Trailer for an indie tv pilot at DVinfo.net

Pavan Moondi · January 10th, 2011, 01:00 PM

Hey everyone,

Been working away at this little Canadian indie tv series pilot for the past little while, just thought I'd share the trailer.

You can view it embedded on the website here:
Mars On Mars Productions | Toronto, ON Everyday Is Like Sunday (2011)

The pilot itself will be viewable online in a couple weeks. There are obviously some technical issues mostly resulting from budgetary constraints (and some mistakes on my part, too). If the series ever got picked up, we would naturally re-shoot the pilot but regardless I think it's coming along pretty well.

Thanks.

Ken Diewert · January 12th, 2011, 01:49 PM

Hi Pavan,

I watched the trailer a few times and read through your production blog. I'll watch the pilot when you've got it ready. If you were on the West Coast, I'd offer to help out.

You've assembled a decent ensemble there which IMO can be the toughest part sometime. I do think that the production suffered a little because of the rushed schedule. I just mean that with a little more time, or better location scouting, you could create more aesthetic sets that would be a more visually compelling. I think I get the idea that you are going for a real look, but sometimes it's just shooting angles and backgrounds. Some of those scenes are screaming for a 70-200mm f2.8 to give you some rich bokeh and tighter framing, for the over the shoulder dialogue scenes.

I did notice that the audio was a little weak, likely because of the usb mic. My experience with them isn't that great.

Also, I think that the scene with the girl and the 'rolling stone' guy and the fiancee would be a better scene to open with than the baby burger line.

All that being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the pilot. Good Luck with everything...

Here's a clip with some scenes from a short that I've been shooting with the 5d2. There is a lot of 70-200 f2.8L in there.

Pavan Moondi · January 12th, 2011, 07:04 PM

Hey Ken, thanks for the interest.

Definitely agree with some of your views. It would've been nice if we had more time.

I checked out your video, the 70-200mm looks good there. I thought about renting that lens but because I'm using a T2i, I was worried the crop factor would make it too tight for our cramped locations (on the T2i, the widest focal length, 70mm, would appear to be around 110mm).

We actually ended up using a $1200 shotgun and a zoom H4N, but we had some locations that were located on a busy street so we had a lot of ambient noise. Overall I think the audio isn't too problematic, it could be better, but I don't think it's distractingly bad (it has been edited a bit more in the pilot since the trailer was released).

I thought about the putting the Rolling Stones guy at the front actually, but decided it would be smarter to have a scene featuring the lead character as the opening scene.

How is the short coming? Have you wrapped? I like that glidecam shot around 3:35. looks good.

Ken Diewert · January 12th, 2011, 08:04 PM

Pavan,

It should be finished editing this month. It was originally intended for the Vancouver Island short film Fest, which had a deadline of Dec. 1, but the fest was cancelled this year so we stopped rushing (it's good to have deadlines). The director is editing it now.

Yeah the 70-200 would be a little tight if the set doesn't allow. Especially with a crop sensor. I shot alot at around 135mm. Don't worry the audio is fine, just seemed a little hissy in a couple of shots.

Like I said it looks like you guys have a decent group to work with and that's half the battle sometimes.

I realized that that clip I showed you was only scenes from day 1 of the shoot, so here's another montage with some extra scenes. There's a couple of extra glidecam shots. And some night scenes with a 50mm f1.4. That was brutally tough to keep focus. I recently picked up a crane and a 7" monitor that I wish I would have had for a few shots, but we were shooting on city streets without permits so we were in stealth mode.

Pavan Moondi · January 13th, 2011, 09:37 PM

Looks good, looking forward to seeing the finished product if it ends up online.

I think I actually like the night footage the best. Were you using a follow focus?

Ken Diewert · January 14th, 2011, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pavan Moondi

Looks good, looking forward to seeing the finished product if it ends up online.

I think I actually like the night footage the best. Were you using a follow focus?

No, That was just using the lens focus ring and the camera lcd. I've been looking at follow focus and waiting to hear about the jag35 system that seems pretty good. I just picked up a 7" shoe mount lcd that would have been nice to have. It makes field playback a lot better.

We're getting ready to shoot another one soon. Going to try a comedy...

Pavan Moondi · January 23rd, 2011, 10:59 PM

Well the pilot is now available to view at:

EverydayIsLikeSunday.tv Everyday Is Like Sunday (2011)

Be sure to enable HD, it may be disabled by default.

