John August

The Nines

Trailer competition judging in progress

Follow Up, Geek Alert, Projects, The Nines, Video

Wow, that’s a lot of entries. I’ll be announcing the winners tomorrow morning.

Erik Beeson, who so generously helped with the hosting and torrenting, sent along stats:

* total torrent file downloads for both torrents combined: 808 (includes search engine crawlers)
* dv torrent: 162 completed downloads
* mpeg4 torrent: 79 completed downloads
* mpeg4.zip: 242 (the direct download)
* total completed (torrents+direct): 483

Thanks to everyone who helped seed the footage.

Having now looked at dozens and dozens of clips on YouTube, I’m struck by the wide range of picture quality (talking pixels, not professionalism). Considering we all started with the same clips, one might not expect such a variation. [My entry](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmpHrRAZs18) is near the middle of the pack in terms of blockiness.

If any readers/competitors have tips on how you kept YouTube from over-smushing your video, please share.

T-Minus one day

Follow Up, Projects, The Nines

The [trailer competition](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/trailer-competition-details) is nearing its end, and entries are starting to stream in. Some are quite good.

If I have one general observation, it’s that many of the trailers are trying to be respectful to the (supposed) tone of the movie. That’s fine, but it’s hard to distinguish yourself when aiming for the same it’s-a-thriller-but-not mood. I keep waiting for the grindhouse version, or the wacky comedy. Granted, I didn’t include a lot of punchline jokes in the footage bin, but many of the best fake trailers are comedies made from dramas.

Also, we’re highly lacking in the mash-up category, as many competitors have focused on making “pure” trailers using only the original footage.

The official deadline is tomorrow at 6 a.m. PDT. I won’t ding anybody who’s a few minutes late, but I’ll need to start judging ASAP.

Reminder: The Nines in Austin

Projects, The Nines

If you’re in the Austin area, be sure to check out The Nines when it begins its run at the [Alamo Drafthouse](http://www.originalalamo.com/default.aspx?l=4&d=9/28/2007) this Friday. Ryan and I will be on hand for a Q&A after the 7 p.m. screening on opening day.

Since Austin is sort of ground zero for film geekdom, we’re both figuring out alternate versions of, “You know, I’m actually not allowed to talk about that” when it comes to various superhero projects. But I think I will have some news I’m permitted to share, plus answers to all your questions about Nines, Sevens, Parade Magazine and those meddlesome koalas.

Trailer competition FAQ

Projects, The Nines, Video

**What should the tone of the trailer be?**

Whatever you prefer. It can be funny, scary, dramatic or simply weird.

**How long should the trailer be?**

Most trailers are between one and three minutes, but if you feel like cutting a 30-second spot, or a half hour masterpiece, go for it. I reserve the right to stop watching after four minutes, however.

**How can I get Alex Wurman’s score?**

The entire score isn’t available, but Alex has ample samples up at his website: [alexwurman.com](http://www.alexwurman.com/Music%20Clips/MusicClips.html).

**What program should I use to cut my trailer?**

Whichever one you prefer and understand. Final Cut Pro (or its little sibling, Final Cut Express) are great choices for the Mac, but there’s also Premiere, Vegas, and many flavors of Avid. The new iMovie would seem like an ideal choice, since it handles MPEG-4 footage natively, but it’s pretty limiting in practice. The older iMovie (iMovie HD) is actually more capable for this purpose.

**Why are some clips silent?**

In some cases, there was no useful production sound. An example is when Ryan is running. The ATV carrying the camera was incredibly loud. Only in one or two clips did we deliberately drop out sound in order to avoid spoiling a plot detail.

**I’m intimidated. What if my trailer isn’t that good?**

Allow me to set the bar very low by showing my sample entry, which I hacked together in about an hour. It’s no masterpiece. I wanted to try for a vastly different tone, and show off a variety of the shots available in the footage:

**Can I Digg this?**

While I’m leery of the server getting overwhelmed, it seems only fair to share. And the torrents should scale. So if you want to, go for it. Best to digg the [original article](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjohnaugust.com%2Farchives%2F2007%2Ftrailer-competition-details&title=Trailer+competition+details).

**How do I ___?**

There are a lot of smart people reading this site, so if you have a specific question, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments section.

**Can I enter more than one trailer? More than one category?**

Absolutely. Knock yourself out.