Daniel Hueque

Anytime. And hey, if you have an audience for this type of movie, then by all means go for it (!). Good luck with this film and any in the future. I'm glad my critique went over well.

Hey, I watched the trailer. My general response is the question, "What's the point of the movie?" Now, I'm not saying that there has to be a point to every movie, but my thought process is as follows. First, is a movie entertaining? If so, then the movie doesn't need to have a point. If not, then the second question I'll ask is whether or not the movie has a point to it. If the movie delivers a message or has some kind of educational purpose, then that message or purpose can make up for the fact that the movie isn't meant to be entertainment. If there is no point in this sense, then the third question is whether the movie has any other type of redeeming quality to it. This is the catch all question. So, in this movie, it appears to be pure torture, revenge, violence, etc. I didn't pick up on any kind of an entertaining plot, or any plot at all for that matter. I don't have a moral problem with violence or torture appearing in movies. But none of those things are entertainment to me in and of themselves. Absent some sort of engaging dramatic element or interesting plot, violence and torture is pointless. The trailer makes the movie look like it's just a string of brutally violent events, which doesn't personally entertain me. So then, to the second question, since the movie doesn't look like it will be entertaining to me, is there some kind of educational point to the movie? From the trailer, I didn't pick up on anything there. Third question, any other redeeming qualities? Again, the trailer didn't indicate so. I'm not trying to be harsh. Just honest. I'm just one guy, so my analysis could be wrong or too extreme, and/or there could be a huge audience of people who like these types of movies. Plus, I only watched the trailer, not the movie. So the movie could completely satisfy any number of the things I've said I'm looking for. The quality was fine and even the actors were good enough, although kind of sketchy at times. Note that I'm new to this forum, and very new to film making. My opinion here is as a viewer, an audience member. I'm not speaking from the perspective of someone who could make a better movie/trailer than what you just made. I hope nothing I’ve said discourages you in any way. It’s all meant to be constructive. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you are curious about something I’ve said.

I can't think of any reason why he shouldn't ask them. Organizations like that want to answer those questions. Plus, a lot of people want to know the answer, including myself. I still see some people guessing the law, and then basing conclusions off of their guesses. Legally, it's probaby illegal, but I'm curious to find out if that's correct. Practically, people get away with this stuff all of the time, so it comes down to a personal morality choice, and whether you mind breaking the law. I wouldn't personally do it, but that's just me.

The best thing to do would be to ask a lawyer who knows the law, or buy a book that describes the law to you in detailed layman's terms. People guessing the law on a forum will (probably) lead to inaccurate information. That being said, you can get good common sense advice on forums still, such as the fact that you can probably do your demo reel and get away with it. Who knows, if it's illegal, it's a gamble, right? It's best to ask someone who knows they know the answer, in my opinion.

The second video is down. But for the first video, I'd say subtitle it. I could only understand about 20% of what was said, and I only speak English.

My mind is blown away by the fact that no one has replied to this yet. Great film and great editing. One of the best ones I've seen in a while. I will be referring to this short film in the future as I prepare to make my own. I really have no complaints except that the part where the black stuff coming out of the cup was slightly too long and was maybe too repetitive (showing it ooze out multiple times). Other than that, good, weird short. Where did you find most of the sound effects? I've been looking for a good place to find some (sound effects you can't make by yourself I mean). I hope you keep us updated if you make any more movies.

I am building a great desktop PC specifically to run Avid for about half of the price you're looking to spend. I know you said Mac/laptop, but if you're interested I can post my finalized setup when it's done, which should be soon. I don't know anything about Macs though, sorry. It's just that $3000 plus seems like a lot so I thought I'd offer.

Yeah, I was kind of hesitant from the beginning, but it looks more and more like it's not going to be worth the money. Thanks for checking it out for me. I looked at the footage on the site but wouldn't know if the quality is good or not. I'd feel better buying a more expensive one from an established company. It was my friend's money though so I thought I'd ask for him.

Ok, it appears the company is based in Turkey. And seeing how we live in the states, I'm thinking this transaction might be a bad idea right off the bat. Please let me know if I'm wrong about this.

I hope I'm posting this in the right place. My friend has a Canon Vixia HF 100 and is interested in getting a 35mm adaptor for it. I've seen people on these boards recommend Letus, Redrock, etc., which is what I recommended to him. He searched around on the internet and found this company: www.miny.tv They appear to sell more affordable 35mm adaptors for about $300. My question is, does anyone have any experience with this company/adaptor? If so, is it worth buying, and will it fit his camera (I found a list of cameras it is compatible with, and I think I saw his on there, but the instead of saying Vixia HF 100 it says something else HF 100), etc? Or is this site a scam, or is the product not worth $300 etc. Any additional information about this would help. I just want to make sure it isn't garbage before he makes the purchase. And if the miny adaptor is no good I'll try to talk him into buying a RNG instead. Thanks a lot for reading.

