The Message Universal (short film clip)

STORYTELLER32

STORYTELLER32

Well-known member
Thought it was time for me to share SOMETHING with this board besides my opinions. ;D Anyway, here's a very short clip from my first short film, "The Message Universal". It's my first endeavor as a writer/director/producer.

Now you won't get much understanding of the story material from this clip as I chose it specifically to show off the look of the footage and general mood and tone of the film, (ie. storyboarding/shot choices, lighting, cinematography), and not the story itself.

The reason for this is because 1) The special effects aren't done yet and they're key to clarifying a major story point in the film. And 2) most importantly, I've got additional shooting to do to finish it off. ;) In the future, I'll be posting an edited trailer to set up the story for everyone.

Sorry the image is so small, but my website doesn't have a tremendous amount of bandwidth to spare. Also, I have no idea why the library section is getting so pixelated. It didn't do that when I ran it through cleaner, only when I download it remotely. If anyone has an answer for me, feel free to post it, k?

One last thing, no color correction was done on this footage. It's all in camera.

http://www.jordanraskin.com/TMUsnip.mov
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Very nice ST32

Im intrigued. Look forward to seeing more of the finished product.

I loved the choice of music! :D Reminds one how imporant a score is in a film.
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Thanks John. Can't remember who, but someone else said it best on this board: "the music tells you how you're supposed to feel in the film". That score actually wrote the script with me as I was listening to it while I was going through my initial draft of the story.
So come on people! 48 views and only one response so far? :D
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

I love Signs... Definitely one great score.
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Give Kai a cigar. Yes, the score is from Signs. Great film and a fantastic score. With regards to my film, however, obviously that's a temporary soundtrack. I have someone working up an original score but it won't be ready for while.

Kai, saw your site. Since you have some experience with compressing video for the web, any idea why I'm getting that pixelation in the middle of my download when the girl enters the frame in the bookstore shot?
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Uh, hello...

I knew it was from signs. Hook up with the cigar.


Sorry; I am bored right now.
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Nice job. Felt the tension and tempo increase. Nice audio cut as door slams. I kept noticing the lighting on the fridge in the night scene. Simulated or natural? Either way, for some reason it stood out to me.
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Hi Brad,
Finally! Someone commenting on the footage! lol... ;D

ALL the lighting was simulated. Done completely with a 3 light kit. (hey, it was good enough for Kubrick, right?) If you pay close attention, you can see the shape of the barn doors against the fridge. My favorite part of that lighting is the rim light against the pole in that scene. I'll post more of the night footage at another point in time. Don't want my site to go down as a result of excessive download like Matt Mcdermitt.

Glad you noticed the subleties of the emotional points of the scene. Makes a director feel good to know someone's getting it. :)

Hey John, how do I know you knew it was Signs?? HMMMM?? (Kidding) Your cigar is in the mail. ;)
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Looking forward to those other nighttime shots as my first film (coming soon..oh God I hope) has some interior nighttime shots as well.
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

The key to shooting night time is to over light and stop it down in the camera (hence the need for 600 watt bulbs from light kits as opposed to practical lighting you use in everyday situations). If you were to shoot without that lighting, your footage would look like mud.
If you look at a majority of films that have night time or dark sequences, you can see just how much lighting is required to make a scene dark, ;). Compare that to what your eye sees on a typical evening outdoors and you'll see what I mean.
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

I thought this looked great, I too loved the music, and want to see where this is heading...

Any other clips ready? or a trailer?

Great job though.
 
Re: The Message Universal (short film clip)

Thanks T.A.P,
I'm working on a trailer for it. Time is just an issue as I'm juggling several projects at once. I might post another clip depending on my website's bandwidth limitations. Hell, I don't even know how much I have in a given month. Have to look into it.

Glad to see it got your interest in the story :)
 
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