WHERE THE HEART LIES ... Johnson, Hyten, Golden & Bullis

[Matty_g]

Lets play submission chicken.

[Mark Johnson]

Lets play submission chicken.

You're on, Kemo-Sabi.

We're thinking of going out and shooting some pickups.

[Luis Caffesse]

Lets play submission chicken.

I'm in.
Bring it on.
:)

[Matty_g]

good thing i left my camera there.

[Mark Johnson]

Hey Matty, we're running over to the hospital to get an emergency room exterior. How you doing?

[Zak Forsman]

Just starting my color correction.

[Matty_g]

Stupid Zak always being logged into his own computer.

[Matty_g]

I am Matty_g, I hate evrybody! I hate DVXuzerz sooo much!!!!11111 DO NOT VOTE 4 ME!!!!!111!!!!




(not Zak)

[Brandon Rice]

LOL... kidding, right?

[Mark Johnson]

Ok, we got our pickups shot. Now we just have to finish our foley work and we'll be good to go.

[Brandon Rice]

Rofl!

[siniarch]

Pick Up shots at 9:45. HAHAHA, Man that's awesome. you guys got balls.

[Zak Forsman]

did my compressor recipe work out okay?

[Mark Johnson]

Not at first. It came in 5 megs over the first time but we got it the second shot.

[Mark Harris]

Ok, we got our pickups shot. Now we just have to finish our foley work and we'll be good to go.

It's okay, I finished casting at about 9PM. Lucky I am on EST...

[Mark Johnson]

Woo Hoo! We are ready to drink now!!!

[Mark Harris]

Woo Hoo! We are ready to drink now!!!

Well Jeeze Mark, that could mean you're anywhere in the process from script dev to uploading. Narrow it down for us...

[Matty_g]

Congrats!

[Luis Caffesse]

Damn, how did yours upload so fast (or why is mine uploading so damn slow)
Still says it has nearly TWO HOURS to upload over here.
ugh

Well..congrats.
Does this mean I win the game of chicken?
:)

[Mark Johnson]

Damn, how did yours upload so fast (or why is mine uploading so damn slow)
Still says it has nearly TWO HOURS to upload over here.
ugh

Well..congrats.
Does this mean I win the game of chicken?
:)

Man, what kind of pipe are you using???? 56K modem?

[Zak Forsman]

you know, i was about to make a joke about "dial-up" but held back. :)

[artofsuntzu]

Woo Hoo! We are ready to drink now!!!

Awesome job!

I'm glad midnight didn't take a victim here.

Cheers!

[Kyle Stebbins]

Well Jeeze Mark, that could mean you're anywhere in the process from script dev to uploading. Narrow it down for us...

Ha!

Congrats team FAT MONSTER! You've had quite the run.

I can't wait to see the final product.


Night, west coast!

[Mark Johnson]

Kyle,

Sobering thought. ... IF this film is good, what does it mean that you didn't come out to help us shoot it?

[Slimothy]

Well Jeeze Mark, that could mean you're anywhere in the process from script dev to uploading. Narrow it down for us...

LMAO! Nonsense!

Mark just went to get the soda. I have a perfectly good 1/2 bottle of black velvet that has been antagonizing me for the better part of 2 hours now.

This has been a good run. Now lets just hope Barry finds our camera. I heard he's on a rampage!

[bosindy]

congrats guys on getting uploaded, no small feat around these parts

[Kyle Stebbins]

Kyle,

Sobering thought. ... IF this film is good, what does it mean that you didn't come out to help us shoot it?

:violent5:

Hey man, I only came on those trips to make sure you got home safe every night.

[disjecta]

:crybaby: I'm gonna miss this thread

[Mark Johnson]

:violent5:

Hey man, I only came on those trips to make sure you got home safe every night.

LOL. ... and it worked, man. ...

Kyle, I think we definitely need to shoot some stuff out there in the heartland this spring or summer. I have some ideas so we shall definitely talk.

[Mark Johnson]

:crybaby: I'm gonna miss this thread

Not yet, you won't. The best part of this thread is about to start when people start actually watching the film. I'm already working on carefully crafted statements of blame and disclaimers of responsibility (while deftly taking credit for the underpinnings of brilliance that the story conveys underneath the failings of all others).

This is Hollywood, baby. Sit back and watch the spin as the early reviews come in!!!!

[disjecta]

What I meant was I'm admitting myself into a mental hospital for post Fat Monster stress. I won't have Internet access for a long time.

[Ted Arabian]

Hey boys, I am anxiously awaiting your film!!!

[Scott Bullis]

Insanity is for quitters.

What I meant was I'm admitting myself into a mental hospital for post Fat Monster stress. I won't have Internet access for a long time.

[disjecta]

Wow, that really is you in your avatar....:)

Being a quitter is underrated.

[Ted Arabian]

Bullis, baby! Hang around a little longer, bro! I know that you don't do the boards thing, but jeez... you post at 12:23, I see your name under a thread at 12:24, I click the thread to say "Hi" and your light is RED!

I know that you will never see this message...

Someone say "Hello" to Bullis for me! :grin:

[Mark Johnson]

Someone say "Hello" to Bullis for me! :grin:

Will do. I'm seeing him this week.

[Ted Arabian]

Cool Dude! Thanks.

I am going to PM you!

[Blaine]

I was pleased to see WtHL listed as Uploaded this morning. It was still in upload hell when I left Fat Monster last night.

I bet we could have had this thing uploaded by 11:00 pm if that coward Robert Ford hadn't lifted Mark's laptop on Saturday.

[Ted Arabian]

Blaine! Hey man, it is almost time to start watching!!!

Enjoy and congrats!!!

-Ted

[Jason Ramsey]

I bet we could have had this thing uploaded by 11:00 pm if that coward Robert Ford hadn't lifted Mark's laptop on Saturday.

could have, but would have? Has Mark ever uploaded even just 30 minutes early? :evil:

Later,
Jason

[Blaine]

could have, but would have? Has Mark ever uploaded even just 30 minutes early? :evil:

Later,
JasonThat is SO FUNNY, Jason...but true. We had ALL the best intentions of getting it uploaded with time to spare, but Ten-Minute Hyten had "just one more thing to do, but don't worry, it'll only take ten minutes." :grin::grin:

[Ted Arabian]

Ten-Minute Hyten
:grin: :grin: HAA HAA HAAA... awesome!

I want to shoot with you guys NEXT FEST!!!!

I miss the CA-Connection!

[Blaine]

If it wasn't for the last minute...

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Yesterday morning :)

.... We should be able to upload today without any difficulty and even have some time to work on optimum compression.

The Dude Abides :)
:grin:

[Blaine]

Nice Banner, Tim...:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Thanks Brandon! :D

[Blaine]

Thanks Brandon! :DNah, that really was for Tim. (perhaps a bit random, though) He's still sporting his In Extremis banner and I was foolishly thinking he might change it...

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I thought it might be but Tim hasn't posted in a few pages and I didn't see his banner, so I assumed you were making fun of Brandon again ... you know, being clever ... should have known better :evil: :grin:

[Blaine]

ALL RIGHT!!! Where the Heart Lies has been officially approved!!! We can FINALLY relax...until later this afternoon when Tim has to start the extended Director's Cut. :beer::beer::beer:

[Luis Caffesse]

This afternoon?

What the hell is he waiting for?
:)

[Brandon Rice]

Thanks Brandon! :D

ROFL!

BTW: Love the custom title Jack!

[Slimothy]

ALL RIGHT!!! Where the Heart Lies has been officially approved!!! We can FINALLY relax...until later this afternoon when Tim has to start the extended Director's Cut. :beer::beer::beer:

I think the one we entered is actually the "directors cut."

[Mark Johnson]

Oh, crap, Tim. You forgot to check the gate. There's HAIR in every frame of this thing!!!

[bosindy]

I won't ask who's and from where.

[Blaine]

I won't ask who's and from where.Yes, it's one of those things that's best to remain a mystery.:Drogar-Love(DBG):

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Oh, crap, Tim. You forgot to check the gate. There's HAIR in every frame of this thing!!!
"WHERE THE HAIR LIES..."

[Mark Johnson]

Damn, I can't wait to see Hudson's film!!!

[Tom Marshall]

Nice Banner, Tim...:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

I heard "In Extremis" was absolutely incredible...

[Blaine]

I heard "In Extremis" was absolutely incredible...You HAVE to see the Director's Cut...Stunning!

[Slimothy]

Except I wanted to throw the lead actor over a bridge. A big red one. And he wouldn't do it.

Such a diva.

[Tom Marshall]

Yeah, I heard Chris was being a pain in the ass at times... :cool:

[Ted Arabian]

I thought that Chris was awesome. It was the other guy I wanted to throw off the bridge!!! :grin:

[Marlon Ladd]

"WHERE THE HAIR LIES..."

LOL.

[Mark Johnson]

Well, here we are with our 'lil film and Matty G comes over and starts dissing us for shooting on a "toy camera." he had his big ol' RED ONE with him and he waves it around the room making sort of a strange skunky sound that I guess was intended to either intimidate us or maybe just to serve as scorn. He starts mouthing off about how his film is going to win everything because of the latitude of the RED and he says, "all you guys got is a purty actress." Needless to say, Tim came unhinged and caught Matty with a punch to the solar plexus. I slunk around to avoid his flailing arms and toppled the RED to the ground where it split into three main pieces from out of which a hamster and four cockroaches crawl. Matty is all "you hurt my camera! You hurt my camera!" but Tim is all "you want another piece of this, big boy?" Eventually, Matty calmed down and admitted it was all his fault and that he had become drunk with the power of the RED. He asked our forgiveness, which we afforded him after a couple sharp blows to the head as a reminder not to mess with the Fat Monsters. He got some duct tape and sort of wrapped it around the camera and lurched off all hunched over while hissing "my precious .... my precioussssss."

[Ted Arabian]

haa haa haa!!!! I heard that RED was going to change the industry! LOL! I think that I will stick with my little ol' dvx100b.

[siniarch]

this explains a lot Mark.
First of all, now I know why I kept hearing that the RED is so awesome that it could withstand a nuclear warhead and all the radiation. Its those damn cockroaches. they must be the fail safe system in case the hamster dies. Those things can live off the dead hamster for an indefinite amount of time. AHA!!!!!

And second, I've heard about the seductive power of the red, and about how only short hairy camera men are less prone to it. but unfortunately they are never allowed to work on Red Cameras, well, first because they are short. Lets face it, who wants to be stuck with the same angle looking up for the whole picture. Second because they are hairy and that just doesn't sit well with the leading ladies. and Third because of those damn red ninjas. They are just so f#king fast and they too have been seduce by the power of the red.

