The friend zone

[justinmjohns]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKgHLr4et0A

A new video from Pop Friction. The first video I used with the Technicolor Preset. So good. Like a whole new camera. I love low contrast images and this really did the job.

7D & Canon 24 2.8, 35 2, 50 1.8, 85 1.8

NTG-3 and H4N

Mole Richardson Soft Scoop 2k and the occasional Lowel Pro detail backlight, oh yeah, and a home made PVC dolly.

 

[Snapper123]

I personally really like the attention to how the sun lights the subjects on 'Button Masher' and 'What's Up?' - both short films seem to place just the right amount of light emphasis needed for this brand of short film comedy. The rest of the videos however, like with the Host of 'Friend Zone' or when the walking guy of 'Sleepwalker' is in the kitchen, the skin depth and tone is just a bit too camcorder-ish. Trust me I love taking advantage of natural light and I believe that it's one of the most important things that a newer filmmaker can learn to work with, but to take these short films to just a bit higher level aesthetically, I would try to get all your actors to move more akin to the windows (the two guys sitting on the couch in 'Sleepwalker' have a good lighting style, for instance) or when outside, just remember to somehow get the sun to light the faces in some sort of way.

Like say you want your host in Friend Zone to look shadowy, but nice - I think I'm picturing something for his face more along the lines of how the character of Sleepwalker looked when he was laying in the bushes. Just something that gives a more typically cinematic, glowy feel - the bushes shot of Sleepwalker looks just like something out of an incredibly professional short comedy.

Overall, I don't know how these differences would be applied though and chances are the videos all came out the best they could under the conditions. Most of the shots in the series look pretty good, a couple look distracting, and overall as always, I wish there was an easier way to control skin strength. Overall though, the scripts fit the feel, so I think only small improvements would really get the look of this series going.

 

[justinmjohns]

Thank you for your thoughtful response to the link, Snapper123. The day we shot the outdoor scene for "The Friend Zone" it was very overcast and therefore the image is much less dynamic than what I would have hoped for. In the case of the What's Up, we had good strong morning light. Sleepwalker was more underexposed in general, and there are some shots I'm not too proud of. But, these aren't short films, they're sketches for youtube, made to build an audience that isn't picky about aesthetics. I am, however, always looking for new ways to see light and improve my shots overall.

Thanks again.