UNZEIT by Frank Glencairn

[Postmaster]

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7174/poste2rea1.jpg


Poster in Progress

[Postmaster]

Here are some BTS from our first shooting day.

A scene in a military Hospital - late 40s.

Frank

[Postmaster]

Script is allmost done, cast is casted, locations nailed down.

Here are the first tests of set extension/matte painting.

Frank

[Matthew R. Rodwell]

Looks great, good luck to you!

[Ted Arabian]

Very Cool! Welcome to the fest.

So, how do you use those mattes in your film? Green screen?

I can't wait to see the results... I hope that you post plenty of documentation along the way. I know very little about this technique.

Good luck to you,

-Ted

..........................

okay, I have tried to google the meaning of you title. Care to share???

[Postmaster]

That matte will be used with grenscreen, others only as backdrop or set extension.

Frank

[Ted Arabian]

That is very cool, Frank

I do hope that you share more of the process here. As I stated, I know nothing about using mattes.

[Matthew R. Rodwell]

Ted you should check out Vue6. ILM used it for matte shots on Pirates of the Carribean 2. Its a pretty small learning curve compaired to many other programs in its class and it produces some amazing results.

http://www.e-onsoftware.com/products/vue6/

[Mark Harris]

that vue software looks pretty awesome. I am totally resetting my film in a forest.

[Ted Arabian]

Wow, that is cool. Thanks Matt. I really would like to learn about all of this sometime.

[Postmaster]

Just finisherd an other plate.

1. Original shot
2. painting out the cars
3. add the previous backplate I allready done and extend the lower floor
4. war damage
5. wet street and fog

Frank

[Ted Arabian]

Frank, that is very cool.

[Ki-Ki]

Been saving up to get Vue Infinite for a while now, intend on using it for some important shots in my Timefest thing. Looks like a great piece of kit. Loving the images. :)

[Postmaster]

Yeah, I love to work with Vue. But rendering even brings my macho renderfarm down to its knees.

If you throw everything in an hour for a frame is nothing in HD.

Frank

[Matthew R. Rodwell]

Yeah render time is killer, im bumping up my RAM to 8gigs for that program.

[Postmaster]

The final cast (well... so far):

Tom Barath as Jack Dickens

Juergen Petter as Nathan Winetraub

Jenny Papenguth and Sabina Bersa as Nurses

Barbara Heisl as Leah Winetraub

Steffanie Schwarz as Elsa Schneider

Chriss Kress and Nuge Bersa as GIs

[tmnt]

Looking really good mate.

[Simon Höfer]

Looks really good what you've got so far.

Will this one be in german with english subtitles? Or in english?

Looking forward to your entry. Btw, where are you located in germany?

[Postmaster]

It will be in english only (there is one german line in it, that will have subtitles)

My location is Augsburg.

Frank

[Postmaster]

Just updated the poster and changed the underline to "The Moebius Effect" after improofing the script.

Hope you guys like it.

Frank

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7174/poste2rea1.jpg

[Simon Höfer]

Poster looks really good! Love that Moebius band :)

[Simon Höfer]

Looks really good! Love that moebius band :)

[Postmaster]

The idea behind it is, that - in the ancient world- time was belived by many sholars to be circular.

Now if you take a circle and ad a second dimension it becomes a strip like a ring of film stock.

If you ad a twist in that film (pun intended) strip and glue it back together you get that Moebius ribbon while adding a 3th dimension that allows you to go from one side to the other without ever crossing the rim.

That´s what the film is about.

Frank

[Postmaster]

Here are some screengrabs from our first shooting day.

The scene is in a military hospital, late 40s.

I also updated some BTS on page one of that thread.

Frank

....and, yeah I know - the french flag came in a bit.

[Simon Höfer]

Stills look good!

How many shooting days do you have?

[jasonthewho]

Looking good, excited to see it.

[Postmaster]

We have 5 more days to go.
It will be verry thight, cause most of my talent´s working night and weekend shift at Audi and in a hospital. So It´s pretty hard to get everybody together.

In the moment I write my To-Do Lists on toilet paper rolls ;-)

Frank

[Mark Johnson]

Wow! All I can say is that these stills are the bomb. Whoa! This looks fantastic!

[Postmaster]

Here are some more BTS photos and the first CCed shots.



Frank

[Zoidoid]

Killer grabs! I love to see photography from people who know how to properly control austere white environments.

Funny that you should be using smoke in these scenes. Just this morning I was reading Stu Manschwitz's Rebel's Guide where he talks about filling the room with smoke to give it a more film-like look. It's very interesting that in your BTS shots it seems so severe, but then in the stills it looks just right.

[Postmaster]

O.K. here are the Outtakes.

Have fun, Frank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV6MyMWeRos

[Simon Höfer]

Great :D

[Mark Harris]

Yeah, we used smoke on my past two shorts, including our timefest entry to give the room some depth and texture. It's a great technique.

Grabs looking good!!!!

