Trailer for newly completed Feature: Color at DVinfo.net

Cory Sheldon · February 15th, 2011, 09:31 AM

I just finished my first feature film recently and getting ready to decided what to do next (festivals, etc.). Would like to get some feedback on what people think of the the new trailer, and also the intro to the film.

It's live action (shot on a Canon XH-A1 with a redrock 35mm adapter and nikon primes) but has a lot of animation and motion graphics in it (done in Lightwave, Motion, Combustion, and Photoshop). I also scored the film (as well as the trailer) if you want to give any thoughts on that as well.

seeing is deceiving

Let me know what you think
thanks

Brandon Furst · February 15th, 2011, 09:09 PM

I checked out the trailer. Looks good, but you need to ADR the dialogue in your film. I'm hoping not all of it is like this, but most of it sounds like your boom was WAY too far away from your actors. Too much echo/roominess.
If this was a short, I'd say it'd be forgiven. But, as a feature, it really needs to have crisp Hollywood dialogue. I say this because I too have battled bad audio in the past.

Sareesh Sudhakaran · February 15th, 2011, 10:01 PM

Nice piece of work!

The only issue I could find was the sound mix. If the location sound is not up to scratch, then you might want to consider Brandon's advice. Nothing destroys an experience like bad sound.

The motion graphics and compositing effects are great. The music is really good, too. Fantastic effort.

Brent Hallman · February 18th, 2011, 01:45 PM

I watched all three videos and you really have the graphics down!

Like the other posters, I think that it is lacking in the audio department.

Your intro video had nice audio, but the scenes with actors in them have a distracting echo. Is it possible to get the actors in for some ADR?

What was your audio set up when you were filming?

David W. Jones · February 18th, 2011, 04:01 PM

As the others have mentioned, nothing turns off a viewer faster than bad audio.

Andrew Smith · February 19th, 2011, 01:19 AM

I have a slightly worse problem. Chrome (my browser) says that my Quicktime plugin is out of date and has been blocked. So I can't even watch it.

I guess what I'm saying here is .... how about uploading it to something like Vimeo so that as many of your audience as possible can watch it?

Andrew

Cory Sheldon · February 23rd, 2011, 02:52 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty well aware of the audio not being great, it was easily the hardest thing to quality control in the film. I managed to at least ADR and doctor the sound enough to make it audible and fairly clear, however, it was not really possible to ADR everything that could have used it. It's far less distracting in sequence in the film, because the trailer jumps scene to scene it seems less 'Hollywood polished' but, I did what I could. What can I say, I had no budget.

I did a test screening and the most common critique was the sound, but most did not seem too bothered by it, which was not so bad for me to hear as the theater did not have great sound anyways. ( I did some additional ADR and audio tweaks after that). I think between the story, animation, and soundtrack the meh audio quality was not the most important element in this film but I know it could be better it was a real battle between being super polished and consistent. Personally I find inconsistent quality more distracting than moderate quality.

I hope to get the film out soon, see what festivals I can get into... I'll see what happens.
Thanks for the thoughts.

Cory Sheldon · February 23rd, 2011, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Smith

I have a slightly worse problem. Chrome (my browser) says that my Quicktime plugin is out of date and has been blocked. So I can't even watch it.

I guess what I'm saying here is .... how about uploading it to something like Vimeo so that as many of your audience as possible can watch it?

Andrew

If you check the bottom of that media/ trailer page there is a link to the vimeo site.

Hope that works for ya.

Andrew Smith · February 23rd, 2011, 05:52 AM

Vimeo link worked. :-) Thanks for that.

My biggies are now:

3. Audio echoes and related quality
2. Low light noise visual issues

(and the biggie .... drum roll please ...)

1. Some of the acting. The main character especially just doesn't "hold it". The director needs to spot this at the time of shooting and extract a better performance from the talent.

Other aspects such as the visual design are very good. Definitely some potential here and I dare say you might "nail it" when shooting this one the second time.

Andrew

Andrew Smith · February 23rd, 2011, 05:57 AM

LOL. Now that I've posted its only then that I look at the credits and discover that ... the director/original poster is also the main actor in this production. Oops. [slaps self on forehead]

Sorry dude. Wasn't trying to give you a hard time. Honest.

Andrew

Jem Moore · February 24th, 2011, 12:09 PM

I really liked the idea, the look, the motion graphics and the editing. Best of luck in submitting to festivals, you've done great things with no budget. Every project is a learning experience, so I'm sure you'll have your eye (so to speak) on the sound next time around.

Cory Sheldon · April 1st, 2011, 03:45 PM

Yes I will, thanks for the feedback.

Never having anything shown in a theater for anything ' big and serious' I realize now I don't know much about mixing sound for a big theater / surround situation. I think I might end up getting someone else / some studio involved in order to help me out with that. Hopefully they can help my audio format be complaint and help it to sound best for what it is.