Yeah, we’re going to scrap the SFX idea completely for now. I won't have the software, and even if I did, I wouldn’t want it to look cheesy since it would be at the end of a serious movie, and also making it might take a disproportionate amount of time, like a number of you have mentioned. We're looking into getting a 35mm adaptor. After reading about this, it now seems like a priority and a must. I haven't read up on any lenses but I'll definitely look into the Nikon ones. At this point, I'm really just waiting for my books to arrive, so that I can read them, learn the basics of the technical side of all this, and then get out there and film a couple of shorts. I had no idea which frame rate to use, but thanks for the 24P suggestion. That seems to be a good idea based on what I've read up on it. Also, I'm not planning to use a steadicam a lot. I just wouldn't mind having a cheap one available for the one or two shots we might need it for. And last, believe me when I say that I would love to make the movie asap. I think our plans right now are to shoot about 5 shorts (each written by one of us), mess around in post production and turn them into completed shorts, and then see where we stand. If we feel competent at that point to make my no budget movie, we'll do it. Even if we don't, I think we'll be too excited and anxious not to. And when we do I'll make a trailer and post it :) That is about all we can squeeze into 2009. I hope we get it all done. Thanks a ton everyone.

I'm new at filming also, but I would highly recommending doing this. He can get a college degree, and while in college, he can teach himself the fundamentals with books, and also get experience by working on a set or with a crew or what not. This way he isn't as set in the film industry, but can still enter it if he wants. There's more than enough time in college to do this, and many universities will have a video department. Sounds like a win win to me. If you guys end up buying a camera I'd love to hear which one you choose.

I feel like I have a relatively stable list, in no particular order: Stalker 2001 Lawrence of Arabia Gangs of New York Children of Men It's hard to exclude so many classics and good directors, but this is a list of my favorite films, and not the top five best films ever (ie a list that might have some Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, or even Kar Wai Wong, etc).

Hey again. I don’t take any of this advice as sounding rude or imposing. In fact, I would rather honest/tough advice over sugarcoated advice. Before getting interested in movies, I wrote short stories and critiqued other peoples’ short stories as a hobby. I would always say the same thing before peer reviewing their work: “I’m not trying to sound rude at all. I just want to help you as much as possible.” So thanks again for all the honest advice. Also that leads me to my next point, which is that I do love writing in general. Having a story and finding a way to tell that story will always be the central goal. In my first post above, I just described the movies generally and just described the set locations, etc. without talking about the plots because I wasn’t sure if it was important for this post. We do have stories though. It’s what I’ve been working on all month. I’m not interested in experimental/avant garde movies at all. And I will definitely try to find others to help us, so I will not have to wear all the hats. We will be filming in the same city as our undergrad college, so we’ll start by checking if any students in the film department are interested. But if I’m writing a movie, my general writing plan will be to (1) write the script, (2) draw a storyboard that corresponds with the script, and (3) have a third document noting soundtrack cues and sound effects and other things like this. I can’t get Final Cut, but I will be able to get The Academic version of Media Composer and also the Academic version of the third party software bundle. This should pretty much give me the software I’ll need as a beginner, as far as I can tell. So for any special effects (like the possible asteroid I mentioned above), if I can learn how to use the special effects program properly, then I’ll try it that way. If I can’t, then I’ll take it out of the movie since it isn’t that important to the plot. Also, we’re not going to film the full length movie for a while anyway, since we’ll be focusing on shorts for now. So hopefully by the time we get around to making that movie I will have learned how to use the special effects program. And I agree with the advice that I shouldn’t use my own friends as actors. Luckily for me, I won’t know the actors personally. They will most likely be the friends of the 2 or 3 guys I’m working with. I’m already planning on talking to each of the actors/actresses before they sign on to make sure they are ok with having to do the same thing a bunch of times over until we get it right, and also to tell them that I’m an extremely patient person and I’ll ask if they can be also. I know I’m brand new at this, so I’m hoping to do the best I can in my relationships with other people involved and to learn along the way how to best handle and deal with people (as a director). The reason I want to make movies is because I love movies and think I MIGHT be good at doing this, and also because I think it will be one of the few things I might enjoy doing. Not much else is interesting to me right now. I really think I’ll like doing this. As for money, I hope we can eventually make money off of this, but I’ve already told everyone involved that I don’t expect to be making money anytime soon, if ever. I want to do this because I hope someone will want to watch what we make. Lastly, as I mentioned above, I am going to be huge on prior planning. I’m going to do as much in advance as it will be helpful to. I think that covers everything. This thread has been amazing. I bought some cinematography books from the book list I found on this site and I can’t wait to get them and read them. Thanks again everyone for the helpful and honest advice.

