Trailer to a movie I'm making

spookymooky

spookymooky

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Let me know what you think, I'm trying to make a movie this summer with almost no budget, but a decent camera. This is the introduction scene in the movie which we're making into a kinda of teaser. I'm the one behind the camera in this scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUQF533xboU
 
looks cool. you should learn about how to frame your shots though. the rule of thirds is your best friend, and the first half of that trailer really needs it.
 
I thought that was rather good. Especially the shot in the mirrors where he takes out the pistol.

My main criticism would be that the lighting makes the hotel look really quite scuzzy and drab, which I assume was not the feeling you were going for. Obviously you can't control how the place is actually lit and I don't know the specifics of the camera but there's probably something you can do to make the scene look more vibrant. This is especially true in the toilets, which look rather dull and brown. Maybe that's what you were aiming for but I got the feeling you would rather have shot in a clean, sparkling, posh-looking bathroom.

I don't know about in the US but here there are motorway service stations spaced along all the big roads. Shops, crap cafeterias, and toilets. The latter always look very nice and posh.
 
It really felt like a home video. Try to keep the camera more stable. I know it's possible, since I've done it. Also use more angles.
 
Sulkdodds said:
I thought that was rather good. Especially the shot in the mirrors where he takes out the pistol.

My main criticism would be that the lighting makes the hotel look really quite scuzzy and drab, which I assume was not the feeling you were going for. Obviously you can't control how the place is actually lit and I don't know the specifics of the camera but there's probably something you can do to make the scene look more vibrant. This is especially true in the toilets, which look rather dull and brown. Maybe that's what you were aiming for but I got the feeling you would rather have shot in a clean, sparkling, posh-looking bathroom.

I don't know about in the US but here there are motorway service stations spaced along all the big roads. Shops, crap cafeterias, and toilets. The latter always look very nice and posh.
Click to expand...

The big problem is of course, the relative cheapness of the camera, and the fact that we were only allowed thirty minutes to get in there, check out the area, film, and get out. The hotel was helpful, but not overly so.

Yeah, the shaky cam is my fault. Not the steadiest guy, and had to navigate and unfamiliar area with chairs and tables everywhere, and steps.
 
neat. That 1st shot was shaky but it was a nice long shot.
 
What do you guys think about the music? It's a Russian folk song, and the movie's about the russian mob, so that seemed to fit to me.
 
Hiding faces = NO NO.

Too much back to the camera.

Film the guy walking for a few seconds, have him walk again and film it from the front.
Different angles man.
---
Also the recoil in that gun was really fake. Have him bring it back down a little faster, not quite as high, little more wrist action.
 
_Z_Ryuken said:
Also the recoil in that gun was really fake. Have him bring it back down a little faster, not quite as high, little more wrist action.
Click to expand...
Ah yes, was going to say this also.

Seriously, there must be something you can do either with the camera itself or with filming at a different time of day to make that hotel look less dingy.
 
I rather enjoyed the music, good pick in my opinion.

Everything that I was going to criticize has already been done. So just give it another go and post it again. :)
 
Sulkdodds said:
Ah yes, was going to say this also.

Seriously, there must be something you can do either with the camera itself or with filming at a different time of day to make that hotel look less dingy.
Click to expand...

I think a big part of that is the Youtube compression. I'm also trying to fix it with levels and color balance, and such in Adobe premiere.
 
No lighting, no sound equipment? Of course it's gonna feel like home video.

Also, amateur movie makers have this infatuation with long shots. Long, drawn out, seemingly endless scenes with little to no cuts. Think about this, you showed the encounter in it's entirety. Was that really so important?

In real movies you see the actor grab his keys from the counter, and then he magically appears in the supermarket. You didn't see him drive there, but your brain makes the connection and the movie is much more fast paced and professional.

Think about that, and good luck.
 
Glo-Boy said:
No lighting, no sound equipment? Of course it's gonna feel like home video.

