Prey - A Film by JTyner & EditPhish

[Charli]

It took 30 seconds photographing the woods before you introduced the story, for short film that's a bit too long.

Once you got to the story it was a generic camp-out gone wrong. The good things that I did like were the black and white flashbacks, but the excess of blood was a bit much and for those of us who have watched one too many episodes of CSI note of the blood splatter was all wrong - lol.

The dripping of the blood on the tent along with the cinematic opening is just pure filmography - I would rather hear and see a story.

The transformation was good, better than good actually. But did you know there was only ONE WORD of dialogue spoken in the entire show? While you can have a show without verbal communication, we are world wired for sound not just sight, add more meat to your story by adding interactive dialogue.

Good job on the monster, next time, less blood.

 

[EditPhish]

Thanks for the feedback Charli... it's the only way we can improve.

Glad you liked the monster and transformation

 

[ramsaur]

I'm not sure about this one. I was expecting more of a story and hopefully some dialogue. Your blood looked too red and not the darker blood type red. The makeup on the werwolf was great though and it's teeth! Good makeup fx on the girl's leg with the bone coming out and good sound mix too.

 

[ZazaCast]

Another good one! Looked good and the sound design was well done too. I really liked the quick shots of terror.

Yes the opening was too long and some of the shots didn't really look great composistion-wise, a little dialog would have been nice (flashback or something from the night before), but overall a very successful film.

Thanks for sharing & congrats to the entire crew on a job well done.

 

[JTyner]

I'm not sure about this one. I was expecting more of a story and hopefully some dialogue. Your blood looked too red and not the darker blood type red. The makeup on the werwolf was great though and it's teeth! Good makeup fx on the girl's leg with the bone coming out and good sound mix too.

Ramsaur,

Thanks for taking the time to watch & critique!

After finishing the edit, we had discussed the possibility of having shot an extra scene for the short...possibly a campfire type scene at the begining. Unforunately we didnt have enuff time for more shooting so we were hoping that the story we created was enuff. It seems that for some it was....for others it wasnt. One thing we will take away from this experience for the next festival is to look a little bit more at story. Im sure an extra scene couldnt have hurt and probably would help even for viewers who werent left either wanting more or unfulfilled by the story.

The other thing we definately learned was to look more at the color of blood! LOL!!!

Im glad you enjoyed the makeup & soundtrack.


Again....thanks for your time!

 

[JTyner]

Another good one! Looked good and the sound design was well done too. I really liked the quick shots of terror.

Yes the opening was too long and some of the shots didn't really look great composistion-wise, a little dialog would have been nice (flashback or something from the night before), but overall a very successful film.

Thanks for sharing & congrats to the entire crew on a job well done.

Zaza,


We appreciate everything that is shared to us and we look at it ALL as a way of getting better in the art of moviemaking!

Thank you for taking the time to watch and to gice us your thoughts....they are GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Marlon Ladd]

Good job on this film. It really surprised me. There were alot of really good things in here. The opening may have been a scene or two too long, but it didn't bother me. The gore and makeup was excellent. I liked the opening shot with the girl trying to get away and then gets caught. I think if you speed the grab shot up 15-20% and cut it to black a frame or two sooner and add a louder monster sound there it'll have a bit more impact. It was good, but I think if you do those things it'll make people jump out of their seats. Yes, there was alot of blood, but I think I know what you were intending and I was good with that. The transformation makeup was excellent. I can tell you guys put alot of work into this. This was another one that I enjoyed. Nice job!

 

[John LaBonney]

Hey, I really liked this!

Storywise I thought it was a tad predicable. I got the concept right away and was looking for (or hoping for) a twist that would have taken the story in an unexpected direction. But even without it I enjoyed the film very much.

Enough has been said about the blood already, but like Blaine my favorite shot was the blood on the tent. Overall, considering how much of it there was in the movie, I think the blood was just fine.

Thought the editing and the visual telling of the story was exceptionally well done. This film in my opinion showed usage of flashbacks that actually worked well--a rarity in short film.

I thought the nature sounds in the campsite shots were a touch too loud and detracted a little from the soundtrack at that point, but that's a total nitpick.

Great work!

 

[NOBELO]

I know a few people mentioned the beginning taking too long. I don't know, maybe just a hair, but maybe not at all. I personally wasn't ready to "click off" like I think I would be if this were the case. I actually liked the gradual build up and the ensuing chase.

Liked the feel of the piece, music and sound design was good. Can you tell me more about the makeup you did. I saw some great BTS pics. How long did it take? Did you do it yourself, etc. You may have said this but I haven't gone through the entire thread. I agree with Marlon that if you were to do a bit of crafty editing and sound design you could probably people to jump.

Nice job (and about that makeup, tell me more!)

 

[EditPhish]

Good job on this film. It really surprised me. There were alot of really good things in here. The opening may have been a scene or two too long, but it didn't bother me. The gore and makeup was excellent. I liked the opening shot with the girl trying to get away and then gets caught. I think if you speed the grab shot up 15-20% and cut it to black a frame or two sooner and add a louder monster sound there it'll have a bit more impact. It was good, but I think if you do those things it'll make people jump out of their seats. Yes, there was alot of blood, but I think I know what you were intending and I was good with that. The transformation makeup was excellent. I can tell you guys put alot of work into this. This was another one that I enjoyed. Nice job!