I'd be lying if I said that every post wasn't super helpful and helped to give me perspective on how to approach this. We're definitely going to take it slow (making shorts, and spending just a little bit of cash each time). Oh and Adrian, that reminds me of how so many movies that I consider masterpieces were made without modern technology and equipment. Since my friend already has Final Cut Express (I think it's called), I'm going to get the Academic versions of Avid and the extra 3rd party software for about $500, plus I'm going to buy some lighting and cinematography books, and that's all I'll spend for now. I think we have a good tripod, I just forgot to list it. We'll get the rest as we go. Thanks everyone times a million.

Excellent. Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll be around if anyone has anything else to add, but I just want to note that these replies have been super informative and were exactly what I was looking for. All good advice as far as I can tell, and I wanted a push in the right direction, especially if we we're headed in the wrong direction. We'll stick with shorts. Also, I’ll buy some books on lighting and starting looking for 2nd hand lighting equipment. Our core group is me and two other guys I grew up with, plus a few others who might be interested if they get serious about it. I’m most interested in directing and cinematography, which is why I’m so interested in the equipment. Again, thanks everyone for the replies.

Ok. I definitely agree. My only problem with getting people to help me is that I don't have anyone to ask or who is interested. But we'll try to find more people to fill specific roles so I can delegate jobs. Also, I just wanted to get some minor experience under my belt in different areas of film making. Either way, I'm still curious about the equipment questions, especially since we plan on making a couple shorts within the next few months. We could figure it out on our own, but with our budget, we just don't have extra cash for mistakes, such as by not buying the most important equipment we need right now.

Definitely good advice and will do. We'll stick to short films until we feel experienced and know what we're doing a little better. Also, my equipment questions still stand because will still be needing the gear in the immediate future regardless. Unfortunately, I don't have time to enroll in any classes, but I do have time to read books. I didn't ask for book recommendations since I know there are great lists floating around this site. Much appreciated.

