Pennyflix Productions Presents "Breaking Val"

[Glideshot]

http://www.pennyflix.com/dvxuser/BreakingVal.jpg
Original poster created by my incredibly talented partner Joops Fragale


http://www.mamasboys.us/images/breakingval/BreakingVal2.gif
Yet another creation by Joops Fragale

[Glideshot]

After several re-writes, we feel the script is tightened up nicely, and ready to shoot.

Joops, Nicole (Executive Producer/Makeup/Etc., Etc.), Eric (Best Grip Known to Man), and Myself completed about 4 hours of test shooting at the Glideshot manufacturing facility (this will also be our main location for the film). We were very impressed with the results, and hopefully we have a grasp on what we need to do on the set.

We only have time for 1 rehearsal day (Sat., September 22nd), and our shoot days are set for September 29 & 30.

We had an absolutely fabulous cast for our short film Mama's Boys, and we've talked 3 of our favorites into "crossing over" from Comedy to Horror for us. Those three talanted actrors (and actress) are:

http://www.pennyflix.com/dvxuser/Lindy_sm.jpg
Lindy Star Taylor (VALERIE)

http://www.pennyflix.com/dvxuser/Buddy_sm.jpg
Buddy Hyde (TOM)

http://www.pennyflix.com/dvxuser/Jeremy_sm.jpg
Jeremy Nikolow (DAVID)

We will be shooting on the original DVX100, as well as 16mm for the (Hopefully) "Edgy" look. When Joops and I shot Mama's Boys, our camera was mounted to a custom made jib & dolly about 75% of the time. I love these shots (duh), and we will be doing our best to fit a couple of them into Breaking Val.

Stay tuned for additional updates!

[Glideshot]

September 22:

We did some test shooting today with our lead player (Lindy), and we're really happy with the direction everything is going. Principal photography is still scheduled for Sept. 29 & 30, with a final rehearsal on the 28th.

Here is a screen cap of part of the test shooting from today:

http://www.pennyflix.com/dvxuser/Lindy_Test.jpg

September 28, 29 & 30:

All of the principal photography is complete...Whew! We shot about 3 hours of footage over approximately 28 hours of production, and it's going to be tough getting it rolled into only 5 minutes.

We don't want to give too much away, but here is a screen cap teaser of just what we were filming:

http://www.pennyflix.com/dvxuser/BV-1-W.jpg

Stay Tuned for More!

[Ted Arabian]

Hey Glideshot, great to see you in this! Love the poster.

Best of luck to you!

-Ted

[tmnt]

Really nice poster. Sounds great.

[Joops]

Thanks Ted & TMNT! This should be a fun project and we look forward to seeing everyone's submissions.
http://www.irreverantgreetings.com/images/pennyflix/BreakingVal-av.gif

[Glideshot]

Hey Glideshot, great to see you in this! Love the poster.

Best of luck to you!

-Ted


Thanks Ted...Why is there No "TED THREAD"? I was really looking forward to your entry!!! How about I.D. 2?

[tmnt]

Any more news?

[Jason Ramsey]

Pretty Rockin' Poster, man. Good luck to ya'

Jason

[MOVIE STUNTS]

This isn't one of those girl tied to a chair flicks is it? Curious!

[Joops]

More like a chair tied to a girl.

[Sid Barnhoorn]

Cool poster!

[Glideshot]

This isn't one of those girl tied to a chair flicks is it? Curious!


We didn't sell you a bad dolly or something did we?

[MOVIE STUNTS]

We didn't sell you a bad dolly or something did we?

No, I was just curious, There have been lot's of 'people tied to chair' movies in these fests. I was just hoping this wasn't another one.:undecided:smile:

[Joops]

No, I was just curious, There have been lot's of 'people tied to chair' movies in these fests. I was just hoping this wasn't another one.:undecided:smile:

How badly were you hoping? There's still time for us to do a rehash of zombies, or dracula, ghosts in the attic, or maybe a remake of remake of Halloween. ???
Any ideas?

[Glideshot]

Test shoot screen cap added on page 1

[Brandon Rice]

Cool shot.. creepy.

[Joops]

New Promo Piece Posted on First Page (http://http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=108527)

[Brandon Rice]

oh wow, NICE

[Joops]

Thanks Brandon

[Joops]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/29395/1190679218.jpg
Make Up Test - -- -

[Kyle Stebbins]

http://www.pennyflix.com/dvxuser/Lindy_sm.jpg


wow!!

[Joops]

wow!!

