Trailer for my new feature, THE WATERMELON! at DVinfo.net

Lori Starfelt · September 28th, 2007, 11:33 AM

This past summer we shot The Watermelon - a feature film based on an award-winning script by Michael Hemmingson. We just finished our first cut and are moving on to the polish. Brad - the director/editor - took time out to cut a trailer. I hope you like it.

http://www.bradmays.com/watermelonstream.mov

Ethan Cooper · September 28th, 2007, 11:51 AM

It's fugly.

Lori Starfelt · September 28th, 2007, 03:53 PM

daddy left to me!!!!

So, are you agreeing with the trailer?

Emre Safak · September 28th, 2007, 06:16 PM

Do you have a slow server? It took me ages to stream it. I gave up at the point they said fugly. I hope my connection is acting up.

Lori Starfelt · September 28th, 2007, 06:25 PM

be slow. It is a fairly large file. Maybe we should make the image smaller.

Thanks for the heads up. If someone else has this problem, please let me know.

Kevin Randolph · September 28th, 2007, 07:09 PM

I liked the trailer. The acting seemed appropriately over the top and the cinematography looked really good - well controlled.

There's just one thing... when I watched it, the audio had a weird, underwater, warble to it. I'm sure that it wasn't recorded that way, seeing all the care you took with the lighting and acting, but I couldn't get past it.

Also, I'll concur, it took a minute to stream, but it was worth the minute.

And yes... it's fugly ;)

Marcus Marchesseault · September 28th, 2007, 09:14 PM

I agree with Kevin on all accounts except it played quickly. Go figure. I'm in the middle of the Pacific ocean and it plays fine for me.

The audio effect sounds like the audio effect called a flanger. I think it is from two identical sources slightly out of phase. I have also heard a bit of this effect from audio noise reduction software. Was noise reduction used on the audio or could the L and R channels be out of phase?

Lori Starfelt · September 28th, 2007, 10:28 PM

Something must have happened in the conversion. The audio streams sound great. Anyway, I'm glad you like it.

We don't have any credits on the trailer so for the record, the DP is the brilliant Lawrence Malloy.
http://www.lawrencemalloy.com

And the rest of the credits:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0945521/fullcredits

Jimi King · September 28th, 2007, 11:54 PM

Looks good.
What kind of camera did you use?

Daniel Ross · September 29th, 2007, 12:30 AM

Not bad at all. Very strange, but probably in a good way. We'll have to see soon.

Emre Safak · September 29th, 2007, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Marchesseault

The audio effect sounds like the audio effect called a flanger. I think it is from two identical sources slightly out of phase. I have also heard a bit of this effect from audio noise reduction software. Was noise reduction used on the audio or could the L and R channels be out of phase?

I noticed that effect too. It also happens when you use too much noise reduction, or too low a bit rate for encoding (the most likely suspect).

Bruce Nelson · September 29th, 2007, 11:35 AM

Loved the trailer about a trailer. What plans do you have for showing it? Or, more to the point what chance would an ordinary guy like me have to get to see the final product?

Lori Starfelt · September 29th, 2007, 11:51 AM

Emre - thank you. We're going to redo it today and hopefully that problem will end. We don't have a lot of experience preparing footage for the internet so your guidance is appreciated.

Jimi - we shot it on the Panasonic 24p system - it's a beautiful thing. Truly. It gets us so much closer to Truffault's dictum that cinema will be art when film is as cheap as crayons.

Bruce - as for seeing it, we're going to go the festival route. I knew the script was brilliant for festivals. An eccentric, well-written story filled with charming three-dimensional characters - it's perfect indie festival fare. As for distribution, we just finished our first cut this week. We still have a couple week of polishing to go. We'll take it from there. :) Thanks for asking.

Brian Duke · September 29th, 2007, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lori Starfelt

Emre - thank you. We're going to redo it today and hopefully that problem will end. We don't have a lot of experience preparing footage for the internet so your guidance is appreciated.

Jimi - we shot it on the Panasonic 24p system - it's a beautiful thing. Truly. It gets us so much closer to Truffault's dictum that cinema will be art when film is as cheap as crayons.

Bruce - as for seeing it, we're going to go the festival route. I knew the script was brilliant for festivals. An eccentric, well-written story filled with charming three-dimensional characters - it's perfect indie festival fare. As for distribution, we just finished our first cut this week. We still have a couple week of polishing to go. We'll take it from there. :) Thanks for asking.

