$200 Budget Action Film....WOW!

ZazaCast

ZazaCast

Major Contributor
Really well done with minimal crew (friends) and budget...
If your computer will handle it, select 'original' and watch full screen.

 
FilmRiot is great, but I'm getting tired of these low budget claims. Yes, it's a $200 budget - if you can get a Red Epic donated for free. :)
 
The Red Epic gate flare is soon going to become as popular as fake anamorphic flares... wonder how long before they start cropping up in DSLR footage... a ticking time-bomb, methinks! (I like it... but I like antique cine lenses that flare - instant movie'ness' :)

Not bad and kudos to everyone involved... only thing I found distracting was some of the handheld work... but then again, I'm old... and the Bourne films give me a seizure... LOL.
 
Yeah, the $200 was probably spent on food or something...they shot with an EPIC in a great location with obviously the necessary lights.

Kegan
 
I'm sure the food you eat while studying at least one year of directing, editing, cinematography costs more than $200... :cheesy:

The acting was dodgy (hell, even $100 million budget action movies have dodgy acting, why not a $200 one?) but everything else was quite nice. I was impressed with the fighting choreography, sometimes it's really crappy in low budget films, actors can't even make a believeable punch, directors don't know the best angle to fake, etc.

Some people in the comments said the film was amazing because it was shot on the Epic... Seems like some people really don't get it or RED already released their talent (aka study, practice, experience, dedication) module... :cheesy:²
 
The problem with these "I shot this for $9.79" is that they actually cost [way] more.

They even state "The one major advantage the production had was the Red Epic to shoot with, which was loaned to us by the awesome Eric Kessler of Kessler Crane! ", not to mention everyone worked for free...

Shot for only $200.00?

I don't think so.
 
Chris Messineo said:
FilmRiot is great, but I'm getting tired of these low budget claims. Yes, it's a $200 budget - if you can get a Red Epic donated for free. :)
Click to expand...
I didn't really care what it was shot on... I'm talking about the story, editing, score & action. All really well done IMHO.
It is hard to believe it only had a $200.00 budget, but hey, more power to them.

I just noticed there's a BTS video on their YouTube page...with more to follow.
 
I think I would have enjoyed this more had I not come into this looking at it like it were made for $200. The acting, I agree wasn't the greatest in parts but the disclaimer that they did this for fun with family and friends worked for me. I enjoyed it, but I definitely wouldn't talk about its budget when showing friends.

Kegan

EDIT: Its hard to believe because it simply isn't true.
 
ZazaCast said:
I didn't really care what it was shot on... I'm talking about the story, editing, score & action. All really well done IMHO.
It is hard to believe it only had a $200.00 budget, but hey, more power to them.

I just noticed there's a BTS video on their YouTube page...with more to follow.
Click to expand...

The sound work, yes, in some scenes you can clearly see how it carries that extra emotion and punch. People should study more sound design, such a beautiful and powerful branch of filmmaking.
 
ZazaCast said:
I didn't really care what it was shot on... I'm talking about the story, editing, score & action. All really well done IMHO.
It is hard to believe it only had a $200.00 budget, but hey, more power to them.

I just noticed there's a BTS video on their YouTube page...with more to follow.
Click to expand...

I like the film too and love Film Riot, especially all the cool tips they share with the indi-community.

I'm just knocking the $200 claim as I think these false budgets just confuse the issue. It makes some kid wonder why his film shot for $200 looks like crap. :)
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
Is that what that flare is? I've not encountered that while shooting/testing epic, however I've not done any night work with it.
Click to expand...

There's been a discussion over at Red-User on it. Some say it's just like old film gate flares and others don't like it and want Red to fix (the Red didn't do it as much as the Epic).

There's been some debate regarding masking off the reflective materials around the Epic sensor (to stop stray rays etc), but Red are just looking into it. Personally, I think it's a lens and sensor combo... the guy who first asked for a fix was using an Optimo zoom... and it does seem to be visible on newer glass more than older glass. It may come down to a lens coating difference.

Personally, I like it... it's yet another old style 'aberration' that makes the image look more 'filmy'. I started to see it a lot on Epic footage... and just put it down to the nature of the new kid on the block :)

Extreme light sources (lights or the sun) do it, daylight or night - just depends what it is that's being shot - and how much you're flagging. The Red user Op's problems are that he gets it in the middle of zooms where he can't flag or during steadicam shots.

Maybe do some tests and see if you can create it?
 
MadMonkFish said:
There's been a discussion over at Red-User on it. Some say it's just like old film gate flares and others don't like it and want Red to fix (the Red didn't do it as much as the Epic).

There's been some debate regarding masking off the reflective materials around the Epic sensor (to stop stray rays etc), but Red are just looking into it. Personally, I think it's a lens and sensor combo... the guy who first asked for a fix was using an Optimo zoom... and it does seem to be visible on newer glass more than older glass. It may come down to a lens coating difference.

Personally, I like it... it's yet another old style 'aberration' that makes the image look more 'filmy'. I started to see it a lot on Epic footage... and just put it down to the nature of the new kid on the block :)

Extreme light sources (lights or the sun) do it, daylight or night - just depends what it is that's being shot - and how much you're flagging. The Red user Op's problems are that he gets it in the middle of zooms where he can't flag or during steadicam shots.

Maybe do some tests and see if you can create it?
Click to expand...

I've got a shoot with it next week. I'll play around a bit. Shooting on Cooke Panchro/i's. We'll see. From what it looked like, I felt it was a sensor thing, only because the flares were very straight lined and originated from the edge of frame. It's definitely something to do with the sensor. For a second I thought it was CCD smear, when I first got a glance at it.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
I've got a shoot with it next week. I'll play around a bit. Shooting on Cooke Panchro/i's. We'll see. From what it looked like, I felt it was a sensor thing, only because the flares were very straight lined and originated from the edge of frame. It's definitely something to do with the sensor. For a second I thought it was CCD smear, when I first got a glance at it.
Click to expand...

Just pulled these from Red User - might be worth a quick read before your shoot :)

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?62555-Epic-STREAK-FLARING - original thread
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?63244-Really - second thread

The consensus seems to be reflective materials around the sensor causing exaggerated flares.

Interested to hear your findings (might be worth a post on RedUser too?).
 
Personally, I wish films would just stop talking about their budgets. The numbers are so subjective anyway. Let the film stand on it's own. It is either well done, or it is not. Sure, not having a big budget can make it more challenging, but budget has no impact on the story itself.

Kegan is right. By telling people what your budget was, it causes people to have preconceived ideas beforehand or afterwards. "Oh, well it was okay, seeing as how they only had 200 bucks" Sorry, it shouldn't be that way.
 
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