Teaser Trailer

HerzogisGod

HerzogisGod

Well-known member
The film is still in production. I wanted to post a quick two minute teaser to get some opinions on the imagery and overall feel of my new feature. These are exactly the kind of trailers I love most. Shot entirely on HVX200. Dick Dale music only temporary. I am scoring something in a similar style

Thanks

Bucky Kaps Meets The Devil
Written and Directed by Chris Deleo


http://www.vimeo.com/2052049
 
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nothing? no reaction? hows the energy level? is it compelling in any way? common...give me something, I'm working hard on this
 
re-upload and de-interlace the video, the jaggy lines that appear every 4 frames or so are distracting.

it seemed okay, I didn't watch it all the way through due to that jaggy line thing...re-upload and I'll check it out as I do most things on this forum.
And I'm not trying to sound mean or anything, I just thought I'd tell you as I know if I uploaded a trailer and it had that problem I'd want to take it down so no one thinks that is how I shot it. :)

though I'm not a huge fan of films that use popular music that was used in other films (ex: pulp fiction)...it makes the mind compare that film with yours...
 
Thanks for watching

when i view it there are no jaggy lines...makes me concerned

song not from pulp fiction :) anyway, it's only temporary. Tarantino pretty much screwed us from ever using Dick Dale in anything ever again.
 
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i wouldnt invest in you with that music, but most of all, the horrible compression..i.e. JAGGIES
re-compress, your lighting seems good. :) I'll watch it when i can stand to watch it you know what I mean?

re-export
 
Do you know what interlaced means? Look at any movement and at the edges you'll see it. It's really distracting. Please de-interlace and recompress.

It really doesn't say much eh? You give us imagery, but I can't make heads or tails of it. Not sure what mood you're going for, or even a hint to what the story is.
 
I'll change music as i dont want this to be a distraction. It was just something I grabbed to help me cut the thing.

"your friend died and you see her in your dreams" "They're not just dreams, right Bucky?"
Doesn't that say something?

I kinda see what you mean by the interlaced effect, but only when i play full screen, which i hardly ever do. I re-do the upload tomorrow.

you guys must hate dogma films :)

Anyways, thanks for the comments
 
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i shot the thing 24PN on my HVX200. The file on vimeo was an AVI file. should i upload using a different format


i just joined Vimeo Plus and re downloaded. Its supposed to be a higher resolution... let me know if it helped
 
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Firstly - props for doing a feature. Exciting stuff.

Alright - the interlacing thing is still there, I don't see any difference from the original. Have you deinterlaced the footage? Does it look like that in the timeline? Maybe try different export settings and formats - High quality quicktime maybe. Problem might be a wierd codec on your AVI, I'm not sure.

As for the music, I don't see a problem in using that Dick Dale track, your main problem is because people are so Tarantino whipped, it sticks out for some, whereas other tracks used in many more movies or trailers might not stick out as much. It's up to you, it's not a distraction for me, personally. The distraction for me is the fact that your trailer is 2 minutes something long and I haven't learned a thing about the film, so as a viewer, I end up just rocking out to that track...

The footage you have to work with looks pretty good - looks like you have shot some good stuff, and it sounds like the film could be very interesting - but I'm just guessing here. I think the trailer should really *tell* me this stuff. No, scream it out.

I'm not a fan of the whole same-track-of-music-over-almost-the-whole-trailer-with-people-speaking-but-you-can't-hear -them thing. It works sometimes, but I don't think it works here.

What you really want to do is create something dynamic that reaches out and says "Why the hell would you NOT want to see this movie?". Detatch yourself from the trailer and the film - pretend you know nothing about it...watch it...does the trailer do that for you right now? it doesn't for me. Now your film might be the most kickass film in history, but if you don't really give it what its worth, you're at a serious loss.

Starting the trailer with a mini clip of dialogue, no music is cool, I like that. Nice. But then you bring in that track of music, and the momentum is high, and it just drags out for the rest of the trailer. Notice in a lot of "Hollywood" trailers they change music 2 or 3 times, maybe more, in a 2 minute space. If this were me, I'd have 3 layers of the trailer.

