"The Burnt House" HVX/M2 feature

HDkilledFILM.

HDkilledFILM.

Burnin' down the House
Link to teaser trailer:

http://www.box.net/shared/static/o7xgs9pogw.mov

The file is large (55mb) so have a beer or something...

Music by Death Cab for Cutie... I'm trying to contact them about getting the rights.

Here are some grabs from a feature I am shooting over this summer on an HVX200 M2 combo. I've got about 4 days of shooting in and all is going really well. I plan on shooting the entire film for almost nothing and so far things have been falling into place. I'm really, really happy with the HVX/M2 set up (I wish I had it on my last feature) once your used to it shooting with the rig becomes pretty easy and thats saying nothing about the payoff. I'll keep this post up to date as I go along, hope you like-rock-Adam

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the framing is well done, but I think you need to make sure your M2 is properly calibrated, even your in focus subjects are unacceptably soft IMO. It only takes 45 minutes or so of trying different flange distances and you can get it dialed in.
 
The CCing dulled the images the un CC'd images were much sharper, almost too sharp. When I first projected the first rough footage I thought that the images actually looked too video because of how the had no softness. If you look at the one picture of the dead plant you can see the sharpness before CC as that has none applied.-rock-Adam
 
Its not incredibly sharp. But it is sharper.

After watching basically everything exclusivily on HD DVD and BD, and only going to DLP theatres, i think what ive noticed is just how sharp thing are when they are shot and shown the way they are meant to be seen. Film can be sharp as well and still have a film look, but i mean, thats really if you want to capture that specific thing about it.

In this case, i think its a case of not that you prefered it to look like film, you preferred a softer image instead of a sharper image. IMO, its about embracing a technology, and shooting method and less about imitating to look like something else. Dont worry about how sharp something is based soley on a non film like look, because trust me, some of these BD tranfers are 3d looking they are so crisp. Brings a tear of pure joy to my eye
 
dude, film is like INSANELY sharper than Video... Even 4k imagers like RED. Good Vision 2 stock is the equivalent of 5-6K imaging.

Video is EDGE enhanced. to make your HVX footage look more likefilm, back the Detial off a bit. itwill look more organic.
 
I'm actually fine with how the images look lol. I'm fine with the slight soft defused look. The thing about saying anything looking film like or video is that people often misinterpret this as a means to open the old video vs. film discussion. My family owns a home theater retail center and trust me I know how sharp HD can be. I'm sorry if I came off wrong and was interpreted as saying that I want my HD to be soft to look like film, I'm just going for what looks in my opinion to be the most filmic to my eye, it's all subjective anyhow. The story is based half in the late seventies and half now so the looks are going to be graded according to time period within the film and within the context of the storyline (i.e. the modern day look will get colder as the film progresses towards the climax). Hope this clears things up-rock-Adam
 
Looking good. Are you shooting in 1080 24pa? I use that now, the compression is much less visible. Also, are you crushing in camera or rasing the pedestal in cam and droping in post?
 
I'm shooting 720 24pn I have my master ped down to -7 and I am using B-Press gamma. I shot my first feature on 1080i and I can't tell the difference with the look I'm going for and overall image I am trying to achieve between 1080i and 720p so I'm opting for less data and more record time.
 
i think you have achieved your look you were going for because the first thing that came to mind when i saw those photos was that it looks like something out of a grind house or 70's flick. :thumbup:
 
Nice stuff bro! Love the shot of the building.. As long as you got what you think is good for the story, it will be great.. Lets see some video..
 
Video should be up in the next few days, if not tonight. I'm trying to shoot again asap to finish up the film's setup.-rock-Adam
 
HDkilledFILM. said:
What does this post even mean? lol.:huh:
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another elitist denying the future. :beer:

tackling a feature is a daunting task... give props for that! i hope to jump on in with my first feature next summer. any tips from your first feature? :)
 
The Burnt House is the second feature for me, the first being my film "Sight". What I learned from shooting "Sight" is that approaching a feature as a no-budget film maker you really need to do all the work in Pre that you can to make the shoot go as easy as it possibly can and to plan for the worst. You should even start earlier than that and if your writing the script taylor your script around locations that you have or can easily get, but that will add production value and are astatically pleasing. Also try and spend all the time you can in casting, rent out a space or beg, borrow, or any other way obtain a nice quite space to audition actors in. Try and present your self as a pro and make clear that you have no money but that your project is not a joke but a real artistic endeavor. Casting and location scouting are the most important parts of pre production that you can do to help yourself during production. You can have the best equipment, best sound guy, grip, DP, whatever but if your locations suck and your actors aren't cutting the mustard your doomed.

I know all this sounds like preaching but it's the truth. On my first feature I bit off more than I could chew. 28 locations, 40 actors, SFX shots etc.... On this feature I have 6 actors and 2 locations, both set in the woods (which are great on camera).

Your going to need money, at least for food and transport, oh and bail, if your me....

And lastly (because my hands are getting tired) spend more time on every shot and get it right, not just okay, but perfect, make sure you never say these lines:

I'll fix it in post.

Because you won't.
 
HDkilledFILM. said:
I know all this sounds like preaching but it's the truth.
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No, Its sounds completely logical! I for one appreciate your perspective.
Im working on a short right now, using SAG guidelines, SAG actors etc... I learned ALOT just from that one part of it alone.

Good luck with your endeavors man, you only go around once.

HDkilledFILM. said:
make sure you never say these lines:

I'll fix it in post.

Because you won't.
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I agree here again :thumbup:
 
Wish me luck, after forever (actors dropping out the day of, TWICE!!!!) we are going to complete this film in the next month. I begin shooting the final half of this feature the 15th, that’s this Thursday!!!! Sorry I haven't posted any video but I've been so busy trying to pull everything together (Sculpting dead babies, securing locations, trying to find a lead actress) which has FINALLY happened. We just got finished shooting the first half of the film when 2/3 of the remaining cast dropped out THE DAY OF! Luckily we had not shot anything with them (the film is two separate stories linked together) so we will not have to reshoot anything. I'll keep you guys posted, pray for me to the god Cthulhu!!-rock-Adam
 
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