February 15th, 2011, 09:31 AM	#1
Cory Sheldon Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 33	Trailer for newly completed Feature: Color I just finished my first feature film recently and getting ready to decided what to do next (festivals, etc.). Would like to get some feedback on what people think of the the new trailer, and also the intro to the film. It's live action (shot on a Canon XH-A1 with a redrock 35mm adapter and nikon primes) but has a lot of animation and motion graphics in it (done in Lightwave, Motion, Combustion, and Photoshop). I also scored the film (as well as the trailer) if you want to give any thoughts on that as well. seeing is deceiving Let me know what you think thanks

February 15th, 2011, 09:09 PM	#2
Brandon Furst Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 32	Re: Color I checked out the trailer. Looks good, but you need to ADR the dialogue in your film. I'm hoping not all of it is like this, but most of it sounds like your boom was WAY too far away from your actors. Too much echo/roominess. If this was a short, I'd say it'd be forgiven. But, as a feature, it really needs to have crisp Hollywood dialogue. I say this because I too have battled bad audio in the past.

February 15th, 2011, 10:01 PM	#3
Sareesh Sudhakaran Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,385	Nice piece of work! The only issue I could find was the sound mix. If the location sound is not up to scratch, then you might want to consider Brandon's advice. Nothing destroys an experience like bad sound. The motion graphics and compositing effects are great. The music is really good, too. Fantastic effort. __________________ Get the Free Comprehensive Guide to Rigging ANY Camera - one guide to rig them all - DSLRs to the Arri Alexa.

February 18th, 2011, 04:01 PM	#5
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	As the others have mentioned, nothing turns off a viewer faster than bad audio. __________________ David W. Jones www.joneshdfilms.com

February 23rd, 2011, 02:52 AM	#7
Cory Sheldon Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 33	Re: Trailer for newly completed Feature: Color Thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty well aware of the audio not being great, it was easily the hardest thing to quality control in the film. I managed to at least ADR and doctor the sound enough to make it audible and fairly clear, however, it was not really possible to ADR everything that could have used it. It's far less distracting in sequence in the film, because the trailer jumps scene to scene it seems less 'Hollywood polished' but, I did what I could. What can I say, I had no budget. I did a test screening and the most common critique was the sound, but most did not seem too bothered by it, which was not so bad for me to hear as the theater did not have great sound anyways. ( I did some additional ADR and audio tweaks after that). I think between the story, animation, and soundtrack the meh audio quality was not the most important element in this film but I know it could be better it was a real battle between being super polished and consistent. Personally I find inconsistent quality more distracting than moderate quality. I hope to get the film out soon, see what festivals I can get into... I'll see what happens. Thanks for the thoughts.

February 18th, 2011, 01:45 PM	#4
Brent Hallman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 89	I watched all three videos and you really have the graphics down! Like the other posters, I think that it is lacking in the audio department. Your intro video had nice audio, but the scenes with actors in them have a distracting echo. Is it possible to get the actors in for some ADR? What was your audio set up when you were filming?

February 19th, 2011, 01:19 AM	#6
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,080	I have a slightly worse problem. Chrome (my browser) says that my Quicktime plugin is out of date and has been blocked. So I can't even watch it. I guess what I'm saying here is .... how about uploading it to something like Vimeo so that as many of your audience as possible can watch it? Andrew

February 23rd, 2011, 05:52 AM	#9
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,080	Re: Trailer for newly completed Feature: Color Vimeo link worked. :-) Thanks for that. My biggies are now: 3. Audio echoes and related quality 2. Low light noise visual issues (and the biggie .... drum roll please ...) 1. Some of the acting. The main character especially just doesn't "hold it". The director needs to spot this at the time of shooting and extract a better performance from the talent. Other aspects such as the visual design are very good. Definitely some potential here and I dare say you might "nail it" when shooting this one the second time. Andrew

February 23rd, 2011, 05:57 AM	#10
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,080	Re: Trailer for newly completed Feature: Color LOL. Now that I've posted its only then that I look at the credits and discover that ... the director/original poster is also the main actor in this production. Oops. [slaps self on forehead] Sorry dude. Wasn't trying to give you a hard time. Honest. Andrew

February 24th, 2011, 12:09 PM	#11
Jem Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Carbondale, CO Posts: 134	Re: Trailer for newly completed Feature: Color I really liked the idea, the look, the motion graphics and the editing. Best of luck in submitting to festivals, you've done great things with no budget. Every project is a learning experience, so I'm sure you'll have your eye (so to speak) on the sound next time around. __________________ descantproductions.com cloudgate.tv Sony and Zeiss, FS700, FS100, A7s, A7rii, RX100MkII

April 1st, 2011, 03:45 PM	#12
Cory Sheldon Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 33	Re: Trailer for newly completed Feature: Color Yes I will, thanks for the feedback. Never having anything shown in a theater for anything ' big and serious' I realize now I don't know much about mixing sound for a big theater / surround situation. I think I might end up getting someone else / some studio involved in order to help me out with that. Hopefully they can help my audio format be complaint and help it to sound best for what it is.