My short film about lucid dreaming

**LiveInTheDream** · 12-13-2010 10:55 PM

Well, many of you already know about this, but this is a short film project I started a bit over 3 months ago. I started getting the idea for something like this a couple years ago when a friend of mine made the comment: "you could probably make a whole video by yourself!" I thought that sounded like an interesting challenge, but I had no storyline, and at the time my special effects expertise was too low to conceivably pull off anything interesting. Jump ahead a couple years, however, and I have a few very interesting lucid dreams that immediately strike me as the makings of a cool movie.

Now this was long before Inception was released, so please don't think I took anything from that story, or my short film was born out of being inspired by it. I like Inception, but I hope everyone will be able to take my work for its own instead of just compare it to hollywood.

It should be noted that even though this took me three months to complete, it has been a very rushed project from day 1. If I were to create another such short film with more time dedicated to it, it would be FAR better as far as effects and all that are concerned. Having a budget would be nice, too...I didn't spend a dime to create this short film, since my 'studio' consisted of a red sheet hung across a beam in my basement and a camera with a tripod a few feet back, and all the scenery (save the intro, which is in my bedroom) was done in 3D.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the film, and maybe it will even inspire some of you to go out and make something cool even when you have to do the whole thing by yourself

**OzricTentacle** · 12-13-2010 11:35 PM

That was cool!! (:
that thing you did at 7:30 was pretty cool to man :p

**Puffin** · 12-14-2010 12:00 AM

Very cool! I enjoyed the effects, they looked pretty dream-like. I'd love to make a video like that, but I don't have a clue how to use Adobe After Effects.

...Maybe I'll try. Crap, my ugly face showing up on screen... This should be good.

**Oneironaut Zero** · 12-14-2010 12:26 AM

Impressive! Very nice work, man.

I really liked the masked villain.

**XeL** · 12-14-2010 12:56 AM

Me likey!

Nicely done!

**Logol** · 12-14-2010 01:06 AM

Great movie man it gave me some good ideas

**Marvo** · 12-14-2010 01:15 AM

The scene in the door room (when they talk) was pretty good, I liked that. I think approaching a lucid dreaming film as an action movie is wrong though. That's why I loved that particular scene.

You often represented the worlds they were in, as something not very believable, which I think is wrong too. Inception did a very good job of using unusual and unique architecture settings, but still making it very believable. I understand that your team didn't have the option to set up complicated sets, but I still think you could've filmed in just normal rooms, maybe with a lot of small stuff removed. Imagine a more or less bare room with just some chairs and and a table, perhaps a painting and a few lights. The 3D animated sets just come off as very cheesy and lame to me. I guess what I expect from a movie about dreams is something a little more philosophical, rather than more or less mindless action.

It's still a great effort, and I think you should look into making more stuff. You have something going here.

**XeL** · 12-14-2010 01:18 AM

Inception did a very good job of using unusual and unique architecture settings, but still making it very believable.

Say what?

**Marvo** · 12-14-2010 01:27 AM

Originally Posted by XeL

Say what?

Inception wasn't sci-fi. It was all incredibly believable. That's one thing I really liked about that movie. Instead of making the whole thing take place on Pandora with people shooting fireballs and flying spaceships, it had a much more sober appearance.

**KushyBear** · 12-14-2010 02:07 AM

I think this short film was amazing! Very dream like!

**Oneironaut Zero** · 12-14-2010 04:47 AM

Actually, I saw more in common with The Matrix than I did with Inception.

**LiveInTheDream** · 12-14-2010 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by Marvo

You often represented the worlds they were in, as something not very believable, which I think is wrong too.

This film is based off real lucid dreams I had...of course the storyline was changed slightly to fit multiple dreams into one, but all the characters and locations are straight out of real dreams.

I understand that your team didn't have the option to set up complicated sets, but I still think you could've filmed in just normal rooms, maybe with a lot of small stuff removed.

You also understand there was no team, right? I did the entire thing on my own

It's still a great effort, and I think you should look into making more stuff. You have something going here.

Why thank you! Next time I'll be sure to have people to work with, so it should be higher quality than this video.

**no-Name** · 12-15-2010 12:06 PM

this is actually pretty kickass. nice work.

the morals dilemmas at like 9 minutes are the best part of the movie. I would have liked more exposition on that.

but when the dreamer said "You stink at dreams" there was no way I couldn't giggle. dialogue was pretty silly throughout.

impressive that you didn't shy away from having multiple characters, having only one actor. it kept with the theme of the film, intentionally or not. since all dream characters are inside your head, it can be said that they're all part of you.

can't complain about the CGI, and you already know what your flaws are. just keep it up. I would enjoy seeing more of these.

stay away from listing yourself in the credits as all parts, though. that's cliche and useless. list other things you used to make the film instead of listing yourself 20 times.

**Oneironaut Zero** · 12-15-2010 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by no-Name

stay away from listing yourself in the credits as all parts, though. that's cliche and useless. list other things you used to make the film instead of listing yourself 20 times.

Agreed.

**LiveInTheDream** · 12-15-2010 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by no-Name

stay away from listing yourself in the credits as all parts, though. that's cliche and useless. list other things you used to make the film instead of listing yourself 20 times.

I agree too...I don't usually do that, but I wanted to make the credits last through the rest of the song, and I wanted to make sure people understood that I did the whole thing alone so they'd be more forgiveable towards its flaws