"MY NAME IS HAROLD ALLEN" - A Film By Ben Sliker and Justin Kuhn

[Ben Sliker]

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/OFFICIALPOSTER.jpg

Starring:
Tom Spano - IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2133472/)
Regan Deal - IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2134641/)
Trey Moore - IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2576834/)
Manuela Spaji

Extras:
Jeremy Kuhn
James Kuhn
Ben Cook
Joe Cook
Noah Frazier-Logue

Crew:
Directed By: Ben Sliker - IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3085512/) - WEBSITE (http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film)
Written By: Ben Sliker and Justin Kuhn
DoP: Justin Kuhn - IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2272104/)
Gaffer: Jessie Hoffman
Key Grip: Ben Slavens
Sound Engineer/Design: John "The Nard" Maynard
Catering: Dan Kelleher
Story By: Justin Kuhn
Original Score: Siddhartha Barnhoorn - IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2253394/) - WEBSITE (http://www.sidbarnhoorn.com/)
BTS Photography: Matt Freeman - WEBSITE (http://www.fpsphoto.com/)
Lead Costume Design: Sharon Kuhn
Visual Effects: FAT MONSTER - WEBSITE (http://www.fatmonsterfilms.com/)
Wireframe 3d Effect: Josh Bevan - WEBSITE (http://www.aclevercartel.com)
ADR/VO Recordist: Dan Kloch
Make-up: Bill Stine
VO Julia: Jessica Baker

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1218820437.jpg
our ball.

[Ben Sliker]

Remember, Don't Drink the Water.

[Ben Sliker]

Old Poster.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/haroldallenfirstposter.png

[Ben Sliker]

Reseved - Part Deux.

[Simon Höfer]

Welcome to the fest!!! Really looking forward to this one. Nice poster :)














I'm thirsty :D

[Mike Manning]

Nice Ball!!!

[Rodney V. Smith]

So... what's your name again?

[Justin Kuhn]

http://kevinremde.members.winisp.net/images/Nigel_20Tufnel.jpg
"This one goes up to 11."
http://discussion.autodesk.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/78-479556-5210712-111502/spinaltap-11.jpg

[Ben Sliker]

Nice Ball!!!

umm ... thanks? :)

[Justin Kuhn]

Nice Ball!!!
umm ... thanks?

Your other ball, I think, is merely OK.

[Tom Marshall]

I just drank the water... :zombie_smiley:

[pauly_the_hitman]

Nice poster looking forward to seeing this one..Good luck.
Pauly

[Mike Insane]

good poster. I'm interested

[Marlon Ladd]

Okay, you guys again? I'm leaving the fest. LOL. You guys are great man, good luck Ben - looking forward to it!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Cool poster, guys!
Best of luck.

Cheers,

Mike

[Marlon Ladd]

Okay, you guys again? I'm leaving the fest. LOL. You guys are great man, good luck Ben - looking forward to it! Nice poster.

[Justin Kuhn]

Okay, you guys again? I'm leaving the fest.

That makes me feel better about our little home movies. :dankk2:

Seriously though, thanks for the props. This fest is shaping up pretty nice.

[ZazaCast]

Another awesome film...I'm sure. Can't wait to enjoy this one!
Best to all.

[conrad_johnson]

UH Oh... is JAM going to stab a pipe through that ball?

[Blaine]

A'ight Ben and Justin, kick ass with this one! :beer:

[Ben Sliker]

UH Oh... is JAM going to stab a pipe through that ball?

Hmm ... I'm sure we could arrange JAM to stab a pipe through YOUR balls... Would that work? John doesn't hurt inanimate objects, only people. :)



*edit: as i read this over and over again, i'm increasingly disturbed at the character i created. John will be back, but not this time around.

[conrad_johnson]

Jokes on you... I don't have any. HA!

[hazelwould]

This wouldn't happen to be Harold Allen Mitchell, would it? :)

Good luck!

[Ben Sliker]

Jokes on you... I don't have any. HA!

touche, joe. touche.


This wouldn't happen to be Harold Allen Mitchell, would it? :)

Good luck!

now that's just silly. who would think of silly character names like that? Silly, I tell you. Silly.

[Ben Sliker]

We seriously considered bringing Davis Osborne back to play the lead, but thought perhaps that our audience might not be able to disconnect him from his previous roles as John Abbott Mitchell. From the comments already, we probably made the right decision. :)

BUT! We did struggle to find our Harold until we received this audition video in our emails. Need less to say, Tom got the job.

