Teresa Decher presents "I Would Rather"

[teresadecher]

I'm working with the fabulous director Shawn Nelson on a submission for the "Twilight Fest"! The title for the film is "I Would Rather" and we will be shooting on the RED camera.

Status: Now submitting to other fests.. and check it out! We now have an IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1347048/

I will be updating this thread periodically!

********************************

CAST:
Vivian: Tierra Valentine
Sammy: Teresa Decher
Aaron: Aaron Ratliff
Lealon: Lealon Gordon
Madison: Madison Blake
Erik: Robert Caulkins

CREW:
Director: Shawn Nelson
Producer: Teresa Decher
AD: Breven Warren
DP: Mathew Semchee
Camera Operator/co-DP: Sam Garr
1st AC: Savannah Teller Brown
DIT: Sally Spaderna
Gaffer: Steve Waters
Key Grip: Guido Orio
Grip/Asst. Art Dept: Joshua Rheaume
Boom Operator: Dustin Wadsworth
Sound Mixer: Ryan Mauk
MUA: Sabrina Cayne
Special Effects Makeup: Jessie Blanchard
Set Design: Stefany Bapst
Script Supervisor/Editor: Ken Kupelian
Production Stills: Oliver Ogden
Crafty: Marianne Decher
PA: Pete Decher
Composer: Herman Witkam

[teresadecher]

BEHIND THE SCENES PICTURES!
(Images by the wonderful Oliver Ogden)

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_5191.jpg
Shawn Nelson directing actors Robert Caulkins and Teresa Decher.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_5211.jpg
Camera Operator/ Co-DP Sam Garr setting up shot with RED camera. Co-DP Matthew Semchee, Gaffer Steve Waters, and Norm Sanders in background.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_5353.jpg
Shawn Nelson directing actress Tierra Valentine with Boom Operator Dustin Wadsworth and D.I.T. Sally Spaderna in background.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_5430.jpg
Director Shawn Nelson, Co-DP Matthew Semchee, and Script Sup/Editor Ken Kupelian checking out the monitor.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_9713.jpg
Filming the aftermath of the fight scene.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_5255.jpg
Teresa Decher in special effects makeup for fight scene.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_9767.jpg
Special effects scar done by Jessie Blanchard.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_9846.jpg
Shawn Nelson directing the cast for the card table scenes.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/Img_9860.jpg
The cast (form left to right) Lealon Gordon, Teresa Decher, Aaron Thomas, Tierra Valentine, and Aaron Thomas Ratliff getting ready for the next scene.

VIEW ALL BTS SHOTS AT : http://www.flickr.com/photos/iwrproductionstills/show

[teresadecher]

SCREENSHOTS:

Please note that these are NOT color corrected yet! Just a quick preview. Enjoy!

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/grab6.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/grab1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/grab4.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/grab5.jpg


http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/xoxo126/grab3.jpg

[Simon Höfer]

Welcome to the fest! Woah, August 3rd is pretty soon! Have fun :)

[Ken K]

Welcome to DVXUser and the fest! Looking forward to seeing this one... :D

[ZazaCast]

Welcome to the fest!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Welcome to the Fest!

Good luck.

Cheers,

Mike

[Rodney V. Smith]

welcome to the fest. good luck with the shoot.

[jeremytuttle]

Welcome to the fest. I'd love to help crew but I'm stuck in San Diego for now. If you need help with a poster or other graphic design let me know. Good luck with the project.

[pauly_the_hitman]

Welcome to the fest. Good luck.

[teresadecher]

Thank you all :)

[Geoff_R]

Sounds like a cool project. Are you Directing this one? Shawn's a great guy and I'm sure as a team, you guys will produce a strong entry.

[teresadecher]

Thank you!

No, I co-wrote it and I am also producing and acting in it. Shawn is directing!

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Sounds like a cool project. Are you Directing this one? Shawn's a great guy and I'm sure as a team, you guys will produce a strong entry.

I'm directing it, Teresa wrote the story, is producing and acting in it. She's doing all the logistics! :-).

Geoff dude, i want to fly you up here to DP a project for me!

[Matt Sconce]

I am very much looking forward to this!

