Deuceofspades
Veteran
LOL - I need a head transplant (or a vacation - whichever comes first) - Yes that message was meant for Frank in Germany... Keep the free drink anyway LOL
FEATURE: DEUCE OF SPADES - How I made a period full feature film all by myself on ZERO budget
- Thread starter Deuceofspades
- Start date
LOL - I need a head transplant (or a vacation - whichever comes first) - Yes that message was meant for Frank in Germany... Keep the free drink anyway LOL
Peter Vesterbacka
Carbonite Member
Wow! Looks amazing!
Deuceofspades
Veteran
Thank you very much Peter
I'll share some more screengrabs today. This was a shoot where the lighting was a nightmare cause the room has ZERO windows and no lights. And it was a fairly big room (4 car garage to be more precise). I only had 3 X 1K and my two 500W lowells... Boy did I need Luis's HMI light that day! Live and learn LOL.... So the lighting is so-so on some of the shots, but the close ups on my older actor Jay came out really neat. As always I love filming older actors, their faces have so much character!
below: This side of the garage had some fluorescents, so we used them. No, they didn't make us look green LOL.
SCREENGRAB:
I utilized my friend's garage and his lovely miniature 50's train set-up, which provided a very interesting opening shot and reveal on the character "MONK"
100mm lens remains my favorite lens of all times and despite the focus pulling challenges, I use it anytime possible.
Here filming the above shots:
Nostalgia and sadness in this closing shot: "Nothing is left Faith. Nothing..."
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I think you nailed it by noticing how much history, emotion, and feeling you can get from filming an older persons face. One expression can tell an entire story.
So, I haven't seen all the trailers so I may stand corrected but do you have any guys wearing black T-shirts?
So, I haven't seen all the trailers so I may stand corrected but do you have any guys wearing black T-shirts?
Deuceofspades
Veteran
Not in the flashbacks, no. I kept the wardrobe very authentic and stayed away from the cliches, such as big hair does and sideburns and guys combing their greaser's hairs. No cigarette packs in the sleeves either, although some guys did that, I saw no evidence of a real trend in the early fifties. All the photos I studied showed zero cigaret packs in the sleeves... My story takes place in the early fifties and guys had clean cuts, no sideburns, jeans were rolled up stupidly high and they wore leather shoes, penny loafer and such and also a lot of plad shirts...
Deuceofspades
Veteran
Four scenes and about 10 pick up shots. I'll probably tackle them here and there while editing, it will give my butt a break from sitting ALL DAY LONG in front of the computer cutting...
Honestly, it's going to feel VERY weird when I am DONE filming. I have been filming every week-end for about two years straight now. That's counting my prep 35 min short THE PARK BENCH and the 50 hour of stock footage filmed on my old DVX100 prior to my upgrading to the HVX200 and 35mm adapter....
People wonder how I got to be so good behind the camera, and pulling my own focus etc... Well... Add it up, say 8hrs a day X 2 day a week X 4 weeks a month X 24 = 1536 hours spent rolling, framing, panning, pulling focus.
Not bad
.And since I also filmed on week days sometimes, and oftentimes spent more than 8 hours filming in one shoot, the tally is higher, so let's say about 1700 hours.
And I still feel I'm not good enough and need more practice LOL !!
Go figure.
In my experience the people who assume they know it all end up getting careless and make more mistakes then they're willing to admit. It's usually those who are constantly trying to improve their craft and strive for excellence that end up doing some great work. (there is an exception to this though-George Lucas should have left the original Star Wars trilogy alone) I think you are on the right track though.
Deuceofspades
Veteran
I can't remember where I left at in terms of sharing screengrabs from my flashbacks... I think it was scene 10?? So if the photos below have already been posted, please bare with me...
Below was a night shoot that was a real nightmare. we could never get clean sound, no matter how late it got, the near by freeway made it impossible to get the scene done in a timely manner. Problem being that in 1955, they didn't have freeways
... So hearing the freeway was period incorrect. It was also cold and the actors were wearing next to nothing... I think they hated my gutts that night! LOL We were at it until dawn. I ended up sleeping sitting in my truck, because my volunteer/grip "stole" my bunk bed in the trailer and I didn't have the heart to wake him up. I didn't get much rest that night and then started shooting again the next morning.
