Digital Short Film. Done with the legendary Optura PI at DVinfo.net

Alfredo Castil · October 23rd, 2004, 09:14 AM

I finally got to upload a hosrt i did on the summer of 03, check it out at:

http://kinetic-pixelworks.com

15.6MB 4:52min WMV on a ZIP file

Honest and brutal feedback encouraged.

Earon Kavanagh · October 23rd, 2004, 05:45 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Alfredo Castil : I finally got to upload a hosrt i did on the summer of 03, check it out at:

http://kinetic-pixelworks.com

15.6MB 4:52min WMV on a ZIP file

Honest and brutal feedback encouraged. -->>>

WOW! As a new boot and newbie to dv zi quite like it, particularly that seen near the end (I won't reveal it so it remains a surprise).

Perhaps, in a few days when others have seen it, you can explain how did the various technical things. I think it would be a great "case study" for learning. Also, did you do some color curve work on the overall scenery?

Muchos Gracias, Alfredo
Earon Kavanagh
Vancouver, Canada

Alfredo Castil · October 23rd, 2004, 08:01 PM

Ill be happy to share some of the secrets.

It was done on Premiere 6, color correcting was done with Premiere 6 and took a long time to achieve, some of the footage was actually shot with an amber colored plastic in fron of the lens to give it warmth.
It was shot with an Optura PI camera, minimal crew and a great AD.

I'll tell you how to do the ending trick when enough people have seen it.

Thanks again Earon.

Monte Casey · October 23rd, 2004, 11:04 PM

I'm assuming you overlap the 2 pieces of footage, set at 50% opacity, then put a few filters to achieve the "ghost" effect?

GG

Michael Bernstein · October 24th, 2004, 12:15 AM

Alfredo,

Honest I can manage, but maybe not "brutal." Perhaps "picky?"

Nice mood piece, but it doesn't have enough dramatic tension for me. The music and the narration are OK in and of themselves, but I found that at points they distanced me from the struggle of the main character, even though at first they drew me in.

The memory footage didn't integrate well with the rest of the story. For me. I don't know why.

I really liked the opening sequence, from titles to the first set of walking clips to the fade to white. The sequence after that lost me--because of the look of the clips (home-video-y), and because what was shown didn't prompt a coherent emotional reaction in me. Perhaps the audio during this whole sequence should switch from dreamy voice-over to real-sounding, immediate, external diagetic sound ("having a physical source in the scene")..but I say that because that's what I would do.

The "ending trick" looks pretty cool, and I found it an affecting way to tell the story at that moment. I liked it.

What are you doing these days? Still making movies?

Michael

Alfredo Castil · October 24th, 2004, 12:05 PM

Thank you for your frank criticism...

The footage looks video-y because it was shot by the main actor on a visit with his family in Mexico, and some other footage was shot on my last trip to Mexico 5 or 6 years ago. There was a lot of color correcting to make it look somewhat coherent. Unles I was willing to travel with my actor and shoot some stuff over there there was no way to achieve the level of quality I would want.

The last trick it was very complicated, but in short I chroma keyed the sand out of one of two overlapping timelines, and added some blending to make it ghost-like.

Michael, I'm still writing shorts, and I'm working on a couple of feature-lenght scripts. Immediately some of my collaborators and I are working on a web miniseries.

John Norman · October 24th, 2004, 01:19 PM

Alfredo, I thought the piece was quite interesting. Which way did you achieve the 16:9 format?

Alfredo Castil · October 24th, 2004, 09:19 PM

Thank you John.

It was all shot 16:9 anamorphic.

Karl Gruenewald · October 25th, 2004, 12:34 PM

That was just awesome, Alfredo. My only suggestion would be about the audio - keep the narration centered, and don't pan the music back and forth. There were just a couple of spots where it became distracting. (Maybe because I was using headphones.)

It was very inspiring. Thank you.

Alfredo Castil · October 25th, 2004, 12:49 PM

Karl,

I had various comments about the audio. yours is duly noted, and your praises much appreciated.

Earon Kavanagh · October 25th, 2004, 01:53 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Alfredo Castil : Thank you John.

It was all shot 16:9 anamorphic. -->>>
Alfredo,
When you say you shot in 16:9 anamorphic do you mean the Optura native 16:9 or with an anamorphic lens (or do you mean something else)?
Thanks,
Earon

Alfredo Castil · October 25th, 2004, 02:02 PM

Earon,

I used the in camera electronic squeeze, I don't think the Optura has native 16:9, the only awesome thing this little jewel has is a Progressive Scan CCD.

It was a great camera for the time and I think it still holds its ground against the new models.

I have moved on and recently purchased an XL2.

Alfredo Castil · October 28th, 2004, 12:21 PM

I'm pleased to announce that many people have downloaded "Mojado", (my server is close of hiting the limit, thank God it's almost the end of the month) and most of the hits are coming from this thread...

I would greately appreciate it if you leave your feedback on the piece when you have a chance to check it out.

Keep downloading!!!

Alfredo Castil · November 9th, 2004, 02:33 PM

Many thanks for your downloads and comments!!!

October 23rd, 2004, 09:14 AM	#1
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	Digital Short Film. Done with the legendart Optura PI I finally got to upload a hosrt i did on the summer of 03, check it out at: http://kinetic-pixelworks.com 15.6MB 4:52min WMV on a ZIP file Honest and brutal feedback encouraged. __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.

