After The Reign (WWII Film on 7D)

K

KennonF

Active member
I never do this, but for some reason today I feel like doing it.

http://vimeo.com/14680587
password: atr9min

It's a very, very rough idea of what we're doing so far. There is a lot of editing that still needs to go into this project, and a lot of stuff that still isn't filmed or cut into there. The scenes aren't in order, audio production hasn't been ran on it, etc. I just want to show everyone what I'm working on.

This is a DVXUser.com Exclusive Preview!!!
 
Like the look (lighting, exposure). What frame rate are you using?

Close-up of the pinup at 1:25 is painfully obvious repeat of the shot used seconds before. Also, the acting is really flat... I found it hard really to get into the piece because of that.
 
Nice look, nice period detail! Great costuming as well. You're framing things well and I like the pace.
But like other people have said, the acting is pretty flat. It doesn't seem like anyone is comfortable with their lines. I can see them waiting for their 'turn' to speak, and it really brings me out of it.

Fortunately, you can fix that. :cheesy:
 
clownsaw said:
Nice look, nice period detail! Great costuming as well. You're framing things well and I like the pace.
But like other people have said, the acting is pretty flat. It doesn't seem like anyone is comfortable with their lines. I can see them waiting for their 'turn' to speak, and it really brings me out of it.

Fortunately, you can fix that. :cheesy:
Click to expand...



The acting is not that great, I definitely definitely know that hahah

the guys have little / no acting experience at all, they're all actual re-enactors which is how I got the gear they have on so cheap. It's all authentic WWII stuff that was really used during the war, and these guys know their stuff very very spot on so that's a good thing.

Unfortunately, all the detail in the world can't make up for the lack of acting or storyline we have going on in this film, but its my first attempt at a film and we're going to be planning a much shorter 5 minute film that will be shot this winter. If anyone is in the Central PA / PA area, you're more than welcome to come out and take part on the crew.

Thank you guys for the reviews!

Side note: I am trying to shoot primarily everything, edit it all, do most of the special effects / motion graphics (rendering at 4k too / downressing to 1080p) and I wrote it - so if it seems like I've been spread thin, thats definitely why! hahah

But thanks guys, no hard feelings on anything, I understand that I'm not perfect at this yet and I'm just thankful that I have the chance to work on this film.
 
Looks to clean, personally opinion is you need to dirty it up. This is not something that looks good razor sharp at high def imo
 
life4eva said:
Looks to clean, personally opinion is you need to dirty it up. This is not something that looks good razor sharp at high def imo
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a lot of the reason I dont have the grain or dirty look added onto it in this cut is because of the extensive render times that invokes; but there is definitely a magic bullet grain look put onto a lot of the clips, as well as some other effects like subtle textures, etc that will be applied to the final cut of it.

Thank you for your input! I agree with you for sure!
 
OH and if anyone is interested in donating a little bit of help to the film, I'm more than open to getting some help!
 
I feel the same same. The acting is painful to watch. Hell with the reenactors, find good actors even if you have to sacrifice on uniforms. With good actors people will be engrossed with the dialogue more than the costumes. just my opinion. The shots look good. I like the day time grading, night definetly needs work. Maybe change the script a bit, it's pretty cliche. Dialogue seems to be like everyother wwII films out there.
 
maranfilms said:
I feel the same same. The acting is painful to watch. Hell with the reenactors, find good actors even if you have to sacrifice on uniforms. With good actors people will be engrossed with the dialogue more than the costumes. just my opinion. The shots look good. I like the day time grading, night definetly needs work. Maybe change the script a bit, it's pretty cliche. Dialogue seems to be like everyother wwII films out there.
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I think what i need to do is find re-enactors to be technical advisors and extras, then have them costume actual actors with some of their stuff to make it look correct. Looking correct is a big thing, they tear apart just about every WWII film out there except for Band of Brothers which is spot on as far as accuracy. But they even said, Saving Private Ryan has a lot of laughable content in it and most history buffs will know. For example, a lot of the helmets used in Saving Private Ryan are clearly Korean War helmets and how did they know? Because of one close up shot that revealed a certain type of tack weld that didn't happen until sometime in 1949 or something. Crazy how much these guys know, but they take something like that and pick it apart.

Now, I bring this all to you guys so you can pick apart the story, etc.

