My new Short film... (First time using real actors!)
 

Well, I entered this short film into an online festival. It was a little rushed in the end due to various reasons so I will be releasing a second edit in the not too distant future. It will be much more polished, tighter edit (this one drags a tad), and another scene will be added that ended up on the cutting room floor due to time limit constraints.

We used a few locations in this one as well.

It is about a bumbling Spy who has to retrieve a briefcase that contains secret documents.

Robin the Spy

Small download, hope you enjoy it. <50MB

PS- I'm not looking for votes, just for opinions and feedback in this thread. Just looking to learn and grow as a filmmaker.

Thanks,

Mike

Are the blown out white intentional?

Yes, but if you have your monitor set improperly (80% Brightness and such...) it will look much worse.

But yes, the whites were blown out a tad on purpose. Just experimenting with CC.

I liked some of the camera work, but felt the lens flares were a little over the top and didnt look all that good. Overall I liked the set up of the shots.

Nice work.

Awesome! I appreciate the feedback and totally agree. The new edit is only going to contain one lens flare effect.

Thanks,

Keep them coming.

Mike

I agree with the lens flare comments, but all-in-all i liked it. cleaver. the only thing that jumped out at me was the audio. the effects are nice be make sure the levels are about even. it was hard to hear at points and too loud at others. also might want to add some ambient noise to the church scene, because i could hear where you were cutting between audio channels. Shots where nice and quality looked great.

Hey, Mike

I enjoyed that one. Tell us a little more about getting "real actors".

Looks like that HV20 is working well for you.

Well, what I mean by real actors is that I didn't get any friends to do this one. I had a local casting call and people who are in theatre and taking acting classes auditioned.

I'm planning a shorter edit of the beginning, and a revamped edit in the middle. I'm also adding an office scene.

The entire thing will also be scored from beginning to end, instead of only in parts.

Hopefully the pacing will work a little better.

I'm loving the HV20! Just starting to get used to it...

Mike

I totally agree! The audio issue will be fixed in the final cut.

Thanks for the input.


Mike.

Looks great, the timing of the shots doesn't feel completely cinematic though but as you said it was rushed in the edit.

Did you use a lens adapter or any extra lenses for the HV20?

Actually, anyone looking at Robin the Spy should use the new much improved edit.

Found HERE

I just used the HV20 while filming, no attachments, adapters, or anything else.
Thanks for the comments!

Mike

The spy
 

Great film Mike, agreed the tech points. What about giving your actors more back story to flesh out the life of the film a bit? What music do they like? Which underpants did they choose to wear today. What did they have for breakfast. Why did they choose that church. What would you really do if a bullet was fired from a pen in a room like that. Remember how insane the French inspector became when he had to cope with Cleusueau (Peter Sellars)? Does this man in the church have an ulcer because of Robin. Does the girl secretly have a crush on the man with the book? on Robin? We need to find out what the stakes are for each character. How important is it to get the brief case. Just how many times has Robin mucked things up. Just how bad is he at his job. I think if you increased the urgency and the complexity, the comedy would be heightened. I'm an actor myself, so I guess I focus on these types of things... is it appropriate in a camera forum? don't get me wrong - I did really like the film - I laughed out loud when the car drove off and left the brief case for Robin: well done!:))

Thanks for that! I hope you took the time to watch the new edit posted above (and in my signature). It flows a bit better.

As for all your tips, I totally agree! Unfortunately, we were under a 6minute time limit (including credits) so I don't know if I could have fit it all in.

I do agree though. Great character advice.

Thanks again!

Mike