[Postmaster]

That smoke sure helps a lot. I got a little "Fogstorm" smoker that filled that entire large room (about 250 square meters) in 2 minutes.
One of the best investments I evar made.

I almost always use smoke/haze. For better distribution I blow the fog in a large fan.

Frank

[Mark Johnson]

What adapter are you using for this Frank?

[Ted Arabian]

Hey Frank! Seems like you and I have similar taste in titles!

Good luck. I enjoyed your clip and the grabs!

-Ted

[Postmaster]

The adapter is a LEX on a HVX.
The secret is a set of old (50s or 60s) Zeiss medium format lenses.

I did some tests with a Nikon 50/1.4 - verry nice and razor sharp, but switched to the old Zeiss Biometar (80/2.8) and Flektagon (50/2.8)lenses.

They do some magic I can not explain, but is somehow more pleasing to the eye.

Frank

[Mark Johnson]

...They do some magic I can not explain, but is somehow more pleasing to the eye.

Amen to that. These frames are incredibly film-like. I love how this looks.

[Postmaster]

I´m glad to anounce that we now have signed George Clooney (who`s real name is Nuge Bersa) to play the role of Captain Jackson.. :laugh:

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5155/clooneyje1.jpg

[Postmaster]

Here´s some updates.
Sunday we did 3 more scenes.

It was a nightmare!

1. Ruined some props
2. Ruined the FW cable (hope it´s not the socket on the camera)
3. Computer freezes every view takes (Onlocation)
4. run out of time all the day (we had 3 locations to go- 12 different setups)
5. run out of batteries in the last hour
6. found out that I have everything with me but the powwer supply of the HVX - duh!

On the other hand my talents (who never where acting bevore) are real talentet. We got some beautyfull and dramatic shots.

Here are som BTS phoros. I post some grabs later.

Frank

...and yeah, the fat guy in the hula shirt eating sandwiches is me.

[Postmaster]

Here are the grabbs

[Michael T]

These lenses look great. Your right they give it a nice quality and it must be magic. Good lenses make so much difference with capturing skin tone and giving that overall feel. Well lighting the scene properly helps a little to.

What kind of lights are you using in these shots. Flo or Tun or what.

[Postmaster]

2 Soft-Boxes with 120W Flou Bulbs. And 2 Fresnells.

Frank

[Mark Johnson]

I am once again stunned and delighted to see your work. What great set and wardrobe you have going on here. And those actors are so convincingly placed in the period. If your story rocks you very well may walk away with the big prize Frank. We are all so fortunate to have you and your team join this community. I am really looking forward to seeing your film and having you dissect it afterwards given the hard work and innovative approach you've obviously taken. Wonderful stuff, man.

[Postmaster]

Thank´s for your warm words Mark. I too hope the story holds up to the pictures :)

We doo our very beste here but all you guys have also wonderfull projects ongoing - not sure if we can compete those.

I´m almost a 1-man crew and did the screenplay, DOP, gaffer, grip, directing, editing, sound, VFX, make-up andwhatnot.

I got my girfriend doing the mic boom and making sandwiches for us.

All the actors never where in front of a camera.

And the budget... what budget?

So we are a bit limited but everyone here is doing his best.

Frank

[Postmaster]

Damn! After driving 70 miles yesterday I realized I forgot the Letus - DUH!

So I shot plain HVX. And NO SIR! - zooming in for DOF is no substitute for an adapter.

Now I have to try to match yesterdays footage with the adapter footage. Yeah right, great fun.

Tomorrow is the last day for shooting and then we´r wrapped.

Meanwhile I have some new Outtakes for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7BrZkOd56s

Have fun.

Frank

[Postmaster]

W R A P P E D !

Post some pics laster.

Frank

[Maximus]

Looks great!

[Simon Höfer]

Congrats! :)

[Horncastle]

It's about time I said this: great poster, great grabs, great matte painting, great outtakes.... Congratulations on wrapping it and I'm really looking forward to the finished film.

[Mark Harris]

Congrats. We just finished our final post last night. Cant believe it's only a week till upload.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Congrats. We just finished our final post last night. Cant believe it's only a week till upload.Stop reminding me! :D

This piece looks really interesting. Looking forward to seeing it.

Cheers!

Mike

[Gohanto]

" All great truth begins with blasphemy!"

Please tell me that's the tagline to your movie.

(Btw, grabs look awesome and very impressive)

[Postmaster]

Nope, that´s the tagline of my live.

Still working on my entry.

I have scenes with 45 layers in After Effects and the computers keep chrashing.

I think it´s time to get a bit nervous now.
Looks like I gonna make it in the last minute.

Frank

[Mark Harris]

Those are really nice composites Frank. The completed one seems almost seemless...I love it when EFX are used in such a way that you would never know. I also love your creativity in visualizing how they can be used in this kind of story, as opposed to say, a sci-fi story...nice stuff, looking forward to your entry. So get crackin'!!!!

