Teaser for my Zombie Flick

Gary Franks · December 16th, 2005, 05:43 PM

Been editing like a work horse and still shooting, but here is a rough 1:20 second teaser.

Still needs tweaking, but this is about where I am going with it.

http://www.playingwithdeadthings.com/DEADLANDS

Feedback is always appreciated.

FYI Production Budget was $5,600

Dennis Hingsberg · December 27th, 2005, 06:00 PM

Love the eerie music. For a more less video look try running through film look such as DV film, Magic Bullet, Cinelook or Cinemotion.. . also I suggest a cooler font, something slightly larger perhaps and more horrific. Arial Bold just doesn't do it for me... I also couldn't make out the dialogue bits in some places - consider some ADR for clearer audio that will make a nice difference. I also noticed most 90% of the shots were wide, not sure if you could incorporate some more close ups or medium shots in there.. . hey just my 2 cents, hope you don't mind.

Good luck, can't wait to see more....

:)

Gary Franks · December 31st, 2005, 10:32 AM

Yeah, the wide thing is my biggest problem. I was on a compressed schedule closing the street that weekend and only had 8 hours each night to shoot most of the traffic and zombie stuff.

We spent 3 hours shooting the traffic jammed cars and passengers. Then spent 4 hours doing zombie attacks. In the first night alone, in 8 hours (Actually about 6.5 filming) we did 35 set ups. The next night we shot for a solid 8 hours and manged 45+ set ups.

After 15 hours of shooting I sat down to edit and realized I didn't have enough footage. So I had to ask the city to let me close the road again so I could get more stuff. After assembling the bigger film together I noticed so area's with major plot holes and I had to ask the city to let me close the street again this spring. Although the cars will be way out of continuity, I need to pick up 10 shots to advance a character.

Thanks for the feedback.

Oh, why it looks so Video. The original DP had this brilliant IDEAD that instead of shooting in progressive we should shoot in interlaced. I wasn't keen on this and after tinkering with the look for 3 months I would like to choke him for it. My new DP, Thomas, told me I had no choice but to finish shooting in Interlace mode otherwise the editing software will have a frenzy with the footage.

The funny story to that is... The old DP walked off the project claiming he wouldn't attach his name to any of it professionally, yet he is the clown who had the look of the picture in his hands. So in order to save what essentially mounted to $2,000+ I had to desaturate and overgain a lot of footage. The new DP is more on my side with a lot of the look. Although most of what you watched was filmed with a GL-1 and an Optura, newer footage shot after those weekends were done on a GL-1 and a DCR VX2000 & 2100.

The new stuff I still need to finish will be done on a DVX100. So yeah the looks of the film will be all over the place, but at least I got to experiment with different camera's.

Dave Ferdinand · January 2nd, 2006, 12:35 AM

Yes, it would be nice if you could make it look less video-like.

I really like most zombie films so it would be cool to watch this one. I like the make up on that zombie near the end. He looks spooky. It's cool you had the whole street closed to shoot the film, it must have cost quite a lot.

I think that mixture of 5 cameras might end up being a problem. You're going to have a lot of headaches trying to create a unique look.

Brian Duke · January 2nd, 2006, 02:21 AM

Finally got the footage to download. Looks cool and very "John Carpenter'ish music." Reminds me of Escape From New York. Just wondering if there is a market for another zombie movie? Also I would add some film looomto post. Too video like. Also the sign posted on street looked to cheap. Reshoot that on a close up with some "Offical Gov sign."

Surprisingly the acting look very good. Usually the horror flicks have terrible acting. Sound is not too good. Maybe clean it up with some ADR. The credits should also be more haunting, as suggested above. Maybe some red credits. PS> You can shoot close ups later, but it would be nice to see some close up faces.

otherwise looks good.

Mathieu Ghekiere · January 2nd, 2006, 07:29 AM

It's Windows Media I think.

BTW: it indeed looked very video, but the trailer was very well edited and I kept being interested in the movie, wanting to see it, so that's a very good thing.
You should maybe deinterlace everything in post.

Ps: For movies progressive of course is always better, but maybe it's not bad you now shot interlaced, because the VX and stuff can't do real progressive anyway, so maybe just shoot everything interlaced now and deinterlace the whole movie afterwards?