[Mark Johnson]

As a short man, myself, Luis, I can both sympathize with and appreciate your astute analysis. Long ago I had a dream - albeit a small and sheltered one - of some day becoming a director. Shortly after arriving here a bunch of bikers from the high desert rode into town and threatened me within an inch of my life and advised me to give up that dream because I am too short. I've since learned that only tall good looking men and women can direct (outside of New York City where a perverse bizarro universe prevails) and that the only exception is for asians who are fated to die within two years. Thus, I consulted a psychic on Venice Beach and learned that Tim Hyten is going to be shot by some woman's raging husband in 2009. Plenty of time to make some films and then I cash in the insurance. Suh-weet!

[Mark Johnson]

Good, God. This thread is over 20,000. Go home people. Nothing to see here except the rantings of short men and those who wish they were short men. Move along! Move along please. Do NOT VIEW THIS. .... Do not encourage me ..... help.

[Ted Arabian]

Still a long way to go to top that other monster thread!

[Mark Johnson]

Still a long way to go to top that other monster thread!

because YOU aren't here helping us TED!!!! You've got all the sex appeal over on your thread. We need hot tubs, babes and crude humor. For chrissake we hardly even get Tommy posts here very often.

[Ted Arabian]

Oh, remember the days.....

what a great time.

Those hot tub days were pretty damn great!

And the T-shirt-sh*t was endless fun!

[disjecta]

Mark, just out of curiosity, how many frickin' emails do I have to send to you before you respond?

I'm just sayin'

[Mark Johnson]

Mark, just out of curiosity, how many frickin' emails do I have to send to you before you respond?

I'm just sayin'

Ya, crazee Irishman. I wrote back a day ago and said "yassuh! We got it!" and said I'd host it on our blog for the next entry (which will be today, by the way).

If you didn't get that message it must be because your telepathic receiver is on the fritz.

Nicely done. I just went and saw that you posted it on Vienna's forum. I love that song.

Now shut up and drink your Guiness. BOLLOCKS!!!

[disjecta]

I never got it, ya mad bastard, I think you dreamt that you sent that email.

[Mark Johnson]

I never got it, ya mad bastard, I think you dreamt that you sent that email.

My dreams are hot and steamy windows into what could be had Ms. Zeta Jones made a different choice for aging husband. They do not, however, include emails to you, my friend.

I did not dream I sent that e-mail ... I imagined it.

[disjecta]

As I said, Johnson, you are a mad bastard.

Did you guys get my hard drive yet?

This will conclude my personal messages to you :)

[Mark Johnson]

Going to the mailbox now, dude. Will PM you with news re the drive.

[Danielleus]

Love the grabs, love the Geoff. Can't wait to see it.

[Mark Johnson]

ATTENTION LOS ANGELES AREA DVXUSERS:

We will be holding a screening of LoveFest entries at FAT MONSTER FILMS on Thursday evening. The night promises to be worth the trek to the East Side guys. If interested in being on the invite list, please PM or e-mail BLAINE.

[Zak Forsman]

balls. i have Valentine's Day plans that night.

[Mark Harris]

balls. i have Valentine's Day plans that night.


Come on Zak, just ask Jack Stanley. Nothing tells a girl how you really feel like an evening with a bunch of DVXUsers...

[Blaine]

balls. i have Valentine's Day plans that night.Damn, Zak. Bring her with you! :thumbsup:

[Mark Harris]

Hey, will Blaine's daughter be there? I may just fly out if so...

[Zak Forsman]

Hey, will Blaine's daughter be there? I may just fly out if so...

***crickets***







Awkward!!!

[Geoff_R]

Tim, your clone is over in the 'Moments' thread. Just in case you ever need any spare body parts or something.

[Blaine]

***crickets***







Awkward!!!Bwahahahaha. I'm sure she has better things to do on VDay than hang around with us.

[Danielleus]

Tim, your clone is over in the 'Moments' thread. Just in case you ever need any spare body parts or something.


Hey Tim,

Yes he is (as far as I can tell from the pic of you). Come over and take a look.

Lovingly,

Us over at the "Moments" thread.

[Norm Sanders]

Wow, nothing would be cooler than to kick back with a bunch of other DVXusers and watch the films on an opening night like that.

That said, it'd be quite the sausage fest, I'd imagine, with all the single dudes, lol. I'll stick to my Valentine Day plans as well.... :grin:

[Kyle Stebbins]

ATTENTION LOS ANGELES AREA DVXUSERS:

We will be holding a screening of LoveFest entries at FAT MONSTER FILMS on Thursday evening. The night promises to be worth the trek to the East Side guys. If interested in being on the invite list, please PM or e-mail BLAINE.

count me in.

[Tom Marshall]

I'll be there with Guinness... :beer:

[Ted Arabian]

I'll be there.... in spirit. :crybaby:

Sounds like fun! I wouldn't miss it if I was within 100 miles of you.

Have fun! :beer:

[Luis Caffesse]

Damn, wish i was in LA
That sounds like a blast.

[Blaine]

Damn, wish i was in LA
That sounds like a blast.
Southwest flies in and out of Ontario International ALL the time.:happy:

[Luis Caffesse]

Unfortunately I think they want some money before they let you on the flight.
But I'm not sure.
I'll look into it.
:)

[Matty_g]

$50 round trip flights

[Luis Caffesse]

Damn, talk about a hard sell.
If only we'd talked about this when the fest started I could have planned for it.
Are you serious, $50??

Jeez, why have I never been to LA before?

[Mark Johnson]

50$ IF you are smart enough to book in advance. I had to make a last minute flight to San Jose yesterday and ended up paying something like $250 for that little jaunt. Jeez.

Oh, and just to put the icing on the cake, some of you heard my iPhone got stolen from my bag in Oakland this past weekend? Well, yesterday I took my boy up to Oakland to do the indoor skydiving (I*FLY) place and, wouldn't you know it, some a*hole stole his school backpack which had ALL of his homework, books and journals. Needless to say, it put a damper on what had been a wonderful time.

Although our good buddy and partner Bullis lives there, I can't help but have a personal prejudice against Oakland as a den of thieves.

[Blaine]

Oh, and just to put the icing on the cake, some of you heard my iPhone got stolen from my bag in Oakland this past weekend?If only it HAD been your iPhone. It was your LAPTOP!!!!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

looking up airfare, sure it's an arm and a leg at this point

[bosindy]

wish I could come out for the viewings, I have a credit from jetblue for canceling the last time, but I am saving it for perhaps a quick jaunt in March

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

looking up airfare, sure it's an arm and a leg at this point

$769 ... looks like NY will not be represented at the sausage fest. :crybaby:

[Zak Forsman]

any chance you guys are moving this to tonight? Larry R is saying he hopes to open viewing this evening.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=124428

[Matty_g]

i'm down for the meetup tonight.
I'm sure my girlfriend would appreciate it also.

[Mark Johnson]

If only it HAD been your iPhone. It was your LAPTOP!!!!

Oh, yeah, I forgot I lost an iPhone, had one crushed by a tow truck and THEN had the damn macbook pro stolen from my bag. not a good month for Apple products.

[Mark Johnson]

I'm afraid I've got work over on the West Side tonight. However, if you guys want to have the viewing tonight please go ahead. You don't need me to get started.

[bosindy]

you guys should film your reaction shots and reviews while you watch the fest. I would like to see Blaine in hi def as he swings his sickle :)

[Ted Arabian]

Oh, yeah, I forgot I lost an iPhone, had one crushed by a tow truck and THEN had the damn macbook pro stolen from my bag. not a good month for Apple products.

DUUDE!!! NOT your iPhone!!! (what is it with phones and you??? :grin: )

[Luis Caffesse]

you guys should film your reaction shots and reviews while you watch the fest. I would like to see Blaine in hi def as he swings his sickle :)

That is an awesome idea.
:)

[Mark Johnson]

Reaction shots .... hmmm. That might be fun. but what Blaine starts shouting at the screen with disgust as he is wont to do? Do we show that?

[Ted Arabian]

Mark, I don't mean to pollute your thread with my bts crap....

but I wanted to share this grab!

http://tedarabian.com/LOVE/Love_bts_comic.jpg


.....

as for the reaction shoot, when I received a dvd copy of a film I was featured in, I set up a camera BEHIND me (and my wife) like in MST3k. I knew that it was going to be a groaner of a film and I thought that I would record my comments through out! Maybe you should do that!

[bosindy]

Reaction shots .... hmmm. That might be fun. but what Blaine starts shouting at the screen with disgust as he is wont to do? Do we show that?

I think we all know the answer to that question

[Tom Marshall]

Reaction shots .... hmmm. That might be fun. but what Blaine starts shouting at the screen with disgust as he is wont to do? Do we show that?

I think for Hallowsfest, Blaine was telling me to relax at times and I was telling him to relax at times... :laugh:

[Mark Johnson]

Ted,

Love your grabs from this shoot. Is it correct that all of that set dressing comes from your house? My, you and Diane have a spicey bedroom!

[Ted Arabian]

LOL! Yes... from my house. From the barn, however... stored among the bins of theatre crap I have.

[Mark Johnson]

LOL! Yes... from my house. From the barn, however... stored among the bins of theatre crap I have.

Oh, that's right. I forgot that you guys have the revolving bed with leopart print sheets in the house. :)

[Ted Arabian]

You don't remember from your visit here??? Come on, ol' man... you weren't that drunk! (j/k)

[siniarch]

hey. is this happening tonight then?

[Blaine]

hey. is this happening tonight then?Doesn't look like it. Mark said he was on the West Side tonight and I'm going to be out of town until 11:30 or so...

[Mark Johnson]

hey. is this happening tonight then?

No, we're going to go ahead with the original Valentines Sausage Fest. You guys with girlfriends are excused if you're that whipped not to make this awesome screening. Just consider it a referendum on your manhood and an indication of whom is wearing the pants in your relationship.

[Tom Marshall]

I say we hire some hookers.

[Dallas]

I say we hire some hookers.

I was thinking it'd be fun if I got Steven a ticket to L.A. as a Valentine's Day present. But your post brought me to my senses. :thumbsup:

[Mark Johnson]

I was thinking it'd be fun if I got Steven a ticket to L.A. as a Valentine's Day present. But your post brought me to my senses. :thumbsup:

LOL!!!!!!

[Slimothy]

Good one, Tommy.

