watch Nothing in the Dark [Short Horror Film]

This is the final film that I just finished for my spring class. It's my first thriller/horror film, so any feedback is appreciated

Thanks guys


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KkwRMBfmig

What did you shoot this puppy on?

Here is a quick run down. I watched up to 5 minutes and then stopped. Story didn't seem bad and dialogue was fine. I think it was the mistakes I'll list below which got me to stop watching. Here are the errors I saw with in the 5 minutes and I'm sure I could have tagged a few more.

Bedroom lighting was horrible at the beginning. Couldn’t see anything.

Jump cut in the bathroom. (EDIT: Like I told another person, a storyboard could help with this (if not used)).

- She is left screen when scene starts and enters bathroom. I think @ 1:26
- @ 1:54 camera never moves to the other side of her.
- @ 1:57 I think is the jump.
- Her taking the pill does not justify such a move. Also, not the only jump cut.

Acting up to this point was not too bad. I would have been happy with it if they were free or worked for cheap.

Jump cut

- @ 3:11
- @ 3:14

Scene in the living room had lot of heads cut off at the top. Felt the camera could have been positioned better.

@ 4:23 you had an excellent dimming scene from dusk to night outside of the house. Film gods were in your favor. Heck, I didn't even mind that it went completely black.

@ 4:27 there was horrible lighting. Probably made me stop watching it.

As for sound, it was workable but I would bet that you used the camera mic. Maybe wrong but some additional tracks could have helped, I felt maybe you were using two. There were times when dialogue was faded but then got louder once talent got closer. Probably camera mic again.

Soundtrack of scary music seemed fine but I would have to review it again.

If this was your first attempt you should feel proud. Just get some help to do some lighting and sound if possible.

Good luck.

I shot this on a JVC GY-HM100

The sound wasn't great because I couldn't get a boom pole. I ended up having somebody hold the mic offscreen. I agree with you about the heads being cut off sometimes- I was experimenting with a steadystick and that made it hard to pay attention to the acting and the framing at the same time. As for lighting, it's always been a pain for me but I'm slowly getting better at it...

Thanks for taking the time to check it out

Not bad overall. Acting was decent, story was interesting and would be good to be expanded upon. Couple of jumps here and there. The most striking things were the poor lighting and poor sound (the dialog at the beginning between the two gents is way too low). For a cheap boom pole just get a painters pole and some foam padding and there you go. Also, tripod. Use handheld only when you must, otherwise use a tripod. You said something about experimenting with a steadystick, is that like a steadicam? Needs a bit more work if so, though you can find tons of info for a DIY steadicam and with practice you will do great with it.

Keep it up though, I'm actually interested in the story and how things came to be and how they ultimately end. So good work in getting me hooked!

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, the steadystick is a steadicam but my crew member who brought kept calling it his steadystick so the name's just stuck with me. I like the flexibility it gave me when there was movement in the scene, but I have no idea why I didn't switch back to a tripod during that conversation- especially since everybody was either sitting or standing the entire time. That's something I'll remember for next time. I'm planning on getting my own so I can get more practice with it.

Making my own backup boom pole might not be a bad idea. For whatever reason, my school doesn't have enough boom poles for everybody that checks out a mic kit. Once I found out I wouldn't be getting a pole, my plan was to attach the mic to broom stick or something like that. Once everybody got to the location, we couldn't come up with anything strong enough to hold the mic to the pole (of course). I'll definitely look in to making my own just in case I ever need one