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My video stuff: Backwoods to Topanga and some behind the scenes on current project.
Virum
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Current post.
Okay, so my group from my fundamental film production class wanted to use my camera which has a pretty steep learning curve - I've talked about it in the past but for you newcomers, essentially it is a hacked camera that allows me to take raw data from the CCD chips - you have to record double system and you have to record to a computer.
Anyways, some of us from the group did this short for practice and to see the workflow in action. We did this for a contest that Apple was kind of sponsoring that required the plot to involved a heist and a suitcase filled with money. So the theme was pretty limiting creatively, but whatever, we went out and shot something and that's what matters. It was pretty shitty all around, the first day it rained on us and it was stupidly muddy that we almost fell into a river with all the equipment about 4 times, and the second day all three cars we drove down got 60 dollar tickets because the signs that said you needed to pay for a parking pass at the state park were not readily noticeable and we missed it both times we went. (All three drivers. Both times). Anyways it was rather shitty shoot and I'm not entirely happy with it at all. But I figure I might as well post it here - get feedback, maybe you'll notice stuff I didn't.
6 minutes.
Small: 123mb
480p Large: 225MB
But it was good practice for the members of my team. Here are some behind the scenes pictures of our project for class - I'll post the video when it is edited and done. We finished shooting - lots of guerilla in the subway, alley, and in front of a pawnshop. We also had access to the soundstage for three hours to get 10 camera setups (17 unique shots total) done which was tough considering that the soundstage doubles as a classroom for my class so we had to take down tables and chairs and put them back up in that time frame as well. Lots of work put into the shot list saved us.
Soundstage
That's me moving the computer tether cord.
Me instructing the cam op when to pan.
Scary talent.
Director doing his great work.
The same.
More talent.
Guerilla Day
Computer in the field.
I am manning the comp.
Stealing shots in the subway.
At the beach - I am holding my computer but you can't see it.
=====================================
The last update now with a defunct link:
The Original Post:
Okay, so my group from my fundamental film production class wanted to use my camera which has a pretty steep learning curve - I've talked about it in the past but for you newcomers, essentially it is a hacked camera that allows me to take raw data from the CCD chips - you have to record double system and you have to record to a computer.
Anyways, some of us from the group did this short for practice and to see the workflow in action. We did this for a contest that Apple was kind of sponsoring that required the plot to involved a heist and a suitcase filled with money. So the theme was pretty limiting creatively, but whatever, we went out and shot something and that's what matters. It was pretty shitty all around, the first day it rained on us and it was stupidly muddy that we almost fell into a river with all the equipment about 4 times, and the second day all three cars we drove down got 60 dollar tickets because the signs that said you needed to pay for a parking pass at the state park were not readily noticeable and we missed it both times we went. (All three drivers. Both times). Anyways it was rather shitty shoot and I'm not entirely happy with it at all. But I figure I might as well post it here - get feedback, maybe you'll notice stuff I didn't.
6 minutes.
Small: 123mb
480p Large: 225MB
But it was good practice for the members of my team. Here are some behind the scenes pictures of our project for class - I'll post the video when it is edited and done. We finished shooting - lots of guerilla in the subway, alley, and in front of a pawnshop. We also had access to the soundstage for three hours to get 10 camera setups (17 unique shots total) done which was tough considering that the soundstage doubles as a classroom for my class so we had to take down tables and chairs and put them back up in that time frame as well. Lots of work put into the shot list saved us.
Soundstage
That's me moving the computer tether cord.
Me instructing the cam op when to pan.
Scary talent.
Director doing his great work.
The same.
More talent.
Guerilla Day
Computer in the field.
I am manning the comp.
Stealing shots in the subway.
At the beach - I am holding my computer but you can't see it.
=====================================
The last update now with a defunct link:
New short.
I've seen it so many times that I'm pretty sick of it and know most of the problems, but I'd still be interested in knowing a few things about it, specifically what you laugh at and any other general thoughts.
http://saber-x.com/web.mov
The color is slightly off from the compression, but overall it's all right.
My composer is going to re-record the score (that was done at home equipment, she'll do it with the school's way better equipment.
