First narrative film shot in moonlight Sony A7s

[DBounce]

Looks like someone has finally put the extreme low light ability of the A7s to full use. They shot the whole film I'm moonlight at iso 51,200.

To the person that asked "how does a new camera affect your creativity"... Well this is a good example.

 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

And it only took a year and a half!

Great little short, though. I love sci-fi that leaves most of the actual tech to the imagination. Excellent work by the filmmakers and a really evocative, otherworldly look.

[mercer]

Yeah. It looks very cool. The story was good enough and the acting was decent. If I had to give a criticism, the tech of shooting in only moonlight outshines and overshadows the dramatic integrity of the short. 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Yeah. It looks very cool. The story was good enough and the acting was decent. If I had to give a criticism, the tech of shooting in only moonlight outshines and overshadows the dramatic integrity of the short. 

​In what way was the "dramatic integrity" compromised by the lighting style?

[mercer]

​In what way was the "dramatic integrity" compromised by the lighting style?

Sorry, I misspoke, or mis... Wrote... The fact that I knew the short was shot only in moonlights made me marvel at the tech, as opposed to being immersed in the story. 

[mercer]

And I'm not sure the short, as a narrative piece, would stand on it's own without that knowledge. In some ways it's a good gimmick, in others... I don't know. 

[Chrad]

Super fuzzy high ISO + imprecise ultra shallow DOF = ow, my eyes!

[Gregormannschaft]

It looks atrocious, but the actual film isn't half bad. They'd have been better off going more for a proper night look, than night to day or half-night or whatever they currently have. 

[DBounce]

It looks atrocious, but the actual film isn't half bad. They'd have been better off going more for a proper night look, than night to day or half-night or whatever they currently have. 

What they went for was actually "real" night. But I agree, while the A7s gives immense latitude when working in limited light, it does not mean a small about amount of artificial light or even just some reflectors should not be utilized so that faces can be visible.

[mercer]

It looks atrocious, but the actual film isn't half bad. They'd have been better off going more for a proper night look, than night to day or half-night or whatever they currently have. 

I think it looks pretty good... Considering. I assume they had to over ISO it, otherwise they would just have silhouetted shadows and no light in their faces... Which is where the look was successful. It's a highly stylized, movie night. The fact that it's a little off helps the sci-if aspect. But better storytellers, or a little more sci-fi would go along way with this short. Since the tech was such an integral part of this short's success, it should have been integrated into the storyline more. For instance, perhaps the sun is dying and this is daytime. Idk, just spitballing and being overly critical. All in all it was pretty good and made me wonder about this world and the back story. This piece could be used in a kickstarter campaign to fund a feature length version. But I would change the title, the costumes and add narration. 

[Sekhar]

I guess creatively, the weird "stars-in-a-day-scene" look does help the alien planet SF story line, but in my (cynical) opinion the real motivation for shooting in moonlight was for marketing/buzz reasons. I mean, isn't that why we're even talking about this short? And people discussing low light and A7s will likely cite this as an example, at least in the near future. Clever. Looked a bit too fuzzy though, probably from heavy noise reduction. Acting seemed better than what we see in shorts.

[mercer]

I guess creatively, the weird "stars-in-a-day-scene" look does help the alien planet SF story line, but in my (cynical) opinion the real motivation for shooting in moonlight was for marketing/buzz reasons. I mean, isn't that why we're even talking about this short? And people discussing low light and A7s will likely cite this as an example, at least in the near future. Clever. Looked a bit too fuzzy though, probably from heavy noise reduction. Acting seemed better than what we see in shorts.

You know, I didn't even realize this was supposed to be an alien planet... Makes more sense now... Except for the 70's costumes. And yes, the acting was decent. I liked the "daylight" stars. I thought they were going for a futuristic Earth is dying story. 

[fuzzynormal]

in my (cynical) opinion the real motivation for shooting in moonlight was for marketing/buzz reasons. I mean, isn't that why we're even talking about this short?

​Even if that was the case, I'm okay with that. 

I can relate because I shot my last short on a GM1 and a 30 year old 25mm lens; because I wanted to experiment and see if it could be done while creating a nice cinematic look.  Besides, this is a good proof-of-concept type film and it does exists whereas many people never do anything like this, so let's give it some credit where due.  

Yes, it's filled with some tropes and isn't the most sophisticated film you're gonna see... But heck, I'd be happy if my short films got any sort of attention, gimmicky or otherwise.  This film deserves more eyeballs than the short I did, I can tell you that much.

[fuzzynormal]

I would change the title the costumes and add narration. 

​Narration, like Voice Over?  Ugh.  I have an extreme prejudice for that conceit.  I'll take my movies without that sort of exposition, thanks.  But you're spot on about the title.  Not even remotely sure how that works.  The alien species takes "refuge" in humans?  Or, it's ironic?  The humans think they're finding a planet of refuge but it's really not?

It looked like the space-travelers found a hiking trail in southern California to be honest, but I'll be forgiving as far as that goes.  It's a no-budget short; can't begrudge the filmmakers too much when it comes to setting. (although they could have went to the San Diego East County badlands for an ideal alien planet setting)

[agolex]

To the person that asked "how does a new camera affect your creativity"... Well this is a good example.

Brilliant example of how you can afford to lose creativity if you can all of a sudden do something like shoot with just moonlight, yeah.  

[DBounce]

Brilliant example of how you can afford to lose creativity if you can all of a sudden do something like shoot with just moonlight, yeah.  

​Kinda harsh aren't you? Aren't you the same person that created this masterpiece?

[fuzzynormal]

​Kinda harsh

​To be fair, Hexawe's music does force me into contemplating existential ennui.

[Nick Hughes]

It's a testament to the tech that this is possible, but the IQ is pretty awful in my opinion. I'm conflicted because while I'm excited that films like this are being made, it's also pretty hard to watch.

[agolex]

​Kinda harsh aren't you? Aren't you the same person that created this masterpiece?

I'm not a person, I'm just a ghost.

[mercer]

​Narration, like Voice Over?  Ugh.  I have an extreme prejudice for that conceit.  I'll take my movies without that sort of exposition, thanks.  But you're spot on about the title.  Not even remotely sure how that works.  The alien species takes "refuge" in humans?  Or, it's ironic?  The humans think they're finding a planet of refuge but it's really not?

It looked like the space-travelers found a hiking trail in southern California to be honest, but I'll be forgiving as far as that goes.  It's a no-budget short; can't begrudge the filmmakers too much when it comes to setting. (although they could have went to the San Diego East County badlands for an ideal alien planet setting)

Of stop, you've read too many screenwriting books. The voice over has a long history in cinema... Some of the best movies of all time have voice over. But to each their own. I do agree about the hiking trail though.