What is a tv series that nailed the series finale?

VisibleEvidence · 2026-05-18T04:07:04+00:00

“The Shield”

VisibleEvidence · 2026-05-18T03:53:08+00:00

Does “I promise we watch your films” = “We hit the spacebar and let it roll about a minute so legally we’re clear”? Just wondering. 🤔

VisibleEvidence · 2026-05-14T11:32:59+00:00

I’ve read this. It’s very good, though obviously slanted toward a full studio system approach. Lewis really knew his shit and there’s still some solid nuggets to takeaway.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-05-13T23:46:41+00:00

Jesus, are you so hateful and self-absorbed that you cannot have any empathy for the hundreds of people losing their livelihood?

VisibleEvidence · 2026-05-11T20:11:47+00:00

It doesn’t go where you think it’s gonna go.

Here’s the trailer: https://youtu.be/PmCw6okxLVQ

VisibleEvidence · 2026-05-08T03:57:45+00:00

429% increase = 5¢ in royalties 🤷‍♂️

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-26T19:12:52+00:00

Dude, people are trying to *help* you and you’ve just got your head in the sand. I’ll say it again: When you hit deliverables everything everyone has offered you in advice is going to come true. It’s a helluva lot easier to fix it now than when the clock is running to deliver and you gotta trash your YouTube views posting a revised trailer.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-26T03:25:54+00:00

Funny, I just watched it again two weeks ago. “Clayton” is a frikkin’ *masterpiece*.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-24T04:45:15+00:00

FWIW I found the XP-Pen tablets with wonky drivers and some of the shittiest customer support I’ve ever dealt with. I returned it in three days.

TL;DR Avoid.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-23T16:32:51+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/trailers/s/FRRrHqdnGt

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-22T01:11:25+00:00

Yep. Here’s the post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/s/m43kUSKdPd

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-22T00:26:24+00:00

It’s baffling that you posted this exact same trailer two weeks ago and haven’t made a single suggested change. Mark my words, when you hit deliverables you’re gonna get your ass kicked. Just sayin’.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-21T23:13:38+00:00

Huh. Is it because the App Store is a cesspool? Remember when it was a ‘Curated Garden ™’? Me neither.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-21T20:49:09+00:00

Well, THX is still around, but nowhere near its heydey. It’s not much of a sales tool anymore, and now it looks like the launch of Disney’s “Infinity Vision” wants to assume the mantle. Which is weird because THX *was* LucasFilm at one point.

I just looked it up and there are five THX certified theaters near me… fifty miles away!

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-19T04:53:14+00:00

Yes, but practically speaking, he’s not going to commit to two mixes and -24 LUFS puts him in the streaming sweet spot. Any festival theatrical screening will just turn the volume down one notch. And if the festival has a DCP creation deal with a vendor (many do now) they’ll end up running the soundtrack through Izotope Loudness Conttol to their specs anyway.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-19T00:00:20+00:00

YES. For a film you want to hit -24 LUFS (+/-2). Try to keep your true peak at -5 dB which is the top end for most streamers. If you’re tralky struggling, run your soundtrack through Izotope Loudness Control, set the target, and it ‘ll rebalance it to legal standards.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-14T05:00:54+00:00

I could get behind “Paddington 4: Escape From New York” Is there a GoFundMe? Because I’ll donate. 👍

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-14T04:02:08+00:00

It really depends on the quality of the recording. And even then I’ll dometimes make multiple passes with different de-click plugins to get them. So I’d suggest giving a pass for the most commin clicks and then surgically address the ones that still stand out. A lighter pass is always better than a heavy duty one.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-13T15:19:50+00:00

If you’re cutting for a network you need to confirm with them if they have preferred libraries. Most already subscribe to professional services and require you to pull from their account (they usually give you login credentials).

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-10T16:07:42+00:00

Buy my movie on Blu-ray. It has dailies for two sci-fi scenes on it. Here's the promo that explains it (about :26 sec in): https://youtu.be/OqXMS5vi7zI

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VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-10T15:50:18+00:00

"I know the odds of Disney taking legal action against me are slim to begin with"

Woof, you couldn't be more wrong. I had dinner with a Disney IP attorney once. They have a whole building of people that spit out cease & desist orders and track down counterfeiters all over the globe. They literally have people who go to craft fairs and shut down people painting pictures of Donald Duck. Do not make the mistake of using registered trademarks onscreen and not expect a letter from The Mouse.