[Geoff_R]

Buses are nice and cheap these days... :)

[Blaine]

I hope this isn't a play on one of Hyten's "would you rather..." :zombie_smiley:

I'm sure it's not. Good luck with this, looking forward to seeing what you come up with...:beer:

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

I hope this isn't a play on one of Hyten's "would you rather..." :zombie_smiley:

I'm sure it's not. Good luck with this, looking forward to seeing what you come up with...:beer:

Well first off...Tim didnt invent that game. The title is a variant on that, but its simply an element of the script.

[Blaine]

Well first off...Tim didnt invent that game.Believe it or not, I'm actually aware of that. He just took it to new depths. I used the term Hyten's "would you rather..." to differentiate it from other versions. :thumbsup:

[Kyle Stebbins]

If you need help with a poster or other graphic design let me know. Good luck with the project.

Likewise. - But Jeremy is very talented.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

I am amazed at Teresa. We are shooting this Sunday and in the last three days she has locked on more full time film professionals to volunteer for this then I've ever had on any one of my shoots. This is going to be f1cking awesome :-D

[teresadecher]

Aw, thanks Shawn!

I'm totally excited for this shoot!! It will be super fun especially with all the professionalism and good energy the cast and crew have. I love excitement everyone will bring to make an awesome, creative collaboration. :)

[FDL film music composer]

Hi Teresa,
what kind of film is "I would rather" ? drama, comedy or what?

[AmyO]

I came into this thread to say I was excited to see a woman heading up a 'Fest project (only a couple-three of us last time around). Then I come in and find that you're in Portland, too! Cool beans! Sounds like you've got your shoot all locked up, but if you need anything else, give me a holler.

Best of luck!
-Amy

[teresadecher]

Hi Amy,

Thank you and that's awesome! You're in Portland too! Fantastic! I think we're pretty much set for this one, but we should work on something together in the future! :)

[Matt Sconce]

So what is the next step for your team?:)

[teresadecher]

The genre is a supernatural thriller/drama sort of like a modern teenage twilight zone.

Hi Teresa,
what kind of film is "I would rather" ? drama, comedy or what?

[teresadecher]

This week, we're finishing up everything for pre-production and then on the 3rd we're shooting! So far it's an absolutely awesome crew and cast, but we're still looking for art department.


So what is the next step for your team?:)

[Kyle Stebbins]

Teresa you rock!!! This film has really caught my interest and from the sounds of it, things have already taken off for your team. I wish you the best of luck with this one and I look forward to following your process!

I just came across your blog and was blown away by your work! This film is going to rule.

[teresadecher]

Teresa you rock!!! This film has really caught my interest and from the sounds of it, things have already taken off for your team. I wish you the best of luck with this one and I look forward to following your process!

Thank you Kyle!! Your kind words are much appreciated!!

[Edgen]

Coolio Shawn and Teresa! Looking forward to seeing your film.

Cheers!
/j

[Brandon Rice]

Teresa,

Wanted to thank you for the kind words on the NGL thread :)

Also, really looking forward to seeing this film. I am excited to see where you go with it, especially after reading it's like a teen twilight zone. Cool stuff!

[Tom Marshall]

Teresa, good luck with your entry. I thought you did a great job on Aetas. :)

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Teresa, good luck with your entry. I thought you did a great job on Aetas. :)

lol, Tommy, check your credits, that was Victoria :-). But Aetas was what made Teresa want to work with me, since she is friends with Victoria 'Awesome Eyelashes' Geil :-D

[Tom Marshall]

Ohhh... oops. :)

They do look a lot alike.

[teresadecher]

Ohhh... oops. :)

They do look a lot alike.

Haha yeah she's my best friend in real life and we get mistaken for sisters a lot!

And thank you Tom, Edgen, and Brandon for your kind words. :)

[FDL film music composer]

The genre is a supernatural thriller/drama sort of like a modern teenage twilight zone.
Let me know if you need of score your film..maybe i could score for you ...
i've just scored for Reprieve and Ageha6
my credits at www.fdlfilmusicomposer.com (http://www.fdlfilmusicomposer.com)
Good luck for entry and film
Regards

[teresadecher]

Let me know if you need of score your film..maybe i could score for you ...
i've just scored for Reprieve and Ageha6
my credits at www.fdlfilmusicomposer.com (http://www.fdlfilmusicomposer.com)
Good luck for entry and film
Regards

Thank you so much for the offer, but Herman Witkam is already on board as composer!

[Kyle Stebbins]

Thank you so much for the offer, but Herman Witkam is already on board as composer!

