archived-videos Out of Commission Official Trailer

For the love of God, don't bill your own material as "actually funny." It just turns people off AND it's offensive to everyone else on here who produces films. I've made comedy films myself, why would I want to watch yours if you come on here insulting my films and everyone elses? That said, I watched the whole trailer. I actually liked the guy playing the lead quite a bit, the problem is that it seems like a good actor in search of good material. The trailer is way too long, you have to be concise to get people interested. The plot of the film to me is what follows: guy gets dumped, goes on a binge, tries to meet new women (give or take). That can easily be shown in less than two and a half minutes. Economize!

The cinematography seems really bland. The angles are average, all available lighting, and no color correction to speak of (or so it seems). The camerawork as a whole just seems very beginner, which I'm not surprised at since you said this is your first film. Is this a MiniDV camera? I'm not a depth of field whore and I'm not saying you have to use a DSLR, it can add a lot though (if used correctly). That said, there's tons of great cinematography that uses very little depth of field, it looks great because it's shot so well. The music is too loud, it competes for the attention of the viewer. And, there's a lot of variation in the levels of the voices. Sometimes they're easy to hear, sometimes not.

And once again, I come back to my original point, don't call your own film "actually funny." It's one thing to have a personal opinion about the quality of other people's work on here, but when you state it like that, it just comes off as egotistical, which is ridiculous when you have such a long ways to go.

Don't get me wrong, you've got potential and if you have the passion and the drive then there's no where to go from here but up. You've got a great start here, but it still needs a lot of work. Do a lot of shorts, I find it's much easier to get experience that way because you can do a lot of films and learn a lot. Whereas on features you're doing one thing for, probably, years.

That's just all my 2 cents. I hope it was at least somewhat helpful.
 
I agree about the lighting and sound.

It looks funny and I would watch it. BTW your missing a fart in your trailer......just sayin'. :)
 
Murdock appreciate the feedback and thanks to everyone who checked out the trailer. Tommydawg I have a hard time taking your comments in a positive way it feels like a tantrum. I would say take your own advice when commenting on posts economize! I find it ammusing that you thought a 2:30 trailer was too long when that is the industry standard run time for a trailer, but you chose to write an essay in response to my use of the word funny.
 
You have great potential, but I hate that you jumped out of the gate with a feature when a couple of shorts under your belt would have made this film so much better. The lead is good, but good overall talent is needed for a feature project. Having said that, you have already crossed the threshold that some short filmmakers have trouble with when making the jump to features. So, you've learned a lot in the process.

You can call your film funny or whatever you want, because in the end it will rise or fall on its own merit. As Murdock stated it does make you want to see more of it, it's just that it's obviously a beginning effort, so on that next project pay closer attention to sound levels on your dialogue and music, angles and color grading. I saw the need for better shot composition. Do a legitimate casting call, and you may have to hurt your friends feelings. My wife was an extra in a film of mine, but let me tell you, she would love to be more out front. But I'm not going to do this if I'm simply wasting my time and playing around. She even told another extra that was in the scene with her that if the shot wasn't right I would cut it out even with her in it. You are either serious or you are not. Keep working, you're on your way.
 
Besides the sound and lighting it actually looks sorta fun. I almost laughed a few times in the trailer. It looks to me like you as the director either casted great or directed your actors great. Just work on the technical aspect of it and you'll be good to go.
 
I would like to say congrats on taking your first step. Here are a couple of things I noticed.

@ 12 seconds -- the shot looks like if it had been done on a cheap green-screen. The guy kinda gets lost within the walls of the room. I think better lighting could had solved this problem, but I will let more experienced members chime in on this.

@ 48 seconds -- the boss(i think) is really funny. I actually liked his presence. Bring him back for more.

@ 1:21 -- the whole big guy as a teddy bear is kinda cheezy. I wouldn't use it. Plus the sound was really low so it was hard to hear what they were saying on the shot.

@ 1:57 -- the lighting is really dark. Also the conversation between the guys - you can see it coming. Meaning the whole -- "I'm gonna get cut while talking and I'm going to try to make the same point again" thing. Sorry that was the best way for me to explain it.


Overall a good effort. If it was on Netflix I would give it a try. The lead guy is quite believable and likable.
Just my humble 2cents.

Joey
 
looks fun but I'm going to support Tommygdawg here. I don't know what trailers you're watching that are "industry standard" but that's a long fucking trailer. And you may have not liked his post about "actually funny" but you still edited it out after - as a guy who is just promoting a comedy-ish film and has posted several clips here I'd be pissed if I had read your original post too. Remember, there's lots of different types of funny. Other than that, good stuff. Best of luck.
 
