"u"

[stinkpot]

Thanks! Now talk to me about color grading, because I am still learning and perfecting. What's OTS? The dialogue scene to me could have been better, but I feel like I rushed through a bit on this side of it and I really didn't have it all set up like I wanted. In the script they are not all standing, but instead a few standing and some sitting, like a group would be if they were huddled around a fire. I was a little too focused on getting all the shots in and getting it finished (this was the weekend b4 the deadline) and once I started editing I could tell that part didn't stand up quite as well as the beginning. I'm still working on the Director's cut though.

Here is Wikipedia's definition of color grading - " Color grading is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture or television image, either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. The photo-chemical process is also referred to as color timing and is typically performed at a photographic laboratory. Modern color correction, whether for theatrical film or video distribution, is generally done digitally. "

You, of course, would do this with your software. Basically, you are manipulating the color of you image to give it a more artistic or fantastical look. If your leave you video flat it comes across as just that... video. A good place to start is with Magic Bullet filters (I know many people here think they suck and are a cop-out but like I said, it's a place to start).

As for OTS, it stands for "over the shoulder". Typically, during standard non-action dialog, you will frame your subject (talking) and a piece of the other person (being talked to) in the same shot. Grab a good cinematography book and they will likely touch on many of the standard shots like this.

Hopefully that's useful. Also, dvxuser is probably the number 1 resource for teaching yourself filmmaking so you will definitely pick this stuff up the more time you spend here.

:beer:

 

[hoz]

very ambitious short! liked the action. liked the tennis ball, damn, don't want to know what a football does in your world.

acting was tough to watch though. the lead wasn't that bad but some of the others were off. some editing can help here, like have one character start talking and then skip right away to the next character who speaks. have em cut each other off. the story is confusing but i think 6 minutes prob has a lot to do with that. maybe cut out some action for story? my 2 cents...

keep filming!!

 

[Marlon Ladd]

Here is Wikipedia's definition of color grading - " Color grading is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture or television image, either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. The photo-chemical process is also referred to as color timing and is typically performed at a photographic laboratory. Modern color correction, whether for theatrical film or video distribution, is generally done digitally. "

You, of course, would do this with your software. Basically, you are manipulating the color of you image to give it a more artistic or fantastical look. If your leave you video flat it comes across as just that... video. A good place to start is with Magic Bullet filters (I know many people here think they suck and are a cop-out but like I said, it's a place to start).

As for OTS, it stands for "over the shoulder". Typically, during standard non-action dialog, you will frame your subject (talking) and a piece of the other person (being talked to) in the same shot. Grab a good cinematography book and they will likely touch on many of the standard shots like this.

Hopefully that's useful. Also, dvxuser is probably the number 1 resource for teaching yourself filmmaking so you will definitely pick this stuff up the more time you spend here.

:beer:

No, I understand what you meant by color grading, but I was looking for maybe some suggestions, because I did color-correct to get that look and I thought that it fit. I used a magic bullet (basic) filter and used a CC in FCP to desaturate the colors to give it that greyish look, because the original footage is really colorful. Like I was wondering what you would have liked to have seen with that.

Oh, OTS. Gotcha'. Yeah, I know exactly what type of shots you're talking about. Normally when I have one-on-one dialogue, that's exactly what I do. I thought the dialogue in this one would have been easier to do than it actually was and so I didn't put enough thought into it and we were operating with P2 cards and a limited amount of time, so I wasn't able to get some of the shots I should have.

Thanks for the insight!

 

[Marlon Ladd]

very ambitious short! liked the action. liked the tennis ball, damn, don't want to know what a football does in your world.

acting was tough to watch though. the lead wasn't that bad but some of the others were off. some editing can help here, like have one character start talking and then skip right away to the next character who speaks. have em cut each other off. the story is confusing but i think 6 minutes prob has a lot to do with that. maybe cut out some action for story? my 2 cents...

keep filming!!

Thanks for the review! Yeah, I keep hearing about the acting. This is the first time in one of my films that this issue has come up. And I hope the lead wasn't too bad, because that's me! And I've been doin' this for a while. LOL. Yeah, I have been doing some additional editing with the director's cut, kind of like what you're talking about. I think there's a combination of also a not greatly directed dialogue scene that attributed to some of the acting not coming off as convincing and that would be my fault on that.

Thanks for watching and leaving an in-depth review.