Herman is a very talented composer and was a pleasure to work with during drama-fest.

[Kyle Stebbins]

lol, Tommy, check your credits, that was Victoria :-). But Aetas was what made Teresa want to work with me, since she is friends with Victoria 'Awesome Eyelashes' Geil :-D

I have a crush!!

Though I think Teresa has replaced her!! ;)

[Herman Witkam]

Herman is a very talented composer and was a pleasure to work with during drama-fest.

Thanks Kyle - The pleasure was all mine :beer: I'm looking forward to hearing your score :)

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Wow, great rehearsal tonight! We spent four hours with cast and crew tonight. I did a full read through with talent, then went over and pre-directed the important notes. Then we went through with DPs (we have two guys co-DPing) and the talent and blocked it out. The gaffer and grip were there figuring out lighting placement. This is intense.

The excitement among the crew is infectious, I'm blown away by the all pro crew Teresa has assembled. I'm one of the few people on the crew who isnt in the industry full time!

[teresadecher]

Yes, the pre-production meeting went fantastic! I am super excited to be part of such an energetic and passionate crew. This is an absolutely fantastic group of people with so much creativity. It was awesome to see eveyrone's different takes on the script and their contributions.

[teresadecher]

First post updated with cast/crew list for those interested.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

It's production day! I wonder if we win the cookie for being first Twilight entry to shoot? :-)

[Rodney V. Smith]

only when you finish principal photography AND pickups

[Kyle Stebbins]

It's production day! I wonder if we win the cookie for being first Twilight entry to shoot? :-)

Good luck, guys! The hype has traveled northward. Everyone in Lacey, Washington and Seattle is talking about the flick. It's getting absurd, actually. Just thought you should know.

Have fun!

[teresadecher]

Today's shoot went absolutely fantastic! The cast and crew were all excited and enthusiastic, and from what I saw, I think everyone will be very pleased with the final product. I can't wait to see it all edited together. :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Great to hear. No pickups necessary? Did you guys get to call the great wrap?
We gotta organize a cookie for you guys for being first out of the gate...

[Matt Sconce]

That's great! I look forward to seeing some grabs!

[Norm Sanders]

It was fun being able to see Shawn in action, and the images from the RED that were piped into the monitor looked AMAZING.

With everyone onboard this thing (i.e. the crew that was there, Shawn directing, Herman composing, etc.), this should be a SOLID entry to say the least. Looking forward to it.

Thanks for the invite to come & hang for a bit yesterday, Teresa!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Great, now I'm all excited to see it and to get more details. BTS photos please.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Wow!! 6 pages of script involving an attack scene, fatalities and more...plus using the Red (manual focus everything obviously) and we did it in under 12 hours! Fantastic crew!

[Dustin Wadsworth]

It was an awesome shoot!
Can't wait to see the finished product.

[AmyO]

Glad to hear the shoot went well. I can't believe you busted out 6 pages in one day, though. Good work.

[teresadecher]

Thank you guys! Yes I was very impressed with how fast we shot everything; 6 pages (including fight scenes) in under 12 hours!! yay :)

[teresadecher]

BTS shots uploaded in 2nd post on first page. Check them out!

More shots will be uploaded soon.

[Brandon Rice]

BTS pics look awesome! Can't wait to see some grabs :)

[jasonthewho]

Nice BTS shots!

[teresadecher]

Thanks guys! :)

[Geoff_R]

Awesome that you guys wrapped. Now post ambiguously cool stills that leave us scratching our heads while we try to decipher your plot...

[Kyle Stebbins]

Sweet makeup!!

[hunter richards]

go team!

[Neal Buconjic]

Congrats on wrapping your shoot. I'm still 3 weeks away from starting mine!

[teresadecher]

New BTS shots posted!
Check out all of the images at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/iwrproductionstills/show/

[jasonthewho]

I tried the link, but it just took me to one picture.

The link on the first page works though.

[teresadecher]

Oops! I had the wrong link up there :) Thanks for letting me know!

I fixed it, so try it now:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iwrproductionstills/show/

[Brandon Rice]

Let's see grabs!!

[Tom Marshall]

New BTS shots posted!
Check out all of the images at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/iwrproductionstills/show/

Those are some great photos. :)

[teresadecher]

Thank you!

Grabs are coming soon!

