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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Help me make a better Sci-fi - EVERYWHEN (Shot on RED)

J

Jens Peder Hertzberg

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Hey REDusers!

Being a 17 year old student, i just had my first experience with the RED workflow. I did post a link to the first trailer about 6 months back, but now that the premiere-screening is closing up we thought a second trailer would do!
So check that out before you continue reading:)

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXUQ_T68hw0

What i'm interested in hearing from you is what did and did not work in terms of cinematography. Iknow theres not a lot to analyze from the trailer, but from those few shots you've seen: what could I improve? Im thinking anything from lighting and use of colors to camera placement and movement. We wanna improve as much as we can!
We did all of it by ourselves, script, cinematography, set design, vfx and so on.
Hoping for some constructive response, here!:-)

All the best,
Jens Peder
Jarand
 
Well, this is my first post here, but I have been watching from afar.... I'd like to congratulate you on you film and ask about your budget, what budget did you have to make the film? This may be more impressive to know. Also are you using seasoned actors or doing it all yourselves?

My first and only criticism would be the voice over, for me it needs absolute definition as a film, using the voice over you have currently makes it sound more like a series. Other than that, I can only congratulate you, I would love to see more. I absolutely love the concept too.

Tell me more, do you have any background footage we can see, images, films. Please offer more detail.

Absolute best regards from London

ian.
 
That was an awesome trailer guys. Congrats! I don't really have any criticism for your cinematography. I thought that it looked great. If I had to pick a weak link I would say it was the voice over.
 
Looks great. I would have liked the cuts to be a bit slower, hold onto each shot just a bit longer as I felt that I wanted to see more into each individual scene to get a better sense of the movie. But otherwise, very impressive!
 
Looks great for being from students on a tight budget. I'm not wild about the color grading, it needs more "oomph". To me it felt like you were lacking in lighting design and budget (and you probably were), while the colors don't really need to be brighter or more saturated, still feels like it lacks depth and texture. That may be an unfair judgement for a trailer though -- need to see the whole film. The framing, shot dynamics, etc.. all seemed great!

Like others, the voice over didn't do it for me. Better to let shots and actual dialog from the film stand on their own and create a trailer that way. Also the narration speaking of a parallel universe being terrifying, there's no way to quantify that from what is being shown.
 
Looks great guys! I myself am 14 and your work reassures me that I can also make a feature. Like everyone, I didn't feel the voice over was very effective. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really fit. I don't think there was one shot that didn't look good. But I think some could have used a bit more light. Maybe not on the actor but in the background to add some more depth.
 
Looks great. You guys have come a long way since the Harry Potter and Deja Vu vids. Impressive production value. The photography and coloring look incredible. I look forward to seeing the film when you release it.
 
Let me put it to you this way.

I work in Cable TV, and this looks a lot better than a lot of the "Movie of the Week" crap I ordinarily see.

You've done a stellar job.

Now I work in promo, and I cut trailers for a living, so I'm going to have to just comment on ONE THING.

Your voice over.

A) The script is a little over the top, but I like where it's going.
B) The actual VO guy to me sounds like a friend read it (which I'm sure they did). Get a real VO guy to read this, it will make a huge difference. If you don't have access to a vo guy, PM me.

thanks.
 
Well I don't know if it would make sense to get a voice over guy since the vo is told from the POV of the main character. It has to be in the main character's voice a la Goodfellas, Shawshank, etc.
 
Hey filmlovers and THANK YOU for awesome feedback! WOW, really; this is not what i expected from you people!

Jeff Kilgroe said:
Looks great for being from students on a tight budget. I'm not wild about the color grading, it needs more "oomph". To me it felt like you were lacking in lighting design and budget (and you probably were), while the colors don't really need to be brighter or more saturated, still feels like it lacks depth and texture. That may be an unfair judgement for a trailer though -- need to see the whole film. The framing, shot dynamics, etc.. all seemed great!

Like others, the voice over didn't do it for me. Better to let shots and actual dialog from the film stand on their own and create a trailer that way. Also the narration speaking of a parallel universe being terrifying, there's no way to quantify that from what is being shown.
Click to expand...

THIS! Although i can't say i agree with you on everything, it helps when someone points out certain things that should've been done different, and actually say why I sould do certain things to f.ex. the colors. Very good, Jeff! (y) And the rest of you! :D

Now, I couldn't help but notice that none of you really liked the V.O., and that's perfectly fine, I too think it's lacking that "Wow"-factor. But, like always, we were on a tight schedule with this trailer, and simply didn't have time to re-record it :/
That being said, there's nothing wrong with the voice actor, and to those of you who don't know, he is an actor from the actual film, one of the most important characters. It sort of had to be him that did the v.o... So to all of you stretching out to help with the V.O, thanks; but no thanks :) I appreciate the excitement, but it's just not that type of film.

