SPECTRE ZERO DELIVERS A POWERHOUSE OF EERINESS

Unlike a large majority of Independent films based in south-eastern Texas, the first episode of the Quantum Storm Pictures new flagship series was actually released for preview on Facebook to a surprisingly large number of online fans who had recently joined the fan page to have access to watching the twenty-two minute thriller that didn’t hold back in its presentation. Filled with dramatic performances, some hinted comedy and a plethora of visual effects that will keep viewers on edge and in suspense up until the final minutes of the show; the episodes message and plotline struck viewers directly on target making the first show a hit with fans.

Spectre Zero is another project developed by D. R. Quintana after he was considering filming a humorous and fake ghost hunting documentary which provided details on how teams try to create special effects to fool clients with misleading evidence uncovered by local ghost hunting experts.  During the development of several of those effects, the idea of creating a new series began to surface. Basing the remaining ideas of the show on a “sensitive” and a “psychic” that the director/producer was actually introduced to in New England, the rest of the first episodes were finished and then he was off to trying to cast the two leading roles.

“I wanted the two leading characters to be in their early twenties,” recalls Quintana. “It’s very rare to see two twenty-something’s running a prominent paranormal research team and also trying to be professionals in the field. Most of the time on the news and in documentaries, psychics and sensitive’s are much older people who have had years of experience in their backgrounds.”

Quintana wanted fresh faces to work with, both to mold the actors to what the series requires and to have a little more fun behind the camera, so he hired Daniel Erik and Sara Mao, two relatively new actors who only worked as extras in other film projects, to take the leading roles; a decision which proved to harbor success with the presentation of the first episode. Taking casting to the next level, Quintana also accepted to use the skills of local Houston Indie actors [as extras] who would be willing to return to the series to build up their characters.

“I was casting the first season of this show with sheer honesty and no delusions of grandeur that we would have million dollar offers or instant success if we completed the first season,” adds Quintana. “I was concise with all of the details, as I wasn’t sure how long it would take to put the whole first season together, especially as everyone in the cast and crew was going to have to work for free and the studio had to work around so many schedules that were based on volunteer ethics.”

Principle production started in February of 2018 and crossed over the course of eight months with the casting of over nine actors/actresses to help complete shooting enough material for season one. Some of the local Houston actors who stepped up to help in the production are: Alexi Yi, David Kufner, Shruthi Bekal, Gwendolyn Chang, Saira Ramos, and Joseph Marshall, who all played large parts in their perspective episodes and are expected to return to the series in season two. The studio is planning to expand the cast for season two as required, plus travel to vast area in Texas to complete more eerie episodes in the near future. Even now, the studio has recorded over eight episodes of material, but only four full episodes have been edited to completion, but not in chronological order.

Quintana said that the studio decided to begin production on all of the scarier scenes that required special and visual effects first before starting work on the actual scenes that required dialog through acting. Even though scheduling was grueling to complete each episode, the change in formula seemed to speed up the completion of each episode with limited production time of four hours per day; which helped many of the cast and crew who were parents that had family waiting for them back at home.

But the real treat of the first episode is the tremendous soundtrack and audio effects which were produced and written by Lora Mao. Each new track delivered to each art of the show with a unique eeriness that defies explanation on how the tension and drama was delivered in each scene. Quintana says that Lora Mao didn’t hold back, she was committed to the project from the start and her ability to adjust to his musical demands proved that she was more than qualified and mature to handle each track as required by the director/producer. Even now, Lora Mao is reaping in the success of her music as she is selling tracks for the show on the Internet.

“Lora has a style of producing original tracks of music that is second to none in Houston,” says Quintana. “She’s efficient, professional, and loves what she does. There is no doubt in my mind that without Lora, this project would not have delivered such a strong first episode to preview to the fans out there. I am very proud to have her on our team.”

Unlike most Indie films that only ever post a 7 minute trailer of their film projects, Spectre Zero’s first 22 minute episode is posted on Facebook as a preview and will be removed in twenty days. The rest of the series episodes will eventually be made available through Amazon.com in 2019. So if you’re interested in watching the newest production from Quantum Storm Pictures, this will be your only chance to see it for free until the series is released on Amazon.com. You can see the full first episode HERE.