I've seen it so many times that I'm pretty sick of it and know most of the problems, but I'd still be interested in knowing a few things about it, specifically what you laugh at and any other general thoughts.
http://saber-x.com/web.mov
The color is slightly off from the compression, but overall it's all right.
My composer is going to re-record the score (that was done at home equipment, she'll do it with the school's way better equipment.
The Original Post:
Teaser of the feature length film I attempted to make last summer but ran out of time on:
If any of you are interested:
I recommend right click save as:
NTSC rez h.264 (19 mb)
Better quality NTSC rez h.264 (70 mb)
720p h.264 (110 mb)
It's just a little teaser of some of the stuff I shot last summer. This is not quite indicative of the full quality of the andromeda system because I edited h.264 compressed renders (for standins) and I have unfortunately found myself out of disk space on my editing station with no money for more at the moment, but I thought I'd share these anyway since it still looks great despite being compressed twice.
I realize it doesn't really tell you what the movie's about but we didn't really shoot enough to actually make a good trailer. I hope to revisit it sometime; I'm just getting stuff together for film school applications. I'd like to hear thoughts on it if ya'll have any.
I'm hoping to finish shooting a real trailer for it this summer, when I do I'll have my composer make up some original music.
So yeah. Any thoughts are welcome.
Also the set is in my garage. I built it myself.....I'm surprised it is still standing.
If any of you are interested:
I recommend right click save as:
NTSC rez h.264 (19 mb)
Better quality NTSC rez h.264 (70 mb)
720p h.264 (110 mb)
It's just a little teaser of some of the stuff I shot last summer. This is not quite indicative of the full quality of the andromeda system because I edited h.264 compressed renders (for standins) and I have unfortunately found myself out of disk space on my editing station with no money for more at the moment, but I thought I'd share these anyway since it still looks great despite being compressed twice.
I realize it doesn't really tell you what the movie's about but we didn't really shoot enough to actually make a good trailer. I hope to revisit it sometime; I'm just getting stuff together for film school applications. I'd like to hear thoughts on it if ya'll have any.
I'm hoping to finish shooting a real trailer for it this summer, when I do I'll have my composer make up some original music.
So yeah. Any thoughts are welcome.
Also the set is in my garage. I built it myself.....I'm surprised it is still standing.
Virum on
0
Posts
All in all, there's not a great deal to say about it really. It's entirely unindicative of any sort of story or anything, but it looks good enough.
I just started learning camera stuffs these past two months or so, personally—I've spent most of my time just writing and trying out story boards and frames and stuff, so I can't really comment that much on it.
The quality in light of compressions is definitely notable, though, you're right.
I'd actually love to add more, but beyond a few shots that are massive spoilers and some dialogue stuff that I can't slap in there without something leading up to it, that's really all we shot. We only shot a total of 6 days I think. I was hoping we'd continue on the weekends after school started but it just didn't happen.
Why does that last shot upset you?
Ok, so there isn't a story, and typically that is bad; but if this was practice more than anything else then its forgivable.
As a graduate of Film School myself, I feel compelled to say: in terms of lighting and basic camera usage: Congratulations! You are already better than 50% of your future classmates.
You make nice work of your set and overall atmosphere along with basic composition. I guess it all depends on what school you end up going to, but don't be surprised how these basic fundamentals will be overlooked by overzealous students tying to make something "Teh Awesomez!"
And maybe its the compression you were referring to, but for as much as you get right with the light here, you also get a lot wrong. A lot of your blacks are murky and the shot of the liquor and guns on the bar has ZERO range to it; its just completely dark and on some set ups, would probably be hard to see clearly.
I'm guessing however, that Spilltoy is upset by the last shot because it sucks, comes out of nowhere, is completely unrelated to the (admittedly story-less) scenes before it, and the costuming (especially compared to the gangsters before it) looks awful.
But overall, I liked what I saw, and I hope you do go back and re-visit it if you can. But as a side note, when you get into film school, just avoid the whole gangster genre. The guns, booze, and babes things gets really boring really fast when your watching your whole classes projects for review and 20 involve mob/gangsters, guns, a heist, drugs, or some other variation on the theme.
Keep it small (with a story!) and simple and you will go far.
More like always.