[Brandon Rice]

Yay! :)

[teresadecher]

UPDATE:

The editing is going very well and we have a solid rough cut done. (I haven't actually seen it yet, but from what I've heard from Shawn and Ken, it looks fantastic!).

Unfortunately, we are going to need to do a quick day of pickups for a couple minor shots.
Looks like we're not the first ones done with getting all the footage after all...

[Brandon Rice]

Are we ever going to see screen-shots?

[teresadecher]

All right; I finally have a few screenshots posted! Check out the third post. I apologize for the long delay.

PRODUCTION UPDATE: Pickups scheduled for the 16th!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Nice screenshots! Very dark, but nice. Looks like you were going for dark judging by the content.

Good luck!

Mike

[Tim Joy]

Loved the BTS pics. Can't wait to see this one. I'm drooling.

Happy post-production.

[Kyle Stebbins]

Sweet grabs. Definitely dark, but I agree with yeehaa... it looks to me like that was the intention.

--

and yikes! carpet stain!

[teresadecher]

Thanks guys! I'm glad you enjoyed them. :)

And yes, it is definitely meant to be dark. However, the images have not been color corrected yet.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Sweet grabs. Definitely dark, but I agree with yeehaa... it looks to me like that was the intention.



That was me actually. :)

[PaPa]

oh man, shooting on the red? How do you guys afford this stuff :P

Can't wait to see the finished product!

[ZazaCast]

Excellent BTS picts! I don't think I'd know what to do with a crew that big...but it looks like a great time.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Pickup shots tonight!

[AmyO]

Have fun! The BTS and grabs look great.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Alright! The pickup shots went GREAT. They are going to add a ton to the feel of this.

[gabrielflorit]

Whoa - great BTS shots!

[Geoff_R]

Grabs look good. I'm excited to see this, Shawn.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Grabs look good. I'm excited to see this, Shawn.

Thanks Geoff!

We sure had fun last night, lighting an exterior shot of a house: 2 Par64s (VNSP and NS bulbs), a 1k open face and a 650 fresnel.

[Brandon Rice]

Grabs look good. I'm excited to see this, Shawn.

I concur... looking forward to this.

[Anthony Pierce]

Grabs look excellent Teresa and Shawn. Looks like you've nailed the atmosphere. Looking forward to watching. Shawn very nice work on Aetas by the way. Loved your posters too.

[MOVIE MASTER]

Quite niece film grabs i love blood and ghore

[teresadecher]

Thank you all!! :)

More updates soon to come..

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Some good progress last night. The new shots were integrated in and we started on the final polishing. Unfortunately we didn't hit picture lock, but that will hopefully come today or tomorrow.

[Mike Manning]

Whoa... totally just released that you're the girl in these pictures getting rocked! I hope that doesn't spoil the movie! :)

[Herman Witkam]

Some good progress last night. The new shots were integrated in and we started on the final polishing. Unfortunately we didn't hit picture lock, but that will hopefully come today or tomorrow.

looking forward to that :beer:

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Picture lock hit last night, files sent to Herman and Brad. Woohoo!

[teresadecher]

I saw the lock edit and it looks fantastic! Good work Shawn and Ken! :)

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Herman sent me v1 of his score and it is awesome!

I just finished the color grade and am still fighting with the conform process.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Final grading :-)

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Very dark! Me like. :)

[AJ Brooks]

I'm excited. Can't wait to see.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

submitted...

[Drew Ott]

Congrats.

[Norm Sanders]

Congrats Shawn & Teresa (sending this from the airport for a 6am flight to Atlanta)! I freakin' LOVE the CC on this too, AWESOME!!!

[Simon Höfer]

Congratulations!

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Congrats Shawn & Teresa (sending this from the airport for a 6am flight to Atlanta)! I freakin' LOVE the CC on this too, AWESOME!!!

Thanks Norm! I sure had fun color grading it.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

submitted...
Looking forward to it!

[Danielleus]

Hey, looking forward to another nice quality entry with Shawneous helping. Good luck. Can't wait to view.

[ZazaCast]

Congrats! Looking forward to the film.

[AJ Brooks]

Kudos Shawn, Teresa, Ken.

Really excited to see it.

This film must have had the longest time span for pre/prod/post. Y'all started waaaay back when, right?

[IMNUMBERZERO]

Really looking forward too seeing this movie. Good luck in the fest!

