Shortmovie - Meerblick

[pingu2k]

Hi!

I'm a german student and want to show of my work.
My course has produced a shortmovie (16min.) in five weeks, 1 week recording and 1.5 editing. I've done the filming and editing together with a good friend of mine. The actors speak German, but in a few days I'll post the translated text.

Meerblick (Ocean view) - To have a last look at the ocean!


Malte as a young self-confident boy, has high marks at school and withstands every problem.
Really everything?
He is confronted with death at the age of 17:
Malte's mother is going to die.
He cares after his mother in every single minute and anticipates Nele's every wish. Just as her last dream, to have a last look at the ocean.
The love towards his mother lets Malte move heaven and earth...


Filmed on my Sony PMW-EX1 in 1080p25 with 1/50s, without a filmadapter, just the stock-lens. Audio was gathered through a Sennheiser Me66 and a Sennheiser wireless system.
Many shots used a steadycam and sometimes a dolly.
At end of day shooting, the two 8GB SxS cards were downloaded onto my MacBookPro.
Editing and audio mixing happend on Final Cut Pro 6.0.2. The general look was given inside the camera and for final colorgrading I used Apple Color.

Video
FULL HD 1080p:
http://pingu2k.ath.cx/Meerblick%201080p.wmv

small HD 720p:
http://pingu2k.ath.cx/Meerblick%20720p.wmv

regular PAL for slow computers:
http://pingu2k.ath.cx/Meerblick%20pal.wmv

pico for tiny downloadratio:
http://pingu2k.ath.cx/Meerblick%20small.wmv


Making-Of Pictures:
http://pingu2k.ath.cx/gallery2/f/Kurzfilm%20Cross%20Media

I'm interested in comments technically and regarding content.

Happy viewing
Gregor

[wartez]

file sizes are MASSIVE

[dandobi.com]

yeah big time ... i'd take this down and re-post ... i can't even download the PAL version ...

[rrrobb]

filesizes are fine! I'm streaming the 1080p version without problems. Just wondering about the amount of grain. Were you using only the available light there ? Or is it due to color corrections using "color"? Some of the corrections made certain parts of the image (like the blue one) very flat for my taste. The acting and steadycam action is great.

[Bertholt4]

Hello, haven`t seen the whole movie yet because I`m still downlaoding - I would like to know which is your filmschool?

Grüße aus LEipzig

ich schreibe mehr, wenn ich alles gesehen habe.

[joe 1008]

Had no problem downloading the PAL-version. Quite a lot resolution, already. Really nice work. CONGRATULATIONS. Beside that I liked the EX1 picture. Without adapter it doesn´t emulate the Hollywood-style but it adds a kind of "realism", IMO very helpful for some kind of european-like style. (or is it that europeans are so used to 16mm productions due to limited budgets?) Anyway, it never looked like video. Maybe in some frames the CC was too harsh, looked too much like magic bullet or similar programs. How did you CC?

I would like to see more films shot with naked cameras like the EX1 and the HPX500 because I would like to evite adapters for many known reasons. Every work done that way is very inspiring to me.

[kyle_doris]

great choice of opening music, Subtle is pretty much the best band to see live in my opinion playing today.

they are completely incredible live performers...

13&God... awesome too... nice to see anticon getting some props

[thefilmaddict]

Very cinematic camera moves. Nice work. The opening shot is very cool. What kind of camera gear did you use (type of dolly, seadycam, etc.)?

Good music.

The cut/edit where the boy in the yellow shirt knocks stuff off of the table is a bit rough. That might be because the shots are not different enough. I think that you can improve it by having the cut happen while the boys hands are moving. Overlap the action more (hands move more in the first shot -- extend the shot a few more frames, get into the second shot a bit later).

Lots of head room in the shot where the boy enters the house after the school scene. Did you do that for a reason? Is the clock on the wall important?

In the shot where the boy goes to see the lady at her apartment, you can see the cameras reflection in the white door.

I seem to hear some quick low frequency hits in your audio sometimes. They don't sound like footsteps. Perhaps you can steal some clean nat sound and get rid of the noise. Maybe it was your sound guy hitting the ceiling with the microphone? It doesn't happen often.

Is the transition from the boy being pulled out of the car and his mother calling out for him TO the mom and son in the back of the car together a bit awkward? I know that with the fade you are showing time going by, but it feels a bit off. Maybe a bit of overlapping sound would help (like the car moving noise starts in black for example).

The mom seeing the ocean moment is very good.

I can't comment on the story much because I don't understand the dialogue. It seems interesting by your description!

SPOILER: So the mom and son drive somewhere together at the end, but don't make it to the ocean? Where were they going and why don't they reach their destination? Then a cop comes and takes them away in his car? Sorry, just trying to understand the ending. If I only new German!

I was just being super picky. You guys did a very good job. The lighting seemed very natural. Did you use any lights? It has a 16mm indie feel.

How do you like working with the EX1?

[Film it]

Why are people complaining about file sizes? He is offering Full 1080p, 720p files. I appreciate this very much because I am in the market for a EX1. I'm streaming the 1080p right now with no problems at all.