"Choke" - Ouija board short now online...

Unsomnambulist

Unsomnambulist

Active member
"Choke" is an atmospheric horror short warning kids about the dangers of the Ouija board.

Part of the reason I made this was to test the DVX's ability to shoot in the dark, with candles as the only on screen ambient light. Considering my zero budget for lights, I think this turned out pretty good.

Edited in Premiere Pro, which was also used for the single special effect, I'm very happy with the cutting and overall visual look. Coverage, coverage, coverage. (60 minutes for a one minute piece... excessive, I know, but as long as I'm using non-Union actors who I can keep around all night...) The effect itself is a little sloppy, which most people don't notice until later viewings.

Here it is:

"Choke" .wmv (6.2 mb)

"Choke" .mov (6.6 mb)
 
I thought it looked pretty good, especially for just candle light. I did notice the effect. Is it supposed to come right out of the board? Looked a little jagged and the "tear" or whatever the hand came out of moved a bit. Perhaps you could blur the edges so it wouldn't be noticeable? Good job.
-Ryan
 
It was pretty spooky but its so hard to tell cuz the video was so small. A larger version might make it alot easier
 
Pretty cool angles, liked the camera work, the music was a bit over the top, but I think it was kinda creepy music so it worked.
 
Overall I'd have to say I liked it. I thought the hand was a great idea. Funny though, nothing ever came out of my Ouija board. Keep up the good work.
 
Thanks for the compliments.

Hybrid: thanks for mentioning blurring the matte lines - unsure how to do this. If anyone has a link to a tutorial or a brief description, lemme know; thats the flaw that drives me nuts, but most people don't catch it.

Future user: Thats probably because you were following the instructions. Next time, try absinthe before playing.
 
Can't get to the website, but...did you use a Parker Brothers board? You know they want an exorbitant amount to feature a Ouija board in a film? You'll almost never see one.
 
Debo said:
why didn't i think of that?
need to be longer.
Click to expand...

Why, thanks Debo!

lpcvideo1: I used a Chinese lantern and a couple clip lights. A friend of mine actually drew a lighting schematic telling me where I should place lights that worked out pretty well. The obvious major advantage of DV is seeing results immediately - so I took my time making sure it looked decent on each shot. I also wasn't afraid to go a little brighter than needed, since I knew I could (and did) adjust it in post.
Looking back, I would have grabbed some duv and created a black backdrop to make it look like she was in total darkness, but I'm still happy with how it turned out.

GenJerDan said:
did you use a Parker Brothers board? You know they want an exorbitant amount to feature a Ouija board in a film? You'll almost never see one.
Click to expand...

Interesting factoid, and good to note. I used a Parker Brothers board intentionally - I plan on cutting this down to 40 seconds or so and making it into a spec commercial for a Ouija Board. Tongue in cheek, of course.
 
As has been said, the hand flying out of the board needs some work. I noticed that the matte painting of the board, or whatever it was, suddenly was an inch or to from where it had been the frame before.
You could always "Rotoscope" the hand. -Frame by frame paint or fix it.
The photography and the lighting looked great!
 
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