have to steal that in the future.

Michael Fossenkemper · April 19th, 2006, 11:21 AM

Can you say nightmares? I'll have them for a bit now. Seriously, Awesome job. great effects, editing, and story. Very nice.

Chris Barcellos · April 19th, 2006, 11:27 AM

My first reaction- A little dark-- if you can't trust your mother, who can you trust ?.... This started out a sweet story, but got dark-- a starck contrast, which of course was your intention.

Effects were cool, but did not really suspend disbelief. but an A for effort. Nice work with an exceptional cast !

Edward Slonaker · April 19th, 2006, 11:51 AM

GREAT story, Robert! The little girl is well on her way to Hollywood. Liked the effects, too. I used PI3.0 also and I love it. That last scene got me though. Good job.

Bradley L Marlow · April 19th, 2006, 01:10 PM

Hi Robert!

Wonderful job! Who doesn't like a bedtime story with a twist? A very dark one at that.

I can see you certainly put a lot of time into the special effects with the eyes and the "floating star". I have absolutely no experience in such effects and am always both fascinated and impressed when I see them. Well done. Plus, you actually colored the trees too? Wow!

Enjoyed the small mirror sequence with the Autumn Queen too as well as the long pan from the forest to the room.

The little girl Diana was priceless. Especially towards the end when her mother runs the line "...happily ever after the end..." and Diana gives mom that look.

Best Wishes~
Bradley

Tyler Baptist · April 19th, 2006, 05:36 PM

The quicktime file crashes on my 3/4 of the way through...

Andrew Khalil · April 19th, 2006, 05:47 PM

I thought it was really cool. I loved the story and the effects really help tell it. Great job.

Dick Mays · April 19th, 2006, 06:09 PM

I thought it started like the "Princess Bride," a bedtime fairytale story, but then, stuff happens, and that little girl is going to need some serious therapy.
Very nice effects. Nice pictures, good acting, but the Mother turning bad at the end can't be a popular decision with your audience. We all fell in love with the opening picture, the daughter and mother in the bed, and we didn't know we were watching a horror story!

Still, it's one of my favorites. Well done.

William Gardner · April 19th, 2006, 07:16 PM

Really like the ending: well wrapped up and surprising. Nice effects work on this one too. Good job!

Bill

Meryem Ersoz · April 20th, 2006, 09:58 AM

that's twisted uuuuuuuup! well done!

the pacing seemed a little fast to me, for a fractured fairy tale, which seems to beg something a bit slower, more legendary, more lore-ish. and more information about her "goodness" would have dramatized her shift into "badness"--the classic problem of "show, don't tell." as it is, i don't get to see much goodness and have to rely on this less-than-reliable narrator (wad of pure evil that she is!) to convince me that this shift occurred. but of course, there is that 5-minute limit hanging over your story.

still and all, great effects and very original!

Robert Kirkpatrick · April 20th, 2006, 10:26 AM

Hey, everyone, thanks very much for the feedback.

The little girl Diana is definitely great. She memorized her lines and practiced constantly. But she had her fill with filming. By the end of the day, she was bored. :) Her parents asked if she wanted to do commercials or other acting, and she said, "Why? I've already done that." Wicked smart five year old.

Robert, yeah, those mirror shots were from a vehicle. In fact, in two or three frames, you can see the reflection of my dashboard.

Chris and Dick, yeah, it's definitely dark. But that's what I do best. :) When a friend of mine saw the innocent and sweet shot at the beginning, he said, "You're setting me up for a sucker punch, ain't you?"

Meryem, I completely agree about the pacing. I wanted to have more footage, to do a more Neil Gaiman-esque, dream-like feel to it, but we just didn't have time. There were elaborate ideas for visuals: hearts decaying, knights wooing the queen, etc.

Tyler, is the file still crashing? Is that happening with anyone else? I downloaded to different systems at work, and had it tested, and it seemed to work okay. Have you tried downloading it again? It may crash if it's streamed, instead of downloaded -- but then again, I really don't know much about encoding for the web. I just used followed the web tips posted on the site.

I just wanted to apologize to folks for not commenting on their films this week. I've been running around like mad, working overtime so that I didn't have anything to worry about while at NAB. And now I leave for NAB in a couple of hours. But I did get to watch them all, and my vote's in.

Richard Zlamany · April 20th, 2006, 04:11 PM

Great short. I loved the special effects. The sweetness and the scariness was a perfect combination.

