Chris Thompson Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Hey everyone, my name is Chris Thompson and I just completed post on my first feature film that I directed/shot/edited/wrote. I also cut the filmmaker trailers. I shot the film as an homage to the grindhouse horror flicks of the 1970's and 80's and was done with love for exploitation films which died away in the mid eighties. If you guys dig them let me know please, it is always cool to see what other cinematographers have to say about my shooting. keep in mind please that the original footage is better than the streaming video on the site. You can find them at http://www.myspace.com/inthecanpictures1 along with an advance teaser for an upcoming project called TIME TRAVELER_0 about John Titor. Thanks everyone and enjoy-Chris Thompson, In The Can Pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirk Productions Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Chris, The first thing I would do is do SOMETHING to that website. It is really bad on the eyes and I have no idea where your video is that you mention. I'd be happy to take a look at it if you put a direct link. Eric Hey everyone, my name is Chris Thompson and I just completed post on my first feature film that I directed/shot/edited/wrote. I also cut the filmmaker trailers. I shot the film as an homage to the grindhouse horror flicks of the 1970's and 80's and was done with love for exploitation films which died away in the mid eighties. If you guys dig them let me know please, it is always cool to see what other cinematographers have to say about my shooting. keep in mind please that the original footage is better than the streaming video on the site. You can find them at http://www.myspace.com/inthecanpictures1 along with an advance teaser for an upcoming project called TIME TRAVELER_0 about John Titor. Thanks everyone and enjoy-Chris Thompson, In The Can Pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Peline Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 I agree - I don't know where the trailer is either...your website much much too visually busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Mckinnon Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 sorry bud but I have to agree with the others, I couldn't find your trailer. Donald Mckinnon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Francis Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Me too. Prepared to watch the production but was invaded by a very overpowering web page. Didn't see the movie anywhere so closed the page down after a few seconds, before my visual cortex exploded. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Thompson Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 (edited) sorry bud but I have to agree with the others, I couldn't find your trailer.Donald Mckinnon What "others" man? There was one other person in here that said that. The site is Black and white, easy to read, I like it, my producers like it, so it isn't changing. The trailers are on the right hand side of the page they are the biggest thing in there, use the scroll bar to move to the right. One page, four trailers, you can't miss them. No one has ever said they can't find them on myspace. Ever. Hope you go back and check them out if you like genre flicks. You will be glad you did.-Chris Edited August 15, 2006 by Chris Thompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LondonFilmMan Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Chris, that's no way to treat people who are willing to give you a critique :huh: Frankly, the web site is horrendous :ph34r: and when you say "so it isn't changing" I immediately feel that your "feature" may also have been "directed/shot/edited/wrote" with as much arrogance <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Justin Hayward Posted August 16, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 16, 2006 Frankly, the web site is horrendous To be fair, it's not an official film website, it's just a "myspace" page. However, you could benefit from checking out some slightly more organized "myspace" film pages such as... http://www.myspace.com/thepuffychair or http://www.myspace.com/entertheotherside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Munden Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I found the trailer. You guys are lucky !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirk Productions Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Now I want to see it. Ha It would be nice if they were at least named and would be nice if we were given the name of the one we are supposed to view. Eric I found the trailer. You guys are lucky !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirk Productions Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Chris, I managed to find and watch a couple. I maintain that the web site is still too busy and unorganized but I would still comment on your work now that I've seen it. I am assuming you are using free actors which is not your fault but that first guy is terrible, the guy with the long hair. Very unconvincing. That aside, for a trailer it could be shorter. I didnt see much use really for the opener piece with the two guys in the office. I can tell you have invested some dollars despite it lacking in areas. For example, the make up for the dead guys is average really. In particular the close of the one guy with the circles around his eyes. Either stay further away or have better make up. The shooting scenes - obviously added with some special effects tool. Not that it is a bad thing but it is pretty apparent. Also, I would hate to be the last guy coming out of the office since his buddy just shot right his way. He would have been dead - fratricide at it's best. :) In the end it looks like you were going for something like night of the living dead but I couldn't tell the relation between the shooting and the dead people. Oh, and one big thing I think for sequences like that. Music. Wasn't loud enough, wasn't powerful enough to support the scenes. Eric Hey everyone, my name is Chris Thompson and I just completed post on my first feature film that I directed/shot/edited/wrote. I also cut the filmmaker trailers. I shot the film as an homage to the grindhouse