Like I said, we did all of it by our selves, and at the time the whole thing was shot (april 2012), pretty much everyone on the team were 16yrs. The budget was right below $10K, and $6K of these were used for renting the RED ONE! Best tech-experience I have ever had was with that camera!:)
Rest of the budget we spent on pretty much anything else, and my favorite: the quad dolly! The whole film was more or less shot on the dolly, so everything has this moving flow.. hopefully you'll like it! :)

If you want know more about EVERYWHEN and it's possible release/available for download, or simply want to follow us in the future, visit: http://www.facebook.com/JARANDandJENS

All the best,
Jens Peder
 
Layi B said:
Well I don't know if it would make sense to get a voice over guy since the vo is told from the POV of the main character. It has to be in the main character's voice a la Goodfellas, Shawshank, etc.
Click to expand...

I still agree with Nick; it isn't working. Your execution needs to be improved in regards to both the acting and the editing. I would record it again and re-cut it. Remember to direct your voice over session. That too is a difficult skill to master.

Your narration is intended to draw people into the drama but as it stands the effect is the opposite. It is detached and wooden feeling. I think I understand that the character must be emotionally detached, but if none of the underlying fear and hurt are communicated in the narration, then how do you intend to draw the audience into the drama? (It's a rhetorical question. Don't feel like you need to respond to it, just consider it if you please.) If that is indeed what you are asking of your actor, know that it is a big ask. This is very difficult to pull off.

Good Luck.

Edit: I know the OP asked specifically about the cinematography... It looks better than one might expect from the average 17-year old. Your production value appears to be pretty high. Keep up the good work.
 
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Scott Crawley said:
I still agree with Nick; it isn't working. Your execution needs to be improved in regards to both the acting and the editing. I would record it again and re-cut it. Remember to direct your voice over session. That too is a difficult skill to master.

Your narration is intended to draw people into the drama but as it stands the effect is the opposite. It is detached and wooden feeling. I think I understand that the character must be emotionally detached, but if none of the underlying fear and hurt are communicated in the narration, then how do you intend to draw the audience into the drama? (It's a rhetorical question. Don't feel like you need to respond to it, just consider it if you please.) If that is indeed what you are asking of your actor, know that it is a big ask. This is very difficult to pull off.

Good Luck.

Edit: I know the OP asked specifically about the cinematography... It looks better than one might expect from the average 17-year old. Your production value appears to be pretty high. Keep up the good work.
Click to expand...

We couldn't re-record it, I said that. And though i'm glad you all comment on the V.O. so that we can improve in the future, I don't get why you all would re-record it. Done is done.
But hey, THANKS :D

Nick Morrison said:
B) The actual VO guy to me sounds like a friend read it (which I'm sure they did). Get a real VO guy to read this, it will make a huge difference. If you don't have access to a vo guy, PM me.

thanks.
Click to expand...

And just to clear things up, no matter how hard it is for the actor, I would never have a v.o. guy do the v.o. in one of my movies. Takes out everything that's personal about the movie; story, characters... Of course, this style suits some films, but having a cheesy V.O. in a Sci-fi thriller that is supposed to be deep and believable.. thats just not how I wanna do things ^_^

But i wanna thank you for being positive and constructive! Thanks, it helps! :) And to all of you who would like to help with V.O. (even though i'm not a big fan of the idea), it's awesome to see people willing to do such things! GREAT (y)

Jens Peder
 
Jens Peder Hertzberg said:
And just to clear things up, no matter how hard it is for the actor, I would never have a v.o. guy do the v.o. in one of my movies. Takes out everything that's personal about the movie; story, characters... Of course, this style suits some films, but having a cheesy V.O. in a Sci-fi thriller that is supposed to be deep and believable.. thats just not how I wanna do things ^_^
(y)

Jens Peder
Click to expand...

The voice over doesn't work at all and ended up being cheesy. It sounds like a cheap voiceover guy did it. The viewers don't know its the main actor becuase they have'nt heard him. I think just having the actual audio from each scene would of been way more powerful. Visuals look good so far in the trailer though.
 
Patrick Wieland said:
The voice over doesn't work at all and ended up being cheesy. It sounds like a cheap voiceover guy did it. The viewers don't know its the main actor becuase they have'nt heard him. I think just having the actual audio from each scene would of been way more powerful. Visuals look good so far in the trailer though.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. The v.o. does come off as a bit cheesy, but there's a difference between having an actor do it, as opposed to a v.o. guy. It wouldn't make sense, what so ever, to have a random guy do the voice over in the trailer. It will all make sense once you see the movie (that sounded incredibly stupid, iknow).

But in the first trailer we did use sound from the actual film, and it worked great, but we just felt like trying out something different. Its not always easy to see the true quality of something when your stuck for hours making it from ground up. :/ good to have someone point out the weak spots tho', to ensure perfection in the future! :)

I cant seem to get the correct link, but the first trailer is available on the same youtube channel as the one linked in this thread. So check it out if you will, maybe it worked better soundwise ;)

All the best,
Jens Peder
 
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