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Thread started 09/11/11 8:27am

ufoclub

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Because I don't have to cash to pay a composer...

or keep a composer friend interested (I've gone through 3 different people with no luck yet) , I've had to make up a demo of my own soundtrack theme to the movie I'm making.

Here it is:

http://soundcloud.com/ufoclub1977/christians-theme-from-the

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Reply #1 posted 09/11/11 9:23am

eyewishuheaven

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Hey, that sounds good!

The chords are a little reminiscent of Is There Anybody Out There? by Pink Floyd, but you say they're inspired by an Irving Berlin piece, so maybe PF nicked 'em from IB, too!

Anyway, great, moody stuff. I love those high strings! smile

PRINCE: the only man who could wear high heels and makeup and STILL steal your woman!
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Reply #2 posted 09/11/11 9:40am

robertlove

I guess this isn't going to be a romatic-comedy lol

Loved it, very haunting. As Eyewish said, the high violins make it work. I could see this in a movie very well. Gonna listen to it again now.

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Reply #3 posted 09/11/11 9:42am

ufoclub

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eyewishuheaven said:

Hey, that sounds good!

The chords are a little reminiscent of Is There Anybody Out There? by Pink Floyd, but you say they're inspired by an Irving Berlin piece, so maybe PF nicked 'em from IB, too!

Anyway, great, moody stuff. I love those high strings! smile

Oh, yeah, lemme listen to that track again from The Wall. Yeah my music is similar!

But then again "Empty Room" is even more like the long ending of "Comfortably Numb"

The chords were made up by ear and also from memory of listening to all kinds of covers of the Irving Berlin song.

My goal was to come up with music that was as catchy as a Beatles single (similar to the haunting mood of "Mother Nature's Son), but in a cinematic mode. I want to develop all the other themes and music from parts of this intial theme so it's all related.

Originally I just wanted to make a cover of that song (Face the Music), but inquiring about rights led me to discover that they'd charge thousands even for an indie film.

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Reply #4 posted 09/11/11 9:44am

ufoclub

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Here's how I'm using part of the music in my movie so far:

http://vimeo.com/27782196

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Reply #5 posted 09/11/11 12:07pm

smoothcriminal
12

You're quite the composer. Excellent job.

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Reply #6 posted 09/11/11 1:24pm

ufoclub

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Thanks! cool

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Reply #7 posted 09/11/11 1:32pm

eyewishuheaven

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ufoclub said:

Here's how I'm using part of the music in my movie so far:

http://vimeo.com/27782196

Man, that is good!

Well-lit, well-shot, well-edited! I especially like that wide master of the two guys in the alley. The comic book colours when they go outside are lovely. How much would you say is on-set lighting, as opposed to colour correction? I wanted to do something similar for a project in film school, but just didn't have the gear!

I definitely hope to watch this whole film, when it's done... smile

PRINCE: the only man who could wear high heels and makeup and STILL steal your woman!
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Reply #8 posted 09/11/11 2:08pm

ufoclub

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eyewishuheaven said:

ufoclub said:

Here's how I'm using part of the music in my movie so far:

http://vimeo.com/27782196

Man, that is good!

Well-lit, well-shot, well-edited! I especially like that wide master of the two guys in the alley. The comic book colours when they go outside are lovely. How much would you say is on-set lighting, as opposed to colour correction? I wanted to do something similar for a project in film school, but just didn't have the gear!

I definitely hope to watch this whole film, when it's done... smile

Thanks! Well believe it or not... since this shoot of this scene was out of my pocket, we had no lights at all. The colors you see are actually from the outdoor fixture lights that were in the alley and the closed street shops. We had one tiny flashlight like LED light lighting up the guys face dimly when he smiles at the very end. Even in the club, we didn't have any lights. I can post a before and after here later if you're interested in comparing the raw footage to the color corrected stuff (done in After Effects).

I spent a long time adjusting the look of the video footage creating artificial lens flares, rays of light, and dark spots to make it look much more fancy than it really was. I also adjusted colors and added grain so it would stop looking like the flat digital soap opera video.

