Added realism with ejecting shells! I learned about this gun on the DV Rebels VFX board and it is listed at Ehobbyasia.com. Anything that I can do in real life shooting situations is the best. You can always add ejecting shells in post but nothing beats the real thing. The gun ain't cheap; I'll do a review on it once I get my hands on one! Just another tool to add further realism for your no budget action movie!
Action Movie Essentials Part II
Finally, Andrew Kramer of Videocopilot.net has announced the June release of Action Movie Essentials - Part 2. It's about damn time! For those who are unaware; Action Movie Essentials is a DVD full of great muzzle flashes, explosions, dirt hits, etc. The elements are pre matted and you incorporate them into your own action sequences. I use Version 1 all of the time and am glad that they're doing a reboot. Andrew Kramer does it again!
Another great website for the no budget action film maker to find explosions, muzzle flash etc. is: www.DetonationFilms.com.
My short, Agent 5- Episode 1 uses elements from both of these great websites.
Search: Agent 5 on my blog to see first hand. Also visit the teaser trailer to check out the new Action Essentials.
3D Bullet in Blender with Videocopilot.net
I created a 3D bullet that you see in the clip above using Videocopilot.net's "The Bullet" and open source 3D software called Blender. The Videocopilot tutorial DVD includes great reference photos and a step by step explanation on how to make and animate a bullet and apply realistic textures etc. The DVD also has a quick crash course on how to use and optimize Blender. Blender is a powerful 3D program and free to the public. Check it out!
Look and Color Correction
BEFORE AFTER
Working on creating a signature look for my next action short. I used a gradient layer in After Effects to bring out the sky. Then created an adjustment layer and turned up the overall contrast.
I was recently reading the Color Correction section in Stu Maschwitz's book: The DV Rebel's guide. This is the most practical and straight forward book that I've read on utilizing post production techniques in the making of no budget action movies. Some great tips about the order of operations when color correcting and creating an overall look for your movie.
Page 258, 259 Order of Operations - The DV Rebel's Guide - Stu Maschwitz
1) Remove DV artifacts 6) Add Vignetting and other in-lens effects
2) Add Visual Effects 7) Color Correction
3) Optimize the shot 8) Simulate a particular film stock
4) Relight and change object colors 9) Add dissolves, fades, transitions, etc
5) Add Gradients, Diffusion etc 10) color conversions, resizing, sharpen for output
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