Streets of Wonderland Sneak Peek

Backlot Rebels

Backlot Rebels

Member
Hello everyone,

I would like to share my completed feature with you all, titled "Streets of Wonderland." You can view a 5 minute sneak peek/ music video I made for the movie at www.backlotrebels.com/Wonderland.htm.

Please note, this is not a trailer and I know it's too long to be a trailer, so please don't tell me that my trailer is too long. It's more of a montage that I cut in December of 2004, and finished the full feature in April of 2005.

Hope you all enjoy!
 
I liked I liked! Good shots and good lighting for the mood. The one thing that i didnt like was that the two guys got punched perfectly on each of the "breakdowns"(correct term?) of the song. Other than that it was was cool. Liked the first fight scene the best I think.
 
Very nice choice going with that Deftones song! You had some really nice camera moves. Looks like you got some great emotions from your actors, they looked really good. The lighting seemed like it was well done for the most part also. Maybe it was a Bit long, because it seems like you crammed all of your good shots into this 5 min piece. I liked how the music kicked into gear timed w/ the punches, I thought it gave it a nice touch and heightened the emotions in the scenes. I would like to see this. One thing that stood out, was that the blood looked too pink. The DVX seems to hate that stage blood. I found it best to mix up your own and give it more of a darker tint, almost to the point of a dark purple.
 
Hey,

I gotta be honest, because I assume thats what you want.

I know you said this isn't a trailer, but even as a montage it feels disjointed to me. No sense of where it takes place or who these people are or why we should care about them. Even a montage should have a clear, logical flow from start to finish to try and hook you in and give you information. I didn't really get that here.

The footage itself looks ok to me, a little too dark in spots for my taste, but ok.

Good choice of music, but I would rearrange the shots or add additional shots in. For the first minute or two you're really just watching intense/angry looking people who start beating up on each other or looking in the mirror dramatically. Not sure why we should care who they are, you know?

Just my .02.

Loved the poster for the film!

-Robert
 
I've seen this montage before (now I'm waiting on seeing the film) and I enjoyed it. I like it as a sneak peak, I like the fact that it flows, I love the cutting to match the music, and I think that it just looks entertaining.

Very enjoyable
 
Hey everyone,

Thanks for the good response about the sneak peek! Well, except for the one guy, he's wrong about it! (joking).

Anyways, yes I am aware that it's a little long for some, but that Deftones song is so kickass! If I were to only make it half as long, some people would be angry because they wanted the song to go through to the end.

Actually the origin of this clip is a byproduct of me putting together an updated demo reel. I just ended up having all these (imo) great shots from the movie that I couldn't let go, so I decided to give the movie it's own little "demo reel."

This movie was scheduled for a 17 day shoot, and we finished in 15, coming in two days ahead of schedule and under budget. We used four lights for it (2 Arri 1K's, 500w omni, and a 300w Dedo Light). The acting is definitely something I can't be disappointed with, as I am extremely grateful for everyone's performance in this movie. That's usually all that anyone can talk about after seeing the movie, is the acting. The crew was just as awesome for this production.

We actually made our own blood for this. I've noticed that the color of it will change depending on how the light is hitting it. If light is going straight through the blood, it will come out looking like cotton candy. I've also seen very different colors of blood as well. If I cut my finger, I notice that the blood coming out is very red, but a lot of times watching an operation on tv or something, the blood is noticeably darker. While I'm not arguing with your point about the blood being too light, I just wanted to point out that the color of blood doesn't seem to have a consistency (especially when it comes to movies) depending on the type of wound, the depth of it, and the light hitting it.

Ought2bCommitted: I don't think you should care about these people. I know you haven't seen this movie, but it follows some pretty bad people that you shouldn't care for. I'm going to try and be careful regarding how I feel about the current Hollywood.

I find that trailers today are 2 minute versions of the movie. I have no desire to see many movies that come out, because I know the entire movie from the trailer. This "sneak peek" was solely for the purpose of raising curiousity and interest. A trailer should behave in the same way. It should get your curiousity high enough that you go out and see the movie. However, movies today, and have been for awhile, spoonfeeding their audiences and manipulating them for so long that people are used to it by now. They want to know exactly what they're buying and they want to know exactly how they should feel and they want to "like" the movie, which usually leads to quarky, likeable characters to make you "like" the movie like a puppy. Take the movie "Bully" for example. It is a really good film, but not one that you should "like" and certainly none of the characters are "likeable" in it. This post is starting to go into something that should be another thread though.

As for watching intense/ angry people.... intense angry people are cool! Who doesn't like watching them!!! hahaha.

I want to make sure that I'm getting across that I'm not disagreeing with anyone. We all have different tastes, and that's why there's so many different kinds of movies out there, and that's especially what makes this forum great. Everyone is different but we all have one thing in common. Love of filmmaking.

I really appreciate all the comments guys. If you want to see the movie in it's entirety, email me at clewis at backlotrebels.com.

Thanks again guys!
 
Ok, so if I don't care about these people, remind me again why I/we the audience should give you 90 minutes of our time? "Care" doesn't always mean "like", ust to clarify.

-Robert
 
You're right Ought2bCommitted, care doesn't necessarily mean like. I apologize for that, as I get really worked up with the way I see Hollywood going.

I'm not saying why, or that you should, care about any of these characters. If you do, that's great, and if you don't, then that's your prerogative as well. I just try to present the characters as truthfully as possible. I am not into doing the manipulative techniques that Hollywood loves to employ. I believe the audience can make up their own minds and have their own emotions and feelings regarding this movie and the characters therein.
 
I was psyched.

I was psyched.

I really enjoyed this, and It made me REALLY want to see the full length film, so in that you definately accomplished what you set out to do. The song choice was fantastic, and it went great with the feel in the clip. I would certainly like to view this film!
 
A lot of a$$ whoopin' going on, but that's why I wanna see this film! Shots were good and the actors seemed convincing. I think you'll get some interest...nice job.
 
Backlot Rebels said:
You're right Ought2bCommitted, care doesn't necessarily mean like. I apologize for that, as I get really worked up with the way I see Hollywood going.

I'm not saying why, or that you should, care about any of these characters. If you do, that's great, and if you don't, then that's your prerogative as well. I just try to present the characters as truthfully as possible. I am not into doing the manipulative techniques that Hollywood loves to employ. I believe the audience can make up their own minds and have their own emotions and feelings regarding this movie and the characters therein.
Click to expand...

Exactly, you're still only getting half of what I'm saying about the montage though... a montage/trailer/poster...etc is a marketing tool to get people INTERESTED or CURIOUS to see your project. So my complaint about your montage would be the same... why should I care to invest 90 mins to see it? Do you get what I'm saying? It has nothing to do with maniuplation or the way you see Hwood going... it's about making a story and characters that people will want to invest their hard earned free time to see YOUR project and not someone else's.

That being said, I am curious to see your project, but NOT because of the montage/non-trailer but because of what you have said about Hwood and movies.

-Robert
 
Well, the movie's actually closer to 2 hours than it is 90 mins (hour 55). :grin:

If the montage wasn't enough to get you interested in watching the movie, or didn't get you interested in the characters enough to make you want to watch the movie, then the montage didn't work for you. It works for others, but I understand it's not going to work for everyone.

It's art and art is subjective. Not everyone thinks Starry Night is a masterpiece, and not everyone thinks Charlie Brown is funny.
 
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