New Short Film - "Sanctuary"

[Colin Worley]

Hey guys...

-Administrators- Please don't delete this post...

This is Colin Worley... I remember someone telling me that they wanted to see what I can do with a 'Ford Pinto', or in other words, my cheap equipment and make a short film that will show some of my work. Well, my post got deleted, so I'm making a new thread.

I have finally finished my video... "Sanctuary".

Sanctuary is a dramatic short film about a young teenager struggling with the recent death of his brother. Through his hard times, he turns to the only place he can, his "Sanctuary", which is his piano.

Sorry for the bad compression, but this is a YouTube version of the film... enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK-Z2qNm5_w


Thanks, Colin Worley

[Colin Worley]

Hey, sorry for double posting, but did anyone check it out yet?

[Adam Bray]

It probably got moved to the correct section under "post your work". This is the XL2 section.

[Mat Thompson]

Well I can't find a 'moved' thread so I'll leave my reaction hear. Firstly and fore mostly a great piece of work especially for your age and don't take that the wrong way please. You tell a simple story very well, at a nice pace and with poignant setting and themes.

I wasn't hot on the vignetting with the use soft focus, slow mo and cutting style I don't think it was needed. I also found I wanted to know who exactly the guy the main character was mourning was....a brother a friend....a gay relationship !!!...this would have made the piece emotionally connect better. You also kind of knew the guy was probably mourning even before you are 'told' maybe only hinting until the moment you want may have had more impact. anyway...hope this helps.

On the whole a great piece of work...well done.

How long did you take to complete it? What equipment did you use?

[Alan James]

I like the structuring of the it but not necessarily the look but I guess it’s the look you were going for. Another thing that no one does but should be done is that when you film slow motion stuff you should switch it to 60i mode rather then frame blending 30p. In 60 I mode the camera actually captures 60 frames per second but they are half frames. In a program like after effects you can separate the fields and create real 60p footage that looks better then any time stretching technique that I have seen yet. Consider that in the future, but for now I think ur video was great. Also nice key hole effect by the way. I assume it was a digital effect as was the blooming white areas.

[Colin Worley]

Thank you very much for your response.... I really appreciate it. The character had recently lost his brother, whom he was very close with. During these hard times after he died, he was very depressed and didn't know the meaning to life. He turned to his 'Sanctuary', his piano to relieve his pain and come closer to his brother....

Notice that the film becomes more B&W when he closes the piano, but in one of the later scenes, he opens it and the film becomes very vibrant. Things as small as these were added to help the mood of the film....

The vignette and the softness were added to bring out more emotion in the film...

And thanks for the tip Alan, I'll keep that in mind next time...

And yeah, I shouldn't have told you guys about the death... but there are always some people that don't understand any artistic or experimental films...

So thanks again for the replies... I appreciate them

~Colin Worley

[Scott Di Lalla]

good job. It wasn't clear in your post, but it seems like you weren't using an xl2? Just curious what camera and "ford pinto" equipment you've actually used?

[Colin Worley]

Thanks Scott... Okay, okay.. I'll tell you the equipment I used.

First of all, I DIDN'T USE THE XL2 ( gasp... lol)... I didn't even use a GL2 like I said I did on Youtube.

The camera I filmed Sanctuary on was a JVC camcorder I bought a few years ago for $300.. you can now find it on ebay for under $100... lol

This is the camera I used:
http://www.3dnews.ru/documents/8134/camera.jpg

Next, the tripod I used was a cheap $30 tripod that you can now buy for $10...

Tripod:
http://www.fotomagazin.ru/images/Vivitar-VPT-1200.jpg

Lastly, you might be wondering what kind of lighting I used.. well, like all my other equipment, it too is really cheap. $50 work lights at Home Depot.. lol

Lights:
http://www.dansdata.com/images/photo...glights560.jpg

So what made my film good? Maybe a good screenplay and nice actors... or, it could be the color correcting I did on the film in After Effects 7 and Premiere Pro.

Well, you asked what equipment, so I showed you... lol...

I will load up some before and after pictures of the color correcting soon, so watch for that!!

Talk soon,

Colin Worley

[Patrick Moreau]

I think you had some good angles and the editing was one of its strong points, but I really wasn't impressed by the quality of the video itself or the camera moves. I found it looked a little flat, which makes sense considering your equipment, and I thought the filters looked a little forced. I'm mor einto weddings over shorts though, so who knows....

[Colin Worley]

Originally Posted by Patrick Moreau

I think you had some good angles and the editing was one of its strong points, but I really wasn't impressed by the quality of the video itself or the camera moves. I found it looked a little flat, which makes sense considering your equipment, and I thought the filters looked a little forced. I'm mor einto weddings over shorts though, so who knows....

Yeah, like I said before, the quality is really bad because I had to compress it a lot.. from 4 gigs to 90 mbs.. and I had to lower the quality of the film. Plus when you add it to Youtube, that also takes out a lot of quality...

So besides that, what did you think of the film? What about the story?

ALSO, GUYS IF YOU LIKED THE FILM, PLEASE VOTE ON IT ON YOUTUBE... I'm trying to get a good rating on it, so more people will want to watch it... I'm trying to get my work out there, and show everyone what I can do. So if you liked it, please rate on it...

Thanks,
Colin Worley

[Jonas Scott]

Don't forget that writing , (even shorts) require motivation. An unmotivated scene asking us to be emotional can lead to sentimentality, a big no no. I felt the concept was great, but muddledby an overwhelming score and little insight into the main character. At the heart of every story is character. I would have liked to see some dialogue!
Never play moonlight sonata in a film--been done far too many times. But overall, I enjoyed watching it. And kudos to you for bringing that much quality out of something worth $100. I paid a $100 dollars for parking tickets last week. I think we both know who had the better investment.

[Adam Bray]

Originally Posted by Colin Worley

So what made my film good? Maybe a good screenplay and nice actors... or, it could be the color correcting I did on the film in After Effects 7 and Premiere Pro.


Colin Worley

Why do you have $1200 worth of software, but only $150 worth of equipment?

[Jimmy McKenzie]

Nice short. Simple vibe. Conflict is a little late introducing itself. Perhaps the vignetting might be saved for only the "back in time" retrospective shots. Build a cheap crane. Carefully plan and execute your dips to black when needed ... don't just toss 'em in when the mood seems right; they are as important as the right cross-fade and cut.

Overall, very good.

And don't reply to me laughing out loud ... I hate messenger shortformacronyms.

Cheers!

[Jonas Scott]

"Another thing that no one does but should be done is that when you film slow motion stuff you should switch it to 60i mode rather then frame blending 30p. In 60 I mode the camera actually captures 60 frames per second but they are half frames. In a program like after effects you can separate the fields and create real 60p footage that looks better then any time stretching technique that I have seen yet"

Alan, can you tell me a little bit more about this? I'm always a little frustrated about the look of slow motion on video. I have after effects but use it very seldom--how exactly do you 'separate the fields' ?

[Colin Worley]

Originally Posted by Jonas Scott

Don't forget that writing , (even shorts) require motivation. An unmotivated scene asking us to be emotional can lead to sentimentality, a big no no. I felt the concept was great, but muddledby an overwhelming score and little insight into the main character. At the heart of every story is character. I would have liked to see some dialogue!
Never play moonlight sonata in a film--been done far too many times. But overall, I enjoyed watching it. And kudos to you for bringing that much quality out of something worth $100. I paid a $100 dollars for parking tickets last week. I think we both know who had the better investment.

Thanks for the tips Jonas.. I'll keep them in mind when writing my latest film. And thanks for watching, and replying on the my movie.. I appreciate it!

Colin Worley