SHORT: [TRAILER] "Though I Walk through the Valley" (Our new mystery short)

[AnteerU]

​

THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY
(Original title: UND OB ICH SCHON WANDERT)
Our new short film

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Didn't want to miss the opportunity to advertise our upcoming short here, as well. It was shot in Germany and in German, so why post it here? Frankly to get an international perspective on it. What's an American, English, Aussie etc. filmmaker's take on it? We actually plan to go on international festivals with it, but first want to make our homework and this post is also to check whether we create the right expectation. Would you like to watch it from how it presents itself?

Anyway - let's raise the curtain!

Previews:

Trailer

Teaser

(Make sure you click on the little |CC|-Button if it's not already activated in order to get English subtitles.)

(Yeah, trailers for short films are borderline-useless - unless you crowdfund your film and want to raise an appetite so that your fans open their wallets and become supporters.)

OTHER VIDEOS:
Crowdfunding-Pitch (not subtitled, yet)

Plot:​

After a cave-in, while they struggle to find their way out of a collapsing copper mine, two students trigger the interest of an ominous presence dwelling an old mountain - a presence that willingly puts their loyalty and compassion for each other to a test...

As all of you might already know, the title refers to Psalm 23:


Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me

Production Status & Notes​

Shot in German and Germany, this movie was financed via Crowdfunding on startnext.de, the equivalent to kickstarter in the German speaking world. It was shot in a copper mine called Grube Wilhelmine (eng. "mine Wilhelmina") in the north of Bavaria and has entered post-production. Sound editing and color grading are about to start, the work on VFX has already begun (as showcased in our trailer). After completition it will have its online premiere for all crowdfunders - among which are also some Americans and we're damn proud of that - and it'll begin its theatrical run on festivals. Alongside national festivals, we'll try to enter international competition, too. Eventually the film will be uploaded on Vimeo with english subs.

SCREENPLAY / DIRECTOR: Matthias Noe*
PRODUCERS: Dominik Lando und Matthias Noe
LEAD ACTORS: Benjamin Hübner & Franziska Herrmann

Detaillied Credits | Crowdfunding-Page (both in German)​

*that's me

Tech Specs | Additional Information:
Cameras used: RED Epic / RED MX (both First Unit) | Nikon D800 (Second Unit, e.g. some shots with stand ins)
Recording formats: Redcode Raw | H.264
Running time: approx. 12 minutes
Days of shooting: 3
Lenses: ZEISS Distagon & Planar Primes 35-85, COOKE Zoom 20-100mm MK II, SIGMA 17-50mm 2.8 EX
Location: Grube Wilhelmine in Sommerkahl | Bavaria, GERMANY | Google Maps
Software Used: Premiere & After Effects CS6 | Red CineX Pro

Some stills:

(more stills to be found here)

Hope you like what we can show you thus far,

Greetings from belowground,
Matt

 

[OldCorpse]

Don't know about the title. I think that's been sort of ruined by Pulp Fiction, so anyone else using it will bring different associations with it. I like the idea a great deal, the underground can be a scary place, and people have used it before, like The Descent, but that film fell apart in the third act (for me). The execution looks a little low budget to me, hopefully the drama will make it work.

 

[AnteerU]

Thanks for feedback, Ole Corpse,

You are right about The Decent. (Jump) Scary as hell until it dropped the ball in the finale. I felt the underground lends itself greatly for metaphorical content, but that this plays out best without much emphasis forced on it.

Can you specify on the low budget-feel you're having? I mean: Obviously we ARE low budget (roughly 5750 € for 3 days of shooting), but naturally nobody wants to look like low budget - clearly we don't. There are ways to avoid looking too much lb, I guess, and I'd like to find out where the rub is, so to speak, to improve on other projects or maybe still on this one (if it's a matter of post-production).

Although the quote from Pulp Fiction is from a different bible passage, I find that remark very helpful. Because even though I never made the association myself, that doesn't mean others won't either. After all, the title you can always change .

Cheers,
Matt

 

[OldCorpse]

What I mean by low budget feel is a bit of everything: the music has good intent, but is not subtle - it's "scary-movie music" if you know what I mean... instead, you should almost not notice the music because it is playing along your emotions, not trying to "force" them. The lighting - same thing... "scary-movie light", instead of light in a scary place. Acting - "scary-movie acting" instead of "people scared in a scary situation". Of course, it is much harder to do "subtle" in a short film, because you don't have time to develop atmosphere, but I am just pointing my finger at something for you to think about in the future: what is really a true effect, and what is "movie-effect". Seems a small difference, but it's the difference between 1000 mediocre movies we see all the time and the few good movies. If you think about how to distinguish between these two effects, I promise you much success.

But don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying the short is bad. It is competent. What it lacks, is "great". And in film, for spending our time, we always look for "great" - and if you give us "great", then we (the audience) will give you a great career rogar-SunGlass(DBG.

 

[AnteerU]

I totally get, what you mean. Granted, this is a trailer and as such even more than the actual short it has to employ effects and be more superficial in that regard (the music for example is not what I imagine the score in the final film to be). I'm hesitating though, to take that as an excuse. More so I don't even think excuse would be a good word for it. But if it feels shallow, if it doesn't trigger what it's supposed to, then I lost something on the way, period. I'll have an eye on that in the cut (make that two!) and spot it where i can to eliminate it, or be cautious on the next project to put focus on it. But if the final result still interest you, let me know. I'd definitely be interested in your opinion.

Greets and gn8,
Matt

 

[OldCorpse]

Oh, I would totally see it it has absolutely sparked my interest - like I said, I think the idea is very good, very solid. And again - nothing there is bad, plus, like you say, it's just a trailer. Really looking forward to this - and I mean that sincerely. Best of luck!

 

[AnteerU]

Oh, I would totally see it it has absolutely sparked my interest - like I said, I think the idea is very good, very solid. And again - nothing there is bad, plus, like you say, it's just a trailer. Really looking forward to this - and I mean that sincerely. Best of luck!

Glad to hear. Sparking interest was the least or, say, foremost goal we had, but not the single one. Therefore I was also responding to the "generic spooky film"-vibe you got from the trailer and that I can totally see where that might come from and became aware that it might not just be a trailer-symptom. Appearing generic was not our intention and whether the trailer foreshadows that for the final film, is upon me to work out. If I feel like something was lost regarding a vintage voice, than it has to be adressed on this project at best or at worst on the next one. Well, the final result will be in for discussion, too . I can not post it here due to some festivals here in Germany wanting exclusive rights for the premiere, but private screenings (a.k.a. Vimeo password protected links) are always an option.

Cheers and good morning to y'all (in a couple of hours),
Matt

 

[AnteerU]

So, we've finally made it, our film is finished. Yet, some festivals' regulations force us to not release it publicly before they show it. Therefore I can only send you a private link (with English Subs, of course). But if some of you guys are interested in seeing it, that should not be a problem: Feel free to send me a PM!! Hate to make things that complicated, but you probably know the drill.