[disjecta]

Yeah Tommy, you oul' bastard.... :kali: :nads:

[Tom Marshall]

Yeah Tommy, you oul' bastard.... :kali: :nads:

Wait, no... "hooker" is a term for the new video projection devices. If we have more than one, it will be a more enjoyable viewing... :thumbsup:

[Blaine]

And all this time I thought they were Headers.

[Dallas]

Wait, no... "hooker" is a term for the new video projection devices. If we have more than one, it will be a more enjoyable viewing... :thumbsup:

Oh, then let me reconsider. Not.

[Jared Meyer]

I had to pause WTHL after the first minute to tell you how much I'm enjoying it. You guys have upped your game so much it's not even funny. Super, super polished stuff..Gotta go finish it and then make my wife watch it too.

[Erik Olson]

Great short! Back to comment after watching another 40 or so.

Yikes...

e

[cinealma]

Very nice, guys. Very polished piece of filmmaking. I'll give a more detailed review in the future.

******* SPOILER *******























I thought the friend answering the door was a bit out of left field. I totally didn't expect it to be anybody else but the woman, which was good. But as soon as I saw him get his head blown off, I smiled and thought I'd see Sean behind the trigger. I think that would have been a better payoff and closed out the short. With the friend, it leaves it too much open ended for me.

Anyway, great job guys!!!

[Jason Ramsey]

Guys...

Probably going to be the most professionally done, and most cinematic piece in the fest. It really is gorgeous, well shot, and appears to be well planned.

Looks like your actors in the opening scene had been doing a bit of drinking/smoking activities of some sort judging by the bloodshot in their eyes.... or maybe they were just really exhausted b/c of you cracking the whip on them for 15 hours or something (this means great compression on the film by the way:) )

I thought it was effective as a short piece. Doing something so episodic can be quite a challenge in such a short time format.

I would only suggest that the reveal of the shooter was a bit unexpected for me as well... I realize that this is the point, but as stated by John above, I totally expected it to be the girl anyways.

His suggestion about it being his college roommate is an interesting one.

Mainly I would just say, I feel there is something missing for me to be able to connect the dots after the fact as to why it would be the person it was that was doing the shooting.... If that makes any sense. I just felt I needed something else to make that seem at least a partly logical conclusion...

Anyways, that's the only thing I can comment on, which would be story based.

But, man... this was top notch delivery from you guys. Definitely going to be in the handful of films at the top of this fest.

Absolutely gorgeous, and extremely well-executed.

Just need a couple of more dots for the chosen conclusion to be one that I can say "works for me"... meh.

Thanks so much for putting in the work on this guys. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to watch it and share my humble feedback on it.

Later,
Jason

[Ted Arabian]

Wow, Nice work Monsters!!!

This is a beautifully shot and well executed short film. Geoff's work does not let me down, not one bit! Outstanding!

The editing was crisp and the shot selections were always fresh. I loved the framing of all of the shots.

The music was perfect! Love Justin's work, always.

The story threw me at the end. I didn't expect the friend to be behind the door. (Nice curve ball there, btw!)

I am really impressed with the work you guys have put forth here. Really top notch filmmaking!!!

Congrats, Boys!

-Ted

[Kyle Stebbins]

Hey guys,

What a beautiful film you have here. Professional, polished with a very very interesting story line. Great work!

The cinematography goes without saying, and I'll leave it to other people here to remark on it (especially since they'll know much more about it that I will)

The one thing I wanted to comment on was the twist ending.
I knew it was coming, only because I had a chance to check out and critique the script... but the execution of it felt forced and confusing. My dad's band, by the way, gave it a viewing tonight at practice. A lot of them were confused and it required me to explain what was happening.

The room service man carrying the wine seemed like another important character that we were being introduced to. The first thing that I would've liked to see (or hear) would have been a line like "Room service". -- this would have showed us that it wasn't important to pay attention to the character, just realize that it ISN'T our man, it's just room service.

I did enjoy that you didn't take the EASY way out and have Sean pulling the trigger. That would have been a cop-out and I don't think it would've been as clever. The sequence of events you've got here is PERFECT... the only complaints I would have revolve around the clarity the ending shots. More light on our killer would have been a huge plus...

An idea I had for the gunshot sequence was... once he knocks on the hotel door at room 11, have it open quickly, cut to a dead-center shot on our killer, then back to our man and have him begin with a dialogue that gets cut short... "Jack? What the f*ck are you do--" BANG

Anyway, you really wowed me. This film is excellent in every other way and I can easily see it climbing its way to the top.

Great work!!!!

[Mark Johnson]

Thanks so much for the reviews guys. I'm sure you all know about the difficulty of telling this kind of story in a 6-minute cut. We had a lot of discussion about this and we did not want to spoon feed parts of the plot.

For what it is worth, the original concept was that Jack has been having an affair with Lisa for some time and Matt's little ploy gave them the opportunity to get rid of him. Of course, Lisa will likely throw Jack under the bus as soon as its convenient given who she is. ... sort of like the Kathleen Turner character in Body Heat.

We wanted to 1) surprise people and make it truly unexpected that Jack was behind the door and, 2) let people figure out for themselves what the motives were as sort of a little noir puzzle.

Anyway, it was a blast making this and the best thing about it was that our original script is really a lot different but Tim, to his credit, suggested we think out of the box and recut the film in its current flashback framework. You should see the original cut and I think you'd be surprised. The power of editing is amazing.

[Zak Forsman]

man, this thing sparkled. so polished on all levels. top-notch entry guys! i understand that there were some structural changes to fit it under 6 minutes. any plans for an extended cut?

[Brandon Rice]

My reviews will be made up of three separate categories. One for technical, which includes cinematography, lighting, editing, sound mixing, and score. One for performance which includes the acting. One for writing which includes the script, and story. And then I will summarize up my thoughts in the overall section. I plan to do my best to review each film like this in detail.

Where The Heart Lies

Writing
In my opinion, the script needs some work. The idea that the other friend is in on it the whole time kind of threw me. It felt very contrived. I also thought that some of the dialog could have been a bit better. Sometimes I think writers use curse words to hide poor dialog writing, and I felt that the case in this. The story had some real potential, but by the time I saw it all together, it didn’t feel very believable to me.

Acting
Your actress was amazing! I had to say it. She really did a wonderful job! I believed her every second. Your lead man on the other hand wasn’t very good at dialog delivery. His facial expressions were awesome, but somehow his dialog delivery didn’t work for me. I felt it lacked the genuine feel of Ana.

Technical
Wow! First, Geoff shot this thing wonderfully! As you know I’m a huge fan of Geoff’s and have worked with him in the past, and in the future with the upcoming feature. To get him on board was huge for this film! He had a beautiful polished look throughout! It looked like a Hollywood film! The score was wonderful as well, and Justin did his thing! The editing was actually really well done too! I’m a big critic on editing, but I felt it flowed quite well here! The montage sequence was fantastic! Technically your film was solid! Real solid.

Overall Thoughts
Though this was a nice film to watch, and kept me engaged it’s not something I’d necessarily watch again and again. I think you’ll place very well in the festival, but I do think the script needed some work at the end of the day, and that you needed to either cast someone else as the leading man, or work with him more in his performance. I know almost everyone who worked on this film, and I want to let you all know that I don’t mean any of these critiques to be offensive! On the contrary… my hat’s off to you guys for pulling this off, it’s very well done!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Nice job guys! Probably going to be one of the best shot of the Fest. Man.... she was good! Came off as a real bitch! Great acting.

I too was a bit thrown by the ending, it seemed a bit over the top.

It would have caught me by surprise either way seeing him get his head blown off, but it was who did it that really seemed wrong. It just seemed without merit.

Maybe after I watch it again (and I will) I'll feel differently.

Hats off to you though, overall this was a real nice piece of work!

Cheers!

[Slimothy]

I had to pause WTHL after the first minute to tell you how much I'm enjoying it. You guys have upped your game so much it's not even funny. Super, super polished stuff..Gotta go finish it and then make my wife watch it too.

Don't give your wife any ideas!!!!!

Kidding.

Thanks so much man. We worked hard on this one and are glad you enjoyed what you've seen!

[Maximus]

Congratulations! Very well made "film noir." High production values.

Re the story, film noir is tricky because you want to be faithful to the conventions, but avoid the cliche. The Femme Fatale element was made pretty obvious early on, with the flirting, and the more direct, "Fuck you, Matt." If she had been less fatale early on, perhaps the ending might have been more surprising. The jealous husband getting shot in the back of the head was a nice twist, but I was a little confused as to who her secret lover was at the end. For a moment I thought it was the little guy with the flowers! That would have been a real twist!

Overall, very impressive.

[Mark Johnson]

The jealous husband getting shot in the back of the head was a nice twist, but I was a little confused as to who her secret lover was at the end. For a moment I thought it was the little guy with the flowers! That would have been a real twist!. ....

The guy with the champagne is our new favorite discovery. Oliver appears in Matty G's film too and is a real find, indeed.

Thanks for the kind words. Having you guys enjoy something we shoot is worth more than anything else.

[ZFarms Productions]

Wow. That's the first thing I said after watching Where the Heart Lies. Very well put together, and one of the best shorts I've seen in a while. Loved the script, the acting, the editing, cinematography. I can tell there was a lot of time and effort put into this, and the film came out great.

Two thumbs up!

[Mark Johnson]

Wow. That's the first thing I said after watching Where the Heart Lies. Very well put together, and one of the best shorts I've seen in a while. Loved the script, the acting, the editing, cinematography. I can tell there was a lot of time and effort put into this, and the film came out great.

Two thumbs up!

Ok, man. Your quotes are on the DVD package for sure. ..... :)

[Zak Forsman]

We at Sabi are all big fans of the mad genius, Oliver Noble.

[ZFarms Productions]

Ha. Thanks. You have no idea how much I was blown away (no pun intended) by this film.

[bosindy]

you guys know how I feel about this film. I had the opportunity to see the script early on and it really has blossomed. The production value is about as high on this one as you will see in these fests and that meant everyone a the top of their game. I thought the acting really served the piece. Geoff really had great camera comp and movement and Tim's editing/directing really engaged the story. Congrats guys and I hope I will make it out for the next one.

[Gohanto]

Excellent work. As many have said before, lighting, compositions, sound, script, all great. I especially liked the Silence of the Lambs moment him knocking on the door then her getting up but the two locations being separate.

Nice work.

[Mark Harris]

Hey guys, you really stepped it up on this one, to be sure. Put Geoff in a cage and keep him under wraps.

