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Nicely done.

Here's my short I did a few weeks ago. It was my first attempt at doing 3D environment modeling, which I didn't do a very good job at. Learned a lot from this, though, which was really it's main purpose. The 3D stuff was done in Blender. Compositing was done in After Effects. Shot with a Sony...

My first reflector was white foam core with aluminum foil glued to it. Not sure if it was just the type of foil I was using or not, but the light reflected from it had a noticeably blue tint to it. It's fine in a pinch, but be prepared to fight with color-correcting it. I use my collapsible...

I highly recommend a real reflector. White foam core is good if you can't afford anything else, but I find they don't really reflect enough light to create more dramtic shadows. I use a 5-in-1 collapsible one (something like this one) that has different color covers to use, depending on the look...

Here is how I speed up my shoots. Pretty much common sense... 1.) Make a shot list for the entire film. 2.) Divide up the shots based on their locations. 3.) Then divide them up based on camera angles and what actors are in the scene. 4.) Order the setups to work around actor schedules...

I love John Carpenter's version, but I'll give the remake a chance. Can't be any worse than the abomination that was The Fog remake. *shudder* I'm more looking forward to seeing Paranormal Activity 3 though. Not sure why I like these films so much, but they sure give me the chills. All my...

This is certainly true as long as you have enough of an understanding of the filmmaking process to even recognize the mistakes and bad habits that others make. Some may be subtle, or some may be obvious like this one: On one of the first shoots I was ever on, the DP stuck a 650w light on a...

I've been on the set of several films (other than my own). In my experience, you have to avoid trying to duplicate every single thing someone else does just because they say it's right. Sometimes, people have a glorified view of themselves and their abilities. I worked with an experienced DP...

Practical lights are simply lights that are seen on camera that can provide light on your subject or just visible in the frame. An example would be a table lamp. You can call it practical lighting if you just use the existing light available (also called "available light"). There's also...

1.) Dog Soldiers - I'm a sucker for any werewolf movie. 2.) Near Dark - One of the better vampire movies. 3.) The Exorcism of Emily Rose - To me, it's the creepiest of all the movies about exorcism. 4.) Pandorum - Great mix of sci-fi and horror. 5.) Terror Firmer - Sorry Toxie, but this is...

I made my own fake knives for one of my shorts. I bought 3 identical kitchen knives. One was untouched (for extreme closeups that were never near any other actors or the camera), one was dulled with a stone grinder (for when the actor had to swing the knife around), and the 3rd one had the blade...

Since so many low-budget stuff is shot in normal houses instead of decorated sets, avoid clutter (like magazines, newspapers, DVDs, remotes, laundry, etc). Also watch out for the family dog/cat wandering through the frame (which I've seen in numerous indie shorts). Unless it has to be in the...

I use a heavy comforter and egg crate squares that are held just out of frame. If shooting in a kitchen or other echoey room, I have my boom op mic from above and below and use whichever one provides the least amount of echo (well, as best as I can determine through headphones). Oh a side...

^ Ahem, I'll just pretend I didn't read that. Say nothing. Act casual :) "Close Encounters" is definitely one of those films that I can't stop watching. I've watched all the versions on Blu-ray (and DVD and VHS), and even caught it on TV the other night (in 4:3!!! Oh, the horror!) Just love the...

For all my no-budget shorts, we typically ask the actors if they have clothes that will work. Surprisingly, we have found actors with decent wardrobes. We are ALWAYS upfront with each actor before casting about the clothing, especially if it will get dirty or bloody. We used Halloween costumes...

We do nothing but horror shorts. However, our stuff is fairly tame and not really all that scary. Our last short, "Suffering Fools", wasn't really scary, but it was by far the most disturbing. We spent less than $50 on a costume for our killer. But what made her look creepy was the $2 plastic...

By default, FCP will export at the resolution set in your sequence settings using an automatic bitrate, which for my stuff is around 25-30Mbps. This will certainly create a large file. You need to go into the compression options and change the bitrate from automatic to either constant or...

Heheh, Cracker, that was better than most of the local 48hr films I've seen. Good job. Of course, you asked for critique, so here ya go. And please note that I am also my own worst critic, so I'm guilty of all of these too. 1.) Echoey, low audio. Throw some dampening blankets down on the floor...

Oh man, that is awesome. Glad I haven't started on my compositing yet, as this now opens up some new possibilities. Sweet.

Nice video. And as this song proves: autotune can't work miracles. @kari - A kit lens is just the lens that comes bundled with the camera body when you buy them together. The Canon 18-55mm is a great lens, even if it is plastic. It's sharper than the 28-135mm kit lens that came with my Canon 50D.