Ouch.
Below was a night shoot that was a real nightmare. we could never get clean sound, no matter how late it got, the near by freeway made it impossible to get the scene done in a timely manner. Problem being that in 1955, they didn't have freeways
... So hearing the freeway was period incorrect. It was also cold and the actors were wearing next to nothing... I think they hated my gutts that night! LOL We were at it until dawn. I ended up sleeping sitting in my truck, because my volunteer/grip "stole" my bunk bed in the trailer and I didn't have the heart to wake him up. I didn't get much rest that night and then started shooting again the next morning.Ouch.
Wow, what are you going to do when you're done filming? Maybe you'll have to start watching TV again.
This is my first post on this thread, but I've been admiring your work for a while now. You've got many many beautiful shots, and I look forward to seeing the film when it's done. I'll miss your updates, though.
Deuceofspades
Veteran
Wow, what are you going to do when you're done filming? Maybe you'll have to start watching TV again.
This is my first post on this thread, but I've been admiring your work for a while now. You've got many many beautiful shots, and I look forward to seeing the film when it's done. I'll miss your updates, though.
Sweet
it's nice to be missed !! But then again, I'll keep updating the thread about what happens after the film is done, aka, promoting it, getting it out there, sharing it with the audience, etc...And then... There is always the... SEQUEL !!!!!!!!!!
(I must be nutts?)
Deuceofspades
Veteran
UPDATES:
It's official, I have moved to greater pastures and replaced my Letus Extreme with the Letus Ultimate !!!!!!!!!
Financially, it was painful, but as far as set-up goes it was painless, because both units pretty have the same size and settings, so i found that my MF number didnt' change a bit it's still MF35 and Z78...
I would like to give my first impressions on the unit tomorrow, so see you all then!
MEANWHILE; I am still stuck production wise, cause I am missing one actress to play one vital part. Older actors are hard to find, and teh scene is challenging, so many actresses crashed and burnt at the audition... I am auditioning 10 more thsi week so I hope that by Thursday evening I will be able to pick one person and move on with my life.
I did film last week end, (pick up shots to finish previous scenes). It was fun but hot as hell and I got a heat stroke in the desert. Today I feel better.
I am officially going to stat editing again during the week and film on week ends for a few more weeks and I should be all done with production.
IF I GOT ONE DOLLAR FOR EVERY TIME SOMEONE ASKS ME "WHEN IS IT GONG TO BE DONE?" I could finance two more films)...
It's official, I have moved to greater pastures and replaced my Letus Extreme with the Letus Ultimate !!!!!!!!!
Financially, it was painful, but as far as set-up goes it was painless, because both units pretty have the same size and settings, so i found that my MF number didnt' change a bit it's still MF35 and Z78...
I would like to give my first impressions on the unit tomorrow, so see you all then!
MEANWHILE; I am still stuck production wise, cause I am missing one actress to play one vital part. Older actors are hard to find, and teh scene is challenging, so many actresses crashed and burnt at the audition... I am auditioning 10 more thsi week so I hope that by Thursday evening I will be able to pick one person and move on with my life.
I did film last week end, (pick up shots to finish previous scenes). It was fun but hot as hell and I got a heat stroke in the desert. Today I feel better.
I am officially going to stat editing again during the week and film on week ends for a few more weeks and I should be all done with production.
IF I GOT ONE DOLLAR FOR EVERY TIME SOMEONE ASKS ME "WHEN IS IT GONG TO BE DONE?" I could finance two more films
)...
Ted Spencer
Veteran
Faith, how did it work out with the SSL software/OMF compatibility (audio export) thing? I remember you were looking into it earlier with regard to exporting the audio timeline from Vegas to Pro Tools. Curious how that turned out...
Deuceofspades
Veteran
I HAVE MADE ZERO PROGRESS because I was too busy with production, but now that I am going to start on post produciton tasks again, it is going to move forward. I will keep you guys posted on that.
