Short Film - Samsara

R

rmurthy2

Member
Hey guys, me and my roommates wrote and filmed this short within a month's time whenever we had free time. I remember finding out about Time Fest shortly before filming but I knew that we wouldn't be able to do this movie in 6 minutes or less so I said forget it. I'm really interested in what you guys think. This is the first movie we made with the SGpro 35 mm adapter.

http://www.vimeo.com/1008051

Oh yea one more thing, there is an episode 1, but you don't need to see that to understand this one. That was just shot on the regular DVX100a without an adapter. If you are intersted in seeing it, let me know and i'll post the links.
 
I liked your short. In the beginning, it is a little obvious that it is an amateur film as the cinematography is a bit primitive. That said, though, the story line is compelling and, before long, the amateur aspect of the film is forgotten and the story takes over. Also, the camera work actually gets better as the film prgresses and there is little of the "home made" look left by the end. In all, I think it is a very worthy effort. Actually, it is a bit better than anything I have done so far.
 
Love the look that adapter achieves. If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for it & where did you get it? Thanks...
 
Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. It's always appreciated. The adapter is the SGpro adapter, and I got in online from their website...

http://www.sgpro.co.uk/

It ran around $600 bucks as I didn't get anything extra besides the adapter. I already had some camera lenses lying around and bought some rails from the IndieFocus website which ran around 100 bucks. It was definitely worth it though I think.

Paladin, I was curious as to which shots you thought were the amateurish looking ones. There were definitely some shots that I wish I could do again, just wanted to see if those were the same ones you thought needed work as well. I think the camera work gets a little better as it goes on as well because we finally got a hang of how exactly to use the adapter. Hopefully things will get better from here.

And finally, here is the link to the first one... (in two parts because it's on YouTube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSVVrAuLIlk - PART 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzFbQk3X7mo&feature=related - PART 2

Thanks again for the feedback. It always helps.
 
I just finished building the SGpro with the Follow Focus and will be shooting a 70 page script movie starting next week. How hard was it to get some of those shots with the picture being upside down? I can't get used to the pointing up, thinking your going to get more of the subject, but it gets less. XD

Just asking for some tips, if you have any, about the SGpro in general.
 
Okay, here goes. Please bear in mind that these are just my own opinions and, as I am a beginning filmmaker myself, might not be all that valid:

In shot #2, everything is out of focus and I am not sure what the sigificance of the shot is or what it is I am suppose to be seeing.

There are too many torso, leg and foot shots. Body parts don't tell much of a story. They are occasionally OK, but shouldn't be overdone. I prefer to see the whole person.

Shot #9 (the guy burning the photograph) is too dark and the subject is backlit. The angle is too low (toward the ceiling) and the flourescent lights are distracting. An eye-level shot might have been better.

The "anchorman" on the TV is way too young and is an all too obvious reminder that we are watching a movie, just about the time the viewer might be getting into the story line.

The scene with the two guys in the apt. watching the newscast is too green. Did you shoot under flourescent lights?

There are too many backlit shots with the actors' faces in shadow. Lighting seems to be problem for the first six minutes or so, then there begins to ba a noticeable improvement.

Avoid bright colors like red, yellow or blaze orange! DV doesn't like them and they smear!

I noticed these problems primarily because I have had them too.

Just check out my latest short at

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

and you'll see.

That said, I liked the film and I think you did well with it.
 
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Wreck2, we used the magnet trick on the DVX100a to flip the image on the camera. However, if you have the 100b then that will not work. But sometimes I forgot the magnet so we had to work with the upside down image which wasn't too fun as you lose your orientation. Those shots took a lot of concentration and usually took more takes than when we did have the magnet (when we went handheld that is). But if you have the 100a, I used ceramic magnets from Ace Hardware as they do not damage the camera equipment. But you still have to be careful once you eject the tape and remove the magnet not to keep them close to each other (obviously).

Also for the SGpro, just play around with the focus while looking at the LCD screen to determine the exact place where the image is the sharpest. Mine is usually at MF33 and Z71.

Paladin, thanks for the comments. For that scene in the garage (which was me by the way!) we just used the natural light that was there since that was where the first episode ended. That shot I had to do myself and by the time I realized that I didn't like the angle I had already cut my hair for a later scene, so I was like "Damn it!" I didn't really pay attention to how dark it was but I think I can fix that in post. And I didn't even pay attention to how green the indoor scene was, which again I think I can go back and fix now. The newscaster was one thing we tried to get older actors for, but everyone we asked was busy so we just went with one of our friends for that. Really appreciate the feedback though, and I look forward to seeing your next film as I enjoyed 13.
 
amazing job, this was probably 1 of maybe 10 short films ive actually found online ive enjoyed, and ive probably seen over 1000
 
looked awesome. i love these kinds of movies. it reminded me a bit of the butterfly effect or something. There was one shot that i didnt like, and it was the establishing shot when the 3 guys are sitting at the table toward the beginning. it was a bit too far back with alot of dead space. I really liked all the match cuts though, it was a good stylistic choice for this movie. keep on keepin on.
 
loved it. very donnie darko, butterfly effect-ish. it kept me interested. i will definitely check out the others when you make them. keep up the good work man.
 
Is this shot in squeeze mode? I always have trouble trying to get my squeeze footage to look right on vimeo but this looks really good.
 
Awsome! I loved it. The story, acting, dialogue was so compelling i didn't even notice the camerawork. You guys did great. Very professional. Will there be a part 3?
 
We just shot it in 4x3 and then made it 16x9 in post and exported it as a .mov. And yes... it does say WHOR3 news. It's a joke I came up with in a movie I made in high school and every time there is a newscast in one of our movies, the station is always WHOR3 no matter the type of movie.
 
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