Sean McHenry · April 20th, 2006, 09:43 PM

I keep thinking - the tooth fairy bites. It's that sort of thing. Ever see Labyrinth? Has David Bowie in it as the elf king. There is a great scene where Hoggle the troll (or whatever he was) meets the girl of the story and he is chasing faries with some sort of bug spray, killing them. This horrifies the girl. She takes pity on one of the fallen faries and coddles it in her hands - and it bites her. Yeah, it's like that.

Keep the twists coming. I like that. It always works best if you can hold the end till the last second.

I too like the dark side.

Sean McHenry

Neil Fontaine · April 28th, 2006, 08:42 AM

this is my favorite one so far. I like fantacy, and the twist at the end was awsome. I love that type of thing, like sixth sense.

Sure no one was expecting it, but that was the whole point. I like what someone said if you cannot trust your mom who can you trust. Well honest truth is, not eveything has a trust worthy mother.

Anyways the ending really pushes your emotions, because of the very fact you think man her mom was so nice, yet deep down she was must waiting to take her daughters body. That grips your emotions because you think for a second, who else do I know is fake. Is my nice next door neighbor a psycho killer, hey he could be, you never know.

I like the special effects, they looked pretty good. Reminds me of older low budget fantacy films.

The little girl as everyone said did a great job.

April 19th, 2006, 11:04 AM	#1
Robert Kirkpatrick Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 199	DVC5 Feedback: "The Autumn Queen" I'm trying to catch up on my DVC5 viewing and posts, but here's the thread for my little flick. I came up with the idea a week before the end of the contest, and we filmed it all in one day. I did a lot of greenscreen work, but most did not come out nice -- so I had to scrap most of it. I made the contest deadline by 6 minutes. I'm not happy with the lo-res compression of the video -- the actual quality is much richer, but I didn't have time to render a nicer quality version for web viewing. If people are interested and once the contest is done, I'll link to a better version, with really nice colors and sharper, more filmic curves. (I'm still tweaking the film here and there, being the perfectionist that I am.) I don't think the compression available now does the FX1 justice. I hope you all enjoy watching it. Camera: FX1 (60i) Editing: Vegas Video, with 23.97 conversion Special FX: Almost all in Vegas, but I used a friend's Particle Illusion for one effect; used Vegas to turn all the leaves to autumn colors and all green/bluescreen work Last edited by Robert Kirkpatrick; April 19th, 2006 at 12:14 PM.

April 19th, 2006, 11:27 AM	#4
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	My first reaction- A little dark-- if you can't trust your mother, who can you trust ?.... This started out a sweet story, but got dark-- a starck contrast, which of course was your intention. Effects were cool, but did not really suspend disbelief. but an A for effort. Nice work with an exceptional cast ! __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

April 19th, 2006, 11:51 AM	#5
Edward Slonaker Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hell's 6 acres in S. Texas Posts: 203	GREAT story, Robert! The little girl is well on her way to Hollywood. Liked the effects, too. I used PI3.0 also and I love it. That last scene got me though. Good job. __________________ Edward Slonaker El Pilon Productions San Patricio, Texas www.elpilon.com

April 19th, 2006, 05:36 PM	#7
Tyler Baptist Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Saskatoon, SK Canada Posts: 71	The quicktime file crashes on my 3/4 of the way through... __________________ Tyler Baptist

April 20th, 2006, 09:43 PM	#14
Sean McHenry Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hilliard, Ohio Posts: 1,193	I keep thinking - the tooth fairy bites. It's that sort of thing. Ever see Labyrinth? Has David Bowie in it as the elf king. There is a great scene where Hoggle the troll (or whatever he was) meets the girl of the story and he is chasing faries with some sort of bug spray, killing them. This horrifies the girl. She takes pity on one of the fallen faries and coddles it in her hands - and it bites her. Yeah, it's like that. Keep the twists coming. I like that. It always works best if you can hold the end till the last second. I too like the dark side. Sean McHenry __________________ ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m shooting on D.V.’ - my hero - David Lynch http://www.DeepBlueEdit.com

April 19th, 2006, 11:15 AM	#2
Robert Martens Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 820	Particleillusion is the greatest, I knew I recognized that sparkle! The film was great, I thought the girl did a wonderful job of acting her part. The scene of the autumn queen looking in the mirror is my favorite--using the traveling shots (from a vehicle, I presume?) to show the mirror searching for a victim just felt cool. Very "kinetic", if you will. An excellent idea, if I may say so, I'll have to steal that in the future.