Meanwhile, my Drive C crashed last week, resulting in a good 10 days lost, trying to get back on my feet. I got most of everything loaded up again, but I fear my vegas settings have been lost and raylight is not workign right. Can anyone help?
Jokerswild
Well-known member
IF I GOT ONE DOLLAR FOR EVERY TIME SOMEONE ASKS ME "WHEN IS IT GONG TO BE DONE?" I could finance two more films )...
hahahaha, lol. That is funny. I get that from all my friends too...and I haven't even begun to edit one inch of tape yet......probably a year and a half away...I guess at some point they just quit asking because they think we aren't working on it any longer...oh well, they will be pleasantly surprised.
)...hahahaha, lol. That is funny. I get that from all my friends too...and I haven't even begun to edit one inch of tape yet......probably a year and a half away...I guess at some point they just quit asking because they think we aren't working on it any longer...oh well, they will be pleasantly surprised.
Deuceofspades
Veteran
So I am now filming with an ULTIMATE Letus adapter and here are my impressions so far. Today I'll cover some of the basic stuff.
1- Packaging was real nice, a big improvement from my Extreme. Ultimate came in a nice hard case, and I liked that.
2- Weight. This is heavier than my Extreme it seems.
3- Size. They say size matters... In this case it didn't factor in as both units seem very similar in size and shape. Ultimate bolted right onto my existing rails with no modifications needed, and the mounting brakets of Extreme seem to work with Ultimate too.
4- Bracket nut. I hated the one that came with my Extreme, you just couldn't get a good grip on it, and I had to use a pair of plyers to tighten it. The Ultimate braket nut has a nice design, but I found the larger head made it hard to place the nutt inside the braket, when the braket is close to the rails. It takes a bit of struggling but once it is inside, it is easier to tighten. It has a tendency to come lose, probably because I don't have enough strength in my fingers to make it really tight. Maybe I still have to use plyers? LOL
5- Set up. Set-up was a breeze and I found that after focussing on GG, I ended up with the same setting I was using with my Extreme.
6- Alignment. the day I bolt on an adapter and it lines up perfect I will shave my head. (NOTE: I have very long hair)... As always they always seem a bit off, usually too far right... I was able to readjust the alignment some, but still had to zoom in to about 78 to be in the clear.
7- Batteries. Same clever magnet system holds the battery compartment close. I LOVE that feature. Ultimate takes the same 2 AA batteries my Extreme did. So far so good.
8- Power button. A bit hard to figure out in the dark, cause it doesn't protrude like the Extreme button did. Once on there is a digital number that is displayed in red. Comes factory at 99.
9- Speed of rotation. The number indicates how fast the GG is spinning. At 99 you can do anything but it will eat batteries faster. I found that out the hard way when the adapter died on me (quietly) during my master shot and that was THE take we needed. I never noticed the adapter had died and could not see the GG texture in my smaller 7inch HD monitor... Busy background.
SUGGESTION TO LETUS: You guys really really really need to add a beeping device that will : A- beep when battery is about to die B- Beep if the camera is on record and the adapter is not rotating (dream on Faith). OK, so maybe "B" is not realistic, but A seems a reasonable request and doable... And would have saved my last shoot. GRRRR.
10- Battery indicator - yeah yeah you are supposed to "look" at it and if it has an orange light (or something of that nature) that means you only have 10 minutes left of battery power. Though thoughtful I think this feature is a waste of time. I don't have time to look at my adapter every time I do a shot. And 10 minutes, in film time is like, 2 seconds. So forget that feature I really don't think it helps. An audio alert would be the way to go AKA :BEEP BEEP I am DYING ON YOU... Anyone can hear that, even if you are busy doing something else or looking at your actor's make up.
11- Lens ring. the lens ring is a lot tighter than the one that came with my Extreme. make it a bit harder to shlap the Nikon lenses on but they seem to be on there real tight, so no play at all.
12- Back focus ring. I have not used it so far but I can see how that would be a good think to have. My focus seems fine at infiniti, so no adjustment necessary.
