"Murder at the Pharaoh's Grave"

[Sluggy]

Hi,

Over the last 6 months my son Ben, age 13, and his friends made a 12-minute movie with our family's HV30. Thank you hv20.com for all the tips and troubleshooting help.

Abstract:

Set in the Egypt of 1897, “Murder at the Pharaoh’s Grave” reveals the wide-screen beauty of the desert on a middle-school budget. Archeologist Ellis Clarke finds herself arrested for the disappearance of a colleague. Against the power of the British army, Clarke must draw on her wit, strength, and craftiness to excavate the truth and save her life. From brilliant Cairo, across the magnificent desert on camels, and into an ominous pyramid, the 13-year-old filmmakers concisely capture the suspense, action, and humor of the mystery genre.

Filmed and edited over six months, the movie combines archival footage, real and virtual sets, and over 100 pounds of sand. Bringing writer/director Ben Kadie’s vision to life required ambitious special effects including miniatures, animation, matte paintings and compositing. “Murder at the Pharaoh’s Grave” is microcinema of historic proportions.

A 48-second trailer is available on http://www.slugco.com/movies/PharaohsGrave. (If you’d like to see the password-protected full movie, send us an email at sluggy@slugco.com)

- Carl

[Sluggy]

I have a question. So far, Ben has concentrated on story, framing, editing, and effects. What can he think about next that will give him the most bang-for-the-buck?

• Lighting (he mostly tries to film outdoors and use the Sun).
• Frame Rate (He’s shooting 30p. Youth film festivals judge based on a DVD and, if a film is selected, project digitally.)
• Focus
• Exposure
• Shutter speed
• More time on color correction
• Something else?

The direct link for the trailer is: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFKxBP47qJk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFKxBP47qJk[/ame].
(If you’re willing to look at the full movie, we’ll happily send you the Vimeo link and password. Just send an email to sluggy@slugco.com)

- Carl

p.s. I think Ben's favorite thing about using the HV30 was being able to shoot progressive and having every frame look nice. This made his matte painting so, so much easier. Also, the camera seems to create widescreen DVD's that look great.

[um3k]

That looks like it was a lot of fun to make. I wish I had had that much ambition when I was 13! Heck, I wish I had that much ambition now...

[Unhollywood]

What can he think about next that will give him the most bang-for-the-buck?

• More time on color correction

Using After Effects??? Add some grain. Motion blur. Adjust levels to darken a bit. Give it an over-all warmer color correction like a yellowish/orangish feel. Think "The Mummy" (1999) or "Raiders of the Lost Ark".