[Mile Bozicevic]

Music in Aetas was waaay to good, so I guess here might be more or less the same quality expected (not in a same genre, of course).

It's approved! Good luck. .))

L

[Ken K]

Kudos Shawn, Teresa, Ken.

Really excited to see it.

This film must have had the longest time span for pre/prod/post. Y'all started waaaay back when, right?
Haha... yeah, first to finish filming I think, but then needed a couple extra shots and I was out of town for a bit, so that slowed things down at my end. You can blame my slacking for the long time span. ;)

[teresadecher]

Haha... yeah, first to finish filming I think, but then needed a couple extra shots and I was out of town for a bit, so that slowed things down at my end. You can blame my slacking for the long time span. ;)

But we got it in and it looks fantastic, so that's what counts! :)

Good work Shawn and Ken. It flows very well and the color correction looks awesome!! :thumbup:

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Haha... yeah, first to finish filming I think, but then needed a couple extra shots and I was out of town for a bit, so that slowed things down at my end. You can blame my slacking for the long time span. ;)

I concur in placing the blame on Ken for the delay :-)

[ZazaCast]

Looking forward to seeing this one! BTS & grabs rock.

[gabrielflorit]

Just read through your thread - you guys wrapped principal photography before most of us got started with everything. That's some organization skills right there.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

That's some organization skills right there.

Two words: Teresa Decher :-)

She wrote (I pitched in with some story advice) and produced this film, hands down. She has mad organization skills!

[img]

Congrats on getting it in. Can wait to see it.

[Brian Parker]

Welcome to the fest. Some great shots there. I enjoyed Aetas and I'm looking forward to this one. :beer:

[Marlon Ladd]

This one does look pretty good. Good luck. Can't wait to check it out.

[Zak Forsman]

shawn, i know I was hard on Aetas last fest. this, however, is one of my favs. good work!

[Mike Manning]

Teresa, just watched you film.
Gotta love that RED.. it looks great!
I must say, I'm a little confused by the story. Perhaps I need to watch it again, but I wasn't sure what's real and what was a hypothetical/day dream.. you know? Maybe that's the point... it was definitely creepy though. Really set a good tone for the theme and I had my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Congrats!

[bosindy]

Nice to see a young cast that can act. I was rooting for this to be the case and there were nice natural relaxed performances here; particularly the two female leads.

I felt like the handheld was a bit forced which was magnified with the use of CU's. It felt more organic with the wider shots in the second half. I am not sure I get the story, I was a bit lost at the end, but I think I know what you were going for. More importantly, it was interesting so I forgave it for its lack of clarity.

The lighting was subtle and worked well for the story. For some reason the audio falls out at 2:38 - 2:41. You may want to fill that with room tone. All and all, some nice work and good acting is king. congrats.

[AJ Brooks]

Nice work here! Really love the shots and color, shawn.

Yeah, I was very impressed with the acting, especially for a young cast as bosindy said.

I did get a little lost with a few beats of the story, but overall the story really worked.

Congrats and best luck!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:


Very good overall. Good cast, good looking short. Well shot.
I especially liked the girls facial expression right at the end. Nice touch!

The score was very fitting as well. Top notch!

Looks like it was probably a lot of fun to make as well.

Cheers,

Mike

[Tim Joy]

Great acting, as others have said. Very natural. The lighting and cinematography too.
I was confused with the main character, but wanting more.

Great job.

[ZazaCast]

Very good film! Beautiful look to it and a great listen too. You lost me in the story and I'll have to watch again to see if I 'get it'. Overall really good job.

[MrKilloran]

This film looks incredible. You have some great Close ups in this that I really liked as well ... I did "get" the story, it worked for me, but what really made it was that little thing at the end, very nice touch.

[Zim]

I like the film. Acting was good, the Red was good.

[alex whitmer]

Very beautiful imagery.

Spoilers




As others have said, great acting. The make up of the group was very nice. Good chemistry.

Also, as other have pointed out, lost me on the story.

What I think is happening is that we are seeing Vivian's guilt over not being able to save Sammy - but maybe I'm way off.

Love the shot down the steps. Very nice. Adds a lot of angst to what will happen next.

Nothing felt too long or too short. Pacing was perfect. Herman of course added his magic to embelish the mood and movement.

