Hickory Never Bleeds

FrankLad

FrankLad

Howdy!

I wanted to go ahead and start a thread for my latest film project, "Hickory Never Bleeds".

After discovering that it is part of a bizarre experiment involving mechanical creatures, the small town of Farr appoints a makeshift “Monster Defense Team”.

It's intended to be a quirky, sci-fi mockumentary consisting of interviews with the town residents, and action sequences provided by the humble defense team's peculiar methods, and their encounters with the "monsters".

Here's an early teaser:

http://vimeo.com/32098597

I hope to use this thread as a place to document/post updates, and get constructive feedback.

Thanks for checking it out!
 
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That guy rocks! Great casting, Frank. So glad to see you moving forward with this project. :) Definitely looks intriguing and more creepy and dark than quirky.
 
Thanks, Flicker! :)

Yeah, he's a cool guy in real life. Known him for years. He only lives like 10 miles from me. :)

What's interesting is I sat down and explained "Ok, we're going to do this like a documentary... as if there was something lurking in the woods." and he goes "But there IS something in these woods!", and he proceeded to tell me how he lost five of his six dogs.


The teasers will become less sinister with each release. The thought crossed my mind to use a simple banjo note at the end of the clip instead of the more ominous BOOMMMMMmmm. Ha ha!
 
Yeah, the ominous and bassy BOOM was mostly what gave it that dark thriller feel to it for me. If you're going for something more lighthearted and comedic (Waiting for Guffman style) banjo would be perfect. Or some fiddle or jew's harp, harmonica even.

Banjo makes the band.

Love the "I sense it more than I see it."
 
Got a FB page? I'd like to jump on it to follow the progress.

Gonna grab a cam stabilizer for shooting? Concept has some serious potential, wouldn't want something like the shakiness making people sick in theaters at festival screenings to decrease any potential!

Solid piece, though. Want to see more.
 
Just from that very brief teaser I am excited for this project. I am looking forward to it now. I haven't heard of it before but the music and the raspy voice, along with that description of the mystery, has me ready for a great thriller.
 
Kholi: I often use a shoulder mount, for that handheld-but-smooth look... though I left home without it since the majority of the interview would be captured from a locked-off cam.

Then I wound up grabbing that DSLR-only handheld bit just before I packed up to leave, and it turned out to be one of the best segments. :) In hindsight I should've shot handheld with the tripod as a stabilizer. :)

I do have a FB page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hickory-Never-Bleeds/145184918909753

Thank you again for the useful feedback, and for your interest in the project!

Comikkaze: Thank you! There will definitely be a suspense element to it, but - as mentioned earlier - a fair dose of quirky comedy as well.

I'm really digging the comments, guys. Thank you all!
 
Pack a monopod, Frank. They rock. No up and down bumpies. Or use your tripod as a monopod. Gives you some side to side movement, just enough so it's not a locked down shot.

2 cents. ;)
 
Flicker: Thank you for the suggestion! :)

Papertwin: Thank you! If that shot makes it through to the final film, I may wind up stabilizing it. I didn't think it was very objectionable when I posted it, but considering IF it is screened/projected anywhere, with all that jitter intensified... I will take better precautions on later shots.

So this feedback has been very beneficial for me. :)
 
Looks fantastic thus far and judging from your previous work it'll turn out great! :)

I'm also starting work on a faux-documentary (I prefer that term to mockumentary on the whole ;) ) so I'm eager to see how the process goes for you.
 
This looks very promising.

I hope you have the know how to both fulfill this intriguing premise and pull off credible effects.

If this is going to be sci-fi lite (very little actual fantastical on-screen effects) then that seems to be an increasingly popular sub-genre.
 
rayw said:
This looks very promising.

I hope you have the know how to both fulfill this intriguing premise and pull off credible effects.

If this is going to be sci-fi lite (very little actual fantastical on-screen effects) then that seems to be an increasingly popular sub-genre.
Click to expand...

Thanks, rayw!

Part of my concern going into this was determining how much to show. I'm a big fan of movies where we see very little of the lurking danger, leaving much to the imagination, as opposed to the in-your-face approach.

Interestingly, many reviewers of the film "Monsters" complain that there were very few monster shots. I personally thought there were plenty and, in fact, that they could have done without some of the shots. The sound in that movie played a huge role, in my opinion... and much could have ridden on just that.

That said, I still plan to have a healthy dose of effects shots. I'm opting for as much in-camera/practical stuff as I can, but will use camera-matched CG for specific shots.

At one point during the story, the documentary filmmaker distributes old VHS cameras to a few townspeople, in hopes to get more footage of the creatures. I'm using this as an opportunity for comedy, and to utilize some "home-video" type creature shots.

Anyhow, thank you again. I totally get where you're coming from in regards to an intriguing premise, but being let down by the effects. Hopefully I don't disappoint! :)
 
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