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watch The Flight of the Flamingo Trailer!

NickClapper

NickClapper

So, this has been gestating for a while but here it is, the first official trailer for The Flight of the Flamingo!

Many, many Indietalkers have helped on this, but here's just a few thanks:

Joseph, aka Cracker Funk, our editor of both film and trailer. Phil, aka Phil_UK, who shot the film and also graded the trailer- which brings me to special thanks to Joshua Lloyd, danielassault and justinisfilming for their grading work when I was under the impression that Phil was going to be unavailable (your work was so good that Phil felt he had to have a crack at it himself!). Sammi, aka Dreadylocks, who has built the website which will go live very soon. John, aka harpsichoid, who is doing the music for the film and did the music for this trailer.

And, of course, all of you who have offered support and pledged during out crowdfunding campaign! :yes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpTVZbPyMdw
 
Nooo, says 'this video is current,y unavailable'. Not sure if this is because I am on the iPad?

Have heard so much about it (haven't supported it sorry as I believe I came a bit late) and was looking forward to seeing some of it
 
Looks really good!

Only thing I would say, I'm not exactly sure how well this conveys the story. If I didn't already know it, I probably wouldn't get that they had stolen the dog! Still looks like good fun!

Two questions: How long's the final cut? When do we get to see it?!

Congrats to all involved!
 
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mad_hatter said:
Looks really good!

Only thing I would say, I'm not exactly sure how well this conveys the story. If I didn't already know it, I probably wouldn't get that they had stolen the dog! Still looks like good fun!

Two questions: How long's the final cut? When do we get to see it?!

Congrats to all involved!
Click to expand...

I can't confirm a running time just yet, because there are still one or two bits and pieces that we need to finalise. Probably somewhere in the region of 70 mins. When do you get to see it? Who knows! We'll be having a private screening in London when it's ready, and any ITers in the area would be welcome. But, beyond that, I hope it'll play at a few film festivals and then I'd like to release it free online in maybe a year's time.

Interesting point about the plot. There is a line that says: 'Another one of you dog kidnappings?' so I'd have thought that made it relatively clear, especially as, immediately after that, we see them breaking into the house. But thanks for letting me know there's some ambiguity- we'll take that into account if/when we do a second trailer!

Thanks :)
 
Hey man!

It looks very very good ! You seems to have a great group of talented people!

Wish you best of luck and I hope everything turns out as close as you wanted to be :) .


Good luck again!
 
IndieTalk Films presents? Look at that crew! Very very cool.

Nick and Company,

Congrats on getting a feature in the can, which is no small feat. For what I'm assuming is a "canine comedy crime caper" ? there's something about this trailer that isn't working for me. Sorry!

I love: the last shot of the guy singing to the three guys squished together on the couch. Nice choice!

I like: the variety of cast members, great to see some older grizzled actors mixed in with the fresh faced younger lot. Overall, it looks like there are some potentially fun story lines and kooky antics taking place, however...

I'd consider: cutting a version 2.0 with livelier music which incorporates several (a few) needle drops of various styles of music to change up the dynamics. As it is, for me, there just isn't enough energy infused into this trailer to pull me in. Bigger, bolder music, maybe the addition of some splashy full screen pink title cards, some gun shot FX on hard cuts, barking dog FX, a ticking clock... well, just some thoughts.

This input is probably too late in the game and it's not meant to ruffle any feathers (a pun just for you), only to offer an honest reaction from an audience member and filmmaking peer.

Regardless of my grumbles with the trailer, I'd like to see the film in its entirely when it becomes available!

Flamingo-a-go-go!
 
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Hi Jeff- thanks for the input, I do appreciate and take it onboard. I've actually heard a similar thing from a couple of other people but I think the main problem with that is that, as you say, it presumes that the film is a 'crime comedy caper' which is really isn't.