Hey everyone, I’m preparing to make my first couple of films in the next few months. One film being about 4 minutes long, and the second a full length film (90 or more minutes). I will be the writer, director, editor, cinematographer, etc. for both. And my friends will play the actors, and be my crew in whatever ways they need to be. We own all of the video equipment I will list below. We are all in our mid twenties and are serious about making movies for entertainment purposes. These aren’t for school or anything, and we aren’t interested in making documentaries. Just normal films to entertain whatever audience we can get. We are all relatively new at this, and would probably be considered amateurs or advanced amateurs. We are financing all this ourselves, and have pretty much no experience outside of what I write about here. So here’s my short introduction. I’m brand new to film making. I know nothing about the technical aspect of film making other than what I’ve read on this website recently. But I am obsessed with movies, and when I watch them I pay close attention to directing and lighting, etc. I’ll try to give as much information as possible for my question. My question is this: Looking at my list of equipment, is it sufficient for my needs, and if not, then what other equipment do I need and would you guys recommend? First, I’ll describe the two films we plan on shooting. Second, I’ll list the equipment we have and discuss our budget. (Skip to the end of the post if you would like to read our budget information first). We are interested in making other films in the future. Our goal is to continue making films for years to come and to become a small production company producing and making our own films. So we would like to do this right and grab some decent gear for now, so we can upgrade to better stuff later if we are successful. The two movies: The setting for the first film is going to be mostly inside an apartment. There might be one outside shot looking into the apartment through the front door. The film is going to be less than 5 minutes. There will be two scenes total. The first scene it will be dark in the bedroom with the light off. I want the colors to look as normal and naturally dark as possible, while still allowing the viewer to see everything normally. So just dark enough for the viewer to think that the lights are off. The second scene will be in the living room with the lights on. Again, I want the lights to just look natural and normal, like any normal living room during the day, with maybe the shades open and the sun reflecting in. There will be no special trick shots or special effects. There is no dialogue. Only the footage plus a narrative voice over the entire time. The atmosphere of this movie is serious and futuristic like Gattaca. The lead actor is the only actor for 95% of the movie. Another character appears at the door for the last 5% of the movie. She will be wearing a professional looking dress suit like Uma Thurman from Gattaca, except grey. There will not be a lot of movement. The characters will be standing still or lying down at all times. http://www.independentcritics.com/images/g...ca%20SPLASH.jpg The second movie is going to be more complex. I will need the same apartment shots as the above movie. Plus, I will have some outside shots with a poor man’s steadicam and a poor man’s dolly. Again, I’d prefer all the lighting to be natural and normal. Not anything spectacular or colorful or what not. All of the outside shots happen around early afternoon. This movie will have dialogue and about 6 characters with dialogue, plus another 2/4 without dialogue. No serious action sequences. Two scenes involve a character running through a city. That’s about it. The atmosphere of this movie is serious and futuristic, but more dystopic and depressing like the book 1984 and the movie Children of Men. If I have any color changes, I will want the movie to look like the first part of the Russian movie Stalker: yellowish over pale colors. There will be one shot with special effects…the last shot. Far in the distance, an asteroid falls through the atmosphere and right as it nears the horizon above the tree line, the screen fades to white. That’s the only special effect, and I can do without it if necessary and just narrate that it happened. The clothing of the characters and the decoration of the settings will be grey/brownish, like Waterworld. I consider both movies to be relatively minimalistic in every way that I can think of. I don’t know anything about the technical aspects, other than that we are using the Canon XH A1, and filming in HD, etc. The equipment list: 1. Cameras: - Canon XH A1 - Canon Vixia HF 100 2. Accessories: - Poor man’s steadicam and poor man’s dolly, both self built. 3. Audio: - We have Sennheiser and (I think) Rode microphones. I don’t know the details, but I know he has normal mics, shotgun mics, and the little ones you clip under the actor’s tie. Plus he has the hardware that goes with it. I’m pretty sure we are good to go in this department. During the filming, I ONLY want to record the dialogue. I don’t want any other audio. Only their voices. I want to add all other sound effects/music/noises/etc after filming during the editing process. How does that sound? 4. Software: - I don’t know which software to buy. It looks like my main choices are Avid or Final Cut Studio 2. I think I would prefer Avid since I have a Windows computer. Is there any reason to buy a Mac computer and the Final Cut Studio 2, instead of just buying the Avid software? Also, I’d prefer the Academic version if it comes with all of the features as the non academic version. It’s ok if I can’t upgrade it, so long as I get all the features the regular version has. - Also, I don’t know which version of Avid to buy. Final Cut Studio 2 is like 60 gigs, but Avid looks like it is less than 5 gigs…how is that possible? I don’t want to miss out on a ton of great features. So (a) should I get avid, (B) which version of Avid to get, and © which other software do I need in addition to this? - I will be personally doing all of the editing and will be the only one using the software. - So far I’ve been looking at Nitris DX plus Liquid. I have no idea if those are good choices or what. 5. Lighting (sorry if these descriptions are bad or non specific): - Clamped lights (metal dishes you put the bulbs in) with 250 watt color correct tungsten photo flood bulbs. - Shop lights, 4 of them, halogen, with barn doors to make them directional instead of flood. - Ultra bright 36 led panel for forward lighting. I think this is attached to the Vixia HF 100. - Scrim butterfly (?) for utilizing natural light and softening natural light on a subject. - Photo umbrellas. - I don’t know what any of this stuff is. Lighting is the area I feel most incompetent about. Will this gear do, do we need more, and what else do we need for a basic set up? I feel like we need some lights like this: http://www.lowel.com/kits_multi.html 6. Lens and filters: - I have none of this at all. Can I get by without buying any of this? If not, recommendations? 7. (did I missed any more categories)??? The budget: Our budget is not much. I will buy the editing software such as Avid out of my own pocket. In addition, what is the next most important thing to buy? My guess was lighting equipment. Our budget for extra gear/more lighting equipment is $3,000. We might be able to scrounge an additional $1,000 from somewhere if necessary. So a total of $4,000 ultra maximum to spend, excluding the price of the editing software. That being said, we don’t want to buy cheap, crappy gear if we can avoid it. Quality, but reasonably priced amateur/advanced amateur equipment is about the range I think we are looking for. I am open to any and all suggestions on this and everything else. Sorry this post is so long everyone. Again, my main question is whether my grab bag of equipment here is good enough for what we want to do, or do we need to buy more. I am completely open to any and all suggestions, even about things I didn’t talk about or might not know about. Do I have any idea what I’m talking about here? If something I said doesn’t make sense, or if you need more information about something please just let me know. I don’t know if I left out any crucial information. All replies and suggestions are sincerely appreciated. Thanks a ton for reading.