horror flicks of the 1970's and 80's and was done with love for exploitation films which died away in the mid eighties. If you guys dig them let me know please, it is always cool to see what other cinematographers have to say about my shooting. keep in mind please that the original footage is better than the streaming video on the site. You can find them at http://www.myspace.com/inthecanpictures1 along with an advance teaser for an upcoming project called TIME TRAVELER_0 about John Titor. Thanks everyone and enjoy-Chris Thompson, In The Can Pictures Actually, it was two. :) What "others" man? There was one other person in here that said that. The site is Black and white, easy to read, I like it, my producers like it, so it isn't changing. The trailers are on the right hand side of the page they are the biggest thing in there, use the scroll bar to move to the right. One page, four trailers, you can't miss them. No one has ever said they can't find them on myspace. Ever. Hope you go back and check them out if you like genre flicks. You will be glad you did.-Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Peline Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 What was the song? I love it. To be frank I thought the lighting and operating could have been done much better. You had the resources but I don't think you made the most use out of them...Now...if I had been your DP, your film would have been super slick... ;) But then hey, congratulations for finishing your film, not many people have the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Thompson Posted August 18, 2006 Author Share Posted August 18, 2006 What was the song? I love it. To be frank I thought the lighting and operating could have been done much better. You had the resources but I don't think you made the most use out of them...Now...if I had been your DP, your film would have been super slick... ;) But then hey, congratulations for finishing your film, not many people have the drive. Thanks Morgan. The song was the Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen. Also we did the entire feature without resources, accually. The pictures running time is 114 mins and was done on $15,000. The footage you saw was not anything near the quality of the feature, as you saw streaming video and its been graded as well. And the operating is very good, you saw clips from a trailer. What was it that you thought was bad about the camera? Anyways thanks for not attacking the myspace page as everyone eles did, even though I asked people to look at the trailers. Thanks again-CHRIS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Matthew W. Phillips Posted August 19, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 19, 2006 I think that, if you wanted it to look like grindhouse, you should have shot it in Super8 format. No offense, but that didn't look like grindhouse at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Nemchek Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I think that, if you wanted it to look like grindhouse, you should have shot it in Super8 format. No offense, but that didn't look like grindhouse at all. I was thinking exactly the same thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spazboy Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I agree with Mr.Hayward... the myspace page looks amature. I would suggest changing it. SIMPLIFY! Make it look more professional! And as far as the films, they dont do anything for me. maybe if you bought an HVX200 HD camera, it might hieghthen the production level. otherwise... I'll pass. Good luck in your future pieces, spazboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Peline Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 The pictures running time is 114 mins and was done on $15,000. Like I said, I'm very impressed the you have pulled this off even if you had very little money. However... And the operating is very good, you saw clips from a trailer. What was it that you thought was bad about the camera? Here, I apologise, but I have to disagree with you completely, regardless of whether these are trailers or not. I can tell what the overall style of your film is like just by watching your trailers. Sorry but I will have to be blunt. Your composition and framing is frankly atrocious. And some of your lighting is as well. This is what happens when you get 'Director / Producer / Cinematographers', they are Jack of all trades and master of none... This is what I call Robert Rodriguezitus... You are very happy with your achievement because you did it on such a low budget, yet you do not realise that had you hired DP/Operator you could have improved your film 100%, with the same resources, because both the blocking and lighting would have been of a higher standard. That's what 'specialised' DPs do, they make your images look good regardless of what tools they have to play with or indeed don't have to play with. As for your cinematography skills, I feel you don't actually know how to use your tools; your lights and camera to their best advantage to make the best looking images. I think you are most like a good director, but a really bad DP and most likely bad editor. Much of your composition is very wooly and unconsidered. Some of your shots look like you just kind of pointed your camera in the general direction of your actors without really thinking about composition at all. Your framing style is neither well composed 'continuity-style' nor 'gritty hand-held documentary realism' - it just looks like an inexperienced operator creating amateurish shots...it's plainly just bad framing. I would suggest you get a specialist in until your composition and lighting skills have improved, then at least you can concentrate on directing or producing, which as I say is most likely what you do best. I don't mean to be harsh, I am only doing so because you did finish a your film, so it's very obvious that you have drive and commitment which is fantastic! Therefore I would suggest you do yourself a favour next time round and get people who can help you make something more professional looking. Even if you are doing a pastiche of low-budget horror films, there's a way of doing it so it looks right. Like I said before if you had hired me or