It's actually an interesting point, that a lot of filmmakers will come up against. How do you market your film when it doesn't fit comfortably into a genre? We didn't want to make it look like a thriller or a gangster movie because, even though there are guns, none are fired during the film and the most intense action is opening a door. We didn't want to make it look like an out and out comedy, because, whilst there's an element of dark comedy, it's not designed to be slapsticky or particularly laugh out loud. It's one of those films that has its fingers in several pies, but is mainly a talky, somewhat amusing, character piece- that has quite dark undertones about morality and how sympathies can be manipulated. So, whilst I would've loved a schlockier Tarantino style trailer, it might've been a little misleading.

That said, if we do do a 2nd trailer, I'll definitely strive to make it more up tempo. I really like this one, because it has a cool, superficial menace, whilst also hinting at the comedy angle, but I appreciate that if you were expecting a comedy caper then this seems a little detached!

But yeah, I think it's a matter of perception- perhaps you know too much about the film and the process and that made you expect comedy more than someone coming fresh to the trailer?

I did actually toy with the idea of putting in title cards with out tagline, 'sometimes... life's a bitch' but in the end we went for a slightly darker tone with the funny ending.

Hope that all makes sense, not intending to be a defence but more of an explanation. Perhaps we'll do two more trailers, one to make the film seem like a comedy and one to make the film seem like a thriller ;) But, genuinely, any answers to the question of how you market a genre-ambiguous film would be fun!
 
It all makes perfect sense, Nick, and my intention isn't to dismiss any efforts, but offer actionable feedback since you are just getting going with marketing your movie. Having a few different trailers or teasers out there might be a great way to cast a wider net?

I guess I've always considered TFOTF to be in the vein of an early Guy Ritchie-type film that have one foot (or cheek) firmly planted in crime/gangster and the other in comedy, or the other way around, but I can see how it might lean more into the dramatic as well. It's a fine line for certain.

I think it's possible, if you and Cracker are open to it, to emulate (not copy outright) something with the vibe of an Ocean's Eleven trailer with what you already have. Mebbe? Dunno.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7VTkceSsEw

Bring in some split screens, wipe some shots, slide shots up, down and sideways, introduce some copy/text over some big pink vector feathers (maybe use that as a motif?) or a pink dog collar or maybe a dog tag?

There's always this sort of approach which takes a real leap with the narrative, but is oh so fun...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvFeWRpeU1Y

Imagine a voice over: THIS IS THE DOG. (shot of dog barking?) THIS IS THE GUN. (click click of the gun) THIS IS OUR HERO. (shot of the protag without a clue) THESE ARE FLAMINGOS... etc.

I'm in no way saying this approach is right for your film, only spitballing a few ideas into the mix. :)
 
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All good ideas Jeff- I really love the Ocean's Eleven trailer. Whether or not it's a good fit with FOTF is another thing, I'm probably not in a sufficiently objective position to comment. Ocean's Eleven's charm comes from how slick and cool it is, whereas FOTF's charm (I hope!) comes from the fact that it's kind of subverting the crime genre and making it as unslick as possible! :)
 
Zensteve said:
It's not?! :huh:
Click to expand...

Ummm, nope.

I'm not really sure where this is coming from. As you can see in the video on our IndieGoGo page the film is relatively menacing. Definitely has elements of dark comedy but I would never (and, more importantly, have never) described it as a 'comedy caper'.

You're going to have to trust me on that one, so let's let it go ;)
 
Whoah, haha! This is the first time I've edited something that I didn't export the final version of, myself. I must admit, I was rather taken back by the music.

Jeff, you mentioned wanting something more lively. In fact, the music that I cut this trailer to was indeed very up-tempo and driving (Nick, I promise I'm not selling you down the river here). So, when I first viewed this trailer, my knee-jerk reaction was almost tantamount to betrayal. :lol: I couldn't believe they removed the up-tempo music, without replacing it with another up-tempo music!

Ah, but this is a perfect example of why filmmaking is collaborative. After a few more views, I see (hear) the logic behind the new music for this trailer. It makes perfect sense for this film, and I like it. A lot. As far as I'm concerned, harpsichoid NAILED IT!
 
Cracker Funk said:
Whoah, haha! This is the first time I've edited something that I didn't export the final version of, myself. I must admit, I was rather taken back by the music.

