Seven Signs-documentary Trailer

asylumproductions

asylumproductions

Well-known member
Hey guys here is the trailer for a documentary film I am a DP on. This is a project of JD Wilkes of Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, with film companies-Milk Products Media, Judd Films, and my company TuckyWood Productions. We show most of this over a two week trip throughout the south during the summer. More footage has been shot with Milk Products and JD as of late. It's hard to describe what this film is about but deals with Southern Gothic culture and all the coolness of the south, told through music, and gossip. Go to www.jdwilkes.com for a more detailed description of the film. Here's the trailer hope you enjoy!
http://www.jdwilkes.com/films/WebTeaser1-8-07.mov
 
Ummm... yeah... it DOES look great, but I still have no idea what it's about. I skimmed through your post, and kind of get it... but the trailer left me totally confused.

Who was "down in the basement all the time"??

"I always heard he was a devil worshipper"??? who the f@ck are they talking about??

Who was singing in the microphone?

Is this about one particular person? or about a genre of people? Or the south in general?

I'm intrigued, but it needs to be cleaned up.
 
I liked it and it looks great. I have to take some exception with rcbrown23's comments. I guess it depends on what kind of trailer this is - is it a fundraising trailer, in which case it may be too vague, or is it a theatrical teaser, meant to get our attention and make us want to see more? (You got it)

In any event, I like that it doesn't spell out the story in a linear fashion, but gives us glimpses of the people and the place, and hints (well, more than hints) at something dark and disturbing, but leaves us with our own ideas and questions about what that might be (which is scarier, the "devil worshipers", or the christians?).

I don't necessarily need to know who is singing, but I do need to know that there is conflict and the trailer does a nice job of setting that up.

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished piece.
 
I must say that looks really interesting. I'd like to see the finished thing too. My only critisism of the trailer would be that its a bit long and needs tightening up a bit, maybe needs some sort of backing banjo music (especially in the middle when the weirdos are talking about the guy living in the basement etc) because in places it feels a bit slow and sparse. Also the dissolve at 1:21 doesn't really work for me, kind of kills the pace and dissolving with 2 similar shots seems a bit wrong, if you're going to fade the 2 pieces of music into one another i'd use that to dissolve into one of you nice exterior sunset shots? Just my opinion.

Its really good though i think. You've captured the atmosphere brilliantly, or at least how i percieve the atmosphere to be there anyway. Deliverence style!!!!

james.h
 
wow that looks majorly interesting but damn some of those people give me the bejeebees...whatever that is.
 
Great little trailer. I don't think it matters if you get it or not. The trailer got me wanting to see the movie so I'd say you accomplished your goal. From what I can see this movie is about a little po-dunk town in the boonies where the majority of people are either extremely religious or extremely against religion and the Wacko personalities that stand out in both groups and by just being who they are they make the movie quite funny.

OK I read your description...I was way off. It's a documentary...hmm still looks like a fun watch.

later
-Kevin
 
How would you clean it up? When I tell someone their work is lacking I try to tell them what I would do to make it better. :violin: I'll be posting a music video I made in a couple weeks so you can tell me how much I suck then...:2vrolijk_08:
 
Kevin Briggs said:
How would you clean it up? When I tell someone their work is lacking I try to tell them what I would do to make it better.


I'll be posting a music video I made in a couple weeks so you can tell me how much I suck then...:2vrolijk_08:
Click to expand...

I thought I did tell him how by asking all the questions. By answering the questions, and putting that in the trailer, is how I'd "clean it up".

I'm not saying anything sucks here (although I've probably said that before, but not in this case), and I liked the trailer... it just left me confused. I have no idea what the doc is about, that's what I was saying. Other's seemed to disagree, and like the fact that it "left you wanting more"...

As for your music video, bring it on.:Drogar-Happy(DBG): Hey, at least you know you'll get an honest critique from me, whether it be positive or negative.

-brown

p.s. I wrote out a long explanation to this earlier, but I'm really hungover and forgot to press the "submit reply" button, so it all got deleted. This is a paraphrase from it.:undecided
 
rcbrown23 said:
As for your music video, bring it on.:Drogar-Happy(DBG): Hey, at least you know you'll get an honest critique from me, whether it be positive or negative.
Click to expand...

Sweet. I look forward to your comments.

-kEVIN
 
Thanks for all of the replys guys. I must clarify that I did not edit the trailer. The trailer was edited by Milk Products Media out of Chicago. The piece is being edited by them and will have distribution through Image Entertainment. They are the same people who did the documentary SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG EYED JESUS. If you have not seen it check it out, has some great imagery. That is kinda what inspired this move. Below is the press release which should give you guys a little more info on the project. Thanks for the compliments! Oh and the singer on the mic is Jamie from THE PINEHILL HAINTS. Great band by the way.

Possessed by a vision similar to that of the tent-show evangelists down in Dixie, Colonel J.D. Wilkes (the charismatic frontman and songwriter for the Legendary Shack*Shakers) sets off with a camera crew to prove that the older, stranger South still exists in all of its eerie, time-worn, & gothic glory...despite the expansion of the "New South's" urban sprawl.

Along the way, he walks the backroads of Appalachia, nailing up seven signs, each one representing a different apocalyptic theme...themes which only help to reenforce the awesome thrill and dread that lie at the heart of our own "Christ-Haunted" southern heritage.

Akin to other Southern documentaries like "Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus" and "Dancin' Outlaw", Colonel J.D.'s "Seven Signs" has officially begun shooting. "The first wave of our taping was a huge success," declares Col. J.D. Wilkes, first-time filmmaker and full time frontman for his equally Bible Belt-influenced rock 'n roll band.

"Foreshadowing is an important tool in movie making. It's also important to give our fans a heads up about my new project," Wilkes said.

"This movie seeks to give resonance to the voices of true, southern individuals...each one unique, fearless and most importantly intelligent. This is NOT an exploitational slam-job on the South. This is about the humanity of my homeland. These are my people."

The film's first 10-day shoot was completed in Summer of 2006 by Kentucky's indie film teams Tuckywood Productions and JuddFilms. But the final project won't be released until sometime late in 2007."

"The editing process is extremely time-consuming and difficult, especially when you live on the road most of the year," said Wilkes whose band tours almost constantly. "Thanks to technology, though, I can do a lot of it on my laptop or a DVD monitor."

"The same post-production and distribution studio that did 'Searching (for the Wrong Eyed-Jesus)' will help us with this film. We have a couple of independent Kentucky theatres that have agreed to help promote and premiere it, too."

The film, as of yet, has no release date.
 
Really interesting, for a moment I forgot that it was from the dvx site and just got absorbed watching it, I want to see it all!
 
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