You know I love Noirs, and this succeeded as a modern noir nicely. Good acting, lighting, mood, all really nicely handled.

I have two small beefs: I thought the music a little too heavy. I thought the piece would have worked such a prominent score. The music was good and suited to the piece, and maybe I am just gettng picky, but I thought it just a tad overbearing.

Secondly, why blow the guy's head off? Seems like an aweful mess and risk when you can just run off with his wife. I didnt see anything like she gets the insurance money or any real compelling reason to risk jail(have you SEEN CSI? They will nail her!!!) So I was not sure why kill him and in such a sloppy manner under these circumstances. Especially have a guy so closely connected to him do it. I mean money seemed to be no object, so hire a hit man. And I did not see her (hot as she was) pulling the other guy's strings that hard.

Anyway, those are the only comments on an otherwise really polished and sweet piece of work. And on time!!!

Well done guys.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

CRAP!

I just typed a full page of notes. Very long and scene by scene detailed, hit post reply, and the screen refreshed to inform me that I was logged out. CRAP.

I will try to recreate them tomorrow but I'm too discouraged and tired right now.

Bust suffice it to say for the time being

WOW. WOW. WOW.

Amazing work.

Can't decide if I'm more blown away by the progress or the great (with no asterisks) work.

Several members of your team commented on me making a big leap last fest with my last two films and I can honestly return the compliment without qualification.

Tim you are a full on JEDI now.

More for the rest of the crew and cast tomorrow, but all were excellent.

[Huy Vu]

I loved the cinematography, but personally thought the story was cliche. It has that "I've seen this a bunch of times before" feel to it. When he was walking up to the door, I've already guess the twist. Great looking film though!

[smashedburrito]

I don't want to just repeat comments here, so Ill keep it brief. I thought technically this piece rocked. Great images, GREAT sound (thank you), and some great acting. Nothing really stood out as sub par in any of those departments.

Again I just had some issues with the story. The twist at the end didn't really seem all that justified and it took me by surprise almost too much. Also I don't know if the twist with where the girl was was justified. I think she needed a little more depth.

Otherwise great work technically.

[Dustin R. Rogan]

Not to give anything away lets just say I wasn't expecting the twist Love the last line of the movie. I Love everything about this flick

[disjecta]

I enjoyed watching this film immensely and not just because Johnson told me to say that :)

The look was wonderful...but man, I so wanted to move that wine bottle ever so slightly (the one in front of the guest's face at the dinner party). It was a little dark in places but overall not too distracting. Very nice polished look and the sound design worked very well.

The lead actress gave a great performance, she was both convincing in the role and had a great screen presence. She completely outshone the others.

The story did have an "I've seen it before" quality but, then again, many films are just a variation on a theme.

Overall, the film is in the top three for me. I've watched almost everything else at this stage.

[Mark Johnson]

... Congrats guys and I hope I will make it out for the next one.

Jim, you know we are counting on having you out here this summer. To me you are sort of like Ted 2 and I was thinking how cool it would be if both of you New Englanders could come out at the same time to shoot.



... I especially liked the Silence of the Lambs moment him knocking on the door then her getting up but the two locations being separate.

Gohanto, I admit that ever since I saw that scene in SILENCE I've wanted to use that device myself. Your kind words are appreciated by all of us Fat Monsters.


Hey guys, you really stepped it up on this one, to be sure. You know I love Noirs, and this succeeded as a modern noir nicely.

...

Secondly, why blow the guy's head off? Seems like an aweful mess and risk when you can just run off with his wife. I didnt see anything like she gets the insurance money or any real compelling reason to risk jail(have you SEEN CSI? They will nail her!!!) So I was not sure why kill him and in such a sloppy manner under these circumstances. Especially have a guy so closely connected to him do it. I mean money seemed to be no object, so hire a hit man. And I did not see her (hot as she was) pulling the other guy's strings that hard.

Mark, we consider you the NOIR guy around here and we talked about KATRINA several times while we were making this. So, it is especially gratifying for you to be pleased with something that treads in your playground.

Actually, your comments regarding these character motives and the killing itself are very valid. We wrestled with those same plot elements and had a lot of discussions on the set and in pre-production. Obviously, Jack is going to get caught given the sloppy crime and one could question whether that plays too over the top. I think the bigger issue is one of motive and whether you can suspend disbelief enough to buy the little twist at the end.

Tim was the one who pointed out a lot of these issues and the original script was changed due to his discomfort with a plot hole involving Jack and Lisa. His valid point was that if Lisa really would consider cheating with Sean, wouldn't Jack be displeased and certainly not willing to murder for her? Thus, by having Matt confide in Jack about his little e-mail ploy it allows Jack to tip off Lisa and presumably the two of them devise the little scheme to ambush Matt.

Whether or not you can buy that fix, it certainly wasn't told in the short and would have spoiled the twist if it was. I had a nice discussion with my sometimes mentor Jack Stanley, who has convinced me that things could be done at the conclusion to better tie up the relationship between Lisa and Jack. We actually DID shoot a bunch of stuff not used, including various versions of the final phone call and even a rather clumsy attempt by Jack to make it look like Matt was killed as part of a drug buy gone wrong. None of it really sold us and we decided to go with the more ambiguous and open ending you see.

This is the kind of stuff that is worth much more than prizes, plaudits or recognition and I again urge everyone to try their best to enter these fests because I don't think you can find a better way to grow as a filmmaker. I really thank you, Mark, for all you do around here and for bringing both talent and spirit to the community.

I am also aware that shooting somebody in a short film can be legitimately questioned as a too-facile crutch. Indeed, many criticisms of student films mention that having a murder or a hooker are overused cliches and I have to agree to a certain extent. We had our eyes open when we wrote this and decided we were willing to risk the charge of being trite in favor of putting together what we hoped would be a nice little thrill ride.

In truth, I would very much like to someday revisit the issue of the husband's pretending to be someone else via e-mail to test his wife. The whole concept actually comes from an embarrasing incident of my own years ago where I did just that to a former girlfriend. For a week we traded these increasingly steamy e-mails and IMs with her thinking I was an old college buddy. It was a surreal occasion because I not only saw the devious and unfaithful side of my girlfriend, I also saw some really kinky and erotic sides of her I was unaware of. Of course, when I got busted she saw a less than flattering side of my own and what was left of the relationship pretty much dissolved of course. We remained friends and I always thought that week of deception would make a great basis for a book or film.

[Mark Johnson]

CRAP!

I just typed a full page of notes. Very long and scene by scene detailed, hit post reply, and the screen refreshed to inform me that I was logged out. CRAP.

I will try to recreate them tomorrow but I'm too discouraged and tired right now.

Jack, we would all very much appreciate if you can give us those notes in some form. You and your techniques were CONSTANTLY discussed by us as we worked on this. Without any b.s., I can truly tell you that our goal was to try and dissect elements that have given you such success here. Although we know we came up lacking in many instances, the fact that you recognized our progress as filmmakers is a huge win for us.

I am especially looking forward to having the chance to shoot with you and have you direct something that Tim and I can be part of with you. I am pretty sure we'll be able to pull that together and be able to get you out here to L.A. this spring or summer.

[Mark Johnson]

I loved the cinematography, but personally thought the story was cliche. It has that "I've seen this a bunch of times before" feel to it. When he was walking up to the door, I've already guess the twist. Great looking film though!

Appreciate very much your taking the time to comment and your observation regarding the story being cliche is a valid criticism. Our hope was that the element of the e-mail deception would elevate the plot above the "seen it before" level.

In any event, thanks for taking the time to watch and even more for taking time to comment.


I don't want to just repeat comments here, so Ill keep it brief. I thought technically this piece rocked. Great images, GREAT sound (thank you), and some great acting. Nothing really stood out as sub par in any of those departments.

Again I just had some issues with the story. The twist at the end didn't really seem all that justified and it took me by surprise almost too much. Also I don't know if the twist with where the girl was was justified. I think she needed a little more depth.

Otherwise great work technically.

I love getting feedback and I appreciate you giving these notes. It seems different people react very differently to this little story. I particularly like learning what DOES NOT work for people and it really inspires me, as a writer, to work on those elements in future projects. THANKS AGAIN Senor Burrito!


Not to give anything away lets just say I wasn't expecting the twist Love the last line of the movie. I Love everything about this flick

Ah, another quote for the DVD package! (just kidding) Seriously, I cannot tell you how much we appreciate you taking the time to leave such kind words. That last line was sort of "found" by Tim and the shooting crew as it wasn't in the script and I was down in the bar with Blaine and the grips drinking scotch. I, too, thought it was a nifty little ending and left enough ambiguity while also suggesting their relationship to tie things up.

[Mark Harris]

I am also aware that shooting somebody in a short film can be legitimately questioned as a too-facile crutch.


I am not one of them. I LOVE shooting people in my films. :)

[Mark Johnson]

I enjoyed watching this film immensely and not just because Johnson told me to say that :)

You left out the part about the writing being among the most lucid and evocative that you've ever seen. No Guiness for you now. Only bud ... and bud lite at that.

:)

Seriously, we want to figure out how to shoot one of these fest entries with you Steven.

[bosindy]

Jim, you know we are counting on having you out here this summer. To me you are sort of like Ted 2 and I was thinking how cool it would be if both of you New Englanders could come out at the same time to shoot.



Sorry Mark, one of us always needs to stay behind to stir the giant pot of clam chowda.

[Ted Arabian]

I LOVE shooting people in my films. :)
I want to shoot someone... and I don't really care if the camera is rolling or not! :evil:

[Ted Arabian]

Sorry Mark, one of us always needs to stay behind to stir the giant pot of clam chowda.
OMG, LMAO! :grin: :grin: :grin:

[Slimothy]

Ha. Thanks. You have no idea how much I was blown away (no pun intended) by this film.

Thanks a lot for your comments Zfarms! I'm glad you enjoyed it.


We really appreciate these reviews and are going to be getting around to everybody we haven't reviewed. There were some great films in this fest and I've got a lot to say about a lot of them.

[ZFarms Productions]

No problem man! I've been showing it to my friends telling them "This is filmmaking" and they all agree and really enjoyed the film.

[Mark Johnson]

No problem man! I've been showing it to my friends telling them "This is filmmaking" and they all agree and really enjoyed the film.

Dude, the whole DVD box is now your quotes :)

Seriously, we appreciate your enthusiastic support. Do you ever get out here to the West Coast? Fat Monster LOVES to entertain DVXUSER buddies and especially we like to shoot with them. If you've got a break this summer why not come out and bunk with us for a weekend? Tickets are cheap if booked in advance.