April 19th, 2006, 11:21 AM	#3
Michael Fossenkemper Major Player Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: NYC, weeee. Posts: 417	Can you say nightmares? I'll have them for a bit now. Seriously, Awesome job. great effects, editing, and story. Very nice.

April 19th, 2006, 01:10 PM	#6
Bradley L Marlow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Central Wyoming Posts: 484	Hi Robert! Wonderful job! Who doesn't like a bedtime story with a twist? A very dark one at that. I can see you certainly put a lot of time into the special effects with the eyes and the "floating star". I have absolutely no experience in such effects and am always both fascinated and impressed when I see them. Well done. Plus, you actually colored the trees too? Wow! Enjoyed the small mirror sequence with the Autumn Queen too as well as the long pan from the forest to the room. The little girl Diana was priceless. Especially towards the end when her mother runs the line "...happily ever after the end..." and Diana gives mom that look. Best Wishes~ Bradley

April 19th, 2006, 05:47 PM	#8
Andrew Khalil Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 424	I thought it was really cool. I loved the story and the effects really help tell it. Great job.

April 19th, 2006, 06:09 PM	#9
Dick Mays Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 690	I thought it started like the "Princess Bride," a bedtime fairytale story, but then, stuff happens, and that little girl is going to need some serious therapy. Very nice effects. Nice pictures, good acting, but the Mother turning bad at the end can't be a popular decision with your audience. We all fell in love with the opening picture, the daughter and mother in the bed, and we didn't know we were watching a horror story! Still, it's one of my favorites. Well done.

April 19th, 2006, 07:16 PM	#10
William Gardner Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 216	Really like the ending: well wrapped up and surprising. Nice effects work on this one too. Good job! Bill

April 20th, 2006, 09:58 AM	#11
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	that's twisted uuuuuuuup! well done! the pacing seemed a little fast to me, for a fractured fairy tale, which seems to beg something a bit slower, more legendary, more lore-ish. and more information about her "goodness" would have dramatized her shift into "badness"--the classic problem of "show, don't tell." as it is, i don't get to see much goodness and have to rely on this less-than-reliable narrator (wad of pure evil that she is!) to convince me that this shift occurred. but of course, there is that 5-minute limit hanging over your story. still and all, great effects and very original!

April 20th, 2006, 10:26 AM	#12
Robert Kirkpatrick Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 199	Hey, everyone, thanks very much for the feedback. The little girl Diana is definitely great. She memorized her lines and practiced constantly. But she had her fill with filming. By the end of the day, she was bored. :) Her parents asked if she wanted to do commercials or other acting, and she said, "Why? I've already done that." Wicked smart five year old. Robert, yeah, those mirror shots were from a vehicle. In fact, in two or three frames, you can see the reflection of my dashboard. Chris and Dick, yeah, it's definitely dark. But that's what I do best. :) When a friend of mine saw the innocent and sweet shot at the beginning, he said, "You're setting me up for a sucker punch, ain't you?" Meryem, I completely agree about the pacing. I wanted to have more footage, to do a more Neil Gaiman-esque, dream-like feel to it, but we just didn't have time. There were elaborate ideas for visuals: hearts decaying, knights wooing the queen, etc. Tyler, is the file still crashing? Is that happening with anyone else? I downloaded to different systems at work, and had it tested, and it seemed to work okay. Have you tried downloading it again? It may crash if it's streamed, instead of downloaded -- but then again, I really don't know much about encoding for the web. I just used followed the web tips posted on the site. I just wanted to apologize to folks for not commenting on their films this week. I've been running around like mad, working overtime so that I didn't have anything to worry about while at NAB. And now I leave for NAB in a couple of hours. But I did get to watch them all, and my vote's in.

April 20th, 2006, 04:11 PM	#13
Richard Zlamany Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hamden CT Posts: 470	Great short. I loved the special effects. The sweetness and the scariness was a perfect combination.

April 28th, 2006, 08:42 AM	#15
Neil Fontaine Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Napa CA USA Posts: 33	this is my favorite one so far. I like fantacy, and the twist at the end was awsome. I love that type of thing, like sixth sense. Sure no one was expecting it, but that was the whole point. I like what someone said if you cannot trust your mom who can you trust. Well honest truth is, not eveything has a trust worthy mother. Anyways the ending really pushes your emotions, because of the very fact you think man her mom was so nice, yet deep down she was must waiting to take her daughters body. That grips your emotions because you think for a second, who else do I know is fake. Is my nice next door neighbor a psycho killer, hey he could be, you never know. I like the special effects, they looked pretty good. Reminds me of older low budget fantacy films. The little girl as everyone said did a great job.