[Ben Sliker]

i agree with mark, those stills are beautifully done, and it's always interesting to see the method behind the madness. I'm looking forward to seeing them in motion.

[Postmaster]

The method behind the madness is sheer madness :beer:

To be honest - in the moment I´m going nuts on one of my key (pun intended) scenes.

I shoot it with greensceen in a natural lit non controllable enviroment - a park.

The light is was changing every scond - sun - clouds - sun - the wind was blowing in the greencreen wich causes pretty deep crinkles that cause hevy shadows. To make it even worse it´s out a focus and I forgot to turn on the vibrating GG on the LEX.

FUBAR as can be - almost impossible to pull a clean key.

Well I got almost 40 hours to go.

How long does the upload take?

Frank

[Mark Johnson]

Jeez, Frank. Those are SUH-WEET!!!! Don't be a pussy. 40 hours is an eternity. Hell, we're still shooting our movie, so don't start complaining man!

[Postmaster]

Don't be a pussy.

Mark, you always find the perfect words to remotivate a desperate guy. :D hehehehe!

After a long nightshift, I think I nailed it down as good as possible.
So now after a view extra strong coffees I start finetune and finnishing.

Frank

[Gohanto]

I'll echo the earlier comments that those composites look amazing. Nothing flashy about them either, just setting the movie's location and tone which is a great and subtle use of it.

[Postmaster]

Thanks guys.

All of my "visual FX" could have done in "hardware" (rain, lettering, window dressing and what not) but having absolute no budget for props and rain systems (not to mention that the whole film was made without spending any cent) I have to do everything in post.


Frank

[Erez Henya]

Incredible. I'm caught at it.

[Postmaster]

OHMYGAWD! The turkish team won a game in european soccer championship. Now every turkish guy and his kid brother (we have about 100000 here in town) is crusing up and down the roads while honking the horn since almost an hour. :violin:

...oh, by the way - I´m done!

Yes Sir, just finished final editing.
The compression is still running, but I hope I can start uploading in about half an hour.

Frank

[Simon Höfer]

Awesome! Now there are 2 German entries finished. Have to wait for the third one now.

Really looking forward to your film Frank :)

[Postmaster]

UPLOADED!

Yess Yessss Yessssssss! SIR! Finaly done.

After almost 48 hours editing and postwork I now fall in my bed and sleep forever.

good night, Frank

[Simon Höfer]

Congratulations!

[wesley]

lol glad you were able to enter it, good luck

[sfoster]

Just curious, is this Moebius as in Moebius Syndrome?

[Mark Johnson]

Hey Frank, Simon has been boasting how his film is going to destroy yours. He posted this yesterday:

NO AIR is going to clean UNZEIT's clock. Frank is going to be coming to Cologne to study film after this fest.

And Susanne claims her entry is going to be the top Deutschland winner. She said:

Frank and Simon are going to learn that just running a camera isn't enough. Our story will make theirs seem like bad remakes from the Brothers Grimm.

Pretty big talk and strong words. Are you going to be a pussy and take that or are you going to respond appropriately?

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

The composite shots look amazing!

This one will be near the top of my list.

Cheers,

Mike

[Postmaster]

Hey Frank, Simon has been boasting how his film is going to destroy yours. He posted this yesterday:

And Susanne claims her entry is going to be the top Deutschland winner. She said:

Pretty big talk and strong words. Are you going to be a pussy and take that or are you going to respond appropriately?

Nice try of "divide et imperia" Mark.

But nothing will stop the glorious German Troika!

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/5800/troikaoq2.jpg

[Postmaster]

Just curious, is this Moebius as in Moebius Syndrome?

Nah, technically it´s about a Moebius strip as an representation of a time anormaly.

The Möbius strip is a surface with only one side and only one boundary component. It has the mathematical property of being non-orientable. It is also a ruled surface.

A model of a Möbius strip can be constructed by joining the ends of a strip of paper with a single half-twist. A line drawn starting from the seam down the middle will meet back at the seam but at the "other side". If continued the line will meet the starting point and will be double the length of the original strip of paper. This single continuous curve demonstrates that the Möbius strip has only one boundary.

http://hw001.gate01.com/kudohiro/Mobius_Strip.jpg

.....and not so technically it´s a twist in time.

Frank

[kurtmo]

Cool poster!

[Susanne G.]

Hello Frank,

where are you? I enjoyed your description of the Moebius Effect. It was really the last message I read last night before I went to bed.

[Postmaster]

So everything is done, upploaded and approved.

Time for a little resume.

This was my fiirst narrative film also the first whre I wrote the script, directing, DOP, Gaffer, editing, visualFX, MakeUp and whatnot.

