RED footage from our first feature film. . . "Works in Progress"

[Stephen Pruitt]

Actually, that IS the title of our film: "Works in Progress."



And, for those so inclined, and, perhaps more importantly, those able to ford the rivers of convention to actually figure out how to use VUZE, I hereby present a link to the first eight minutes of our film.

http://www.vuze.com/details/DCVVZAT...X&s=Sworks+in+progress&st=SRELEVANCE&t=X&vt=1

A few words. This is our first film. This is a rough cut. This is all RED. Most importantly, this file is MASSIVELY compressed (from 3.5 gig to 87 megabytes!). This is a 720p version. (The actual finish is being done in 2K.) Director of Photography is Seth Iliff (assisted by David Greusel). I'm just the director.

Audio was recorded directly on the RED. Audio chain was Schoeps mics (or Sonotrim lavs) to a Sound Devices 442 and/or a Sound Devices 788T, through an Insta-Snake CAT5 cable system, into the RED.

All editing was done (by Kevin Harlan) directly on FCP using only the straight RED 2K proxies. We did not use REDCine or REDAlert at all. A bit of Color was added, as well.

Yes, there are a few audio issues that we know about (most notably in the words, "the mother load"), but, like I said, this is just a rough cut to help us attempt to land a few investment dollars.

Comments are absolutely welcomed.

Enjoy!

Stephen

 

[amrrahmy]

before the comment.you said

Comments are absolutely welcomed.

and for other members:

if u find anything that i said "stupid" or wrong(or i don't know what i'm talking about), please specify the part that u thought was "stupid" in ur "mind".

this was patched really quickly, so it might not be the best reference.(but a bit of reediting would be advised)

here we go:

first thing, the footage and the camera need to work and move in a certain way to be considered a film.

1- cinematography is different than photography.(cinematography was lacking from the whole thing.)

u cannpt mount the camera on a fixed tripod throughout most of the film.

there are limits to the speed of the shots(u cant slow down the shots or scenes too much, there are limits that u cannot pass no matter the story or the drama)

(some of the cuts in the intros are to violent for what u were trying to do, were some transitions were too long, doesn't exactly fit for a movie, u can however shorten the shots to pick up the pace a bit.(nothing faster than the soundtrack, sync to the soundtrack))

timeline breaks in the intro, u cant cut from dawn to day to dawn, from indoor to outdoor to indoor.


u need to add perspective to ur shots, u can use the footage by re-shooting some of the scenes with diff views.

rough light and color between the shots, u cant deal with every shot individually, u need to see and cc the scenes as a whole.(u need to keep light and contrast smooth enough, if not used as an effect)

u need to add more perspective to the viewer(again), with the waking up scene, u need to add a transition scene(maybe re-shoot the window/field scene to a wider look and have the actor star to do something else after looking into the window and make a transition scene to cut when the actor start to look away of the window.(since it's one of the main actors it wont be a problem to re-shoot one simple scene, maybe with a movin camera setup this time - (after adding a perspective shot to clarify the room)seeing the actor looking at the window seeing the field as the build up shot but keeping the actor look away moment the master shot into the flashback.))

add more the the flash back part, the fixed wide shot, maybe a bit of editing to tight up the shot a bit, it get's below the slow limit a couple of times.

cut the papers shot allot - maybe add a small effect.


maybe cut the watch to re-shoot ina better position in the story.with the flashback(and the morph, need to make a smoother morph that goes with the story and soundtrack(u need to limit the usage of the same music or tune and add more to ur library, or shorten ur current usage)), add need to think of a more non linear methode to apply the flashback and the emotions to the film.

u cant mix diff light and color setups shots in muticam setups.(they need to be close - no individual cc in multicam.)

u need to remove the fixed wide shot again.(that would probably involve re shooting the scene.)

u cant have fog in the kitchen scene(to keep in mind for future reference).

u cant follow the actor with a fixed cam vertically. all scenes need to be thought of and viewed in pre-production.


and it doesn't feel like a movie.(it can be turned into a tv production movie or a series than a film)

 

[amrrahmy]

also the intro had the best red one footage i have seen.
u clearly talented and have a really good photography background.

 

[Noah Kadner]

Sounds like someone needs to go off and make their own movie...

Noah

 

[Jaime Vallés]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with much of amrrahmy's post. There are a million different ways to shoot a scene, and while someone may have their own views of what makes a movie "cinematic," that certainly doesn't give them the authority to say that what is presented in the clip is "wrong." How can anyone say "you can't have fog in a kitchen?"

I think the footage looks gorgeous, especially the opening titles montage (love the font!) It absolutely feels like a movie. The richness of colors, the angles, that amazing sky! I'm having a hard time believing that this is a super-compressed rough cut of the Quicktime proxies.

As this is still a rough cut, one can't really judge the exact timing of the cuts yet, since they will undoubtedly be trimmed, tweaked, and re-worked a number of times before having a final cut. But we can appreciate the "look" of the footage, and, IMO, that look is fantastic. It really shows off the potential of RED to the world, and the talent of the folks behind the camera. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing the rest of the film ASAP, and can't wait to see what happens when Patrick meets the elderly couple. :w00t:

Great job, Stephen!

 

[Adrian Correia]

Ken Loach would probably disagree too...

 

[amrrahmy]

How can anyone say "you can't have fog in a kitchen?"

if it wasn't an effect and disturbs the image, then it's not advised. that's all

(love the font!)

i looovvvvve the font too.


i didn't say anything about the way it was scripted(u can do that anyway u like), i'm talking about ow it was recorded and edited.

