Don't get me wrong. I thought the end was still well done. I'm amazed that you were able to CG what you did at the end. I wouldn't know the first thing about creating a CG nuclear blast within a video. My only concern is that I've seen similar scenes in too many previous movies, and after you see something too many times, it loses its effect (kinda like how everyone and their brother started doing "Matrix" shots after "The Matrix came out).

I like the ad idea for the Raybans. That would be funny to see the sunglasses survive. I doubt you could sell the idea mainstream, but it would be funny.

I totaly get where your coming from Travis. i just personaly feel that if the vfx looked more realistic it would be less of an issue as to it taking people out of the world that was created in the movie. Know what i mean? especialy if its an important part of the story.

anyway it is true, it could be more powerfull to have her go back into the trailer as all this goes on around her, then it is to show her death. Some of the coolest stuff in movies ( i cant think of an example right now) are when you watch a movie and go, jeez, that was horrific what happined to that couple in the car. but when u go back to watch it again, u realize, they hardly showed anything, the mood of the scene ,music, editing and what not, fed your brain just enough to let it do the rest. oh, i guess the classic case is the shower scene in psycho, i know there are more! cant think right now though. oh, american history x kinda too, you know, put your teeth on the curb, gruesome! not that my movie is at all like those.

Indeed, it's sometimes far more powerful to not show something.
Her getting back in the trailer might be one. Especially if she
starts fiddling with the TV again as we perhaps hear the shockwave
approach as we cut (no fade) to black?

Ideas Ideas <g>

No nitpicking from me! Although I enjoy and appreciate the thoughtful input from the other forum members, I still think "Precursor" was highly entertaining and very well done...as is. I liked the story line, slow tension buildup, and reveals leading up to the climax. Additionally I was really impressed with the cinematic look that you produced with the XLS-1 and After Effects.

Keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more in the future!

And Rich, don't forget to post some raw (unprocessed) frames of your movie, when you find your material(and some time to grab and post)... :)

Like Rob, I am curious too to see how much it was processed in post...

best regards

Wow !
 

I've just watched Precursor and the first word that I have to say is "Wow" !

I just loved the clouds effects. Very esthetic. The camera angles look perfect, and the image texture is awesome.
The atmosphere is really good too.
I wish I could create something like that someday.

Keep up the good work !

Rich, I really enjoyed the film.

Don't let the people who say it drags influence you, it's great the way it is.

It builds, you know something is going to happen but not what and you just watch everything. ( I just finished a piece that some people say drags but I say it "builds" : )

Of all the pains you went through on this project with posting the effects in I'm sure you don't need a comment like this but I'll give it to ya anyway: (smile)

The clothes were dry already, why did she have to hang them on the line?

hahahahaha

it wasn't a big deal, just something I noticed in a moment of anal-retentive thought.

LOVE the Pre-Rejection Film Festival piece. Fantastic.

Thanks guys,

Actually Kevin the cloths where wet, i hosed them down and rung them out with my hands before each take. the wind was pretty rough, so it probly looks as though they have no weight, thus making them look not wet.

thanks for checkin out the prerejection piece...havnt herd too much about that one, but then again i never posted it to a board. it played well in front of the festival though!

Rich

I just watched all your short films. Oh my freaking cow

I've never seen anyone singlehandedly do all that you have! An inspiration for me! I just got started learning Softimage XSI (I built a dual Opteron processor machine) after getting a free copy of XSI from winning a competition:

http://www.glue.umd.edu/~younglee/big3d/regenesis1.htm

And it is my wish to make online short films with special effects. Your film look was absolutely the best I've ever seen. Because of you I will now have to save up to get After Effects.

In your opinion, do you think I can achieve what you have achieved with Panasonic DVX100? Can you also let me know where I can buy the filters you used?

Anyways, I was totally blown away by the last FX shot of the nukes. To be honest, I did feel it drag a bit, but then when I saw those mushroom clouds I was going 'wtf this is awesome.'

Keep making inspiring work

Thanks Young!

have fun with xsi its an amazing app, good job getting a free copy.

Yes, you can totaly get that look with a dvx. you can get those 4x4 filters at most camera/video stores. pretty standard, polarizer and graduated nd's (.3,.6,.9) made by schneider,lee, or tiffen.

Peace

I thought it was an awesome short, showing the polished experience of someone who knows their stuff. All of these shorts I've been watching keep inspiring me to develope my own ideas, and also help me understand what makes a short either a success, or a failure. Yours was a success!

edit: What the hell was that R&D Video?!? Were you guys supposed to be working??? I recorded the sound and extended it in Premiere Pro just to hear what you were really saying. Whack jobs, that was great stuff!

By the way Rich, how's that Danny Boyle thing coming? Can you tell us anything?

hey, glad you liked precursor. in case anyone is interested i entered it into and online film festival, and its doing pretty well, great to get unbiased feedback from people.

yes, r&d was late one night at work. i had just got the wide angle lens on my canon 3x so it was pretty wide. i think it was close to midnite when we made that. so funny, it just happined, no rehearsing or anything, we just started doing stupid shit. anyway, that thing has brought lots of people many laughs!

the danny boyle project ended pretty fast. the studio pulled the plug. too bad, would have been a pretty interesting film.

oh well...whatrugonnado?

peace!

It's a great film, and I think it would work with or without the special effects due to great composition in each shot. This is what most people strive to do when they attempt to make great films, and even the look of the film alone is a great achievement.

-Robert

Triggerstreet
 

Hey Rich, Congrats on getting into the Triggerstreet top 10 this year. Good luck with it!