FEATURE: Reconnoiter

N

nrowe

Member
16 August 2016 Update:
After a name change and new cover art we are pleased to announce that Robot World aka Reconnoiter is now available in the USA, Canada and UK.

Robot World Poster Sml.jpg


Reconnoiter Poster 512.jpg

A pilot is marooned on an alien planet, while fighting for survival he must also find a way home.

Reconnoiter is an independent science fiction film.

Our main goal at present is to raise awareness about the film, as we start to enter Film Festivals.

Take a look at the trailer and the links below.



Please help spread the word and 'Like' our facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/renderedpictures/

Official Site: www.reconnoitermovie.com
Follow us on Twitter: @neiljohnrowe
Blog: www.renderedpictures.co.uk
 
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Written and Directed by Neil Rowe
Starring Ian Rowe

Post Production Updates


Reconnoiter VFX Breakdown #6




Reconnoiter VFX Breakdown #5




Reconnoiter VFX Breakdown #7




Reconnoiter VFX Breakdown #4




Reconnoiter VFX Breakdown #3




Reconnoiter VFX Breakdown #2




Reconnoiter VFX Breakdown #1


 
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the EARTH-y color looks great (a pun, youll see) but if I wuz you Id take advantage of the other-ness of the the story setting to introduce a more unusual and interesting dominant color.

green? purple? you have an opportunity to get creative use it (also....the atmosphere of a supposed other planet, and it creates the same exact color temperature effects as ours?)

its a low budget movie you dont have many tools to communicate that hes on another planet why throw away color as a tool- its graded like something taking place on earth might

looks awesome otherwise
 
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Was this shot on an HV20? If so bravo! Im hooked!

The gun sound effect was a little lacking tho... sounds like a pea shooter.
 
Thanks nycineaste,

Yeah I have been playing a lot with the grade, and probably will keep playing until the projects finished.
the issues Im having are
1. For the story the planet needs to have a very similar atmosphere to earth so this limits my palette a little.
2. The footage has a lot of green foliage and when ever I try changing the colour of the sky nothing seems to work with the green.

What I have been trying is using browns and yellows as though there is alot of dust in the atmosphere, but I have probably been too subtle. I also desaturate and raise the contranst as a final correction which makes it even more subtle.

If you can point me in the direction of some images of different approaches I could use some inspiration.

Thanks again for the feedback
 
Thanks Ryan-Guy,

Yep all on HV20, I built a diy adapter using designs from the amazing Daniel Schweinert. It got the job done but I did have issues in the field (literally in a field) with motors, batteries and my rubish soldering. I probably wouldn't 'diy' again, but that said I dont regret it as I learnt soooo much (through mistakes!). Not that you need to build adapters now with the exelent and affordable DSLRs, but they wernt an option when this project was started.
I plan to do a blog post at some point about the camera and what worked and what didnt.

As for the pea shooter comment, its noted and I will have a strong word with the sound department (myself!)

Thanks again
 
That was fairly impressive. I initially disagreed with nycineaste about the grade but was in full agreement by the time he entered the forest. You need to do something to alienify (a real word I swear) the environment somehow. If you need to explain it's on another planet and not earth, it might as well be set on earth. The cgi is simple but effective. I'm not above suspending a little belief (in fact I prefer to).
 
Thanks Egg Born Son,

Seems clear then that I need to push my palette a bit further and and stop being so subtle.
 
on OUR atmosphere/world, color temperature can range broadly from blue to yellow to red, etc etc tons of colors

so if hes on an another planet simliar (but different) to earth, its not so crazy that some odd color temperature effects would be created, like perhaps their atmosphere filters out or enhances certain light waves yada yada

on a practical and artistic level youre just trying to use color to communicate to the audience that hes on an alien planet

color it something other than brown, I say (unless you really really have some reason u like the brown-

again

I think this is also about milking your resources as a low budget filmkaer:

you have so FEW tools to show hes on an alien planet--- not much sfx,

you got to MILK the basic visual communication tools you have-- like color

alot of this is subjective

still looks great as is

EDIT:

yaaa knnooowww....i ve been thinking about this and:

the fact that he is on a planet that looks EXACTLY like earth (trees, etc) ALREADY COMMUNICATES THAT HES ON AN EARTH-LIKE PLANET. I mean who are we kidding, its earth (it aint planet of the vampires)

so if I wuz you,

Id get DARING (the VITAL for ingredient for INDIE FILMAKING- what we use to make up for our lack of MONEY) and play around with some funky colors- id start with green, purple, but thats just me

after seeing what it looks like going all out, you can always dial it back, and make it look somewhat natural, so youre just subtly communcating that hes not on earth.
 
