Malice in Wonderland

[Ed Watkins]

Having a RED makes you push your boundaries in all sorts of ways.

I'm a Natural History documentary filmmaker by trade, but I have been working on a little side project (as part of my ongoing attempt to finally get my MFA) this last month.

It's my first ever green screen project. I shot, animated, edited and keyed it all. I'll put the short online after I do the final sound mix later this week.

The drive behind the short was that science films often portray their content in a very pedestrian way. I set out to challenge this approach by presenting a theory about parasite/host co-evolution (by Matt Ridley) in a visually extraordinary manner, using Lewis Carroll's imagery.

Nikon glass, build 15 beta.

EDIT:
here's the short: http://www.vimeo.com/1478055
(sound still needs a bit or work, and the compression to 720p added some artifacts)

 

[Wayne D]

see what happens when you go down the rabbit hole...!!

love the grade and the art direction....what are you putting in you tea over there?:tongue:

 

[Graeme Nattress]

Fantastic - would love to see more!

Graeme

 

[hunterrichards]

Was all of this done in studio? Looks really nice- I love the pink/purple hazy look.

 

[Ed Watkins]

It was all shot on a make-shift green screen (sheet) in a dance studio on a Sunday morning, not very familiar territory for me.
The shoot was super low budget, more of a test than a production.

The stills probably make it look nicer than it actually is, but I'll let you be the judge of that. h34r:

 

[jaadgy akanni]

Which Nikons? Thank you.

 

[Ed Watkins]

17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S
80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S
50mm f/1.4 AIS
105mm micro f/2.8 AIS

 

[Snow R. Shai]

Good Looks

Good Looks

Ed

Frames looks great.
Interesting, strong colors.
Beautiful. Different.
Let us know when we can see it all!

 

[Bing Bailey]

can we see some moving footage

 

[Ed Watkins]

can we see some moving footage

Sure!
Here it is:
http://www.vimeo.com/1478055

(sound still needs a little work, and conversion to 720p for vimeo added some compression artifacts)

 

[Nathan Garofalos]

That was really good, and super creative. Nice job.

 

[BASSAM MSSALATIE]

Heavy graphics ,nice compositing .:sarcasm:

 

[FELIPE.AGUILAR]

coool, congratulations!
ƒ

 

[Bing Bailey]

Ed I think its great, amazing how much quality you got out of it

 

[Ed Watkins]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys n' gals!
It was great fun to make.

 

[Snow R. Shai]

beautiful

beautiful

it is.
big props for this.

 

[Ed Watkins]

Hey all, just to let you know I just won a Gold CINE award for 'Malice in Wonderland'.
Is that the first RED short film to win a CINE? I hope so!

Have a great xmas.

 

[Nick Wolf]

A prize well deserved...Fabulous!


DogDay.


P.S.
I thought the Red Queen was really hot.

 

[A. Bastaki]

guys, what I don't get is.. most major film fests do not allow films get in competition if they are screened; online/tv/ or released in theatres.

How do you guys get away with it?

 

[Ed Watkins]

CINE's don't have that requirement. Most films that are entered have been screened.