Jeff, you mentioned wanting something more lively. In fact, the music that I cut this trailer to was indeed very up-tempo and driving (Nick, I promise I'm not selling you down the river here). So, when I first viewed this trailer, my knee-jerk reaction was almost tantamount to betrayal. :lol: I couldn't believe they removed the up-tempo music, without replacing it with another up-tempo music!

Ah, but this is a perfect example of why filmmaking is collaborative. After a few more views, I see (hear) the logic behind the new music for this trailer. It makes perfect sense for this film, and I like it. A lot. As far as I'm concerned, harpsichoid NAILED IT!
Click to expand...

Haha, good to hear from you.

I would add that, whilst your music was more up-tempo than the track we've used, it still had that cool, slick, sort of pulsating edge that this music has (in a more low key fashion). It was actually still a long way from 'comedy music' and I don't think the feel of the trailer was radically different from the final product. And I actually really liked the track and toyed with using it, but in the end I wanted to use music that had been composed specifically for the film. It was hard to choose between the two tracks but I thought, in terms of long term marketing, this was probably the safer option. But your music fitted the trailer astonishingly well given that it was composed for another project.

My sound designer on this is also a composer and he came up with a track that was very 'comedy'. Lots of fun guitar bits, pulled the tempo up, even had a record scratch at the end! But, for me, it didn't quite work with the tone of the film. Perhaps that's me arrogantly wanting the film to be slightly more serious than it is, I just think that the impression of it being an out-and-out comedy would be very detrimental.

But if anyone's interested, I'll soundcloud the 'comedy' track and you can play it over the trailer and see what you think.

rayw said:
Dark comedy like this?
Click to expand...

Hah! I hadn't seen that before- looks great.

I'd actually argue that The Perfect Host is something closer to black comedy.

Black comedy= comedies dealing with subject matter surrounding death
Dark comedy= comedies dealing with subject matter more closely associated with tragedy/drama

I should add that the distinction between forms of dark humour is a contentious subject in literary theory, and that these definitions are my own ;)
 
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I have to say that I'm with Jeff on this one, I don't think the music works for several reasons. While the tempo might be appropriate for parts of the film, a trailer needs to generate particular excitement, energy and interest. With the limited amount of visual action in the trailer, the music in my opinion needs to increase the pace/energy rather than slow it down even more.

I've also got a problem with how the music has been constructed and mixed. The drum kit is far too present in the mix and ends up sitting in front of the dialogue rather than behind it. The sustained background synth pad doesn't appear to change and along with some of the music effects ends up sounding almost like noise or interference in the production sound rather than part of the music. The end effect that much of the music sounds like a boring slow drum loop with some various noises. The composer has made a common and classic error, he/she is thinking like a music composer/producer and not like a film music composer!

Watching the trailer more than once, one does start to appreciate there's more to the music than it at first appears but that's still not good for a trailer (or for the film itself). A trailer needs to have dramatic impact the first time it's viewed. To be brutally honest, IMO this is a poor trailer composition, it's primary consideration appears to be how easily it could be created rather than how it supports the story and requirements of the trailer. If I were the sound designer/re-recording mixer for this trailer I would recommend the music be dumped in favour of something more appropriate but if I had to work with it I would:
1. Lower the drum kit split, EQ it differently and probably add some reverb to move it behind the dialogue.
2. Increase the level slightly of synth pads and effects split/s, so they sound more like music and less like ambient sounds or effects.
3. Add quite a bit of Foley throughout, to inject some movement, pace and interest.

G
 
Plenty of interesting opinions here, not all of which I necessarily agree with but which are all valid in their own ways. When I decided to go with a more low key piece of music I was aware that there might be people who would prefer something different- often those who make music themselves- but I still think that it works in quite a nice, restrained way.

ANYHOW, different order of business:

Our website is now live!

It was designed by the wonderful Dreadylocks and is basically a showcase for our trailer with a little bit of blurb about the film and plenty of opportunities to promote us on social media!

So, why not visit TheFlightOfTheFlamingo.com?
 
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