[Ted Arabian]

Damn... just watched this again! Thank goodness you guys are a NC!!! (j/k)

Man, you Fatties really turned your sh*t around! I mean... the growth is staggering.

I look at Tim's direction and editing as leaps and bounds above anything else I've seen him do. And Mark, you are the man with the vision... I know that you must be VERY PLEASED to see a world you imagined on film turn out so great!

All of you, Blaine, Bullis, Reisner... FANTASTIC WORK. (you 'Fat Monster' bastards! :) )

[ZFarms Productions]

Dude, the whole DVD box is now your quotes :)

Seriously, we appreciate your enthusiastic support. Do you ever get out here to the West Coast? Fat Monster LOVES to entertain DVXUSER buddies and especially we like to shoot with them. If you've got a break this summer why not come out and bunk with us for a weekend? Tickets are cheap if booked in advance.

I have a break June 30th-July 6th. I'm gonna look into coming out that way.

[Kyle Stebbins]

Oliver appears in Matty G's film too and is a real find, indeed.

I THOUGHT I recognized him!

AWESOME!!:D

[Mark Johnson]

I have a break June 30th-July 6th. I'm gonna look into coming out that way.

Man, that would be sweet. PM me your e-mail.

[Blaine]

I have a break June 30th-July 6th. I'm gonna look into coming out that way.

Definitely! If you come out here, you HAVE to stop by!

[J.R. Hudson]

Agggggggh

My file stopped in the middle !

Is anyone else having issues ? I was totally loving this !

[ZFarms Productions]

Definitely! If you come out here, you HAVE to stop by!

Hell ya Blaine. I definitely will.

[J.R. Hudson]

OMG

Why is my version not a full DL ?

: (

[Slimothy]

OMG

Why is my version not a full DL ?

: (

Hmmmm....

Link isn't working?

[Tom Marshall]

Definitely! If you come out here, you HAVE to stop by!

I second that, Dean... :beer:

[Mark Johnson]

I have a break June 30th-July 6th. I'm gonna look into coming out that way.

Got your e-mail, wrote ya. Have this on the calendar.

Tommy, get out the Guiness. Looks like a Fat Monster party the first week in July.

[Texture]

Hey guys, Whoa, this is some great work. Lighting camera editing...

And though Amanda Hill is no match for our fair damsel in "Dead Beautiful"... I gotta say, not only a beautiful girl, she's got a firm hand on her acting skills.

Tate reminded me of Nicolas Cage at his most paranoid. Great performance.

Happy Valentines Day!

Erik P.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

OK here's my best recreation of the review I lost last night ...

Great work. It’s about as good as a film gets in execution and use of cinematic vocabulary and technical elements to tell story.

Acting was excellent. Especially the girl. Very natural and believable.

The directing and editing was great. The choice of shots used to tell the story and then picked in the editing were quite nice. So many times I was impressed with what you chose to show me … usually those small moments of change or decision or impact in an actor’s eyes that have very little to do with the dialogue or who is or isn’t speaking. Great.

So well put together. Maybe there could have been a tad less music. I wonder if it would have felt more No Country for Old Men and more uncomfortable. But that’s a maybe. The film has some throwbacks to noir but really you are working in a kind of modern sex thriller like Basic Instinct, etc. And for that slick genre the music is very appropriate and I thought worked very well. I never thought Justin took a misstep it was all quite good and germane … I’m really talking about a larger style issue, which again worked well, just wondering if there was more to mine here with a more minimalist approach. But excellent none the less.

Great sound design.

The script and story were well put together, had excellent structure, and the dialogue was pretty natural. I have some take em or leave em qualms with the ending which I Get to at the end of the page. But good job Mark and Blaine.

And great job Blaine for pulling together and bringing out a new level of filmmaking from this team.

A couple of members from your team commented on my huge growth spurt last fest and I can return the compliment without equivocation.

Excellent leap.

Excellent film.



OPENING
Wow wow wow
The opening is so stunning I had to go back and watch it twice.

Maybe a little electric sound with the flickering neon in the title and then again with the hotel sign? Very subtle though. Just a thought.

DINNER PARTY
Very natural all around, acting and the camera felt very loose and natural, seemed like real life.

The girl is great. She drips natural and unaffected. Touching your face and hair etc. is one of the hardest things to pull off naturally on camera.

Very nicely shot.

Nice editing choices, the story is told excellently through the shot selection. The long take on the husband at the top is great story telling. We get a sense of all the relationships through that one shot.

KITCHEN SCENE
He seems a bit big. Too on voice maybe?

I’d cut before her F.U. Matt. Maybe find a take that says the same thing visually, i.e. with her expression.

BAR SCENE
Excellently Shot and lit. Again great shot choices, in terms of coverage more so here though. We see a lot of under covered shorts due to run and gun, but this has a great establishing shot and then a great master.

I liked both actors in this scene.

EMAIL MONTAGE
Hahah, she has emails from Blaine and Bullis. :grin:

Damn she is so good. I mean it’s like you can see in her brain and read her thoughts. Again, small idiosyncratic totally natural gestures that convey volumes. It’s like she has a ticker tape on her head that says … hmm … should I do this? Probably not but yes … yes I will.

This whole montage has a great shape to it. Unlike some montages that just show passage of time, this has a great arc and build. Plus again she is so good. The moment on the couch where she laughs and arcs her back seems almost taken from the a bts shot. So candied and real and again tells us exactly where she is in her arc … or at least where you want us to think she is.

CONSPIRACY BY THE POOL
Greatly covered shot and edited again. Love the establishing crane down the house.

I wish the DOF was not so shallow here to see the lights in the background more. Kind of not using the location to the fullest … maybe they were crushed a bit too much in post and could be brought up with some power windows.

I might hold on and end with Jack to sort of end with him conflicted … a will he or won’t he kind of thing. Would not telegraph the twist while making it more plausible. But at this juncture in the story I think ending it on a question – will he or not – would add to the suspense and engagement as we will watch on to find out the answer … also will add some depth to a functionary character

ROOM SERVICE
Haha I love this guy. Great look. Great casting. Great demeanor.

GUNSHOT/FX
Not so great.

ENDING
The ending was not bad at all. It just didn’t have much resonance for me. I have one bit of confusion and a point about what I think was a missed avenue.

SPOILERS IN BLACK
l
l
l
l
l
l
My confusion is why did they have to kill the guy. Lots of people go on doinking their brains out in an extra-marital affaire without killing their spouces. I think during the clean up of the body etc. I needed one or two flash backs to email maybe that said “impossible to get out of pre-nup” or “huge insurance policy” or … I needed one or two lines at the end. She calls her lover and really it’s a “non-scene” she just says I love you. Would have been better IMHO to give us some information that buttoned things, or clarified the context. “I guess that’s one way out of a pre-nup.” Or if the guy who did it is freaked out about it she could say “I need you to hold your shi* together. No one’s gonna trace us to him way out there. Just think about the money and having your way with me in on a Beach in Barcelona …. I’ll be waiting”. Maybe those suggestions suck. But just spitballing. Point is its not clear why it went down and then we have a dialogue scene that doesn’t button, illuminate, change context, or move us somewhere different than the rest of the new information we just received.

I think it was kind of a misstep to haver her boinking the work friend rather than the college friend for a couple of reasons. 1) in this cutting at least, the work friend feels a bit like an unearned twist after an earned twist. It was great that she was setting the husband up all the time, that twist was well earned. 2) It would have been much more parallel. And this would have felt more satisfying I think – she actually turns out to be doinking the guy that we thought her husband was just being paranoid about. For one thing … going back to the earned twist. You flip us from the husband is just paranoid … to he had something to be worried about after all … to she’s really going to have an affair with this college friend to … D’oh she was on to the husband all along – so you kind of have an off / on switch you keep flipping to say they are they aren’t and then you flip it to a third alternative and that’s what feels less parallel, less earned … so just when we are sure the college guy is not involved we get the switch up that she’s on to him with the gun shot, and then the reveal that he is in fact involved … the husband’s paranoia was right! 3rd and finally – right now you have a guy get killed that was just an asshole. He was wrong about his wife in a sense (maybe she wasn’t even having an affair with the work friend until the work friend came and told her about the husband’s plan) but he was wrong and paranoid and kind of got what he deserved. I think it would have been richer and more morally ambiguous if she was actually screwing the college buddy. Then it’s much more tragic. The husband was right all along. They were screwing. He was right in trying to catch her, and they flipped the table on him. More tragic because the husband is more innocent.
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
Again, not that the ending is bad. It just didn’t have any deeper resonance or impact for me the way I think it could’ve with a bit more parallelism and tragedy.

Again, excellent excellent job.

Thoroughly impressed.

[Blaine]

Great praise, particularly coming from you, Jack. We struggle over many of the issues you had. This was originally going to be NC and probably run about 10 minutes. The story structure was somewhat different. THEN Tim and Mark had an epiphany about the structure by going way outside the box with regard to the script. This is certainly NOT meant to be an excuse but we had to make some tough decisions when cutting to 6 minutes and still keeping the story complete. I can't praise Tim enough in the editing process. It was really great to see him completely throw his director's hat away and "kill his babies." This guy has come so far in the last year.

We were looking for suitable neon sounds right up to the point where we had to say f*ck it because we needed to compress it and get it uploaded.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

SPOILERS IN BLACK


Haha, my GF Megan, whom Mark knows well, was just watching this and her jaw hit the hardwood floor in our apartment when the husband got shot and stayed that way until the end of the movie. I then asked her what she thought and she said "awesome". As a Harvard Dramarturg she's about as sophisticated as an audience member can get without being a filmmaker themselves. Just a reminder that with all our nitpicking, we're not the primary audience that buys a ticket on a Friday night.

[ZFarms Productions]

I second that, Dean... :beer:

Oh alright Tom. You win. I'll come visit you too. :cheesy:

[mentatDUKE]

I enjoyed this one. Great photography. The actors did really well, and I must echo that the actress definitely stole every scene she was in.

Regarding, the dialogue. I think the cursing worked well here. The wife was rude to the husband. The husband was rude to the friend. I feel that develops their characters. A wife flippantly telling her husband f.u. and a guy calling his friend a piece of sh*t definitely make the audience look at them in a different way. It desanitizes them. Stories with "unlikable" people have a certain texture to them that I find appealing.

Everything worked for me except the ending. Perhaps if there were hidden clues throughout the piece that made sense after the ending, it would have been more effective. As it is, it's a shock ending, but could have been a bit more clever.

