"Love, Ninja" - CSULB Student Film Short

interesting short. so what was the objective of this project? did you just have to shoot a short film for the class? I'm sure there had to be some standard shots that had to be followed.

most of the shots were very basic with very little shallow depth of field. i'd like to see more shots with SDOF than all these wide shots. they got boring quick.
 
Didn't have too many problems with it other than the fact that the guards were wearing labcoats. Wha-? Plus, the first guard had a rifle. He should've had a carbine or an SMG (sorry - I'm a gun guy). The trashcan part made me laugh. Why did the other two (armed, mind you) guards run from the ninja? The ninja that was waaaay down the hall. I would take potshots at that sneaky bastard! I like how his name is ninja. This short seems to delve between action and comedy (I found that some of it made me laugh). The end was pretty funny. Good idea, okay execution.
 
fun storyline!
I agree with kirch, more shallow depth of field would really sell it as a movie more (rather than news coverage). Perhaps some color correction, the whole thing feels a bit washed out - maybe add some contrast.

I think you could tell the story a little better if you tightened up your editing. Coming from a military background, people don't point their guns and then wait to shoot - so I would edit it such that you don't see the guard bring his gun up all the way, maybe he only starts to. Then while the ninja is looking at the trash can and kicking it, the viewer has the sense that the guard is still bringing his gun to bear, rather than standing there waiting to be hit by the trash can.

Attention to little details is what will set you apart.

I like the blur at the beginning as the ninja is moving - you should use that more to sell his quickness!
 
Thanks for the comments and criticism guys! I guess I should lay out what the guidelines were for the assignment:

1) Tell a visual story in 5 mins or less, no dialogue
2) We couldn't check out any lights from the school (all the advanced students were using them)
3) Show understanding of composition, focus, and depth of field
4) NO HANDHELD! (I actually broke this rule once, when he's being thrown off the building, but my teacher didn't notice/mind)
 
I thought it was actually funny and pretty good. the ninja didn't really move ninja-ish to me, but that's probably due to having a brother that took ninjitsu
 
RoamingBobert said:
fun storyline!
I agree with kirch, more shallow depth of field would really sell it as a movie more (rather than news coverage). Perhaps some color correction, the whole thing feels a bit washed out - maybe add some contrast.

I think you could tell the story a little better if you tightened up your editing. Coming from a military background, people don't point their guns and then wait to shoot - so I would edit it such that you don't see the guard bring his gun up all the way, maybe he only starts to. Then while the ninja is looking at the trash can and kicking it, the viewer has the sense that the guard is still bringing his gun to bear, rather than standing there waiting to be hit by the trash can.

Attention to little details is what will set you apart.

I like the blur at the beginning as the ninja is moving - you should use that more to sell his quickness!
Click to expand...


I haven't been to film school, so my question might sound really stupid: a shallow depth of field means the stuff in the background is out of focus, and the objects in the foreground are focused, right? (Unlikey a news coverage, where everything is in focused?)
 
right. depth of field refers to the space in front of the camera that the lens can keep in focus. you'll hear it alot here, because the best way to make video look like film is to get a shallow depth of film, using something like this: http://www.cinemek.com
 
mcshyd said:
right. depth of field refers to the space in front of the camera that the lens can keep in focus. you'll hear it alot here, because the best way to make video look like film is to get a shallow depth of film, using something like this: http://www.cinemek.com
Click to expand...


hmm... so I'm not that dumb after all.. but can't you play around with the focus ring (or button) to achieve a shallow depth of field?
 
you can achieve a shallow depth of field with just the camera but it requires a little more work.
Like zooming all the way in then moving the camera back some. But that obviously limits certain small areas to shoot in
 
that was a fun little short, nice job

i was surprised to see the ninja hop down from above the frame, nice touch

curious, where did you get your ninja costume?
 
I liked it! Got a few laughs out of me and looks like you nailed the assignment. It reminds me a lot of a short I did my first year in school, especially the sleeping guard, but I think yours came out better. Check it out at my site if you like, its called Agent Zero.
 
There were definitely some good comical moments in there....to me, the end was kinda weak. I would have liked to have seen a better conclusion. I agree with others that more use of closer shots and shallow DOF would have improved the overall piece. I did like the introduction of the ninja when he drops from the top of the frame - that was awesome!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top