first film trailer at DVinfo.net

Pete Mander · January 7th, 2006, 01:41 PM

first film
first filming
first editing
first sound
first time using adobe
and of course a fan film
this entire project was done by 5 people and some extras on one day. but took about 2 weeks in total to film it

Download the trailer at http://www.pixel2life.com/pmander/seed_jan_trailer.avi and if it won't play properly, be sure you have the latest DIVX codec that you can download at http://www.divx.com/divx/play/download/

had some help to get this compressed I looked all over this board with no luck..but here its is.

i posted a differnt one some time ago with i beleve 3 replys so to me seeing it in the eyes of people here..it sucks pretty bad..LOL

I think its not bad for a first go and leared alot..and thats what its all about is having fun.

we have a show for it a a con in Toronto in april..feel free to email or pm with any questions. its a fee show of course

after this..I am on to Original film ideas. I love the whole creative side if making a movie,,,It just harder then hell to find people to get involved.

BTW I made all the costumes and props too

Pete

Mathieu Ghekiere · January 7th, 2006, 01:50 PM

YOu didn't provide a link?
Or am i misseeing?

Pete Mander · January 7th, 2006, 02:10 PM

its up now..i was to busy looking at the letters while typing..LOL

Pete Mander · January 7th, 2006, 05:37 PM

is the link not working?

Mathieu Ghekiere · January 7th, 2006, 06:22 PM

Link is working ,just didn't had the time.

Editing looked pretty good, although you maybe should have a longer set up to showing the action scenes.
That maybe would be more exiting.

Visually it looked fine, really, but kind of video sometimes. Did you shoot in 24p or a Frame mode or 60i?
Not all shots looked video, but one did very much: the one of the guy sitting in the park, in the beginning.

Your ending (guy in the dark, with the sigarette) was very good. Action scenes and special fx look very promising. Costumes looked great, you should be very proud of them!

One question: I searched the site of the film, like it's in the trailer, but couldn't find anything...?

Andy Graham · January 7th, 2006, 07:02 PM

for a first attempt i would say you did really well judging by the trailer. I always say with these types of projects that you fund yourself you can't loose because if everything goes well and people love it then thats great but even if the shoot is a disaster and it all goes wrong then you still learn a valuable lesson and that makes you a better filmmaker. And well done with the props and wardrobe. The one question i'll ask is have you run into or thought about any copyright issues with the predator and alien costumes and some of the sound effects you used?, i'm just curious.

Andy.

Pete Mander · January 7th, 2006, 08:03 PM

thanks for the replys it really helps me see this better you see i am here alone with no one really that gives advise and after you both mention it it makes sence to me now.

I was thinging also there was no buildup..but then thought na its just a trailer..but live an learn.

on the shooting mode i believe i had it on movie mode.. I dont know the true differnce between them yet .it the first time Ive used an XL and we had 3 of them .

im on this board alot ,,dont post much but always reading and dont know who is right or who is worng..Well not wrong..im mean there are so many options.

oh as for the site its getting worked on should be working soon

thanks again

pete

Ian Slessor · January 7th, 2006, 08:13 PM

Hey Pete,

I have to agree with what's been posted. Excellent job for a first try. Scratch that. There was no try here, it was only do. hehe.

And "do"ne well, indeed.

My question centers more on your use of weapons and explosions. How much of the VFX, explosions, were real rather than CGI and how did you pull them off here in Canada?

Also, with the absolute paranoia regarding firearms in our fine country, how did you go about having guys running around with what looked like assault rifles? You say you made them? All of them? Nice. For future reference where would I find these props or tutorials to make my own?

Again, well done.

May 1st can't come soon enough, of course, I could always get in touch with my inner geek and visit the Big Smoke in April for the con.

BTW. I checked your other posts. Shot on 3 XL1s cams, eh?

One other niggling little thing, but only because I'm really anal about spelling. Right at the beginning as the computer text comes on screen. You want "personnel" NOT "personal."

OK. I think I'm done.

Oops. Not yet. The site for "S.E.E.D." at the end of the trailer doesn't exist but I did find it here.

Again, nice job.

sincerely,

ian

Pete Mander · January 7th, 2006, 08:44 PM

thanks
'
the weopons are airsolf guns..with little scuib type things i made myself with cutting opem fireworks and using rocket ignighters and used on a wireless trasmiter like a remote control car from walmart actually.

the firefight scene is just fireworks going off same as the predator weopons just a differnt mixture made from fireworks..something i was testing for a year before we shot anything to make shure it was safe..if i blu up then obviously it didnt work...LOL
i have been asked how i did this but i will not go over this with anyone as for it could be dangous.

there is only one explosion that is big and i never did that that is from a tv show called the military channel i recorder it after seeing in in a commercial and used it..i havent been abule to find anyone to do CGI stuff so the other stuff to is just done with adobe preimere..the lens flare one frame at a time for a second..LOL I hopeing to get affter effects next week.

like i was saying first movie and no budget..but just wanted to make it look expensive.

my spelling sucks,,LOL i sent this trailer to 5 people that where in this film and no one mentioned the spelling to me..

