They are good little shorts to start on. But I think you better
switched the way on how you shot them. In other words, I
thought the fright movie would have been way more effective
with the closeups that the bowler was using.

A tip: Also you were using copyrighted music, right? That can
be a dangerous road to go down. Just to remind you.

Thanks Rob. Tell me a little more about your suggestion. Are you thinking of having close-up of people running where instead of their faces only their feet show or are you thinking more of getting rid of the shot where people come running from behind the building? As I mentioned, I am new to this but in the top 2 percentile when it comes to being dedicated to pursuing filmmaking and any suggestions, especially from established industry insiders such as yourself are VERY appreciated.

Music wise, I believe all clips came from either Flashkit.com or freeplaymusic.com , but you are right as far as that goes. I will eventually produce my own soundtracks as stealing from other artists is not my cup of tea.

I wouldn't say industry insider, lol, I'm just as outside as you are!
But, I'm telling you what I'm seeing. Normally movies that try to
be a bit scary don't reveal too much in the beginning. You can
use a closeup of just the head as it turns to look to something
and you perhaps see the eyes widen and start screaming. Also
more closeups can help give a claustrafobic feel and heighten
to what is coming. It looked like you primarely wanted to go down
the funny road, but that can pay of more if you "scare" people
a bit first.

The group coming running around the corner would have been
perfect after a bit of introduction. A camera inside the group or
very close as it runs buy would have probably made some nice
cut-a-ways etc.

But, expermenting will definitely help to see what you like or
don't. Perhaps my suggestions wouldn't look too good in your
eyes, that's possible. We all like different movies!

If you want you can check out a little short from me here

So you are the dead agent, huh? I have been following the LadyX series and actually have been writting a LadyX script based on an idea I have. I think Ken Tanaka would be my regional producer, right?
Also, thanks for more suggestions regarding my work, I thought about what you said and it makes perfect sense. The whole idea of creating suspense and not quite revealing the humurous nature until after everyone is "scared" would have added to the aura of the fright movie. I plan on doing a sequal for next Holloween and will follow your advice.

Unfortunately the Lady X series is closed for entering as we
our now in our Awards run. There might be coming something
later in the year though, so keep an eye out on the site (or
better yet subscribe to our newsletter) and announcements
here.

Yeah, I seem to be pretty dead! <g>

Bummer, oh well, I think I will continue with the scripts anyways. I think it's a fun project over all and my small group of actors is always itching to do something for the camera.
Off topic here, but I noticed that like myself, you also work as a computer programmer. Just an observation.

OK, thanks again for your tips.

Mini Truck Racing Promo
 

Like everyone here I strive to improve my skills as a film maker / video producer. So I thought I would share my work to see what kind of comments or critique it generates.

http://www.mksmotorsports.com/video/FULLDV.wmv

It was my first video that I was paid to create. I realize its totally amateur compared to what I've seen posted here but I guess you can't learn if you don't put your work out there to be viewed. The client was very happy and I think thats what is important.

I shot it in one day as the Association only thought to have a video made a week before the last race of the year so I had to take what I could get that day at the last race. And as it was a real event I kind of had to work around the tracks schedule too which made it even worse.

Everything was shot with 2 Sony Digital8 trv-203 cameras (I'm sure that makes a lot of you cringe :-) ) And I asked a freind to help out with the second camera. I figured I'd need all the footage I could get as we only had the one day.

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Lohman : A tip: Also you were using copyrighted music, right? That can be a dangerous road to go down. Just to remind you. -->>>

What do you recommend using for music? Do you produce your own? If so, what do you use to make it?

Hi James

As far as the music goes, I have two sources for non commercial use. they are http://www.freeplaymusic.com and http://www.magnatune.com . When I look for loops, I usually go to http://www.flashkit.com , they have great selection of sound effects and loops, plus they are also marked as freeware, shareware or whatever so you know what you're getting. I usually use Acid to create music from loops. I also have a daughter who's good with a piano/synthesizer so some of my stuff will eventually come from her and I have been feverishly taking guitar lessons so they one day I can be my own asset. My biggest help, however, comes from my talented musician friends who put their own stuff together. I am doing a documentary on them as a matter of fact, here's a little teaser: http://www.rafalkrolik.com/warparty.wmv. The music you hear is their own and these guys will put together any genre for me, not just rap. Hope this helps.

Mike, this is not bad at all. I think it relays exactly what is intended to be shown. Don't worry about your equipment either, when you get more paid jobs you'll be able to upgrade. The most important thing is you composition. We all know people making cinematically great videos with nothing more than a video camera from Wall-mart while others invest housands into expensive equipment but exhibit no visual composition skills.

James,

I'm lucky to have a good friend that will do all audio and music
aspects for me (composing, scoring etc.). He used Cubase SX
and Wavelab 4 on our Lady X episode.

Keep in mind that freeplaymusic etc. is only free when you are
not making money directly from the product or indirectly (ie, it
screens at a festival where people must pay for a ticket!!).

There are numerous sites around the web (do a google search)
from new artists that try to get their music out there. A lot of
them will give there music for a indepedent movie if they get
credit (and probably a link to their site) for it. See it as a way of
two artists helping eachother out.

Was nice! How fast do those things actually go? As you've said
yourself, the most important thing is, is that the client is happy!
I would have liked it a bit shorter in length, but that might be
because racing quickly loses my interest <g>

I know I need to learn a better way to do the graphics and text. Some of the title sequences I've seen on the videos on this site are amazing. I'm using a program called Media Studio for my editing as it came bundled with my firewire capture card. And its pretty easy to use.

One thing I have learned is that the cuts and disolves are the best transitions. But why do the editing programs make such a big deal about having 87 versions of a barn door transition and such? I think the "gizmos" in the low end programs distract the beginner to much, it makes it harder to focus on just making a good video. Its too tempting to try and use all the "effects".

The Mini Trucks are powered by a 13hp honda motor and will reach speeds of 120kph or 75mph. Its pretty much like go-kart racing. But NASCAR has made the trucks very popular.

Indeed, FORGET the effects! Why those are there? For the mass
market that is buying all those little camera's and "making" little
homevideos. Someone probably thought way back that it was a
"cool" thing.

You wouldn't say from the video that those things are running
that fast. Nice!

I Shot My First Film With My Xl-1
 

Hi Everybody,

I just shot my first film with my XL-1. I shot the entire film in "Frame-Movie" Mode and edited with basic i-movie 2.

Check out what I was able to do with just an XL-1, a shotgun mic, my Corvette and my dog. Go to:

www.dreammachine88.com

Best,
Matt Gutelius
Fast Car Films.