"Nave #527" - Shortfilm shooted with HVX200
 

Hi everyone,

"Nave #527″ is my latest shortfilm. It has been aired the 2 june as an exclusive at Dailymotion. It was produced by weare, with the support of the Government of Aragón and the Zaragoza History Center. It was shoot in october 2007, in HD format (Panasonic HVX200), in Zaragoza and Sariñena (Spain).

Plot

Kai wakes up in a strange place. He is confused and feels sick. He can’t remember anything, and although the place feels familiar to him, he doesn’t find the way out. A strange man dressed in black appears suddenly, asking him about a girl, Luna. Kai doesn’t know what he is talking about.

You can see it in HD at Dailymotion here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/ivancaste...les_shortfilms

You can download it in H264 HD at archive.org (much better than the Dailymotion footage), as an mp4 (160MB):
http://www.archive.org/download/Nave...optimizado.mp4

And the subtitles here:
http://www.ivancastell.org/wp-conten...27-subpack.zip

All the info here:
http://ivancastell.org/en/nave-527/
http://ivancastell.org/nave-527/
http://myspace.com/nave527/

Please share your thoughts and comments.

Regards.

Ivan

Check out our series.... Eye of Sita
 

Hey everyone, here are links to four episodes that we created. The series is called Eye of Sita and it's a comedy/action/drama. It's about a group of professionals going after a famous diamond (hence the title). Two of professionals also want to be filmmakers so they're playing director and actor while on the job(killing, stealing, etc). The other two are exact opposites and always seem to end up teamed together.

Feedback is always appreciated it. Would help also in future episodes too. :) Thanks!

Episode 1:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=g-O-ZMLl9hQ

Episode 2:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h8sJecW4j4Y

Episode 3:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TqbNTYkZmSE

Episode 4:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=evwFlS8bEgI

The Making of a Clip - Part 2
 

Here is the second installment of my new tutorial series for Muscular Development.com.

http://www.vimeo.com/1186590

Part 1 is here...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=123188

Although these are basic concepts to most of you here at DVinfo, the audience for these tutorials are amateurs who may not have ever considered using these techniques to enhance their videos.

As always your input and comments are very welcome.

Thanks,
Mike

new bmx video, episode 2 of Inside/Out
 

i just finished up the 2nd episode of Eastern Bikes' Inside/Out.

http://www.vimeo.com/1186691

shot using hvx200 and 16x9 super fisheye on location in charlotte, nc during the weekend of may 10th.

here is the short promo for it.

http://www.vimeo.com/1111582

Music Video Shot in Mexico
 

Hi

This is my first post here. I'm a longtime reader of this great site. So anyway, I finally worked up my nerve to upload to the net the first paid directing gig I've ever done and I was looking for some feedback (I tried posting it over at another site but I didn't get any responses). The piece in question is a music video that was shot on the HVX200 with no budget in one day and a half. The music is from a band from Mexico and they play in the 'grupero' genre. So anyway, let me know what you think.

http://www.vimeo.com/1087497

I couldn't understand the words but the images told me the whole story. Very well done. Nice shot selection and good pacing on the edit.

"Secrecy"-New Short Film Now Online
 

The second in my "Love in Chinatown" series, I present my newest short film "Secrecy".

For those of you unfamiliar with the trilogy, I posted my first installment a few months ago entitled "Loveless". The "Loveless" thread is linked below:

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=113255

The film features new characters in a new situation (although one actor from "Loveless" returns to play a new character, haha). The "Love in Chinatown" series is a trilogy consisting of 3 romance stories taking place within Chinatown and I'm scheduled to shoot the third one this Fall. As of now, I'm currently submitting "Loveless" and "Secrecy" into as many festivals as I can!

Plot:
John and Ami have been the best of friends for many years. Ami is currently pregnant with her boyfriend's child while John is his first serious relationship but all that is thrown into jeopardy due to one mistake in the past. A mistake that will effect all parties involved, especially the friendship of John and Ami. The second installment in the "Love in Chinatown" series.

Running Time: 18 minutes

Language: English

In my eyes, this film is a bit more grim than "Loveless". I personally thought I made it in a similar fashion to "Loveless" but, although my style and trademarks are apparent, many have said I approached this film differently in terms of overall execution (which pleases since it allows for two different viewing experiences).