I'd have the opening, Layer one - something cool that introduces the concept of the film. Could be a tiny section of cool dialogue. Then the "exploring" middle of the trailer, Layer two - where I quickly tease the audience, give some indication on the plot - make them interested in the film. Feed them some dialogue and feed them the HOOK! In a teaser, the key is to tease. Then at the very last run - the third section - cut to - EPIC shot/line- and then - BANG! Blast that track out with your best footage, tie the whole thing together and sell the film for the last 20 seconds, or whatever. Can be longer. Show only what you have to show!

Give the audience JUST enough to work with and then give them some eye candy, and then get out of there. You'll find that even a crappy movie can have a sweet trailer. So if you've got a good movie on your hands - there's no excuse here. Be really tough on yourself, because you've been around that footage for a while - you know it - the hard part is letting go and thinking about the goal at hand - making a rad trailer that people are going to be proud to pass on to their friends and get excited.

Remember, we don't know anything about your film. Shots of no-sound talking is just confusing and strange if it goes on for a while. Cut a trailer as short as you can while still having impact. You have to be incredibly careful when cutting a trailer, especially for an independant film like this - with no name actors, nothing for people to "recognize" or latch on to. People will already be judging the film before they watch the trailer, if it's not a really GREAT trailer, then too bad. So your job is to make sure that it's the best damn trailer they've seen all week - which you can do. Go on youtube and watch a hundred trailers. All genres, whatever you can get your hands on.

By the way, this isn't bashing or anything of the sort. Just some ideas which you may very well already know. :)
 
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props on getting a feature film made... thats always an accomplishment.

Just cuz Tarantino used THAT Dick Dale song doesn't mean you have to... there are hundreds of songs in the Dick Dale catalogue... use another one

it looks horribly interlaced and that just comes across as amateurish... I'm being perfectly honest here man and trying to help... people want to know that you know the technical fundamentals (ie: compressions/interlacing), it just shows people that you take the time to learn how to do things the right way.... so fix that homie, esp. if you shot at PN (progressive native)

I don't have a problem with Dogma films... but wait... aren't you using a Dick Dale track over your visuals? Doesn't that break a Dogma 95 rule? Also, I noticed some lighting set ups... doesn't Dogma frown on anything but natural light? I'm just curious because I dont know all the rules by heart... but I do seem to remember reading those two

other than that, it looks cool.... not really my style but I know peeps who would be really into the sort of thing you are doing here... again, props on getting a feature in the can.... do you plan on submitting to festivals?
 
thanks for the feedback everyone.

yea, the interlacing is just an export thing. glad you caught it though. The footage on the time line and played on plasma screens, that footage is flawless. I need to figure it out. I exported as an AVI file. maybe Ill try something else.

My intention was never to use a Dick dale song. I wouldn't go to all this trouble writing an original script and pouring my guts into it just to use a style of music thats so closely connected with a world famous director. I only wanted something to cut the thing to. A scratch track, if you will., so you guys could take a quick look at my work. Although the song does rock, I must say.

The teaser was an experiment, more for myself, but thought I'd share :)

I've never made a narrative film before. This my first. Made a couple of documentaries a few years back on a much smaller budget with a much less expensive camera, but thats the extent of my film making attempts.

I am fortunate to have the great Bob Dorian join my cast. Mr. Dorian was the host of AMC throughout the eighties and nineties, plus many films including two by Woody Allen, (he's the older dude who opens the trailer. He appears in an extended cameo throughout the film. (for horror buffs, Bob Dorian was the voice on the the tape recorder found by the teenagers in the cult classic, Evil Dead)

Im also very excited to have the great Hollywood character actor, Joe Rigano on bored in an amazing, and so much appreciated, cameo. Mr. Rigano is the older gentleman who speaks at the close of the trailer. Mr Rigano's film credit is quite extensive, and includes Casino, Analyze This, Sweet and Lowdown, Coffee and cigarettes, Ghost Dog, and many many more Hollywood a-list films.

Im hoping to capitalize on their participation in my project when it come time to shop for distributors. Both gentlemen worked for scale as a favor because they believed in the project.

I have one more cameo spot that Im saving in the hopes of attracting another well known Hollywood actor.

This whole process has been a wild ride so far, unlike anything ive ever experienced. It's nearly destroying my relationship with my girl, and Ive pretty much isolated myself from friends and family because the load is so great. But I love, and they all understand.

I need another 5, 000 to finish it, and another 10, 000 for my publicity and festival campaign.

i will fix the interlace issue this week and perhaps post a few select scenes from the film and another, shorter trailer. Thanks for the feedback.
 
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