House of Dead

Adam Reuter · March 9th, 2007, 02:49 AM

http://rarshow.com/houseofdead.wmv

I completed this movie last year (the anniversary of our first production is actually coming up real soon, come to think of it.) It was shot mostly with house lights...only production lights were used for the computer scene and outdoor night shots. White balance was set to 5600K preset to get that orange look.

Feedback is definitely appreciated, as I'll be shooting another movie sometime later this year.

Liam Hall · March 9th, 2007, 07:06 AM

Adam, I don't mean to be harsh, please take these comments constructively.

For my money this film is let down, like so many short films, by acting so wooden you could eat your dinner off it and a script weaker than a root beer at an AA meeting. There's too much exposition, far, far too much. My suggestion would be to cut it tighter. It's twice as long as it needs to be to tell this story.

You've shot some nice angles at times but the lighting is too one-dimensional, it looks flat and uninteresting. It's all very well going for an orange look, but you still need a degree of separation between foreground and background.

Finally, when you're shooting on a micro-budget you've got to look after the details - the shot of the computer screen had spelling and grammatical mistakes.

Again, please take this constructively. I learn something on every job.

Good luck with your next film.

Liam.

Jaadgy Akanni · March 9th, 2007, 08:50 AM

Adam, Liam's actually being nice. I agree with him totally. The acting is twice as bad and robotic as that in Soap Operas. I always blame bad acting performances on bad directing. The dialogue should've been revised 4 times over. There are some interesting shots though-nicely captured angles. Something about the whole piece reminded me of "Dark Shadows" but without the excitement. Adam, just the fact that you're out there making things happen deserves KUDOS from us to you. Keep up the effort 'cause the more often you do it, the better you'll get until you reach that point of self assurance where you won't need outside advice in order to realize where things can be improved.

Dylan Couper · March 9th, 2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaadgy Akanni

Adam, Liam's actually being nice. I agree with him totally. The acting is twice as bad and robotic as that in Soap Operas. I always blame bad acting performances on bad directing. The dialogue should've been revised 4 times over. There are some interesting shots though-nicely captured angles. Something about the whole piece reminded me of "Dark Shadows" but without the excitement. Adam, just the fact that you're out there making things happen deserves KUDOS from us to you. Keep up the effort 'cause the more often you do it, the better you'll get until you reach that point of self assurance where you won't need outside advice in order to realize where things can be improved.

Yeah...

But it's still 4x better than the Uwe Boll film of the same name!

Brian Luce · March 9th, 2007, 02:00 PM

maybe it's my internet connection but was gettiing pixelated images.

Acting wasn't so hot. esp the mom.

I thought photography was fine mostly though the suffocating scenes needed more heat and the photography could've assisted with that I think.

I didn't like the edit though. Seemed disjointed. Could've flowed better.

The music was often intrusive.

Brian Duke · March 10th, 2007, 01:13 AM

Please also take my comments as constructive criticism. I am also a filmmaker and I know it’s difficult to hear negative comments, but in the end it only makes you stronger.

My main issue, besides the acting was the music. It’s too much. Didn't fit the images. I don't subscribe to the theory that if you have "scary music" you'll have a scary movie. It almost becomes comedic rather than what the filmmaker intended.

I wanted to turn it off after a few minutes actually. It needs tighter editing. It could be 1/2 the length.

It was bascially a short "6th Sense." Next time try to come up with a new concept or do it in a completely different way.

Keep at it though. Never let your first project dictate your future if this is what you want to do.

Tyson Perkins · March 10th, 2007, 10:22 PM

I think

- over-exaggerated music
- un-inspired dialogue - (this is my angels room - i left it exactly the way it was when she died - this is where i first heard the noises)
- un-inspired actors (especially the mother - terrible)
- storyline needs more originality
- editing is slow and similarly uninspiring

------------

Do not worry though - great filmmaking is almost always achieved through practice.

Ken Hodson · March 10th, 2007, 10:58 PM

I thought it was good "B" grade movie making. The mother was hilarious. Could it be tighter? Of course it could, but technically it was quite sound considering what the budget probably was. I liked the 5600K setting as it got you further away from that video look.
Good luck in your future projects.

Stephen L. Noe · March 10th, 2007, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylan Couper

Yeah...

But it's still 4x better than the Uwe Boll film of the same name!

Chuckle.... That's rich.

