Good stuff there. Cut the music, and get down to the story, following a couple of guys through daily life and what happens to them.

If you show a gun, someones going to get shot!

Our film RETRIBUTION made the semifinals in iFC's Assassin's Creed contest
 

Our short film Retribution made it into the semifinals of iFC's Assassin's Creed Contest. View it online and vote for us.

View it here: http://medialab.ifc.com/film_detail....id=5599&list=1

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1216/...816af849bd.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1105/...822623a9c6.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1379/...0363e99a8e.jpg

Just watched your short....cool, very cool! Great cinematography, acting, and directing. Good luck!!!!!!

You did a terrific job getting such good exposures..
 

I posted my comments on YouTube but basically you should consider doing a high quality film transfer of your film original and then lay over the new transfer clips over the existing clips on your time line.

Suddenly you have a slick looking film demo that will stand apart versus doing the original shooting on DV.

Thanks for you insight Justin and Alessandro!

I totally agree with you Alessandro about the xfer method. I was dissapointed myself with the degradation in quality. I was thinking about sending my original footage to a lab for a transfer then re-editing it, but I think I will move on to another project. It was my first time shooting on film and our teacher suggested we xfer this way. It saved time and money but doesn't look as good as it could of. Thanks for viewing my film though I appreciate it!

That's one of the problems with the way film is taught. To keep the costs down, shortcuts are taken, which can be a good thing, but...

But then someone actually shoots a film with excellent exposures and they don't take their film to the next level and just make it look nice. I read in the credits that you shot Plus-X black and white.

Super-8 Plus-X black and white looks so good these days that it can pass for 90's 16mm, it's definitely broadcast quality as well. I believe that whenever one does a project that exhibits some level of skills it should be used as a demo piece for future job opportunities. Right now your film may miss the mark because of how it was transferred, and that seems like a waste.

However, I understand your desire to move on and do more. I don't know how much footage you shot but assuming you shot 5 or 6 Super-8 film cartridges you are probably looking at around 175 - 325 dollars for an amazing quality transfer.

Then all you would do is go into your NLE time line and replace the existing shots with the newly transfered version. It is a form of education to see what you orginally did and then see how much better it became after the new transfer.

One final advantage to retransferring your footage is you learn about the film transfer side of filmmaking at a relatively low cost and then that knowledge base will help you in the future should you shoot on film again.

Wow that was great. I agree with Tunde great cinematography, acting, and directing.

Lethal Engagement Previews
 

Alrighty folks, I think that it's about time to let you guys have a sneak peek into our current production, LETHAL ENGAGEMENT.

A little bit about the film: It's meant to be like the visual style of the Bourne movies. A man without a past must fight through a haze of forgetfulness and politics to save the one he loves, and to remember who and what he was. It will be released as four parts, or acts, and each act will be download-able from the site, in both HD and SD versions. More to come about that.

I'm not going to say any more than that, you'll just have to see it when they come out.

Attached is the promo pic for Act III

Alright. On to the previews. (Note: My FTP service is being weird and not letting me upload anything, so I opted for yousendit)

ACT II Preview in HD: http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...7467C4058E1550

ACT II Preview in SD: http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...0028B449777C1F

ACT III Preview in HD: http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...998E5152399080

ACT III Preview in SD: http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...D861341C2E7438


Remember, these are just previews, and may not be how they will be in the final film. Teasers, if you will.

I will use this thread to post updates and eventually the final film.

Comments welcome.

Steven Bills

Ryan, there is a great potential for a story with what you're doing, but I agree with what the other guys are saying, its not really revealed yet. I realize this is just a trailer, but make sure your "doc" isn't just a bunch of thugs & gang bangers talking smack. You need to show the background of your subjects. I get the feeling you also need to identify your position on what you're seeing and filming... is it cool? tragic? hip? scary? pathetic? All docs are biased in the sense that the filmmaker chooses to tell a story, which is yours? I hope this isn't sounding harsh, because I think you're on the right track and have real potential.

Those kids, next time, get the camera down at their level, at least that's what I would do.

Ryan, be careful. Guys pulling out guns with silencer's on them, man, that is bad bad bad. Remember that people who are just "covering the story" get killed all the time. I would also consult a lawyer before you go any further. I'm pretty sure that taping illegal activity like that and just saying "hey, I'm just a filmmaker" can get you into trouble. I know its caused problems for people taping illegal car racing. In any event, being around guys with guns like that is not a good idea. Possibly a really great doc in the works, but proceed with caution! Cudos though for having the guts to get out there and shoot that. Didn't it freak you out a little?

That was funny as hell. Very nice!

Dude, I love your stuff. I still sing, "I ain't got much of a smile" all the time throughout the day.

Latest from my Japan videos
 

Been a while since I added any new videos to my site.

I just finsihed this one on a very mundane topic - Rice.

It is at the bottom of the list on the following page:

http://www.gaijin-eyes.com/03gallery/0301afh.htm


Hope it interests some of you....

Regards,
Douglas

Thanks for the comments. We're shooting with the JVC HD100 with the Brevis 35mm adapter.

The car crash was a lot easier than we thought. We got both for free, because the director's brother works with cars and has contacts. One car was just going to be scrapped, so we could destroy it (we couldn't touch the other one). The car guys brought their tow trucks, and used it to tip the one car over.

Our crew was minimal. We had a director, DP, gaffer, and about 3 grips. One guy did sound, and then we had someone doing stills.
Thanks for looking!

Brian:

I watched the film when you first posted too. Sorry didn't get a chance to comment. You used your contacts well...accident scenes was very convincing. And actress was great !

So when you are shooting with Brevis, it appears from most of shots that you have the prime lens stopped down pretty good. Seems to be around F5.6 to F8. Are you having to fight vignetting issues at all ?

A Trailer/Promo for my High school
 

My school has a new school-wide prayer. We wanted to promote it through entertainment media before we taught it to other students. As a senior, I'm in a leadership group that promotes ministry in music and other arts. I directed and edited the promo.

HVX200 w/ redrock
Homedepot lights

Any questions or comments welcome. Thanks guys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHV5zsTU1co

Better Quality:
http://www.siprep.org/examen/examen.mp4