Letus Ultimate + EX3 on Big Screen: MONSTERS

Yes. This is amazing. I'm sooo far out on the computer fx but I just shot my first feature on a budget of 2k. That is after equipment but seriously I had $2,000 in my pocket and made one of the better low budget movies I worked on while in Hollywood. I liked what the filmmaker said about just being creative enough to get the job done. I'm lovin that attitude.

And on a side note, LA is closing down to Indy filmmakers. Things are just too expensive here to be realistic. We had to dodge more cop cars filming our movie than anything else. Fee's, licenses, permits... I'm def looking forward to filming somewhere else next.
 
Zblock said:
Yes. This is amazing. I'm sooo far out on the computer fx but I just shot my first feature on a budget of 2k. That is after equipment but seriously I had $2,000 in my pocket and made one of the better low budget movies I worked on while in Hollywood. I liked what the filmmaker said about just being creative enough to get the job done. I'm lovin that attitude.

And on a side note, LA is closing down to Indy filmmakers. Things are just too expensive here to be realistic. We had to dodge more cop cars filming our movie than anything else. Fee's, licenses, permits... I'm def looking forward to filming somewhere else next.
Click to expand...

Somewhat. There's still ability to do some no budget goodness here. You just have to be rather personable. And, well, quick.
 
Zblock said:
And on a side note, LA is closing down to Indy filmmakers. Things are just too expensive here to be realistic. We had to dodge more cop cars filming our movie than anything else. Fee's, licenses, permits... I'm def looking forward to filming somewhere else next.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Go to Orange County or San Bernardino county CA and the locals love you. In LA county everyone, including cities and police, have their hand out wanting money. And they wonder why people are moving to Toronto and Australia to make movies. Ha! LA has killed the goose that laid the golden egg.
 
They just built a huge building in South Windsor , CT. Supposed to be a very be hollywood studio i think. Its alot cheaper to shoot in CT , i heard.
 
lol OMG

So I was flipping through netflix and saw MONSTERS as a recently new listing. The description sounded pretty cool so I fired it up.. After the first couple shots I said to myself.. nice, love how film looks so much better than digital.. then maybe 30-40mins later, during a night scene, I started noticing that distinctive way 35mm adapters render point lights.. and I was like, holy crap, this is an adapter setup. Sure enough I find this thread. Wow, it looked freaking phenomenal...seriously. Adapter footage = filmic look. DSLR footage=Reality TV b-roll look.
 
I rented this on bluray from Blockbusters last night...I can be picky with my films and usually steer clear of this sort of movie but I own an ex1 and a letus elite adapter so I rented it.
Great low budget movie, a million times better than anticipated.

You have to watch the making of documentary that comes with it.

made me think.... Oh God I really dont have any more excuses, buying more and more kit wont help prepare me for my potential masterpiece.
.....now that cgi software, whats that called..I think I need that. LOL
 
Ordered this on blu-ray as well. Loved the look but also knew it was an adptor and it was obvious for those in the know. Most of the 'film look' also did come from high end colour grading though - that movie went through something expensive. Iwonder if the blu-ray was from the master DI file.Gotta give it to Gareth - the guy pulled off a hang of a project. Not much of a compelling story to be fair as others have noted ( who needs one in an apocolyptical movie he he he he) but what an achievement. His mantra is just to ignore convention and do it....gutsy but he's also also such a talented VFX artist as well.
 
Last edited:
Zblock said:
Yes. This is amazing. I'm sooo far out on the computer fx but I just shot my first feature on a budget of 2k. That is after equipment but seriously I had $2,000 in my pocket and made one of the better low budget movies I worked on while in Hollywood. I liked what the filmmaker said about just being creative enough to get the job done. I'm lovin that attitude.

And on a side note, LA is closing down to Indy filmmakers. Things are just too expensive here to be realistic. We had to dodge more cop cars filming our movie than anything else. Fee's, licenses, permits... I'm def looking forward to filming somewhere else next.
Click to expand...

come to CT!

http://ctstudiosllc.com/2010/03/25/...unces-plans-to-break-ground-in-south-windsor/
 
Drew Ott said:
Let us know once you've done all that, and then we can compare your career to Gareth Edwards'.

