"Cloverfield" just rented it...

B

brianluce

Carbonite Member
It's a bit scary (Godzilla) but was wondering, they said it was only 30 million to produce. I undertand it lacked pricey stars and was shot on Genesis but with all those FX and CGI, where exactly did all the saving come in? Superman cost 200 million, wasn't it all in the FX? Can someone fill in the gaps here?
 
You really didn't see the creature all that much and it was a short movie.
I really don't know for sure though. Superman definitely had way more effects shots.
 
yeah and the camera made the effects look more real and believable than it could have plus using sets cheaper than shooting on real streets of ny etc. savings.
 
The majority of the visual effects shots were Matte Paintings and such. I assume they saved some with cutting down on the shots of the Clover. Along with using less pricey talent.

But then again the shots they did have - like the shot of brooklyn bridge going down they needed to create the entire bridge digitally.

So, I would be interested to know too.
 
Adding to the above multiple analysis:

The "look" of the movie helped it. I can see some major savings happening in lighting and setup, due to the "Cinema Verité" look of the picture.

The cast in this sort of thing, which was unknown, contrary to other big Summer Hollywood movies , was a big factor. having the likes of a Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie would add 10+Millions to the production.

It was all shot digitaly, which meant less cost in filming and a smaller production team.

Soundtrack was also not that expensive.
 
Another thing, was the choice of the HVX product placement? This was the Blair Witch concept of "Discovering footage" but instead of film students, it was supposed to be just be home video. I don't think the HVX is something you'd have laying around to shoot your beer parties.
 
Short answer: no. The camera was never shown in the film -- I mean, obviously, in that it's the camera doing the shooting.

Nobody watching the film would have any idea it was an HVX. We only know it was an HVX because the filmmakers said so in interviews.
 
well think about how much cheaper the film is considering that they had the actor handle the camera in many instances (the HVX that is). i think it comes down to the style of the film. like SPZ said, it has to do with the lighting and the sound a lot. they kind of wowed you visually with some of the special effects and cool things happening (the head of the statue of liberty). but each special effects shot was also less than like 5 seconds, save the bridge scene, however they ended up using mostly the live footage from the bridge anyway.
i thought it was very empowering watching the movie knowing that they shot with HVXs in a lot of instances...kind of makes you think that you can do a lot more than you would think with the camera you have.
 
I just saw the film yesterday for the first time and I think it was a good digital project. As far as the guy with the camera, there actually was a camera operator running the HVX and Viper that always wore the same pants and shoes as the actor to make it look as if it was the actor holding the camera.
 
Wow...did I see the same movie? The one that people were leaving the theater half-way through the movie? The one where some kids were barfing in the isle?

I guess if you look at it from a technical perspective...there is some conversation to be had...but as far as the story...this one goes down as THE worst movie I've ever seen!
 
ZazaCast said:
Wow...did I see the same movie? The one that people were leaving the theater half-way through the movie? The one where some kids were barfing in the isle?

I guess if you look at it from a technical perspective...there is some conversation to be had...but as far as the story...this one goes down as THE worst movie I've ever seen!
Click to expand...

I must have rented the same version you saw. Absolute suckness IMO. To start with hand held should be used sparingly and they sure as hell threw that idea out the window. Maybe the reason it only cost 30 mil was cause they forgot to rent any tripods and other support. I'll watch it again at some point just to try and make sense but right now am watching a Chinese movie, in mandarin, with no subtitles and enjoying it a lot more than that cloverfield crap.:thumbdown
 
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