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DV Like Film

DV Like Film
Enigma Factory
Enigma Factory
Alex Ferrari: Co-writer/Director. Jorge Flores Rodriguez: Co-writer/Producer. Sean Falco: VFX Supervisor. Dan Cregan: VFX Artist, Angel Barroeta: Director of Photography

Watch The Trailer at WhatisBroken.com

Broken, an action-suspense movie written and directed by Alex Ferrari, really stands apart from other indie projects. For one, the movie looks like it was shot on film. But with a budget of just $8000 bucks, we know that's not possible.

Alex, along with co-writer/producer, Jorge Flores Rodriguez, Sean Falco--VFX Supervisor, Dan Cregan--VFX Artist and Director of Photograph, Angel Barroeta are true professionals and put their heart and soul into making a great short film which has been accepted and received awards at over 90 film festivals around the world.

If you're just getting into indie filmmaking or you want to learn some helpful pointers, be sure to watch the Special Features section on the Broken DVD which is loaded with over three hours of helpful tips on production design, costume design, lighting, color correction and props. Magic Bullet is covered in the section called How to Make Video Look Like Film.

Challenge

"I wrote the script for Broken over several years. I never got around to actually shooting the film initially because I just didn't like the look of Mini DV. Ok, so it was a step up from VHS, but it still looked so grainy and well, like video! When Panasonic released the DVX-100A, I started to pay attention. I knew that if we could do more in camera, we could achieve the rest in post," said Alex Ferrari.

Solution

"I discovered Magic Bullet Editors just browsing the web. I tested it on my Final Cut edit and was really blown away by how dramatic I could change the look and feel of scenes. I used Edge Noise Soften to kill a bit of the grain in the DV image. We shot in dark conditions so this filter helped a lot. I also used a combo of Bistro and Punchy to get my final look.

I wanted a clean image that I could manipulate in post. The lighting was key, especially in Mini DV. The camera's spectrum of light is limited so I asked my DP to pump a ton of light in, knowing that I would pull it back in post.

I edited the first cut in two weeks. Then I started sending out VFX plates to the guys so they could start working. Next, I color timed the short to get the right 'look.' Magic Bullet helped me crush the blacks in a way that the entire image wasn't affected. I also used garbage mattes to cut out sections of the frame and color correct them individually.

The key to getting the project to work well in post is to start with good lighting and having a design in mind from the get go. I did a lot of experimenting and layering techniques in Final Cut Pro before we started to shoot the movie. I wanted three very distinct looks (Bonnie's Apartment, The Basement, and the Hospital). I used all my departments (wardrobe, production design, lighting and post) to achieve the final looks. I made the apartment more bluish for the lightning storm vibe. The basement is dark with crushed blacks, a high contrast and overall a very unsettling feeling. The hospital is puke green, which conveys a very unhealthy vibe," said Ferrari.

Watch The Trailer at WhatisBroken.com