Special Effects for New film

All aspects of low budget special effects.

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Moriarty
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Special Effects for New film

Post by Moriarty »

Hey guys,

I just posted a topic in the Film members section about my new short film - Inertia Comes. If you guys could have a few and get back to me regarding the special effects on this film, I'd really appreciate it. They're subtle - hopefully you won't even notice 'em when you watch - but feel free to have a butchers and leave feedback for me.

Cheers guys,

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea ... 882298&n=2
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RE: Special Effects for New film

Post by Pubicface »

myspace might not be the place to put in your vids, about halfway through the movie it starts freezing up every 3 seconds. But from what i saw, *two thumbs up*. The speech timing was well done.
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RE: Special Effects for New film

Post by aaronv2 »

It was obviously planned it was obviously well thaught out some of the stuff was really really cool. The movment of the film was slow but I guess with an "Artisticly Licenced" film like this its okay to add that sort of tension.

Just some notes on camera work. I like how sometimes you break up the shot when there is dialoge but in the long shots that arent moving you need some mid shots in there too like the scene at the couch and in front of the car. Just to break up the pace and help out the scene. Most of the camera work was excellent but most of it was static and not much movment at all. But having said that even some of the static shots were really cool. The one tilting up on you at the cash register was sweet I mean I don't expect any crazy steadycam shots but just a slow pull in or back that is barely noticable can help set the emotion of a line of dialoge.

Some of the sequences were edited well together some werent. But your not exactly a hollywood bigshot so i dont expect everything to be seamless. Sound was good apart from some wind and different frequencies and pitch would happen when you edited some sequences together. I don't know if you plan some ADR or what but it sure would help.

Otherwise Bravo! This is exactly the type of stuff I wanted to see here instead of little fire tests and clones fighting with lightsabers.
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Post by Moriarty »

Cheers for the info guys, would you have any reccomendations as to where it could be posted? I have a You Tube account, but they only handle things that are 10 minutes in length. I suppose I could break it down into two parts though...

Aaron, thanks for the feedback - we planned out a few shots, and yeah, I did want some more mid length shots in certain places, but we only had one day to do the whole thing, and in some parts we didn't have any time to get more shots! The whole dialogue inside the cinema was done at about 3am and everyone was shattered (we'd been filming for the best part of 19 hours)

I know what you're saying about the long shots (i.e couch and car) We shot both o those scenes around 6 and I was worried at the time that we weren't going to have time to get other vital shots before 8. I guess I was also thinking about the cline effect, so I stayed with the one shot for whole scene thing.

We should be doing another short fairly soon - I've got plans for a hitman-esque piece...we'll see...
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Post by smokeythebear »

I liked it reminded me of a classical art film. I thought you meant make up fx so I was a bit disapointed. I didnt watch all of it since I dont like to watch art films. but it is the best art film ive seen,.
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Post by Moriarty »

Cheers for the kudos smokey - I've just added another video on Youtube that is considerably less art, more of a little tale of dark woe.

Check it out -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2Zn9QzUVCo


I did this about a year or two ago - no special effects or anything, just a board game in the middle of the room.
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Post by Epsilon »

Hmm I don't get the film... then again I'm not one much for artsy filmmaking either.
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Post by aaronv2 »

Thats some of the point to this... Subtext generates thaught. Where as its expected these days that a movie in a cinema is full of explosions and love scenes and cheesy gun fights so that you dont have to think.
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Post by smokeythebear »

I love the scrabble intro ( napoleon dynamite like).I still dig big explosions and gun fights.Ps i heard movies like terminater they make 10 million dollars per person killed is this fact or fiction.
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Post by aaronv2 »

Napolean Dynamite is a really cool movie I rate that thing so highly... On the other hand MI3 was the biggest load of horse hay this side of monday. I saw it last night and for the main reason of gunfights there were so many lame gun fights weve seen EVERYTHWERE before. The story was all over the place that thing was just lame. Youd think someone who made LOST which is so story driven would have done better
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Post by smokeythebear »

