HDSLR (very) Short Film. C&C.

Markw · Mar 10, 2012

This is a short film I shot as a preview for an upcoming film of mine. This is to work as a preview for the film. A trailer of sorts. Stay tuned for the full film in the coming weeks!

Equipment:
Nikon D300s
Nikon 50mm F/1.8D
Sigma 180mm F/3.5 EX DG HSM APO IF Macro
Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 AT-X PRO
Sigma 24-70mm F/2.8II EX DG HSM IF

Stability and Support:
Manfrotto 501 HDV
Manfrotto 804 RC2
Manfrotto 055XPROB
Cinemover camera dolly (moveyourcamera.com)
4x4x8' wooden plank as dolly track

Take a look and please let me know what you think! It's a working title, so nothing permanent. Make sure to watch in full screen, 720p, and with the speakers up. :mrgreen:

Mark

Majeed Badizadegan · Mar 10, 2012

Hi Mark,

A friend of mine films weddings for a living and I was somewhat reminded by some of your panning technique.

A couple suggestions:

1. The music with the high pitched chimes are ear splitting throughout. I think if you could remove them or tone them down, that would help quite a bit.
2. We live in a world where trailers are incredibly fast-paced. We're used to consuming lots of information in fleeting seconds. A few of these shots were held too long and lost my interest. If you can jam more material in and use some more jump-cutting, I think the trailer will improve.

Regards,

Markw · Mar 10, 2012

Rotanimod said:
Hi Mark,

A friend of mine films weddings for a living and I was somewhat reminded by some of your panning technique.

A couple suggestions:

1. The music with the high pitched chimes are ear splitting throughout. I think if you could remove them or tone them down, that would help quite a bit.
2. We live in a world where trailers are incredibly fast-paced. We're used to consuming lots of information in fleeting seconds. A few of these shots were held too long and lost my interest. If you can jam more material in and use some more jump-cutting, I think the trailer will improve.

Regards,

1) Thank you for your reply. For the tones you're talking about, that's kind of the point. I chose that track to create tension. I can see how they could be a bit overbearing, however. So, I'll consider it.

2) That wasn't the feel I was really going for here. I didn't want a fast-paced, action-packed trailer. It's not that kind of film. Thank you, though.

Thanks again!
Mark

EDIT: Oh, and I suppose I should probably say these weren't snippits of scenes from the already-made movie. This was a completely separate piece. More like a prelude than a trailer, I suppose.

fokker · Mar 10, 2012

I'm impressed, very professional looking and I want to know what it is about now.

Markw · Mar 10, 2012

Thank you. You'll see shortly. The film will be produced shortly after my D800 comes in. :mrgreen:

Mark

480sparky · Mar 10, 2012

Very nice!

I wish I had the patience and time to make things like this.

Markw · Mar 10, 2012

Making-of photos to be up tomorrow. It took 4 hours of shooting, and 5 hours of editing (albiet on-and-off) to throw this together. It's really about having a plan, and executing it. Otherwise, you'll spend the rest of your life making one film. :lol:

This is just my first real foray into narrative-making, though. So, I'm no pro either. For all I know, I could have make a 2-hour job into a whole day ordeal. :lmao:

Thanks for your kind words! :hugs:

Mark

Destin · Mar 10, 2012

:thumbup: :thumbup: two thumbs up

But that was effin creepy bro!

invisible · Mar 11, 2012

That was hella cool! Nice cinematography, well complemented by the subtly creepy soundtrack. I agree with fokker: very professional looking.

Frequency · Mar 11, 2012

Outstanding Quality... if trailer is meant to evoke curiosity, this must be called a real success..... really waiting

Derrel · Mar 11, 2012

Well-done for the most part. But it looked like there was a big sensor dust bunny in the upper part of the frame--that was, uh,distracting...

Good music! A weird vibe, all the way around.

Markw · Mar 11, 2012

Destin said:
:thumbup: :thumbup: two thumbs up

But that was effin creepy bro!

Haha, it was supposed to be! Thanks!

invisible said:
That was hella cool! Nice cinematography, well complemented by the subtly creepy soundtrack. I agree with fokker: very professional looking.

Wuhoo! Thanks alot!

Frequency said:
Outstanding Quality... if trailer is meant to evoke curiosity, this must be called a real success..... really waiting

Bingo. Thank youuuu. :mrgreen:

Derrel said:
Well-done for the most part. But it looked like there was a big sensor dust bunny in the upper part of the frame--that was, uh,distracting...

Good music! A weird vibe, all the way around.

Yeah. That damned dust spot got in there mid-shoot and I didn't realize until editing. I wasn't in the most DSLR-friendly location, as you can tell. :lol:

Thanks again everyone! :hugs:
Mark

Beast95 · Mar 11, 2012

I like it!! Only thing is that the soundtrack gets extremely obnoxious by the fourth loop around. I am fine with the chimes but the chanting for more than 2 loops through started to drive me crazy