NETFLIX SERIES REVIEW - LOST IN SPACE FAILS MISERABLY LOST IN BAD STORYTELLING AND PLOTLINE

The QUANTUM STORM Studio Review - LOST IN SPACE - Netflix [PG] - I'm a big fan of the original television series, not a big fan of the movie, but this new Netflix series was a HUGE disappointment! 

Another series falls prey to the idea that spending large amounts of money on useless and baseless CGI is the way to go. Especially when some dumb-ass director tries to bring in J.J. Abrams-type lens flares to make things look more spectacular, well...you know that the whole production team was hoping something in the presentation of the show would make fans cry out for more.

But plain and simple, the plot and story is transparent, the acting is dry and filled with tons and tons of useless monologue that just stretched out each episode and left very little room to get to the point of the overall picture. The flow of the series bounces up and down after each new scene that was poorly constructed to tell three different stories at the same time; sometimes, you are even left to wonder "what happened to that other character when all of this was happening?"

The only light in the tunnel for this series was the cast which was rounded up for the show. I have to admit that there are blips and flashes of promises when the actors finally got into their roles...if you want to call them "roles." Again to put it plainly, "...having a career U.S. Marine play a useless father and husband because he was deployed most of his career and his wife resented it because she was the scientist of the family"...? Hello, who wrote this shit!? Sure, we live in a generation now where the woman is the strong anchor in the family and men are looked down as 'non-leaders' for this new generation of snowflake who are being brought up in our now soft society. But everyone knows [or should know] that military moms are bad ass, they kick ass, and always stand by their husbands when the tough gets going. This part of the series was written from looking at the "outside of what could be", instead of looking into a real military family and seeing what truly is!

One of the worst aspects of the series is showing that there is "token black actress" who's in the show as a main character in the family which was never explained...but was obviously added to prevent a white-washing of the show. The teens in this show are talented and cute, but none have the acting chops to pull off their roles in moments where they have to believe what they see in the CGI world. The scripted dialog produced for them seems to simple to employ and you're supposed to believe that if they shoot off some techno-babble, that these kids are smarter than your average bear. I sure as hell didn't fall for it and neither will the future followers.

But the absolute worst parts of the series has to be the tremendously bad editing, bad sequencing, non-tempo and the really horrible "J.J. Abrams-type" CGI that just left this pile of dogshit streaming for over nine episodes. I gave it a chance to prove me wrong, but the whole thing just puttered off and left the whole shit-smack open for a season two which would be an adventure-less idea to bring into next year. To say the least, the writers of this show had no idea how to create a solid SciFi show with enough drama and intrigue to keep the viewer entertained. I pray there won't be another season, but the Lost In Space trolls are already out claiming how good the first season was solely due to the robot, who was obviously a guy in a suit...and looked like a guy in a suit. 

☆ [Generous Star][1 of 5 Stars]

CAN A BAD TRAILER RUIN YOUR INDIE FILMS PREMEIRE?

The honest answer to a question about the potential of having a solid Indie film trailer is “Yes, a projects success depends on what it takes to bring attention to your Indie film!” and it makes a HUGE difference to the success of your films potential for having a premiere – but don’t actually believe that people outside of your little circle really care. Indie films come and go all the time, and most of the time, the only people that truly care about your film project are the actors, the production team, their families, and friends that know about the Indie film and what it’s all about from the team. So, what should you do to get the best attention for your film?

First, get someone outside of your circle to promote your film to all of the news outlets and through all of the local Internet news circuits that they can; having someone that isn’t biased to your pride helps out a lot. Local Indie film directors try to produce fancy websites and Facebook pages to help quick-start the promotion process, but directors have BIGGER things to worry about than try to promote their own Indie film. Sure, every actor in the film claims to have ‘this contact’ and/or ‘that agent’ that can help to get the word out about your film, but a true promotions director knows the real contacts to get the word out about your film. Let them do the hard work and give them the best material to advertise your project without remorse or recourse for under promoting it.

A solid promotional director will cost you money, but to trust an accomplished advertiser to push your work to the right people outside of your circle is the best investment you’ll have when the premier date comes dancing around in the local community. A proven promo-director has to out-smart the previous ‘big Indie hit’ that came before you, so it’s always a contest to get the best person at the helm of pushing your new Indie film. 