The people who follow the rules and obey the system are very rarely the ones who get ahead.
Click to expand...

That a myth. There are few rules in the film business, and the ones that are there are usually there for a reason. I make a very comfortable living in production - most people who try to shoot stuff with no knowledge, no script, no nothing, end up broke.
 
I got the blu ray in the mail today and watched the film tonight. Wow, that really put things into perspective. I wish everyone on this forum could see the film, really incredible what was achieved with the gear used.
 
Visually the movie looked great if you know and understand how bare boned their equipment really was... The story was really good on the paper and trailer, but the movie itself is really slow. It feels more like a great short 20 minute movie that they tried to make into a full movie and had to put in some really story killing segments...
 
Where can I download a copy of this MONSTER movie (I mean buy a downloadable copy that is)? In Malaysia, there is no way we can buy them at the video shop I guess, not for something Indy.
 
not sure if this particular indy movie is available for Malaysian iTunes but I will give it a try. Thanks for the tip.
 
killamill said:
There are others... With Pro35 I know many.

With other brand adaptors, I remember "Medicine for melancholy" and "Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour". Both shot with an M2.
Click to expand...
@killamill...I know your post was months ago but I tried to find out what camera Medicine... was shot on quite a while ago as well. I was thinking and EX1 or Ex3. By M2, you meant the Redrock, right?

Tieuel Legacy! Motion
 
I believe that @kholi mentioned Monsters in another thread last week. Thanks for that Kholi.

**Mini-spoiler alert...**
I rented Monsters over the weekend and I really like the visuals. The story itself had quite a bit of buildup which I equate to Blairwitch, Cloverfield, and Signs. What sets Signs apart is a lot of added humor that leads upward toward the end when you finally see the alien. Cloverfield was pretty similar to this film because you get a few glimpses of the animal but not entirely. Blairwitch didn't show anything at all. It was just buildup. In the end of Monsters, I didn't realize what the alien was there for. There were really good looking images and also added detail with photoshopped warning signs within the movie (as seen on the behind the scenes cilps). I really think that some sort of explanation and visible creatures earlier in the film would've made it standout as a horror film/sci-fi film. Even if the last 30 minutes were dedicated to the animal, it could've had a similar effect as Apocalypse Now when they finally reached the compound to track down the general. The resolution would've been clearer. Really, I would've even liked a fuzzy resolution regarding the alien. I didn't feel that there was one.

When I read "low budget", I didn't realize that it was under $15k. I would suggest renting this rather than doing a VOD in order to watch the behind the scenes. They won't detail a lot about filmmaking in their dialogue but you will see a few things in regards to how they worked. It's also interesting to see how small of a crew they had but how long the credits were. There's no question that this movie would've been done for more than $15k. Part of the issue with how filmmakers sometimes interpret their budget is the fact that they don't count in-kind services. If you're applying for grants, in-kind services ("sweat equity") comes in handy. It makes you look like you did the footwork to raise some sort of capital. However, people are borrowing cams, lighting, and getting food donations so they don't tell us that. They only mention the few things like travel and food. They left the most expensive things out. Someone had to purchase the camera at some point. Even if it was purchased on another project, that camera should be added to the budget. Also, the man hours should have a dollar amount per hour or per day even if that person doesn't see a penny. I've seen other threads on this site and others that don't account for those expenditures and it's misleading. Even if you borrow 30 different cameramen for 30 different days, they should add it to the budget. Although I've heard that some distros don't care how much you spent for a project prior to purchase, I feel that there are other companies that base their offer on what the filmmaker has spent. I can't see someone giving $500k to a film make for only $15k. They may add money to enhance the product but as far as purchasing it for distro, I haven't seen a good example of a film with that much disparity in cost yet. From what I've seen, they'd rather buy a screenplay for that much and add their own talent. I've also seen the guy from Uruguay or Paraguay that did a robot short film that supposedly got him a deal for a future feature film. They'll still have their hands in that production until completed.

Tieuel Legacy! Motion
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top