I know! Such a shame we have to mess her up. :Drogar-BlackEye(DBG

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/29395/1190759053.jpg

[Joops]

The location is secured. Actors are locked. Props are....still in the hunt. Shooting to commence this Friday. Wish us luck will ya?

[Brandon Rice]

Good luck :thumbsup:

[MOVIE STUNTS]

You have an awesome makeup artist! Now I don't care if you tie this girl to a chair, I just want to see what your makeup people can do, unleash the damage! Is this Hostel inspired?

[Jason Ramsey]

Your visuals are just great man. From the poster, to the makeup, and your banner is especially cool with the little animated stuff going on in there.

Thanks for sharing.
Jason

[Glideshot]

Thank You for the compliments Jason! I hope the film can live up to the visuals. The makeup tests turned out much better than even we expected. We were really excited with the results of our test shoot as well.

Joops was right earlier when he stated that the props are "still in the hunt", however we fabricated our largest prop of the movie today (the chair). It, like everything we've experienced with this film so far, turned out better than we expected.

Movie Stunts, the film certainly wasn't inspired by Hostel, but it started leaning in that direction...so we roped it back in!

We should have some BTS stuff early next week, as principal photography will be done this weekend.

[MOVIE STUNTS]

Wow, your sig. and that grab of the animated shot on your first page are pretty sweet, How do you do that?

[Joops]

Wow, your sig. and that grab of the animated shot on your first page are pretty sweet, How do you do that?

It's Magic

[smashedburrito]

That makeup is awesome looking. I can't wait to see this one.

[Joops]

UPDATE: The red button will be pressed tonight.
Someone gets to say "Aaaaaaaaannnnnnd ACTION!!!".
And someone gets to say "can we just do that one more time?"
And someone gets to say "Line?"
And someone gets to say "I can see your foot in the shot --- damnit!"
And someone gets to say "just play it a little more like this..."
And someone gets to say "when is dinner?"
And someone gets to say "when we get the shot you get to eat."
And someone gets to say "it's 3:35 am"
And someone gets to say "hand me the General Tso Chicken"
And someone gets to say "Cut! Dang - that was perfect!"

[Glideshot]

And someone gets to say "when is dinner?"
And someone gets to say "when we get the shot you get to eat."
And someone gets to say "hand me the General Tao"


Ummm...who's paying for all this food???

[Joops]

Oh....I thought you....um....no.....Rahman Noodles for everyone.

[Joops]

That's A Wrap!

[dvpixl]

looks great!

[Glideshot]

looks great!

Thanks dvpixl!

After nearly 28 hours of production over the last 2-1/2 days we are finished with principal photography, and we're more than pleased with the results.

Now the work begins!

[cinealma]

Congrats on getting it in the can. That's right, now the REAL filmmaking starts.

[Joops]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/29395/1191367364.jpg

Production Still - Lindy Star Taylor

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Awesome still! Looks really great...
Can't wait to see it.

Mike

[MOVIE STUNTS]

Nice pic. as always! Blood on white always makes wounds look worse just ask John Woo.

[Joops]

Nice pic. as always! Blood on white always makes wounds look worse just ask John Woo.

Do you have his number?

[MOVIE STUNTS]

Do you have his number?

PM me

[Joops]

Easy Stunt - just a little a ribbing.

[MOVIE STUNTS]

It was a compliment not a reason to be trivial.

[djsmackmackey]

wow, are you sure that's makeup? Looks like you just beat her with a bit of wood and are pretending it's makeup. I can't wait to see this entry!

[Maximus]

Great thread! Love your visual sense: poster, banner, actors, design... all top notch. High production value. Looking forward to this one.

[Glideshot]

Great thread! Love your visual sense: poster, banner, actors, design... all top notch. High production value. Looking forward to this one.

Thanks Maximus, we're keeping our fingers crossed that it turns out as well as we hope!

[Joops]

UPDATE: Deep in to the editing. Dang this 5 minute time limit! Music is in the works too.

[Glideshot]

Added a screen cap on the first page.

[spooky138]

I'm looking forward to this one! I love the sig banner and the screen cap looks quite promising!

[Joops]

UPDATE: Still knee deep in editing. Messing around with some foley and music. Also working on title sequence.

[deedive]

kool, keep on truckin. can't wait!

[Joops]

kool, keep on truckin. can't wait!

Neither can we!

[Marlon Ladd]

Joops, Glideshot, how in the heck do you get your artwork to do that?? That's too cool.

Looking forward to the film.

[Joops]

Thanks Leenewton!

[Glideshot]

Well...Joops and I sat in with our editor the last two nights (until the sun came up), turning our solid 10-12 minute film into 5. We now have a 5 minute version that needs a little more TLC...