I think one of the biggest follies is that I'm not a writer, I want to focus on being a DP / Editor, so for my next one we are really taking a lot of time to write it, and it's only a 5 minute piece or so.

But hey! This is a very good experience for me especially being my first film like this at the age of 23.
 
Experience is experience. It's good to see you're taking it in stride :)

Being a one-man band is pretty typical early on, and we're in the same boat, at that. Just make sure you sleep when you can :)
 
Very true. The next one we're doing is much, much, much more developed and we'll be using real actors and stuff. I'm excited for it, but this one is just going to be such a fantastic learning experience. I now know a lot of things I didn't know before, and I know a lot of things I will be doing differently.
 
Kennone,
Sometimes when I work with (non)actors who are getting pretty flat , I make them say the lines over and over and over again and pretend to be doing takes. I do this until they start to get frustrated and it starts to get real. Just a tip to try in the future.

I also decided to put the directing cap away and focus on the DP'ing and get someone you can trust to just handle the actors. It's a heck of a lot of work with these picky DSLRs to concentrate on both the technical and the actors at the same time.
 
boulder said:
Kennone,
Sometimes when I work with (non)actors who are getting pretty flat , I make them say the lines over and over and over again and pretend to be doing takes. I do this until they start to get frustrated and it starts to get real. Just a tip to try in the future.

I also decided to put the directing cap away and focus on the DP'ing and get someone you can trust to just handle the actors. It's a heck of a lot of work with these picky DSLRs to concentrate on both the technical and the actors at the same time.
Click to expand...

You said it all so well - it really is something to work with actors AND a picky DSLR at the same time, hahah but yes - your advice is very noteworthy. I will take that into mind and use it for our next project.

We are actually going to scrap most of this stuff and just go ahead with a new project this winter, shooting on the RED. I used this to get some attention locally from some people who are now willing to invest, so I will probably even hire someone to 'direct' on location, even though I will still actually be the director. That way, I can focus on the camera work and making everything on the technical end go smooth.

We're also going to be using most of the re-enactors as extras and suit up actual actors in gear.
 
I think something that will help a fair bit with the performances would be to tighten up the edit. A lot. There are quite a few unmotivated gaps in the dialogue that just accentuate that "waiting for their turn to speak" feeling. There's also that very long attempt at a "motivated" pause in the campfire scene while the medic is speaking. The padding there is very obvious. And the last crane up in that scene just feels way to fast for the mood.

Edits like the two guys talking in the barn, where you cut from a tracking shot to an almost identically sized frame static shot are very jarring. Use one or the other, but not both.

And in the scene where the officer talks to the men sitting on the ground, there's a few instances of the dialogue taking unnatural pauses to allow for an action, like both times when someone sits up from lying down.

Tightening up the edit won't eliminate the flat acting, but it will help make it a little less painful.

On the plus side, I think it looks pretty good, and I really like the initial montage of the camp :-) Keep working at it :-)
 
Poor cinemaphotography, looks like a TV-scetch (like saturday night live). You're telling very little through the images, and that could work if the acting was good. Wich is isn't. Of course impressive with all the props and vehicles but that is like the fine layer of crisp you should have as a bonus on top of a good movie...

Hopefully you can do some re-shots of parts like the campfire scene... maybe sacrifice the worst parts when you wrap it up, in all seriousness, the audience rather watch scattered footage that is barable rather that sit through a scene like the campfire one... it is unbearably bad. Hard criticism yes, but people will judge you by the movie, NOT by your effort! That's the sad truth we filmmakers have to cope with, and with these DSLR cameras shooting hollywood-looking videos the audience sure isn't gonna get less judging... none of your efforts should be aimed at 15 min of fame on vimeo, but still interesting to watch in twenty years because you told a good STORY.
 
Good work on putting it together and glad to hear that this has helped you move to the next phase.

I'm going to agree with most of the comments here with the acting and cinematography & I'd like to add lighting....

your angels were making the characters either 2D or the foreground was to prevalent. THe cuts (probably because of angels) brought me out of the story. I'd say inside the captains bunk looked great, and you had some nicely timed moves...expect where you shot the actor flat

also another case of over using shallow DOF...

the intro you did was rich and vibrant and you had me hook'd in so good job there and also for getting it done. You'll only learn and grow by having a director by your side....

thanks for sharing...and ah, " take another puff" :D
 
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