THE END IS NIGHt
Duration: 18min 00sec
Views: 1 729
Submitted: 7 years ago
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Description:
This is my first MovieStorm movie, and my first action piece. This is also the first time I made a film without a script or even an outline. It just started out while fooling around to see what the potentials and limitations of MovieStorm was, and next thing I knew, a movie was being formed. I just let the story and dialogue flow until the film was finally completed (incidentally, I understand that is the way writer Stephen King works, although it is a very disconcerting process to me). I also filmed it in chronological order (with the first scene being first, etc. all the way until the last frame); so you can see my abilities progress with the software as I slowly became more familiar with it.
The entire film is filmed with Moviestorm and is devoid of any postproduction touches, mainly because I intended to film this as a 3D movie, and the software doesn\\'t correctly render 2D images into 3D. Only the 2D end credits were touched up with postproduction work. I also realize some people don\\'t have chromatic 3D glasses handy, or simply prefer not to watch 3D films, so I rendered a 2D version as well. I will release both (the 2D version first).
I noticed a few animation glitches in the finished render--specifically related to holding handguns, and firing handguns. They occassionally skip and, for a frame or two, end up pointing at odd directions. I tried re-rendering the shots multiple times, but the same glitches occur (so I guess it\\'s not in the render, but in the actual software). So please pardon those odd jerky moments.
Special thanks go out to MovieStorm maestro Nahton for his patient assistance and advice regarding this new software (not to mention his custom prop and animations). Thanks also go out to Goofparade (Marc Cholette) for his terrific sound design and music, and to my friend Darin Cohen for his delightful end theme piece--you\\'ll hear a lot more of his songs in my coming films (he\\'s already begun custom compositions for a future work). Thanks also to Bezzer (Mark Johnson) for not only performing the voice of Mark in the film, but also for providing some of the sound effects, and especially for always being there for me whenever I need a hand (or voice, as is often the case).
I hope you enjoy my first foray into MovieStorm.
«This is great! It has been ages since I've watched a Moviestorm movie. I am wondering if the software really has come this far, or if Joseph Kwong is just this talented.
I'm going to go with my gut and opt for the latter.
Great work, Joseph. This movie was a lot of fun. I need to catch up on your other releases!»
«You wouldn't think that this is your first film in MovieStorm - usually when a filmmaker (even a talented one) is trying out a new program, their first film usually feels like a practice film, like their just testing out the waters.
This seems like the work of a seasoned MovieStorm user - not of somebody who is using the program for the first time. Very well directed, with some great camera angles. Also, there are none of the jerky movements that are usually present in the work of first time MS'ers.
As said earlier, I enjoyed the direction - there were some great camera angles and the cinematography was appropriately creepy.
I enjoyed the acting as well - good performances from you, Shannon and Bezzer. You guys were able to make the characters believable.
All in all, this is a fine zombie film, and definetly one of the best examples of how to tackle a new program for newcomers. Great work, Joseph.»
«Very nicely done, Joseph! An excellent feature, and a brilliant first MS release. Looking forward to seeing more of your artistry in this medium!»
«Great job, Joseph!
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very well laid out, especially with the approach you took!
I enjoyed watching from beginning to end, i`m not a Moviestorm fan,
but the story totally made up for it. All in all a great machinima!
«Well done for your first Moviestorm movie, Joseph.
I'm a big fan of zombies, so good job on the filming, the story, the music, sound design, top notch stuff here really. Kudos to the actors/actresses as well.
Hope to see more moviestorm flicks from you in the future.
-TPK
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«It's impressive that this is your first Moviesorm movie. It looks like you are utilizing the software to its maximum capacity. I noticed some great camera work and lighting.
The overall movie was shot a tad bit too dark for my own comfort, but I guess you made your choice to make it suitable for the time of the day in which the story takes place as well as the genre.
You do great things with shadows, but, ah, the shadows... I'm so happy Movistorm is going to finally fix the jagged shadow problem. (We sometimes had to give up shadows because they looked too jagged. For a scene in Incubus where Julien's shadow had an important symbolic meaning, we actually had to correct the shadow in postproduction through a very painful procedure.)
I'm not a big zombie movie fan, and I'm also of the (personal) opinion that the horror genre generally does not work well in machinima. Naturally, what I found most interesting in this movie (other than the machinima craft it showcases) is the main character's sentiment, "It should have been me." This is the heart and soul of this story for me, and I find myself becoming greedy and wanting more of such human element. I think a lot of it is already there as an undertone that could have been explored further.
