The Dark Tales Chronicles presents Lost Soul (2008)
Happy Saint Patty’s Day you crazy Mutants! It’s Indie Movie March Madness all month long here at Mutantville.com as we celebrate the wealth of independent films around us! Week after week, Mutantville.com finds the best streaming horror movies online and brings them right to your computer! This week we continue our look at the thrilling work on Gerald Godbout III and the second entry in The Dark Tales Chronicles – Lost Soul.
Lost Soul tells the story about of a group of girls who think its all fun and games when they play with a Ouija Board and open the door to the other side. Written and directed by Gerald Godbout III, the man behind Legends I and Legends II A Halloween Tale filmed at the world famous Myers House NC, Lost Soul is sure to chill you to the bone.
Watch the full movie after the leap! Continue Reading…
Dark Tales Chronicles presents In The Dark (2006) from Godbout Entertainment.
Over the past few years, Mutantville.com and Scary Movie Saturdays have become a horror fan’s number one source for discovering the latest and greatest horror films being made by independent filmmakers today. The Patrick Rheas, Scott Goldbergs and Jaysen Buterins today’s indie film scene are tomorrow’s John Carpenter, George A. Romero and Robert Rodriguez. Now you can add Gerald Godbout III to that list.
Mutantville.com and Scary Movie Saturday are proud to present another horror diamond in the rough independent wasteland waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. This week, Godbout Entertainment’s Dark Tales Chronicles presents In The Dark (2006). From the Dark Tales Chronicles comes the first story in the series about a boy and his imagination and his babysitter who learns what it means to fear the dark.
(Watch the full short film after the leap – you dare!) Continue Reading…
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago at 6:15 pm. Add a comment
Exploited Cinema talks Mad Monster Party this week!
This week on Streeborama – your humble narrator joins the Grease Fiends at Exploited Cinema to discuss the upcoming Mad Monster Party Film Festival this March. This episode of Exploited Cinema is primarily a clip show featuring unheard clips from your favorite episodes with Bat32, Jdog, The Changeling, Teeshirtjoe and even MVP’s own Streebo. I join Bat32 for an outro to put out a call for entries for the Mad Monster Party Film Fest and talk independent horror. It’s a greasy good time from beginning to end so download it now and pour some greasy talk into your ear drums. It’s Exploited Cinema on Streeborama!
Kevin Smith has set out to prove the critics wrong! After spending years making stoner comedies in his own little world called the Askiewniverse, Smith has broken his own mold and made a horror film close to his heart. Smith shopped the script for Red State around to all of the usual suspects but was only met with rejection. Smith raised the money to shoot the film on his own and at Sundance earlier this year decided he would distribute the film himself!
From ASAP TRIP: The Film Sensei’s Six Quick Tips to Keep Your Indie Film From Sucking!
And here, my loyal students, are those tips to help you avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered as a beginning low budget filmmaker.
1. Lay Off the Zoom!
Yes, I know that George Lucas did it in the new Star Wars films and, yes, I know it was popular in the new Battlestar Galactica show, but all playing around with the zoom on your camera will do is make your footage look like a tourist shooting vacation movies out on the Florida Keys. A really good cameraman can make a zoom look ok (or semi-acceptable)…a really really good cameraman, that is. For the most part, though, a zoom will look shoddy and amateurish. Your best bet is to break your zoom controller or, at the very least, the finger closest to it. A dolly, stedicam or even hand-held track in will all look 1000% better than a crappy zoom.
2. Vary Your Angles
One of the most common mistakes of most new directors and a whole heck of a lot of indie and guerrilla filmmakers is shots all looking alike. Most low budget films are shot very tight and never really open up for a long view – they’re full of close-ups, two shots and cramped quarters. They also tend to be diagram shots framed at eye level. If you want to make your film more excited, or more interesting, pull back for longer shots, tilt your camera, shoot from a bird’s eye or worm’s eye angle – use your camera angles to help set your mood and control your audience’s level of tension/suspense/drama. A good guide is to pull back further than you think you should (or push in further). Make sure to change things up a bit or your footage and your film will become stagnant and boring.