 

[gabrielflorit]

This got much more interesting once you introduce why they're fighting, an explanation that comes very near the end. Up until that point there's very little to get us involved, except scenes of running and fighting and gun pointing. I wonder if there would have been any way for you to introduce the plot earlier - that would have pulled us in, I think. My opinion.

 

[Bryce A]

I enjoyed the flick. Like Gabe says above, it would have been nice to know a little bit more earlier on, but it kept me in the story. It's a really ambitious tale you have here. I have to say I was impressed with how effective the sci-fi action angle was. The actors were pretty solid. Some other reviews have touched on teh technical aspects and I agree. Man, if you could ratchet those up and approach your next project with the same level of talent and ambition as 'U' you'd be a force to be reckoned with. Very fun! Keep it up!

 

[Brian Parker]

Hey Marlon. I know it took me forever but I said I was going to vote for and review every film on the list in order so I'm finishing up. This is an ambitious piece man and once it is all revealed a cool concept.

You went all out for the action scene and I have to commend you on that. I still haven't tried an action scene yet because of the logistics of it and becasue of what I know it'd take from talent so the fact that you went all the way on that one gets you props.

Like I said before, the concept of the "accepted" was an interesting one. I think for the most part the acting works. Some people seemed a little stiff but nothing that was unbearable. The audio was a little low so I had to rewind at some parts to try and catch what was said. Other than that, again it was well done. I really liked the temporary loss of hearing except for the ringing after the bomb went off as well as quite a few of the cuts during the fight sequence.

This movie came together well man and I'll be checking for the stuff you drop in the future. Good job! :beer:

 

[Marlon Ladd]

This got much more interesting once you introduce why they're fighting, an explanation that comes very near the end. Up until that point there's very little to get us involved, except scenes of running and fighting and gun pointing. I wonder if there would have been any way for you to introduce the plot earlier - that would have pulled us in, I think. My opinion.

Thanks for the review, man. What I wanted to do was to pull the audience in with what was going on with the world and from that point on let the audience try and figure out (keep up) with what they saw. In the director's cut I do have a slightly different opening that kind of lets you see a little more of what might be happening (there's an additional scene and a little more text), but the story is so big and quickly comes to such an abrupt stop that I thought this was the best way (in 6 minutes) to get it out. In the original there's more dialogue and interaction within the group, but I had to rewrite the script, because some actors couldn't make it. Having said that though, it probably would have made the film around 10-12 minutes. I'll think about maybe introducing more though. Again, thanks for the review, Gabriel.

I enjoyed the flick. Like Gabe says above, it would have been nice to know a little bit more earlier on, but it kept me in the story. It's a really ambitious tale you have here. I have to say I was impressed with how effective the sci-fi action angle was. The actors were pretty solid. Some other reviews have touched on teh technical aspects and I agree. Man, if you could ratchet those up and approach your next project with the same level of talent and ambition as 'U' you'd be a force to be reckoned with. Very fun! Keep it up!

Thanks, Bryce! Glad you liked it and it worked for you! I appreciate the review.

Hey Marlon. I know it took me forever but I said I was going to vote for and review every film on the list in order so I'm finishing up. This is an ambitious piece man and once it is all revealed a cool concept.

You went all out for the action scene and I have to commend you on that. I still haven't tried an action scene yet because of the logistics of it and becasue of what I know it'd take from talent so the fact that you went all the way on that one gets you props.

Like I said before, the concept of the "accepted" was an interesting one. I think for the most part the acting works. Some people seemed a little stiff but nothing that was unbearable. The audio was a little low so I had to rewind at some parts to try and catch what was said. Other than that, again it was well done. I really liked the temporary loss of hearing except for the ringing after the bomb went off as well as quite a few of the cuts during the fight sequence.

This movie came together well man and I'll be checking for the stuff you drop in the future. Good job! :beer:

Thanks, Champloo. I liked your film as well. Yeah, I fixed the audio problems for the director's cut of the film. I think it was some of the voiceover that was probably a little low. Yeah, I'm a big action guy, so I love to do it and love to see it. It seems to be getting easier and easier for me to do, but that just makes me want to do more and more and continue to raise the bar. You just have to work everything out in your mind and go with it and make sure you get as many angles as possible. Plus, good and believable sound effects are worth their weight in gold. If you ever need any help on anything like that, holla'.