"DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film festiv

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Hey everyone,

I just wrote/DP/cam/edit a horror short film for the Vancouver "Blood, guts, and gore" 48hr film festival
this past weekend and my friend directed. It was good fun!

http://www.q-productions.net/temp/

Right click and "save as" the Devotion.mov file.

Please take a few moments to watch it and any comments/suggestions are welcome.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Thanks!

Norm Li
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

That was truly excellent Norm. The comps, the coloring, the audio, the talent, the set design, the editing. Truly a first rate horror short. That was some disturbing shite. I loved it. Bravo!!!!
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

very good short my man, I dug it a lot..Probably my favorite horror short on the site. And its SHORT! like shorts are supposed to be.

Good use of the OldBoy Soundtrack !

I loved the hallway which reminded me of oldboy too.

Can you talk about some of the technical stuff that you did for the film, Lighting..Camera movements Etc.
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Sorry didn't got it... ???
Someone please explain the film to the frenchie (aka me...)

Anyway, nice cutting ideas (except maybe for too much fades to black) and lighting, Murder scene is just cool (the music is Vivaldi isn't it ? very Giallo à la Argento idea)

did you shoot WIdescreen / squeeze or did you crop the 4/3 image ?

Nico
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

The impression I took from it was that this Mother took someones baby to stay young and ate it. She was a serial killer. and the daughter ofund out and was like AGGHHH!!!
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Damn! So the story must have been a little confusing... okay, this is what it's about...

The mom always feeds her daughter baby's in pumpkin pie because she thinks it will keep her daughter young and beautiful. She didn't want her daughter to grow old like her so she is living her superficial and beauty-obsessive life through her daughter's life. It's basically a social commentary that goes a little extreme but describes how far maternal love goes and how the world is rediculously obsessed with youth/beauty/health products.

So it isn't the mom who is eating the pies - it's her mom feeding her daughter and the daughter finds out after she opens the oven door and discovers a raw pie that was sitting inside, while her mom was out buying some more "supplies". Once she finds out, she freaks out and slaps her mom and holds her down by the neck while she slashes her own face - not her mother's. This affects her mother more than her daughter stabbing her because her mother only cares for her daughter's beauty. That's pretty much the premise/plot.

Oh, and thanks for the comments guys :) Yeah, the fade to blacks, we had to use because there weren't many straight-cut scene transitions we could use in the film due to lack of some shots. I tried, but it looks funny. :( Thus, I had to resort to the fade to blacks between scenes.

In terms of lighting, I used only one 1K Baby (even though I rented out 5 more lights) and one reflector board for the scene while she is eating pie and her mother is talking to her. For the rest of the movie, I just used the practical lights because it was sufficient enough to provide a enough contrast and illumination for the shots. All the colouring was done in-camera and nothing in post. I used mainly hand-held shots just to get that feeling of "being there". I also used a jib-arm for 2 shots and a tripod for one shot.

In terms of editing, I had to do all of that in 2 hours! It was a rush because we had to submit the final tape at 7pm on Sunday evening! I used Vegas 5.
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Awesome Norm! Just in time for Halloween    :o :o

Acting was top notch too (whole thing was!)

You wrote / shot / edited this in 48 hours?  – Outstanding!  8)
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Man, I just had pumpkin pie last night. It was well put together for only two hours. Good Luck with the festival.


Blue Spider
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Actually, I meant to say I co-wrote. Oops.

Yeah! This festival was for Halloween :)

I shot this with anamorphic lens + in-camera letterbox for simulated 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Norm
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Norm - Was the festival last weekend? (or was production last weekend?)

If so how’d ya guys do?
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

awesome short man. what makes it even astounding is that you did it in 48 hours!

I'm just wondering though, are you allowed to bring in a script prior to the start of the 48 hours?
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

The festival was this past weekend (Oct 22 Sat -23 Sun) :) The screening and winner announcement is this coming Thursday so we'll see if it wins or LOSES! hehe.

We are not allowed to bring in a script prior. Actually, we had to base it on a theme and subtheme, along with a prop that they gave us 7pm on Friday (Oct 21). So it's hard to write a script without knowing any of the themes involved.

Some people I heard wrote a script before the competition but we actually only found out about the festival on that same Friday morning! It was a lot of rush and worries but it turned out okay!

;D
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Not no more it ain't
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Hey man... I enjoyed the short (especially after reading your explanation), but I just wanted to comment on your demo reel. It looked great!
Do you own or rent a crane? If so, any recommendations?

I was also curious, on your demo reel, you did it twice (once at the construction site, once in the 'kill me' video), where the camera zooms/floats into an object real fast (the sign, and the fire extinguisher). How was this effect done, and in what software?

It looks amazing.
Thanks
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

The imagery looked great but the story got confusing at times. Who was the mom? She was great!
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Thanks!

I own the Promax CobraCrane. It's really good! It's very sturdy and the price is pretty good too. Check it out at www.promax.com. This is what really brings the production value up for sure. All my friends and classmates love it! haha.

That "zoom effect" was created by just bringing the camera closer to the object (i.e sign or fire extinguisher) and speeding it up in post. (I just used Premiere 6.5 for those). That combined with music/soundfx helps out with the impact too I guess! Play around and you'll get it with no problems!

I just updated my demo reel too, basically stuck in the Devotion clips and took out a bunch of video production stuff. I'm going to use a "drama" and a "video production" reel separately for different jobs.

The mom was an actor that I had before in one of my 16mm shorts I directed. She's great! Her name is Dixie Pidgeon. She reminds me of the mom in Requiem for a Dream!

Norm
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

I only counted 4 Fade to Blacks for the transitions (I'm not counting the opening card and Fade to End Title sequence). I like FADES; it's a good way to illustarte the passage of time. You see alot of FADE to BLACK's in the work of Tarantino, De Palma, Carepenter and the MAD MAX Franchise.

Had to comment on this stylistic choice!
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

48 hours to edit. Wow.

Man, this was creepy. No, I mean, really.

Yeah, the story was a bit jumbled. I didn't get it at the end that the daughter was slashing her own face.

But, lighting, cuts, mood, and Mom's acting was top-notch.
 
Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Re: "DEVOTION" - for 48hr horror film fe

Hey!

We LOST!

:)

Actually, most of the films there were very cheezy-home-videoish and those are the films that won. I think they wanted cheezy-type videos with the MOST gore.

Oh well! I'm happy with the film. This film festival was organized by two guys for their first time. Lots of people at the screening but it wasn't very professional.

Norm
 
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