"The Roadhouse" - Open for critique

L

LightningFilms

Active member
Hey guys, just finished production on my first feature film, "The Roadhouse", starring Joe Sernio (As The World Turns), Monica Knight (Windcroft), & Vinny Vella Sr. (Casino, The Sopranos).

I'm premiering the film at the '09 Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Looking to receive any constructive criticism on the trailer we've just launched. I'm not trying to give too much (if anything) away since the film's release is still over 4 months off, I'll release a more "in-depth to the plot" trailer closer to April. So I guess this can be called a teaser more than anything.

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi2508456729/

Shot the whole film on two DVX100's over a five-day period, on-location in Wrightstown NJ, near the Maguire Airforce Base. Edited in Vegas & Final Cut Pro, visual effects in AE, & Magic Bullet for CC.

Open to any and all feedback - thanks a lot!
 
looks pretty good. The audio seemed a little hollow. Some of the lighting looked very good as well. not sure but the concept seems a little close to "Vacancy". I loved the image of the old man smoking in reverse. music was fantastic. Good job. Also the slow motion seemed a little choppy not baby's ass smooth.
 
thanks for the feedback, filthrich. a lot of people are saying the same about my audio. if anyone has any suggestions on making it sound less "hollow", I'm all ears. I have Sound Forge & Soundbooth at my disposal if that helps....

Slow motion - not the best, but what I expected after simply slowing down playback rate on 24p footage.

"Vacancy" story line vs ours - I can see how this seems very "Vacancy", once our plot is better explained, you'll see it's nothing like that. Accurate call though!

Music came from the heaven-sent APM music library. Access it for free on www.Current.tv

thanks again!
 
no problem. Let us know when and where we can see the whole thing. I would love to check it out. As far as the audio, the type of mic and how you are capturing it could get rid of a lot of that empty room sound. Or you could ADR the vocals for the trailer. But really after a few seconds I did not even notice it because I was into the trailer.
 
LightningFilms said:
63 views. 1 piece of critique. Would it kill you guys to leave a few words?
Click to expand...

Howdy Nick,

I seldom get to this forum but always enjoy the opportunity to share feedback. From a high level perspective, it's clear y'all spend a fair amount of time assembling/marketing your trailer. Hmm, perhaps you went a bit too far plugging multiple credits in the trailer - okay elsewhere but I wouldn't emphasize it so much in your precious video footage.

Technically, the video came across as Indy level so if that was your objective, you're in the ballpark. Yes, the audio could use some help and the camera work was more matter of fact than cinematic. Bluntly (take a deep breath), on the downside the video seemed to have noise, dirty lens, non-linear steadycam and lighting exibited actor and CREW shadows, issues with practicals, and a few blow-outs. I did like the color saturation on a few scenes although the filter selection on a few scenes was questionable.

Regarding audio, you could try some EQ to get rid of the low frequency rumble but there isn't any magic to fix the proximity effect problem (distance from mic to talent). You did a very good job with your foleys and music mix - well done! I would have liked to have seen more acting but I enjoyed the bits you shared - I'm optimistic that could be a big strength so be sure to capitalize on it in the trailer.

The editing near the middle of the trailer didn't seem offer much continuity. Ditto on the voice over - great on the opening scene but questionable in the middle sequence. Creating confusion and bewilderment has its place in the movie but probably won't help draw folks in to see your movie.

Anyway, IMHO try to avoid letting us get you bogged down on techie stuff like my diatribe above - invest most of your efforts on the story, the plot, the characters and their acting. If possible, try to weave in a bit more of the antagonist, backstory, and protagonist's dilemma. I was a bit lost how you assembled your three Acts in the trailer.

Here's an example of an upcoming trailer - see if you agree it meets the above criteria. And our dvxuser Todd Giglio recently shared his cool trailer for their upcoming "Drawing With Chalk" which also provides a strong storyline within the trailer. You might also want to check out some of the movie trailer house websites.

I'd also recommend improving name/brand recognition by interspersing your film's name a few times in the trailer - many won't make it to the end of the trailer and never know the name of your film.

Happy Trails, Michael
 
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LightningFilms said:
63 views. 1 piece of critique. Would it kill you guys to leave a few words?
Click to expand...

It's always hard to leave a few words because people are afriad to tell you how they really feel. Unfortunately, many people say they have thick skin, but they don't. Generally after you've shot a movie - not much you can do anyway.

As for the audio that people mentioned above. Try to find a Sound Designer. Just get somebody on your team. the audio wasn't all that bad to me, but I've watched so many indie movies that as long as I can hear the audio - personally i'll make it through. You need a professional to fix or mix it right. Audio is a strange animal because it can be tweaked, but not really "fixed". 90% of what you finally here will be from the source file.

As for the picture. I agree with the practical blow outs. They are beyond just a little bad because they not only blow themselves out, but the walls too. Much of that is the limitation of the DVX to only see a few stops. when you upgrade to HDV and the 10Bit recording to 8Bit you'll see most of these types of things minimize or go away totally. Overall the lighting wasn't bad, but in the future I'd stay away from areas you can't control. Like being outside at night. That's what caused the excessive grain in one image. Shoot scenes like this at Dusk with a little sunlight glow, just after the sun set. Have everyone to turn on their Bright Lights (in the cars) and see if you can rent/buy a 800w HMI and Blast it back across your frame as a Backlight/hairlight. Then take another one and Send it soft across the front of the screen as a Key Light. In post, you can use the curve to crush your blacks somewhat. This way the light areas are still there and the scene seems much darker, yet the lights seem normal. The Dusk - will make your ambient light about 3 stops lighter than what you have, so we can see more of the scene. You'll also avoid grain.

The only other thing I'd tell you is to make sure, in the future, that you can "control" your scene. You need access to every light, every bit of audio sounds, etc in the area. For the practicals that plug into a wall - go to filmtools.com and buy 2 to 3 dimmers (In-Line Lighting Dimmer Kit- 150W) they cost $15 a piece. these are great. I have two. You can dim a practical down to as low as you need to control the blow out. The lighting in the beginning scenes was good except a little overblown in the "steadycam" scene. Two softlights, one from your main position and another hanging from the ceiling to cover the second part of the room probably would have been better and a way to keep the hard shadows down and faces from being pale on one side.

Great lighting setups take lots of different sized lights all over the place.

Overall it's good and I agree to spend time on your story. That should be 100%. Everything else is icing on the cake.
 
Digital style of filmmaking was done very well: lots of camera movement. The various scenes implied depth of story. It looks like an exciting psychological thriller or Hitchcockian horror film.

I don't know too much about the technical side of digital sound, but the Fat EQ filter in Soundtrack Pro works for me with such problems.

A nice teaser. Best of luck at the festival.
 
It seemed to be an interesting story..truthfully I only post technical questions on this forum because coming from a creative background,i know criticism can hurt...that being said..If I knew more about the story I may watch it, but technically the trailer didn't do anything for me.Keep grinding..you'll only get better...If this is your first film..you've already done the hardest part. Like the earlier post said...concentrate on your story and performances.One of my favorite movies is a low budget film made by a rapper...the quality is pretty bad, but the story keeps me watching it over and over again.
 
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