OK, a lot more TLC.

[Maximus]

Well...Joops and I sat in with our editor the last two nights (until the sun came up), turning our solid 10-12 minute film into 5. We now have a 5 minute version that needs a little more TLC...

OK, a lot more TLC.

I feel your pain. I too am trying to hack the length down to 5 minutes. Like stuffing a size 10 foot into a size 9 shoe. Ouch!

[MOVIE MASTER]

YOU KNOW YOUR ACTOR "TOM " KIND OF LOOKS LIKE WILL FERRELL BEST OF LUCK LOOKS GOOD!666

[Marlon Ladd]

I think I figured out how to make the artwork move like that. I'm going to try it with my poster, but I don't think it'll look as good. Damn, I'm jealous. LOL

[cinealma]

Well...Joops and I sat in with our editor the last two nights (until the sun came up), turning our solid 10-12 minute film into 5. We now have a 5 minute version that needs a little more TLC...

OK, a lot more TLC.

Yikes. It's always tough, especially trying to cut half of it.

One word of advice, make sure the story still works. You might have to leave a lot of the "cool" stuff on the floor, but in 9 times out of 10, in the end you'll have a better film.


Cheers!

[Joops]

You can't be in love with every frame.

[Glideshot]

I think I figured out how to make the artwork move like that. I'm going to try it with my poster, but I don't think it'll look as good. Damn, I'm jealous. LOL

Hey Marlon,

Thanks for the compliments on the moving graphics...wish I could take credit for them, but Joops is the Photoshop Guru.



Yikes. It's always tough, especially trying to cut half of it.

One word of advice, make sure the story still works. You might have to leave a lot of the "cool" stuff on the floor, but in 9 times out of 10, in the end you'll have a better film.


Cheers!

That's good advice, but unfortunately in this case we really could have used a couple extra minutes. Oh well, we got what we got now.

[Marlon Ladd]

Yeah, Joops is the freakin' man. "Now, I really hate 'em. . ." (Tombstone ) LOL.

[mentatDUKE]

Wow. Cutting your babies is always painful. I can't believe you got it from 12 to 5. Good luck.

[traviscool]

Wow 12 mins down to 5 crazy man, anything new you can show us? I have been reading over the past few pages and now I'm quite excited.

[Joops]

Its down to the legal limit. We are very pleased with it. Sometimes the tightening of your shots leads to a better more focused piece. Last little bit of audio work left to do. And then compress it down to the required size. Very exciting.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Sweet! Looking forward to it...
Good luck with the compression. I still have to master that technique myself. :)

Cheers,

Mike

[Marlon Ladd]

Well, I know the feeling of trying to cut it down. I had 8 minutes and still had another scene to shoot. It's tough cutting down to size, because you have to build suspense.

[Joops]

With these horror/suspense projects its all about the build up and anticipation. You just have to give some of that up and fill in the blanks on a project this small. You have to shelve your long cool establishing shots and character spotlight shots and get to the meat & potatoes. But it all works in the end. Saturday we start on the director's cut.

[traviscool]

Good work though, that's a lot of cutting! But you do what you have to, apparently Shyamalan cut his favorite scene from the Sixth Sense

[Glideshot]

Working feverishly all night tonight attempting to get everything wrapped up into one nice little <50mb file. This is tougher than shooting the film itself!

[Joops]

D O N E !!! Uploaded! (hopefully correctly). Waiting game starts. Then Monday - - the director's cut version goes back on the editing table. Does it ever end?

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Awesome! Congratulations on getting it done.

Cheers,

Mike

[Brandon Rice]

Great work! Can't wait to see it!

[Joops]

APPROVED. Guess our pea-brains actually figured out that whole compression thingy....

[Marlon Ladd]

Congrats! Congrats!! Can't wait to check it out, Joops and Glide!

[BergVision]

Looks a little cold! In more ways then one.

[Glideshot]

Congrats! Congrats!! Can't wait to check it out, Joops and Glide!

Thanks Marlon, we have our eyes ready for yours as well!


Looks a little cold! In more ways then one.

LOL...No color correction in the world can cover "that" degree of cold!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

SPOILERS


This one was pretty gritty looking... I liked that.
I also liked the scene where he cuts the BF's throat. You shot that pretty well.
Maybe a little more kicking and gurgling would have added to it... but not bad.

I kind of saw the ending coming from a long way but it was still gratifying.

Well done!

Mike

[Joops]

Thanks Mike. Gritty was what we intended! They'll be more gurgling in the directors cut. That 5 minute limit left some goodies on the floor.

