'Desecration' trailer - G35 footage

R

Railboy

New member
Greetings;

We just finished editing a trailer project for our film 'Desecration' using the DVX100A / G35. You can check it out here:
http://www.whatisdesecration.com

I believe Norm Li (our DP) posted a reel containing some of this footage a few weeks ago. Even if you've caught it already, there's plenty more to see in the trailers.

Enjoy!
 
Just finished watching Trailer 1 on the sight... NICE job. I have to say, it's 2pm here, bright as day, and that scream still gave me chills.

Good job.
 
Looks, good. The only thing that bothered me was that there was too little info visually to let the tension build. Too much was buried in shadow which can be a good thing but not when it's overdone.
"Se7en" was a dark movie, But if you watch it there was still a lot of detail, even in the shadows.
The guy prying into the wall? door? with the crowbar had no narrative impact. It just looked kind of cool.
The screaming baby? and vibrating shadow at the end was creepy but seemed too little too late.
Also, the story feels too much like a sequel to Session 9, another insane asylum flick that dealt with (among other things) frontal lobotomy.
As nicely shot as it was, something about it just didn't gel.
Sorry to seem harsh, but nobody was offering much in the way of crits, how do any of us (right or wrong) grow without them :huh:
 
Nice job, I really liked it. At the moment I am having major trouble in picking boom mics, etc. So I was just wondering what mics you used for your movie?
 
PANA-MAN said:
Looks, good. The only thing that bothered me was that there was too little info visually to let the tension build. Too much was buried in shadow which can be a good thing but not when it's overdone.
"Se7en" was a dark movie, But if you watch it there was still a lot of detail, even in the shadows.
The guy prying into the wall? door? with the crowbar had no narrative impact. It just looked kind of cool.
The screaming baby? and vibrating shadow at the end was creepy but seemed too little too late.
Also, the story feels too much like a sequel to Session 9, another insane asylum flick that dealt with (among other things) frontal lobotomy.
As nicely shot as it was, something about it just didn't gel.
Sorry to seem harsh, but nobody was offering much in the way of crits, how do any of us (right or wrong) grow without them :huh:
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you said. I kept watching this trying to figure out what it was about but I couldn't. For a few moments I thought this was a session 9 tribute or something. It's just all so similiar.

The only other thing I could think of was...why does he step on an egg? It's really not the least bit intimidating to step on an egg... It didn't really help the trailer.
 
PANA-MAN said:
Looks, good. The only thing that bothered me was that there was too little info visually to let the tension build. Too much was buried in shadow which can be a good thing but not when it's overdone.
"Se7en" was a dark movie, But if you watch it there was still a lot of detail, even in the shadows.
The guy prying into the wall? door? with the crowbar had no narrative impact. It just looked kind of cool.
The screaming baby? and vibrating shadow at the end was creepy but seemed too little too late.
Also, the story feels too much like a sequel to Session 9, another insane asylum flick that dealt with (among other things) frontal lobotomy.
As nicely shot as it was, something about it just didn't gel.
Sorry to seem harsh, but nobody was offering much in the way of crits, how do any of us (right or wrong) grow without them :huh:
Click to expand...

Not harsh at all, thank you for your comments (I'm the director).

The central goal of teaser "Trailer 1" was quite simply to be creepy, and not to concentrate on the story. It seems that it succeeds in that respect quite well with particular people, and not at all with others. It's been quite interesting for me to hear feedback- lots of people initially think there's a monster trying to break down the door, and I've heard about 10 different interpretations of what's going on with the shadowy figure at the end (both were planned ambiguities).

If you have the time, I'd love to hear some more from you on what could be improved on in terms of imagery, pacing, or anything else that comes to mind.

I'm curious about your "detail in the shadows" comment, and I'm wondering if perhaps your monitor is set a little darker than most. That's one of the most difficult things about shooting a dark film- everyone's monitors and tvs are calibrated differently, and if the settings are off just a little bit, it can ruin the whole effect. I'm not too big on blue lights = night and decided to take the "true darkness" risk, and worked with Norm to try and give the film as realistic a presentation of darkness with as much detail as possible. I'm interested in how the technique we used could be improved.

As far as Session 9 goes, I personally think that it was a failure in the sense that it completely wasted all of the fear generated by such an amazing setting. While the premise of an asbestos removal team was quite good, the follow through didn't work very well. It was like they set up the film, then just moved into a story that could have worked in, say, an abandoned office building. The secondary plot with the patient recordings came off as both hokey and trying too hard. And they shot during the day!