That's just a nitpick of course. Everything was really polished and the production value was very high. Good job. Looking forward for more from you guys.

[J.R. Hudson]

I am just so stoked on this one. Every element really worked for me. One of the most 'professional looking shot' (if not the) shorts I have seen on here (or any site)

Where can I start ?

The lighting is perfectlly done. Very motivated and real in feel, not at all contrived. The talent just rocks. From the opening scene, the tension was hnarly as he sat and watched his girl flirt with his friend. So much said, with merely the eyes.

There were no wasted lines in this; I felt each line and shot lent itself to the next frame.

I am blown away at the shot selection; wide, close ups, long shots from outside the home. Wow you guys ! I loved the MOTEL sign shot, felt almost a homage to Psycho !

Every single element worked for me on this and I can't even think of the HUDSON .02 Express.

Great job !

-

Tim

I've been a huge fan of yours since Zombiefest' Human Endeavor. That was one of the more compelling of that bunch where you showed your prowse with action; you got it down brother.

So Cal Mang.

-

The two FRONTRUNNER's I see for me are this one and Luis's.

5 Stars !

[Brandon Rice]

5 Stars !

AH SNAP! Hudson has spoken! Nice!

Great work on this one again guys! I don't usually come back to a thread unless I really dug the film. Hudson made a good point about your shot selection above, it was nicely varied, and well suited for the film! How you guys got all those shots in that little amount of time is beyond me!

[J.R. Hudson]

Exactly B Masta

I am in love with the variation of shots; and every one of them just kicks ass. Visually (and not to take away from the other elements that work), this one sets the bar for DVXUSER

[Kegan]

I thought this was great. It was aesthetically pleasing and very enjoyable! One of the best I've seen on this site, for sure.

-Kegan

[Mark Johnson]

I am blown away at the shot selection; wide, close ups, long shots from outside the home. Wow you guys ! I loved the MOTEL sign shot, felt almost a homage to Psycho !

Thanks so very much for your review and kind words, John. I wanted to make a comment about the MOTEL sign. You see, we didn't have that shot and found it to be problematical given the difficulty of using the HVX in low light situations. We eventually did go out to get the footage using an indieSlider to push in on a motel sign we found on Foothill Ave. When we got back and looked at our footage it just sucked horribly. Unusable. So, on the last day before submission I went to iStock and bought a still image of a motel sign. I then added the subtle neon flicker and faked a dolly in with some 3D trees blurred in the foreground. We ended up being pretty happy with the shot and I don't think many people suspected it was faked from a 2D photo.

[Slimothy]

I am just so stoked on this one. Every element really worked for me. One of the most 'professional looking shot' (if not the) shorts I have seen on here (or any site)

Where can I start ?

The lighting is perfectlly done. Very motivated and real in feel, not at all contrived. The talent just rocks. From the opening scene, the tension was hnarly as he sat and watched his girl flirt with his friend. So much said, with merely the eyes.

There were no wasted lines in this; I felt each line and shot lent itself to the next frame.

I am blown away at the shot selection; wide, close ups, long shots from outside the home. Wow you guys ! I loved the MOTEL sign shot, felt almost a homage to Psycho !

Every single element worked for me on this and I can't even think of the HUDSON .02 Express.

Great job !

-

Tim

I've been a huge fan of yours since Zombiefest' Human Endeavor. That was one of the more compelling of that bunch where you showed your prowse with action; you got it down brother.

So Cal Mang.

-

The two FRONTRUNNER's I see for me are this one and Luis's.

5 Stars !

WOW. Thanks for the review Hudson! It's posts like these that make you glad you stayed up so many nights trying to get the damn thing done. I can't wait till you get over to the West side. We're going to tear it up man.

Tim.

[bosindy]

Thanks so very much for your review and kind words, John. I wanted to make a comment about the MOTEL sign. You see, we didn't have that shot and found it to be problematical given the difficulty of using the HVX in low light situations. We eventually did go out to get the footage using an indieSlider to push in on a motel sign we found on Foothill Ave. When we got back and looked at our footage it just sucked horribly. Unusable. So, on the last day before submission I went to iStock and bought a still image of a motel sign. I then added the subtle neon flicker and faked a dolly in with some 3D trees blurred in the foreground. We ended up being pretty happy with the shot and I don't think many people suspected it was faked from a 2D photo.

wow Mark, you amaze me with the voodoo that you do with graphics. One of these days I am going to ask a favor, but I am going to wait until I really need it.

[MattinSTL]

Clearly the man has talent... it's amazing how polished some of the shorts are getting... this one was full pro. Absolutely ready for the big leagues man. Great job. I just don't feel like criticizing these great entries... if I was absolutely FORCED to come up with something then I'd say the head-shot could have used a professional touch... and I don't think the lead was handsome enough for that hottie in the first place... but that's reaching for something to criticize in an otherwise incredible short. Extremely good man.

[Mark Johnson]

if I was absolutely FORCED to come up with something then I'd say the head-shot could have used a professional touch... .

Total agreement, man. I had a long discussion with Jack last night on this point. The thing is, that the shot was completed and looked great except for the fact that I had composited the gun in the doorway with a muzzle flash. When Tim finally got around to studying the scene (on the last day) he told me that Jack (the shooter) would have been inside the room and we wouldn't have seen the gun or muzzle flash. Thus, the scene you see was a RUSHED and very unpolished substitute. This is the first scene on the list to be replaced for the next cut.

We have some GORGEOUS shots that didn't make this version due to the 6-minute limit. Not to mention that our BEAUTIFUL and very talented actress AMANDA HILLS got left on the cutting room floor this time. However, for the slightly longer festival cut we're including her scene and also have some very nice shots that we believe not only help sell the story, but dramatically increase the production values.

I know a lot of people talk about cutting longer versions and don't get around to it (and we've been guilty of this ourselves in the past). However, I can tell you 100% that we're doing a somewhat longer cut that we'll be submitting to a series of festivals.

Thanks everybody for being patient with us and our spotty track record! We're not a threat to Jack Stanley's dream team ... yet! But we can promise you we're going to be shooting OFTEN and that we'll be trying to learn each time we roll camera.

[Bernie Hipos]

This film is amazing, really...the story, the camera movement, the lighting and the hot chick of course. It's professionally done. Excellent job, one of the best short films that i've seen so far!!!

[DJ Lewis]

The moment viewing opened this was the first film I watched. I have to apologize about not commenting, but truth be told, it was because I was left speechless. Seriously.

I decided to check out every single other film before I opened my mouth so that I could see how this held up. And the jury is in….

Oh, it held up.

It did more than hold up.

It trounced everything its path like a T-Rex on a blood thirsty hunt. If you haven’t watched this flick yet, beware…. WTHL will grab you and will not let go. Consider yourselves warned.

To the filmmakers:
I do not know what I can say that everyone else hasn't already said.
“This is amazing.” “WOW. WOW. WOW.” “This is film making.”

All I can add is thank you for a great experience and I WANT MORE!

Spoiler in Black
|
|
|
|
|
|
From a technical stand point, it was perfect on every front. Subjectively, I think you could have went with a little less music in the dinner and bar scene. In addition, the ending elicited a tad bit of confusion, with the coworker, but that very well could have been what you were trying to make audience feel. These are only subjective comments though, and they do not take away from the experience of your film. Bravo!

[Wild Imagination Films]

Mark and company. I will say this is a very visually satisfying film. Rich in color and solid in composition, it reeks of professionalism. In the story I saw angst, anger, lust, greed, contempt and fear. What I never saw was love. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing the camera either.
I really liked the locations. Set decor was top notch. Actors were solid except for the "friend." He seemed to be pulled from nowhere. More of a story point than an acting point.
So from the technical aspect of lighting and focus and good solid filming you obviously get an A. From the overall theme/ prop aspect, not such a good grade. The story has been done to death and lacks originality. I believe I read somewhere the camera is a webcam on her computer monitor?
Would I watch the film again? Likely once more. But it wouldn't be my choice of fun films to watch repeatedly.
Pretty pictures but not a pretty story.

[Mark Johnson]

... So from the technical aspect of lighting and focus and good solid filming you obviously get an A. From the overall theme/ prop aspect, not such a good grade. The story has been done to death and lacks originality. ... Pretty pictures but not a pretty story.

Really appreciate the comments and especially that you took the time to watch the film with a critical eye. We had a ball making this one and I REALLY appreciate your kudos on the technical side. We're trying hard to master a lot of technical chops and it is gratifying to feel we are making progress. I understand your comments about the story and we value your observations.

[Anthony Pierce]

This story has been done so many times, you know what’s coming, but I really didn’t care. The camera, lighting and acting was superb. Great work…

[Mark Johnson]

Thanks Anthony, for the compliments. I do find it interesting that the story plays, to some, as a very familiar plot. The original emphasis of the story was the use of the internet which makes impersonating someone extremely easy and plausible (something that you have to admit is a relatively new phenomenom). What this tells me is that what is reading as predictable is the conclusion (admittedly very much a "Double Indemnity" or "Body Heat" scenario.

This is valuable insight and, as a writer, it is helpful to consider how we could have taken the novel part of the story (the internet subterfuge) and made it more prominent while not playing out the conclusion with the ambush scene. On the other hand, some people particularly enjoy seeing new takes on familiar themes or even complete rehashes if done well. It all reminds me that the same story can be told many different ways and some of those ways are much better than others. In our case we originally had a complete rough edit of the film that played out in a linear fashion per the script. What ended up as the cut you see in this festival is a RADICALLY altered version that jettisoned some specatular scenes that you'll see in the grabs posted at the head of the thread because we elected to use the flashback approach to set things up. What a great lesson this was! First, it shows the power of editing and, second, it shows that getting this stuff done in time to allow you to REALLY work on cutting is probably one of the most important things you can do. Had we not given Tim the time to work through multiple edits we would have had a much, much weaker film.

Anyway, I thank each and every person who has contributed comments here because we evaluate ourselves largely on the feedback the film generates. Our goal is to do better every time and hopefully take to heart the response of a very passionate and discriminating filmmaking audience.

[artofsuntzu]

What ended up as the cut you see in this festival is a RADICALLY altered version

Yeah, I remember your early FrameForge posts showed your story starting in a linear way.

I'm glad you made the changes, because it was a darn fun ride. It was gorgeous! Every frame was a beauty shot. Please, make a DVD with bonus features on your lighting setups.

And your editing; there was so much energy injected into the pacing by using the flashback approach.

So professional, so glossy, so top-ranking. Wow.