Gary Franks · January 6th, 2006, 12:31 PM

At this point I am not sure how it will finish out. I will probably stick with interlaced so it isn't all over the place, however the more I tinker with it the more the video look drains out of it.

If you look below and check out this version you will see a little better look.

This edit is the 7:10 version i took to a small festival here in Baltimore. Everyone seemed to like it. Although it plays more like a trailer, it also does not contain footage shown in the 1:20 teaser, and does not contain the radio Dj ADR about the highway conditions.

http://www.playingwithdeadthings.com/TheMovie

I love the pace of the editing in this clip.

Gary Franks · January 6th, 2006, 12:52 PM

[QUOTE=Dave Ferdinand]
I really like most zombie films so it would be cool to watch this one. I like the make up on that zombie near the end. He looks spooky. It's cool you had the whole street closed to shoot the film, it must have cost quite a lot.
QUOTE]

Actually to close the street it cost me $750 for insurance, $1200 for make-up, $500 for craft services, and a few hundred more in Misc. items. Those totals were for the combines two weekends of closing the road. One weekend in Aug, one in September.

The traffic jam stuff was were the majority of the production budget went... The rest went into the drugs... JUST KIDDING. It spread out over the rest of the shoot rather well.

Kyle Kauss · January 18th, 2006, 11:27 AM

Looks very professional good job

Gary Franks · January 19th, 2006, 09:13 AM

Thanks...

Working on a newer edit to include newly shot footage and the traffic jam attack was lengthened about 30 seconds to include more gore and violence. It was scenes in the original short clip that I deleted to help pacing.

I don't know how many of you go through this, but I shot so much zombie stuff on the street and I wanted to use all of it, but getting the pacing down was a real pain. I finally ended up writing new music in order to incorp the extra attacks which makes the pacing a lot better.

I still am not sure how the final aspect ratio will turn out. The camera shoots 16:9, but I hate the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. So I am manually cropping to a mock 2.40:1 aspect ratio.

I am hoping to have a final completed version out for DVD by December 2006.

Tim Borek · January 20th, 2006, 12:58 PM

Fun!

The different looks was a little distracting, but I wanted more. Nice work on that 7-min. version! The editing and rhythm during the traffic scenes seemed very natural.

My friend in NY is writing a horror short and wants me to DP. I haven't seen a script yet, but he's promising "Saw" meets "Blair Witch Project." So now I have an excuse to watch "Saw" :)

Adam Bray · January 26th, 2006, 04:34 PM

It seemed OK. The audio sounded a little dry and the font did not go with the theme. It seemed to me to move a little fast (or maybe im just slow?). The girl on the cell phone was a bad actor.

I'm not complaining, it was good. I'm just being picky. You have some good video. I personally would take out any dialog. One bad actor can ruin the whole thing (ever seen a Ben Affeck movie?). Get some more scary music that has a climax, and better fonts. throw in some screams and swish sounds during zooms or pans. Use the fonts and the good scenes to tell the story, instead of the actors.

Paul Jefferies · January 26th, 2006, 06:52 PM

Hi,
I actually like the "Video" look of it-you could even emphasise it a bit in post by (for example) putting in some artificial handheld shake, or deterioration of the picture. I think the video feel gives it a more immediate feel. Also a more layered soundtrack would really help - think of all the ominous radio messages from the authorities in the Romero zombie films, which could be blasting out of the stereos of all the cars in the traffic jam. If you really run with it this could be great,

Dean Orewiler · February 19th, 2006, 10:27 PM

I would like to see stronger lighting (more dynamic) than you have it right now...You may be able to boost it in post with higher contrast so the highlights / midtones glow a bit more....It's pretty underexposed from what I am seeing. I like your music - really good. Again, less video look - and more creative angles....too many wides.