13 - Film plane. You can use this to measure focus. As for me I never measure focus, I just eye it. So not useful to me but nice to have nonetheless.
Tomorrow I'll cover the actual performence of the unit. See you then!
1- Packaging was real nice, a big improvement from my Extreme. Ultimate came in a nice hard case, and I liked that.
2- Weight. This is heavier than my Extreme it seems.
3- Size. They say size matters... In this case it didn't factor in as both units seem very similar in size and shape. Ultimate bolted right onto my existing rails with no modifications needed, and the mounting brakets of Extreme seem to work with Ultimate too.
4- Bracket nut. I hated the one that came with my Extreme, you just couldn't get a good grip on it, and I had to use a pair of plyers to tighten it. The Ultimate braket nut has a nice design, but I found the larger head made it hard to place the nutt inside the braket, when the braket is close to the rails. It takes a bit of struggling but once it is inside, it is easier to tighten. It has a tendency to come lose, probably because I don't have enough strength in my fingers to make it really tight. Maybe I still have to use plyers? LOL
5- Set up. Set-up was a breeze and I found that after focussing on GG, I ended up with the same setting I was using with my Extreme.
6- Alignment. the day I bolt on an adapter and it lines up perfect I will shave my head
. (NOTE: I have very long hair)... As always they always seem a bit off, usually too far right... I was able to readjust the alignment some, but still had to zoom in to about 78 to be in the clear.7- Batteries. Same clever magnet system holds the battery compartment close. I LOVE that feature. Ultimate takes the same 2 AA batteries my Extreme did. So far so good.
8- Power button. A bit hard to figure out in the dark, cause it doesn't protrude like the Extreme button did. Once on there is a digital number that is displayed in red. Comes factory at 99.
9- Speed of rotation. The number indicates how fast the GG is spinning. At 99 you can do anything but it will eat batteries faster. I found that out the hard way when the adapter died on me (quietly) during my master shot and that was THE take we needed. I never noticed the adapter had died and could not see the GG texture in my smaller 7inch HD monitor... Busy background.
SUGGESTION TO LETUS: You guys really really really need to add a beeping device that will : A- beep when battery is about to die B- Beep if the camera is on record and the adapter is not rotating (dream on Faith). OK, so maybe "B" is not realistic, but A seems a reasonable request and doable... And would have saved my last shoot. GRRRR.
10- Battery indicator - yeah yeah you are supposed to "look" at it and if it has an orange light (or something of that nature) that means you only have 10 minutes left of battery power. Though thoughtful I think this feature is a waste of time. I don't have time to look at my adapter every time I do a shot. And 10 minutes, in film time is like, 2 seconds. So forget that feature I really don't think it helps. An audio alert would be the way to go AKA :BEEP BEEP I am DYING ON YOU... Anyone can hear that, even if you are busy doing something else or looking at your actor's make up.
11- Lens ring. the lens ring is a lot tighter than the one that came with my Extreme. make it a bit harder to shlap the Nikon lenses on but they seem to be on there real tight, so no play at all.
12- Back focus ring. I have not used it so far but I can see how that would be a good think to have. My focus seems fine at infiniti, so no adjustment necessary.
13 - Film plane. You can use this to measure focus. As for me I never measure focus, I just eye it. So not useful to me but nice to have nonetheless.
Tomorrow I'll cover the actual performence of the unit. See you then!
Deuceofspades
Veteran
WORKING WITH THE LETUS ULTIMATE - PART 2
1. Noise. This is a completely quiet unit which is a nice departure from vibrating adapters such as the Extreme, which had some buzzing noise to it. If you are filming a close up scene with dialogues and have the camera close to the subject, the shot gun mic would pick up a bit of the Etreme buzzing sound. This can be fixed by wrapping a towel around the adapter, dampening the sound some. I have used three Extremes over the past year and a half and found that some are louder than others. Luckily for me, the one I used most was pretty quiet. With the Ultimate, the silence is a bit confusing because it neither vibrates nor buzzs so you are left wondering: IS IT WORKING??? Yop, it is working.