As for the plot, it was quite well developed and I cannot believe you did this through no-script approach. One concern I had (that sort of resonates with a certain constant suspicion I have about machinima) is that it wasn’t always easy for me to guess what is going on in the story. This was partly due to some issues in line delivery, but overall, I suspect simplicity and directness are more important in machinima than they are in live action. To digress a little bit, this is the issue about which I have been contemplating recently with a certain amount of sadness. It appears that certain things don’t work in machinima as well as they do in other media. Bleaker and ambiguous endings is one of them, according to our own experience with our latest movie. (But I’ll never give that up.) Back to The End is Nigh(t), I found its structure interesting. It has classic two-climax structure, but is unique in that its first climax is more explosive than the second climax that is more complex and ends in a very quiet final resolution. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I found myself wishing that the second climax/resolution were stronger--I wanted more weight, if not more energy, at the very end of the movie.
Overall, this is a nice work, a well-rounded zombie movie, and a quite an accomplishment. I look forward to seeing more work from you done with Moviestorm (and other various tools).
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«a very made Film here.
I like the Music de way it goes with the Film.»
«**** stars
Interesting that Stephen King is mentioned in the description - I just finished "11.22.63" [great story] last night. And yes, he has several chapters where his 21st century protagonist seems to be chilling out with his 1960's girlfriend to no apparent advancement of the story [he's sent back in time to stop Kennedy being assassinated and finds the love of his life in the process].
The story that came out here was a nice zombie movie - the lighting, cinematography and most of the editing were excellent. But - the wooden MovieStorm animations made it hard to distinguish who was a zombie or who wasn't! - or should I say, it looked like "Zombies vs Robots" [the robots being the police].
The acting was suitably low budget - very little pace and badly delivered in many cases, with little emotional impact (a death scene springs to mind). But - What MovieStorm animation could be used to convey any of that anyway? Good acting is wasted on this selection of facial animations (do they even do them?!)
It looks to me like MovieStorm hasn't moved anywhere in 24 months - thank goodness the director won this (rightly) as a prize and didn't have to pay for it.
Visual FX were very good, apart from a supposed vehicle explosion which looked like a damp firework instead of a gas tank being set alight.
As a zombie movie, it wasn't bad - and the characters were drawn well. The female scientist was my favourite character (I'm guessing she was a scientist because of the "you started this" chastisements from the surrounding police officers).
As for 3D - I fell asleep during both Tin-Tin and Puss-in-Boots. I'm seeing it for the gimic it is - like it was when that classic movie "Jaws 3D" came out 35 years ago.
£2.80 extra to watch 3D???? An extra 80p if you forgot to bring your glasses?
And for what? I expect at least one object to hit me in the face - not even Avatar managed that, so what's the point?»
« a first time use and an ad lib approach resulted in a fun ride! an impressive creation given this is your first attempt at Moviestorm. The approach itself is very interesting and made the movie entertaining - i went in with a mindset that ok perhaps the plot will not be as logical since it is off the cuff - but was much entertained at what it turned out»
«Great job with your first Moviestorm film. Actually, it's a great film by any standards!Knowing how you made the film and being familiar your prior productions I could the detect the different feel that this film had. I think that it benefited from the scriptless approach you used as it helped lend an air of unpredictability. I could tell you were enjoying the freedom to stage your own scenes rather then being constrained to "TM" stock footage. You used the program to the fullest to bring your story to light and like others I really enjoyed the "backstory credits'. It also nice to see a little humor included in an action film and I enjoyed the "nigh" and "running fast" lines. I'm looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for you using this engine.
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«Very interesting reading about your process in making this - as always, your work stands out!»
«Excellent first MS movie Joseph. Great story and camera work.
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The creds were very cool!
Really enjoyed that.
«Amazing movie..and your first one in MS?...stunning. You never disappoint Joseph. congrats.»
«Well done on a first Moviestorm project there. Interesting atmosphere you created throughout the entire film. Great use of dutch tilts and lighting as well. Good use of end titles as well. »
«Good sense of dread at times (the fly buzzing helps) and some great camera setups. Not quite the well oiled story machine that you usually serve but as an experiment it was a success. It is both a blessing and a curse that the credits offer the most effective and entertaining moments. Perhaps the whole thing could have worked well as a music video.»
«holy joe and holy mother goose... your first film with movie storm... is the bomb... i am speechless. some minor problems... maybe only me can see/hear it... like the voiceactors audio... you did not much with that; like putting a reverb onto the voices, and some voices sounds disturbed from time to time. but that's ok. the movie, the story is the sureshot. 9 stars from 10 from me. rock on joseph.»
«Dispite the awful moviestorm animations and textures you did a good job, joseph. Letting the story tell itself. Nice work.»
«Man! Your first MS film and it definitely did not disappoint. Apart from a couple of animation glitches, everything was filmed like a pro. Lightning throughout was excellent. Your use of shadows was wonderfully atmospheric, and the way you contrast blue and red together was a really nice touch. I definitely jumped a few times through the film, so props to the creepy atmosphere that you wrought. (Spoiler) Especially near the end, when Shannon turns into a zombie, I was completely surprised there. You got me!
