A short film...my first one

[Drummer Karl]

Hey friends!
For christmas I got a Samsung NV24 HD camera. I`ve always wanted to make my own little "compositions" but my parent`s camera wasn`t made for that.

I love to take photos and make movies as I think that these are special ways to keep a moment, an expression, a situation.
Of course I`d rather sit behind my kit, practicing...still it`s wonderful to play with perspectives, sounds, atmospheres and moods.

I`ve recorded the clips in 1280x720p at 30 fps...unfortunately through editing the video with Adobe After Effects and Movie Maker there was a big quality loss and the original (very nice looking) 16:9 wide screen format was lost somewhere between encoding and Movie Maker. :-)

Well, as for the short film itself...it`s kind of horror but the psychological key is that you have to imagine. Just 2 minutes, I plan to do more after I got an SD-card.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOg9m...el_page&fmt=18

Criticism/tips are very welcome!

Best wishes and merry christmas...

Karl

[eddiehimself]

Well that's a dissapointment about the software i guess after that camera your gonna have to get some expensive movie making software too :p nah i'm sure you'll find something. You might have exported it in the wrong format on movie maker. I think it can only handle like 640x480 anyway. Also it looked as if it was still in 16:9 to me.

As for the film itself, pretty creepy. I reckon you should have perhaps put a bit of blood on those tools or something then maybe some drilling sounds. But that's just me.

[king fail]

Karl that was fantastic!

You certainly have a talent for this, I loved the sound, lighting, and camera angles, you created a very chilling atmosphere right from the start.

As for ideas or constructive criticism, here's my input for a potential creepy scene;
My knowledge as a film maker equates to basically nothing, but as a viewer, I think It would be quite cool to have a creepy shot of one of the hallways, with some of that eerie music rising in volume slowly, from very soft to very loud. I think about halfway through the crescendo, the screen should start flickering every few seconds, with a close up of one of those nasty looking tools for just one or two frames.

I don't know how well I conveyed my idea, but hey, whatever :)
I'm looking forward to more!

[That Guy]

It was great for your first buddy. Good job.

When trying to force pyschological distress through film it can be hard to convey due to 2 reasons. #1- Ambient Noise Levels (you did great) #2- Situational Awareness (you could have used just a bit more). In order to get your audience to start thinking/wondering you need to give them something to think/wonder about. The shots were really good, the only thing I would suggest is forcing your audience to know that there is uncertainty within a 360 degree radius and from a distance as well.

Some angular wide shots and slow sweeping motions with the camera will go a long way. Your audience needs to comprehend that thier personal space and security could be thretened from any direction. If your audience comprehends that they are all alone in a creepy and unfamiliar environment they will start thinking and thier mental distress should automatically trigger. That is when the close up & still shots become effective. If your audience knows that there is uncertainty all around and at a distance the close up shots will stimulate more mental distress because now they are being forced to see something up close though they know the uncertainty more than likely will be comming from the distance and they will always be waiting for that wideshot and sweeping motion to let them know its safe out there. Finding the balance between the two is where the magic lies and it comes with trial and error. You need to continually stimulate your audiences distress in order to maintain it.

If your looking for a constant rise in distress levels there are other avenues one can use as well.

You really did a great job. 8.5 out of 10 for creativity and effective use of the camera and music.

Thats was pretty creepy, Did you add the music afterwards. Sorry I know squat about these things but it is amazing how much just the music can creep you out because nothing else was really creepy by itself. Good job.

[Drummer Karl]

Thanks buddies! I really appreciate your honest opinions and your tips!!!
Yes, if I watch the footage again and again I can just agree that I should have thought about more psychological effects, other cuts.

I`ll experiment...

nhzoso: Yes, I added the sounds after video editing and cutting. Generally it`s a low "creepy" pad with a few light crescendos. Additionally I threw in some strings to build tension, this shout-like sound and the whistling person washing his/her hands.

More on the way, these days I`m getting outside...not just gigging, also filming.







Karl

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by Drummer Karl

More on the way, these days I`m getting outside...not just gigging, also filming.

I can't wait.

202020202020

[nate]

why did you shoot 30fps?

you should (if you want and if you can) 24fps (this is what film shoots) - and shoot progressive of you can, this will also add to giving your footage an overall filmic look. Also try playing with the shutter which will alter the depth of field a lot, a small depth of field can be amazing.

just a few tiny tips that help me with my day job (TV Director)

i can tell you come from a stills background, i don't, i'm good with moving image, not so good with stills...

good work, good composition, more story, for me story is everything - it can be abstract - but has to be there....or it needs to look freaking amazing. IMO..really good work for such a small camera

make more....

