watch 48 Hour Film Finally Finished

[Uranium City]

Long after the contest officially ended, I've finally finished my entry for Detroit's inaugural 48 Hour Film Project. I told my composer if he rushed to make original music for the contest, he could take his time and do it for real afterward. And the results are finally done...the audio sounds mighty tinny on this Vimeo copy, probably has something to do with how I compressed it. It doesn't sound that way on the big screen. We got to utilize an abandoned piano warehouse as a set...shooting in there provided some interesting challenges for the DPs who were glad they brought their lights. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

http://vimeo.com/2329708

 

[VPTurner]

That one actress was pretty good. Reminds me of Charlize Theron or perhaps "Izzie" from Grey's Anatomy. The lighting turned out good. The windows in the car were almost blown out, so I guess that would be a situation where you'd have to ND gel the windows or add more light to the interior, huh? I suppose there's not much you can do about that with only 48 hours to produce it, though.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Uranium City]

Thanks for looking, Vince. I agree, that actress was great...I had never worked with her before but hope to again. We shot the car scenes both with a green screen indoors and outside, and neither was ideal. I opted for the exterior, though, even with the blown out windows and dark actors, because the green screen just never looked right. That project is good for education...you learn a lot in 48 hours, some of what to do but mostly what NOT to do! Ha!

 

[knightly]

It was really well done (I had added "for a 48 hour", but good even if not on such a tight deadline, so I changed it to a more general statement). I'm still a nut for a clean wrap up for films, and this ended with open questions...which is not saying that's bad, just made the ending not work for this particular audience member.

 

[Uranium City]

Thank you, Knightly, for your kind words and for checking it out. Yep, the ending was about as open-ended as it gets...ha!

 

[Dave Pastecchi]

i thought it to be a well put together film..and in only 48hrs...wow..thats why i give it my thumbs up...

but i have to make two comments...and this is not saying you didnt do a good job...i am only making these comment so maybe your next film will be a little better...

i love B&W...but your lighting was..well...poor
in B&W contrast and shadows are everything...and from what i saw..all your light was from below...not a good place to light from...shadows go up the walls insted of down and actors hands can shadow thier own faces...i kinda figured you used it from below because of the hats...but a light a little higher than the actor from the side will give a better effect for B&W and you can use a softer light to fill in actors eyes of use a bounce from under for that...keep in mind where the light comes from...what is the source of the light...why is there light here...and work from that

then the sound...well...i guess with no money there really isnt much to do about that one...only to try to get the mic as close as possable and on wide shots..try to use the sound from a closer shot to fit in when editing...sometimes it works...or if u have the time...say like for that outside scene with the guys picking him up...try recording it Wild...and fitting it in...

last there is the car at the end...i read all the above and understand what you must have gone through...unless you can bring the light up in the car of ND the windows..thats always a tough one...if you have neither...you might want to try shooting later in the day when the sun is lower and you can use that to your advantage...there is always room for a bounce card someplace...even throwing a white towel over something is better than nothing...i remeber a DP running into a walking shot to use his white undershirt stretched out to get light on an actress...lol...we are good friends...he said " i saw here eyes start to go dark and didnt want to cut the shot..so i jumped in there with the only thing i had that second" ..we all laughed. but it worked and saved the shot from another take..

ok..enough of that..i still thought it was a great little film you made in such a short time..i dont think i could ever do something like that...

so once again...well done

 

[Zensteve]

i thought it to be a well put together film..and in only 48hrs...wow..thats why i give it my thumbs up...

but i have to make two comments...and this is not saying you didnt do a good job...i am only making these comment so maybe your next film will be a little better...

i love B&W...but your lighting was..well...poor
in B&W contrast and shadows are everything...and from what i saw..all your light was from below...not a good place to light from...shadows go up the walls insted of down and actors hands can shadow thier own faces...i kinda figured you used it from below because of the hats...but a light a little higher than the actor from the side will give a better effect for B&W and you can use a softer light to fill in actors eyes of use a bounce from under for that...keep in mind where the light comes from...what is the source of the light...why is there light here...and work from that

then the sound...well...i guess with no money there really isnt much to do about that one...only to try to get the mic as close as possable and on wide shots..try to use the sound from a closer shot to fit in when editing...sometimes it works...or if u have the time...say like for that outside scene with the guys picking him up...try recording it Wild...and fitting it in...

last there is the car at the end...i read all the above and understand what you must have gone through...unless you can bring the light up in the car of ND the windows..thats always a tough one...if you have neither...you might want to try shooting later in the day when the sun is lower and you can use that to your advantage...there is always room for a bounce card someplace...even throwing a white towel over something is better than nothing...i remeber a DP running into a walking shot to use his white undershirt stretched out to get light on an actress...lol...we are good friends...he said " i saw here eyes start to go dark and didnt want to cut the shot..so i jumped in there with the only thing i had that second" ..we all laughed. but it worked and saved the shot from another take..

ok..enough of that..i still thought it was a great little film you made in such a short time..i dont think i could ever do something like that...

so once again...well done

Don't b so harsh, Dave

 

[Dave Pastecchi]

Don't b so harsh, Dave
__________________

guess you owe me that one

well said