In The Shadows - Official Movie Trailer - ID# 187

Metea Valley

Movie Trailer

Entry Description

Music provided by Digital Juice.

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/25 9:07 am - Technically speaking, everything was executed in a way that supported the storytelling and allowed the viewer to sit back and become immersed in the journey of the trailer. The low-key lighting scenarios, especially during the daytime interiors were impressive, as was the post-sync sound work. The story and performances were engaging and just enough was told to hook the viewer and entice them to see the full feature. Definitely one of the strongest entries of the year. Well done.
• 4/3 1:13 pm - Very well done trailer. As noted by others, it was excellently paced, but what sets this apart from the other submissions is the way you set up your story and your characters. Very efficient use of dialogue to put the audience into the situation of house sitting. It's clear you studied horror trailer pacing and the rising action builds perfectly. Having the ending sting is very popular in trailers right now and you handled that very well. Production value and shot compositions were very strong. Work on lighting for darkness. It's a very tricky thing, but a lot of your shots were very close to being underexposed and it's difficult to tell what's happening in a few shots. Also, some of your shots could have been eliminated to quicken the pace of the trailer a bit. The low angle shot of the tire at the beginning is one such example. You didn't really need that and you could have had the father's dialogue playing over the drone shot. Nit picky stuff, but it's something to think about. Great work!
• 3/4 8:53 am - Great use of pacing sound effects and music. Some of the shots were a little too dark but at times the lighting was close to perfect (for example the window shot).
• 3/2 7:24 pm - A strong trailer. Music was gripping and the action and intense shots matched to the music just right. It was taking place in the dark, and you did a pretty good job of shooting in the dark. Were some shots too dark? Probably so, but it helped set the mood for the movie as well. Honestly, this LOOKED like it belongs in the theater. Acting was decent, but you took careful consideration into the planning of the trailer and it shows. I thought the trailer was done after the graphic, so I enjoyed the encore. Would liked to have seen an ending graphic at the real end to give it closure, though. Overall, it was an intense trailer that was shot and edited very well.
• 2/26 9:08 am - TOP 10 Camera: excellent camera work. Great variety of shots to establish the location (actually awesome use of a drone for establishing shot), mixing in smooth camera movements with some effective extreme close ups. Lighting: lighting was sufficient; I know the setting was often intended to be dark and mysterious, but sometimes lighting was barely sufficient for proper exposure. Sound: excellent grasp of sound design; you used sound effectively to impact the mood and create tension. Editing: great pacing, amazing post-production work overall. Your effect with the black veins on the leg were top notch, and your overall color grade was excellent for the mood of the film. Story: it all starts here. You actually set up the story effectively with the dad and son, the phone calls, the strange photo of the nuns. All of it, gradually building toward a haunting scenario. I would pay money to see this movie.

Judge 1

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Improvements:

Judge 2

Positives: Excellent use of imagery and editing to craft a thrilling, eerie teaser. Love the shot when the infant rocking chair is pulled into the closet.

Improvements: The sound mix could be polished further, and the final sequence/beat after the title appears could be cut down to be more of a "punch" right at the end – to leave the viewer terrified.

Judge 3

Positives: Really impressive editing and camera work. When I saw the first two shots of your video at first I thought it was a professionally produced commercial that is shown YouTube before the selected videos. Not only did you use a variety of camera angles, but they were carefully placed to tell the story. The editing was very effective as well. Every shot revealed something new and furthered the story.

Improvements: Here are a couple of things that would help to make your project even better. Look at the lighting at :37. There are deep shadows and the actor's face. But there is also a highlight on his face that keeps the mood you have set, but also makes this a very effective shot. The shot immediately follow does the same thing, but I would recommend not lighting the edge of the couch as much and putting a rim light on the hand of the actor. Look at the shots at :17, :23, and :26. If you just hit the actor with a little highlight the shots would be much more effective. This is very important - Make sure you show the title of the movie in the trailer. The closing of the door at the end would be the perfect spot.

Judge 4

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