How long should the eyes remain open?

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How long after death should the eyes remain open?

Poll ended at Tue Nov 03, 2009 8:39 am

10 seconds (followed by one pan of the body)
0
No votes
15 seconds (followed by one pan of the body)
3
15%
20 seconds (followed by one pan of the body)
3
15%
Understanding that there will be at least three angles taken so that several angles are covered while eyes are open
14
70%
 
Total votes: 20

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Dalila di Capri
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by Dalila di Capri »

I chose the last option because I am not sure that there is a fixed rule for length.

intense lighting can cause an actress to blink involuntarily so I think the best thing is to feel the scene.

Once the actress meets the point of death we want to see dead eyes for a while, but if you are planning to do a group of separate pan shots after she dies you can allow her to blink, and the re-fix her stare for the next shot.

For me personally the shot is ruined if the eyes are not open for the death itself.

Baci :X
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kevin67
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by kevin67 »

I think I go for the last one also. I love the concept of a good death stare and there should be no set time limit.
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EvilBilly
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by EvilBilly »

I personally think to be focused on the victim's face for a full 10 seconds is a bit long. Unless the camera is panning around the body in a manner to keep the face in the shot. I'm also a fan of the move where the killer brushes his hand down the victim's face to close her eyes once she has died.
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Peter
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by Peter »

There has been a long standing debate about open and closed eyes in this community. Those who like open eyes want them open all the time. Those who like closed eyes want them closed all the time. One would think that having them open at the time of death and then closed for the long after death shots would satisfy both camps. In truth it satisfies neither.

The open eyed crowd would prefer the eyes stay open. That is not practical from a production standpoint if the camera is going to get more than a few closing shots. And so after those shots, if there is more to be done, the assailant 'closes' the eyes, more out of sympathy for the actress than to appease those who like closed eyes.

Those who like closed eyes want the victim to die "with their eyes closed", not die with them open "and then be closed". Closing the eyes 'after' the death scene does little to nothing for those who want eyes closed.

So what do you do? In truth there is no way out of this conundrum. What I have done is to do roughly 50/50 eyes open/eyes closed scenes (I probably have a slight bias towards eye open), where in the eyes closed scenes they 'die' with their eyes closed, and in the eyes open scenes, the actress either keeps them open till the end of the scene or has them closed to spare her the tears.

(By the way, you can rotoscope out an eye blink using the clone brush from a frame a couple of frames forward or backward, as long as the camera was not moving (IE, no handheld).)
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by Gearshifter »

Hello everyone
I'm new here and want to say hello. As for me, i want a good death stare. I have to go with the last one. I like for the camera to pan around two or three times. Twenty seconds or so. If the killer closes the victims eyes after that and its the end of the scene, then thats ok. But if its not the end of the scene, i prefer the eyes to stay open untill that time.
Again, i want to say hello.
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JohnM
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by JohnM »

I personally prefer eyes open. It is definitely easier to shoot eyes closed. I have done it 2-3 times out of 330 or so movies. It certainly sped things up and made editing a breeze. But, I like the challenge and my customers expect it now. Once dead, I maintain the illusion as best I can that they have open eyes for the duration of the movie...10-20minutes--sometimes over an hour. I correct for blinks at the time of shooting and sometimes in editing, but not by simply slicing the blink out--that creates a noticeable jerk in motion. Also watch out for other types of blinks....there is the "eye ball twitch", the "flinch blink", and the "eyeball re-focus". All of those can also break the dead girl illusion.

While I am at is, watch out for the "swallow". It is very suttle but causes the throat to noticably move. Breathing tummys too....all can be covered with editing, camera positioning, model behavior, etc. Oh, and when blood pools in the indent at the base of the neck, the heart beat is a real give a way. I have not found a way to cover that one yet (short of not letting blood pool there)

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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by Big O »

If they are open, they should stay that way until the coroner closes them!

O :idea:
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by Bluestone »

Eyes open throughout, unless the body has to be moved. It is very hard for the actress to maintain a good death stare while being moved, but otherwise, I do pans from about 10 different angles with the eyes open without a problem. Some actresses, such as Jessica, can maintain a steady death stare for as long as I need. With others, I merely take breaks between pans for them to wipe their eyes. A beautiful death stare is my personal favourite. Eyes closed, for me, just looks too much like a sleeping girl, not a dead one. I'm sure sleepy fans love closed eyes this though.

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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by Den-CnB »

Excerpt from: 'Kaah Drei'

http://cnbhorror.net/cnb/Kaah_Drei.wmv 18.75 mb Shows a death stare I liked, showing in last part of the excerpt. The first part is a head shot with an absurdly over powered 45 auto. Caution Extreme.

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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by walhalla »

for me it is definitively eyes open all the time, even when the body is moved PM,
I like it when the clothed body is slowly undressed and ragdolled around while displaying a sexy death stare. It is even more arousing that full nudity, if done well.

I understand this is harder to shoot and most producers have limited time and resources.
Yet some of them manage to pull it off quite nicely while others claim it is too hard to produce. Why?

This being said, everyone in their right mind understands this is a fetish not a Hollywood production with CGIs. Therefore they will forgive the occasional blink or shift in gaze. And I guess that you can occasionally press the "pause" button on your camcorder for a few seconds to allow the model playing dead to relax their eyes

Again, where there is a will, there is a way
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Re: How long should the eyes remain open?

Post by walhalla »

[quote][Yes we will always have slight gaffs, but we are still very new
(one month old)
I think that with time, and an open mind a producer will grow to a point where all those hard little bits become easier and easier.quote]

You are doing a lot of the right stuff already.
And you are apparently willing to take some efforts in future productions,. This is great.
I am sure that you will improve very quickly because you are seeking input from your customers who, like me, are happy to provide feedback.

continue the good work
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