Maybe my only issue is we don't really get a sense the girls were stabbed. There is no real point where I know it happened, only after the fact.

Looks like you have yourself a very talented circle of friends. Great job.

aw

[armisiano]

Very good job. I'm a fan of this one, definitely one of my favorites. The only thing I would suggest is maybe tightening up the pace a tiny bit in editing. Even if there are pauses and beats, there needs to be a rhythmic driving flow to it all, which it was close to having I think, but needed to be tightened up a little, you could probably trim 25 seconds off the piece as a whole. But, nevertheless, very nice work. :)

[AJ Brooks]

I liked the editing in this one. And I also liked the several long takes.

Enjoyed it even more re-watching this.

[Tim Joy]

After another watch, I was even more impressed with the excellent acting and directing.

Other than not exactly understanding the story, my only grip was the sound of the two girls walking down the stairs was way too loud in the mix. I though it would've been creepier if it was quiet footsteps.

Lighting was superb and all the girls looked like supermodels. Nice makeup too I think, (I don't know anything about makeup, but suspect it was good because I didn't notice it)

For the longest time I was like, "what kind of a title is I Would Rather and I LOVED how it was answered right away. So many entries have nothing to do with their title, and this one hit a home run there. Especially how it setup the story right away.

Oh, I think I just figured it out.


SPOILERS BELOW Maybe **** Caution ****




Was the girl thinking about the question, "save yourself or die trying to save a friend"? So we see her imagination process of what that would be like for her? In the end, she chooses "die trying".

But if so, what was the part about the friend being dead and getting the text message about?

It deserves more viewings, and I keep this in my Top Entries folder.

[clarkage]

Wow really impressed on ow this came out! I absolutely LOVE the story and the I felt that it really built up for the twist at the end. Congratulations on making an awesome film!

[pauly_the_hitman]

I understood the whole concept and thought the acting was pretty good for the most part but could have used a little more defining for me. I dig seeing female film makers take a step up in here. Congrats on getting it done.
Pauly

[stinkpot]

SPOILER (possibly)

Overall, well shot, well acted and a decent story. The part that sticks out in my mind is where the girl slides down the wall onto the floor as the killer goes after the other girl... very realistic and graphic.

:beer:

[teresadecher]

Thank you all for the compliments and criticisms. All feedback is much appreciated! :)


SPOILER BELOW!!******

For those confused on the story, I think it can be interpreted a couple different ways. However, here is my interpretation and original concept below:

They start playing this "would you rather" game and when Vivian is asked the question, Vivian and Sammy's ghost both know that Vivian would have saved herself rather than her friend, which sends Sammy's ghost to re-experience her own death.
However, when Vivian chooses to try to save her friend, rather than herself, Vivian's bravery is rewarded by both Vivian and Sammy being brought back to life.

[Drew Ott]

I like that concept.

I'm not sure that came across in the film though. In my opinion, it would have been much stronger if it had.

(full review later... been too busy recently to comment/watch all of the films)

[Susanne G.]

I liked the atmosphere and the score, but I didn't understand the story really!? The acting of the girl which was killed as second in the bathroom was very good and I loved the framing of your face Teresa, lying on the bathroomfloor trying to give a little smile. Nice cinematography.
Compliments! :)

Susanne

[Mike Manning]

They start playing this "would you rather" game and when Vivian is asked the question, Vivian and Sammy's ghost both know that Vivian would have saved herself rather than her friend, which sends Sammy's ghost to re-experience her own death.
However, when Vivian chooses to try to save her friend, rather than herself, Vivian's bravery is rewarded by both Vivian and Sammy being brought back to life.

Hmm... that doesn't really come across at all...
I just kind of thought the whole scenario was a hypothetical day dream.... and then there's a little added button at the end with the cut on the arm.. to give it a bit of a twilighty twist. Ghosts never came to mind and I watched it a few times..

[John LaBonney]

I thought that there were some very cool moments in the storyline, like when she receives the "help!" text message (a great moment in and of itself), which is then followed by her friends disbelief. I also liked the bit at the end. All-in-all I'm not sure the story worked for me as a whole though.

Great images. Good acting. Thought the score was very appropriate.

[Yo Daddio]

Congratulations Shawn, just heard the baby is on the way.:)

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Congratulations Shawn, just heard the baby is on the way.:)

Who's this? :-)

[AJ Brooks]

Who's this? :-)

lol, yo daddio saying baby on the way. Ironic.