[Mark Johnson]

THANKS artofsuntzu. How do you feel your own previz turned out now that you've finished your film (I must confess I haven't watched yours yet, but will be doing so this afternoon).

We appreciate so much your kind words.

[Mark Johnson]

We had to give up a lot of gorgeous scenes in this 6-minute version due to simple lack of time. I thought I'd post this breakdown of a frame effect that didn't make it into the film, but which is still one of my favorite shots in the longer version:

http://www.archivisuals.com/clickhere.jpg (http://www.archivisuals.com/CraneEffect.jpg)

[Darkline]

Hi Mark,

I am so glad to be able to say this but you and your team have made a great short film here. It's rare I don't have any minor comment or issue with a short film (such is my over inflated ego critique), but this was spot on.

Everything from the well handled script to the technical execution was faultless. Normally it's one or the other; either the script is good but the tech isnt up there or vica versa. I rarely see both hit the mark. This did.

I'm so glad you've produced something that finally shows what you're capable of, as your other entries have been compromised due to lack of time.

Great work, well done, the best I've seen so far.... I've nothing else to say ;-)

[Zak Forsman]

please, please, please tell me there will be a longer cut that follows the originally intended structure.

[Mark Harris]

Agreed. As I watched this several more times, I really think this is a case where, as good as it is, it would benefit from more time to allow you guys to get even deeper. Will there be another cut?

Oh yeah, Jack and I were talking yesterday about feeling old around guys like Tim, that show such a sure hand as a director and editor at such a wee age.

Screw you, Tim. I mean, best of luck in your career. :)

[Slimothy]

Agreed. As I watched this several more times, I really think this is a case where, as good as it is, it would benefit from more time to allow you guys to get even deeper. Will there be another cut?

Oh yeah, Jack and I were talking yesterday about feeling old around guys like Tim, that show such a sure hand as a director and editor at such a wee age.

Screw you, Tim. I mean, best of luck in your career. :)

We're doing a longer version that includes an homage to the true concept of beauty-flowing blonde hair, sexy aloof attitude and the appearance of sexual availability. All of this of course as a result of your performance in Dead Beauty!

Thanks for the compliments man, I really appreciate it.

[artofsuntzu]

THANKS artofsuntzu. How do you feel your own previz turned out now that you've finished your film (I must confess I haven't watched yours yet, but will be doing so this afternoon).

We appreciate so much your kind words.

Hey, thanks for remembering. The previz helped keep the edit and production true to the story we wanted to tell. Whew.

But, the technical (DP, sound) needs loads of outside help.

Anway, it's work like yours that inspires guys like me to even take the filmmaking risk.

So, thank you for making such an entertaining short.

I am curious, though, has anyone ever tried managing the DVXuser festival talent pool with the goal of making a full length feature for real distribution? The talent is definitely around here.

[hoopman]

We had to give up a lot of gorgeous scenes in this 6-minute version due to simple lack of time. I thought I'd post this breakdown of a frame effect that didn't make it into the film, but which is still one of my favorite shots in the longer version:

http://www.archivisuals.com/clickhere.jpg (http://www.archivisuals.com/CraneEffect.jpg)

Cool stuff ..... !

[Zim]

I just watched and really enjoyed it.

[Slimothy]

Yeah, I remember your early FrameForge posts showed your story starting in a linear way.

I'm glad you made the changes, because it was a darn fun ride. It was gorgeous! Every frame was a beauty shot. Please, make a DVD with bonus features on your lighting setups.

And your editing; there was so much energy injected into the pacing by using the flashback approach.

So professional, so glossy, so top-ranking. Wow.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to mill around and see if we have any BTS highlighting some of Geoff's setups. I always say "We need to shoot BTS this time!" Then it gets too hectic and everybody forgets about it.

Thanks for the comment on the editing, it was stressful at times, but one of my favorite parts. (If the footage is good, of course :))

[Jared Meyer]

Ok, I've been meaning to come back to this and post more thoughts...This short still stands as one of the best in the fest. Having watched it a couple times I'm now coming back to bring up the three (mostly very minor) problems I had with it.

1. The male lead's acting faltered a bit at points. Very minor. For the most part he was pretty good.

2. The blood effect needed a little work.

3. Why did she have to kill him? I felt this just wasn't motivated enough. (I had the same problem with Geoff's film GFH and a couple other shorts, actually) it's not that a cheating wife having her husband killed is completely unbelievable, but even in the movie world it's an act of extreme hatred/rage/desperation. It needs more explanation than just, well, she was cheating on him. There are many many other alternatives she would have considered before she got to that point and maybe those could have been alluded to somehow?

Ok, I guess I have a 4th problem :) The reveal of the other guy as the actual lover at the very end was similarly unmotivated. If there was some sort of hint earlier on it could have all paid off really well. As it was, it felt too much like you were just throwing a twist at us for the sake of throwing a twist.

Hope that doesn't take away from my compliments - I really did like this one. A lot. If this is where you stand now, I expect your next short to make Jack cry. :) Good work, all of you guys!

[Geoff_R]

I finally saw this today and you guys did one heck of a job. Tim, nice work on the edit. It really works, really moves, keeping us engaged throughout the entirety of the piece. I don't even want to know how many hours you logged on the editing bay doing this...

It was a pleasure working with all you guys and gals!

[Slimothy]

Thanks for the comments guys. It means a lot to us and bear with me as I make my rounds. I'm trying to get to everybody's.

Geoff-You rock dude we had such a good time and I can't wait till the next one!

[Blaine]

please, please, please tell me there will be a longer cut that follows the originally intended structure.
We are DEFINITELY going to be doing a longer version (with the original structure). After we have a chance to see how it plays out we MAY tweak the structure a bit, who knows...

[Matty_g]

The "Director's" cut.

[Chris Messineo]

I started watching all the films in alphabetical order, but I got as far as the M's and I couldn't take it anymore and I broke down and watched your film.

Professional. Everything about it was top notch.

The story, the acting, the cinematography, the sound, the edit, the score. I loved it all.

You set the bar really high.

What happened to getting really drunk and messing it all up in post? :)

[KenV]

Great Looking, great story, great actress (not actors), great score (though in my mind it seemed a bit too much for what was needed), great short film. Almost like watching a trailer that happened to be a movie in its entirety.

My only complaint was sound design, not score.

[Zak Forsman]

My only complaint was sound design, not score.

can you be specific? and how would you fix it?

[Zander]

Where the Heart Lies get's my vote. AWESOME film.

[Slimothy]

Where the Heart Lies get's my vote. AWESOME film.

Thanks so much Zander! Really glad you stopped by and checked it out.

[Mark Johnson]

Been on airplanes all day. Snapped this shot over Utah with my iPhone. http://www.archivisuals.com/Utah.jpg

Now that I'm settled into the Midwest I'm looking forward to watching the films I haven't been able to see. This has been a great fest and I'm humbled by the talent on display this time around.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Wtf? Was totally with this until the gunshot...

Good mood, good cinematography. If the story had a real ending this would be incredible.

[Tom Marshall]

It's obvious a lot of work went into making this. It shows such a great progression over the past entries. Very nice job on everything.

This was visually stunning. Geoff has a real talent for cinematography. I know in another thread that he said directing is harder that cinematography, but he's wrong. He's got such a natural talent for lighting stuff that it seems easy to him. I assure you most people can't get the kind of result that he gets.

Tim's a very talented guy. He knows that I'm more than a bit jealous of the job he did with this... a big complement as it was very well executed. The talent doesn't just lie with the directing job that he did, but he also cut the hell out of it. He knew what to keep and what to get rid of, and that's a BIG part of what makes a movie a success. It must be from all the music videos that he's done in the past.

As far as acting, I think the male lead did a very good job with the role and dialog. I'm not sure what Brandon was referring to. I didn't see anything weak about his performance. Ana was definitely the strongest actor, so maybe that's what threw him off? I honestly don't know why he said the guy was so terribly bad. I didn't see it and I've been an actor for a long time.

Also, I don't know why Brandon made his comments about the story and the script. The writing was excellent. There were no plotholes at all. Very solid script and story which was executed well.

Shot breakdowns

The opening shot reminded me of Secret Window where Johnny Depp was sitting in his Jeep, pondering about the hotel room. Good just setting that up. I know that wasn't the original editing / story design, but it worked well. I would keep that as the opening shot whether you decided to make the edit more linear or not.

I liked the shot of the motel sign. More of Mark's mysterious movie magic. :thumbsup:

Ana does a great job with the sexy flirting with the other guy in the dinner scene. The whole time I'm thinking... wow, what a bitch.

In the bar - The friend wasn't that great of an actor. He seems to be the weakest of the 4. Nothing you can do about that, though. It's not that he's not that great of an actor... the other performances were just much better than his.

I like how she knows both Blaine and Bullis from the emails... :laugh:

The editing of the whole email sequence was nice... to her laying on the couch in the black outfit giggling over the email.

The dutch angle of him walking down the hallway was perfect for that scene.

The gunshot needs to be redone, but I know that was a time-crunch issue. It should be fine in the end cut.

Good ending. The guy who played the room service guy was horribly miscast by the way... just wanted to point that out...

Great job, guys! This is a gateway short for even bigger and better things. :beer:

[Blaine]

Good ending. The guy who played the room service guy was horribly miscast by the way... just wanted to point that out...

Great job, guys! This is a gateway short for even bigger and better things. :beer:Thanks, Tom. We definitely won't make that mistake again...:grin::grin:

[Blaine]

It is amazing and sometimes terrifying what people will do in the name of love. Crimes of Passion.

SPOILERS:














Love makes people sometimes act in irrational ways. And what could be more irrational than to kill a husband to obtain his wife? And what kind of relationship will that lead to down the road? It is certainly my desire to revisit this subject.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

I really enjoyed this movie, but still don't understand the ending. Seriously, can you explain it? The friend, who had no contact with the wife, suddenly killed the husband to get the wife? Did she know? Was she expecting Sean to walk through the door? I don't get it.

But I did love the direction, the acting and the cinematography.

[Mark Johnson]

I really enjoyed this movie, but still don't understand the ending. Seriously, can you explain it? The friend, who had no contact with the wife, suddenly killed the husband to get the wife? Did she know? Was she expecting Sean to walk through the door? I don't get it.

But I did love the direction, the acting and the cinematography.


Look carefully at the last scene. Lisa picks up the phone and calls Jack and asks, "How's my husband?" ... Obviously, she was in on the plan to get rid of Matt. Then she closes with, "I love you. ..." They clearly have been having an affair for some time. Thus, when you think back on the scene where Matt confides in Jack that he's setting up his wife, you can see that he unwittingly gave the two of them the vehicle to get rid of him. The whole e-mail correspondence was a double deception in this light.

