Bride Of The Space Monster at DVinfo.net

Dana Acciavatti · October 9th, 2006, 09:46 AM

Admittedly, I'm a bit intimidated by some of you folks in these forums, but here goes: Five years ago, I made my first short film entitled, BRIDE OF THE SPACE MONSTER. It was made on a budget of $150.00 and filmed almost entirely in one afternoon, because of time and budget restraints. My goal was to spoof/pay homage to the campy Sci-Fi movies of the 1950's which featured bug-eyed monsters terrorizing beautiful women.
Having learned so much in the last five years, I had intended to remake it with a bigger budget and longer runtime, but Atomfilms took an interest in the original film and recently began featuring it on their website. If you'd like to check it out, here's the link:

http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/bride_space_monster

Chris Colin Swanson · October 9th, 2006, 09:01 PM

I liked it. It did have that "b" movie from the 1950's feel. The cuts were great. I noticed that alot of reviews thought the cuts were horrible but they don't realize that is the way cuts looked in alot of these movies.
As a movie it was awful! but as a spoof it was awesome! It really makes me want to watch something like Plan Nine From Outer Space right now and so I believe you achieved what you were after.

Robert Kirkpatrick · October 10th, 2006, 12:44 PM

I dug that a lot. Both the intro and the final revelation. Congrats on getting on atomfilms.

Mark Howells · October 10th, 2006, 02:25 PM

As an homage to cheesy B movies it was very effective, particularly the beginning and end segments. Enjoyed it. Need to work on the consistency of the sound levels a little bit. The wind rumble is a tad offputting but nice work.

Tim Gray · October 10th, 2006, 02:37 PM

That was pretty fun. Couldn't really speak to the quality issue (sound or picture) because of the 100k stream, but I liked it.

Just to have a bit of constructive criticism, one or two shots had a bit too much headroom for my tastes, especially since the bottom halves of people's bodies were getting cut off.

Congrats on the atomfilms thing!

Dana Acciavatti · October 10th, 2006, 08:40 PM

Thanks everyone for checking out my film and especially for taking time to comment. I really appreciate the kind words, as well as, the constructive criticism.

Mark Howells: I totally agree with you about the wind rumble in some of the shots. When we shot the film, it was a pretty cold, windy day, which was a problem that I wasn't prepared for, and is one of the things that I tried to fix in post, but wasn't able to. Though, the wind was a problem for recording the sound, I think it helped enhance some of the visuals, and helped set the mood; like when the saucer is hovering over the trees. I'm glad you liked the opening and the ending. The ending we chose, one of three proposed endings, was the favorite of the cast. My choice for the ending would've been much more elaborate and difficult to accomplish within our budget and shooting schedule.

Tim Gray: I believe the shot when the monster was carrying the girl down the hill was a shot that you might be referring to. Actually, there are a couple shots I would have done differently if given the chance, but the shooting schedule was so tight, that I was literally running from shot to shot, setting up the camera, and feeding the actors their lines only seconds before they had to speak them. It was a tough shoot, but we still managed to have a good time, nonetheless.

Shaughan Flynn · October 11th, 2006, 12:59 AM

I really liked it - Kudos!

To get rid of that rumble, slap a high pass filter on it. That should get rid of most of it.

Dana Acciavatti · October 11th, 2006, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaughan Flynn

I really liked it - Kudos!

To get rid of that rumble, slap a high pass filter on it. That should get rid of most of it.

Thanks for the Kudos, and the tip! I'll try the high pass filter the next time I get that old rumble.

Tim Gray · October 12th, 2006, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dana Acciavatti

...but the shooting schedule was so tight, that I was literally running from shot to shot, setting up the camera, and feeding the actors their lines ...

I know what you mean. This is the type of shot that somehow always manages to find its way into a project no matter how hard we try to keep them out. They must sneak in during our weak moments when we are on the verge of being overwhelmed trying to keep it together.

If you ever know of a film that was made were a compromise wasn't made, let me know :)

Dana Acciavatti · October 13th, 2006, 10:07 PM

Yeah, probably every film made has had some kind of compromise involved.
I guess it's how a filmmaker deals with compromises is what counts.
I think about how Spielberg, while filming JAWS, was able to work around the problem of "Bruce" the mechanical shark, not working most of the time.
Oddly, as I understand it, the "compromises" Spielberg was forced to make, may have even contributed to the success of the film.

Alex Hunter · October 14th, 2006, 08:33 AM

I enjoyed that. I've seen it somewhere before (newtek forums?). Anyway, you caught the B movie look superbly. Considering you only shot most of it in one afternoon, I would like to see what you could do with more planning and shooting time with a little more budget. Instead of remaking it, why not create another episode in a similar vein. Maybe use some of the other colour and cinematography styles found in such classics as the 50s B movie 'Invaders from Mars'.

Dana Acciavatti · October 16th, 2006, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Hunter

I enjoyed that. I've seen it somewhere before (newtek forums?). Anyway, you caught the B movie look superbly. Considering you only shot most of it in one afternoon, I would like to see what you could do with more planning and shooting time with a little more budget. Instead of remaking it, why not create another episode in a similar vein. Maybe use some of the other colour and cinematography styles found in such classics as the 50s B movie 'Invaders from Mars'.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. You must have seen at it Spinquad. I posted it there because it was, not only the first short film I ever made, but also the first film I learned to use Lightwave on; even though, it is used very sparingly. I would like to see what I could do with more time and money, as well. In fact, as I mentioned above, that was my plan; to remake it, before Atomfilms bought the rights to show the original. I wouldn't remake it now, but I would consider making another 50's style sci-fi, or a sequel. I have several ideas for the sequel. What would I call the sequel, though:
Brides of the Space Monster, Honeymoon of the Space Monster. Divorce of the Space Monster, Son of the Space Monster. The titles are endless.