Thanks so much for the great feedback. I like your suggestion about the grab shot and we may have to give that a try.
Glad you enjoyed it!

Hey, I really liked this!
Storywise I thought it was a tad predicable. I got the concept right away and was looking for (or hoping for) a twist that would have taken the story in an unexpected direction. But even without it I enjoyed the film very much.

Thanks! Glad you liked it! We figured it would be predictable for some, especially in the film-maker crowd

Enough has been said about the blood already, but like Blaine my favorite shot was the blood on the tent. Overall, considering how much of it there was in the movie, I think the blood was just fine.

Thanks! All I can say is I hope for my actors' sakes that the next DVX fest doesn't drive us towards a blood theme! LOL

Thought the editing and the visual telling of the story was exceptionally well done. This film in my opinion showed usage of flashbacks that actually worked well--a rarity in short film.

This is a great compliment and thank you so much for it!

I thought the nature sounds in the campsite shots were a touch too loud and detracted a little from the soundtrack at that point, but that's a total nitpick.
Great work!

Sound mix is something we felt happy with on the final day, but in retrospect JTyner wishes he had fiddled with it a little more. Of course, with days of work on end, we may have lost perspective just a tad along the way... something I'm sure we can all be guilty of. We've got a lot to learn, so all feedback is appreciated, especially detail like you've provided.

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks again!

I know a few people mentioned the beginning taking too long. I don't know, maybe just a hair, but maybe not at all. I personally wasn't ready to "click off" like I think I would be if this were the case. I actually liked the gradual build up and the ensuing chase.

It goes to show how subjective all this watching and commenting can be, right?
We thought the pacing was good... I think, as noted by other comments, we might have benefited from a bit more "history" of the characters, so story is something we'll continue to (hopefully) do better at. We worked a LOT on the pacing at the beginning especially and felt we got it right... some agree, some don't

Liked the feel of the piece, music and sound design was good.

Thanks. JTyner's background is actually in music and recording so this part comes natural to him... however, we know it's a different venue with film, so we're still learning to get the mix right. Thanks for the comment on the sound.

I'll reply more in a new reply about makeup for ya...

 

[EditPhish]

Can you tell me more about the makeup you did. I saw some great BTS pics. How long did it take? Did you do it yourself, etc. You may have said this but I haven't gone through the entire thread. I agree with Marlon that if you were to do a bit of crafty editing and sound design you could probably people to jump.
Nice job (and about that makeup, tell me more!)

First, thanks again for all your feedback and comments. It's SO appreciated!

Thanks on the makeup, and I'm glad you enjoyed the BTS pics.

The whole makeup thing was new for us. One of the reasons we wanted to be part of this fest was the challenge is presented to us... to actually come up with a monster and pull it off - and luckily, it seems most comments have been in our favor in that regard... so success!

I have an art background and I supposed that helps... I've never done advanced makeup but was up for the challenge.

We shopped around quite a bit to find the right prosthetic that matched our vision. I wish I could say we designed it ourselves, but we're not THAT advanced yet -- We bought the ears separately, finding the ones we liked. We weren't as picky about the hands/claws as they played a small role.
We never worked with a face prosthetic like this before (form-fitting to face... moves with expressions and such) but it was a great experience (of course, ask the lead actor, he might have gotten high from the glue! LOL)

The prosthetic itself was flat white when it arrived. The night before filming I spent about 3-4 hours "painting" it... using sealant, setting powder, grease makeup (for the actual painting) and then more setting powder. It was painted in layers, with multiple colors of browns, blacks, greys and even a little red. I was nervous as hell doing it since we only had ONE prosthetic and no time to redo it! We did the same for the ears (as they arrive white as well). We sat around the dining room table on Friday night while I painted and everyone chatted (actors, JTyner...)

On set the next day (and running out of daylight) we applied the prosthetic (with spirit gum "glue") in phases (after carefully cutting it where we wanted to allow it to be applied in stages). Stage one was just the forehead area and a small amount of makeup on the actors face. Stage two was the forehead area and a lot more makeup on the face that I applied to simulate his face changing. Stage three was the full prosthetic and a lot of blending (which I could have done better had we not been running way short on time and light). All the blending was done with the same grease makeup the prosthetic had been painted with.

It was a GREAT learning experience and all of us "on set" were very pleased with the results. Ultimately, I can see the areas that need improvement, but I'm actually excited about the idea of using makeup like this again. It was challenging but fun!

The lead actor is also my younger brother, so that made it even more fun

There was also just a bit of touch-up done in After Effects during the editing process. The red eyes were also added in AE, but in retrospect I should have done that AFTER the color correction. Call it a learning experience. I've never used AE before.

If there's anything I can answer specifically, let me know... I'm happy to answer. I'm not an expert makeup artist for sure, I'm sure I've got a lot to learn... but I'll be happy to answer anything I'm capable of.

And I'm also open to hear how we could have made it even better!