(End spoiler) The voice acting throughout was very good, I especially really liked Mel Ein's delivery; sinister, yet regretful and poignant (how's that for a weird mix?). The sound and music is also great, props to GP for being awesome as always. If there is one criticism, it's that the story didn't quite have the gut-wrenching visceral impact on me that I've come to expect from your films (and that's probably just me), and although the prologue during the end credits was a cool touch, perhaps I would have related to the characters better if it was presented at the beginning in a more sinister style. Other than that, the props was money, the acting was money, the whole film is absolute money. Never fails to be entertaining, and it gives The Walking Dead a run for its money. And may I add, that "nigh" joke cracked me up pretty good. Awesome job, Joseph!»
«Once again Joseph you have shown that you can do nearly anything with what you are given.
The Good:
An intriguing storyline.
Great voice acting.
Excellent choice of music.
Good use of set design and mods.
The Bad:
A couple slight jumps in movement (I know this is an MS problem, not you).
A few times, the sound effects were either missing or muted too much (gunfires).
Overall:
If you had not said this was your first MS film, I would never had known. Great job. *SPOILER ALERT*
I loved the way you integrated the 'backstory' into the ending credits. Explained the 'accident'. Very well thought out.»
«I still see why Moviestorm isn't for me and I can also see why I'd like to have it...
It's really missing a lot of things that I can't really put a word on, mostly visually...
This being said I must say that storywise you got me into it from the first second. The whole ambient with GP's music, I had more fun watching this than half of season 2 of "the walking dead" !
Intruiging and intense until the end, I just couldn't get my eyes off the screen!
Best 18 mins of my day.
Keep them coming, man!
Rik»
«Very very Nice.. Dug it!
You have your fingers in every pie it seems Joseph..
Well for your 1st MS attempt I thought you did exceptionally well. Movements were fairly fluid throughout, Nice set dressings, & really liked your Cam work.. Maybe the shaky cam was 'a tad' overused in some bits but as a whole very effective to portraying the Scenario.
The voices were great, believable in their Roles. Only mildly negative thought I have is that I thought the lighting was a bit too dark in some shots. Maybe it was the screen I was watching it on..(55inch Big screen) but I had to sit forward & realy look hard to see what was happening in a few bits.couldn't see their Faces (expressions) in a few bits where it was kind of needed... But judging by other ppl's comments here it probably WAS my screen..hehe. Soundscape was very nice as well. Top Effort my Friend.. Then again with every piece you put out for our consumption there is the 'Joseph Benchmark Quality Seal', so I always look forward to your latest when I see or hear of them. Great Job & entertaining Movie!»
«Outstanding work from beginning to end!! You really set an original tone here that's rarely explored in, not just zombie-driven media, but zombie themes machinima. Part modern, part grindhouse, this was just too cool, man. Great job by everyone!!»
«I'm not familiar with Moviestorm software, so I don't know how difficult or easy it is to work with, but a great story prevails over all else and this is a living dead gem. I liked the way you ended the story with the beginning. I guess it was the beginning of the end. Great job for a first effort in Moviestorm and look forward to more. I hope someday to come "nigh" to your story telling. »
«*WOW* I´m impressed! Very well done! Nice cam skills, nice movie!
And the best! You know how to use atmospharic music!
Very well done! Wonna see more!!»
«Excellent first venture into moviestorm.
very well paced, edited and directed.
Sound design and music were fantastic here too...particularly the end theme...loved it!
The end sequence is the winner for me here though...it kind of reminded me of the end title sequence from Zack Snyder's Dawn of the dead remake in its presentation...very effective and very cool.
Thanks as always for letting me be a part of this...always a pleasure:-)
Great work once again my friend...can't wait to see what you deliver next.»
«Very good show Joseph. I know you'll get better & better because we've both been in the same new program boat. That older cop was a meanie and the younger one was nicer and willing to be a help. Great VO talent and storyline. I'm looking forward to some more MS action from you. :-)»
«The ending credits were just as entertaining as the story.
Only critique is when the woman is shot at 13:00, her death should have been a mirrored image. The cop was firing to the right and she fell to the left. Broke the 180 degree rule there. But for a write as you went movie, it is great, looks like you had spent alot more pre-production time on it then you did.»
«I'm glad you guys enjoyed my first MS attempt. I started filming this in Dec. '11, and was nearly finished by the end of February. It took me the whole month of March to film the end credits.
I'm a fan of "TWD" also (have both seasons recorded on my DVR), so this tale came naturally. For the narrative approach, I thought it'd be fun to jump right into the middle of the action and story, and build up the mystery of why the business woman, Shannon, was to blame for all this, and why the grumpy old cop, Mel, was so irate, and explain it all in the extended credits (without the use of sound or dialogue). »
«Hi Joseph!
When did you find the time to create this one?
I recently saw all six episodes of The Walking Dead so I was primed for your flick.
Nice Job. I really like the long credits and how you explained how the Sh!t hit the fan.
Great music!»
«Nice job, Joseph! Especially with your first Moviestorm movie, you outdid yourself again. »
«Good work on your first moviestorm film! I really enjoyed this, can't for more moviestorm projects! »