[img]

stalker:huh:

[Robbie Comeau]

Probably the best acting in this fest.

They made this short feel very realistic, and also like a TV show or something.

Great job, I loved this piece.

Robbie

[Geoff_R]

Nice work here. I didn't get the ghost aspect (which I read from prior posts) and got a little confused with the story but regardless, I was interested and intrigued throughout the piece.

Cinematography was good but inconsistent at some times... maybe this was intentional?? The poker scene in full is broken down into three sections; I like section one the best being very dark, greenish/blue, very little light in the background if any at all. Section two is more warm, more naturally light... and then section three is fairly bright and evenly lit between foreground and background. What was the motivation here?

I also feel like some of the static wides through me off since so much of the film is handheld. Just a thought, but what I might have done is literally sit on the floor or a chair, put a pillow down and the camera atop it. Let it breath a little; don't force the movement but without even trying, there'd be some subtle movement in the shot. In my experience, they cut better with handheld work sometimes. Sometimes I'll do both a lockdown stick shot and a handheld mimic just to have the options.

Also, the first minute of the film is the best in my opinion. The acting and cinematography here are much more cinematic than the rest of the film. Not sure how you guys feel about it, but it's just something I noticed.

[Kyle Stebbins]

I definitely echo Geoff's questioning for the static wide shots. -- I feel like it was a missed opportunity for some really jarring, unsettling imagery.

I also feel like Teresa's screams for help were not NEARLY strong enough to be wedded with the shadows and light play coming from underneath the bathroom door. It LOOKS like she is being pushed and shoved and moved around... but it sounds like her killer is only walking at her slowly... I don't know... it sort of pulled me out for a moment.

Lastly, I would have liked to see a flip on the girl's faces on the carpet. I don't think it worked so well having their faces line up perfectly between each cut. Maybe you already tried this and it didn't work for you... but I can only imagine good results and even found myself crossing my fingers that you would be doing so once I saw the first reverse.

High production value here. Really nice sound, acting, eeriness. I totally bought into the "that's really not funny Vivian" bit. BRILLIANT. Seriously. I went back and watched it again.

Powerful acting there. Great casting.

Awesome, work.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

"static wide shots"...are you just talking about the two identical hallway shots?

second, big thanks to everyone who's complimented on the acting. The actors deserve the accolades, they are very talented. As director, I consider that my number one priority, so if that works, I've done my job, the "look" is secondary (though integral to the overall feeling). Thanks to those who complimented on the look, the blocking was a joined effort between myself and the DPs and the DPs did an awesome job lighting it, along with our gaffer Steve.

[Geoff_R]

"static wide shots"...are you just talking about the two identical hallway shots?

Yes. Those and the establishing shot of the house. They are the only non moving shots in the piece excluding the closeups of the girls on the floor. And it's not that there's anything particularly wrong with them being static, it's just that those are the types of things I notice without thinking about it.. I'm feeling a certain cinematic flow and those shots threw me off a bit. If they'd been dolly shots such as the dolly out from the bathroom door bit, I think it'd flow better for me as well. I think the lack of movement in only one shot between a bunch of handheld shots is what makes it stand out.

Look at 3:20 in, when Teresa character is falling and the guy is stepping forward. (used throughout, the low shot on the floor) It's semi-loose; probably balanced on a sandbag or the DPs knee... it's good because it's not so evidently handheld yet has a solid feel to it... then that rising shot above the two heads come yet you cut at precisely the right moment, the moment when the camera starts to almost stop moving... it almost rolls to a stop and then you cut to your non-moving closeups. In this area, it all feels right to me and the locked down shots fit in perfectly.

[Bryce A]

Nicely shot. Great lighting as well. I thought the story was a bit melodramatic. The music while very good pushed the melodrama over the top for me. The dialogue flowed well, but felt too constrained to the structure of the question scenario. This is well enough, as you chose the structure, but it was a little too ridged for me.

The level of your cinematography and lighting was top notch.

Joshua Rheaume’s credit as Blood Maker is classic.

