First short movie (5 minutes) shot with Red Scarlet dragon

[jerome porter]

This movie is about a young lady in a disturbing relationship who makes the ultimate sacrifice to escape it. Movie shot with Red Scarlet Dragon. This was my first movie. We did not have a script written (we winged it off of an idea). We just wanted to test the camera out. Lighting used was two flolight 1000 watt LEDs, Three sigma lenses. 20mm 1.8, 30mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.4. Mostly shot at ISO 250 and 3.5 F stop.


https://youtu.be/z257cWscmDE

 

[Ibrahim Abdulkarim]

DOPE!!!!!

Yea the cinematography wasnt perfect but I think thats what adds to the realism of the story.

strictly speaking about the story and the acting I FREAKING LOVED IT!! personally I like to see a real story and this was it. I felt like i was in that room with them.

Love it!!!

 

[jerome porter]

Thanks for the feedback. Can you give me some pointers on improving the cinematography.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

You know what? I don't watch enough short films. I think more people would actually enjoy them if somehow they were collated in a way that made them easy to access, so that you wouldn't have to really think about it. Short films are not just good exercises for cast & crew - they can be just as enjoyable as features are. After all, theatres used to show short films (i.e. cartoons) before the B movie, before the feature. We watch TV series, we watch features, and we should be watching shorts, too.

Okay, first impressions: the image is too flat. It's as if you took an Alexa and slapped on a few extra low contrast filters for good measure. And I do not like that weird green tint you overlaid. I like natural lighting - and by that I don't mean only sunlight. No, no. I mean, I love it when sets are full of practicals: desk lights, ceiling lights, headlights, tail lights, neon signs, computer monitors, phones, fairy lights, etc. Light is magic! What is Christmas without lights? By no means do I call myself a DP, but I know what light means to me, and I think that in Trash, you did not convey a love for light (although I suspect you do have this love, it's just that you haven't expressed it).

I think you made a choice about lighting based on the story. You chose to create a cold atmosphere, indicative of what the girlfriend was feeling. I disagree with your interpretation, but I respect it and understand it. So what would I have done differently? Well, I don't know. I wasn't on that set. But I think you exposed on the lean side.

Not to say that shots can't be underexposed. I just watched an episode of Mad Men last night (season 3) where the dinner tables were about 2/3 under (to my eye) to contrast with the action at the front of the dining hall, which seemed 1/3 over (screen shots later if you want them).

I suppose I didn't feel that there was much texture. Texture of course meaning more than just, say, dried flowers on a table, or 16mm graininess, or flare.

I felt that the film didn't make a visual statement. The story I found to be a good one - if you're satisfied with a story, you know it, regardless of anything else (dialogue, performances etc.). The Epic Dragon is the greatest digital movie camera in production today, and it can do this sort of production while half asleep!

As for performances, I could believe the boyfriend, but not the girlfriend. I think half of this is the director's responsibility. Not that I am a director or an actor, either. I'm just calling it how I see it. As for scene two, I wondered if the boyfriend was really abusing the girl - or was he play fighting? I knew of course he was abusing her but it didn't feel like it. One remedy could be to replace the multiple strikes with just one. Cold and harsh. Also, I would have employed the technique of multiple shots, mostly close-ups, rapidly edited, during the short moment when she's being struck.

When the girl pointed her gun I didn't actually think she'd fire it. So you have me going there. But when she did, I didn't believe it. No recoil! The light flashes didn't quite look real either - were they added in post? Okay I'm being really picky, and it's easier to criticise than to create, but hey, while I'm at it, I may as well. I've done a short production (under someone else's direction) and it's a slog - I've even had to redo some scenes, too. It's part of the frustration that goes into film production, but it's a fun ride. Hope to see your next one soon.

Oh, and please don't use YouTube. It's such a ratshit platform for showing serious or original work. I only use it to get free music and scenes from TV shows which I might put together for a Vine video or something.

 

[jerome porter]

Thanks Karim, great deal of info. I believe in most cases it does come down to personal preferences but I believe you gave some valuable advice that I will take in.