0 Budget
1 HVX
2 Liters of Smoke Fluid
3 Days of constant editing and post work
4 Sundays of shooting under time pressure
5 Bottles of Prosecco to relax the talents before shooting
6 Bottles of Valium to relax the Director while shooting
7 Locations about 55 miles appart
8 Wind speed while shooting a big Greenscreen in a park.
9 Hours on the Road
10 Gallons of Water
11 o clock and we are not even at the location
12 Hours of shooting every Sunday
13 Packs of Cigarettes
14 Pounds was the weigt of the full rigged HVX
and 15 Talents that where never in front of a camere before

Frank

[Horncastle]

2. You have an amazing collection of pictures of yourself, in which case I am getting rapidly very curious about your lifestyle!!!Have a look at our private website to answer that question.

http://thesavoy.de/

It is under construction but "Photos" and "Cars" work.

Frank

Aha! Now I begin to understand.

[Mark Johnson]

My God, Frank! I am in TOTAL awe and blown away by the uber coolness of that site!!!!!!!!!!!! And, you are not kidding about that being you in the photo! I'm still pondering those images, but no matter what is real and not real, I am now a complete fan of the FEZ CLUB. How the hell do I get to be a member????

[Horncastle]

Ask, and you shall become one.

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/36723/1213836352.jpg

[Mark Johnson]

That's what I'm talking about. Now I gotta go get one of those tiny little mini-motorcycles.

[Postmaster]

I am now a complete fan of the FEZ CLUB. How the hell do I get to be a member????

You have to do horrible things...real ugly horrible things. :evil:

Like this

http://www.rock-a-billy.ch/picsarch/pics2007/071231fa/images/Fanhams%20(067).jpg

and that

http://www.rock-a-billy.ch/picsarch/pics2007/071231fa/images/Fanhams%20(173).jpg

also that

http://www.rock-a-billy.ch/picsarch/pics2007/071231fa/images/Fanhams%20(122).jpg

and even this

http://www.rock-a-billy.ch/picsarch/pics2007/071231fa/images/Fanhams%20(118).jpg

But you asked - so it will be granted.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB MARK!

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2025/sonswm8.jpg

But I can tell ya, it´s worth it .
Check out some pics of our last new years eve party:

http://www.rock-a-billy.ch/picsarch/pics2007/071231fa/index.htm

Frank

P.S. A little mini camera would do the trick.

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/121500/121983FlNJ_w.jpg

[Mark Johnson]

Good God this is the coolest thing EVER!!! Frank, you are insanely perfect!!!! There is too much to take in, but the robe itself is enough to make me have dreams!!!

[Erez Henya]

14 Pounds was the weigt of the full rigged HVX
15 Talents that where never in front of a camere before

16 hours a day is approximately what my working day as your composer looks like (and really is).

And, ah! that's a nice outfit, Frank!

[Susanne G.]

This is absolutly incredible! Very autentic. I missed Dita von Teese on the fotos for the New Year's Eve fest. Couldn't she come?

[Horncastle]

Check out some pics of our last new years eve party:

http://www.rock-a-billy.ch/picsarch/pics2007/071231fa/index.htm



http://www.worth1000.com/entries/121500/121983FlNJ_w.jpg

Frank, incredible - my mind is absolutely boggled. I'm more curious about your film by the minute (and Erez, I look forward to your score). I also downloaded the Fanhams film (which you presumably made) - it certainly caught the atmosphere and the period.

[Postmaster]

Danke für die Blumen.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Sets and wardrobe were fantastic!
Loved the ending of course.

I also loved the old feel that this movie seemed to have, not just because of the setting. Very cool.

Cheers,

Mike

[Mark Harris]

Frank, this was a lot of fun. I felt like many of the moments were kind of clunky in the war stuff, but nothing that likely wouldn't be solved with more time, crew, etc.

I LOVE the low-budget time passage at the end, with the couples passing in different clothing by the decade.

I have to say, I was laughing at some of the "American" accents. Now I know how other countries must feel when they hear Tom Cruise and the like try to do their accents. :)

Really ambitious project, maybe too much so for a one man band, but honestly I am shocked at how much you got done as a one man band. And this film was entertaining and fun.

Looking forward to the next one you do.

[justin ewart]

Great shots, great acting, good story, excellent work on the backgrounds and costume. But why would the old man perpetuate the cycle if it had such a grizzly outcome? Or did he not know that he stole the watch from himself? That part was confusing....

Overall this was really great and I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. A couple of criticisms, there are a couple of spots where the dialogue doesn't match up with the actors mouths, or where their mouths are moving but no dialog. And In the interrogation scene the sounds of him being hit need some reverb to blend in better with the overall room sound. Otherwise bravo!

[Existentialist]

I really, really, really enjoyed this one a lot!!

Your main actor made me roll on the floor laughing. He was just perfect. It seemed like some of the scenes were a bit over the top (like the interrogation room) but in the end they just fit in perfectly.

Fantastic story, great twist in the end, but most of all, I raise my glass to your main actor.

Great job!!!

[LloydC]

I loved the ending! The sets and costumes were amazing and for a one man team, this film is something to be really proud of. There were some moments where sound could be a little tighter (I'm sure you know where they are), but all our films have some spot that needs tightening.

Great work!

[bosindy]

very ambitious and it hit more than it missed. Well done, I admire the effort.

