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watch Big West & Smokin' Tall - Episode 1 - Pilot

Nice, i like the guns, are they airsoft?

Some nice editing, bit thin on the plot though on that episode?



Few questions , what editing software you using and camera?

Did you do the music yourself though, sounds bit pro ;-)
 
Thank you very much for your honest feedback! It is very appreciateD! :)

Yup, the guns are airsoft guns. :) A fried of mine recently got heavily into it and when I saw them I knew we had to use them as props in a film.

As for the plot, yes, it is VERY dry and basic on this first episode. This is an entirely different crew I am working with on this one and none of them have ever done anything like this. Timing was factor so the whole thing was improvised while we shot. Not very professional, but good for practice. Hopefully the following episodes will clear up the plot as the story goes from improv to something on paper. I hope to do a bunch of different series eventually but this one will be alright to roll with for awhile.

As for my gear, I am using a Canon HV20. The editing is done in Final Cut, and the color correcting and various lense effects are done in Magic Bullet Looks.

I hope that I will soon be able to attach my lenses to the Canon, just gotta build one. :p

The music is "Colin" Performed By G.E. Smith And Larry Saltzman. The gunfire scene is Nine Inch Nails :)

Thanks again for the feedback, if you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer them :)
 
Improv is great fun, the first 2 shorts i did were improvised by myself and another person. Its always good to have some sort of idea what your going to do though.

I would of liked the hv20 however didnt have enough so had to get the fs100 instead. Not as good but is better than my old compact VHS corder.


I liked the text for credits you used, i use sony vegas to edit, not sure if i can do somthing like that.


One thing to remember on the music though if you want to use your shorts for anything you will need permission from the artists.

I am gathering unsigned music and trying to do my own stuff, so i don't have to worry about copyright.
 
My 2 biggest problems with it was(Besides the plot):

I couldn't hear the dialouge.

and

The designer sound effects made it more cheesy.
 
Lol, there wasn't much dialog at all really. ;)

sound effects? the only sound effects i used were the gun sounds and I'm not AE expert, so the gun shots are just muzzle flashes from Video Co-Pilot's pack.

CDCosta, any chance you could provide some inside or suggestions on something better?

Here is episode 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyoq1FAuGog
 
Just watched episode 2, well done with that. I think maybe the sound on the voices needs to be more upfront, if you know what i mean. WHat mic you using?
 
I'm using an rode mic boom mic that is actually just over top of the table, however I left the mic att on so it took some work to bring the audio up as it was. Lol. Good lesson tho. Lol ;)
 
hessonfilms said:
Lol, there wasn't much dialog at all really. ;)

sound effects? the only sound effects i used were the gun sounds and I'm not AE expert, so the gun shots are just muzzle flashes from Video Co-Pilot's pack.

CDCosta, any chance you could provide some inside or suggestions on something better?

Here is episode 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyoq1FAuGog
Click to expand...

SFX as in the "whooshing" sounds when the guy moved behind the trees.


I thought the second ep. was better.

But, Here's my opinion, and it's not nice.

-Audio was still horrible, you really need to work on that, it takes away from any realism the episode may have had.

-I thought the set design was nice.

-The acting was pretty bad, the dialouge was rough.

-Some of your shots were out of focus slightly.

-It was generally slow, and came off 'fake'.

-The characters did not look like or acted like they were drugies, and it just seemed staged.

-Again the SFX, the 'short hits' drums were poorly used in it.

-The second underlay of drums was much better

-The second scene was would looked liked it was over exposed then color corrected poorly.

-The second scene was poorly lit with a green wish washy color that 'blurred' everything together.

-The SFX when their kicking him are poorly used.

-I'm not sure if your doing DOF in post, but it's pretty bad in some shots.


Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible but no means, but you have a long way to come.

I don't care if you don't agree, take it or leave it.


Just have fun and learn.
 
I think there is a lot of coolness in this film, but I also think there are a few sloppy elements, and things that could have been improved.

* The film suffers because of the friend casting. It's hard to fully immerse oneself into a film where the actors are all too young, and clearly using clothing from their own closets.

* The 180 degree pan up from the gun and around to the back of the guys head at timesig 00:50 is sloppy. The DP even overshoots the end mark and comes back...that should have been shot until it was accurate.

* Albeit a little cliche, I like the opening title sequence and style. It's fun.

* The editing for the most part was solid. No complaints generally speaking.

* The transition from the opening sequence to the actual movie seemed rushed.

* The large Oakley emblem...are you sure you want to have obvious placement in this film? If you aren't trying to make any money at all...sell tickets...DVD...something, then that's totally cool. But if you plan on making a dime from this, it's best to keep those things out. I guess you're using NIN and other artists for the music...so clearly you're not worried about copyright. Disregard this bullet point.

* The music is too loud to hear the dialog--in the one or two shots there is dialog.

* The last shot was a little confusing...I understand it was showing a third gunman or someone in the woods firing...but it was hard to make out...if your point was to simply show the muzzle flash, then you got it...but it's still a bit of a sloppy shot. The camera goes back and forth as if searching for a cool shot.

* Some of the shots and moves were cool...but I think the hand-held was mostly sloppy.

Overall I think it's pretty fun. I'd love to see what you come up with for the second episode. I think the camera image is good and it seems you guys did some decent grading and correcting. Some of the shots, however, are too dark.

Keep 'em coming!!!
 
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