Trailer up for my doc shot with DVX100 at DVinfo.net

Peter Richardson · February 16th, 2004, 05:30 PM

Hey guys--Just a quick note to let all you DVX100 users know that the website and trailer for the documentary feature I've been working on for the last six months is up. You can see the trailer at:

www.bicoastalfilms.com

Click on investors and enter the password: bicoastal. Shot in Oregon with DVX100 and edited on Xpress Pro with no color correction. You can read more about the subject under the "press" section. I'm editing with a friend right now in New York and we hope to have the film done by June 1st, in time for the Toronto Film Festival Submission deadline. OK, curious to hear feedback. Thanks!

Peter

David A. Johnson · February 16th, 2004, 07:18 PM

Wow, Peter! Top-drawer execution! The movement through the trailer built tension, giving us hints of the conflict that's brewing. And such haunting music ... it all gave me chills of inspiration.

Keep up the great work!

Peter Richardson · February 18th, 2004, 02:47 PM

Thanks for the feedback David!

Joe Kras · February 18th, 2004, 10:20 PM

Nice job with the scenery.

Topical subject.

Especially liked the fact that it looked like you were going to present both sides of the problem, and let the viewers decide what they think, rather than the current fad of slanting everything in the film towards one viewpoint.

Jan Crittenden Livingston · February 19th, 2004, 12:50 PM

Hi Peter,

Nice work on the trailer. Beautifully shot. Am curious if you would like to include your trailer in our demo reel and DVD. Full attribution would be yours, so that anyone watching the tape would see who did it, and the DVD would have an intro slide for a production still or two and a statement.

Interested?

Jan

Imran Zaidi · February 19th, 2004, 01:16 PM

Nicely done! Can you maybe share what gear you used altogether? Some of your daylight shots are beautiful and I was wondering about filters, post processing, etc. I especially noticed how blue the sky was in one scene - where you show the town's main sign.

Good job, and good luck in Toronto!

Nathan Nix · February 21st, 2004, 05:40 PM

I can't find the trailer every time I go to the page. Am I missing something? Where is it? Perhaps I don't have a correct plug-in or something?
Nathan

Alex Taylor · February 21st, 2004, 06:47 PM

Very nice, Peter. I know it's just a trailer but the pacing is very good, and the arguments seem to flow nicely. Not to mention it looks fantastic!

Bryan McCullough · February 21st, 2004, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nathan Nix
I can't find the trailer every time I go to the page. Am I missing something? Where is it?

Here's the direct page link:

http://www.bicoastalfilms.com/clearcut.mpg

The password system kind of breaks down when you're transferred to an open page. ;)

Anyway, great job on the trailer. I'm interested in learning more! Can't wait for the finished project.

Peter Richardson · February 21st, 2004, 09:13 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys. Bryan--Thanks for the tip on the website. My roommate designed the webpage (his first) so we are kind of learning. But we will work on teh password issue...or just say screw it and take it off (we had it on there so that people who appeared in the film wouldn't see the trailer and get offended before we were done asking favors of them).

Jan--I would be more than happy to have the trailer on the DVD. You can e-mail me directly at: peter@bicoastalfilms.com to work out details. I am such a fan of this camera that I will do anything to spread the word (though I think it's spreading pretty well already). Which leads me to...

Tech Specs: This is basically just raw footage, right out of the camera. I used a polarizing filter for some of the shots (hence the nice blue sky in the City sign shot...helps that Oregon has no pollution, too.) Nothing has been color corrected yet, though, and I'm still debating how much color correcting I'm going to do, if any. I shot in 24pAdvanced, and all the setup values and gamma curves were left at factory presets. Basically the camera is incredible and if you take the care to properly light like you would for film and shoot during the right time of day the results will be great, as I'm sure most of you know. My uncle who is a professional cinematographer has seen the footage and can't believe it's coming out of a little $3500 camera. I used a really old Miller tripod with wooden legs for stabilization and it worked wonderfully (kind of like a 30 year old version of their new DV tripods). For the interviews we lit with a Lowel DVCreator kit which proved adequate (the soft box is nice). We miked with an ME66 on a C-stand and a Sennheiser EvO100 lapel on, one assigned to each channel.

On a side note, I recently sold the DVX100 so I could afford to live in New York and b/c the DVX100A's were going to come out, and had the (mis)fortune to shoot a little film with a VX2000...let me just say I miss my baby :) OK, I won't gush anymore. Thanks again for the feedback guys and I'm especially glad to hear the trailer makes sense to someone else beside me.