3. Use Proper Lighting
One of the hardest things for most indie, low budget and guerrilla filmmakers to learn is how to properly light for the DV or HD cameras they’re filming on. With a much lower contrast range and higher need for light than the human eye (and film), lighting for DV/HD cameras can often be a bit counter intuitive. In other words, what looks good to your naked eye often won’t work for your finished film. If you’re not careful you’ll wind up with footage too dark to use. If you’ve worked with, or lit for, film cameras then it may take a little while to get used to the change in methodology. I’ve shot with a number of really good DPs recently who made the mistake of lighting for their eyes and not for the camera we were shooting with. Shoot some lighting tests before you begin principal photography so you can get used to your camera’s dynamic range.
4. Write for What You Have
Since most low budget, indie and guerrilla filmmakers also happen to write their own material, the number one thing you should keep in mind when putting your new screenplay together is: write for what you have! The best way to give your film a higher production value is to make use of anything and everything you’ve already got access to. It’s tough to go out and find a cemetary or a muscle car or an airplane, but if you’ve got friends/family with unique locations, props or wardrobe then you can make your little $5000 movie look like you spent tens or hundreds of thousands on it. It worked for Robert Rodriguez and it will work for you.
5. Get a Good Tripod
Hand holding is great on a date with your girlfriend (or boyfriend, we’re not sexist here at the Film Sensei’s DOJO), but it should be used sparingly on a film set. Get a good fluid head tripod and make use of it as much as possible to give yourself a solid base to work from. Remember, hand held footage is great as long as it is used for a purpose and for an effect. If you’re just doing it because you’re too cheap to spring for a good set of sticks then your film will suffer for it.
6. Get a Good Mic
I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record after yesterday’s post about essential audio equipment for indie and guerrilla filmmakers. However, it’s a point well worth repeating over and over. While your audience may forgive a little wonky storytelling, dark images or even bad acting, the one thing no one will forgive is bad sound. There is almost nothing you can do that is worse than poor sound quality, and nothing that will make you look more like an amateur – well, short of accidentally filming all day with your lens cap on. Decent mics are available even for those of us on a more modest budget and there is absolutely no excuse to be shooting with your camera’s onboard mic – EVER!
There you have it: the extent of my wisdom. Yes, I know there are a lot more things to keep in mind and that will help (like making sure to get a good AD to help run your set properly or not hiring actresses you want to sleep with), but if you follow these six tips you’ll have a good head-start on keeping your first low budget film from sucking worse than a two-dollar whore.
That’s it from the depths of the DOJO for tonight. Until next time, Keep Shooting!
We had a rather productive day of filming this past Saturday – productive that is – until we were set to roll the cameras on our finale scenes when we lost all power to the opera house. We hoped it was nothing more than a tripped breaker or perhaps a blown fuse – but after three hours in the dark – we were worried that it was something a bit more serious. We sent the cast and crew home only to discover to our pleasant surprise – that the problem was indeed a blown fuse which was easily fixed. Before losing our power – we were able to shoot two scenes earlier in the day as well as an extended photo shoot featuring our full cast.
With help from assistants Sylvia and Sierra, our make-up FX expert Todd A. Britt was on hand to provide some amazing ghostly make-ups. Their make-up efforts were not lost as we were able to catch the supernatural victims in an exhaustive series of photos and promo shots. Expect to see those pop up as promotional posters somewhere down the line.
The producers of Mutantville Productions would like to extend a hearty thank you to our cast and crew. You all dealt with the delay like real professionals and we were able to make the best out of what was potentially a disastrous situation. Due to the set-back – we have extended the shooting schedule of G.H.O.S.T. to include November 14th and 21st – giving us just enough time to wrap before Turkey Day! Thank you all for everything you do. I look forward to seeing you back on the set for our finale this Saturday!
~~Streebo
Posted 2 years, 6 months ago at 11:06 am. 1 comment
From indieWIRE.com: The following are Michael Lynne’s opening remarks from Friday’s Independent Film Summit, presented by MoMA & indieWIRE (with Zipline Entertainment).
As someone who grew up in the independent film world and helped shepherd a company from “Reefer Madness” to “Lord of the Rings,” it is a pleasure to be here today.
I think it is ironic that I have been asked to kick-off this Independent Film Summit, having been a principal in perhaps the most successful independent film company in history – which has nevertheless become one of the biggest victims of the consolidation of film production and distribution that has so negatively affected the independent film universe. Fortunately, we are living to fight another day in our new production company, Unique Features.
