Author Topic: My film I made for fun(not a pro) NSFW language  (Read 3358 times)

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My film I made for fun(not a pro) NSFW language
« on: January 22, 2015, 06:10:07 PM »

Offline celtic -_- pride

  • Jaylen Brown
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http://youtu.be/QpKgaM-D4l4

Thanks for watching it was a lot of fun to make. It's called The Home a story about a young writer struggling and going home to visit old friends.
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Re: My film I made for fun(not a pro) NSFW language
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2015, 06:52:28 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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Nice dude.  Have you taken any classes for it ?  Are you the main guy in the film?  Do you do any stage acting or anything?  Did you just do this for fun or do you hope to continue improving?

I've made some (pretty bad) short films.  I've shared a few on the forum before.  There's always ways to improve at filmmaking.  If you haven't already, you might want to look and see if they have any film competitions in your area.  I find that they are really great for networking, learning new methods, and experimenting.  You should see if they do the 48 Hour film project in your area:  https://www.48hourfilm.com/  ... I've entered the one in Seattle a few times.  This year they had about 80 teams (some up to 100 people large) of all various talent levels.  There were total amateurs who had never picked up a camera before... and professionals who work at some of the best creative agencies in the Northwest.    I've made a lot of like-minded friends while participating in those.  But also, it just gives you a strict set of parameters and inspiration for creating new work.  They will give you this year's requirements (length, prop, character, line of dialogue genre) and it then forces you to make something creative with very limited time.  It's a crazy exercise, but a lot of fun. 

Whether you are trying to pursue it as a career or just for fun, I'd say keep at it!

Re: My film I made for fun(not a pro) NSFW language
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2015, 07:24:05 PM »

Offline celtic -_- pride

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Hey man thanks for the great feedback. I don't plan on pursuing a career I just wanted to do it. I'm the lead character and I wrote the dialogue but I encouraged improv significantly. Jessie trombley was really the only improv. I plan on making a series out this character with a balance of over the top humor and a comig of age story. I've wrote a comic book six issues and have always enjoyed writing. Write a lot of songs and what not. Thank you all for the views.
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Re: My film I made for fun(not a pro) NSFW language
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2015, 08:06:28 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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Good stuff man.  I like that style of improvisational acting.  It's an actual movement called "mumblecore" where each scene has a basic outline (Jenny breaks up with Greg) and the actors bring it to life with their own character interpretations.  I think a recent example that was pretty good is the movie "Drinking Buddies".  All the dialogue just feels so much more natural and real, because it's all somewhat spontaneous. 

I'm by no means a great filmmaker.  But here's some very basic random tips after watching yours.

- Invest in a better audio source.  A shotgun mic or something.  It will make a big difference in the quality.  Nothing screams "amateur" more than onboard audio from a camera.

- Nothing wrong with camera movement, but you might want to steady it a bit... even if that means sticking it on a tripod

- I love musical transitions.  I use them all the time.  I like that it creates literal movement and drives the story forward.  But careful about not making them too long.  It's somewhat unnecessary.  I think your first one was about 2 minutes.  I've seen short films shorter than that.  Keep that in mind when you think about pacing.

- Speaking of music, be careful not to use copywritten work.  It's probably fine for fun productions (I've done it before), but if you ever want to do more with your films you're going to have to use royalty free music or use original compositions you have the rights to.   

- Think about how you are framing your shots.  A basic understanding of "Rule of Thirds" will help:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds    Have a basic understanding of the 180-degree rule:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/180-degree_rule  ... You can make some of those dialogue shots a lot more interesting if it's not just the person looking directly in the camera framed right in the center of the shot.  Think of those basic "over the shoulder" shots you see in most movies.   

Just some really general feedback.  All the technical stuff is far less important than just telling an interesting story.   You should totally think about finding some of those film race competitions in your area.  Attempting to conceptualize, write, cast, film and edit a 4-7 minute short film in only 48 hours is a ridiculous undertaking and the results are usually predictably awful, but it's a a ton of fun.  Here's one I did last year for the Seattle 48 hour Film project:

2013 Requirements:
Prop:  Cheese
Character:  Gino/Gina Asplund, a Barista
Line of Dialogue:  "There must be something in your ear"
Each team picked a genre out of a hat and we got stuck with "Fantasy"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIrqtmzItPA

There are far far better filmmakers than myself out there (a couple on this forum, I think), and a endless amount of free information online, but if you ever have any questions or anything, feel free to send me a PM.  I'm self-taught in all this stuff.  You'll get better each time you make one.




« Last Edit: January 22, 2015, 08:22:55 PM by LarBrd33 »