New Director working on feature

Don't use the fake frosty breath. It didn't look great in The Social Network, and I'm pretty sure it won't look good here. Just shoot in November, if you want that effect.

Other than that, get a good crew. That's really important. And your friends can't act.

Thanks for the tips! I still might have to give the effect a shot, just for personal accomplishment, but I agree about it looking bad, I hadn't even thought of the Social Network hah

Don't neglect sound. Plan on doing some foley for all those crisp little details.
Excellent sound goes a long way in making the film "look" good.

Hope things go well for you!

Yeah, I've been concerned about that, I've got a homemade boom pole and a H2 with a wind cover, so I'm hoping that'll do the trick. Thanks for the help!

You can do some test shots to try out the frosty breath effect and see for yourself how it looks. And yeah, I forgot about the sound. It is more important than the visuals. Get a great sound mixer.

I was also concerned about the frosty-breath. It's one thing to do it for one or two people. But what if you've got 20 people in the shot, as well as a couple cars driving by, and why isn't there any frost/condensation on the windows of storefronts? For a low-budget feature, I think you're creating a very large amount of work that isn't really necessary.

Welcome to the forums!

samwagner1000 said:

I've got a homemade boom pole and a H2 with a wind cover, so I'm hoping that'll do the trick.

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You will not be able to monitor the audio while shooting, so check the audio quality often.

It's going to record in stereo, so you may have phasing and combing problems.

These are just two of the issues that you will probably encounter. I would do a lot of testing before committing to this particular method.

Cracker Funk said:

I was also concerned about the frosty-breath. It's one thing to do it for one or two people. But what if you've got 20 people in the shot, as well as a couple cars driving by, and why isn't there any frost/condensation on the windows of storefronts? For a low-budget feature, I think you're creating a very large amount of work that isn't really necessary.

Welcome to the forums!

Click to expand...

Agreed. I'm personally not concerned about things looking fake. If you are half decent with AE, and is willing to put in some time, and effort, you can create pretty convincing frosty breath effect. The problem comes when you have to do that for the entire film.... it'll be a bit tedious

Though repetition is the best way to practice, so if this film isn't for anything in particular and you are willing to work on your AE skills, repeating the same thing over 20, 30 times can at least make sure you completely master the art of making frosty breath on summer day XD. Not to mention the same principal can be applied to missle smoke trail, flame thrower/breathing, fake 3D clouds, dust, fog, and the list goes on.

Well, I mean I've got all the time in the world, but when you put it like that, having to do it for 80 90 minutes and for windows and all that, it seems a bit much...thanks for the heads up on that, i wouldve realized halfway through and been pissed haha
as far as the audio, i've done it for little things and its sounded alright, but thanks for the insight into that, i'll have to bone-up on audio stuff

Hey just make sure to screen carefully for your crew and talent!

I'm not sure if you were given a big budget, but definitely find a proper cinematographer. A lot of directors often take pride in their cinematography and try to shoot it themselves. Consider getting a cinematographer you find is better than yourself. The best director may not be the best cinematographer out there.

I feel like if you are willing to do all this work and you truly believe your story is worth being told, it should be shot properly and could be the difference between winning best at a festival or coming home with nothing. I've seen a lot of great ideas lost to poor cinematography. Great actor, intricate plot, compelling on paper, but when it's shot poorly or even "OK" it doesn't give your idea the chance to shine.

Also, yeah as I'm sure you already know, pick actors who are not only good in their performance but in their availability and willingness to work with you. It's a feature so you'll be around them quite often. As odd as it sounds it's about "chemistry." Everyone likes you during auditions and they're the nicest people in the world. But after a while of working with them, the mask is gone and you see if they hold up to who they built themselves to be. When there's chemistry and you & the talent are constantly impressing each other, I think they start to really trust you and that's when you get the best takes.

And of course expect it to be lots of hard work. If you overestimate the amount of work that's fine, hey you're more prepared! Better than under-estimating it. If you get the proper crew that you can trust, then it also takes some of that work load off your shoulders as well; so you can focus more on 'your' job. Idk, it sounds obvious but a few directors I've known have cried over how much work and stress their new big movie ended up being. Expect to push your limits. Whenever I start a new project, I force myself to dig deep and work hard like a mad man. Even if it's something small like a 3 min short! When I was really young, I used to wonder how adults and older people in general (i.e. not just filmmakers) could dedicate themselves and work under extreme circumstances. I get it now! Because even if the film doesn't turn out extremely good, just imagine how it'd turn out if you had only given it half the amount of effort.

Again this stuff is pretty obvious, but yeah: hire a good cinematographer (they control the window to your story,) screen for the best working talent (chemistry,) and prepare for a huge amount of work.