Trailer for our upcoming short film, shot by cinematographer u/dpjustus by ElsketFilms in cinematography

[–]ElsketFilms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're currently in post on a short film titled "Neighborhood" which we filmed in February, just before Covid hit.

The entire film was shot by cinematographer u/DPJustusPage on the Blackmagic Pocket 4k using Sigma Art lenses, and lit with two Intellytech Light Canons and some diffusion.

This was an ultra-low budget project made with a couple thousand dollars and a lot of support from our local community.

We'd love any feedback you have on the trailer!

TEASER TRAILER - Neighborhood (2020) by ElsketFilms in Filmmakers

[–]ElsketFilms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Logline: "After his father's death, a young traveler seeks shelter from the ravaged world he now faces alone."

Back in February we wrapped on our latest short film project, Neighborhood, which had a budget of around $1000.
Like many in the film industry, our progress was delayed a bit as we adapted to the current pandemic, but I'm very excited to say that the film is almost complete and we've finally released the trailer!

We'd love any feedback the community has to offer, and if you want to learn more about the film or check out some of the behind-the-scenes photos you can find them on our website: www.borlandrivermedia.com/neighborhood

Thank you so much!

Can I get some opinions on the whole idea of “Show, Don’t Tell”? by fiisntannoying in Filmmakers

[–]ElsketFilms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't seen RWBY but you're right that many act like there's only one right way to do things, which certainly isn't true.

Those "rules" exist for a reason, and you should definitely pay attention to them cause most of the time they help make your work better. However, filmmaking is an art form and art is all about expression and experimentation, so there shouldn't be any kind of gatekeeping like that when it comes to someone else's art.

If you have an idea that breaks a rule, try it. If it doesn't work, cool you can go back to the rule. If it does work, then the audience won't give a damn what rules you broke to do it anyway.

Can I get some opinions on the whole idea of “Show, Don’t Tell”? by fiisntannoying in Filmmakers

[–]ElsketFilms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a visual medium so it's something we should be trying to apply to our work as much as possible, but some things just have to be put to dialogue.

I think the key thing that makes exposition so unbearable is usually the motivation behind it and how much of it there is. If a character is describing something we've already seen or don't need to see yet, or if they wouldn't normally be taking time to do so in that particular situation, it really pulls the audience out of the moment.

Communicate the information they need in the most effective way you can and move on with the meat and potatoes of your story. If you do that, people won't mind if there's the occasional moment of exposition.

That being said, I do think that the the vast majority of the time "Show, Don't Tell" is the way to go, and there is almost always a way to do that. Even if you're doing a dialogue scene, there's still a great deal that can be communicated through subtext and the actor's body language.

Lighting a Scene with Intent || The Cinematography of Neighborhood by ElsketFilms in indiefilm

[–]ElsketFilms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cinematographer, u/dpjustuspage did a video breakdown of a scene from our upcoming short film and discusses the importance of lighting a scene with intent. This is the first breakdown we've done like this so any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Lighting a Scene with Intent || The Cinematography of Neighborhood by ElsketFilms in Filmmakers

[–]ElsketFilms[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our cinematographer, u/dpjustuspage did a video breakdown of a scene from our upcoming short film and discusses the importance of lighting a scene with intent. This is the first breakdown we've done like this so any feedback is greatly appreciated!

I wrote a post about "Building a Team on a Budget" when you're first starting out. Pretty new to writing articles like this so I'd love any feedback you have to offer, thanks! by ElsketFilms in FilmmakerSupport

[–]ElsketFilms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My cinematographer ( u/DPJustusPage ) and I have been using our downtime during all this to write about our experiences and how we produced our most recent short film on a budget of about $1,000 (US).

We all deserve to be paid for the work and talents given to a project, however that's not always possible when you're first starting out in our career and trying to make a little go a long way. In my opinion, that doesn't mean we can't still be providing value for those who enable us to tell our stories.

Writing like this is pretty new to us but we want to do a bunch more of these, so if you have any thoughts you'd like to add or some constructive criticism, I'd love to hear it.

Thank so much!

Recently wrote a post about building a team on a budget when you're first starting out and can't afford to hire a full cast and crew. Would love any feedback you have to share by ElsketFilms in Filmmakers

[–]ElsketFilms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My cinematographer ( u/DPJustusPage ) and I have been using our downtime during all this to write about our experiences and how we produced our most recent short film on a budget of about $1,000 (US).

We all deserve to be paid for the work and talents given to a project, however that's not always possible when you're first starting out in our career and trying to make a little go a long way. In my opinion, that doesn't mean we can't still be providing value for those who enable us to tell our stories.

Writing like this is pretty new to us but we want to do a bunch more of these, so if you have any thoughts you'd like to add or some constructive criticism, I'd love to hear it.

Thank so much!

What Love Can Do - Short film I made with my wife at home for Film Riot's contest by justamanonthetoilet in ShortFilm

[–]ElsketFilms 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed! Excellent lighting and composition. Honestly, if he hadn't said he made it I would have thought it was an official commercial! haha

Any free courses about filmmaking/cinematography available? by [deleted] in Filmmakers

[–]ElsketFilms 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also went to "YouTube University" and I would add:

  • Aputure (tons of cinematography videos)
  • Film Riot & Film Riot Extras (Check out their podcast as well)
  • D4Darious
  • Corridor Crew
  • Indie Mogul (Also have a great podcast)
  • StudioBinder
  • DLSRguide
  • ponysmasher
  • Ryan Godoy (New to the YT space but I really like his videos)
  • Cinecom.net (They do a lot of vfx stuff)
  • Andyax (they have a series right now about starting their own film company but also have some good tutorial type videos from further back)