Batman Merciless Cult, short film and comic

[DeathRaven]

Hey guys, been awhile since I have posted anything!

Cover by Asherdeep.

Well I have finally finished a huge project that took me forever to get finished. Its called Batman Merciless Cult, a short 15 minute film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAzQg81UwW0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6RBp4jcVUg

And along with that I made a small prologue comic to help people who dont know much about the main villain, Black Mask.

Cover for prologue comic drawn by me, Nick Mueller. The comic leads right into the movie...

http://majorpain.deviantart.com/art/Batman-Merciless-Cult-comic-1-105799044

http://majorpain.deviantart.com/art/Batman-Merciless-Cult-Comic-2-105799527

http://majorpain.deviantart.com/art/Batman-Merciless-Cult-comic-3-105799646

 

[BeserkerHilf]

okay, as a film student, I'm going to be as merciful as I can while at the same time ripping you a new one over this because let's face it:

a.) I'm same age as you
b.) this is the internet, so I automatically don't give a **** about what I say
c.) I can produce a better film with a handycam and windows movie maker, which I'll assume you used, right? (If you used something more advanced, then I'll gladly retract that statement and offer up this new one; "shame on you")

So for starters, I'll attack the script. As Harrison Ford once said, "George, you can type this ****, but you sure can't say it". Nevermind the actual story; it's downright painful to hear these lines. Also, if your script is going to be 30-40% comprised of fight scenes, and another 20-30% of stolen aerial shots and driving footage, throw it out and start over.

Next, your editing is atrocious. Whether or not the problem lies in not planning any of the scenes out, it's distracting and makes for a brutal watch. Also, who fades to white?

Fight scenes: Learn to choreograph them better so it doesn't look like your actors are slapping each other, which I'm 99% convinced they were.

Composition: This is my biggest problem. There is a 180-angle rule that you're never supposed to break. This makes the viewing experience a lot less painful on the eyes and it keeps the audience engaged as it doesn't break their concentration. Your shots are for the most part okay, but there are a lot of awkwardly framed ones. For example, when...Gordon, the pudgy guy?...interrogates the thug and when he's on the phone during the crime scene investigation. You also can't handle filming action very well. I can't explain that any better. The interrogation scene is a prime example. It's the simplest action scene to shoot and you failed IMO.

Actors: they are hard to come by, so I'll cut you some slack here as they're more than likely your friends, which is fine because I do that all the time. However, it's not hard to guide them a little bit into making their performances a little livelier (spellcheck didn't come up so I guess that's the right spelling). It's fairly simple to go from "stand here and say this line" to "stand here and say it like this". It's also not that difficult to give them suggestions on how their characters should be like. It might actually be more fun to sit through if they're a little whacked. Also, tell that ****ing dude in the CSI scene to stop smiling.

Audio: difficult to master on a small budget, so I won't even touch on it.

So, here are my suggestions:

1.) Watch a ****load of movies and learn about all my points brought up in "Composition"
2.) Buy a friggin' tripod. Jesus.
3.) Tighten your editing.
4.) Invest in lighting, even if it's a bunch of extension cords and some desk lamps.
5.) Save your original DV tapes, buy a firewire or 1394 cable (mac/pc respectively), recapture all the footage, and reedit as you'll notice a higher level of quality in your image, possibly even in your night scenes as well. The captured footage will also take up a lot of room on your HD so beware. I'm talking massive amounts of space.

 

[DeathRaven]

Thanks man, thats actually why I made this film from the start. I know I am making mistakes, and huge ones at that but I have no clue what exactly. So yeah, thanks for the advice.

My only question which I hope to get some help on is editing in general, how could I tighten up some of the stuff any ways? Im at a bit of a loss on that area, other wise I know I can work on the other areas just by simply paying attention to what I am doing.

 

[BeserkerHilf]

you answered your own question. my tip is to start the shot a little bit before you intend to use it.

Like so:

A is the action in you your shot. When you shoot you should cover a little before and after A. so your footage should, in type, look like this:

(...A...)

This way you have a little bit of breathing room and may even find something different to cut away from.