December 16th, 2005, 05:43 PM	#1
Gary Franks Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 46	Teaser for my Zombie Flick - DEADLANDS Been editing like a work horse and still shooting, but here is a rough 1:20 second teaser. Still needs tweaking, but this is about where I am going with it. http://www.playingwithdeadthings.com/DEADLANDS Feedback is always appreciated. FYI Production Budget was $5,600

December 27th, 2005, 06:00 PM	#2
Dennis Hingsberg Trustee Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,055	Love the eerie music. For a more less video look try running through film look such as DV film, Magic Bullet, Cinelook or Cinemotion.. . also I suggest a cooler font, something slightly larger perhaps and more horrific. Arial Bold just doesn't do it for me... I also couldn't make out the dialogue bits in some places - consider some ADR for clearer audio that will make a nice difference. I also noticed most 90% of the shots were wide, not sure if you could incorporate some more close ups or medium shots in there.. . hey just my 2 cents, hope you don't mind. Good luck, can't wait to see more.... :) __________________ Blog: www.hingsberg.com Ultimate Exposure Guides for FS5/F7S/F5/F55

January 2nd, 2006, 12:35 AM	#4
Dave Ferdinand Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 359	Yes, it would be nice if you could make it look less video-like. I really like most zombie films so it would be cool to watch this one. I like the make up on that zombie near the end. He looks spooky. It's cool you had the whole street closed to shoot the film, it must have cost quite a lot. I think that mixture of 5 cameras might end up being a problem. You're going to have a lot of headaches trying to create a unique look. __________________ Do or do not, there is no try.

January 2nd, 2006, 02:21 AM	#5
Brian Duke Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hollywood, California Posts: 899	Finally got the footage to download. Looks cool and very "John Carpenter'ish music." Reminds me of Escape From New York. Just wondering if there is a market for another zombie movie? Also I would add some film looomto post. Too video like. Also the sign posted on street looked to cheap. Reshoot that on a close up with some "Offical Gov sign." Surprisingly the acting look very good. Usually the horror flicks have terrible acting. Sound is not too good. Maybe clean it up with some ADR. The credits should also be more haunting, as suggested above. Maybe some red credits. PS> You can shoot close ups later, but it would be nice to see some close up faces. otherwise looks good. Last edited by Brian Duke; January 2nd, 2006 at 09:21 AM.

January 6th, 2006, 12:31 PM	#7
Gary Franks Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 46	Thanks for the advice... At this point I am not sure how it will finish out. I will probably stick with interlaced so it isn't all over the place, however the more I tinker with it the more the video look drains out of it. If you look below and check out this version you will see a little better look. This edit is the 7:10 version i took to a small festival here in Baltimore. Everyone seemed to like it. Although it plays more like a trailer, it also does not contain footage shown in the 1:20 teaser, and does not contain the radio Dj ADR about the highway conditions. http://www.playingwithdeadthings.com/TheMovie I love the pace of the editing in this clip.

December 31st, 2005, 10:32 AM	#3
Gary Franks Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 46	Yeah, the wide thing is my biggest problem. I was on a compressed schedule closing the street that weekend and only had 8 hours each night to shoot most of the traffic and zombie stuff. We spent 3 hours shooting the traffic jammed cars and passengers. Then spent 4 hours doing zombie attacks. In the first night alone, in 8 hours (Actually about 6.5 filming) we did 35 set ups. The next night we shot for a solid 8 hours and manged 45+ set ups. After 15 hours of shooting I sat down to edit and realized I didn't have enough footage. So I had to ask the city to let me close the road again so I could get more stuff. After assembling the bigger film together I noticed so area's with major plot holes and I had to ask the city to let me close the street again this spring. Although the cars will be way out of continuity, I need to pick up 10 shots to advance a character. Thanks for the feedback. Oh, why it looks so Video. The original DP had this brilliant IDEAD that instead of shooting in progressive we should shoot in interlaced. I wasn't keen on this and after tinkering with the look for 3 months I would like to choke him for it. My new DP, Thomas, told me I had no choice but to finish shooting in Interlace mode otherwise the editing software will have a frenzy with the footage. The funny story to that is... The old DP walked off the project claiming he wouldn't attach his name to any of it professionally, yet he is the clown who had the look of the picture in his hands. So in order to save what essentially mounted to $2,000+ I had to desaturate and overgain a lot of footage. The new DP is more on my side with a lot of the look. Although most of what you watched was filmed with a GL-1 and an Optura, newer footage shot after those weekends were done on a GL-1 and a DCR VX2000 & 2100. The new stuff I still need to finish will be done on a DVX100. So yeah the looks of the film will be all over the place, but at least I got to experiment with different camera's.