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I hear what your saying and really appreciate the feedback and interest, but the I am trying to stay true to the science in science fiction. The color of the atmosphere is not to do with the temperature, the sky is blue because the blue spectrum is weaker and spreads in the atmosphere, same reason for the color of the ocean. There are other properties which could affect the color of the atmosphere but that would then not be a near earth atmosphere. I totally agree I need to do something to identify the world as being alien which is why I was going down route of dust in the atmosphere. I should probably also add that we follow the lead travelling from his home world to the alien planet and so there shouldn't be any confusion from the viewer. Again I do appreciate your comments and it is definitely something that is going to continue to trouble me through the grading process. I would really appreciate any more of your thoughts.
 
Maybe you're subconsciously going for the gritty feel in Terminator 4, evoking a feeling of bleakness, war, rusted metal etc? U may need more desaturation if thats the case, maybe reference a scene you like from T4? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owrEMGg4x3M your grading is not bad overall, the (warm) brown trees in that scene really take us out of the mood of the story (bleak sci-fi) that's all.
 
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Hi,

Just wanted to post an update and draw attention to the VFX Breakdown shots I have been adding to the front page.

The visual effects for Act 1 are now complete! this is a major milestone as although there are still 2 acts to go Act 1 was by far the most CG intensive and time consuming.
Act 1 consisted of 83 Visual Effect shots, 90% requiring Live action green screen removal with a full CG background replacement and 30+ effect layers. The other 10% were full CG Exterior shots with about 20+ effect layers. Over 470 GB data was produced.
I will now be able to progress through the work load at a much faster pace and hopefully post more regular updates.
If you havent yet please 'Like' our facebook page here - http://qrs.ly/6j3i9g1

and help us spread the word
 
We are very pleased to announce that our little film shot on a HV20 has its USA and Canada release today!

In all it took about 5 years to get the film finished. I wrote, directed and shot the film and created the VFX. I was also foolish enough to edit grade and mix it, my wife helped produce and created the score. I hope it will at least inspire any one else out there trying to make a feature against the odds, it can be done.

If you don't mind indie LOW budget sci-fi then please check us out.

We did have to accept a name change and new cover art which we are not overly happy about, but our film is out there which is far more important to us.

We are also available in the UK.

sains resized.jpg

Thanks,

Neil Rowe
 
nrowe said:
We are very pleased to announce that our little film shot on a HV20 has its USA and Canada release today!

In all it took about 5 years to get the film finished. I wrote, directed and shot the film and created the VFX. I was also foolish enough to edit grade and mix it, my wife helped produce and created the score. I hope it will at least inspire any one else out there trying to make a feature against the odds, it can be done.

If you don't mind indie LOW budget sci-fi then please check us out.

We did have to accept a name change and new cover art which we are not overly happy about, but our film is out there which is far more important to us.

We are also available in the UK.

View attachment 115985

Thanks,

Neil Rowe
Click to expand...

Congratulations
Definitely looks like a long journey (my last one was as well) but you got it out there.

So Bravo!

Sorry I missed this thread earlier.

I hope to tackle a Sci-Fi feature next year, so this is inspiring to see that it can be done well at all budget levels.

I hope to pick it up, is it available on Amazon Prime?

Good luck with the release,

Martin

#blackhats available NOW on Amazon :https://amzn.com/B01HYG8U9A
 
Thanks Martin, I dont know about Amazon Prime, it was on Amazon video and itunes in the UK so let us know if you come across it.

Neil
 
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