"That's When I Knew I Was Going to Die..." - a Short film by HHL

H

HHL

Veteran
Whew....this is really cutting it close! The idea for this film came to me late this afternoon....and I only have 18 days to make the thing!!! I really hope I get the chance to tell this story for "ScareFest". If not, I hope I get the chance to tell my kids by the light of a camp fire....Mad love to DVXUsers everywhere!

I'm in!!! I hope I get this thing done in time!!!!

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You can only warn kids so many times....sooner or later they have to find out for themselves.
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...the story goes, that Wyatt Westinghouse III, locked his wife out of their winter home just after a New Year's Eve celebration on 1/1/1930. Some say he was angry about how much money she spent on the party...the Wall Street Crash of 1929 hit hard earlier that year.

Although no one ever found her body, and despite the fact that every one in the quiet town knew the police were paid off by Westinghouse himself....no justice was ever served.

Some say that during the month of October, during the same time of year as the Wall Street Crash (link) .....she can still be seen wandering around the old abandoned home, banging wildly on the door...still trying to get in.

Looks like Monica and Julie are going find out for themselves when they visit the abandoned Westinghouse home.
 
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Whats this one about?
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You can only warn kids so many times....sooner or later they have to find out for themselves.
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...the story goes, that Wyatt Westinghouse III, locked his wife out of their winter home just after a New Year's Eve celebration on 1/1/1930. Some say he was angry about how much money she spent on the party...the Wall Street Crash of 1929 hit hard earlier that year.

Although no one ever found her body, and despite the fact that every one in the quiet town knew the police were paid off by Westinghouse himself....no justice was ever served.

Some say that during the month of October, during the same time of year as the Wall Street Crash (link) .....she can still be seen wandering around the old abandoned home, banging wildly on the door...still trying to get in.

Looks like Monica and Julie are going find out for themselves when they visit the abandoned Westinghouse home.
 
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HHL said:
Does anyone know a good recipe for fake blood? (It IS ScareFest afterall...)
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I have always used v8 juice mixed with palmegranite juice. For some reason it just looks and feels reel. The texture and color make a convincing blood.
 
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corn syrup w/red & blue (just a touch of blue) food coloring... add water to get the consistency you like.
 
Matt Harris said:
congrats for entering, it's been great talking to you about the anamorphics.
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The honor is mine Matt. Thanks again for sharing your talent with all of us!

JaceBrownlow said:
I have always used v8 juice mixed with palmegranite juice. For some reason it just looks and feels reel. The texture and color make a convincing blood.
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Thanks for the tip. I may be tempted to drink that one....lol.

ZazaCast said:
corn syrup w/red & blue (just a touch of blue) food coloring... add water to get the consistency you like.
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Thank you Zaza! I can't wait to give these all a try! Thank you all so much for your input.
 
Quick update on the 18 day film project (this one, lol). Casting is nearly complete. I'll post pics later, (I guess I'd better take them first!)

I only have one more person to pitch on the concept, very minor role, but important to the story, later this week I'll get that one done.
One tentative acceptance, need to "pin that one down"....the rest are "on board".

Monica, Yasmeen Finlayson
Julie, Anaiah Finlayson
Elise Westinghouse, Marjorie Anderson
Father, HHL
Officer Morgan, Jason Bowers
Un-named, Sandra Nelson (confirmed, last one yay!)
 
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OK....bummer update here. After a great weekend of shooting, I suffered a set back with my sound. For some reason, all of my sound was lost when I imported to CS5. A combination of things (I'm not sure which one was the culprit)....bottom line, I'll be reshooting the majority of it. The good news is that I learned a lot during the shoots, and I have some KILLER story board equivalents (actual footage), and I should get even better footy next time. The bad news is that I may not finish in time.....bummer. Anywho...that's my update from the front line. Mad love to DVXUsers, everywhere!
 
Definitely hoping you can finish in time, but either way you definitely have the right attitude about the setbacks.....those are the worst!
 
total bummer. are you sure that's the deal? i don't use CS5, but i have never heard of the sound being lost as it's imported. do you still have the files on your memory card? you can always play them in quicktime to see how the sound is. then you'll know for sure.

well i got to see some of his images, and i can tell you they were really cool, so i'm bummed to hear this.
 
thetvirus513 said:
Definitely hoping you can finish in time, but either way you definitely have the right attitude about the setbacks.....those are the worst!
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Matt Harris said:
total bummer. are you sure that's the deal? i don't use CS5, but i have never heard of the sound being lost as it's imported. do you still have the files on your memory card? you can always play them in quicktime to see how the sound is. then you'll know for sure.

well i got to see some of his images, and i can tell you they were really cool, so i'm bummed to hear this.
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ZazaCast said:
Oh Man! I hope you can get it done in time...you can do it.
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Your kind words of uncouragment means a lot to me. Thanks so much guys! Cheers!
 
Quick update from newb-ville (as far a DVXfests/short films go)...

OK. Lessons learned:
1. Sound is as critical as image. When all you make is 'snippets' with music in the background (like me) or documentaries where you mic someone up (for one main scene), like me, ....you might miss this...also like me. I'm going to have to address this. Thrilled to have the experience though.

2. Rough edit to get time (stop time 6min) with your concept early on. I'm editing now (even though my sound sucks...but hey AT LEAST I HAVE SOUND NOW!!!...fixed that, yay!) ....and there is another problem to be addressed: My film looks like it's going to be around 10-12min. DUH!!! I'll edit aggressively and see if I can make it fit (6 min), but I don't know if I can and have my story still make sense. :( Again....I'm thrilled to have the experience and to learn that I should get the timing down FIRST.

Anywho, I'm sure there will be more wreckage, but for now....this is what's ticking me off this morning as I'm putting the pieces of the puzzle together....Cheers!
 
Great stuff! I enjoy the actual sharing of lessons learned. I need to do this myself. Sound is so critical, for sure. We all have heard it ad nauseum but it can be tough to get it even halfway right without a real sound guy on set.

Glad you have sound now, however.

Timing seems to always be the main issue with so many participants. Its tough to hit that 6 min limit, that's for sure.
 
Yes... good stuff. This is why I say DVXUser is THE best film school out there. I look at each fest as a 'homework' assignment....you aren't always going to get A's, but you sure do learn with each film you make. Just finishing a film is a win in my book.

Just keep cutting where you can, you might be surprized how fast you can get it down to 6 minutes. (I learned that lesson early on too... now I don't write a script any longer then 4 pages)

Looking forward to the film.
 
Gracious! I have learned so much making this film. Before I start ranting about that, let me say that unfortunately, the film that I enter is NOT the film that I have planned. That film looks like it's going to be well over the 6 min time limit. I really don't mind, and I plan on finishing it too....but I'm determined to finish this film and enter, even if it's "dumb". It has been worth it on every level, and I have JUNK LOADS to learn (that will never change), but man on man.....I learned so much. My render just completed, and I need to keep on going, but I'll detail what I've learned and what I'll do differently next time. Mad love to DVXUsers, everywhere!
 
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