[wesley]

very ambitious indeed, and a lot of fun to watch.

good job in the fest!

[pia12254]

Beautiful, beautiful look to it! I just went back and read through several old posts to see what you shot with. I guess the HVX, LEX and those old Zeiss lenses really do make for some magic!

Also, the production value and attention to detail was impressive!

I'll have to watch it again to appreciate everything that is in there. (I had to watch the shot of him "aging" several times to realize how the transition took place!) :)

Good job!

Daniel

[Slimothy]

Nice job Frank. This film was one of the few that had it's own "look" to it. There was something about it that made it stand out visually. Can't quite put my finger on it. I think you did an awesome job for a one-man crew.

Keep it up dude!

[Blaine]

Frank, Frank, Frank. I really enjoyed this. I agree with Harris about the American accents but I got over that fast and was engrossed by your story. Really good job on this. Great set extensions with those matte paintings.

When he stepped out of the Watch Shop I was waiting for Rod Serling to step out of the shadows and say, "Submitted for your approval..." This had an incredible Twilight Zone vibe to it. :thumbsup:

[Postmaster]

Thanks Blaine,

Twilight Zone never run here on german TV , but I know it pretty well and that´s exactly what was on my mind while doing the script.
I was even thinking about faking a TZ soundalike music but I thought it may be too cheesy.

Frank

[Mark Johnson]

I, too, thought this was such an incredible story that it deserves a full half hour twilight zone episode at the least. The watch shop scene is extraordinary and your actors were brilliant. What beautiful cinematography, Frank. I am astounded at what you've done here. You Germans are rocking the house! I am totally a fan who cannot wait to see your next entry, sir!

[Postmaster]

I wish I had at least 10 minutes. After shooting I ended up with material for a good 12 and had to cut it down to 6.

That´s the rules and the challange but it speeds some scenes so much up that they bareley work.

I like the tempo where Jack lies inthe bed, blindfolded with the nurse.
And even that scene was much longer.

Frank

[Blaine]

Nothing prevents you for cutting a longer version...like Zak did with IFHY...

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Yup, I'm cutting a longer version myself. I'm going to wait to hear back from everyone first.

Cheers!

Mike

[kurtmo]

Cool film. Now that is what I think of when I think of TimeFest! I think the concept was great, it was late in the film that I got the reveal. I thought the locations were outstanding. The effects were very well done. The music fit nicely.

I think I noticed one spot were the audio was dirty, otherwise it was good. The acting was very twilight zone-ish.

A really nice, nice film. Thanks for sharing it!!!

[totitefilms]

Even though there are some minor glitches with the rain FX and CC at the beginning but overall this is a nicely made movie. I like the story. The lighting and DOF are perfect. You did a great job!

[Simon Höfer]

Wow, great little short you've got there Frank!

I am pretty impressed. I didn't see this coming. I somehow expected an old fashioned war movie. But instead you made excellent fantastic cinema! Something I so often miss in german movies. I don't want to see history and dramas everyday! I want something special, something that doesn't happen in everyday life and you delivered!

Your actors were really good! Good sound (except the cheesy punches). Great costumes and location and great lighting! And the story was also really good! I enjoyed watching it :) Great work Frank!

[Postmaster]

Got a mail from Erez Henya where he asked me about the roll of the two Jews and why I made them so evil (especialy the woman) and if I have a special message in that.

So I try to explain my underlaying idea.

The Möbius concept as a methapher representing the time is not easy to understand.
So I made a film with many "layers" (yeah like onions)

A easy "Twilight Zone" surface for entertainment and some deeper meaning "under the hood"

Sadly I haven´t got the time and cash to do it exactly the way it was in my head - cutting it down to 6 minutes got additional things lost, that will come back in the directors cut.

For exempel the Shop scene:

Layer 1: Entertainment
A Jewish antiques shop.

Layer 2: A hint
Something that looks regular on the first sight or looks like a inaccuracy/looseness or a typo.
If you found that you know that that there is more if you have eyes to see and ears to hear.
If you look close, the sign at the windows says Jewlery not Jewelery.

Layer 3: It was a homage to the novel "The Green Face" ( 1916) by Gustav Meyrink
(the book is on the counter but got cutted out) who´s real name is Gustav Meyr most famous for his novel "The Golem".
In "The Green Face" he describes a a Shop exactly like that.

Layer 4: Gustav Meyr became a member of the "Order of the Golden Dawn" in London in the same year he published that book.
What you hear in the background and sounds like a radio or TV is a play about a Lodge Initiation.

The grade system of the Golden Dawn is a copy of the Ez Chajim, the tree of Live - the Kaballah with his bowls.

Layer 5. (I had to cut that out) When it starts raining, you see 2 Bowls on the floor that catch water from the leaky roof.

