In this episode Guy and Caleb walk through a short film they recently finished, sharing insights and tips learned from this project.
The Making of ABORTION
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Thanks for sharing what you learned. I totally agree with being careful with the custom white balance for each shot. The AWB is not that good on the T2i.
I would personally like to see how you went from flat pic style to what you ended up with for color and saturation.
Dave
Thanks for the comment. CC and Grading are coming up. Along with framing, shot types and how to shoot a master scene. Stay tuned!
Wonderful, beautiful work
Limited resources will, but you you came the best results!
I am a fan:)
My only critique would be in the blocking of actors during the scene. With their backs to the camera, I felt distant from the actors/scene. The setup had a nice effect at the beginning but as the story developed I wanted to be in closer. An example would be at the part when ‘Liz’ breaks down (6:20-7:00), a tighter shot would have really helped me feel the emotion. The color grading looked seamless, nice job! This really was a dark story as we realize they both have issues from their past. I like the subtle way that ‘George’s’ past tragedy is revealed. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent comments. We blocked it that way for a few reasons. We could have shot the scene from behind the bar but we chose this angle for a few reasons. 1. Looking into the bar was more interesting. 2. The bar is in a Knights of Columbus Hall with a kitchen directly behind our actors. 3. We also wanted “Liz” to have her back to the camera communicating to the audience how closed of a person she is. I agree with you on the close up. I wanted a closer shot but the two CU takes we have didn’t deliver like this one with the tear and all. Thanks!
Hey Guys,
Since you asked for some feedback and comments I’d thought I’d go ahead and throw in my two cents. First off, congrats and thank you for bringing us the behind the scenes stuff. I love it and I don’t find it boring.
The Abortion:
I suprisingly managed to sit through the whole 9 minute conversation without getting restless. (and that’s espeically hard in a short film with new characters)
I think a better establishment of George’s relationship with the lead was needed. I think the script has some poor dialogue in places. Its seems a bit blunt or a bit obvious. Maybe perhaps too telling.
Focus was a big issue by the looks of things. The Bartender is completly out of focus on his single. (the blue moon tap is in focus).
Also with the master I wasn’t too sure what the focus was on.
I felt the cutaway within the bar could have been better.
All that said I enjoyed it alot and thought that it was cool how you lit it and shot it in a day. If only I could do that!
I have a few questions:
What ISO were you averaging at?
Could you go into further detail on the sharpening process in the future?
I love these insights but I would like to see less edit suite and more on the shoot pictures and footage. I think this way you can keep the ADHD audience happier.
Keep it up guys, I’m following you!
I first of all have to applaud you on your comments. Good eye! The film is a part of a longer series where the relationship w/George is developed and understood. We are still evaluating if this piece can be a stand alone short film for these very reasons. This film leans towards a minimalist structure which is designed to leave the viewer with more questions than answers. The fact that you were able to sit through it for 10 minutes tells me a lot. I agree that some of the dialog was “on the nose” Some of the dialog points made needed to accompany the curriculum. I wish I could say that the Blue Moon tap was in focus for a reason. It wasn’t. It was simply a communication breakdown between the director (me) and the camera operator (Caleb) and unfortunately we didn’t have a second take to go to. My lesson-always get a back up shot- which is something I usually do but in this instance didn’t. The focus on the master was a bit soft. It could have been because we were shooting this with a too short depth of field. At this point we were experimenting with the 7D and focal length. I think Caleb addressed this point in the podcast. We struggles with where to put the cutaway and if it fit at all. We likes it and wanted to use it but it does feel a bit on it’s own. Being an ADHD director I completely understand. Keep up the excellent feedback.
Love the making of guys thanks very much for putting it together.
Personally I love details and hope the color correction and grading you say is coming up will be on this same piece. I’ve searched lots of blogs but haven’t found a start to finish tutorial showing everything involved in making a single short, so please reveal all!
Love the rest of your vids, keep it up!
What shutter speed and ISO are you using for the black screen / interview shots? It looks nice. Keep up the good work.
Hey Fred,
We shot it at 1/50th shutter and iso of 320. Aperture was at f/2.8
Great work guys. I can see how the focus was somewhat difficult. Also it would be a nice idea to explain how you recorded the audio. I see a lots of behind the scene videos and no body spend any time talking about audio. The audio from the dialogue of your film was very good, however, the ambient audio was some inconsistent. At times the ambient audio make you believed that the bar was full of people talking and playing pool but the film showed a somewhat intimate setting.
Great job again.
Thank for sharing
Great points Cristian. We will make sure we spend more time on audio in the future. I am trying to schedule a meet up with our audio guy. Hopefully I can get an episode with him.
Thanks again for you comment!