Adam Reuter · March 20th, 2007, 09:20 PM

Thank you all for your feedback. Hearing ways that I can improve on the next movie I shoot helps me a lot! I don't take any of your comments harshly...I know you're just trying to help me out so again, thanks for that.

March 9th, 2007, 02:49 AM	#1
Adam Reuter Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Posts: 234	House of Dead - 13:00 Short http://rarshow.com/houseofdead.wmv I completed this movie last year (the anniversary of our first production is actually coming up real soon, come to think of it.) It was shot mostly with house lights...only production lights were used for the computer scene and outdoor night shots. White balance was set to 5600K preset to get that orange look. Feedback is definitely appreciated, as I'll be shooting another movie sometime later this year.

March 9th, 2007, 07:06 AM	#2
Liam Hall Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London, England Posts: 969	Adam, I don't mean to be harsh, please take these comments constructively. For my money this film is let down, like so many short films, by acting so wooden you could eat your dinner off it and a script weaker than a root beer at an AA meeting. There's too much exposition, far, far too much. My suggestion would be to cut it tighter. It's twice as long as it needs to be to tell this story. You've shot some nice angles at times but the lighting is too one-dimensional, it looks flat and uninteresting. It's all very well going for an orange look, but you still need a degree of separation between foreground and background. Finally, when you're shooting on a micro-budget you've got to look after the details - the shot of the computer screen had spelling and grammatical mistakes. Again, please take this constructively. I learn something on every job. Good luck with your next film. Liam. __________________ Writer-Director-DOP www.liamhall.net

March 9th, 2007, 08:50 AM	#3
Jaadgy Akanni Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: new york city Posts: 346	Adam, Liam's actually being nice. I agree with him totally. The acting is twice as bad and robotic as that in Soap Operas. I always blame bad acting performances on bad directing. The dialogue should've been revised 4 times over. There are some interesting shots though-nicely captured angles. Something about the whole piece reminded me of "Dark Shadows" but without the excitement. Adam, just the fact that you're out there making things happen deserves KUDOS from us to you. Keep up the effort 'cause the more often you do it, the better you'll get until you reach that point of self assurance where you won't need outside advice in order to realize where things can be improved. __________________ I will be KING!

March 10th, 2007, 01:13 AM	#6
Brian Duke Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hollywood, California Posts: 899	Please also take my comments as constructive criticism. I am also a filmmaker and I know it’s difficult to hear negative comments, but in the end it only makes you stronger. My main issue, besides the acting was the music. It’s too much. Didn't fit the images. I don't subscribe to the theory that if you have "scary music" you'll have a scary movie. It almost becomes comedic rather than what the filmmaker intended. I wanted to turn it off after a few minutes actually. It needs tighter editing. It could be 1/2 the length. It was bascially a short "6th Sense." Next time try to come up with a new concept or do it in a completely different way. Keep at it though. Never let your first project dictate your future if this is what you want to do. __________________ Visit me and my work at www.artofduke.com

March 10th, 2007, 10:58 PM	#8
Ken Hodson Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 1,315	I thought it was good "B" grade movie making. The mother was hilarious. Could it be tighter? Of course it could, but technically it was quite sound considering what the budget probably was. I liked the 5600K setting as it got you further away from that video look. Good luck in your future projects. __________________ Damnit Jim, I'm a film maker not a sysytems tech.

March 9th, 2007, 02:00 PM	#5
Brian Luce Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,290	maybe it's my internet connection but was gettiing pixelated images. Acting wasn't so hot. esp the mom. I thought photography was fine mostly though the suffocating scenes needed more heat and the photography could've assisted with that I think. I didn't like the edit though. Seemed disjointed. Could've flowed better. The music was often intrusive.

March 10th, 2007, 10:22 PM	#7
Tyson Perkins Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: sydney, australia Posts: 221	I think - over-exaggerated music - un-inspired dialogue - (this is my angels room - i left it exactly the way it was when she died - this is where i first heard the noises) - un-inspired actors (especially the mother - terrible) - storyline needs more originality - editing is slow and similarly uninspiring ------------ Do not worry though - great filmmaking is almost always achieved through practice.

March 20th, 2007, 09:20 PM	#10
Adam Reuter Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Posts: 234	Thank you all for your feedback. Hearing ways that I can improve on the next movie I shoot helps me a lot! I don't take any of your comments harshly...I know you're just trying to help me out so again, thanks for that.