Bricks in Motion
We are a friendly filmmaking community devoted to the art of stop-motion animation using LEGO® and similar construction toys. Here, you can share your work, join our community of other brickfilmers, and participate in periodic animation contests!
A place to discuss, share, and create stop motion films.
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We would like to create extremely serious movies (when we say that, we mean like not a comedy or parody), but we do not know how to make them cinematic or suspenseful. We use WMM for Vista, as well as Windows Live MM with an aspect ratio at 16:9. We're already planning on getting the Sony Vegas Platinum Edition in August, but until then, we would like to know how to make our movies more cinematic & suspenseful.
Make the movie have the suspense. It's not about the editor's powers but how you use the editor...
Yeah, we know that, but the cinematic affect is still lacking. We have written suspenseful scripts but the movie doesn't make your heart beat if you know what we mean.
Sound effects?
If you use a webcam, then lower the exposure and adjust the color intensity to give it a different look (like the frames in my thread here ) and change the aspect ratio to 2.75:1 which is what I'm using in my film Monochrome and with the adjusted color it should give it a cinematic look.
However, suspenseful is not necessarily in the look of the film but how you write and film it.
Lighting, camera angles, etc.
Watch movies that are "cinematic" and watch where the camera is placed, when they cut, etc.
There isn't an answer to this question that can be put into words, it's completely subjective.
Technical things like what editing software you use or what aspect ratio you shoot at really are only the smallest of parts that come into play when it comes to making a movie more cinematic.
Generally, here are some technicalities to consider when filming:
First of all, you will want to plan out your shots: this means you know beforehand how wide the angle of view will be (how zoomed in), how the lighting in a particular shot will look, how the colours look et cetera. This story boarding process is common in films, especially in cinematic sequences. Here are some story boards for The Magic Portal, without a doubt one of the best brickfilms around.
Then you will need to build the set and use the proper equipment. Obviously you are not going to get some good looking stuff using a cheap webcam and two lamps. I can't help you much further here except for the advice to buy a proper camera (either a webcam or a digital camera that can connect to the computer), lots of lamps (at least 4 would be nice) and build a smooth looking set. Another thing to consider is using lenses to adjust the field of focus; this way you can make the background look even more out of focus, for cinematic effect and such.
Of course, it all depends on every part of your film: not only the looks of the set, but also the script and how you turn your script into film, convincing effects (should you need any), sound editing, voice actors, music and all that jazz.
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