If you take the time to watch it all, thanks!

Ken Diewert · January 24th, 2011, 12:51 AM

Hey Pavan,

Congrats on getting the first episode done.

I just watched it, and really liked it. I think that if you guys can stick with it, that you might have something there.

I think that Marks character was funnier in the long form than in the trailer because his humour is wry and the deadpan delivery takes a bit more time than the trailer can convey. For instance, the A&W joke played much funnier in the context of the long form than the trailer, same with the v-neck joke. The character of Flora is really pretty good and you can see she is at ease in front of the cam.

A couple of things for you as the DP that may help for the next episode. Using the dslr to shoot creates some focus issues, most were ok. But the scene with Mark and Jason in the bar was better from the front angle where they were both nearly equidistant from the lens, meaning they were both in focus at the same time. The angle where jason is in the foreground causes a bit of confusion (and a little harsh lighting) because he is a little soft. Normally you would use this for a shot where the subject in the foreground has their back to the camera (like the scene with Flora and Damian).

All in all though, I think it was very good, and look forward to the next episode.

Keep at it and I wish you all the best.

Pavan Moondi · January 24th, 2011, 09:43 AM

Great, glad you liked it, Ken.

Thanks for the DP advice- if there was one hat I was least comfortable wearing it was the DP hat, since I still have a lot to learn there. Agreed on that shot you mention there. When I drew it up beforehand it seemed fine to me, but when I looked at the footage after filming completed it definitely felt a little off to me. I guess if I had used a wider lens or had my aperture closed down a bit, I could've gotten away with that angle and mostly avoided the focus issue right?

Ken Diewert · January 24th, 2011, 12:18 PM

Pavan,

I'm not into popular TV too much, but I'd be interested to see if that particular two-shot is used much. It would have helped if the subjects were closer together. And it looks like you needed all the aperture that you could get on that shot. Shallow DOF is a double edged sword to be sure. In reality the style of filming that you are doing (run and gun, quick set-ups) would be better suited to a traditional video camera - then you'd also have the deeper DOF. But you will learn to get the best out of the camera if you stick with it and work at it.

For future reference, here is a cool DOF calculator that someone else posted in another forum. It doesn't list the 550d but the 7d is probably close.

Online Depth of Field Calculator

This gives you a heads up when planning and blocking out shots.

January 10th, 2011, 01:00 PM	#1
Pavan Moondi New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 11	Trailer for an indie tv pilot Hey everyone, Been working away at this little Canadian indie tv series pilot for the past little while, just thought I'd share the trailer. You can view it embedded on the website here: Mars On Mars Productions \| Toronto, ON Everyday Is Like Sunday (2011) The pilot itself will be viewable online in a couple weeks. There are obviously some technical issues mostly resulting from budgetary constraints (and some mistakes on my part, too). If the series ever got picked up, we would naturally re-shoot the pilot but regardless I think it's coming along pretty well. Thanks.

January 12th, 2011, 01:49 PM	#2
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Hi Pavan, I watched the trailer a few times and read through your production blog. I'll watch the pilot when you've got it ready. If you were on the West Coast, I'd offer to help out. You've assembled a decent ensemble there which IMO can be the toughest part sometime. I do think that the production suffered a little because of the rushed schedule. I just mean that with a little more time, or better location scouting, you could create more aesthetic sets that would be a more visually compelling. I think I get the idea that you are going for a real look, but sometimes it's just shooting angles and backgrounds. Some of those scenes are screaming for a 70-200mm f2.8 to give you some rich bokeh and tighter framing, for the over the shoulder dialogue scenes. I did notice that the audio was a little weak, likely because of the usb mic. My experience with them isn't that great. Also, I think that the scene with the girl and the 'rolling stone' guy and the fiancee would be a better scene to open with than the baby burger line. All that being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the pilot. Good Luck with everything... Here's a clip with some scenes from a short that I've been shooting with the 5d2. There is a lot of 70-200 f2.8L in there. BfT - Scenes from Day 1 and 2 on Vimeo __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