Thanks again!

 

[EditPhish]

Just some more BTS stuff... makeup for Nobelo (see post above)

Before makeup... the REAL monster (LOL)

During the makeup process (photo by Dead Person #1)...

Closeup of the end result...

Thanks everyone!

 

[lawriejaffa]

This is a film that reveals some genuine promise amidst a whole suite of inconsistencies. The use of blood on certain shots (Such as the tent) and make up effects have been commended, by various filmmakers here, invariably from that very particular filmmaker perspective.

There is a lack of story here, that makes this a very ineffective short film (more a demonstrative promo or scene from a film.) As an independent film of artistic merit, it looks far too much as if a group of college friends went out with volumes of fake blood to make something silly.

The opening montage of forest - seems to have little to say. Imagine if in some way this was used to contribute to the story, even in a metaphorical realm. Take for example Sarah's Rusalka, and the use of forest and the Rusalka entwined - (and water) to tie her to that environment. It's 6mins, if that, every second can be used.

What we see here is some pretty low budget sounding music and a montage that i suppose is to evoke 'peace' to be interrupted (we'd never guess.) Likewise its worth finding novel and interesting ways to set up your story.

Wobbly mid shots and close ups (fine fine) fairly conventional - i mean every indy and his mate shoots in a forest with blood. It's hard to be original.

The campsite and wake up i think is a bit! I like the chap waking in amidst a massacre. Unfortunately we have a group of multi-coloured student types lying face ground with unripped clothing in poster paints, with a guy stalking about that looks like the most unintimidating yet probably nicest guy invented by god (he's in the university dungeons and dragons club!)

The transformation scene - i will say is cute (with the make up) but fairly ludicrous and giggly to watch. This is b' movies were wolf territory here (with 80s synth music) and a startling freeze frame for the end.

So all in all its commendable for the production effort and the basic competence i think of cinematography and editing. But it is glaringly silly in parts, inconsistent and very dated in approach in my opinion.

 

[EditPhish]

One more BTS shot...

 

[NOBELO]

Wow, the makeup covered almost the entire face huh? Was it difficult to get it to stick around the mouth areas? Also, you mentioned that you made his eyes red in AE but I see they are red here. Looks great man, good job.

 

[EditPhish]

Wow, the makeup covered almost the entire face huh? Was it difficult to get it to stick around the mouth areas? Also, you mentioned that you made his eyes red in AE but I see they are red here. Looks great man, good job.

Thanks
For the photos, I just made them red in photoshop to simulate what I did in AE originally (and lost during some of the color correction, LOL).

Yeah, the prosthetic covered nearly the whole face. It was a sort of pliable soft foam like material, very thin (not like a rubber mask). We did have some problems with it sticking properly, but that was our fault and being in a rush because we were running out of daylight. Stage two required a lot of grease makeup on the actor's face, and we didn't have enough time to wash it completely off before stage 3 with the full prosthetic applied. I think it would have stuck much better had we had time to get all the other makeup off before applying it. Luckily, it didn't effect our ability to get the job done though.

I think the biggest problem with using this kind of prosthetic was that it wasn't made FOR our actor's face, so the shape is generic. It still sticks fairly well, but I'd imagine had it be designed for him using casting (which I admittedly know nothing about) it would be so much better. I actually look forward to trying to learn more about this stuff!

Thanks again, so much for your feedback and questions. I wish I had more photos of me actually applying the makeup and painting the mask, but we just didn't think to document everything like that. Next time for sure.

Your film is one of both JTyner's and my favorites -- so good luck in the finals!



BTW, here's kinda what the mask looks like when you get it... this isn't the one we used, but it gives you and idea of what it looks like before it's painted...

 

[TMerry]

Love the BTS transformation of the actor to the full makeup. Killer Job, the Colored contacts is the icing on the cake!!

 

[EditPhish]

Love the BTS transformation of the actor to the full makeup. Killer Job, the Colored contacts is the icing on the cake!!

Hey T... thanks!
However, the red eyes were done in After Effects (and photoshop for the stills)... red contacts would have been EASIER! LOL!

 

[Sprocketboy]

Thanks for posting those photos. Its a really involved process. I'm glad I'm not on the spirit gum side of that mask.

Are those pre-made hands or did you do those from scratch? I noticed in one of the photos that the palms are open.

 

[EditPhish]

Thanks for posting those photos. Its a really involved process. I'm glad I'm not on the spirit gum side of that mask.

Are those pre-made hands or did you do those from scratch? I noticed in one of the photos that the palms are open.

Thanks man... it is involved and boy did I learn a lot, but it makes me excited to try my hand more at makeup in the future. Luckily, my lead actor (also my brother) was totally into doing this and not allergic to latex! LOL

The hands are pre-made... unlike the prosthetic face and ears, they were already painted when they arrived... all they really required was a bit of stuffing so the fingers didn't look too floppy. Considering how much time the face and ears took to paint, I'm glad we didn't have to paint the hands too!

The actual manufactured quality on the hands was no where near as good (they were plasticky), but they had almost no screen time on their own, so that's where we skimped a bit.

BTW, good luck in the finals! Well-deserved man!