Thanks for being honest.

Pete

Mathieu Ghekiere · January 7th, 2006, 09:00 PM

Ow yeah, Pete, another thing:

my first comment was just objective.
I must add another comment: for a first film I think it's very good and very ambitious too.

Ian Slessor · January 7th, 2006, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Amder

the weopons are airsolf guns..

Another question for you Pete. Those airsoft guns. Were they the clear ones they sell in Canada and if not are the other models available in Canada?

sincerely,

ian

Pete Mander · January 7th, 2006, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian Slessor

Another question for you Pete. Those airsoft guns. Were they the clear ones they sell in Canada and if not are the other models available in Canada?

sincerely,

ian

no they are black airsoft guns..the two main guys in the film scott and jordan purchased there own costumes and prop..which inturn was better because the gear belonged to them i do know they modified them with extra things just not shure exaclt what..maby they pop in here one day an give some more details.

being this way..it made them love there tools of the trade..it was cool even though they where fake they treated them like real guns..

there was alot of help with this project but i seem to be the only one on the forums and sites triing to get it out. maby that will change soon:)

Pete

Andy Graham · January 8th, 2006, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Amder

thanks for the replys it really helps me see this better you see i am here alone with no one really that gives advise and after you both mention it it makes sence to me now.

Pete The most valuable allies you have are the people you studied with at college and your old lecturers are always there to help you even when you leave. If you never went to college there are still alot of ways to gather a good team around yourself.

You can go to film seminars and mingle with people there, Ive met a few valuable people there.

Check out the thread in dvinfo called theses are the people in your area you may find someone near you.

Join some film clubs , here in Edinburgh we have "media base" which is just alot of guys like us.who also hire out equipment cheap aswell.

This one is important, the next film you make put an advert in some film and media magazines advertizing the film your shooting and ask for anyone interested in working on it. You never know who will call you, we did this and we ended up with two professional make up artists, a wardrobe specialist, a props girl , a good sound engineer and some runners all willing to work for food and accommodation.

Also go to colleges and universities and put some flyers in the AV departments and you'll get loads of guys and girls who want to work with you.

Over seven years I've been lucky enough to gather a good team. I used all of these methods and they definitely work. This is just my meandering experience with filmmaking , everyone has different ways of doing things but i hope it helps you out in some way

Andy..

Pete Mander · January 8th, 2006, 12:21 PM

thanks andy

well Ive never heard of film seminars but i will look into it

i quess the biggest problem I had is there was no budget except for what mysled and some freinds had which was very little concidering even though Im still in dept..I do now know what the saying means "never use your own money"

i know for a fact the area i am in ( retirement town) very much imposible to find anyone and keep the interest. or anyone with a knowledg for there spacific task..ie. grip, costume assistant, lighting. it goes on...

However as mentioned it was a learning experiance and hope baby with this liitle film will get some interest alone and maby some dedicated crew to follow of the next film..and this time with a budget.

pete

Jeremy Hughes · January 12th, 2006, 10:47 PM

Ha, I got a good laugh, its like another Batman:Dead End but with no budget... I'm impressed. Especially when you said first time and you hand built all those props and effects. where did you get all the predator and alien costumes? Man it looks like you had to have fun making that. I really want to check it out in May!

January 7th, 2006, 01:41 PM	#1
Pete Mander Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 116	first film trailer first film first filming first editing first sound first time using adobe and of course a fan film this entire project was done by 5 people and some extras on one day. but took about 2 weeks in total to film it Download the trailer at http://www.pixel2life.com/pmander/seed_jan_trailer.avi and if it won't play properly, be sure you have the latest DIVX codec that you can download at http://www.divx.com/divx/play/download/ had some help to get this compressed I looked all over this board with no luck..but here its is. i posted a differnt one some time ago with i beleve 3 replys so to me seeing it in the eyes of people here..it sucks pretty bad..LOL I think its not bad for a first go and leared alot..and thats what its all about is having fun. we have a show for it a a con in Toronto in april..feel free to email or pm with any questions. its a fee show of course after this..I am on to Original film ideas. I love the whole creative side if making a movie,,,It just harder then hell to find people to get involved. BTW I made all the costumes and props too Pete Last edited by Pete Mander; January 7th, 2006 at 02:12 PM.