October 23rd, 2004, 05:45 PM	#2
Earon Kavanagh Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 65	Re: Digital Short Film. Done with the legendart Optura PI <<<-- Originally posted by Alfredo Castil : I finally got to upload a hosrt i did on the summer of 03, check it out at: http://kinetic-pixelworks.com 15.6MB 4:52min WMV on a ZIP file Honest and brutal feedback encouraged. -->>> WOW! As a new boot and newbie to dv zi quite like it, particularly that seen near the end (I won't reveal it so it remains a surprise). Perhaps, in a few days when others have seen it, you can explain how did the various technical things. I think it would be a great "case study" for learning. Also, did you do some color curve work on the overall scenery? Muchos Gracias, Alfredo Earon Kavanagh Vancouver, Canada

October 23rd, 2004, 08:01 PM	#3
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	Ill be happy to share some of the secrets. It was done on Premiere 6, color correcting was done with Premiere 6 and took a long time to achieve, some of the footage was actually shot with an amber colored plastic in fron of the lens to give it warmth. It was shot with an Optura PI camera, minimal crew and a great AD. I'll tell you how to do the ending trick when enough people have seen it. Thanks again Earon. __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.

October 24th, 2004, 12:15 AM	#5
Michael Bernstein Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 114	Alfredo, Honest I can manage, but maybe not "brutal." Perhaps "picky?" Nice mood piece, but it doesn't have enough dramatic tension for me. The music and the narration are OK in and of themselves, but I found that at points they distanced me from the struggle of the main character, even though at first they drew me in. The memory footage didn't integrate well with the rest of the story. For me. I don't know why. I really liked the opening sequence, from titles to the first set of walking clips to the fade to white. The sequence after that lost me--because of the look of the clips (home-video-y), and because what was shown didn't prompt a coherent emotional reaction in me. Perhaps the audio during this whole sequence should switch from dreamy voice-over to real-sounding, immediate, external diagetic sound ("having a physical source in the scene")..but I say that because that's what I would do. The "ending trick" looks pretty cool, and I found it an affecting way to tell the story at that moment. I liked it. What are you doing these days? Still making movies? Michael __________________ Michael Bernstein, actor & film maker. 10 films in 10 weeks: www.amplecatnap.com

October 24th, 2004, 12:05 PM	#6
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	Thank you for your frank criticism... The footage looks video-y because it was shot by the main actor on a visit with his family in Mexico, and some other footage was shot on my last trip to Mexico 5 or 6 years ago. There was a lot of color correcting to make it look somewhat coherent. Unles I was willing to travel with my actor and shoot some stuff over there there was no way to achieve the level of quality I would want. The last trick it was very complicated, but in short I chroma keyed the sand out of one of two overlapping timelines, and added some blending to make it ghost-like. Michael, I'm still writing shorts, and I'm working on a couple of feature-lenght scripts. Immediately some of my collaborators and I are working on a web miniseries. __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.

October 23rd, 2004, 11:04 PM	#4
Monte Casey New Boot Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MPLS MN Posts: 10	I'm assuming you overlap the 2 pieces of footage, set at 50% opacity, then put a few filters to achieve the "ghost" effect? GG

October 24th, 2004, 01:19 PM	#7
John Norman New Boot Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Grand Prairie, TX Posts: 17	Alfredo, I thought the piece was quite interesting. Which way did you achieve the 16:9 format?

October 24th, 2004, 09:19 PM	#8
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	Thank you John. It was all shot 16:9 anamorphic. __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.

October 25th, 2004, 12:34 PM	#9
Karl Gruenewald Tourist Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 4	That was just awesome, Alfredo. My only suggestion would be about the audio - keep the narration centered, and don't pan the music back and forth. There were just a couple of spots where it became distracting. (Maybe because I was using headphones.) It was very inspiring. Thank you.

October 25th, 2004, 12:49 PM	#10
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	Karl, I had various comments about the audio. yours is duly noted, and your praises much appreciated. __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.

October 25th, 2004, 01:53 PM	#11
Earon Kavanagh Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 65	<<<-- Originally posted by Alfredo Castil : Thank you John. It was all shot 16:9 anamorphic. -->>> Alfredo, When you say you shot in 16:9 anamorphic do you mean the Optura native 16:9 or with an anamorphic lens (or do you mean something else)? Thanks, Earon

October 25th, 2004, 02:02 PM	#12
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	Earon, I used the in camera electronic squeeze, I don't think the Optura has native 16:9, the only awesome thing this little jewel has is a Progressive Scan CCD. It was a great camera for the time and I think it still holds its ground against the new models. I have moved on and recently purchased an XL2. __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.

October 28th, 2004, 12:21 PM	#13
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	I'm pleased to announce that many people have downloaded "Mojado", (my server is close of hiting the limit, thank God it's almost the end of the month) and most of the hits are coming from this thread... I would greately appreciate it if you leave your feedback on the piece when you have a chance to check it out. Keep downloading!!! __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.

November 9th, 2004, 02:33 PM	#14
Alfredo Castil Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40	Many thanks for your downloads and comments!!! __________________ Ask not whether you can afford to make it, but whether can you afford not to.