Stills from the film:

http://platinumcinema.com/platinum/secrecy2.jpg

http://platinumcinema.com/platinum/secrecy3.jpg

http://platinumcinema.com/platinum/secrecy4.jpg

http://platinumcinema.com/platinum/secrecy1.jpg





This link goes to the embedded version on my web site (please scroll to the bottom of the page to see):

http://eddielebron.com/?s=5&p=1



If that link doesn't work, here is the alternate link:

http://platinumcinema.com/platinum/Secrecy.mov


Look forward to hearing what you guys think!

5 Airports 1 Flight
 

Not necessarily looking for peer review (accepting this is not a work of art), but thought others might be interested in it.

This is what happens if you get up at 0130 on a summers' morning to go flying with the express intent of buzzing all 5 London Airports, then filming the result.

Only possible with the express approval of ATC (friends on the inside), and even then if there is no prospect of delaying airliners as a result - hence ridiculously early start.

In the UK, this kind of access is virtually impossible to get (certainly Heathrow in a fixed-wing light aircraft is impossible under normal circumstances - the others slightly easier, but still difficult). Even we didn't expect to get all five. I'm fairly certain this has never been done before (or since - it was filmed last year).

You'll also find a timelapse of the entire flight if you are interested.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=h5eY2oEg0Rw

i thought that was excellent. I really enjoyed the story, the locations, the colours and especially the sound. I was a little unsure of the pacing at the begining of the film as it was abit hard to see where it was going but still i loved it.

Thanks for the comments. The sound was post-produced profesionnaly in a studio, that why it sounds so good (I'm glad I did it this time) :)

I understand your thoughts about the pacing, I edited the film this way, knowing it was going to be hard to follow, I wanted to provoke anguish via the editing.

Regards.

Ivan

How to get your trailer seen.
 

If anyone is interested in having their trailer shown on Indie Production Source please send an email to ipsource.tv@gmail.com

To check out the show go to www.ipsource.tv


Kelly

I dig it, especially the promo. I was left wanting some more close up / macro / fisheye shots, but I'm kind of a geek for that sort of thing.

Good music, good edits, good overlay...very nice work!

~A~

Nice work....I like the out of focus wipes at the beginning, and the music is perfect for the footage.

Get yourself a tripod and you're in business. The zooms are good IMO, as long as they're not horrible overused. For first time back in the swing of things, I'm impressed.

Update:

Due to a site redesign, here is the new URL for the embedded version on my site:
http://eddielebron.com/secrecy_video.html

Soho London My Confession
 

This short film was shot in London Soho's district notorious for being the red light area of London. It is a vibrant area that has many sights and sounds of modern culture with Bars, restaurants and jazz clubs. Sit back and enjoy this essential area of London.

Can be found under the films section at www.londonmarkfilms.co.uk

Or http://www.vimeo.com/1221759

That was pretty cool. Great colors and compositions/framing. This music was perfect. Very inspiring.

By the way... I love everything about your "If I Lay Here" film. I keep a copy on my desktop and pop it open for inspiration every now and then. That shot near the end with the guy sitting at the table smoking... the silver pot on the table... then the camera slides across... superb!

Keep up the awesome work,
Andrew

My first 2 music videos
 

These are my first 2 attempts at music videos. I normally stick to short films but I found some local clients who wanted hiphop music videos...

Please let me know what you think, i.e. what can be improved, etc...

I appreciate it!!

(1st one)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=n1_OYsQD84A

(2nd one)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EFkTWiA7iEc



-desi hernandez jr.

Thanks Andrew very kind of you to say but we all need a little feedback show we are going in the right direction and it is appreciated…Mark

A Fantasy Movie "Spectre" - Shot 9 Days in May !
 

Hey all:

Check out the website for Spectre, a Fantasy movie: http://www.spectre-movie.com/

In May 2008, I DP'd principle photography for the film, which was produced and directed by DVInfo Member Jason Denzel. As usual, Jason was a master at setting up some beautiful shots. It was my second shooting with Jason, and I learned a lot about composition every time I work with him.

He is also going to have a lot of CG and special effects to put into film, and he has a crew and his own background in the field to back him up.

The shooting was quite a grueling experience, because we put in a lot of hours and travel in Northern California- but it was well worth it at the same time.

We were originally planning to shoot with the HV20 and Letus Combo, when at last moment 3 days before shoot, we go our hand on an HVX200, thanks to Alan Carpenter. That was an experience for me, and the HVX is quite a stunning camera. DVinfo member Mark Viducich provided a Letus FE, and a Nebtek monitor, and I had an arsenal of Nikon lenses. We also had Alan's EZ Jib, which was cool to work with. Chris Swanberg brought his mics and sound expertise.