[ddamm27913]

I like where you were going with teh grading but it seemed a little bit over-saturated.
was there an earthquake going on the entire time you were shooting?

and when you did that swift zoom im pretty sure oyu had autofocus on your camera. thats definitely a no no.

it seems like you get your roots from photography, so learn more about editing. your transitions were jumpy and didnt make sense.

after effects is great! check out www.videocopilot.net for invaluable tutorials

if you can, "commandeer" yourself a copy of adobe premiere (its very easy to do) so you can lose movie maker's bs

hopefully you get something from this.
also, youre white appeared to be correct most of the time, but make sure you ALWAYS white balance when you change lighting.

[Drummer Karl]

Wow, thanks sooo much nate and ddamm! These are great great tips which I didn`t know or wasn`t sure about.
Great that you mention the framerate nate. I wasn`t sure about this especially, so I`ll involve that into my next little project. It`s right that I`m from photography, I prefer to work with stills indeed. Even when filming a dialogue I try to work with some stills (other images that reveal more about the plot, atmosphere etc.) while someone is talking.

Some questions: Can I change the framerate to 24 with Adobe AE? Also, what`s the difference between 24 and 23.97...... fps? I`ve seen that in AE I think. There`s also 29.97, what`s the difference, does it have an effect?
And how should I zoom in and out?

Thanks for your help!!

Karl

[nate]

Originally Posted by Drummer Karl

Great that you mention the framerate nate. I wasn`t sure about this especially, so I`ll involve that into my next little project.

Some questions: Can I change the framerate to 24 with Adobe AE? Also, what`s the difference between 24 and 23.97...... fps? I`ve seen that in AE I think. There`s also 29.97, what`s the difference, does it have an effect?
And how should I zoom in and out?

Karl

hey....i'm don't think you can change the framerate once you've shot it.... i think 23.97 is an NTSC frame rate - but you Germans use PAL (i do too, and you guys invented it...) Film is 24fps everywhere. I[ve found 24p i've found looks the best, but it also depends on the camera....

i'm guessing 29.97 is NTSC trying to do 30fps...

make sure when you edit the project is set to PAL settings not NTSC - that why your getting these odd frame rates..

zooming...hmmmm...i bet it's really tricky on such a small camera, and i think zooms' can be a bit tacky, but everything has it's place...it depends what your making.

a good method to use (if you camera allows this) is to compose the shot, the wide 1st - the zoom in to your close up - focus the camera on this point, then zoom back out to the wide. hit rec. then when shooting - you zoom in you'll be in focus....

a nice trick in editing, if you can't shot progressive is to remove a field (every fame has 2 fields) to give it that look....but it really comes down to what you like...so play about have fun..

[eddiehimself]

Originally Posted by nate

hey....i'm don't think you can change the framerate once you've shot it.... i think 23.97 is an NTSC frame rate - but you Germans use PAL (i do too, and you guys invented it...) Film is 24fps everywhere. I[ve found 24p i've found looks the best, but it also depends on the camera....

i'm guessing 29.97 is NTSC trying to do 30fps...

The PAL i think uses 24fps and it's the same format used in the UK too. The North American NTSC system is 30 or 29.97 fps. The reason they're different is because American electricity fluctuates direction at a higher frequency than European power so TVs have different refresh rates (although PC monitors don't) and therefore a different frame rate is required so that it doesn't look ridiculous.

[nate]

Originally Posted by eddiehimself

The PAL i think uses 24fps and it's the same format used in the UK too. The North American NTSC system is 30 or 29.97 fps. The reason they're different is because American electricity fluctuates direction at a higher frequency than European power so TVs have different refresh rates (although PC monitors don't) and therefore a different frame rate is required so that it doesn't look ridiculous.

yup - your right....there's SECAM too....ahhhh the french...



but PAL is 25fps generally, or it was when i edited it for 10 odd years....it's getting confusing now though...but that's the general idea me thinks....some broadcasters wont take anything shot progressive, so it's always best to check.

film is shot at lots of speeds, but as a rule of thumb 24 is the standard, for normal action. Film is very different from digital, or ande tape. it's pretty. still better than any Red Cam or HD cam i think..

PAL also looks nicer than NTSC too...(had to put that in...)

[Drumsword]

Thats some good stuff man, I can't wait to see some of your outdoor shots. I'd also like to see some footage of you and your band playing. Maybe a practice or something, I've heard you play and am a big fan, like to see some vids of you guys.

[volume_3]

Really nice, i liked it.
I do photography and im almost jealous of that first shot, down the stairs, its really great.
Nice work!