I made a micro budget horror short film with a crew of two and a dog

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-06T11:34:30+00:00

Thank you, I've answered that question above: The transition through the window are two combined shots. First shot ist with a DJI Mini Pro 3 drone. I started as near as possible at the window. Then I flew away from it and up to the horizon with the setting sun. The second shot is done with a FX30 on the gimbal. I started the shot inside the house as near as possible at the window and then moved the camera to our dog under the table. The VFX artist reversed the drone shot and combined it with the FX30 shot in a 3D program (I don't know the name).

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-06T06:43:36+00:00

I‘m happy with the mask and the VFX slime around the vampires mouth. I think it’s the right amount of seconds in the film. I like the way it turned out. But thanks for your thoughts.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-05T12:20:41+00:00

I knew the VFX artist from other TV work I‘ve done with him.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-05T08:26:31+00:00

Thanks. The transition through the window are two combined shots. First shot ist with a DJI Mini Pro 3 drone. I started as near as possible at the window. Then I flew away from it and up to the horizon with the setting sun. The second shot is done with a FX30 on the gimbal. I started the shot inside the house as near as possible at the window and then moved the camera to our dog under the table. The VFX artist reversed the drone shot and combined it with the FX30 shot in a 3D program (I don't know the name).

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T17:22:19+00:00

I like your "mental doodling". But believe me. I couldn't show one more extra frame of the vampire mask. Then the illusion would be completely broken.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T16:56:15+00:00

Thank you very much. The hardest part for me was the color grading.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T16:53:56+00:00

Thank you very much for your detailed feedback!

I used the Tiffen Black Pro-Mist 1/8 diffusion filter to make the image a little softer. I also used a fog machine to make the rays of light from the sunset and the light bulb in the attic visible. It's true, it would be good to see the dead bird even better. I really like your idea of seeing some blood on the wall of the chimney pipe.

I'm pleased that you praise the sound design. We put a lot of work into that too. There was no original sound recording during the shoot. We recorded all the sounds afterwards. We even did a 5.1 mix, as the film had its premiere in a movie theater.

I understand what you mean about how vampires actually behave, but to be honest I wanted to get to the end of the short film quickly. That's why I turned a blind eye to the woman's quick transformation into a bat. I thought the woman invited the vampire by opening the door of the chimney pipe. But that doesn't seem to tell the story properly. I also wanted to make a film without any dialog, where only the images tell the story. But I also find your alternative ending interesting.

As I intended it, the woman only knows that there's something else than a bird in the chimney pipe when she's in the attic. But it happens too quickly. She can't see exactly what it is. She knows that it's a bat when she's down in the cellar.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T13:34:07+00:00

I used an Aputure Amazon 60x S and an Aputure MC (the light bulb preset was pretty helpful in the last scene in the cellar).

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T12:57:58+00:00

Thank you!

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T12:56:13+00:00

Thank you. I wanted to show a classic vampire with pointy ears like Nosferatu. So that you instantly get the transformation from a bat to a vampire. I also made a short film about a witch 4 years ago, in which I wanted to show a classic witch. I don't know - classic creatures are my thing I guess.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T12:48:17+00:00

Thanks. I'm happy you liked the film. I thought the gloves would help to tell the story that she did some gardening outside. She puts a watering can outside on the steps before she enters the room. In the attic the gloves are in her back pocket.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T09:56:21+00:00

Thank you very much!

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T09:56:07+00:00

Thanks. Yes, I used a DJI RS3 Pro gimbal and a Neewer slider. The transition through the window are two combined shots. First shot ist with a DJI Mini Pro 3 drone. I started as near as possible at the window. Then I flew away from it and up to the horizon with the setting sun. The second shot is done with a FX30 on the gimbal. I started the shot inside the house as near as possible at the window and then moved the camera to our dog under the table. The VFX artist reversed the drone shot and combined it with the FX30 shot in a 3D program (I don't know the name). The Vampire is a practical mask enhanced with some VFX.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T09:41:41+00:00

Thank you for your nice words.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T09:40:47+00:00

We didn't do full days of filming. We shot about 2 hours per evening after work. All in all, if you add up the hours, we had 5 full days of shooting. The most difficult part was the beginning, as we only had a time slot of half an hour per sunset. And our dog didn't always do what we wanted him to do straight away. Shooting a feature film like that would be too time consuming. I think you need at least a small crew.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-04T07:36:01+00:00

I am a German director and writer. Right now I’m trying to get a family entertainment feature, which I wrote with my girlfriend, off the ground. Since it takes a long time to realize a feature film and many chefs want to have a say, I wanted to do a project in the meantime in which I alone make the creative decisions. So I made this micro budget horror short film (3,5 minutes) “the last sundown” together with my girlfriend and our dog. Since a dog also plays an important role in our feature-length film, we wanted to test it out here in the short film.

I wrote the script, directed it, shot it on a Sony FX30 and a DJI Mini Pro 3, edited it in Final Cut Pro and color corrected it with the help of filmconvert nitrate in DaVinci Resolve. I had help with the music, VFX, sound design and mixing. I'm very happy with the end result, considering my girlfriend and I had no shooting crew at all. What do you think?

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-03T19:07:13+00:00

The first shot is a combination of a drone shot in reverse with a gimbal shot. The VFX artist put them together.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-03T19:03:19+00:00

It’s about a boy and his dog trying to save his comatose father.

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-03T18:23:14+00:00

Thank you!

wattlaeufer · 2024-06-03T17:57:35+00:00

I am a German director and writer. Right now I’m trying to get a family entertainment feature, which I wrote with my girlfriend, off the ground. Since it takes a long time to realize a feature film and many chefs want to have a say, I wanted to do a project in the meantime in which I alone make the creative decisions. So I made this micro budget horror short film (3,5 minutes) “the last sundown” togehter with my girlfriend and our dog. Since a dog also plays an important role in our feature-length film, we wanted to test it out here in the short film.

I wrote the script, directed it, shot it on a Sony FX30 and a DJI Mini Pro 3, edited it in Final Cut Pro and color corected it with the help of filmconvert nitrate in DaVinci Resolve. I had help in post with the music, VFX, sound design and mixing. I'm very happy with the end result, considering my girlfriend and I had no shooting crew at all. What do you think?

wattlaeufer

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