Here‘s my new short film „Reflected“ - Genre: Horror/Thriller - Dur: under 4 minutes
The low-budget short film was shot over the course of seven days. I shot with my Blackmagic Pocket 6K Pro (BMPCC 6K Pro), recording BRAW onto an external Samsung T5 SSD. I didn’t record any sound during the shoot.
For camera movements I utilised a slider and for two shots my old “pram-dolly” (see photo), which isn’t 100% smooth but worked ok, since the first shot had to be 3D-tracked and stabilised in SynthEyes for VFX anyway. For the other shot I used the Gyro-Stabilization in DaVinci Resolve.
My lighting equipment consisted of an old Arri 500W Tungsten Fresnel, two small Rollei Lumis LEDs (Slim LED S Bi-Colour and Slim LED S - RGB) and an IKEA China ball with a 60W tungsten bulb.
Since the story takes place at night, the primary light source was the moon shining through the windows. Due to the layout of my bedroom, some shots had to be filmed front-lit. To make these look more interesting, I decided to create patches of moonlight by directing the 500W Fresnel with some CTB through a DIY gobo made out of cardboard.
VFX
All shots featuring the hand mirror involved VFX, as the camera would have been reflected as well. Furthermore this approach allowed for more control over what is reflected. For the main shot, the mirror was prepped with tracking markers so it could be 3D-tracked in SynthEyes. Additionally, we had to shoot the background plate and the actor’s face in front of a green screen. Both elements were then inserted into the mirror.
The most complex VFX shot was the opening of the film, where the camera moves towards a mirror and then through it, ending on the main character sleeping in his bed. Here, we shot the push-in on the actor lying in the bed first. Noah placed some markers on the wall and the floor to 3D-track the camera later. Then, we shot a still image of the opposite wall with the mirror. This still image was then placed into the first shot using the tracking data. We also shot a dust element, which was composited onto the mirror plane. Next, the focus shift and the title animation were added. Finally, the tracking markers had to be removed.
Post-production
Editing, mixing and color grading were all done natively in BRAW in DaVinci Resolve Studio. Once my edit was locked, I recorded all the necessary sounds and Noah Hähnel started work on the VFX using Fusion Studio and SynthEyes. We opted for the ACES workflow which made collaborating easier.
The low-budget short film was shot over the course of seven days. I shot with my Blackmagic Pocket 6K Pro (BMPCC 6K Pro), recording BRAW onto an external Samsung T5 SSD. I didn’t record any sound during the shoot.
For camera movements I utilised a slider and for two shots my old “pram-dolly” (see photo), which isn’t 100% smooth but worked ok, since the first shot had to be 3D-tracked and stabilised in SynthEyes for VFX anyway. For the other shot I used the Gyro-Stabilization in DaVinci Resolve.
My lighting equipment consisted of an old Arri 500W Tungsten Fresnel, two small Rollei Lumis LEDs (Slim LED S Bi-Colour and Slim LED S - RGB) and an IKEA China ball with a 60W tungsten bulb.
Since the story takes place at night, the primary light source was the moon shining through the windows. Due to the layout of my bedroom, some shots had to be filmed front-lit. To make these look more interesting, I decided to create patches of moonlight by directing the 500W Fresnel with some CTB through a DIY gobo made out of cardboard.
VFX
All shots featuring the hand mirror involved VFX, as the camera would have been reflected as well. Furthermore this approach allowed for more control over what is reflected. For the main shot, the mirror was prepped with tracking markers so it could be 3D-tracked in SynthEyes. Additionally, we had to shoot the background plate and the actor’s face in front of a green screen. Both elements were then inserted into the mirror.
The most complex VFX shot was the opening of the film, where the camera moves towards a mirror and then through it, ending on the main character sleeping in his bed. Here, we shot the push-in on the actor lying in the bed first. Noah placed some markers on the wall and the floor to 3D-track the camera later. Then, we shot a still image of the opposite wall with the mirror. This still image was then placed into the first shot using the tracking data. We also shot a dust element, which was composited onto the mirror plane. Next, the focus shift and the title animation were added. Finally, the tracking markers had to be removed.
Post-production
Editing, mixing and color grading were all done natively in BRAW in DaVinci Resolve Studio. Once my edit was locked, I recorded all the necessary sounds and Noah Hähnel started work on the VFX using Fusion Studio and SynthEyes. We opted for the ACES workflow which made collaborating easier.