Peter

Dylan Couper · February 22nd, 2004, 01:29 AM

Sorry, I don't get it.
The job of the trailer is to make me want to watch the whole movie. I watched this and just don't get the story you are trying to tell. All I pulled out of it is that there is a town with some conflict, and something about a school and scholarships.
Maybe its just me...

On the positive side:
Your photography is nice, the pacing is good, and the music appropriate.

Oh, and the scene with the kids saying something... The audio was poor in comparison to the rest of the piece, and the video looked horrible, like it was shot on a DVX100 or something.
(That's a bit of friendly revenge for all the VX2000 users out there ;) although I am not one).

Peter Richardson · February 22nd, 2004, 12:28 PM

Dylan--Yeah, some people have said they can't gather the story from the trailer and that was a real challenge. Ultimately more have said they understand it than don't, and perhaps those that didn't understand would at least be intrigued. It's a large and complicated topic and truthfully making sure that it is understandable (without using narration) even at a feature length is a challenge. The audio with the kids is definitely the worst. I shot those interviews by myself and had to mic with a single stationary ME66. I didn't have my C-stand yet so I had the mic next to the cam on a regular mic stand...def. not ideal. So now we have got our work cut out for us on Pro Tools. Sorry for the VX2000 comment...just reality I guess ;) Seriously though, I have used VX2000's a lot and they are a fine camera, it's just that the DVX100 kind of changed the playing field.

Peter

Edward Kennedy · February 29th, 2004, 12:23 AM

I also have don't know what this movie is about, but my guess is that the lumber companies has been funding some program at the school and the students must be protesting what the lumber company is doing. Jut a guess, but it does sound like a a pretty interesting story and I probably wouldn't care how you shot it or what mikes you used when I watch it, that is if I get an opportunity to watch it.

Alain Aguilar · February 29th, 2004, 12:41 AM

I loved the pace and the flow. The melody goes fantastically with it. May I ask how you went about obtaining that music?

Thanks

Peter Richardson · March 1st, 2004, 05:04 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys. Edward--your summation was pretty close. If you are curious about the subject you can read more under the "Press" section. Alain--The music is from "The Hours." I have not obtained rights to it and it will not be included in the final film (someone else is composing the music). The trailer will never be seen beyond the website and a few select people I send it to for investment purposes, hence the risk taking with the music. Thanks again for the responses guys,

Peter

February 16th, 2004, 05:30 PM	#1
Peter Richardson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 608	Trailer up for my doc shot with DVX100 Hey guys--Just a quick note to let all you DVX100 users know that the website and trailer for the documentary feature I've been working on for the last six months is up. You can see the trailer at: www.bicoastalfilms.com Click on investors and enter the password: bicoastal. Shot in Oregon with DVX100 and edited on Xpress Pro with no color correction. You can read more about the subject under the "press" section. I'm editing with a friend right now in New York and we hope to have the film done by June 1st, in time for the Toronto Film Festival Submission deadline. OK, curious to hear feedback. Thanks! Peter

February 16th, 2004, 07:18 PM	#2
David A. Johnson New Boot Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 21	Wow, Peter! Top-drawer execution! The movement through the trailer built tension, giving us hints of the conflict that's brewing. And such haunting music ... it all gave me chills of inspiration. Keep up the great work! __________________ David A. Johnson past - photojournalist present - IT admin future - documentarian

February 19th, 2004, 12:50 PM	#5
Jan Crittenden Livingston Panasonic Broadcast Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Secaucus, NJ 07094 Posts: 271	Trailer Hi Peter, Nice work on the trailer. Beautifully shot. Am curious if you would like to include your trailer in our demo reel and DVD. Full attribution would be yours, so that anyone watching the tape would see who did it, and the DVD would have an intro slide for a production still or two and a statement. Interested? Jan

February 21st, 2004, 05:40 PM	#7
Nathan Nix New Boot Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 11	trailer I can't find the trailer every time I go to the page. Am I missing something? Where is it? Perhaps I don't have a correct plug-in or something? Nathan

February 21st, 2004, 06:47 PM	#8
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	Very nice, Peter. I know it's just a trailer but the pacing is very good, and the arguments seem to flow nicely. Not to mention it looks fantastic! __________________ alextaylor.org

February 18th, 2004, 02:47 PM	#3
Peter Richardson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 608	Thanks for the feedback David!

February 18th, 2004, 10:20 PM	#4
Joe Kras Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 54	Nice job with the scenery. Topical subject. Especially liked the fact that it looked like you were going to present both sides of the problem, and let the viewers decide what they think, rather than the current fad of slanting everything in the film towards one viewpoint.