Ziggy said:
looks fun but I'm going to support Tommygdawg here. I don't know what trailers you're watching that are "industry standard" but that's a long fucking trailer. And you may have not liked his post about "actually funny" but you still edited it out after - as a guy who is just promoting a comedy-ish film and has posted several clips here I'd be pissed if I had read your original post too. Remember, there's lots of different types of funny. Other than that, good stuff. Best of luck.
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MPAA says that it is OKAY for a trailer to have a run-time of 2:30 minutes; however they should not exceed that. You'll see many teasers and trailers ranging from 30 seconds to 2:30 minutes. So people that are whining and moaning about the trailer being too long... well... don't watch it then. This filmmaker obviously put a lot of hard work into this project.

I thought the trailer was really funny, and I'd be very excited to see it!

The lead actor was very convincing!

The production values may not be hollywood standard but if the whole movie was on par with the overall feel and quality of the trailer then I'd be a happy viewer.
 
DeJager said:
MPAA says that it is OKAY for a trailer to have a run-time of 2:30 minutes; however they should not exceed that. You'll see many teasers and trailers ranging from 30 seconds to 2:30 minutes. So people that are whining and moaning about the trailer being too long... well... don't watch it then. This filmmaker obviously put a lot of hard work into this project.

I thought the trailer was really funny, and I'd be very excited to see it!

The lead actor was very convincing!

The production values may not be hollywood standard but if the whole movie was on par with the overall feel and quality of the trailer then I'd be a happy viewer.
Click to expand...

I think you missed my point which was not intended as either whining or moaning. Defending your trailer as industry standard when it is on the very far end of the spectrum is a tad specious. I liked it but would have cut 30 seconds off of it. It was an opinion.
 
If you were to watch some of the newer releases from Hollywood, you'll see that the majority are well over 2 minutes long.

For example (these were some of the movies on the first page of Youtube Movie Trailers)

The Devil Inside (2:36)
Contraband (2:31)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (2:31)
The Green Hornet (2:34)
Big Miracle (2:33)

I'm only trying to say that 2:30 is pretty close to industry standard (if done right) although there are many many opinions on that :)

I agree though... the trailer could have been cut down even less. I find that 2:30 minutes for most trailers is too long.
 
DeJager said:
If you were to watch some of the newer releases from Hollywood, you'll see that the majority are well over 2 minutes long.

For example (these were some of the movies on the first page of Youtube Movie Trailers)

The Devil Inside (2:36)
Contraband (2:31)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (2:31)
The Green Hornet (2:34)
Big Miracle (2:33)

I'm only trying to say that 2:30 is pretty close to industry standard (if done right) although there are many many opinions on that :)

I agree though... the trailer could have been cut down even less. I find that 2:30 minutes for most trailers is too long.
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Yup. I probably added my two cents cuz my producer practically shit himself when I handed in a 2:10 trailer and I had to cut it to 1:47 BUT that said. I think trailers are harder to produce than features so again cudos to this dude.
 
I agree for the most part with Tommygdawg original post. I am not so sure it was really funny. The length of the trailer seemed long. I think the trailer was a little too slow. The whole thing could have been summed up in a short point of time. We get that it is a romantic comedy but what makes it special. If there is funny parts highlight those. Overall I believe this trailer could be a minute long and be a much better trailer.

The footage seemed under exposed most of the time. I think a DSLR camera would have fixed that issue or better lighting with the camera you had. Anyways, for your first film you did great form what I have seen. It is not easy to make a film even a short film.

Making the trailer its self can become a work of art and also be time consuming. Consider that you may need to really put more time and effort to really get a great one. Try bench marking your trailer to other trailers from romantic comedies. That should give you ideas on how to edit together a better trailer from the footage you have. Make the best of what you have.

"The cinematography seems really bland" I agree on that.
 
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I thought the main character was very engaging to watch, the other actors were mostly decent too and the script was good, certainly had me smiling in places.

So yes, the lighting and cinematography isn't going to give Ridley Scott any sleepless nights, the sound could have been better, and that's kind of a shame because you've got some solid stuff there that's let down a bit by the other areas, but overall I thought the central performance kept it very watchable regardless.

Agree that the trailer feels a bit long though. Keep it punchy!
 
I thought it was funny. I'm tough too, 98% of indie stuff I see isn't funny for me. Most comedies, even in Hollywood, always seem like they're trying so hard to be funny.

If it's funny, I don't care about cinematography etc. I don't really even care about the story. It's big Trump card as far as I'm concerned -- similar to blow jobs.
Funny isn't easy to pull off.
 
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