With that, you’re going to need a solid trailer. So, where do you begin with your first trailer? What source material do you need? Should you use real material from your film?

Well, trailers are a tricky thing. Some production teams use ‘trailer ideas’ to bring investors and producers in to help their projects with money or locations; the proper term is ‘pitch film’ or ‘sizzle reel’, so if you decide to work with a team who say, “It’s called a trailer”, I highly recommend you bail out from that team right away. These types of people find out the hard way about movie making, so as a growing actor, it’s always a good thing to know when it’s time to bail when you’re working with stubborn people.

If your team has an Independent film idea you’d like to ‘pitch’ to an investor or potential producer, you want to produce a ‘pitch film’ [or sizzle reel] which is usually a seven or eight minute look into your project idea. But, we’re talking about a ‘trailer’ for your Indie film, right? So, let’s go over what you need to present to people outside of your project to get them excited to see your potentially exciting film.

I will begin by telling you that having a ‘clique of friends’ to help support your film is a good thing, but you need sheer honesty to see if your film is worth bragging about. Remember if you’re an Indie filmmaker/director, people outside of your friends circle [or clique] always expect local Indie films to be crappy and lack material worth watching, so your trailer has to prove those people wrong. Always show them that you have class within the production, and that yeah, it’s actually going to be a fun film to watch. I know what you’re dying to ask; “How do I do all of that?”

As I stated earlier, it’s all about honesty. First time local Indie directors are always looking for someone to hand out accolades for every small scene they complete; but how good are those scenes really? How did everything tie in together? Was the mood you wanted to present in retrospect all there? These questions cannot be answered and evaluated by the production team. I hate to say it, but if you clearly have a scene between two people sitting on a couch, passing out what you think is a key point or important information within the films storyline, you should truly consider not showing that in your trailer. “Couch scenes” are considered amateurish, strong signs of a low budget production, and will give the audience an ill fated glimpse into the quality of your film.

I recommend for first time directors to set up a private screening for different genres of people after your films first run at post editing who are not part of any clique or production circle. They should be split up in several groups to best evaluate a rating system, evaluate flow, and gage interest for maturity purposes if your film declares a film rating of PG or higher. These groups can be split up in age groups, like this:

- First group 8-16 years of age.
- Second group 16-24 year of age.
- Third group 25 or older.

Keep the numbers of each group small to less than three per age group. These groups should be allowed to take notes and openly review your film. If you feel that the younger audiences[8 to 16 y/o] won’t understand your film or be too afraid of the projects content, remove them from the first group and add another age group who will help you get the right type of review that’s good for your project. Ask this audience of reviewers to be brutally honest as their review will help you establish a movie rating for your film; whether the film will be PG, PG13, or R. Don’t ever just assume the rating of your film because you ‘feel’ it should be a certain rating for future audiences.

So from here, let’s pretend you have your review and now you’re considering on producing a ‘trailer’ because the initial reviews from your unbiased group gave you good marks. Keep in mind that most professional trailers to a finished film should run under two minutes in length. If you’ve produced a comedy, make sure the trailer is funny; if you’ve produced a dramatic film, make the trailer dramatic; if you made a horror film, make damn sure it’s scary; if it’s a sexy film, make the trailer sexy. The best advice I can give is, don’t tell the viewer the whole story and plot about your film. A trailer is preview of things inside the project that best represents the whole meaning of your film. Push the envelope where you need to and if you have a film format that separates you from other Indie films, toss that in for good measure.

Some of the best trailers we’ve ever previewed have been those trailers that have presented the unexpected without giving away too much. Most of those trailers were produced by persons not related to the production team; meaning that the director put the production of his films trailer into the hands of an experienced editor who has actually seen the film and knows what will make the trailer tick to audiences. A good sound track is also key to delivering a punch [or dramatic peak] that fits the mood of the trailer. The prowess of your actors will be evaluated by the audiences when they watch your film, so don’t worry so much about trying to present the total acting quality in your trailer.