There are however, several very telling points which can be made in this regard:
1 – If you are independent and value the freedom which that brings – stay independent. There is no free lunch – if you are owned by a major studio, you will ultimately be governed by major studio guidelines and major studio decision-making. It is kind of a Faustian bargain. When New Line agreed to be acquired by Turner Broadcasting, we had access to wherewithal for production and distribution substantially beyond what was available to us as a free standing public company. The ambitions which we had for New Line could be accelerated by years. But there was a catch – as Ted Turner said to us about six months after the merger when we referred to him as our partner – “Yes, guys, we are partners in a way and we are definitely friends – but you did sell your company to me – let’s just keep that in mind as we go forward.”
2 – Independent filmmaking emerged in a significant way in the early ‘80s with the arrival of New Line, Miramax, Cannon, New World, Tri-Star and others. Each of those companies had a game plan and a strategy for the space they would occupy in the industry landscape. It was an earlier time of irrational exuberance and lots of capital and very expensive debt was available. The anticipation that we were on the brink of a new generation of film companies, was palpable. Obviously, some of those companies have left a significant film legacy, but the truth is, and this is very telling, none of them today, if they exist at all, exist in the same ownership configuration in which they existed then. And none is truly independent now.
3 – Just as there was an opportunity then for independent, maverick organizations to make films for underserved audiences and to create new paradigms, the same opportunity will undoubtedly come out of the very difficult times for independent filmmaking today as fresh, out-of-the-box thinking on content and delivery, from passionate and talented filmmakers and producers, finds its way through the ambient noise of the establishment to a public hungry for the new. It may be one of us in this room – or it may be a kid with a dream, a digital camera and a fire in his or her belly.
4 – We should be prepared to rethink all of the commonly accepted practices and pre-conceptions about film production and film distribution. There is and will be less funding available for the production of independent films and for the release of those films. (In fact, there will be less funding available for the production and distribution of films in general.) We will see the conventional timing and formats for film viewing re-invented to a meaningful degree. Where films are seen, when they are seen, who pays for them to be seen, are all going to change dramatically in the next 5 to 10 years. Some of those changes will make the process easier and some will make it much harder.
5 – Tough economic times may favor movie-going in theaters, but it won’t solve the shrinking DVD sector and, on balance, it has, and will probably continue to, encourage the production of safer product for a more mainstream audience looking for escape from their stressful private situations. Obviously, that has never been the basic mission of independent filmmaking. The real challenge is to work toward creating films that are original, thoughtful, even challenging, but which nevertheless can capture the imagination of audiences who will always be responsive to something new and unexpected and yes, to films that are entertaining, in the broadest sense of that word.
6 – As an industry we’ve tried to preserve the idea of windows of distribution, ordering the availability of our product by distribution channel, starting in about every instance with the theatrical distribution window. And I don’t know a filmmaker who doesn’t want his film seen in a theatre on a big screen with beautiful sound. But we should be prepared for the possibility – not clear how far off – that there will be 50 or 60 million flat-screen HDTV’s capable of receiving digital downloads around the world. And someone will have the quintessential tent pole which can be ordered for $40 a household before theatrical release. The stakes are high – maybe 2 or 3 billion dollars on one night high. Of course theatrical exhibitors will have something to say about that. But it will also be an opportunity for more niche product which can be targeted to a specific segment of that digitally connected audience, on an incredibly efficient and lucrative basis. For independent films, we are talking about a version of the long tail, which one day may be a real lifesaver for these special films with discreet audiences who can then be identified and addressed directly.
7 – All in all, there is a lot to consider. We are in a very interesting moment in time. It is a time of complicated issues but of enormous potential opportunity. Of course, everyone knows the famous William Goldman quote about our industry: “Nobody knows anything.” It is cautionary, humbling and probably entirely true. And we should all keep that in mind as we continue our conversation today. The fact is, there are no real experts on the future of our business or any business – although I think I’ve found one expert. He’s a true visionary who understood totally the risk of being too certain about what lies in store for us. So in addition to William Goldman’s sage advice, let’s keep in mind what Yogi Berra said (which applies very much to our topic today): “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
Michael Lynne, a co-founder of New Line with Robert Shaye, with whom he also co-founded the new production company, Unique Features.