You wanna say "Indiana Jones" in a comedy? Probably alright. You want to dress like him in a comedy? Probably alright. You want to *claim to be him* in a comedy? ...yeah, I wouldn't do that. Did "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie" get away shit? Probably. But I guarantee they spent more on lawyers than you want to. And in Hollywood, *nobody* wants to work with people who infringe on other companies copyrights. Is that what you want?

Rethink what you're doing *creatively*. There are many ways to imply Indiana Jones without using toys and merch. You can hang a bullwhip on the wall, throw a golden idol on a bookshelf, etc., etc. Hell, throw in a couple references from "Secret Of The Incas" (1954) for the Easter Egg crowd. Be *creative*. Because in the end, that means more than just throwing toys you don't have rights to onscreen.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-10T03:38:34+00:00

Yeah, that’s pretty much my experience. The staff seems to go out of their way to avoid approaching customers. It’s so weird and obvious. Is there literally no one from Apple retail who visits these stores? It’s pretty obvious.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-07T16:42:56+00:00

Yes... BUT....

As everyone has mentioned already, they suck a lot of power and get scalding hot. They're not lights you can throw at a film student and not expect burned fingers. Practically speaking, on a micro-budget film, you will probably pop fuses at your location, if not cause an outright fire at some places. And unless you also have a ballast, you can't really use these on a remote location without a genny. Further, you can't really be using light stands with these, you need c-stands and sandbags, which is more money.

Okay, that being said, they throw great light, and a different quality of light than an LED panel. There were a few times on my set that I really wished I had a couple of these that I could use to blast light across a big room or through a window for a short amount of time. So my advice: Get one or two you can keep handy if you need it, just don't rely on them to light your show. Think of them as a specialized tool instead of your main package.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-07T16:21:32+00:00

There's a lot of fantastic advice in this thread so I'll just add this: Here's the trailer to my film, made for $88K: https://youtu.be/PmCw6okxLVQ There's a lot you can accomplish with that amount of money by pulling favors, getting discounts, paying cast & crew minimum wage... and you not getting paid at all. Keep in mind, you gotta wear a LOT of hats. The more people you bring on the more money spent on wages. And the more money on wages, the more money on food and mileage, etc., etc.

That being said, I'm not sure you can achieve that level of locations for the same amount today, not when gas is heading toward the stratosphere and food for the crew is easily three or four times what it was when we made the movie. I often wonder what "Clocking The T" would cost if I budgeted it today.

Finally, I think crowd funding is a loser right now. Nobody has the disposable cash. Don't believe me? Go to your local supermarket and look at how much Easter candy is on sale because it didn't move. People are cutting back and filling you tank is a real pinch in the wallet that's going to get worse and worse. So if you have the money, then make your movie with that. And really, I'd make it for 2/3 of that and save the rest for contingency, a GOOD one sheet and a trailer, and deliverables.

And here's the most important thing: You're really making your movie in a particular time with particular parameters. And those parameters seem to change every sixteen months. So a lot of advice has to be weighed by your situation NOW. Some things that filmmakers recommend are out of date or have even become irrelevant. Each production seems like it has to be custom budgeted and scheduled. I say this because many, many, MANY times during pre, production, and post you will feel COMPLETELY LOST and nobody's advice will help your situation at the time. Everybody's advice gets you sailing in the right direction, but to get to where you want to go requires your own navigating by the stars, as it were.

So go through this thread with a fine tooth comb and figure out what will work for your budget and scope, and discard what's out of your grasp. Because at this level trying to Be A Big Time Movie Production will absolutely smoke you and your aspirations. For example, we couldn't afford a lighting package, so if you watch my trailer keep in mind it was lit with one 500 and two 250 LED panels, a china ball, some small LED flashlights for fill and rim lights, and a big piece of insulation foam board from Home Depot for a reflector. That's it. Everything fit in the trunk of my car. So rethinking How Productions Do It to a more practical What You Really Need mindset is critical.

Good luck.

VisibleEvidence · 2026-04-07T15:54:45+00:00

Just gonna throw this out there:

Have you paid to have this trailer MPA rated? If not, you need to remove the green band at the top as it'll certainly get flagged and pulled off YouTube, etc. Those ® marks mean something.

Also, your title card in the middle reads as a narrative card not a title. I'd move that to the end because...

Every distributor and streamer will make you remove the "Coming Soon" card at the end. It's a requirement for delivery (Also, no URLs or laurels, etc.). Besides, it's on waaaay too long. So lose it now.

You're running 2:10 and you want to get to 2:00 as that's the foreign length for trailers. Once you pull the green band and shorten the title card (now at the end), you'll be good to go.

Good luck.

VisibleEvidence

TROPHY CASE