We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011) quad poster.
We Need To Talk About Kevin tells the story of Kevin’s mother as she struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
Check out the full movie after the leap!
Continue Reading…
Muticia's Movie Morgue is coming soon.
There’s so much going on that there’s little time to discuss. We’ve given you some cool content this week from Geo’s discussion on film lingo to Brento’s comparison of Horrorhound and Fangoria to Streebo’s Top Ten Horror Reference Books and we even gave you a nice little blooper reel from the set of the Movie Morgue. Look for Family Fiend, Indigo Child and Respawner to finally hit IMDb this week in the wake of the Tales From Mutantville premiere at Mad Monster Party! No other indie film company gives you the content and value that you find at Mutantville. We’re not called MVP for nothing.
There’s last minute prep to be done so we’re going to have to leave you with a selection of Mutant TV and a smile. Happy Friday the 13th! Keep your friends close and your machete closer!
MUTANT TV HITS YOUR SCREEN AFTER THE LEAP!!!
Continue Reading…
Mad Monster Party is coming your way!
Even a late Mutantville Monday qualifies as a Mutantville Monday. It’s well before midnight and the website seems stable so I figured I had enough time to get in a quick update befor the day ends. This is Streebo with you once again to share the joys and the woes, the highs and the lows of independent filmmaking. We’ve been prepping for the past few months for the Mad Monster Party Film Festival with the deadline passing just last week and here we are on the verge of announcing the full lineup for the event.
It’s so close we can taste it and it tastes like a nice fat free banana cream pie.
We’ve programmed the entire film festival for the Mad Monster Party and are currently ironing out the kinks. Please be patient as we’re just moments away from making a proper announcement. I’d like to thank you all for not only your patience in this process but for submitting such an amazing array of films for the convention-goers to watch. It is going to be an event to remember.
Get the full update after the leap!!!
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…
Arri Lights- I'll take that one and that one and...
I’ve been thinking about what to focus on this week. After filming this weekend, I am thinking about lighting…so…here are some film lighting tips
The SECRET Costs Of Cheap Lighting Equipment | The Indie Film …
All of those make your own cheap lighting kit articles you have read on a hundred different blogs and filmmaking fan sites are lying to you… …Cheap.
(See the light after the leap!)
Continue Reading…
Bounce over to the Funny or Die! website and show some support for our good friends from Ghost Trek. Ghost Trek was written by the acclaimed writer of Kill the Music, Michael Plumides and co-directed by the Superman of Indie Film – Robert W. Filion and starring more reality television stars than you can shake a boomstick at including Johnny Fairplay, Gia Allemonde, Mikey B, Disco Inferno, Colt Cobana and little Addy Miller from television’s The Walking Dead!
Check out the clip on Funny or Die! by clicking here.
Show your support for indie horror by coming to see the premiere of Ghost Trek at ConCarolinas in two weeks!
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!
-Mat N., the Film Sensei
via Six Quick Tips to Keep Your Low Budget Film From Sucking | Asap Trip.
