Teaser Trailer For My Feature - Distortion

Mr24p

Mr24p

Active member
Hey everybody. Here is the teaser trailer for my feature film 'Distortion'.

It was shot with the HVX200 with the stock lens. I didn't have a crew so it was just me and the actors. I shot it over the course of four months with very little money here in Chicago. Paid for out of pocket. This is a teaser as I'm editing the film now so there isn't much footage but I wanted to share something I did using the HVX. I love the camera. I shot it in 24pA 1080. I have two 4GB cards and one 16GB so you can imagine how often I had to dump while making a feature. I got used to it though.

The full trailer I want to have done by early January. That will be made up entirely of footage like a normal trailer. I want to finish the rough cut of the film first before I do that one.

Anyway, enough of my babbling. Here it is:

http://www.widescreenfilmsproductions.com/distortionteaser.htm



ADDED: I added a Vimeo version just in case there are Quicktime issues for some people.

http://www.vimeo.com/2408967

For anyone interested here is the YouTube version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5hFlB7ibXY

UPDATED:

Here is the first full trailer.

http://www.vimeo.com/3628269
 
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Although they are pretty quick shots you can tell it looks very good. Keep on working on it. The most difficult part is starting any project. Good luck with it.
 
Thanks John. I really appreciate it.

The images are quick so it's hard to judge the footage. I wanted this type of teaser just to have something out there for now. I am editing the film now and will have a full trailer up in a few months.
 
Thanks filthrich!

The music is actually a mixture of various sound effects used in a musical fashion. Sort of similar to what Tyler Bates has done in some of his scores.
 
I did a test with the SmoothCam in FCP on one shot. I didn't adjust anything. I literally just added the effect and let it do its thing. It did take a long time even for a few seconds shot. While not 100% smooth now it is pretty amazing how much it did do.

http://www.vimeo.com/2556663
 
WOW! I am stunned. The pictures were incredible and the editing was tight. Would LOVE to know how you shoot with your HVX. I never get sharp images like that, and I certainly dont know how to export with premiere. Though I have tried everything, nothing fits the quality I just saw on your video.

ps: would love to order the DVD!
~fredrik
 
Thanks 330ceo. I really appreciate it. Hopefully you still feel the same way once you see the longer trailer.

Frezko - Thank you for the compliments. It means a lot. I shot just with the HVX. Nothing added. Most settings were basic. I didn't change anything. Most things were set to 0 knowing that I would do a lot of color correction in post. I just wanted a pretty clean raw image. I did shoot in 1080 so that may be why it looks a lot sharper. I have one 16GB card and two 4GB cards so I needed to allow enough time to transfer footage while shooting. I wish I knew how to export with Premiere. I'm a Final Cut Pro user and I use Compressor for web files. What is happening when you export? Is it really soft?
 
All my images are really noisy, and when I export it seems there is quality loss. FAR away from your images. wow, if I only knew how mang.

I dont wanna buy a mac just for exporting, hehe.
 
The key for exporting is to make sure you export an uncompressed version and then bring it into a compression program to compress it for the web. There are a lot of programs out there but I must admit I don't know. I know Sorensen has a great one but it is a bit pricey.

Definitely worth asking around to see what other people with PC's use. In the meantime see what settings others with Premiere are using when they export out of there. Hopefully you can get some good tips. And if you're going to be doing a lot of stuff for the web you definitely want to invest in a good compression program.

I hope this helps. :)
 
Looks terrific. The static with VO is long. If you want people to be begging for footage by the time the first frame rolls (the rooftop city shot), you've achieved what you set out to do. :)

Again, very nice example of what stock HVX can do.

e
 
Thanks Dan and Erik. I did shoot stock HVX with most settings set to 0. I wanted a pretty plain basic image and then did most color correction in post. Every shot has been color corrected. The teaser has temporary color correction but none of it is raw. I know this isn't the best way but I was a one man crew and didn't have too much time on set. I felt this was the best way to get a decent image I can manipulate and still be able to get everything shot.

I agree the opening is a little long but I liked the build up so I figured I'd let it stand. I originally had TV static instead of the gray box but it murdered my compression so I had to ditch it.

The next trailer will be made up entirely of footage so that should be a better example of what was shot. Once I get further along in editing I can post a scene or something as well for anyone interested.

Fangoria wrote a very nice piece on it along with posting the teaser.

http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/8-indie/926-teaser-and-update-on-distortion.html

Thanks again for the comments. They really mean a lot. :dankk2:
 
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Don't care for the square graphic, but for a one man band that looks awesome !!! Nice job and can't wait to see the final.
 
Thanks twocik. :)

I agree I don't like the gray graphic either. It was originally a tv screen with snow on it moving closer. I tried several different things but no matter what it just killed my compression. In order to compensate for all of the movement of the tv snow it horribly pixalated everything after it and created huge files. So by the time it got to footage everything was just blocky yet the file size was three times what it is now. I didn't want to get rid of it but didn't have a choice. So instead I went with the gray box with the occasional distortion (heh) popping in.
 
I have a new trailer. Although I'm still in post and the film won't be done for several more months I wanted to have something shown at the Chicago Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention. I had to quickly cut a trailer so I could have it shown there. It got shown all three days of the convention and got a good response but part of it might have been because people knew I was sitting there. lol

I could do disclaimers all day long. Here is the trailer.

http://www.vimeo.com/3628269
 
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