Trailer for my feature film shot on DVX100

Very, very good.
Dip to black, very Lindsay Anderson- eh?

Does the job, big time- makes me want to see the film now!

Crystal clear (love B&W). Engaging characters.
Some really excellent moves to stops- timed nicely. Clean handling of the camera in almost every regard. Impressive.

Don't need to wish you well with it- bound to happen!
Thanks for sharing!
 
Wow - thanks for the comments guys!

The total budget was about £3000 for the whole 90min film. This includes buying the DVX 2nd hand, and the shotgun mic and boom pole etc.

Plus we shot about 35 hours of footage in the end, so I had to buy a few external hard-drives for all the footage!
 
no lens adapter? gorgeous image. wow. i haven't had a chance to use my dvx in AGES but seeing this footage is making me want to stop what I am doing and film something. very inspiring.

PS your lead actress looks like Cate Blanchett.
 
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Thanks for these comments guys - its great to hear!

I had no lens adapter, no.

It is PAL, yes.

Interestingly enough the very 1st shot of the trailer was actually shot on my good friends Moog's HVX as I wanted that part of the film to be 50fps - so that was 720p and then shrunk down onto the SD timeline with all the DVX footage. But the rest of the film is all DVX, the HVX shots make up a short montage and its only that 1 shot in the trailer.

When can you see it? Hopefully very soon - Im trying to get it in festivals and the like at the moment, Im submitting EVERYWHERE so look out for it. We should hear back with some reviews soon, Ill update the website as anything happens.. in the meantime thanks again for checking it out!
 
Intriguing characters yet no explosions, no gratuitous sex nor violence and people want to see the feature. Signs of a rewardingly successful trailer. Fine use of this camera. Congrats!
 
Festivals are all well and good.
But, try getting an agent involved if you can.
They specialize in finding homes for good projects- even if it's direct to DVD distribution only.

Look at "Slumdog"- it was destined to go straight to DVD but got the fast track to a couple thousand screens in the US (lots of reasons for it besides it being a good film; Academy sweep and advertising the soon to come DVD release, for instance).

There's an annual show in Brighton landing on or near the BFI convention you might consider.
Even if you're a land shark with briefcase haunting the aisles, it's good place to hawk your release.
Hand out a bunch of 'not for resale/not for release' DVD's- even if it's just the trailer on them.

If it's 50 DVD's and a couple days of your time, you've put your work in front of a few hundred people who are deep into the business; they've met you, got your card and may know a way to push the piece (if even by a little bit).
Of that group, maybe there's one or two who just 'get it', and want to run with the ball and bring it to the right people, distributors.

The work has been done, all they have to do then is package it, release it, and share the wealth with you.
Filmmaking is changing the way they do business, and theatrical release is mostly about the advertising it provides for ultimate DVD sales.
BOFO (if you know that phrase) is great if it happens, but the bottom line isn't about just that anymore.

B&W? There's arguments about whether that's a good idea or not (it'll go on forever, just ignore it).
You might be surprised to learn a successful feature from last year was seriously considered for going B&W (they chickened out at the last minute!)
It's art and that's how the auteur made it.

Mike Angelo (old Italian guy) said it best, "Don't mess with me, I like painting on the ceiling."

Good luck with it man. It's a great trailer- gotta be a good movie then!! :thumbup:
 
You're right - an agent or sales agent/distributor is the way forward - totally. This is very much who Im aiming to get the film in front of - thanks for the advice, smart words.

To answer your question - he's a railway worker (and he really hates it!)

I'll be sure to pass on that you thought her prettier than Blanchet, that'll make her day!
 
Great great great trailer Ross I def want to see this film. The camerawork the beautiful B&W was just amazing you did a heck of job with this.
 
this looks excellent! The trailer is a bit long, but I tend to not be a fan of most trailers because they tend to go on...but minor thing. It really does make me want to see this though. It looks amazing. Bravo all the way around!
 
Settings

Settings

The images look great! The trailer looks interesting. What camera settings did you use to make it look this good without an adapter?
 
Thank you for this great feedback!

Settings wise, I shot everything in quite a 'plain' fashion really, as I knew that I'd be grading quite heavily, so the best way to leave options in post was to go easy when shooting. I just did basic things like, always shooting with 25p, low gain and watching out for clean exposures and good focus at all times. I also tried to keep on a long lens when the location would allow it, as this gave a more shallow DOF and helped get closer to a filmic look.

For the grading I clamped in the levels quite a bit and added a slight contrast boost. I also de-noised everything quite a bit. This wasn't possible in every scene and didn't always work, but as I was clamping in the levels so much to try and achieve a high contrast black and white (rather than a very 'video' grey look!), I would sometimes suffer with greatly enhanced video noise. I found a decent plug-in for AFX and Premiere Pro which was great for noise reduction - its by Neat Video, it was about $20. Fantastic product, way better than the standard 'remove grain' in AFX. My only gripe would be the render time.
 
By "trying to keep on a long lens", I assume you mean you kept the camera as far away from the talent or scene as possible? I am an old dude, new to this stuff...
I am at work and have yet to view the trailer, the stills look amazing!
 
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