One bowl bears the word Gevurah, the other one says Daat. They represent 2 Sefirot (Bowls) of the jewish Kabbalah tree.
I don´t know how good your Hebrew is, but Gevurah is the Sefirot (bowl) of strength, Daat the bowl for wisdom.
Mandelbrot is the wise keeper of time and Leah is the strong guard of the door/passage. (Thats why she sits there)

Leah seem pretty mean but her job is to make sure he pays with real money not virtual money. (That´s why I did not use the term cash)
Why real money? When the dead souls pass over the lake into the otherworld you have to give the ferryman a coin.
It is an old custom to put coins on the eyes of a dead body for that prupose.
Ther is a (cutted) close up of Jack in the shop where you see the reflection of 2 coins on his sun glasses.
The "real money" line represents that coins, cause in the moment he buys the watch his journey begins.

"Seifer (Mandelbrot)" sounds somehow jewish but it is not.
(a little crossover here is that the fundamental basis of the original Order of the Golden Dawn
was a collection of documents known as the Cipher (pronounced Seifer) Manuscripts

But basically it is a homage to the movie "Angel Heart" where the Satan bears the name Luis Seipher (Lucifer).
Is Seifer the Satan? Yes and no.

Who is Satan

Satan means "Accuser"
Job1:7 characterize a Satan as that member of the divine council who watches over human activity, but with the evil purpose of searching out men's sins and appearing as their accuser. He is, therefore, the celestial prosecutor, lawyer who sees only iniquity; for he persists in his evil opinion of Job even after the man of Uz has passed successfully through his first trial by surrendering to the will of God, whereupon Satan demands another test through physical suffering.

So in that sense Seifer is not only the keeper of time he is also a Satan.
He watches (pun intended) the swanky attitude of Jack and makes him to eat his own beans over and over till he learns his lesson
by throwing him into a hell where he dies (physical suffering.)

When Jack leaves the shop he sees a Hebrew "writing on the wall" . (Actually a board - I had to cut that out too)

It says Mene Mene Tekel u Parishim.

It´s a reference to Daniel 5:1–31 and is solved like that:
MENE (literally a "monetary toll" coin for the passage),
TEKEL (literally a "tokenary weight"), you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PARSIN (literally a "division"), you will be divided from your present live.

Tess (the first nurse) is symbolically the angle of hope.
She is there when he wakes up from his death and guides him to his new life, where he has to learn his lesson to be humble and decent..

Dolores the second nurse stands for the angel of peradventure (disbelive) - with her line "he can´t see ya anyway" she expresses the dark side of hope.

Dolores can be seen in 2 scenes with a little girl called Anny Orfan.
Anny represents the innocent lost souls of kids that got killed in insane wars started by insane governments led by guys like Jack.

phew... I can tell you, it´s not easy to express that kind of thoughts in english.

Frank

[Dustin R. Rogan]

In my top 10 great job guys!

Rogan

[pauly_the_hitman]

Great effects interesting story. Good job.

[Susanne G.]

Very, very clever. Compliments Frank. This was a very intelligent repetition in time. Good story and the costumes and the styling of your actors are very authentic. I loved the detail where you used the green screen to show the street and the buildings outside. Compliments!

Susanne

[Barry_Green]

I rarely comment on the films, but this one was startlingly awesome. I was amazed that someone would have the appetite to undertake a six-decade period piece, but you did it and did it surprisingly well. The accents don't really work, but other than that, this was a fantastic accomplishment. Well done.

[Postmaster]

Thanks for chiming in and reviewing Barry.
What do you mean with accents?

Frank

[ZazaCast]

Really well done! Great locations and effects. This one is high on my list. (I love twilight zone... my Mother went to High School with Rod Serling!)
Can't wait to see what you come up with next.
Excellent job!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Thanks for chiming in and reviewing Barry.
What do you mean with accents?

Frank
I think what he means is that the Americans all sounded like they had German accents when they spoke.

Probably how Germans feel when they hear Americans trying to pretend that they have German accents. It usually doesn't sound right.

Mike

[Mobie540]

I got a kick out of the American accents. My favorite part was the passage at time at the end. You definitely have access to some great costumes.

[Matt Sconce]

Cool broadreaching movie. Constumes and cinematography were rockin. Congrats on this movie!

[Duff]

The story is great, but I feel it was too ambitious of a concept. 90% of the awkwardness could have been alleviated by just not making the characters American. They don't sound American at all, so that was just immensely confusing for me. You could just modify the story slightly so that they wouldn't have to be American, and it would still play out the same way. Again, I love the story.

Costume design is great, as is set design. There were a few awkward cuts in there. The bullet effects looked a bit cheesy. The time-lapse at the end was a really cool concept, but it looked as though you used still-frames of the guy on the bench -- I thought my video player had glitched out for a second.

Overall, really cool idea, though perhaps a bit out of reach given the resources you have available. That said, you did do an amazing job with what you have. Congratulations.

[Postmaster]

Initial plan was to do the "time-lapse" scene much longer and with a dolly shot, wich would be much nicer.

But we had some problems with that and run out a time (pun intended)

Then I messed the whole shooting of that scene up.