Look forward to yours.

[Marlon Ladd]

Hey, guys. I think you did an excellent job. I've seen several on here that are really good and you're in that bunch. The throat cutting scene was very good. It was well shot and edited. I really didn't see the ending coming. I thought he was just gonna' slice and dice her after boyfriend and that would be it. Nice look and cinematography.

[Glideshot]

Thanks for the comments Marlon, truly appreciated.

I watched The Unassumed...of the 35 films I've seen so far, I'd put you in the top 5. Very nicely done (I'll add my comments to your page)...

[mrcheapyasui]

wow that was very intense! Nice image, music, acting.

[Joops]

Thanks for the comments mrcheapyasui!

[MOVIE STUNTS]

This movie achieved a level of realism that made it very intense to watch, great job guys!

[Joops]

Has anyone had trouble viewing ours? Or is it so unspeakably horrible that its better not to say anything? Any thoughts would be most helpful.

[Glideshot]

This movie achieved a level of realism that made it very intense to watch, great job guys!

Thanks for the comments, the intensity is what we were really trying to achieve!

[bosindy]

Technically I think the film was superb. It had a grittiness in the torture scene that was spot on. the flashbacks were handled well and didn't overdue it. I though the acting was above average and the girl was quite good. I could see her having a career.

The violence in the film felt a bit gratuitous. Maybe it is just me because Saw 4 leads the weekend box office these days. I lament the days of things more subtle and less obvious. Don't mean to be too critical. Making a film is a great thing and you achieved your vision which is commendable.

[Joops]

Thanks Bosindy for the comments. Yes we love our actors. This is the second time we've used her and with good reason. She literally took a beating for 3 days in a chair and never complained.

The violence was part of the realism of the piece. I don't know if I would say its gratuitous compared to today's films like SAW that show much more graphic scenes. Our scenes are no more graphic than prime time television (whether thats good or bad is up to you). I appreciate your thoughts.

[bosindy]

I was talking more about the reason for showing the violence rather than the amount. I am not against showing violence in film especially in the name of realism. It's definitely a debate for another thread though and overall I dig the accomplishment. Congrats again.

[cinealma]

REVIEW:
Well crafted little film. The acting was very good. You achieved a lot in a small space, which I commend you for. The story... well, I felt there wasn't much of a story, it was more like witnessing an "event", so I didn't really get in touch with the characters. Asshole guy with typical girfriend with a mouth who should have left a long time ago but keeps sticking with him. Now it's come to this. Hmm. It's tough with five minutes, I tell ya! Good job with the filmmaking, wish there was just some more meat to the story.

FILMMAKER-TO-FILMMAKER:
I especially like the fact you did so much in a small space. You really made it seem much larger with your shot choices and the editing, pacing. One of the better sounding films in the fest, too. Good job.

[Joops]

Thanks John for taking the time to comment. Glad most of it worked for you. 5 minutes is tough. Maybe not enough meat to fill you up but thats hard when you only have time for a snack and not a meal.

[cinealma]

... 5 minutes is tough. Maybe not enough meat to fill you up but thats hard when you only have time for a snack and not a meal.

Ain't it the truth. And you don't want to try and shove down a meal in that little time or else you're gonna puke! :zombie_smiley:

[mentatDUKE]

Joops, this film was really engaging. You reeled us right in by opening with a woman being slapped. Th flashbacks were the crux of the whole ordeal and really filled in blanks as the movie progressed. Good job.

[George_Bailey]

Wow. OK - I really liked this one. You took the situation and presented it really well.

First, I really identified with the female victim. Her challenges to the tormentor were understandable and very much in keeping with what we are told happens psychologically in abusive relationships. I thought the writing und underlying concepts were thus on target given the story and what you wanted to accomplish.

I also liked the camera work. It took me right into the room and I thought it really worked well. I also liked the juxtapositioning between the room scenes and the colorful flashbacks. Very nice - and the flashbacks took us out of the room long enough to let the audience "take a breather" - while filling in the backstory. Nice job.

The killing scene of the "boyfriend" was very well done. Nice use of angles and just enough gore.

I found the female victim's "escape" was a little trite - and thought you might have played it up a little more - maybe a closeup of the wooden stick (stick? stake?) puncturing his groin - but more more more to make up for the ease of her escape from the chair.

In any event, a great short. Thank you.

[Joops]

George - very true about the escape and puncturing. Some of the good stuff had to be left behind to fit the time constraint. Directors cut in the works with all the goodies back in. Thanks for the comments.

