Here's a short film I helped a small church in the USVI make. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsGBznWtcWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsGBznWtcWk
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archived-videos My Brother's Keeper
- Thread starter pinnaclepoint
- Start date
I think the weakest part of the film was the script - words sound different when written down when they're actually said aloud, and it's something that when not took into consideration can leave the finished product feeling extremely cheesy, as is the problem here. Some parts like when the man says to himself "Baptist church - this is the perfect place to hide it!" just felt like they were pulled straight out of a film made before synchronised audio was properly used and dialogue was told on black backgrounds.
The script also seemed to have very little continuity, and very little logic. The whole power display scene just didn't make sense. Why were they demonstrating their powers to each other when the reason they had left in the first place was to use them to find a lost friend? Why were they actually surprised at finding out each other's powers, when they'd known each other for 8 years, especially the fart-power guy who actually showed his power in front of everyone in the previous scene? Why was the main guy talking as if the rehearsal was some extremely important step in finding their friend? Why did that one guy destroy a car just to show his power off?
Also, later on, why was the psychic woman flown to the scene, when shortly after all their friends came out from behind a bush, somehow getting there more discreetly? And why did Skippy (or whatever the fast guy was called) say "Nice to meet y'all", when he already did know them all, having came from the same church and the whole point of the search party being that he was their friend? It just doesn't make sense throughout the vast majority of the film.
The sound quality was often off during most of the scenes, which I'm assuming is because of something like instead of using a boom mic or shotgun mic or whatever, you were just using the in-built microphone of whatever camera you were using. As is though, the quality of speech is fine, it's more the volume of it that makes it seem shaky, because of the changing distances between the actors and the camera.
Also, you've tried to use a mixture of genres (action, comedy, and parts drama I guess) but have done so wrongly. Instead of blending them to make an equal parts humorous and action-packed piece, you've got one scene being funny, the next being fast-paced seriousness. The contrast does not do the piece justice, and though most movies do tend to lean heavy on certain aspects of the genre in specific scenes, they don't just completely forget about the other genres that the film takes.
The strongest part of the whole piece in my opinion is the comedy sections, mainly the part between the "8 years later" subtitle and the end of the power displaying. That section in particular doesn't take itself seriously, and is better off for it. The tone of humor used in that part just fits with the acting ability of the majority of the cast - no offence, but they're pretty cheesy actors, and the equally cheesy script is fine for them. This was the redeeming factor of the whole title, and the part done best in my opinion.
A simple tip, if you try and write serious sections of a script again: imagine the actors who are cast actually speaking the lines. When one person says something, it may sound completely different from someone else, and is the very reason why actors are often typecast for specific roles, because they're just made for certain styles of dialogue and action. It's also why casting happens in the first place, rather than just picking certain people to do certain things.
The script also seemed to have very little continuity, and very little logic. The whole power display scene just didn't make sense. Why were they demonstrating their powers to each other when the reason they had left in the first place was to use them to find a lost friend? Why were they actually surprised at finding out each other's powers, when they'd known each other for 8 years, especially the fart-power guy who actually showed his power in front of everyone in the previous scene? Why was the main guy talking as if the rehearsal was some extremely important step in finding their friend? Why did that one guy destroy a car just to show his power off?
Also, later on, why was the psychic woman flown to the scene, when shortly after all their friends came out from behind a bush, somehow getting there more discreetly? And why did Skippy (or whatever the fast guy was called) say "Nice to meet y'all", when he already did know them all, having came from the same church and the whole point of the search party being that he was their friend? It just doesn't make sense throughout the vast majority of the film.
The sound quality was often off during most of the scenes, which I'm assuming is because of something like instead of using a boom mic or shotgun mic or whatever, you were just using the in-built microphone of whatever camera you were using. As is though, the quality of speech is fine, it's more the volume of it that makes it seem shaky, because of the changing distances between the actors and the camera.
Also, you've tried to use a mixture of genres (action, comedy, and parts drama I guess) but have done so wrongly. Instead of blending them to make an equal parts humorous and action-packed piece, you've got one scene being funny, the next being fast-paced seriousness. The contrast does not do the piece justice, and though most movies do tend to lean heavy on certain aspects of the genre in specific scenes, they don't just completely forget about the other genres that the film takes.
The strongest part of the whole piece in my opinion is the comedy sections, mainly the part between the "8 years later" subtitle and the end of the power displaying. That section in particular doesn't take itself seriously, and is better off for it. The tone of humor used in that part just fits with the acting ability of the majority of the cast - no offence, but they're pretty cheesy actors, and the equally cheesy script is fine for them. This was the redeeming factor of the whole title, and the part done best in my opinion.
A simple tip, if you try and write serious sections of a script again: imagine the actors who are cast actually speaking the lines. When one person says something, it may sound completely different from someone else, and is the very reason why actors are often typecast for specific roles, because they're just made for certain styles of dialogue and action. It's also why casting happens in the first place, rather than just picking certain people to do certain things.
Well, that's a fun movie!
X-Men: Virgin Islands
I think as a showcase of your mastery of After Effects, this film is wonderful. Some of those effects looked quite convincing.
As a piece of narrative work, I'll be brutally frank -- it feels like you haven't really read up on the basics of filmmaking, some of the "rules" that are the first few things a filmmaker is taught. It feels like you just grabbed a camera and started shooting, without knowing any of the guidelines that most new filmmakers are advised to follow. Am I correct?
So, whatever you're doing, it's pretty clear that you've figured out how to use After Effects. And that's fine if that's all you want to do. But if you want to be more of a complete filmmaker, I'd recommend expanding your horizons, so to say. I'm a fan of this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Bones-Camera-Course-Video/dp/0960371818
X-Men: Virgin Islands
I think as a showcase of your mastery of After Effects, this film is wonderful. Some of those effects looked quite convincing.
As a piece of narrative work, I'll be brutally frank -- it feels like you haven't really read up on the basics of filmmaking, some of the "rules" that are the first few things a filmmaker is taught. It feels like you just grabbed a camera and started shooting, without knowing any of the guidelines that most new filmmakers are advised to follow. Am I correct?
So, whatever you're doing, it's pretty clear that you've figured out how to use After Effects. And that's fine if that's all you want to do. But if you want to be more of a complete filmmaker, I'd recommend expanding your horizons, so to say. I'm a fan of this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Bones-Camera-Course-Video/dp/0960371818
That was just pro.