First: by trying to shoot a big greenscreen in a public park without the chance to controll (quick changing) light and pretty much wind. So it was almost impossible to pull a good key.

Second: in the "heat of the battle" I messed around with the Firestore and at home I found out that I miss all the transition inbetween shots so I had to fake them in Photoshop and use still frames.

Not having the time to do it again is what pisses me off the most in that production.

It´s live and learn

Frank

[totitefilms]

I like your movie. The acting, lighting and DOF are nice. There are some glitches with the rain FX but the overall flow of the story is good. Great job!

[Horncastle]

Frank,

This was a great film and a totally incredible effort for a one-band band. The story (at least level 1!!) worked really well, I loved the cinematography and the special effects got away with it. As far as the other levels are concerned, well ... I'll have to read your explanation again and then I hope I will one day get to see a longer director's cut to see how many I catch. You obviously have a hell of a lot of things churning around in that brain of yours. Your description does, however, give a whole new meaning to the shop scene (the glance that Mandelbrot gives Leah when she says Jack must pay with real money for example).

I don't think that I had such a hard time with the accents as other people, probably because they sounded more English than American. Actually, in my opinion, Jack and the first nurse had perfectly acceptable English accents and the scene with Jack in bed was perfectly convincing. The 3(?) soldiers had more of a problem with their accents, but there too I sense that they would have had an easier time doing an English accent than trying to do an American one. This was, however, a fairly minor problem for me.

Frank, I have no idea how you managed to put all this together, it really is quite amazing. Give you a budget and a crew and I don't know what you would do.

Jason

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Give you a budget and a crew and I don't know what you would do.
Agreed! :thumbsup:

I watched this one again and really enjoyed it.

Cheers,

Mike

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Wow!! I love this idea, the ultimate paradoxal karma ass kick.

Very good job on this!

[Postmaster]

Wow!! I love this idea, the ultimate paradoxal karma ass kick.
!

Bwaha! The ultimate short discription of our film Shawn.

Thanks, Frank

[Ben Sliker]

In the past few days, DVXusers Ben Sliker and Justin Kuhn sat down and chatted over AIM while simultaneously watching the same TIMEFEST films. We call them, "The AIM sessions". Here's their thoughts on "Unzeit"

This is a 'special edition' of the AIM sessions, Assistant Director Brad Mate and 'Woman on Bench' Marie Hartsell have joined the chat from the cast and crew of JAM. This is their fourth "4-person" review.

spesliker (9:47:50 PM): does everyone have unzeit?
happygobo (9:47:57 PM): got it
TheBrad84 (9:48:07 PM): yes
spesliker (9:48:12 PM): nice ready?
happygobo (9:48:22 PM): ready
TheBrad84 (9:48:33 PM): rdy
spesliker (9:48:36 PM): ok
spesliker (9:48:37 PM): 3
spesliker (9:48:38 PM): 2
spesliker (9:48:39 PM): 1
spesliker (9:48:41 PM): go
TheBrad84 (9:49:36 PM): open up, police!
spesliker (9:49:48 PM): HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW.
mariaperky333 (9:49:54 PM): i feel like his beard is going to fall off
happygobo (9:49:59 PM): how many orthodox jewish jewelers do you really run into
TheBrad84 (9:50:03 PM): faced
spesliker (9:50:18 PM): FAKE RAIN!
spesliker (9:50:20 PM): RUN!
mariaperky333 (9:50:21 PM): ah storm!
spesliker (9:50:30 PM): FAKE BULLETS TOO!! RUN FASTER!
TheBrad84 (9:50:30 PM): needed a zoom in for that glasses pull
spesliker (9:51:00 PM): HE'S AS AMERICAN AS APPLE STRUEDLE
TheBrad84 (9:51:02 PM): lol
TheBrad84 (9:51:21 PM): he came out of a big hipped woman in the midwest waving the american flag
happygobo (9:51:38 PM): with a slice of chedder on his head
TheBrad84 (9:51:40 PM): oye! im american!
spesliker (9:51:59 PM): and i bet you are a german
happygobo (9:52:03 PM): are headbutts really a typical interrogation technique?
TheBrad84 (9:52:22 PM): this was before sophisticated techniques like waterboarding
happygobo (9:52:38 PM): gotcha
spesliker (9:52:42 PM): i love the sets and costumes
TheBrad84 (9:53:00 PM): yea, great stuff
spesliker (9:53:00 PM): i'm sorry, you've been gone for a while ... it's 2039
spesliker (9:53:12 PM): you've traveled in time again
TheBrad84 (9:53:17 PM): its ok. your back in good old 1955
spesliker (9:53:20 PM): and you lost your genitals in the time explosion.
spesliker (9:53:28 PM): MCFLY!
happygobo (9:53:29 PM): NOOOOOO
happygobo (9:53:42 PM): I was just about to ask for a hummer too
TheBrad84 (9:53:43 PM): get away! its your mother and she wants you
happygobo (9:53:50 PM): for medical purposes
TheBrad84 (9:53:52 PM): lol
spesliker (9:53:55 PM): what's wrong calvin?
spesliker (9:54:06 PM): that's your name right? clavin klein? it's written all over your underwear.
TheBrad84 (9:54:07 PM): ooo
happygobo (9:54:14 PM): nice aging sequence
TheBrad84 (9:54:15 PM): nice time transition
happygobo (9:54:25 PM): he sounds like elmer fudd
TheBrad84 (9:54:25 PM): oh snap
mariaperky333 (9:54:28 PM): he shrank about a foot
happygobo (9:54:39 PM): that's what happens when you get older
spesliker (9:54:42 PM): OH MY SCIENCE.
TheBrad84 (9:55:12 PM): accents need work but ....solid film
spesliker (9:55:24 PM): and VFX
happygobo (9:55:30 PM): couple of sound FX need to be improved
TheBrad84 (9:55:30 PM): yes
TheBrad84 (9:56:04 PM): go lowtech and dont pull us out of the filmi
spesliker (9:56:12 PM): yeah, its a distraction
spesliker (9:56:19 PM): more than a bonus
spesliker (9:56:53 PM): ok, marie's done for the night.
mariaperky333 (9:57:05 PM): sleepy
spesliker (9:57:07 PM): we're going to go watch a movie. oh SNAP, we WERE watching a movie.