February 19th, 2004, 01:16 PM	#6
Imran Zaidi Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,315	Nicely done! Can you maybe share what gear you used altogether? Some of your daylight shots are beautiful and I was wondering about filters, post processing, etc. I especially noticed how blue the sky was in one scene - where you show the town's main sign. Good job, and good luck in Toronto!

February 21st, 2004, 09:13 PM	#10
Peter Richardson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 608	Thanks for the feedback guys. Bryan--Thanks for the tip on the website. My roommate designed the webpage (his first) so we are kind of learning. But we will work on teh password issue...or just say screw it and take it off (we had it on there so that people who appeared in the film wouldn't see the trailer and get offended before we were done asking favors of them). Jan--I would be more than happy to have the trailer on the DVD. You can e-mail me directly at: peter@bicoastalfilms.com to work out details. I am such a fan of this camera that I will do anything to spread the word (though I think it's spreading pretty well already). Which leads me to... Tech Specs: This is basically just raw footage, right out of the camera. I used a polarizing filter for some of the shots (hence the nice blue sky in the City sign shot...helps that Oregon has no pollution, too.) Nothing has been color corrected yet, though, and I'm still debating how much color correcting I'm going to do, if any. I shot in 24pAdvanced, and all the setup values and gamma curves were left at factory presets. Basically the camera is incredible and if you take the care to properly light like you would for film and shoot during the right time of day the results will be great, as I'm sure most of you know. My uncle who is a professional cinematographer has seen the footage and can't believe it's coming out of a little $3500 camera. I used a really old Miller tripod with wooden legs for stabilization and it worked wonderfully (kind of like a 30 year old version of their new DV tripods). For the interviews we lit with a Lowel DVCreator kit which proved adequate (the soft box is nice). We miked with an ME66 on a C-stand and a Sennheiser EvO100 lapel on, one assigned to each channel. On a side note, I recently sold the DVX100 so I could afford to live in New York and b/c the DVX100A's were going to come out, and had the (mis)fortune to shoot a little film with a VX2000...let me just say I miss my baby :) OK, I won't gush anymore. Thanks again for the feedback guys and I'm especially glad to hear the trailer makes sense to someone else beside me. Peter

February 22nd, 2004, 01:29 AM	#11
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Sorry, I don't get it. The job of the trailer is to make me want to watch the whole movie. I watched this and just don't get the story you are trying to tell. All I pulled out of it is that there is a town with some conflict, and something about a school and scholarships. Maybe its just me... On the positive side: Your photography is nice, the pacing is good, and the music appropriate. Oh, and the scene with the kids saying something... The audio was poor in comparison to the rest of the piece, and the video looked horrible, like it was shot on a DVX100 or something. (That's a bit of friendly revenge for all the VX2000 users out there ;) although I am not one). __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

February 22nd, 2004, 12:28 PM	#12
Peter Richardson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 608	Dylan--Yeah, some people have said they can't gather the story from the trailer and that was a real challenge. Ultimately more have said they understand it than don't, and perhaps those that didn't understand would at least be intrigued. It's a large and complicated topic and truthfully making sure that it is understandable (without using narration) even at a feature length is a challenge. The audio with the kids is definitely the worst. I shot those interviews by myself and had to mic with a single stationary ME66. I didn't have my C-stand yet so I had the mic next to the cam on a regular mic stand...def. not ideal. So now we have got our work cut out for us on Pro Tools. Sorry for the VX2000 comment...just reality I guess ;) Seriously though, I have used VX2000's a lot and they are a fine camera, it's just that the DVX100 kind of changed the playing field. Peter

February 29th, 2004, 12:23 AM	#13
Edward Kennedy New Boot Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Philadelphia Pennsylvania Posts: 20	I also have don't know what this movie is about, but my guess is that the lumber companies has been funding some program at the school and the students must be protesting what the lumber company is doing. Jut a guess, but it does sound like a a pretty interesting story and I probably wouldn't care how you shot it or what mikes you used when I watch it, that is if I get an opportunity to watch it.

February 29th, 2004, 12:41 AM	#14
Alain Aguilar Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Bergen Posts: 170	I loved the pace and the flow. The melody goes fantastically with it. May I ask how you went about obtaining that music? Thanks __________________ Alain

March 1st, 2004, 05:04 PM	#15
Peter Richardson Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 608	Thanks for the feedback guys. Edward--your summation was pretty close. If you are curious about the subject you can read more under the "Press" section. Alain--The music is from "The Hours." I have not obtained rights to it and it will not be included in the final film (someone else is composing the music). The trailer will never be seen beyond the website and a few select people I send it to for investment purposes, hence the risk taking with the music. Thanks again for the responses guys, Peter