The Letus FE had problems about half way through the shoot, and we are going to have to work out issues because the ground glass would stop in mid shot. We did recognize issue right away because the shots were at a large water fall that pounded all around us. Eventually, we had to shoot with my old Letus 35a, and had some issues we had to deal with there-- another learning experience.

I also mangaged to dunk my 100 mm len in temple pool... and have replaced it already.

I have seen most of the footage and have played with some assembly edits as a learning experience, and Jason should put together a pretty nice edit of this short. I think it will run about 20 to 25 minutes. I'll post with progress as things go on....

Overall, good footage that was well put together. I couldn't make out the last sound-byte, and some of the footage was too dark for my taste.

Please rip my videos to shreds
 

Yay! Feedback!

I do videos for my church... the main problem in this is that everybody tries to be so darn positive and encouraging that they never tell you what sucks and in what manner it sucks.

I'd been using parts of these shorts (from a Liberia mission - so a reshoot would be inconvenient) in my demo, but considering I'm still unemployed, I could use an honest assessment of where I need to improve.

Everything was shot unrehearsed with no setup of any sort using a third-hand PD-150. Editing in FCP5.

many thanks

edit:

um...

yeah... forgot the video links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqEFfFkNI1I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdhb61YVeUQ

I watched most of the first one and here are a couple of my opinions:

-From a communicative standpoint, I think that some sort of voice-over, text, or narration of some sort to help engage the viewer in what you want them to gain from watching. I felt like you were just giving a bunch of clips and saying do what you want with them.
-I didn't feel you had enough good footage to warrant a 5 minute plus video. Use your best stuff to tell the story and spend time color correcting it.
-I like the idea of using on location music but this audio was not recorded in such a way that enhanced the video. I would use some of that audio every once in a while but not as a musical basis for the entire video. Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying jam some David Crowder in the background but surely there is a tune that will help communicate the message.

I hope this helps.

Yes, very helpful, thanks.

sometimes "raw" is too raw, huh? :D

So, while I sharpen up my delete key, any particular shots you think cannot or should not be saved?

I agree with everything Jonathan stated.

From a professional "look" standpoint, there are far too many shots zooming in and out. Rather than zoom, cut or fade to close up or wide shots. There are a couple of artistic slow zoom-outs on what appears to be stills which looks fine, but on the live video....

Also, and I'm sure it a matter of taste but, going forward, you may want to shoot and edit in the 16x9 aspect ratio. 4:3, although not obsolete looks a little old school these days and to some the perception may be that it does not look as professional as 16x9.

New Short - 'Mercy" to Debut at the Action on Film Fest
 

I recently completed producing, editing, and color-correcting a new supernatural action film MERCY.

Synopsis:
After she is killed in a wave of small-town hysteria, Mercy Hawkins (Emilee Harris) is resurrected by a mysterious healer who gives her the power to seek justice against her attackers. Newly reborn and hell-bent on revenge, Mercy has little memory of who she was or how she died. To learn the identity of her killers, she must reclaim her past, her memory, and uncover the brutal secrets surrounding her death.

The 14 minute short was shot with a Canon XL1 in squeeze mode with stock lens, magic bulleted to 24P for one of the locations, and the rest of the film was shot with a Canon XL2 with the 14x manual lens in native 16:9, 24PA. It was edited in Premiere Pro and on-lined in AE using the DV Rebel Guides After Effects scripts (DV Rebel CC), and Magic Bullet Looks (from the suite using sliders, not the new looks program).

For those of you in Los Angeles, the film will be making it's debut at the Action on Film Festival ( http://www.aoffest.com/2008-event-info.html ) at the Laemmle Theater at One Colorado Blvd Pasadena, CA during the Saturday July 26, 2008 10pm short film block. We'd love some DVInfo support if you can make it!

To get a feel for the production you can see the new teaser trailer at the Mercy Vimeo Channel here: http://www.vimeo.com/MercyMovie

More information can be found at: http://audience.withoutabox.com/films/mercyhawkins blog until I can get a proper website in place.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I would come up with the message and a basic framework before I deleted any clips. Some clips might be more acceptable with some color correction, slow mo, or by trimming off the shaky parts. Take for example the camp schedule in the opening shot. I would trim off the shaky portion because to me it looks a little amateurish and slow mo the more steady portion. This helps the audience to actually understand what they are looking at. Just an example.