many of the other 'youngsters' on this board, we could have given you a much higher quality film using exactly the same resources and budget simply because creating images is what we specialise in day in, day out. Also just commenting on the previous reply, it has nothing at all with what camera, or what lights etc.... It's how you use your tools that count. An experienced DP can make miniDV footage look better than an amateur with a high end HD camera. I find sometimes that members of this forum become too obsessed with cameras sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korhan20 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 An experienced DP can make miniDV footage look better than an amateur with a high end HD camera. Very well put, Morgan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymond O'Neil Posted August 29, 2006 Share Posted August 29, 2006 its quite horrible. this is not a film nor a movie (as in moving images). in my opinion you should have concentrated at least on one thing to make that thing right: i.e. camera work (framing, composition), lighting, mis-en-scene, acting, editing (good montage or evenly important - good sound!) ... something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chad Stockfleth Posted August 29, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 29, 2006 Not to add insult to injury because I agree with most of what was said above, but it appears very studentish. Actually, kind of like what someone would do before they go to film school. I admit, I'm not a fan of the genre but I maintain an open mind and that didn't do anything for me. I know $15k isn't a lot of money, but....hell, bravo for doing it, keep trying. I also had trouble finding it on the myspace page. I wasn't sure which one of the windows was the one. Also, all of the text and the busy background....perhaps you know a graphic designer that could help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymond O'Neil Posted August 29, 2006 Share Posted August 29, 2006 I also want to stress that I didn't intend to insult the director. Similarly, I was very impressed with his will and determinatino to finish the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easton Sheahan-Lee Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I don't think the film was really, really bad.....but I agree with alot of the others here. It seemed really amature, and I can assure you I would not buy the movie nor watch 114 minutes of something of that grade/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hayes Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Congrats on completing a full length feature. A lot of people talk about it and few succeed. The next step is to cut yourself a better trailer. I thought the end part was stronger then the beginning. The trailer is way to long and shows way too much and most of it is bad. A good trailer is so important because people will rent your film based on one and a half minutes of footage. That?s just 40 shots. I?m not saying learning to make good trailers will make you a good film maker but it will get your films seen. Because your trailer gives us so much info about your film I get a pretty good idea it sucks. The actors seem like they are winging it with out strong direction. The camera work and lighting are sloppy and uninteresting. The action is really poorly choreographed and shot. From a grind house gore element you aren?t there. The grind house gang will put up with a lot but you?ve got to deliver the goods. There are lots of opportunities today with new cameras and editing systems to become a film maker. It is as easy as picking up a basket ball and shooting hoops. But that said just because you can throw a ball through a hoop doesn?t mean your going to play in the NBA. You got to be talented and you got to work at it. Just because you are the best player at your park doesn?t get you there. Only a handful go on to play at a college level. And, only a handful of those go on to play at the pro level. So work on your fundamentals and realize you will eventually go up against some pretty good players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Alderslade Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I agree with Bob completing a no-budget feature deserves congratulations and you should use your time now to re-edit a better trailer. Look at what a group of amateur filmmakers have achieved for this trailer for a short film they made on super8: http://www.fortressislandfilms.com/trailer_castaway.html I find it a little to 'cheesy' but its still a highly succesful minipulation of editing picture and sound to make an appealing 'taster' of whats to come. Also look at the proffesional layout of their website: http://www.fortressislandfilms.com/the_castaways_ma.html Best of luck, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 (edited) All in all, not very well shot. I think had you gotten a DP with more lighting experience, a lot more could have been done with the look of the film. Bad performances are forgiveable in the no budget world, but the lo-fi look of this production really won't get you anywhere. Why is that scene with the two guys in the office even in the trailer? It doesn't give us any useful information about the plot, it's lit with typically available office lighting, and not to mention the compression of the video is horrendous. And the trailer doesn't start to get interesting until we see that dude clad in leather. I think it could live by itself as a trailer if you take out the better shot sequences and cut them all into a demo reel or something, but I don't know if I could sit through something like this that's feature length. People are being nice by saying how it's a accomplishment to make a low budget feature, but it's not something you want to hear first off. For future projects, I wouldn't dilute myself the way you did. With so many responsibilities that you had, it's hard to focus and master any one of the elements. There are lots of skilled people out there willing to work for free, use them and give them a chance to help you out. Edited January 8, 2007 by Jonathan Bowerbank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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