FEATURE: Trailer for my new Low Budget Horror film "Bad Vs Worse"

First off, congrats on finishing your flick, that's a great accomplishment in and of itself. Second take anything I say with a grain of salt, and always trust your gut. I Love the concept, very cool. Trailer moved a bit slow for me, you could tighten it up a bit. The interiors look pretty solid, grade is aggressive, but works for the style. If you're using this as a sales tool for distributors, I would limit those exterior shots at the beginning. The highlights to me look really blown out, and it doesn't do justice to the other nice looking parts of your trailer. Lastly and this is totally subjective, take it or leave it as you will. I would take the "film by" title out of the credits. I really feel like that is a credit you earn as you build a solid reputation as a filmmaker over the course of many films. Again if you're trying to sell it, let your work speak for you, and you can't go wrong. Good luck and once again congrats on your flick!
 
First off, congrats on finishing your flick, that's a great accomplishment in and of itself. Second take anything I say with a grain of salt, and always trust your gut. I Love the concept, very cool. Trailer moved a bit slow for me, you could tighten it up a bit. The interiors look pretty solid, grade is aggressive, but works for the style. If you're using this as a sales tool for distributors, I would limit those exterior shots at the beginning. The highlights to me look really blown out, and it doesn't do justice to the other nice looking parts of your trailer. Lastly and this is totally subjective, take it or leave it as you will. I would take the "film by" title out of the credits. I really feel like that is a credit you earn as you build a solid reputation as a filmmaker over the course of many films. Again if you're trying to sell it, let your work speak for you, and you can't go wrong. Good luck and once again congrats on your flick!

Thank you very much for your thoughts. You brought up some very solid points that I will consider.
 
put your STRONGEST MATERIAL AT THE OPENING of the trailer. the first few seconds should grab the viewer and say WATCH THIS. I think you can get a much better title. exploitation tradition is for a movie to go through tons of titles ;) I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVVVVVEEEEEEE!!!!!! terrible movie (both versions) , dont watch em or anything, but a damn good title. you got famous actors in your movie? hmmm...didn't think so. newsflash: your making an exploitation movie. If it wuz me id cut this by half or 1/3, use only the toy-box music, and get a better title. "THE THRILL OF THE KILL??" -- take it if u like it, its yours....I dunno.... get creative, study exploitation movie titles. good stuff tho. Love the way you told a simple, primal story with very few resources, a few actors and props, Im trying to learn to do that well myself.
 
Last edited:
put your STRONGEST MATERIAL AT THE OPENING of the trailer. the first few seconds should grab the viewer and say WATCH THIS. I think you can get a much better title. exploitation tradition is for a movie to go through tons of titles ;) I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVVVVVEEEEEEE!!!!!! terrible movie (both versions) , dont watch em or anything, but a damn good title. you got famous actors in your movie? hmmm...didn't think so. newsflash: your making an exploitation movie. If it wuz me id cut this by half or 1/3, use only the toy-box music, and get a better title. "THE THRILL OF THE KILL??" -- take it if u like it, its yours....I dunno.... get creative, study exploitation movie titles. good stuff tho. Love the way you told a simple, primal story with very few resources, a few actors and props, Im trying to learn to do that well myself.




Thank you very much for your thoughts! Much respect!
 
Last edited:
watch what happens in the first twenty seconds of this trailer (keep in mind it really starts at :10, so go to :30.)... But yes, your trailer aint half bad, movie looks like it delivers the horror goods, and I can totally respect you sticking to your artistic guns. :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8evyE9TuYk
 
Last edited:
Congrats on your accomplishment! Ok, here comes a gear question was that a DSLR? Would you be willing to share how you accomplished it on such a small budget? Very inspiring!
 
Congrats on your accomplishment! Ok, here comes a gear question was that a DSLR? Would you be willing to share how you accomplished it on such a small budget? Very inspiring!

Sure. I'm so thrilled that I could inspire! I shot with a rebel T2i and I'm not going to be exotic about it, I'm going to be honest. I had no filters of any kind and three standard Canon lenses. A 50mm, 17-40mm, and a 75-300 mm. Very little was required to get the look you are seeing aside from the basics. However, as the gentleman above me mentioned, some of my exteriors could be perceived as a bit "blown out". I suppose that's what I get for using no filters but to be honest, through my eyes anyway, it's a printable exposure for the story I'm telling. I happened to have Magic Bullet Mojo, and that is what I colored the entire film with. However, anyone can get the same results with built in color correction tools. I like to stylize my stuff a bit and because this is a pop corn thriller, I felt I had a bit of room to push certain things. Then the cherry on top is a tool called Rgrain. It allows you to overlay realistically simulated film grain over your image. Obviously, this is not required by I love and image I can touch/feel.

As far as lighting I was fortunate enough to have worked with a non profit organization when I was in high school that specialize in doing high school dramas. Because of this, I had access to all their lighting equipment. The lights included were, two 650's, one 350, and two Arri LED's. Nine times out of ten I'm just using a 650 and bouncing it off a white board or wall. For the garage the killer has a wall of plastic (like Dexter) separating his garage so to light that, I simply beamed two 650's through the plastic wall and it gave me a nice harsh yet simultaneously defused look.

I went with Da Vinci's point of view on this movie- "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Because If I made things to complex, I would have set my standards high and thus, would have never been satisfied. I learned so much, this was my first feature and I seriously can't wait to make my next one, now, with all my newly gained knowledge. But of course as I'm sure anyone reading this knows, I have to sell this one first. :) I hope this satisfied your question.
 
Last edited:
Thanks! I really appreciate your willingness to share some info. Did you have a hard time focusing on the T2i? Or did you use a video monitor? Also, how many days did it take to shoot? Thanks!
 
Thanks! I really appreciate your willingness to share some info. Did you have a hard time focusing on the T2i? Or did you use a video monitor? Also, how many days did it take to shoot? Thanks!

When I was using a 50mm focusing was very tough, no monitor used. But because the story is gritty I decided to use focus going in and out as a visual style, embraced it. Shooting took place only on weekends because actors had work. So adding up all the shooting days, a month of shooting. Then a month to edit.
 
Back
Top