Early EX shoot
 

http://www.vimeo.com/1227654

Here is a one cam one man wedding I did. I felt the urge to go with less polish and more veritas (sp). Please feel free to rip on it, I need the pro input.

I shot it in the 1920x1080 60i HQ mode. I have since moved to the 30p mode on the cam since I really like to use the natress film filters. Other film filter suggestions are welcome. Once again you won't hurt my feelings as input on how to get better is what I'm looking for.

This wan't the final edit and the song was different but I'm into Muse right now so I let it rip:)

I saw "Live at the Abbey Road" ( I think ) on Sundance channel and it was some of the most amazing camera work I have ever seen! Just awesome and it inspired me to achieve that look.

Thanks to all who reply!

Cool
 

Great job Paul! You have done what I have dreamed about since I was a little kid :)

The line on the bottom of your post has inspired me so thanks for that too!

08 Show Reel
 

Hey guys. I normally don't post much stuff, due for me being a hard critique to my own work, but I want some second opinions on our new show reel before I start spamming friends and older clients.

All of this stuff was shot during my last three years at school using whatever we could find equipment. This is my last and final year of schooling, and I wanted to thank all of you for being such a big help (just from reading all the posts)! =)

http://www.exaltedstudios.com/

-Note- I know I need to include a contact email, which I plan on adding in shortly.

Showbiz Pizza / Rockafire Documentary
 

Anyone from the southern united states around 30 years old remember this as a kid?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yNitSBXzsA

Guess not. LOL!

I must have been the only weird kid that went to showbiz pizza...

Thanks Mike. I appreciate you taking the time to take a look.

Glad Mr. Pearce has inspired you. I look forward to seeing you post about your next film here.

Paul

Video doesn't play.

Hi Adam:

Congrats on putting up your new reel.

There seem to be some format issues, a few shots look stretched--probably better to have those properly formatted with letterboxes to make them less distracting.

The black and white footage (16mm?) could be graded to give it some more snap, it's a bit flat.

The motion graphics have some nice energy but nearly all of the live video is static--I would at least lead the reel with the few moving shots that you have, remember that many times the decision is made to hire someone based on the first 30 seconds of a reel and you need to hit it hard right off the bat.

Another rule of thumb is that it is better to create a shorter reel than one that has repetition (unless you have the same shot in a montage vs. longer form). By the last 1/4 it seems it's a lot of re-runs (the guys in the superhero outfits etc).

Great work Eddie!!!!! Solid work all across the board; editing, sound, cinematography, and acting. That has to be one of the best short film dramas I've seen. I really like the story. A dose of real life....

I had a little issues with the color grading, but i think it's a little trivial. So no worries there. Once againg great work man....I just get a little ticked off when peopel fail to comment on good stuff. Because i think people can learn from what you did.

One question though.... Why did u keep it all tight shots in the (interiors)???

Jeremy, very nice, makes me want to visit! Same comments on use of zoom, but on a positive note, many of the shots were extremely creative and very well executed. Keep up the good work!

criticism? compliments? I'll take it all
 

I've been lurking around dvinfo for a couple of months now and know that there are some talented, knowledgable people in here. I would greatly appreciate any criticism, no matter how harsh. I'm a total noob and feel that I have much to learn. With that being said...please rip apart my videos. Thanks.

Best Demo Reel I've ever seen...
 

I really don't know why the video won't play - I have tested it in Firefox, IE7, Safari and Opera. It's using Flash 9 and buffers before it auto plays. You might of been having a slow connection at that time.

Charles, thanks for the great advice, the formatting issue was created in flash encoder. I believe I have fixed that. One thing I completely forgot was color grading some shots such as the 16mm footage and a few of the interviews. I also shortened the reel to 2:32, unlike the previous 3:30ish - and finally removed oblivious repeated shots and swapped others around.

One thing I noticed I did while swapping shots around is that I separated most of the motion graphics pieces from the cinematography clips. I am wondering if this is a good idea or not.

The new one is up, located on the same site. Let me know what you think.
www.exaltedstudios.com

There is a lot of good stuff in there, but I think there are a lot of uninteresting things in there as well. With how long your reel is, I would really concentrate on making it a lot shorter. There are a lot of shots you could really take out, like guy opening back pack, or a standard close up.