Also, amateur movie makers have this infatuation with long shots. Long, drawn out, seemingly endless scenes with little to no cuts. Think about this, you showed the encounter in it's entirety. Was that really so important?

In real movies you see the actor grab his keys from the counter, and then he magically appears in the supermarket. You didn't see him drive there, but your brain makes the connection and the movie is much more fast paced and professional.

Think about that, and good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks, and does anyone else have any more good, general tips, for writing, filming, editing, etc? Also, when I make a trailer, should I ressurrect this thread, or make a new one in about a week and a half?
 
Make some changes and add more, then you should make a new post. If this is a short movie, take into account what I said but to even a further degree, and jam as much content as you can into it. Do dramatic jump cuts and don't put too much dialogue into it. Try interesting angles with an array of tight shots and wide shots.

Here are some dos and don'ts I've come up with

Don't do slam zooms (zooming in really fast, in fact, don't zoom much at all)
Don't walk with the camera unless you want the viewer to think they are watching something through a first person POV.
ALWAYS use a tripod or a steadycam. Shaky cam shots are so overused. Saving Private Ryan used it well, and for a purpose. Newer movies that use it are just reaching so people say "whoa, that's so artistic!" But it doesn't work. If you want a good handheld shot, shoot it with a tripod and add an artificial camera shake later.
Don't do too many dissolves when editing.
Edit your music to fit the movie.
Take your time and don't rush.
Spend money on it.
 
To deal with the shakyness, I suggest this: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/
It's the poor man's steadycam. I made one myself, though I haven't gotten a chance to use it much. Based on my experience and the demo videos on the site, it works fairly well (at least better than without it). Not a bad movie though. Like the others said, work on your framing too. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.
 
Glo-Boy said:
Don't do slam zooms (zooming in really fast, in fact, don't zoom much at all)
Don't walk with the camera unless you want the viewer to think they are watching something through a first person POV.
ALWAYS use a tripod or a steadycam. Shaky cam shots are so overused. Saving Private Ryan used it well, and for a purpose. Newer movies that use it are just reaching so people say "whoa, that's so artistic!" But it doesn't work. If you want a good handheld shot, shoot it with a tripod and add an artificial camera shake later.
Don't do too many dissolves when editing.
Edit your music to fit the movie.
Take your time and don't rush.
Spend money on it.
Click to expand...
This is all excellent advice, unless you're making a cheesy kung-fu movie in which case you probably do want to use slam zooms at some point.

However, I quite liked the long shot. Preference, I guess.
 
Tell me if this sounds too cheesy to you, for an almost final shot: Camera starts zoomed in on grunts face as he's talking urgently into telephone (dialougue isn't heard), the camera slowly zooms out until you can see a gun to his head, then the merc holding the gun, then in his other hand a detenator. Are slow zooms as dangerous as slam zooms?
 
spookymooky said:
Tell me if this sounds too cheesy to you, for an almost final shot: Camera starts zoomed in on grunts face as he's talking urgently into telephone (dialougue isn't heard), the camera slowly zooms out until you can see a gun to his head, then the merc holding the gun, then in his other hand a detenator. Are slow zooms as dangerous as slam zooms?
Click to expand...
Actually moving the camera backwards > zoom imo.
 
Is it just me or is the audio out of sync?

Acting was kinda meh. I liked that one shot with the panning around the assassin though. Could use less background noise when they were talking, I hate it when I can hardly hear the speech.

Also felt too slow. Each shot is too long, especially during the car scene before they get out.
 
The audio was out of sync. That happened when I uploaded it, don't know why.

Any idea how to clean up background noise?
 
You should buy those mics they use in the real movies and stuff, where they go in your shirt. I wonder how expensive that is. It would sound really nice though.
 
Yesh. The background noise made a huge difference - especially considering it kept shifting. One shot, the noise would be almost deafeaning, and the next - quiet. Very irritating and incongrious. I also agree about the speed. That music track doesn't really work with the slow, bleak feel of the scene. If you do use that music, I'd say there'd need to be a lot more movement going on. It'd need to be a lot more fluid.
 
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