January 2nd, 2006, 07:29 AM	#6
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	It's Windows Media I think. BTW: it indeed looked very video, but the trailer was very well edited and I kept being interested in the movie, wanting to see it, so that's a very good thing. You should maybe deinterlace everything in post. Ps: For movies progressive of course is always better, but maybe it's not bad you now shot interlaced, because the VX and stuff can't do real progressive anyway, so maybe just shoot everything interlaced now and deinterlace the whole movie afterwards?

January 6th, 2006, 12:52 PM	#8
Gary Franks Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 46	[QUOTE=Dave Ferdinand] I really like most zombie films so it would be cool to watch this one. I like the make up on that zombie near the end. He looks spooky. It's cool you had the whole street closed to shoot the film, it must have cost quite a lot. QUOTE] Actually to close the street it cost me $750 for insurance, $1200 for make-up, $500 for craft services, and a few hundred more in Misc. items. Those totals were for the combines two weekends of closing the road. One weekend in Aug, one in September. The traffic jam stuff was were the majority of the production budget went... The rest went into the drugs... JUST KIDDING. It spread out over the rest of the shoot rather well.

January 18th, 2006, 11:27 AM	#9
Kyle Kauss Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 114	Looks very professional good job

January 19th, 2006, 09:13 AM	#10
Gary Franks Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Germantown, MD Posts: 46	Thanks... Working on a newer edit to include newly shot footage and the traffic jam attack was lengthened about 30 seconds to include more gore and violence. It was scenes in the original short clip that I deleted to help pacing. I don't know how many of you go through this, but I shot so much zombie stuff on the street and I wanted to use all of it, but getting the pacing down was a real pain. I finally ended up writing new music in order to incorp the extra attacks which makes the pacing a lot better. I still am not sure how the final aspect ratio will turn out. The camera shoots 16:9, but I hate the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. So I am manually cropping to a mock 2.40:1 aspect ratio. I am hoping to have a final completed version out for DVD by December 2006. __________________ Panasonic DVX100B, INTEL Core 2 DU0 at 3.0ghz 2 TB HDD space, Sony Vegas 8.0B, 4gb of Ram

January 20th, 2006, 12:58 PM	#11
Tim Borek Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Westfield, IN Posts: 353	Fun! The different looks was a little distracting, but I wanted more. Nice work on that 7-min. version! The editing and rhythm during the traffic scenes seemed very natural. My friend in NY is writing a horror short and wants me to DP. I haven't seen a script yet, but he's promising "Saw" meets "Blair Witch Project." So now I have an excuse to watch "Saw" :)

January 26th, 2006, 04:34 PM	#12
Adam Bray Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Houston/Austin Posts: 394	It seemed OK. The audio sounded a little dry and the font did not go with the theme. It seemed to me to move a little fast (or maybe im just slow?). The girl on the cell phone was a bad actor. I'm not complaining, it was good. I'm just being picky. You have some good video. I personally would take out any dialog. One bad actor can ruin the whole thing (ever seen a Ben Affeck movie?). Get some more scary music that has a climax, and better fonts. throw in some screams and swish sounds during zooms or pans. Use the fonts and the good scenes to tell the story, instead of the actors.

January 26th, 2006, 06:52 PM	#13
Paul Jefferies Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Croydon, England Posts: 277	Hi, I actually like the "Video" look of it-you could even emphasise it a bit in post by (for example) putting in some artificial handheld shake, or deterioration of the picture. I think the video feel gives it a more immediate feel. Also a more layered soundtrack would really help - think of all the ominous radio messages from the authorities in the Romero zombie films, which could be blasting out of the stereos of all the cars in the traffic jam. If you really run with it this could be great,

February 19th, 2006, 10:27 PM	#14
Dean Orewiler Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 186	I would like to see stronger lighting (more dynamic) than you have it right now...You may be able to boost it in post with higher contrast so the highlights / midtones glow a bit more....It's pretty underexposed from what I am seeing. I like your music - really good. Again, less video look - and more creative angles....too many wides.