How long do you think it will take from finishing the principal photography until you are done with editing, sound and music etc? How many months do you anticipate?

Lori Starfelt · September 29th, 2007, 10:42 PM

Brian, We plan on being done by the end of the year. We'll have the cut locked within a week or so. We have some special effects work we need done, and then we have to figure out the score. So overall, five months beginning to end.

September 28th, 2007, 11:33 AM	#1
Lori Starfelt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, california Posts: 228	Trailer for my new feature, THE WATERMELON! This past summer we shot The Watermelon - a feature film based on an award-winning script by Michael Hemmingson. We just finished our first cut and are moving on to the polish. Brad - the director/editor - took time out to cut a trailer. I hope you like it. http://www.bradmays.com/watermelonstream.mov

September 28th, 2007, 11:51 AM	#2
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	It's fugly. __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

September 28th, 2007, 03:53 PM	#3
Lori Starfelt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, california Posts: 228	I won't let you steal away the last thing my daddy left to me!!!! So, are you agreeing with the trailer?

September 28th, 2007, 06:25 PM	#5
Lori Starfelt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, california Posts: 228	Hmmm, it's on ATT, so I don't know why it would be slow. It is a fairly large file. Maybe we should make the image smaller. Thanks for the heads up. If someone else has this problem, please let me know.

September 28th, 2007, 07:09 PM	#6
Kevin Randolph Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 423	I liked the trailer. The acting seemed appropriately over the top and the cinematography looked really good - well controlled. There's just one thing... when I watched it, the audio had a weird, underwater, warble to it. I'm sure that it wasn't recorded that way, seeing all the care you took with the lighting and acting, but I couldn't get past it. Also, I'll concur, it took a minute to stream, but it was worth the minute. And yes... it's fugly ;) __________________ "... the drama is on your doorstep..." - John Grierson www.grvideo.net

September 28th, 2007, 06:16 PM	#4
Emre Safak Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,447	Do you have a slow server? It took me ages to stream it. I gave up at the point they said fugly. I hope my connection is acting up.

September 28th, 2007, 09:14 PM	#7
Marcus Marchesseault Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,961	I agree with Kevin on all accounts except it played quickly. Go figure. I'm in the middle of the Pacific ocean and it plays fine for me. The audio effect sounds like the audio effect called a flanger. I think it is from two identical sources slightly out of phase. I have also heard a bit of this effect from audio noise reduction software. Was noise reduction used on the audio or could the L and R channels be out of phase?

September 28th, 2007, 10:28 PM	#8
Lori Starfelt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, california Posts: 228	Something must have happened in the conversion. The audio streams sound great. Anyway, I'm glad you like it. We don't have any credits on the trailer so for the record, the DP is the brilliant Lawrence Malloy. http://www.lawrencemalloy.com And the rest of the credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0945521/fullcredits

September 28th, 2007, 11:54 PM	#9
Jimi King Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Long Beach New York Posts: 36	Looks good. What kind of camera did you use?

September 29th, 2007, 12:30 AM	#10
Daniel Ross Major Player Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Marin & Davis, CA, USA Posts: 418	Not bad at all. Very strange, but probably in a good way. We'll have to see soon.

September 29th, 2007, 11:35 AM	#12
Bruce Nelson New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Benito, tx Posts: 9	Loved the trailer about a trailer. What plans do you have for showing it? Or, more to the point what chance would an ordinary guy like me have to get to see the final product?

September 29th, 2007, 11:51 AM	#13
Lori Starfelt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, california Posts: 228	Emre - thank you. We're going to redo it today and hopefully that problem will end. We don't have a lot of experience preparing footage for the internet so your guidance is appreciated. Jimi - we shot it on the Panasonic 24p system - it's a beautiful thing. Truly. It gets us so much closer to Truffault's dictum that cinema will be art when film is as cheap as crayons. Bruce - as for seeing it, we're going to go the festival route. I knew the script was brilliant for festivals. An eccentric, well-written story filled with charming three-dimensional characters - it's perfect indie festival fare. As for distribution, we just finished our first cut this week. We still have a couple week of polishing to go. We'll take it from there. :) Thanks for asking.

September 29th, 2007, 10:42 PM	#15
Lori Starfelt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, california Posts: 228	Brian, We plan on being done by the end of the year. We'll have the cut locked within a week or so. We have some special effects work we need done, and then we have to figure out the score. So overall, five months beginning to end.