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My Film "Blind" and the experience!
  • GardnerGardner

    Hi guys, just wanted to showcase the film I've been working on. It first started off as a feature length project, but after decisions were made later, we decided to make it into a feature short film (that's for another discussion). The project in itself took about 5 months to complete due to various reasons, most of them being out of my control, but I ended up handling all of the post production for the film. While I don't encourage people to use this motto in filmmaking, I told myself that if you want it done right then you have to do it yourself. After failing to find an appropriate composer for the film, I decided to score the film myself which meant learning audio. We also originally wanted two editors on the project and found an amazing editor who was local, but of course he got tied up with projects and that plan fell through.

    All in all, I was the "Jack of All Trades" for the film, and due to the fact that I'm an avid procrastinator, it was a very tedious process. By far any attention or advice I've gotten has been from the personal-view forums, so of course this film was shot entirely with the GH2, aside from about 2 scenes, and I wanted to update the people who I spoke with consistently on the site about the project. The project is now finished and we released it on IndieReign.com alongside a brand new trailer for the film! Though I'm terrible at taking constructive criticism (all filmmakers are), I wanted to share the trailer with everyone on the personal-view site regardless, I mean after all we all don't just get crew and actors together just to film a personal home movie to lock in a vault!

    I'm currently back to writing a new project but I plan on putting together a few youtube tutorial videos focusing mainly on how I scored the film, went about color grading the film itself, and how I went about with the pre-production of the film (casting calls, paperwork, shot lists, scheduling). I hope you guys enjoy the trailer for the film and thank you for the ones who read all of this before actually watching the trailer!

  • 20 Replies sorted by
  • geoffcbassettgeoffcbassett

    Glad you were able to complete your project and get all the actors together to shoot this. That alone is commendable. Also think your grade is pretty damn good.

    Beware criticism: For future projects, pull the camera back and shoot at 5.6. You are not doing yourself any favors shooting this close. Use wider lenses for some of the scenes. Also on close ups do not cut off the bottom of the chin mid-shot, it will always look like a mistake.

    Also on the trailer: you give no indication about what the story is about. Also at .10 seconds into the trailer the bass hit comes before the image.

  • GardnerGardner

    Yes I hate the whole casting process and setting up shooting schedules but it was a learning process regardless! For my next project, I will definitely be shooting more wide shots though and I'm glad you mentioned that. At the time I didn't have a real wide lens but we decided to shoot anyways and regret it later.

    Regarding the trailer, I tend to lean more towards teaser trailer especially given this projects length. Since it was a short we didn't want to put a whole lot into the trailer practically giving the whole film away. Creating the trailer was one of the most enjoyable parts of the project though and I am completely jealous of guys who actually get to do it for a living!

  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn

    Congrats on getting the film made. Such an accomplishment. I've certainly been there on some projects where the only way to finish is by rolling up your sleeves and doing jobs yourself. It's not the best way, but it does get the film finished.

    I like your trailer. It could be longer and give sense of the film. This is a good teaser but you may find that you need a 2-minute version that sets up the conflict as well as the film's tone in order to sell it on VOD.

    Well done! Celebrate. Make another.

  • GardnerGardner

    @DouglasHorn Thank you and yes I pray I'll have someone to take the load off come time to film again! I celebrated for a day and now it's back to long days on the laptop.

  • mjfanmjfan

    great job man! Really enjoyed the trailer! Really appreciate your contribution especially with the tutorials i have always enjoyed in the past.

  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp

    Really nice trailer. LOVE the sounds - the music is wonderful and also I really love the voices being so upfront. I think good sound is the sign of a good film!!

  • GardnerGardner

    @mjfan Thanks man and I'm trying to share more on YouTube.

    @Mark Yea audio is definitely the one thing that will put most indie filmmakers over the top! For reference I pulled from a lot of older and newer films and took it from there. If all else failed, I wanted my film to have a good score in the end.

  • maxrmaxr

    Pain, important to feel it, making us sharper... and despite painful and a realisation that we're alive is one thing we can work out to lessen, not by protecting and protruding armours around out little souls but by giving birth to some REAL LOVE. After corny statement, he he, a happy hug for ya J. All good bro, read, seen and listened and it's all blindly good =)

    Addendum
    Now someone has to come and do Fletcher's fucked up part :P

  • brianlbrianl

    good luck with it. Try and enter some film fests. Looks like there might be some suspense in the film. I agree that trailers should give a sense of the story, and we don't get that here. However, the other night at "Imitation Game" at least one of the full length trailers also did not give any clear idea of the story. So if it's okay for big budget Hollywood, it's okay for you right?

  • GardnerGardner

    After a successful month run on IndieReign and a great write-up on the film, courtesy of Frakingfilms who gave it a 9/10, we decided to put the film on YouTube finally for the people who like to watch movies for free! Hope you guys enjoy and please share if you can. I plan on releasing some tutorials also within the month on how I went about grading and scoring the film, so for anyone that's interested please let me know.

  • maxdvzmaxdvz

    ok

  • GardnerGardner

    @maxdvz Thanks for watching and I have tougher skin than you think so I actually enjoyed the constructive criticism you gave! I also like that you loved the scoring as it was what I spent the most time on and it was my first time actually scoring!

    I'm currently working on my next project though and we plan on spending a great deal of time casting and getting a dependable crew. Every film is a stepping stone for me though and "Blind" was definitely a fun one that took me out of my comfort zone, so thanks again for watching and thank you for being honest as it will only help me and others alike.

  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn

    kumbaya.

  • maxdvzmaxdvz

    @DouglasHorn Done. ; )

  • GardnerGardner

    @DouglasHorn I didn't get that reference.

  • maxdvzmaxdvz

    @Gardner Quincy, just so you know, maybe you missed it, but Douglas thought my critique was unwarranted and too harsh, and most importantly, that it was unactionable. I still kind of think that my advice was actionable, (of course, maybe extremely painful, cutting a feature length project that had already been cut down to 25 minutes, cut down to a further 12 or 15.) Killing darlings with extreme prejudice. l I still kind of think it would work but upon considered reflection I agreed with him. I really respect him as a filmmaker and when he asked me to take my comment down, I did so. I think maybe it's better that way, and I think you received my honest appraisal without too many ruffled feathers and responded in a truly mature way and as he said, in a classy way. And also, he was right that my critique gave spoilers away from your film and maybe mentioned things you already knew. Still I don't want my praise for you and your film to be entirely lost. Loved the cinematography, the grading, the scoring, and some of the performances. I really respect what you have accomplished with this project, and I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors. And I think it's nice that you have received the support of accomplished filmmakers like Douglas Horn. We are all brothers in this pursuit to make meaningful and entertaining films and of course there is no work without a corresponding critique. That is the business. Neither side of that equation is easy. Much love and respect, my brother. In truth, I appreciate the sentiment of Douglas and his support for you. And again, all the best.

  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn

    I took issue with some things in maxdvz's review--I didn't think they were helpful and suggested that he take down the review as he mentioned. He did so and therefore I removed mine as well. Group hug!

  • GardnerGardner

    @maxdvz It's no problem at all, and like I said before, I'm happy that you watched it despite the fact that it was cut down tremendously. I love to showoff my work but I know that I expose myself in the process so I just brace myself for whatever comes back. @DouglasHorn Yes we can bring it in for a group hug now!

  • maxdvzmaxdvz

    Ha, group hug. I'm in.

  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn

    I have to say that I really appreciate the vibe in this community. In a lot of other Internet places, a disagreement like that could have death-spiraled really quickly. (Partly because I possibly took more umbrage than was really warranted.) It's nice that people really do have a sense of wanting to help each other here.

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