[J.R. Hudson]

Torture-porn

Sigh; not at all into it without at least caring about the characters. With films like Saw and Hostel; it's predicatble we'll get the rip-offs. But adding to the genre or doing something original with it would be nice.

This film did nothing but waste 5 minutes of my life.

[Blaine]

I've got to agree with John on this one. But I was told the night we were watching it that the term was GORNO... This didn't do it for me, but neither did Hostel. I'm sure there is a market for it, I'm just not in that demographic.

[Joops]

JR & Blaine: Sorry you did not care for it. It is a far cry from torture porn like Hostel. I know we don't have any ghosts or zombies or fantasy in this piece. This one was reality based, a little hard to deal with for some folks. Thanks for the constructive criticizm. I hope you will find some way to get those 5 wasted minutes back.

[Marlon Ladd]

Different strokes for different folks, Joops and Glide. I watched the film with a friend of mine and you know we both really liked it. People just have different preferences. Keep doing your thing.

[Joops]

Thanks Marlon! Glad you felt secure giving your 5 minutes away.

[Glideshot]

Different strokes for different folks, Joops and Glide. I watched the film with a friend of mine and you know we both really liked it. People just have different preferences. Keep doing your thing.

Thank you Marlon for the kind words, and you're right, this certainly isn't for everyone!

Fortunately I don't put a second thought into senseless, "non-constructive", and certainly classless posts like the last couple on our thread. Obviously there is some ill feeling towards us for some reason, as it was was more of a personal attack then anything else...Oh well, there's always a few!

BTW, your film was in my top 3 voted! You keep up the good work!

[Brandon Rice]

I've got to agree with John on this one. But I was told the night we were watching it that the term was GORNO... This didn't do it for me, but neither did Hostel. I'm sure there is a market for it, I'm just not in that demographic.

I felt much the same way... just didn't feel the story was strong or deep enough to warrant the kind of violence in here... just my thoughts...

Glad you made the fest though! Hope you can be a part of the next one as well! :beer:

[Joops]

Really? Hmm.

[Marlon Ladd]

You all were in my top 3 too. LOL.

[andoguru]

Hey Glideshot,

That slap to start it off was awesome. I was like "OH SNAP."

This was shot pretty well. I liked the series of shots of her with bruises on her face after she says "it's not like it hasn't happened before."

I like how you weren't afraid of grain. I like grain at certain times and this time it worked well.

Good actors too. Oh snap he slapped her again! Nice sound effect.

I like the story in that it didn't try to be anything it's not.

Some of the editing was very good, but some of the flashbacks were too long. I know you want to give the reason of why the husband is all flipping out but the flashback could have been trimmed down. Maybe didn't even need the shot of the necklace. We would get from the holding hands, kissing, her and him together that that is what is driving the husband/boyfriend crazy even though it sounded like he was crazy to start with. I think you could edit this up a little tighter.

The ending fell flat for me. I like how she broke out of the chair...though the sound effect was a little distracting because it sounded off, maybe look for another effect and try it out...and stab and bludgeoned him. But the choking him with the belt seemed to easy and not interesting. Some of this was the editing and some was the shot selection. Some CU's of the belt tight around his neck or his eyes bulging would be good. Also, maybe you could do the ending when she turns it around on the husband and ties him up and starts torturing him...or even crazier...like she starts kissing the husband like this is some ridiculously sick roleplaying that they get off on like they are some serial killer couple. That would be cool or rather coolER to me.

Overall, nicely done. Good acting with nice character arc for the girl from being helpless to dominate. I liked how she would talk tough to the guy and mess with his mind and then when he was gone you could see she was really freaking out. That's a well rounded char. Good job.

Laters,
Ando

[Joops]

Hey Ando - Thanks for taking the time to write down your thoughts. I like some of those twisted ending ideas. The flashback with the neckless plays an important part storywise, since its the necklace that clues her into that he knows of her affair. This sets the whole last act in to motion. Some of the scenes had to be cut a little tight due to the time constraint. Our "Directors Cut" runs at 15 min and allows for the build up and breathing room that allows a more complete story to be told. Thanks again for the comments and suggestions.

[Joops]

If anyone has any interest here is a temp link to the "director's cut" of BREAKING VAL (http://www.threecrowssouth.com/BreakingVal_sm.mp4)

[Marlon Ladd]

Okay, I'll check it out when I get on a different computer.

[Marlon Ladd]

Joops, watched the extended version and it was real cool. Much stronger and more powerful than the fest. version. Good job, guys. Looked like you worked really hard on this.

Oh, and I got your message and will PM you.