I'm sure if we reshoot a trailer this summer we'll redo everything more or less because we've all changed, but one day I'm gonna get official actors and stuff to make the movie - too much has gone into it to not make it.
I've been having a hard time with color correcting (the exposure is all there in the originals); I really need to get a callabrated monitor. I've been using my iMac for the most part color correction wise because that's closest to how it looks on a TV, but it always looks disappointing on my PC Monitor. I haven't been able to figure out how to make it look decent on both. I hope film school addresses this.
Thanks for all the advice.
Because this was only the second thing I ever shot. I have a short I made after this (in a day so it's not the best, but it was a last minute submission to a contest) and my very first short if you are interested in seeing them.
May I ask which film school you went to?
I've applied to CSU Northridge and Chapman, but I think Chapman will be way to expensive.
No Problem. I've only recently been coming to these boards with the intent to join; but it wasn't until this thread when I actually had something to offer.
Do your best not to rely on this. Color Correction is great and can do some amazing things, but don't take on so much so quickly. Especially in video where you need TONS of light to do it right (heh, that rhymes), use the range of your camera to have effective high/low lights. Try to make WHAT YOU SHOOT the best it can be, so the only post for coloration would be basic (like maybe some darkening here, adjust a hue there).
I wouldn't count on this. Color Correction is best done by a professional colorist during DI or the film->tape transfer. It depends on what school you go to and their film program, but CC is low on a list of priorities and your teachers would likely (as they did with me) encourage you to supervise the film->tape transfer where you WILL learn a lot about color correction and manipulation (and get to make your film look superb).
Sure, I always like seeing other works; it makes everybody better in the end.
I went to a local University with the best film program I could find (Towson University in Maryland). At the risk of totally de-railing the topic: I'm glad, at least by the cursory glance I gave the websites of these schools, that you are looking at Universities with film programs as opposed to dedicated film schools.
While both have their pros and cons, I found this route to be preferable. A University with a good film program is often more flexible in structure and provides just as good of a learning environment for the skills you need as a budding filmmaker. Though dedicated film schools often have more in-depth classes on particular subjects (say Cinematography only, or even Color Correction only) I feel they are best suited for those who already have undergraduate degrees and are looking for a masters or doctorate for possibly teaching or just devotion to one specific role in the filmmaking process. Also, if you go to a University with a film program then, heaven forbid, you do not make it in the world of film, you will at least have a degree from a University and not the LA Film School of Film.
I would suggest looking at the Universities that interest you and visiting the head of the department. Find out what they teach and how the major is structured. Find out what materials you will use during your time there (you would be surprised that some FILM SCHOOLS don't use film anymore, and prefer an all digital process) and how you would access them (do YOU have to buy film, which is standard, or do they give you some, i.e.- higher tuition). And probably most importantly, ask about what you will come away with at the end of your time there. Some schools (both dedicated and Universities) only teach through in class demonstrations and internships on other people's films (like thesis films for masters students). This means that, at the end of your hard earned years, you know a lot about filmmaking, but have nothing to show for it that you can call your own. Nothing beats coming out of school and being able to say, "I know a fuck-ton about making movies, and here's my college reel to show for it."
Wow. And the award for the longest fucking post goes to.....
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the info on the film schools. I've looked into a lot of programs and I like the hands on approach of Chapman and CSUN. I agree with the "wanting a degree from a real university" sentiment, which is I applied to a "real" university.
Here's the last full short I made, my third project.
It's got a shit ton of problems in it, but I made it for a horror competition that I found out about three days before the deadline basically. So my friend wrote it in about 7 hours, and we shot it, and I edited all in a total of gosh, 24 hours or so? So it's got a crap ton of problems.
Also, I realize it was dumb of me to purchase a hugely expensive camera before filming a lot. The folly of youth. But I still think it was the best purchase I ever made, I just need friends that have more free time.
Thanks man.
I've seen it so many times that I'm pretty sick of it and know most of the problems, but I'd still be interested in knowing a few things about it, specifically what you laugh at and any other general thoughts.
http://saber-x.com/web.mov
The color is slightly off (a little washed out) from the compression, but overall it's all right.
My composer is going to re-record the score (that was done at home equipment, she'll do it with the school's way better equipment.