January 7th, 2006, 01:50 PM	#2
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	YOu didn't provide a link? Or am i misseeing? __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

January 7th, 2006, 06:22 PM	#5
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	Link is working ,just didn't had the time. Editing looked pretty good, although you maybe should have a longer set up to showing the action scenes. That maybe would be more exiting. Visually it looked fine, really, but kind of video sometimes. Did you shoot in 24p or a Frame mode or 60i? Not all shots looked video, but one did very much: the one of the guy sitting in the park, in the beginning. Your ending (guy in the dark, with the sigarette) was very good. Action scenes and special fx look very promising. Costumes looked great, you should be very proud of them! One question: I searched the site of the film, like it's in the trailer, but couldn't find anything...? __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

January 7th, 2006, 07:02 PM	#6
Andy Graham Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Lanark,Scotland Posts: 736	for a first attempt i would say you did really well judging by the trailer. I always say with these types of projects that you fund yourself you can't loose because if everything goes well and people love it then thats great but even if the shoot is a disaster and it all goes wrong then you still learn a valuable lesson and that makes you a better filmmaker. And well done with the props and wardrobe. The one question i'll ask is have you run into or thought about any copyright issues with the predator and alien costumes and some of the sound effects you used?, i'm just curious. Andy. __________________ Actor: "where would that light be coming from?" DP: "same place as the music" -Andrew Lesnie-

January 7th, 2006, 08:03 PM	#7
Pete Mander Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 116	thanks for the replys it really helps me see this better you see i am here alone with no one really that gives advise and after you both mention it it makes sence to me now. I was thinging also there was no buildup..but then thought na its just a trailer..but live an learn. on the shooting mode i believe i had it on movie mode.. I dont know the true differnce between them yet .it the first time Ive used an XL and we had 3 of them . im on this board alot ,,dont post much but always reading and dont know who is right or who is worng..Well not wrong..im mean there are so many options. oh as for the site its getting worked on should be working soon thanks again pete Last edited by Pete Mander; January 7th, 2006 at 10:52 PM.

January 7th, 2006, 02:10 PM	#3
Pete Mander Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 116	its up now..i was to busy looking at the letters while typing..LOL

January 7th, 2006, 05:37 PM	#4
Pete Mander Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 116	is the link not working?

January 7th, 2006, 08:13 PM	#8
Ian Slessor Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South-Central Ontario, Canada Posts: 216	Well done! Hey Pete, I have to agree with what's been posted. Excellent job for a first try. Scratch that. There was no try here, it was only do. hehe. And "do"ne well, indeed. My question centers more on your use of weapons and explosions. How much of the VFX, explosions, were real rather than CGI and how did you pull them off here in Canada? Also, with the absolute paranoia regarding firearms in our fine country, how did you go about having guys running around with what looked like assault rifles? You say you made them? All of them? Nice. For future reference where would I find these props or tutorials to make my own? Again, well done. May 1st can't come soon enough, of course, I could always get in touch with my inner geek and visit the Big Smoke in April for the con. BTW. I checked your other posts. Shot on 3 XL1s cams, eh? One other niggling little thing, but only because I'm really anal about spelling. Right at the beginning as the computer text comes on screen. You want "personnel" NOT "personal." OK. I think I'm done. Oops. Not yet. The site for "S.E.E.D." at the end of the trailer doesn't exist but I did find it here. Again, nice job. sincerely, ian

January 7th, 2006, 08:44 PM	#9
Pete Mander Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 116	thanks ' the weopons are airsolf guns..with little scuib type things i made myself with cutting opem fireworks and using rocket ignighters and used on a wireless trasmiter like a remote control car from walmart actually. the firefight scene is just fireworks going off same as the predator weopons just a differnt mixture made from fireworks..something i was testing for a year before we shot anything to make shure it was safe..if i blu up then obviously it didnt work...LOL i have been asked how i did this but i will not go over this with anyone as for it could be dangous. there is only one explosion that is big and i never did that that is from a tv show called the military channel i recorder it after seeing in in a commercial and used it..i havent been abule to find anyone to do CGI stuff so the other stuff to is just done with adobe preimere..the lens flare one frame at a time for a second..LOL I hopeing to get affter effects next week. like i was saying first movie and no budget..but just wanted to make it look expensive. my spelling sucks,,LOL i sent this trailer to 5 people that where in this film and no one mentioned the spelling to me.. Thanks for being honest. Pete

January 7th, 2006, 09:00 PM	#10
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	Ow yeah, Pete, another thing: my first comment was just objective. I must add another comment: for a first film I think it's very good and very ambitious too. __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

January 8th, 2006, 12:21 PM	#14
Pete Mander Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 116	thanks andy well Ive never heard of film seminars but i will look into it i quess the biggest problem I had is there was no budget except for what mysled and some freinds had which was very little concidering even though Im still in dept..I do now know what the saying means "never use your own money" i know for a fact the area i am in ( retirement town) very much imposible to find anyone and keep the interest. or anyone with a knowledg for there spacific task..ie. grip, costume assistant, lighting. it goes on... However as mentioned it was a learning experiance and hope baby with this liitle film will get some interest alone and maby some dedicated crew to follow of the next film..and this time with a budget. pete

January 12th, 2006, 10:47 PM	#15
Jeremy Hughes Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 276 Images: 2	Ha, I got a good laugh, its like another Batman:Dead End but with no budget... I'm impressed. Especially when you said first time and you hand built all those props and effects. where did you get all the predator and alien costumes? Man it looks like you had to have fun making that. I really want to check it out in May!