LOL I had no clue what mI3 meant for minutes lol
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Post by Epsilon »

Haha, Napolean Dynamite... the first few minutes felt soo strange and potentially boring. Then for some reason I got really into it. It was cool.
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Post by ALove »

I like that it was made for less than half a million. It gives me hope.
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Post by Firestorm »

aaronv2 wrote:Napolean Dynamite is a really cool movie I rate that thing so highly... On the other hand MI3 was the biggest load of horse hay this side of monday. I saw it last night and for the main reason of gunfights there were so many lame gun fights weve seen EVERYTHWERE before. The story was all over the place that thing was just lame. Youd think someone who made LOST which is so story driven would have done better
Okay, you lost me on the part about LOST being story driven. They just keep making cr** up, I don't see that they can really salvage a ending that satisfies everyone. But we'll see. I like M:I-3 a lot better than 2 (which was kinda crappy). 1 is still the best though.
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Post by aaronv2 »

Lost is story driven because its a TV show if there was no story people wouldnt watch it. The characterisation and subplot to the characters all adds to the story. They drag it out when the writers have to think of some new stuff.... If you haven't seen the newest episode download it because... geeez the mystery is back!

But because its TV it will get boring and repetative, Prison Break is starting to do the exact same thing. But now that they have escaped there will be a whole bunch of new characters and stuff like that.

Its just the TV buisness.
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Post by UFProductions »

On the topic of Lost, did any of you catch the hidden message during the commercials on the last episode?
Losing consciousness,
in the arms of an angel,
I find only peace.
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Post by smokeythebear »

napoleon dynamite was made for 20,000
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Post by Mr.Anderson »

I've never watched LOST all that long. I watched about 5min of one episode...and I noticed Merry the Hobbit was on. Thats about it.

As for the short film posted. I really enjoyed it. When we first see/hear the man, Death I suppose, in the theatre...that honestly had me creeped out. Alone in a dark room at 12 at night...i was freaked. The lighting was well done, reminded me much of Citizen Kane (Definitely a good thing). Had a very noir feeling that fit appropriately as well. Camera angles, all good. My only issue, very small issue just something that bugged me really, I thought there should have been more shadow over Death's face. He should have been shrouded to the point of a profile, it just was getting to me when I could just kind of see his eyes and cheek. Lost just a little bit of the mystical macabre. But still, very good, and very well done.
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Post by Moriarty »

Thanks again for the comments guys- really appreciated.
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Post by aaronv2 »

Thats not a hobbit thats Charlie the Rock star ahha. I love saying that in public if someone says i cant get something. "But Im Charlie the Rockstar!"

"You never heard of Drive Shaft?" then sing at them "You all everybody!"

Anywhooo enough of my insane dribblings... The scrabble thing was a cool idea if not napolean dynamitesque... Instead of using hands have you ever thaught of stop motion animation so all the letters move by themselves in wild and crazy ways? You could spell it wrong and one letter would know hes in the wrong place and knock the other one out of his spot or something... it would add character to the credits. instead of making it look like and indie film.
Muzzle Flashes, Bullet Time, Lightsabers, Buffy Vampire Effects, War Films.... Ahhhhh!
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Post by ALove »

smokeythebear wrote:napoleon dynamite was made for 20,000
According to IMDB it was $400,000.
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Post by bretoncrackers »

Napoleon Dynamite was a student film project that was originally shot on a minimum budget for roughly 20,000 dollars, as smokeythebear correctly put it. However, after it won a film festival, it's creators received a grant and production backing from larger studios, and it was reshot with 400,000 (as ALove said) as the version which all of you have seen. You're both right, but for this purpose, you should think of it as a 400,000 dollar feature because that was the version you saw, the 20,000 film was nowhere near as good, it doesnt even touch other films of the same budget, such as clerks and el mariachi.
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