Obviously, I agree that your original lighting must be very good first but color correction can help slightly. I do agree that this is some nice work but I feel that lighting could be a bit better. I'll take a SS of a portion and show you what I mean later today. Don't be afraid to light something a little more than you want. You can always take something down which will give you more detail in your images but it's harder to take something color/lighting wise up because your losing detail.
IxCreations.com
--Loves his Job!--
Is it supposed to be sort of a comedy, with the underaged guy drinking tonic and stuff, or don't I get it?
What's up with the guy getting punched in the face just before the emo enters? That's kinda random, innit?
Flickr ... Myspace
Deek:
Camera? Do you mean editor? I edited in Sony Vegas, but because of workflow issues (such as my PC monitor being crap for color correcting, my iMac screen is great but I haven't bought Final Cut Studios yet since I'm upgrading to a MacBookPro for my video stuff.
Color correction has been and will be an issue for me until I get a proper monitor, but to be fair, the original does look a bit better contrast wise - there's probably room for improvement, but the compressed version of it looks off to me. For some reason quicktime changes the color tones of the image when I compress it, it's pretty frustrating.
That said, the grading sucks in that it changes --- temperatures -- throughout the whole thing. This is because I color corrected using a LUT and rendered the files out as color corrected, and right now that functionality is in beta and it's not very user friendly and not an optimal way to color correct anyway. I had to do this because the monitor on my PC is so bad, but also vegas kept crashing when I tried to color correct so many files at once.
Once I get my MacBookPro (which I've ordered, but it's not shipping until August
"but I feel that lighting could be a bit better"
I agree with you. The walls are very shiny which made it a bitch to light and I'm not good at lighting anyway which just made it harder.
I think my exposure is fine though, I kept the histogram to the right and there was zero clipping on either side of the spectrum. However, everything is too evenly lit, not enough contrast, etc.
[url=
http://saber-x.com/Prom%20Guy - Coat Off_Scene1_Take1.mov]This is how it looks at acquisition more or less[/url]. h.264, so it'll fall apart if you try to color correct it. As you can see, the lighting is a bit flat.
EntrY:
"Reminds me of "Lock, stock and two smoking barrels". Which is good."
Hah - I was actually color grading with that movie in mind. Cool.
Yes, it is supposed to be a comedy, I know it's not hilariously funny, but I think it has enough truly funny parts that it's not horrible.
The guy getting punched in the face is me pre haircut, and that was a spur of a moment thing. It's an homage to a couple of different movies (Casablanca, Godfather). I figured most people wouldn't get it and it is a bit self serving, but whatever. People who have have really laughed at that part.
Anyways, some of us from the group did this short for practice and to see the workflow in action. We did this for a contest that Apple was kind of sponsoring that required the plot to involved a heist and a suitcase filled with money. So the theme was pretty limiting creatively, but whatever, we went out and shot something and that's what matters. It was pretty shitty all around, the first day it rained on us and it was stupidly muddy that we almost fell into a river with all the equipment about 4 times, and the second day all three cars we drove down got 60 dollar tickets because the signs that said you needed to pay for a parking pass at the state park were not readily noticeable and we missed it both times we went. (All three drivers. Both times). Anyways it was rather shitty shoot and I'm not entirely happy with it at all. But I figure I might as well post it here - get feedback, maybe you'll notice stuff I didn't.
6 minutes.
Small: 123mb
480p Large: 225MB
But it was good practice for the members of my team. Here are some behind the scenes pictures of our project for class - I'll post the video when it is edited and done. We finished shooting - lots of guerilla in the subway, alley, and in front of a pawnshop. We also had access to the soundstage for three hours to get 10 camera setups (17 unique shots total) done which was tough considering that the soundstage doubles as a classroom for my class so we had to take down tables and chairs and put them back up in that time frame as well. Lots of work put into the shot list saved us.
Soundstage
That's me moving the computer tether cord.
Me instructing the cam op when to pan.
Scary talent.
Director doing his great work.
The same.
More talent.
Guerilla Day
Computer in the field.
I am manning the comp.
Stealing shots in the subway.
At the beach - I am holding my computer but you can't see it.