The Cabana....By 24pordeath

Umm... interesting concept. I didn't care for the production quality (had a very "video" feel to it) and the acting didn't convince me but... I did like where you took the story.

:beer:
 
Well it didn't do much for me and I had a hard time watching the whole thing. Maybe try and have some more experienced acting and more time in post. It was an interesting idea.
Pauly
 
Thanks for your coments. It was a very rush job at the last moment. I had no actors but used whatever I could. then I screwed up on the quality oy export. Was so bbusy at work that couldnt even ask the forum. Then I left everything as is. The quality is'nt bad on the full resolution . I did have a video look. I wanted to put more effort on the green screen but the actors were very impatient so did the best I could. Thanks for your coments. I really appreciate . Thanks again
 
The interlacing really hurt, as did the low quality.
If you would like some help on that for next Fest just PM me and I think we can work it out.

Ignoring the technical stuff that's been pointed out.... I actually thought the story was interesting. Better actors and some improved SFX work could have helped this quite a bit.

Keep at it!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Instant respect for getting up off your butt and making a film. You hear a lot of yak yak yak about "I want to do this project" and "I'm going to make that film", but there's not nearly as much actual filmmaking going on. So I give you credit for doing something, regardless of how it turned out.

All-in-all, I didn't really care for this film. The story and the way it told didn't really do anything for me. I hated the wave shot.

I didn't have any trouble picking out the ball though.
 
Too bad you had problems with actors, but I think they did their part pretty much ok. I didn't understand the story itself, that wave looks weird (you broke chroma region) and in the end, it is twilight idea, but the way it is told somewhat left me confused.

Nvm that and mostly technical side of it, I like the way some parts are edited. That's a proof you put some effort into this and didn't just choped and put together all those cuts. I do think it could be done in another way, but it is obvious you used the maximum of your material, and only shows that next time, try to take more time to pull things out the best you can.

As for compressing and exporting issues, here on dvx there's a lot tips'n'tricks how to do it with your NLE.

Keep up, that's the most important in the whole story around here. :)
 
I agree with what everybody else has said here. The technical, the export compression, the acting and editing were all issues. The women in this piece I think did okay, but the men did not seem convincing at all. They seemed to just be reading their lines outloud. In the cabana, when the first det. went in and there were the edited shots of him going from one place to the next, which I think was a good idea, but probably would have been better if maybe you showed him by the TV and then way on the other side of the room with the closet and then playing pool and then cut to the other closet. I think that would have showed passage of time alot better, if that's what you were going for there. With the technical stuff, the compression and the sound here in spots, those can all be fixed pretty easy and if they were and with some more creative editing you would actually have a more presentable film. But I also understand having to put something together last minute, so I applaud you for getting something done.
 
I have to agree with John is saying that you get credit for making a film. That is a feat in of itself. Really work on learning the technical aspects and I speak from experience because I still have technical flubs to this day but mistakes are one way of getting better. Another piece of advice I can give from experience is try your best to get your actors excited about the project. Having them feel like they're doing you a favor will lead to their being demanding or impatient which will only hurt the film. Good job getting one done!
 
Well, I think you did very well to try a number of different approaches to see what works. As in a bit of green screen, some fast cuts, camera angles. I think you can plainly see for yourself where work or a different approach may be needed. Try not to think of shooting as just shooting, its art, and one that can help portray emotions or make someone evil etc etc. Take a look at Cold Calls and Teachers Pet - these are both low budget but look at how well they move the camera to assist the story. Even if you took out their lighting altogether, the way they composed the shots would help the story, then add lighting back in and it doubles the value.

Anyway well done and from what Ive seen here I really think you could improve fairly easily over time.

I did want to say something about your compression. First up the total runtime on your output was almost 12 minutes of which 6 was black screen and thus forced your compression into hell to try and make the 50mb limit. I dont want to sound harsh here, but really this is one thing I think people who are doing this kind of thing should make sure they know.
 
Hey,
most of my points have been made already (compression, get the dang thing made being the most important thing, etc...). That said I found your film completely watchable. Just because the production quality isn't up to par doesn't mean the film making can't be appreciated. you have a much better handle on camera placement and editing than most comparable films. Keep that in mind.

It actually reminded me of films I made when i first picked up the camera. Go out and make movies. Keep doing what you're doing. Won't get any better without trying and trying again!

Also something else (purely my advise)... if you feel like you're still in that learning mode and aren't ready for better actors and bigger productions, keep practicing with what you have until you're ready. You, those you work with and your final product will appreciate and put to better use the skills you've learned.
 
good try! the women acted very well! not sure what the wave of water was about, but it was a neat idea to have these poor souls enter some sort of version of the cockroach motel. like to see your next project, keep filming!
 
Nice work. This is an example of why we sponsor the fests. We want to see people getting up and making a short that otherwise would not have been completed. You learn so much going through the filmmaking process and it just makes your next one that much better.

Always learning, always improving, that should be everyone's goal.

We're shipping you a DVcreators DV Enligtenment DVD as a Prize today. Hopefully you'll pull a trick or two out of it to use in your next project.

BTW, I live in the town you shot that in, good ole Mukilteo :)
 
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