watch The First Laugh - A Documentary About Amateur Stand-Up Comedians

[themattcastro]

Hey guys, I've been using IndieTalk for a while now, and always come here for help and tips for making films, and so I just want to know your thoughts on this trailer for an independent documentary I'm making about Amateur Stand-Up Comedians.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2gLp5zpG9w

We're still working on the full movie, but just want to know if the trailer and the idea seems appealing at all. If it looks too amateurish, looks dumb, etc.

I want the trailer to portray that the movie's upbeat, but has sadness and seriousness mixed in with the laughter, so it'd be great if you could tell me if it does that, and if you'd be interested in actually watching the full-length version.

QUESTION: In general, should color correcting be done with documentaries? This is my first one, and it's going to be a feature length (which would be my first, so that's awesome) and generally unless I see a documentary that's artsy, it doesn't look graded or anything. My main point of motivation being American Movie.

 

[steve gelder]

Hey, themattcastro! (may I call you "thematt"...?)

Seems like a fine idea for a documentary, not stupid or amateurish. But, as a former stand up comic, I do know the topic has been covered a bunch, so I hope you have maybe one or two particular standouts that you've discovered while filming.

I think color correction is fine, and probably happens on a lot of documentaries. Its generally such a subtle part of the process that you may not notice it on many of them, since, with docs, I think you're generally more focused on the subject matter than the cinematography, unless that is a major element of the film due to the locale, or something. The nice thing about docs is that there is a lot of built in forgiveness for poorly-lit footage, or on the fly moments not being perfectly framed or presented.

That being said, I did have some trouble understanding some of the clips in the trailer. I assume these were caught with the on-camera mic, and sometimes, from a distance or in areas with a lot of echo, it's hard to make out what people are saying. I think it might help if you brought the level of your music down a little. I know the soft guitar song probably feels like it needs to be louder to be heard, but I don't want to feel it overpowering the comics. Same with the sustained applause under the first comic talking - I lose a little of him. Just my opinion.

Good luck with the project! I'm sure you've had some serious fun along the way...

gelder

 

[Zensteve]

Looks like a fun project.

Some of the camerawork is pretty shaky. Never cared for that.

Looks like you managed to convince some comics to sit down & talk. Those scenes could use some better lighting. Heck, even have an assistant carry around a collapsible bounce-board to fill in the darker side of the face on impromptu/opportunity interviews.

Nothing wrong with colour-correcting. You're just not going to be doing it on the same scale as narrative productions, where even things like wardrobe & wall colours are pre-determined to aid in post.

I'll totally watch this when you finish it.

 

[Theodebernacius]

It's an interesting subject for a documentary. It's the kind of thing I'd watch. I'm pretty curious about those guys. How do they make a living? How do they support their family? This kind of questions.

Some of the shots in the trailer seemed too dark to me.

At 1:10 the red background behind the guy is flickering. I've seen that artifact in other videos. What it is?

I like the guitar playing in the soundtrack. It's relaxing and pleasant.

 

[Alcove Audio]

My usual complaints...

The production sound was captured with the camera mic so is very "roomy". You should have plugged into the sound system at the club for the comedy routines and put lavs on the interviewees.

I have a very difficult time understanding/hearing what is being said because the guitar is too loud.