Transformation: How long is to long?

[Matt]

Getting back to specifics about the movie. Where would you draw the line, I am only into these movies for the transformation scene(s). So I would expect differing opinions on this. Most TF's that I have come across (which are bad) range from no time at all to 5-10 seconds or they are fragmented. AWIL comes in at 2 minutes and 43 seconds. I would hope Freeborn goes for at least twice that and more transformations in total. There seems to be another rule of thumb in WW movies about having one main TF and then all subsequent ones becoming less in both duration and quality. For the record, I would watch a movie that was 2 straight hours of this person transforming then this one, etc. No plot, no character development, just a expose' of makeup effects and to a lesser extent CGI. I do not expect to see such a thing, and I am sure many would not agree with that notion. Thanks.

[Fullmoonstar]

i think there was a similar thread somewhere....if I'm not mistaken

[PariahPoet]

Personally, I don't like anything over a minute. That just strikes me more as dragging it out to build drama than actually showing a quality tf scene. I think it's stupid to show a paw grow out fully then the muzzle, then the tail, so on. I think it would be much more natural looking if things all changed at the same rate. I mean I know you want to show everything, but I think Freeborn has enough scenes to show everything without making it look hokey.

[Spongy]

for the first transformation, 5-10 minutes appeals to me. The length of the first TF should also depend on the person, whether or not they struggle through it. (Resist it and etc.) Then they should get quicker. But they should not get shorter than maybe 10-15 seconds.

[RedEye]

If you're bitten at twenty, and you're ready for Social Security by the time the First shift is complete; that's too long.

Oddly enough, it's probably the only way it would work in the real world, considering the energy needed. Maybe that's why they don't exist.

[wolfboy410]

personally i think van helsing had the perfect werewolf they looked cool and the tranformations werent too long too short and looked awsome the only thing i didnt like abot VH WW is that the transformation was perminent after their first full moon

[Terastas]

5-10 minutes would be a realistic standard, but keep in mind that there's a limit to how long the movie itself can be. That's why transformation scenes usually are short: to get them over with so they can have more room for the plot.

[LunarCarnivore]

no longer then AWIL in my opinion. otherwise it just get boring. a new ww, 2 minutes. otherwise, it should look like this:

[WerewolfKeeper3]

depends on whose doing the shifting. If a director prefers shorter tf scenes, because it looks better when everything shifts at the same time, or something like that, you're going to get shorter scenes... Personally, i just want the ww to LOOK like a wolf for once. The Cursed were's looked like over grown teddy bears with fangs, claws and a massive overbite. Eck! Van Helsing was probably the best tf scenes i've seen.

[RedEye]

If members of the audience go out to get popcorn while the TF is occuring, that's too long.
If the audience says WTF? When did that happen; the TF is too short.
Somewhere in between is probably right...

*Idea! The TF timing could have a function in the story line; where the time it takes to TF is critical to someone's survival; sort of like how long it takes Superman to change clothes.**
**No Phone Booth TF's Please!

[Black Claw]

You all got good points on TF scenes and i also think that VH WW is pretty awesome but one thing is also how the other scenes build up to it. Like Bad Moon, you don't get to see the transformation scene until the end and by that time the guy loves becoming the ww and it is about two minutes long. However in AWIL, he was totally unprepared, not ready to take the intensity of the TF and it also was two minutes long.

[Celestialwolf]

Since Linkin Park came out with their CD Minutes to Midnight, the last song, "The Little Things Give You Away," seemed like the perfect song for a werewolf's first transformation. The first part is a little soft, and that's where they would just find out, or come to grips with, the fact that they're a werewolf and can shift now. They have a desire to phase that gradually builds to the point where they take their first try. The part where the song picks up would have sweeping, spiraling shots around the morphing body and tearing clothes with individual parts of the shift cut in at different intervals until the transformation is complete. Then he looks his new, amazing form over for a few seconds--almost unbelieving at first--then lets out a long, ecstatic howl! The words "The little things give you away" are sung repeatedly in the background at this point, afterwhich the scene cuts to black. All in all, the shift itself would take just under two minutes.

Shifts after that would take less time as can be expected-practice makes perfect! Plus, you're right, Terastas-there needs to be room for the plot. Whata y'all think?

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