 

[amrrahmy]

As this is still a rough cut, one can't really judge the exact timing of the cuts yet, since they will undoubtedly be trimmed, tweaked, and re-worked a number of times before having a final cut

that's a cut for possible producers.

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

Amazing!

I just download and watched with VLC player at full screen mode on Apple Cinema 30" Display.

The quality is almost or even better than DVD.

Again about the movie,

great, a real American...

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

All. . .

For what it is worth, we really, really like the fog in the kitchen scene.



Thanks for all the comments. Especially on the look. Given how amazing we think this looks on a 2K screen (and it is simply gorgeous to our eyes), I am certain that we'll be permanently bypassing the REDAlert and REDCine programs and just editing off of the 2K proxies. I strongly suspect any gain in "look" we might achieve using RA and/or RC would not be close to worth the price of the time and effort we'd have to expend using the whole 4K files, to say nothing of all of the audio issues we'd have to deal if we stripped off the audio files and had to resynch. Using the proxies is just so amazingly easy (if not the best way) that we can't imagine doing anything else.

As for the compression. . . remember, what you are seeing is only 2.1% of the original file. The difference between the 720p file I have on my MacBook Pro (1.5 gig) and the VUZE file (87 meg) is just night and day to my eyes. The 3.5 gig 2K original just takes my breath away.



Stephen

 

[Ryan Sims]

Comments

Comments

I think amrrahmy comments are very constructive and I would agree with most of them. If something stands out in the edit, then it needs to be refined.

The smoke in the kitchen is inconsistent and that's why it stands out. It's not un-motivated. Frying Bacon can cause quite a bit of smoke. A constant haze would play better though out the scene.

The same goes for pre-dawn, dawn, post-dawn, back to pre-dawn. It takes the viewer out of the story.

The shots are all beautiful. That's the heartache of editing, you have to leave out great shots and scenes sometimes to move
the story along. Each cut should always move the story forward.

The cross-dissolve of the boots walking away is an example of a cut not needed for the story. We don't need to see them walk out the door.

Some framing hear and there is distracing: the end position of the dolly to the guy lying in bed is an example.

We all know film making is hard. Just trying to offer suggestions to help your film.

All of amrrahmy comments can help improve the production as it continues.

I applaud you for your work and hope the best.


Just to be fair, you can criticize my non-RED short film trailer I'm working on posted in HD also on vuze. It is by no means a perfect trailer or film.
"a Fix" HD Link on Vuze

 

[Monteiro]

I loved your trailer. It reminds me of the "the Watchmaker" short produced by Canon to introduce the XLHD1 Camera. Your cameraman's composition, choice of angles and details are so lyrical that they tell the story without words and sell the quality of the Red camera. You are on the right track. My only confusion was trying to figure out what was a flashback and what was not. Maybe a different frame rate or color grading to set the flashbacks apart. But I am a very literal guy. Red should use some of your shots on their website.

 

[Bing Bailey]

movement has to be motivated and keeping the camera still if thats what the story requires is just as valid. the shots are beautiful. I might cut tighter and this some more insert closeup work on some of the dialogie pieces to keep it smooth

 

[Bing Bailey]

as an example of what can be done just from proxies and a little colour work this is pretty amazing. well done stephen. keep the faith

 

[CarlosSanchez]

WOW

Beautiful intro photography! Congratulations. I must say my favorite shot was that of the travel where you can see from one end to the other of the barn. It creates a nice perspective effect. But I still the other shots very beautiful.

Though I did feel that some shots where pretty long, I agree with Jaime Vallés when he says "There are a million different ways to shoot a scene", and yes, it's still to early to judge the cuts given that it's still a rough cut.

The footage here presented leaves it clear to me that you guys have talent. The coloring work was very nice. I liked the skin tones and the skies. Kuddos to your colorist.

I would definently like to see your work when it's completed.

once again, congratulations on such good RED footage.

cs

 

[amrrahmy]

"There are a million different ways to shoot a scene"

there is a million way to tell a story, only one good way to shoot it

 

[Andrae Palmer]

The opening photography was amazing... some of the best i've seen from the RED. It's clear your artistry as a photographer is beyond the norm. The first flash back scene was jarring. I didn't even realize it was a flash back scene. It had a complete different look than the previous gorgeous photography... make it more dreamier for the flash back. The brightness in the rest of the shots did not match the coolness in the opening shots. The photography started out being amazing and then went downhill. Largely due to the bright exposures in the latter clips. The kitchen scene would be great if you could see through the windows to maintain the amazing landscapes of the opening shots... if not then make the shots cooler... overexposed windows in the kitchen is jarring once again when compared to the opening shots.

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

There are a million ways to shoot a scene, too.



As for the kitchen scene, we lit that one with everything we had. There was no way to get it brighter inside without cooking everyone to death. As it was we had a 2500 watt HMI in that scene. There just wasn't enough dynamic range on the camera. But I actually don't mind the blown windows in that shot at all. It keeps our eyes on the actors. . . and not on the scenery.

Stephen

 

[amrrahmy]

we lit that one with everything we had. There was no way to get it brighter inside without cooking everyone to death. As it was we had a 2500 watt HMI in that scene

it's not about how much light, it's how u use it.

can u sample that in redcine with a quick cc and export an image with another from the video and post them, if it's not to much to ask?

maybe u'll fall in love with redcine.....

 

[garydxd]

amrrahmy,

By not typing the "y" and "o" when spelling "You" really save you that much time?