Shaughan Flynn · October 20th, 2006, 12:59 AM

Son of the bride of the space monster of course!

Jason Murphy · October 20th, 2006, 09:54 AM

Loved it!

well...not too sure about that little part at the end...but loved everything else!!! :)

Dana Acciavatti · October 21st, 2006, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaughan Flynn

Son of the bride of the space monster of course!

Okay, But if I go with that title, lets hope this son gets his looks from his mother.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Murphy

Loved it!

well...not too sure about that little part at the end...but loved everything else!!! :)

Glad you liked it, or at least most of it. Yeah, some people really love the ending, and others not so much. I'm on the fence about it. I needed some kind of shock or twist ending, and that was the most practical one for what we could do. I still wish we could have done my first choice for the ending, but, maybe I could use the ending I wasn't able to use in the first film, in a sequel. Yeah, a sequel would be fun, but I'm not sure if I will ever get to do it or not. So many film ideas I'm playing with at the moment.

October 9th, 2006, 09:46 AM	#1
Dana Acciavatti Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Beverly, MA. Posts: 49	Bride Of The Space Monster Admittedly, I'm a bit intimidated by some of you folks in these forums, but here goes: Five years ago, I made my first short film entitled, BRIDE OF THE SPACE MONSTER. It was made on a budget of $150.00 and filmed almost entirely in one afternoon, because of time and budget restraints. My goal was to spoof/pay homage to the campy Sci-Fi movies of the 1950's which featured bug-eyed monsters terrorizing beautiful women. Having learned so much in the last five years, I had intended to remake it with a bigger budget and longer runtime, but Atomfilms took an interest in the original film and recently began featuring it on their website. If you'd like to check it out, here's the link: http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/bride_space_monster

October 11th, 2006, 12:59 AM	#7
Shaughan Flynn Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 272	I really liked it - Kudos! To get rid of that rumble, slap a high pass filter on it. That should get rid of most of it. __________________ B-Scene Films

October 20th, 2006, 12:59 AM	#13
Shaughan Flynn Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 272	Son of the bride of the space monster of course! __________________ B-Scene Films

October 9th, 2006, 09:01 PM	#2
Chris Colin Swanson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 76	I liked it. It did have that "b" movie from the 1950's feel. The cuts were great. I noticed that alot of reviews thought the cuts were horrible but they don't realize that is the way cuts looked in alot of these movies. As a movie it was awful! but as a spoof it was awesome! It really makes me want to watch something like Plan Nine From Outer Space right now and so I believe you achieved what you were after.

October 10th, 2006, 12:44 PM	#3
Robert Kirkpatrick Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 199	I dug that a lot. Both the intro and the final revelation. Congrats on getting on atomfilms.

October 10th, 2006, 02:25 PM	#4
Mark Howells Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: UK Posts: 99	As an homage to cheesy B movies it was very effective, particularly the beginning and end segments. Enjoyed it. Need to work on the consistency of the sound levels a little bit. The wind rumble is a tad offputting but nice work.

October 10th, 2006, 02:37 PM	#5
Tim Gray Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Media, PA Posts: 144	That was pretty fun. Couldn't really speak to the quality issue (sound or picture) because of the 100k stream, but I liked it. Just to have a bit of constructive criticism, one or two shots had a bit too much headroom for my tastes, especially since the bottom halves of people's bodies were getting cut off. Congrats on the atomfilms thing!

October 10th, 2006, 08:40 PM	#6
Dana Acciavatti Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Beverly, MA. Posts: 49	Thanks everyone for checking out my film and especially for taking time to comment. I really appreciate the kind words, as well as, the constructive criticism. Mark Howells: I totally agree with you about the wind rumble in some of the shots. When we shot the film, it was a pretty cold, windy day, which was a problem that I wasn't prepared for, and is one of the things that I tried to fix in post, but wasn't able to. Though, the wind was a problem for recording the sound, I think it helped enhance some of the visuals, and helped set the mood; like when the saucer is hovering over the trees. I'm glad you liked the opening and the ending. The ending we chose, one of three proposed endings, was the favorite of the cast. My choice for the ending would've been much more elaborate and difficult to accomplish within our budget and shooting schedule. Tim Gray: I believe the shot when the monster was carrying the girl down the hill was a shot that you might be referring to. Actually, there are a couple shots I would have done differently if given the chance, but the shooting schedule was so tight, that I was literally running from shot to shot, setting up the camera, and feeding the actors their lines only seconds before they had to speak them. It was a tough shoot, but we still managed to have a good time, nonetheless.

October 13th, 2006, 10:07 PM	#10
Dana Acciavatti Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Beverly, MA. Posts: 49	Yeah, probably every film made has had some kind of compromise involved. I guess it's how a filmmaker deals with compromises is what counts. I think about how Spielberg, while filming JAWS, was able to work around the problem of "Bruce" the mechanical shark, not working most of the time. Oddly, as I understand it, the "compromises" Spielberg was forced to make, may have even contributed to the success of the film.

October 14th, 2006, 08:33 AM	#11
Alex Hunter New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 18	I enjoyed that. I've seen it somewhere before (newtek forums?). Anyway, you caught the B movie look superbly. Considering you only shot most of it in one afternoon, I would like to see what you could do with more planning and shooting time with a little more budget. Instead of remaking it, why not create another episode in a similar vein. Maybe use some of the other colour and cinematography styles found in such classics as the 50s B movie 'Invaders from Mars'.

October 20th, 2006, 09:54 AM	#14
Jason Murphy Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 54	Loved it! well...not too sure about that little part at the end...but loved everything else!!! :)