The story of this film (which we admittedly just barely touch on in the teaser trailers) is quite different , and really tries to emphasize the asylum aspect of the film, rather than just use it as a convenient environment. I have a BA in psychology myself, and really want to make good use of the history of mental facilities and the torturous treatments of the past in order to really evoke fear. Mental illness is still somewhat taboo in our culture, and this film really seeks to delve into how we perceive those that are mentally ill. How in the past they were locked away out of sight, how a lot of treatment was literally torture, and how their minds were even destroyed through unscientific psychosurgeries. It also draws parallels to how our culture perceives and interacts with the mentally ill today.

Our main character is a veteran urban explorer who actually has a mental illness. Urban explorers, if you're not familiar with the term, are individuals who break into abandoned buildings to discover the artifacts within left from the past. They don't go in to hunt ghosts, find money, or escape a rain storm- rather they venture into these places because the very nature of their dilapidation and history fascinates them. It's through this exploration that the true creepiness of the film builds a strong base upon which we can terrify.

I also didn't like how Session 9 wasted the prefrontal lobotomy. They used it as kind of a cheap plot device and murder weapon, whereas I wish to really disturb people through the recognition of what a horrible tool it was, and how it completely destroyed the lives of people, some of whom had no real mental illness at all. And the lobotomy will only be one of the many treatments that are parts of this film- hydrotherapy, primitive electroshock therapy, and many other less well known types of "therapy" will be utilized. It's just that our budget didn't allow us to film those for the trailer.

In light of all of that, I'm quite confident that the actual film will come out quite different from Session 9, and hopefully do the setting the justice it deserves. I do recognize that the trailers make it seem that the two films are quite similar though, which is unfortunate.

But yeah- if you have any more ideas or comments, totally let me know. They're extremely helpful to hear, and I really appreciate your earlier post.

Thanks!
 
Snowspot said:
I agree with everything you said. I kept watching this trying to figure out what it was about but I couldn't. For a few moments I thought this was a session 9 tribute or something. It's just all so similiar.

The only other thing I could think of was...why does he step on an egg? It's really not the least bit intimidating to step on an egg... It didn't really help the trailer.
Click to expand...

I see what you mean; I don't think the whole Easter/egg angle was really that apparent to most people.

The idea is that in that big jib shot with the "HAP" banner, you recognize that there had actually been an easter party in an insane asylum, and that the banner at one time said "Happy Easter!". It's supposed to evoke this sort of cognitive dissonance in that you have something quite terrible and freaky on one hand, and a very happy cheery thing on the other. It's rather unsettling to think of six lobotomized patients sitting in a circle, motionless, with little party hats on.

Unfortunately, I now realize that I don't think that this type of scene was really the most appropriate for the trailer, as it generally needs more time to sink in. Some people see it instantly, and have a pretty strong reaction to it- but I find that most people don't even see the easter basket in that jib shot, and the whole effect is lost.

As you can imagine, the easter egg plays into the same theme- but if that jib shot doesn't resonate with people, the egg shot loses most of its potency.

Thank you for pointing that out.
 
Try downloading the new QT. 10.4.3 It worked for me and again I just wanted to say that sh*t is nasty!!!!!!!!
 
Aesthetically: Beautifully shot, very nice low light work

Lighting: Loved the continuity. ie: The recurring theme of strong light sources entering frame from the corner and melting into shadow (was this intentional?)
The lens flare from the flash lights adds nicely to ambiance.
Also, the deep shadow is perfect for the concept of the trailers. As the audience becomes the stranger in a strange place, they are forced to use their imagination and fill in the darkness with what they personally fear.
The risk with this technique is expectations must be surpassed when the darkness is lifted. Sort of like waiting nervously for the big bad wolf to jump out of the darkness and then a kitten slowly walks into the light… although the kitten can shock or scare the hell out of them if its done correctly, but even…. Whoa…. I’m on a rant….. Sorry... lol 

Color: Pale coloration effectively conveys a dank dusty feel-- suits the theme & location

Effects: convulsing shadow looked really good. Again your use of light and shadow is very impressive.

Sound: not my department

Editing: Simple but effective

Acting & storyline: Can’t comment on the acting or the story because the trailer really does not showcase these disciplines. That scares me.. If it’s strong… put it on a pedestal and shine a 1,000,000,000 watt home depot work light on it…. If its weak... shoot take after take until it’s strong.. if the actors suck… get actors who don’t suck..

“SHOOT FOR THE MOON, BECAUSE IF YOU MISS.. AT LEAST YOU’LL BE AMOUNG THE STARS..”

DO YA THING BABY
 
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