January 12th, 2011, 08:04 PM	#4
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Pavan, It should be finished editing this month. It was originally intended for the Vancouver Island short film Fest, which had a deadline of Dec. 1, but the fest was cancelled this year so we stopped rushing (it's good to have deadlines). The director is editing it now. Yeah the 70-200 would be a little tight if the set doesn't allow. Especially with a crop sensor. I shot alot at around 135mm. Don't worry the audio is fine, just seemed a little hissy in a couple of shots. Like I said it looks like you guys have a decent group to work with and that's half the battle sometimes. I realized that that clip I showed you was only scenes from day 1 of the shoot, so here's another montage with some extra scenes. There's a couple of extra glidecam shots. And some night scenes with a 50mm f1.4. That was brutally tough to keep focus. I recently picked up a crane and a 7" monitor that I wish I would have had for a few shots, but we were shooting on city streets without permits so we were in stealth mode. Scenes for 'The Way we Mend' on Vimeo __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

January 24th, 2011, 12:51 AM	#8
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Hey Pavan, Congrats on getting the first episode done. I just watched it, and really liked it. I think that if you guys can stick with it, that you might have something there. I think that Marks character was funnier in the long form than in the trailer because his humour is wry and the deadpan delivery takes a bit more time than the trailer can convey. For instance, the A&W joke played much funnier in the context of the long form than the trailer, same with the v-neck joke. The character of Flora is really pretty good and you can see she is at ease in front of the cam. A couple of things for you as the DP that may help for the next episode. Using the dslr to shoot creates some focus issues, most were ok. But the scene with Mark and Jason in the bar was better from the front angle where they were both nearly equidistant from the lens, meaning they were both in focus at the same time. The angle where jason is in the foreground causes a bit of confusion (and a little harsh lighting) because he is a little soft. Normally you would use this for a shot where the subject in the foreground has their back to the camera (like the scene with Flora and Damian). All in all though, I think it was very good, and look forward to the next episode. Keep at it and I wish you all the best. __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

January 24th, 2011, 12:18 PM	#10
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Pavan, I'm not into popular TV too much, but I'd be interested to see if that particular two-shot is used much. It would have helped if the subjects were closer together. And it looks like you needed all the aperture that you could get on that shot. Shallow DOF is a double edged sword to be sure. In reality the style of filming that you are doing (run and gun, quick set-ups) would be better suited to a traditional video camera - then you'd also have the deeper DOF. But you will learn to get the best out of the camera if you stick with it and work at it. For future reference, here is a cool DOF calculator that someone else posted in another forum. It doesn't list the 550d but the 7d is probably close. Online Depth of Field Calculator This gives you a heads up when planning and blocking out shots. __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

January 12th, 2011, 07:04 PM	#3
Pavan Moondi New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 11	Hey Ken, thanks for the interest. Definitely agree with some of your views. It would've been nice if we had more time. I checked out your video, the 70-200mm looks good there. I thought about renting that lens but because I'm using a T2i, I was worried the crop factor would make it too tight for our cramped locations (on the T2i, the widest focal length, 70mm, would appear to be around 110mm). We actually ended up using a $1200 shotgun and a zoom H4N, but we had some locations that were located on a busy street so we had a lot of ambient noise. Overall I think the audio isn't too problematic, it could be better, but I don't think it's distractingly bad (it has been edited a bit more in the pilot since the trailer was released). I thought about the putting the Rolling Stones guy at the front actually, but decided it would be smarter to have a scene featuring the lead character as the opening scene. How is the short coming? Have you wrapped? I like that glidecam shot around 3:35. looks good.

January 13th, 2011, 09:37 PM	#5
Pavan Moondi New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 11	Looks good, looking forward to seeing the finished product if it ends up online. I think I actually like the night footage the best. Were you using a follow focus?

January 23rd, 2011, 10:59 PM	#7
Pavan Moondi New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 11	Well the pilot is now available to view at: EverydayIsLikeSunday.tv Everyday Is Like Sunday (2011) Be sure to enable HD, it may be disabled by default. If you take the time to watch it all, thanks!

January 24th, 2011, 09:43 AM	#9
Pavan Moondi New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 11	Great, glad you liked it, Ken. Thanks for the DP advice- if there was one hat I was least comfortable wearing it was the DP hat, since I still have a lot to learn there. Agreed on that shot you mention there. When I drew it up beforehand it seemed fine to me, but when I looked at the footage after filming completed it definitely felt a little off to me. I guess if I had used a wider lens or had my aperture closed down a bit, I could've gotten away with that angle and mostly avoided the focus issue right?