When the Lights Go Out - ID# 157
Marist
Movie Trailer
Entry Description
A boy gets a gift in the mail that turns him and his brother's life upside down. Danny starts to act weird and things get out of hand. What's turning the lights off?
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/25 1:28 pm - The premise for the film and the character betrayal is interesting but there were a lot of distractions that take away from the viewer being able to focus on the story. The titling is rather basic, but the bigger issue is the grammatical errors and the format/font inconsistencies. The music choice is nice and helps build suspense, but the visuals, on the while, fails to match the mood set by the music. A lot of the shot, including the warning message on the salt lamp box, are out of focus. Focus is the one critical visual element that be consistent all the time.
- 4/23 12:18 pm - Graphics are a bit elementary, plus you did not spell its right- it should be it's. I get the premise of the movie, but the action did not compel me to want to see the film. Action was slow and I had to figure everything out myself without the help of a narrator or any dialogue which could have been very helpful. There were some dark shots, and many of those shots were out of focus, which just cannot happen. Use the music to your advantage and try to match the action to the intensity of the music, while telling a story the whole time.
- 4/10 9:31 pm - I like the story idea, but it needed a few elements to make it more polished. I really wanted to hear some dialogue and natural sound even if just for a moment. If not that, then voice over helping to drive the narrative forward. This also would have better introduced your characters to your audience. A lot of your camera shots were out of focus. Make sure your check each shot before moving on and work on getting focus correct. A lot of your shots needed additional lighting. Learn how to light for darkness. It's not that hard to do, actually, and you don't need expensive materials. All you need is a light shining close to a ceiling. This can then bounce more light down to your characters. Remember that the camera needs much more light than the human eyeball to properly expose shots. The title cards needed a more stylized font. The font was too basic and it was rather distracting. Remember that trailers are a marketing tool and everything matters within the trailer, even the font choices. It all exists to sell the film.
- 3/4 9:46 am - Use more natural sound, sound effects, pace the clips to build suspense. Some of the shots are out of focus, add variety of shots (angles, movement etc)
- 2/26 11:48 am - Interesting idea, but not very well executed. A lot of camera work that was shaky and out of focus. Lighting was insufficient for much of the film; even when you want a scene to look dark, you have to have enough light to get a properly exposed shot. Sound was WAY too loud; make sure you're watching the VU meter when you're recording AND editing. Dialogue levels should be between -6 and -12 db, sound effects between -12 and -18 db, and music beds should be around -24 db.
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