Well made flick.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Yes. Those and the establishing shot of the house. They are the only non moving shots in the piece excluding the closeups of the girls on the floor. And it's not that there's anything particularly wrong with them being static, it's just that those are the types of things I notice without thinking about it.. I'm feeling a certain cinematic flow and those shots threw me off a bit. If they'd been dolly shots such as the dolly out from the bathroom door bit, I think it'd flow better for me as well. I think the lack of movement in only one shot between a bunch of handheld shots is what makes it stand out.

Look at 3:20 in, when Teresa character is falling and the guy is stepping forward. (used throughout, the low shot on the floor) It's semi-loose; probably balanced on a sandbag or the DPs knee... it's good because it's not so evidently handheld yet has a solid feel to it... then that rising shot above the two heads come yet you cut at precisely the right moment, the moment when the camera starts to almost stop moving... it almost rolls to a stop and then you cut to your non-moving closeups. In this area, it all feels right to me and the locked down shots fit in perfectly.

Dang dude, you're good! Seriously. That is a fantastic explanation, I appreciate it.

To be fair to our awesome DPs, those static shots were done entirely by me and the gaffer Steve on a pickup day with only Ken as additional crew. I thought I could get away with having them be static because they were transition shots, but you got me.

On your earlier comment, I appreciate how you noticed the three distinct styles I gave to the table scene :-). The lighting setup was perfectly identical. For the first two scenes they were shot entirely with an 80mm f2.8 Zeiss prime, then for the third one we switched to the 18-50mm Red zoom. I then really pushed the three scenes in three directions in post. Will post more later.

[Noel Evans]

Acting was good, very natural and the whole thing flowed.

Visually I felt some of the hand held stuff in the downstairs bathroom (when the second girl goes down), ended up a bit tight. And when the guy comes out from hiding with the first girl, there seems very little contrast in the shot, seems a bit too crushed down. Also shot at 4:21, and some others had a little too much movement that didnt seem really motivated.

On the first shot down the hallway I felt the cut lasted a bit too long, after she enters bathroom left, nothing happened til the next cut.

Really good sound, levels were great and very nice mix.

Acting was the stand out in this short for me. I was getting into the story, but the end payoff didnt quite do it for me.

Very good overall from me.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Who's this? :-)

Lol, nevermind, I remember. You should be called 'Yo Daddio K' so I don't forget.

[Dick Campbell]

good photography in the dark rooms.

[christa McGuire]

that seems cool

[hoz]

first off, really well made film. not sure if im a big fan of all the camera movement but it plays. liked the lighting a lot! the acting is good, really liked it where we first see vivian look at an empty spot where her friend was sitting. creepy, cool! but then it sort of falls empty. and i lost the story. for me it didnt keep the suspense anymore. maybe make sammy's death scene more dramatic? i loved the closed door but it almost made it seem too distant for me. maybe thud the door so that she is being stabbed up against it or something, and have her scream! really scream! bang! bring it out a lot more here.

i read the previous posts to see what the story is about and i can't say i got that at all from what i saw. not sure how to make it fit better either, other than maybe when the two girls are lying in the bathroom, the first one that got killed gives a smile or something to vivian. some cue. or maybe one of the friends at the table can say to the girls, " glad to have you back," or " what took you so long" , not sure.

strong effort! good film.

[Richard J. Johnson]

The lead in this was beautiful. I really don't remember what the hell she was talking about or anything about the story, (I think somebody died or something) because I was just staring at her. .....okay seriously, this is one of my faves of the fest. nothing to complain about here. You could have kept the camera on her for 6 minutes and I would have been happy. and her performance was on point as well. nice job.

[Brian Parker]

After seeing the grabs, I was looking forward to this one. I'm pretty much going to echo what was already said. Some really strong shots in here, the lighting worked really well, especially the shots when they got to the bottom of the stairs. The acting was really well done. Not much more I can say. Probably one of my favs. Good job!

[Danielleus]

Hey,

Just caught the piece. I enjoyed it. I thought the acting was very good with no holes as far as I could see. The lighting was very very nice and I thought the pacing and music really helped make this piece creepy and tense when it needed to be and nice like a get together in the scenes around the table.

The story left me wondering what was going on. It seemed like there were elements in it that wanted to be more than what the audience was given. With that said I don't want to even venture a guess as to what the actual story is or what actually happened. In that sense it might be more confusing than it needs to be. But that's just me.

Thanks for showing. I thought all of the technical aspect of this piece were very nice. The narrative just didn't sell me. Thanks again for sharing and hope to see you guys team uip again.