People love to see flowing scenes from one scene to another, so be sure to make your trailer flow constantly with scenes you now will set the mood for the trailer. If your trailer can bring in only one person outside of your friends circle to see your project, then the trailer has done its job. The list for bad film trailers is long and distinguished, but if your current trailer design has the following bad practices in trailers, you should consider cutting a new trailer.

- Trying to show the entire cast of your Indie film in the trailer; because you feel like you owe it to the entire team.

- Making up scenes in the trailer that are not in your film.

- Showing a plot twist in the film that gives away your film’s best avenue for stunning your future audience.

- Presenting the names of all of the actors and production team in a trailer “credit scroll” just to satisfy your crew’s vanity.

- Presenting a release date or venue location on your trailer; as you will wind up making updates to every change of venue; always present only one trailer for your film to use in all promotional venues.

If you’re an Indie filmmaker who has several successful films in your resume, the lists and the information shared may not mean much to you. But if you have yet to successfully break away from your local Indie clique and get impressive ‘outside’ numbers for your films premiere, it might be due to not bringing in the newer crowds through your previous trailer. Try a change in your post production habits, put your faith in an experienced Marketing or Promotions Manager, and try some of things we’ve presented to help you on your way to improve the attendance in your new films premieres.

D. R. Quintana

CEO and Editor of the QSE

Submitted as Liner Notes - His opinion is not the opinion of all of the QSE Staff or the actors who work with him on film projects.

CHINESE/KOREAN AUDIENCE KEEPING CLOSE TABS ON SPECTRE ZERO

Thanks to some smartly prepared promotions through various internet sites, the studios supper-thriller SciFi series, SPECTRE ZERO, is taking strong roots with many Oriental fans due to the reason of the show including a talented and heavy Oriental cast who portray lead characters who delve into a career of searching for spiritual phenomena.

One of the series leading characters, Wynn Mi, is played by the talented and beautiful Sara Mao of Katy, Texas who has made a name for herself on the internet with cosplay modeling she has produced online for the last few years.  Her character is gifted with the psychic ability to step through a doorway of the "minds eye" and communicate with evil spirits that live inside a sub-space world that has parallels with our own world. Her clairvoyant abilities are pretty impressive as all she has to do is see and sense the area around her to fully engage with spirits and try to communicate with them. In many cases, the trips into the "minds eye" are simple and a bit scary, but at other times her trips into the nether world are quite horrifying and seem to send a warning about seeing things in the dark that people shouldn't.

Wynn's team members are the creators and inventors of the band name company, Spectre Zero. Markus McCain, is played by Daniel Erik, and Lewis Denmark, is played by Bishop Asher [both of Conroe, Texas] who run a website which lists only the proven "active" places in Texas that have ghostly phenomena and also have an Urban Legend tied to them. In the series, the trio trek through the Texas landscape verifying or debunking ghost sites and make a good living off of them. In some cases, the phenomena is so extreme, that Wynn Mi is put in peril over some evil forces that are up to no good.

The series director and creator, D. R. Quintana, said that the studio project was seriously only intended to be another web series, which was being produced solely for fun.

"I never want to over-emphasize or over-hype any of the projects I produce through our small enterprise, but the Chinese audience is watching, listening, and reading every article and trailer we release on the web" says Quintana. "The numbers are real and there is no exaggeration about the expectation for this low budget series, that doesn't look so low budget in final production."

Quintana says that the high quality video production has everything to do with thinking about how to produce the best material possible before actually rolling their cameras. The series must maintain a high quality video production and at least a 7.2 Dolby surround sound production format with original music score and full scripts to have a chance for approval to Amazon's film and series acceptance program for streaming services.

"In years passed, it was all about filming this scene and that without thinking of the quality of the production" added Quintana. "Where I wanted quantity of material to spill out onto the internet, racing the remaining time of a young cast of actors, in Spectre all of the actors are adults and there's no racing required to keep the look of the cast in check." 

The studio continues to produce episodes for the series, aiming for a goal of 13 to 15 episodes for final delivery to Amazon for streaming and distribution. The studio is hoping to wrap up season one by April and commence production of season two by the end of July. With a young cast and  a plethora of stories to tell, the studio is sure that the series will find it's way to fans across all corners of the globe, just like previous project releases produced by the studio.

The studio is planning to release a new series trailer in the first week of March.

J. Jazz
[Contributing Writer]