2. Artifacts. Unlike vibrating adapters, which have severe limitations as far as how fast the Shutter speed can go and how much you can close your lens or camera iris, the Ultimate basically spells: DO WHATEVER YOU WANT AND HAVE FUN! It has been WEIRD for me to not have to worry about how much I close my iris, my lenses and how fast my shutter speed goes. Is such freedom LEGAL?? LOL It is not something I was used to and takes time to get accustomed to... Wow... Could it be that simple?? IT IS NOW. I shot in the desert on the dry lake bed which is very bright and reflective, at noon. Can't get more overexposed than this. The Ultimate provided good footage with no artifacts in the sky, despite ND filter being engaged and camera iris being closed dramatically. With the Extreme, you would see some slight grey noise in the sky once I put my ND filter on. No such problem with the Ultimate. Everything looks poyfect.
3. Edge to edge sharpness. A step up from the Extreme too, the picture seems nice and crisp.
4. Reliability. This is a major pet peeve of mine and I have had my share of problems with my adapters, which can be very frustrating. So I am waiting to see how the Ultimate performs for me over the next months, and will let you guys know.
That's it for now!
1. Noise. This is a completely quiet unit which is a nice departure from vibrating adapters such as the Extreme, which had some buzzing noise to it. If you are filming a close up scene with dialogues and have the camera close to the subject, the shot gun mic would pick up a bit of the Etreme buzzing sound. This can be fixed by wrapping a towel around the adapter, dampening the sound some. I have used three Extremes over the past year and a half and found that some are louder than others. Luckily for me, the one I used most was pretty quiet. With the Ultimate, the silence is a bit confusing because it neither vibrates nor buzzs so you are left wondering: IS IT WORKING??? Yop, it is working
.2. Artifacts. Unlike vibrating adapters, which have severe limitations as far as how fast the Shutter speed can go and how much you can close your lens or camera iris, the Ultimate basically spells: DO WHATEVER YOU WANT AND HAVE FUN! It has been WEIRD for me to not have to worry about how much I close my iris, my lenses and how fast my shutter speed goes. Is such freedom LEGAL?? LOL It is not something I was used to and takes time to get accustomed to... Wow... Could it be that simple?? IT IS NOW. I shot in the desert on the dry lake bed which is very bright and reflective, at noon. Can't get more overexposed than this. The Ultimate provided good footage with no artifacts in the sky, despite ND filter being engaged and camera iris being closed dramatically. With the Extreme, you would see some slight grey noise in the sky once I put my ND filter on. No such problem with the Ultimate. Everything looks poyfect.
3. Edge to edge sharpness. A step up from the Extreme too, the picture seems nice and crisp.
4. Reliability. This is a major pet peeve of mine and I have had my share of problems with my adapters, which can be very frustrating. So I am waiting to see how the Ultimate performs for me over the next months, and will let you guys know.
That's it for now!
Deuceofspades
Veteran
NEED A LITTLE HELP
I need a sound effect for a fight scene in the film. I need the sound of a knife blade swishing, as one guy takes a swing at another. I surfed the net but didn't see / hear anything I liked.
Can anyone help?
Thank you!
I need a sound effect for a fight scene in the film. I need the sound of a knife blade swishing, as one guy takes a swing at another. I surfed the net but didn't see / hear anything I liked.
Can anyone help?
Thank you!
Deuceofspades
Veteran
Got the sound and added it to the scene. That old school stoleto knife 50's fight is a blast to watch! And now it sounds pretty exciting too
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GregPorter
Active member
I have to say Faith, the gent on the left of the last picture posted REALLY looks like the kind of guy I'd expect to see in a period film in this era.. He just has that kinda ramblin' tamblin' country boy look that not many people have.
I'm UBER excited to see the final product and even though we don't know eachother I feel quite proud that a little lady like your self just posting on an internet forum can make such a masterpiece like this pretty much all on your own!
Amazing work Faith, keep us inspired!
I'm UBER excited to see the final product and even though we don't know eachother I feel quite proud that a little lady like your self just posting on an internet forum can make such a masterpiece like this pretty much all on your own!
Amazing work Faith, keep us inspired!