Frank, we really liked this little piece, you don't normally see this kind of production value from a low-budget period piece. Obviously you've heard this already, but we'd really like to see practical effects vs. digital ones, although the storefront replacement looked really good. Thumbs Up Man! :thumbsup:

[Postmaster]

Bwahaha, you guys are nothing but great!

Thank´s a bunch for review and Aiming us.

Frank

[Postmaster]

By the way, the bloke on the left played the old bumer with the beard.

http://jeep.cfasp.de/upload/551034.jpg

[Edgen]

I’m diggin’ the premise of the short and perpetual time loop. It started out though with a mic/boom pole shadow on the lead character.

I think if you had better sound FX, it would have made your visual FX amazing! I felt let down by the lack of quality in those respects. Some of the characters could have used a bit more work and direction.

Congrats on the entering the fest.

[Brandon Rice]

Cool story... very much like something you'd see from Twilight Zone.

[iSTy]

good storyline, packed alot in in 6 mins, although i think the acting could've been a bit stronger to really bring this out.
thank you.

[jojopop]

I really dig the Twilight Zone-ish vibe coming from this one. Hats off to you guys for creating a friggin' period piece - shoot for the moon, I say. Nice costumes and art direction!

I'll have to echo some thoughts on the acting... I think had it been stronger this piece would've really worked for me, but as it is -- still some very solid work!

Looking forward to more from you!

[Postmaster]

You guys both right regarding the acting, but all of my talents where the first time in life in front of a camera, acting in a foreign language.

I think they did a good job for first timers.

Frank

[Danielleus]

Hey,

Just caught the flick. I really enjoyed it. The effects here are really really nice, though a bit spotty here and there. The lighting, overall, was a bit dark for my taste, but I really liked what you did with it. I just would have liked to see it brighter.

Unfortuantely, I have a love/hate relationship with the ending. I really like the execution and I love the cyclical nature of the film/story, etc. The thing that bothers me is that I don't understand why he would do it to "himself" again. He'll be stuck in this loop forever and I just don't see why he would do it? I think a reason for him to do it nestled within the story/theme of the film would really help make this a stronger piece.

Otherwise, the atmosphere and music, sound and visual effects, and the pacing overall worked really well for me. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see more from you.

[krestofre]

The story of this short is fantastic. It's definitely a story that's right up my alley. The sound, however, killed it for me. Some of the dialog was difficult to understand or sonically inconsistent. The foley, especially on the punches, sounded too seperate. Fixing that issue would have made this a 10-star film for me.

Otherwise, I enjoyed it greatly.

[Postmaster]

The thing that bothers me is that I don't understand why he would do it to "himself" again. He'll be stuck in this loop forever and I just don't see why he would do it? I think a reason for him to do it nestled within the story/theme of the film would really help make this a stronger piece.


I tried to answer that question here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1314917&postcount=104

Frank

[Mark Johnson]

Wow, Frank. I REALLY enjoyed that post immensely. You are an exceptional man in many respects and the more I learn of you the more YOU seem as an onion (so many layers). That's a huge compliment. I find complexity to be one of the real joys of this life and you seem to surprise me all the time. I am very happy to call you a friend and to look forward to being able to visit you some day.

[Postmaster]

Thanks for your warm words Mark.
And whenever you come here down south you´r welcome.

Frank

P.S. Thou I may have layers I´m not an Oger :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

[ConspiracyPenguin]

Finally got around to seeing this. Great work Frank! I loved the payoff at the end it really rounded out well for me. After reading that extensive post you linked to above, I appreciate it even more. All the hidden messages and metaphores reveal a beautiful mosaic of a story. Good job and good luck!