Gojira

[pasithea]

So... Here's what I spent the past month banging on.

I'm pretty unhappy about the number of jump-cuts but I wasn't given a lot of choice. Particularly on the opening sequence. It was apparently very painful for Godzilla to lay in that position. But ohwell. Jumpcuts aside, I don't think it's the absolute worst thing I've ever made.

Heh... Here's the full post-morteum I sent to the producer

 As for things we got right and wrong, I think there was a lot we
 could have done better.

 The greenscreen was the number 1 problem.  Filming green monsters,
 a bluescreen would have worked out better.

 We needed a lot more clips for the screen.  The wrinkles in it
 were a pain to take out (compounded by the color)

   We needed a bigger frame for the screen.

   We needed a bigger screen (mostly because I chose to shoot from a
   low angle to make the monsters look bigger, that gave us a very narrow
   field to work with)

   We needed the screen to extend across the ground.

 Definitely, filming so late in the year gave us a relatively small
 window for correcting any problems.  Although a little more prep on
 the shooting could have helped with that.

 I should have been much more assertive as a director, calling
 ACTION and CUT more aggressively and demanding retakes more when
 needed.  There were several shots were the action started before
 the marker board was out of the shot and I had to create a moving
 track matte to remove it.

 We needed a lot more variation in the shot angles.  There were
 several jump-cuts (particularly in the first scene)  Though a lot
 of this was due to the lack of time we had when shooting that
 scene (it was our last and the light was fading)  and the size
 issue with the greenscreen.

 The marker board didn't get updated in many of the shots and
 the shot list should have been marked with changes in the shooting
 schedule and the shot order recorded as it actually happened.

 The script and storyboard needed another pass as a group meeting.

 We needed a bigger crew for set-up and tear down of the set.

 A couple of rehearsals without costume might have made some of
 the filming go a bit faster.

 A second camera team would have been helpful in a few places.
 Particularly for getting the location shots we needed, though
 ripping stuff out of youtube worked reasonably well.

 I could have done more with the animation and there's a bump
 in the camera motion.

 Title sequence is maybe a smidge too long.

 Retirement home sign is unreadable.

 Subtitles were too small.



 For things we got right:

 The script itself worked out pretty well.  There were several
 places where we were easily able to shorten the film without
 affecting the quality of the story much.

 Storyboard was fantastically helpful for out of sequence shooting
 and getting shots without too many jump cuts.

 Model set was perfect.

 Lighting was great.  There was only 1 shot where it was an issue
 and that was easy to fix.

 Camera focus was perfect.

 Set tear-down went smooth.

 Presentation at FNL was perfect.

 and most important:  The audience appeared to like it.

So anyhow... I re-edited this the last couple of nights and burned everything off to archive. That's a wrap.

Comments

[tracerj.livejournal.com]

My comments:

The subtitles weren't too small. They were in the wrong font altogether. At the same size, a less chunky font would have been perfect, since there would be more contrast. Also, have a proofreader. *grin*

The fight scene went too fast... not in terms of duration, but in pacing. Classic rubber monsters had these slow, ponderous movements that really helped the sense of scale. (Also, it may have helped avoid green/bluescreen fringe.)

I absolutely adore the early 'lounging on beach' sequence. I think the cut between the lounging and the delivery of the invitation was a bit odd, though, because it's a cut to pretty much the same scene except zoomed out a little bit to get the third character in the frame. (Of course, given the choice between an odd cut and not having proper framing for that character, I'd take the cut anyday!)

I could nitpick, but really, it's a fantastic production. I wish I'd seen it when it was screened at FNL!

[doctorpinkerton.livejournal.com]

OMG, that was awesome! Fun and funny. I loved it.

Don't sweat the details... this isn't Shakespeare.

I can vouch for the effectiveness of a large bluescreen... if you're ever shooting down here in New Orleans, you can come by the C.O.G. Secret Lab and use ours!

[shizouka.livejournal.com]

Lovely! I See some people just HAD to get back and do a better Monster battle. I wonder if I still have the raw DV someplace.

Almost sounds like you all should start your own production company.

[ff00ff.livejournal.com]

The audience definitely liked it, jarring jump cuts and all.

[lediva.livejournal.com]

You're so cool, you get different size letters in your credit. :)

Also, having the subtitles differently aligned when different people are speaking would be cool. If the character's on the right, have the subtitles, be right-aligned, that sort of thing.

Overall, though... awesome! I'm always thrilled to see cool stuff like this. :)

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

Access to the lab. Hahahaha! That fool!

Err wait.. Did I say that out loud.

Here look. A distraction!

http://www.metasonix.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=67&PHPSESSID=b13ee7fbae94f0ea5bccf8eb2c862c2b

[doctorpinkerton.livejournal.com]

WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYin... oooooh, shiney... noisey!

I shall immediately inform my colleagues of these developments in vacuum tube technology. Thank you Dr. DV!

-Pinkerton