The trick to shooting wih no lights is to find spots that have real light sources that can at least make your action visible in a clear way, then it's all post. Make your actors stand in the pools of light from street lamps, store fronts, etc.

I shot another short film in the same alley and surrounding streets and this one has absolutely no lighting and no artificial post lighting either. All it has is a tweak in the contrast and an adjustment on the color balance to look more like fim. The grain on this one is real video grain because we really jacked up the gain on the video camera. You'll also recognize one of the same actors:

http://www.vimeo.com/1707304

As for the finished movie... its 5 years now and counting. But the cut is locked. I'm doing sound, colors, and effects now, between paid work assignments. So it is coming along. It runs 1 hour and 20 minutes. I would love to show it to you when it's finished.

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Reply #9 posted 09/12/11 8:19am

eyewishuheaven

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Hey, I really like that one, as well! Really great frames, in particular. You almost seem to use your locations as characters themselves, and I really dig that. Bravo!

I'm still reeling from the news that you did them both entirely with available light. It looks so full! Yes, there's video grain in Rex, but I think it's the kind of grain that just adds to the mood (good grain! razz). Like you, I always like to use available light, as well. One, it's faster and cheaper, and two, when a scene is lit with a proper rig, I always notice when the shadows are going the wrong direction, and it drives me nuts! Of course, I may change my mind if I ever have to shoot a full-on night scene, but you've done rather well! smile

In the interest of fairness, here's one of my own for you to check out:

http://www.facebook.com/v...9132990545

PRINCE: the only man who could wear high heels and makeup and STILL steal your woman!
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Reply #10 posted 09/12/11 1:19pm

ufoclub

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eyewishuheaven said:

Hey, I really like that one, as well! Really great frames, in particular. You almost seem to use your locations as characters themselves, and I really dig that. Bravo!

I'm still reeling from the news that you did them both entirely with available light. It looks so full! Yes, there's video grain in Rex, but I think it's the kind of grain that just adds to the mood (good grain! razz). Like you, I always like to use available light, as well. One, it's faster and cheaper, and two, when a scene is lit with a proper rig, I always notice when the shadows are going the wrong direction, and it drives me nuts! Of course, I may change my mind if I ever have to shoot a full-on night scene, but you've done rather well! smile

In the interest of fairness, here's one of my own for you to check out:

http://www.facebook.com/v...9132990545

Hey that was really well done, especially if this was your first short film. Seems more like a seasoned indie filmmaker!

The editing and choice of shots was great, and so was the direction and blocking of the actors. It's be fun to see in a better quality upload. cool

I'd like to see more of your stuff!

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Reply #11 posted 09/12/11 2:40pm

eyewishuheaven

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Hey thanks!

Yes, I should get a better quality version up somewhere... I especially hate how the compression crushed my music! mad

Thank you for noticing the shots and blocking and stuff. That location was actually my apartment at the time, so I was able to spend a lot of time choosing angles, and, using a mic stand as stand-in for the actors, picking zooms to get the depth-of-field just right. Also, living in the location gave me lots of time to storyboard everything meticulously, so my DP could just line up what I'd drawn, while I concentrated on working with the actors.

Here are some other things, if you'd like to watch them.

Where do you live? If you ever shoot in Toronto, I volunteer to be on your crew! biggrin

PRINCE: the only man who could wear high heels and makeup and STILL steal your woman!
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Reply #12 posted 09/12/11 4:44pm

ufoclub

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eyewishuheaven said:

Hey thanks!

Yes, I should get a better quality version up somewhere... I especially hate how the compression crushed my music! mad

Thank you for noticing the shots and blocking and stuff. That location was actually my apartment at the time, so I was able to spend a lot of time choosing angles, and, using a mic stand as stand-in for the actors, picking zooms to get the depth-of-field just right. Also, living in the location gave me lots of time to storyboard everything meticulously, so my DP could just line up what I'd drawn, while I concentrated on working with the actors.

Here are some other things, if you'd like to watch them.

Where do you live? If you ever shoot in Toronto, I volunteer to be on your crew! biggrin

I'm in Ann Arbor, so Toronto is on our list to visit soon. I even have family there. I'll definitely give you a shout out to see about meeting up whenever we go.

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