Spy movie with T2i

B

berylium

Well-known member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJqBHg3ePM4

KGB hitman Nikolai pays a visit to a Soviet defector.

Camera: t2i
Sound: zoom h4n

Some audio problems: washing machine noise in some shots and nephew coughing.

Thoughts: Love my t2i. Will probably love the GH2 more when I get it.
With the dough I saved buying the t2i instead of the 7D, I can afford the GH2 as well.

Life is swell.
 
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What microphone model did you used ?Or its all from H4N and external mics were not used ? Sound is kinda nice.
Overall it looks ok ,I think he should turn around much faster when he heard "smoking is bad for your health" ,he should turn around when he heard "smoking" word,there was some problems with framing,you should keep nose in the middle of the frame always on close ups ,look here in every shot nose is in the middle :
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/111/nosjv.jpg
Its small tip but helps.
 
Hello bwwd

Thanks for your comments.

I used an Oktava m12k on a home made fibre glass boompole (a light bulb remover from HOme hardware).

The audio has big flaws, which seemed to be masked by Youtube. If you heard the original audio during editing, you can hear the washing machine in Alexei's lines. I didn't have time to do another take, as the actor had to pick up his wife at the flea market.

Ricki Luciani, who plays Alexei, is a professional voice artist. If you believe that sound is 80% importance in a movie, then Ricki really makes the scene believable.

Your advice on centering the nose makes sense.... the actor will always have enough "look space". I appreciate you taking time to create your picture sample.

But I notice there is a lot of deliberate misframing in horror movies.... it adds to the tension.

In some shots I misframed Alexei (lots of space behind his back) so the audience will anticipate something or someone might enter the space behind him.
 
neat spy movie.. about the nose comment.. In the example jpeg given I think the "nose" being centered is simply an artifact of the eyes being framed to the rule rule of thirds. Most of those shots have an eye not only on a horizontal third line, but also a vertical one.
 
LOL @ Smirnoff ice!

Seriously though, very cool dialog shots and use of lighting.

Did you use a zoom for the effect at 2:10?
 
Thanks for the comments, Wheatgrinder. I keep forgetting to use the rule of thirds.

Dishe: well.... we didn't have anything in the house other than Smirnoff ice.

The Zoom effect was not done in camera... it was done in post in Premiere... keyframed in a scale (enlargement) on the timeline. It was more of an afterthought. Initially I wanted a dolly.... but lacking the equipment and focus rack, I had to fake it.

Thanks for the kind comments on lighting.

But I do have a confession to make on the lighting.... I had to use a fair amount of masking in post to darken up background areas in the shots of Nikolai, to "pop" him from the background, and to add a menacing effect.... Nikolai was a bit overlit to be skulking in the shadows.

Normally this would be done with barndoors and flags, but I didn't have any. My lights were home made flourescents which spilled a bit too much into the walls.
 
Thanks, Twwestover.

Well.... I did the titles in a hurry. Titling isn't where I excel at.

They will be improved in the next version. The editing will be tightened up as well.
 
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