Sorry this didn't seem clear enough, but we deliberately wanted to not spoon feed and hoped people would enjoy piecing together what occurred.

Thanks for the nice compliments too. I can honestly say that if anything didn't work for you it was Tim's fault. :)

[Beat Takeshi]

You guys did a kick ass job on this. A giant difference from your other entries in the past. Um...yeah I think she gets hottest chick in the fest award. The story was simple but yet engaging and the acting was on point. If there is anything that bothered me it was the head getting blown off. It was a little cheesy to have the blood splash after such a perfectly executed short both technically and acting wise. I don't think it needs it. I don't even think you need to even see him getting shot. Leave it up to the imagination.
Cinematically, well Geoff. Nuff Said...

[Robert Eldon]

Where the Heart Lies
Really great camera work. Good sound, but the dialog was hard to understand at times. I liked the ‘flashbacks’ between the story of what happened and the current story with him at the motel. The aspect ratio seemed like 2.5:1 and was utilized very well.

The acting was good although I didn’t really care about the girl character (conniving bi***) or the guy because there was no relationship there.

Actually, displaying ‘Blaine’ in her email program was a funny reference, but took me out of the story. :)

Favorite shot was moving from behind the wagon wheel as he walks down the motel walkway. It would have been nice to have a little more light in the background. The imagery was great. I also liked the shot of the girl in the kitchen, at the laptop, with the sun streaming in.

The ending was especially well done. I think the editing was best at this point. Really good tension being built. Again, didn’t really care about the guy getting shot and the ‘best friend’ offing him? The ending (payoff) didn't seem to have a 'set up'. I watched the film a couple of times and saw no connection?

Overall, very cinematic. Engaging story but didn’t care about the characters. Very well done!

[Slimothy]

Thanks so much for the reviews people! One of the best things about these fests is you automatically get so many people to watch your films over night. Then you get to see what people liked, loved and disliked.

I really do appreciate all of your comments and I'm still making my rounds on other people's threads.

Tim.

[William_Robinette]

Beautiful film guys. The ending threw me for a minute but I started putting it together and I really love how you closed the piece. Cinematography was top notch.

Add another hottie award.

[Blaine]

Beautiful film guys. The ending threw me for a minute but I started putting it together and I really love how you closed the piece. Cinematography was top notch.

Add another hottie award.Glad you were able to piece together, William. Thanks for stopping by and checking it out.

[Danielleus]

Just checked out the film. Great great great. It was really outstanding. Geoff's work speaks for itself. I like that it was an entire film in and of itself. Not much more to say but how much I really enjoyed it. Good work team!!!!!

[Mark Johnson]

Thanks so much Danielleus for the enthusiastic comments. It means a lot to have people here who we really respect telling us they recognize the effort we put into this.

I also appreciate so much the attention to constructive critique that is apparent this time around. I've been reading the exchanges on Como's thread and it is particularly encouraging to see people passionate about getting their points across. More than once people have disagreed (sometimes emphatically) but the disputes have been handled with civility and without flaming. Too often in the past the comments have been saccharine-laced "feel good" strokes. It's nice to be able to hear honest critiques and learn from them. I think Jack Stanley really did a service to everyone by posting his thoughtful notes regarding criticism in the context of these festivals.

I can truly say that the whole Fat Monster team is humbled by the talent and experience represented on this board. You've all been an amazing family and our collective future looks very bright indeed.

[Arrik]

Wow... just wow. Finally got a chance to watch it. I am stunned. High quality production, and why not? Look at all the talented people in your credits.

I was engaged from the get-go. Darkness, malice, jealousy, betrayal, all resonate through the film. It is really brought out by the score and lighting. Ofcourse, the acting/direction makes it happen. Your lead portrayed a vulnerability in his expression that really gave me the sense of the lengths he'd go for her. That said, I didnt mind the head shot because I was expecting someone to get shot, just not him. It was a surprise and very climactic.

Geoff is amazing.

She definitely wins the hottie award.

I'm proud to participate in a festival with this caliber of filmmaking.

[Blaine]

I didnt mind the head shot because I was expecting someone to get shot, just not him. It was a surprise and very climactic.
Thanks for catching that. Matt taking a gun to the motel was a pickup shot a week after we thought we had finished.

[Mark Johnson]

Arrik,

We blush at your kind words. The FAT MONSTER team wants to come to Queens and just sit around with some beers at your place and listen to you read that review a few times.

[Brandon Rice]

Yo guys, just wanted to let you know that your film was in my top three... voted this evening!

[kurtmo]

Personally, I don’t like uncomfortable stories. And this was one of those. You did your job very well, so good work!

[HorseFilms]

I love it!

Everything was absolutely superior. The lighting and camera work were fantastic. Very natural and interesting.

I love how you were able to weave a plot with that much substance in such a short running time. You're sucked into the story right away and it doesn't let go.

You did a great job with casting as well. All of the actors are top notch and their performances are spot on. Nice work!

A brilliant entry!:beer:

[Kdawg]

Yeah, fantastic job on everything in the film, great story within the time constraints. How did you get the lettering on the emails on film? That was the only thing that seemed pixelated or something to me.

[Blaine]

Personally, I don’t like uncomfortable stories. And this was one of those. You did your job very well, so good work!Thanks for taking the time to stop by, Kurtmo. It is definitely a look at the "dark side."


I love it!

Everything was absolutely superior. The lighting and camera work were fantastic. Very natural and interesting.

I love how you were able to weave a plot with that much substance in such a short running time. You're sucked into the story right away and it doesn't let go.

You did a great job with casting as well. All of the actors are top notch and their performances are spot on. Nice work!

A brilliant entry!:beer:Thanks a lot for watching, Horse. I'm looking forward to seeing something from you again. SOON. I love the way you handle your lighting schemes.:beer::beer::beer:


Yeah, fantastic job on everything in the film, great story within the time constraints. How did you get the lettering on the emails on film? That was the only thing that seemed pixelated or something to me.I seem to remember that the emails were shot on the screen. I could be wrong on that and Tim, Mark or Geoff might have a better answer. Thanks for taking the time to watch.

[Aaron Marshall]

This film had many great facets. The acting was well above average. Geoff's DPing was right on the money. That was a very nice score Justin. There were moments when I thought to myself, "Is this Edgen?", but other times when I did not think so. There's some sort of new energy in your music.

I'm particularly keen when it comes to deciphering a story or film's cryptic messages. I "got" this film, but "getting it" didn't seem nearly as rewarding as the journey. I think that if the ending edit's rhythm wasn't so compressed it would be way better. The edit seemed to move way faster than the script at that point. I imagined.

[Zak Forsman]

Geoff's DPing was right on the money.
that's what she said. http://images.dvdtalk.com/images/smilies/naughty.gif

[Mark Johnson]

How did you get the lettering on the emails on film? That was the only thing that seemed pixelated or something to me.

The e-mails were shot on an LCD screen using the HVX and adapter. I've given some thought to how to better shoot those and I'm thinking that perhaps it would be best to compose them in PhotoShop at higher resolution so that you don't get that pixelated effect.

I originally thought about having the messages scrolling and panning as semi-transparent elements similar to the approach we used for our opening titles for In Extremis (the film suffered greatly from having no time to put it together BUT the title sequence was the one thing that people agreed was pretty cool. You can see it HERE (http://www.dvxuser.mikkowilson.com/hallowsfest/MarkJohnson_Slimothy_INEXTREMIS.mov).)

I do believe we'll revisit those e-mails for the next cut and I would be interested if anyone has suggestions or advice too.

[bosindy]

I liked the emails, they are meant to look like they are on a computer, and I liked that you showed just a bit of the sentences to get the idea

[Slimothy]

I liked the emails, they are meant to look like they are on a computer, and I liked that you showed just a bit of the sentences to get the idea

I think it looks more like a person is looking at the screen the way it is now.

The text is actually only pixelated because we didn't have a macro to shoot it with. We actually had to zoom in on the text as much as it would possibly go on the computer itself because of something I've come to know as "hyper-focal distance."

Using the adapter we had to have the camera a certain distance away for anything to be in focus. So you can't just put the camera a foot from the screen we had to be back like 2 - 3 feet.

Also, we were forced to use the adapter because without it the screen looked a lot worse for some reason.

[cinebuddy]

Awesome script, lighting, and cinematography as well as the actors performances were on point. Definitely the total package!

[Blaine]

I like to take this opportunity to throw a huge thanks, Justin Durban's (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/member.php?u=12891) way. We were thrilled when we heard how perfectly his score worked with this cut.

[Edgen]

:)

ummm... "Durban"

Thank you blaine and everyone. I've noticed some comments say the music is a little 'too' much. Perhaps in the next cut, I can tone it down some?

cheers!
/j

[Ted Arabian]

Justin, I don't remember your music being "too much" for my taste. This film had "BIG BUDGET FEATURE" written all over it and I thought that your music complimented it perfectly. But what do I know? :)

Great job!

[Slimothy]

I disagree Justin. I really dig it and think it is great how it is.

If anyone is thinking about hiring this madman I would say he is worth every penny. The dude totally kicks ass.

[Ted Arabian]

Hey guys and Justin... just watched WTHL again (for like the 15th time!). The music is wonderful! I think it is totally apropos throughout the film. It kicks butt!

........

On a different note, I've been meaning to ask. How did you get this film up without the black bars? Is it an HVX thing?

I shot mine on the DVX100B in squeeze and then cropped to 2.35:1. But I couldn't find a way to export it in that aspect ratio without the black bars. And I know that I wasted a lot of my file size on those damn things!

Your compression is beautiful. I know that Blaine is likely responsible for this. And I am sure that it help to not have to be compressing with all of that unused exported real estate.

I would love to learn this.

Thanks guys. Amazing film to watch!

-Ted

[Blaine]

Your compression is beautiful. I know that Blaine is likely responsible for this. And I am sure that it help to not have to be compressing with all of that unused exported real estate.

I would love to learn this.I'd like to take full credit for it. I was ready to do it on my computer but it is so slow compared to the MacBook Pro. It would have taken 90 minutes on mine...I think it was 35-40 minutes on the MBP. We started Compressor on the MBP and I wasn't familiar with the new interface and got lost. Zak, got us back on the right track. We still had to do some experimenting to get the size under 50 MB and we were bumping up against the deadline...so what else is new...