2 – Independent filmmaking emerged in a significant way in the early ‘80s with the arrival of New Line, Miramax, Cannon, New World, Tri-Star and others. Each of those companies had a game plan and a strategy for the space they would occupy in the industry landscape. It was an earlier time of irrational exuberance and lots of capital and very expensive debt was available. The anticipation that we were on the brink of a new generation of film companies, was palpable. Obviously, some of those companies have left a significant film legacy, but the truth is, and this is very telling, none of them today, if they exist at all, exist in the same ownership configuration in which they existed then. And none is truly independent now.
3 – Just as there was an opportunity then for independent, maverick organizations to make films for underserved audiences and to create new paradigms, the same opportunity will undoubtedly come out of the very difficult times for independent filmmaking today as fresh, out-of-the-box thinking on content and delivery, from passionate and talented filmmakers and producers, finds its way through the ambient noise of the establishment to a public hungry for the new. It may be one of us in this room – or it may be a kid with a dream, a digital camera and a fire in his or her belly.
4 – We should be prepared to rethink all of the commonly accepted practices and pre-conceptions about film production and film distribution. There is and will be less funding available for the production of independent films and for the release of those films. (In fact, there will be less funding available for the production and distribution of films in general.) We will see the conventional timing and formats for film viewing re-invented to a meaningful degree. Where films are seen, when they are seen, who pays for them to be seen, are all going to change dramatically in the next 5 to 10 years. Some of those changes will make the process easier and some will make it much harder.
5 – Tough economic times may favor movie-going in theaters, but it won’t solve the shrinking DVD sector and, on balance, it has, and will probably continue to, encourage the production of safer product for a more mainstream audience looking for escape from their stressful private situations. Obviously, that has never been the basic mission of independent filmmaking. The real challenge is to work toward creating films that are original, thoughtful, even challenging, but which nevertheless can capture the imagination of audiences who will always be responsive to something new and unexpected and yes, to films that are entertaining, in the broadest sense of that word.
6 – As an industry we’ve tried to preserve the idea of windows of distribution, ordering the availability of our product by distribution channel, starting in about every instance with the theatrical distribution window. And I don’t know a filmmaker who doesn’t want his film seen in a theatre on a big screen with beautiful sound. But we should be prepared for the possibility – not clear how far off – that there will be 50 or 60 million flat-screen HDTV’s capable of receiving digital downloads around the world. And someone will have the quintessential tent pole which can be ordered for $40 a household before theatrical release. The stakes are high – maybe 2 or 3 billion dollars on one night high. Of course theatrical exhibitors will have something to say about that. But it will also be an opportunity for more niche product which can be targeted to a specific segment of that digitally connected audience, on an incredibly efficient and lucrative basis. For independent films, we are talking about a version of the long tail, which one day may be a real lifesaver for these special films with discreet audiences who can then be identified and addressed directly.
7 – All in all, there is a lot to consider. We are in a very interesting moment in time. It is a time of complicated issues but of enormous potential opportunity. Of course, everyone knows the famous William Goldman quote about our industry: “Nobody knows anything.” It is cautionary, humbling and probably entirely true. And we should all keep that in mind as we continue our conversation today. The fact is, there are no real experts on the future of our business or any business – although I think I’ve found one expert. He’s a true visionary who understood totally the risk of being too certain about what lies in store for us. So in addition to William Goldman’s sage advice, let’s keep in mind what Yogi Berra said (which applies very much to our topic today): “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
Michael Lynne, a co-founder of New Line with Robert Shaye, with whom he also co-founded the new production company, Unique Features.
Posted 2 years, 6 months ago at 9:21 am. 5 comments
From ASAP TRIP: The Film Sensei’s Six Quick Tips to Keep Your Indie Film From Sucking!
We had a rather productive day of filming this past Saturday – productive that is – until we were set to roll the cameras on our finale scenes when we lost all power to the opera house. We hoped it was nothing more than a tripped breaker or perhaps a blown fuse – but after three hours in the dark – we were worried that it was something a bit more serious. We sent the cast and crew home only to discover to our pleasant surprise – that the problem was indeed a blown fuse which was easily fixed. Before losing our power – we were able to shoot two scenes earlier in the day as well as an extended photo shoot featuring our full cast.
From indieWIRE.com: The following are Michael Lynne’s opening remarks from Friday’s Independent Film Summit, presented by MoMA & indieWIRE (with Zipline Entertainment).
