Thanks for all of the tips.
Here is a new longer teaser BUT the file size is MUCH smaller.

Let me know what you think...
?url??/url? http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0PR2U0GXDFM8I1USMA95ZGZSZE

I need more cow-bell!

First impression, from a file and computer point of view, nice. Downloaded quick, looked good, has a production name. Lost the letterbox which is a shame but understandable.

Second impression, from a filmmaking/dramatic point of view. Really nice work.

The only things I noticed this go around is that for a teaser it starts a bit slow. There is no reason that we can tell for him to get up and check out the bathroom. Some kind of sound would work well while the hero/victim is stil in the bed. Something that is not obvious but enough to get him to check it out (a thud, creaking door, or sound of shower). This adds suspense.

The other thing is the editing when he opens the bathroom door. He pulls away in fear, then you cut and he's opening the door from the other side. It gives the subtle impression that perhaps this is a different door. If you give a second or two longer before the cut, showing him pull away, then his hand go back for the knob anyway would solve that. That or less of a pull-away so he doesn't seem like he's giving up.

Its also not super clear what is going on in the bathroom. Looks like water in the tub but its dark, perhaps he could dramatically slam open the showercurtains, see there is nothing in there, allow light in. Give the audience a moment to take a breath. Then he hears the thing behind him. Relax tension, then scare. We see naked legs for a second, I'm not sure what's going on with that. is that the 'thing?' Is that related to whomever is cleaning up the writing on the floor? For a Teaser it probably doesn't matter but in a longer version this sort of thing should be clear (at least by the end).

Oddly enough I got the impression that perhaps this is a horror/comedy about a Cleaning Lady.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

quote:

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Oddly enough I got the impression that perhaps this is a horror/comedy about a Cleaning Lady.

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I haven't watched the movie yet, but that does sound like a good idea for a horror short :).

not bad, not bad at all... some nice composition, and some nice camera movement.

the shot looking up out of the tub onto the person's face was especially effective i thought.

www.maketradefair.com
www.thehungersite.com
www.oxfam.ca

Thanks guys. It's my very first effort so I appreciate you guys taking it easy on me. There is a ton of footage to go through that I haven't touched yet. Should be fun.

In the end it should be a horror film with a twist.

I have a ton of stuff to learn! I almost wish I could re-shoot it.

I'll definitely be doing some re-shoots. 🙂

I need more cow-bell!

Hey are you using adobe premiere pro 1.5? ... If so then I could maybe give you a few pointers.

Also, if you're interested I know a pretty sweet way of how you can get from 3rd person to 1st person using the camera

And, if you have any ghosts involved I know a couple cool tricks you can do with them...1 using the camera and 1 using adobe

As far as the compressing goes...if you go to 'file-export-adobe media encoder' then you can choose which format you want to put it into...a standard windows media format will compress it greatly however will also reduce the quality a bit...so make sure if you decide to do this to reduce size for people downloading it, then dont make it permanent because you will want the original quality for your final product

i wanna know your tricks for adobe 1.5

www.maketradefair.com
www.thehungersite.com
www.oxfam.ca

First you can make a ghost anywhere as long as you have a steady camera to match the background with...
- record something (room, outside, ect.) just for a background
- record the same thing except this time with a person or object in it
- in adobe put your original background in the timeline
- place the ghost shot in above the original
- under effects window change the opacity to whatever best suits your need and only the added object/person will appear to be ghosted

I'll get back to you on the other one involving the mirror and adobe...

Hellmooch, keep the tips coming!

Also, critique my teaser if you have the time. I could always use more critisism.

Thanks,

I need more cow-bell!

Not bad at all. Your zooms are smooths and everything seems pretty tight.

1. For low angle movement, such as following somone's feet, Your going to want something along the lines of a dolly that you can attache the camera to, but make sure it has large rubbery wheels to absorb most of the shock from bumps in the ground. Try making some modifications to a golf bag roller. You can probally pick one up at a garage sale for around 5 bucks.

2. Never rule out plain old hand holding. The movie "Lost in Translation" had many hand held shots, as they could not lay dolly tracks in the middle of shibuya crossing or tokyo subway stations. Try different ways of holding the camera for the most stability. Since your shooting digitaly you dont have to worry about wasteing film, so experiment. For me, the best way to hand hold the camera is to hold it as if it were a baby and do that signature steadicam duck walk. Dont be affraid to practice.

3. Raid your Garage! (if you still live with your parents) chances are they've packed a way tons of useful things, I fashioned a makeshift jib ( http://www.filmmaking.net/fnetforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2964 ). Theres no telling what use full things you might find. I actually found a nice tripod which I had my father weld to a metal frame with some old bycicle wheels on it and created a dolly. A tad inversitle, but it got the job done.

4. Look at what others have done!

I hope this helps.

Im Zach and im an independant film maker.

OK I'm sorry if you can't follow me and I'll try my best, but if you do then it should turn out pretty wicked. (everyone freaks out at persons/objects "trapped" in a mirror)

Setting up:
- first off make sure you have a good angle where you can see the person looking into the mirror and his reflection from the mirror
- second, make sure you have something to rest the camera on...has to be steady otherwise when you line it up it wont match
- third, make sure the image you want to be "trapped" in the mirror is not overlapping its reflection
- lastly...not a must but useful...you might want the person/object thats being "trapped" to be in front of the actual person standing there so that people can tell its not hiding or behind the camera

Filming:
- first get your camera in place then record it with nobody there
- second record the regular guy doing whatever in front of the mirror (brushing teeth, washing, ect.)
- for the part where he first sees the "trapped" person/object until the end of the scene you will have to record it once without the object (just pretend its there and act frightened) and once with it...try and make the actions/dialogue as close as possible because the reflection of the person and the actual person will be from seperate takes...so if you dont match them then his reflection will be doing something different

Editing:
- take the first shot (clip1) where nothing is in it and set that at the bottom of the timeline (everything else will go above it) and stretch it to however long the scene is (can be done as you progress)
- place the shot where you have the one person standing there doing his thing (clip2) on top of the one just mentioned
- once you get to the part where the "trapped" thing comes up then place your clip of the person pretending to see it (clip3) beside clip2
- place the clip of the person and the "trapped" object together (clip4) on top of clip3
- using 'adobe-effects-keying-garbage matte' cut the actual person/object thats being "trapped" out of the picture leaving just the "trapped" image (because it is on top of other clips you will still have your same background)
- so you should have clip4 on top of clip3 which is beside clip2 and all three of those are above clip1 (if that makes sense)

Thats pretty much the jist of it and it may sound long but once you know what your doing its pretty easy...one of the easiest tricks for horror films

Also I was not able to watch your clip (dont know why) but I'll try again

? Hellmooch stuck in a hottub ?

WOW HellMooch,

you must have years of movie making experience. Maybe someday you can come to my house and help me WRITE and make movies.

Brandon

Nice Hellmooch - Thanks for that! I tried to do it yesterday, and here's the result:

http://chrishurn.com/test.mov
(sorry i made it a bit small, just save it, open it in quicktime and resize it so you can see whats going on properly).

If I added some scary music etc. and worked on a bit it could be better, but here's a basic test. Sound and music make a huge difference, so try and score yourself a composer if you can (haha score). There are heaps out there who are trying to get something to score.

Good luck!

-Chris

Nice work Chris! Very cool effect.

I need more cow-bell!

pretty sweet...I was thinking more along the lines of keeping the original guys reflection in there and adding a different one...but it's really up to you and how it best fits in your movie ?:)?