CLICK TO WATCH THE TOM SPANO AUDITION VIDEO (http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/TOMAUDITIONweb.mov)

[Tom Marshall]

Ben, I'd say that's a good choice not to have him play the lead in this one.

BTW, your link is screwed up. Something about can't play fd:// links?

[Ben Sliker]

works fine for me on multiple computers (mac and PC) and browsers. It's gotta be YOUR bull. :) [/tommy boy reference]

anyone else?









gotta love how technical difficulties can deflate the funniness of a video ...

[Justin Kuhn]

works for me.

[conrad_johnson]

Works for me on all levels.

[Susanne G.]

Hi Ben,

best wishes!

Susanne

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1218986566.jpg
some friends on set.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219068531.jpg
creepy hallway.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219153445.jpg
tom spano rockin' a pose for the BTS cam.

[Tom Marshall]

Nice photos, man. :beer:

[Brandon Rice]

Yep, now where are the grabs? ;)

[Ben Sliker]

in due time Brandon, in due time. There's still 2 months 8 days til deadline.

Louis Tully: "They could be exposing themselves!"
Peter Venkman: "And you don't want us exposing ourselves!"

[Tom Marshall]

Who ya gonna call?

[Ben Sliker]

who ya gonna call?

"he-man! He-man! He-man!"











***edit: why the frick can't i type he-man in all caps? and why does it capitalize only the last two?

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219246858.jpg
"wide establishing rubble"

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219327631.jpg
End of Day 1 - "Out in the Trenches"

[Matt Sconce]

Lookin good! I can't wait to see some grabs!

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219410774.jpg
Do not enter.

[jasonthewho]

Lovin' the BTS shots.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219467538.jpg
"What's that smell?" .... "The water you're standing in"


Hi Ben,

best wishes!

Susanne

thanks susanne, we are VERY excited about this project.


Lookin good! I can't wait to see some grabs!

How's October sound? :)


Lovin' the BTS shots.

Thanks Jason, it was nice to having a dedicated person there taking them.

[Justin Kuhn]

I haven't seen any of this BTS, it's pretty sweet.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219617772.jpg
Justin runs the Mad Scientist Dolly Rig built by Ben. Also, when we brought on Key Grip Ben Slavens, little did we know that he was, in fact, a ghost.



There ya go Justin, another BTS featuring Mr. Kuhn.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219679292.jpg
The "Shadow Tunnel"

[Marlon Ladd]

Cool photos. Love the dolly.

[Mike Manning]

Very cool locals! Can't wait to see how you used them!

[ZazaCast]

Awesome...as usual! This should be a good one...again.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219807432.jpg
"The Nard" rockin' the mobile recording setup.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219896337.jpg
:)

[Simon Höfer]

Jeeez, I missed out all the cool pictures in this thread! great stuff you've going on here :)

Looking forward to you entry!

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks Alot Simon!

I'll get more pretty pictures up soon. I'm on Day 4 of 17 straight work days. Everyone cross your fingers that I survive. :)

[Horncastle]

I like the BTS photo of the day idea - keep it up, they make a good read. Looking forward to the film.
Jason

[gabrielflorit]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1219679292.jpg
The "Shadow Tunnel"

Phenomenal shot. Are you going to DP?

[Ben Sliker]

Phenomenal shot. Are you going to DP?

That'd be a little problematic considering we're already in the can! :)

Justin Kuhn was the DP on this project, although, there were MANY creative forces to get the shots that we did. Thanks for checking in!

EDIT: These are all BTS photos shot on DSLRs as well, no screengrabs have been posted ... yet.

[gabrielflorit]

That'd be a little problematic considering we're already in the can! :)

Justin Kuhn was the DP on this project, although, there were MANY creative forces to get the shots that we did. Thanks for checking in!

EDIT: These are all BTS photos shot on DSLRs as well, no screengrabs have been posted ... yet.


Ooops... Sorry for not keeping better track of things man. I've been so busy lately. Who isn't right?

[Ben Sliker]

Who isn't right?
I hear you on that one.


BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1220324050.jpg
"I NEED MORE RUBBLE!"

[Justin Kuhn]

I know right, who isn't?

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1220358708.jpg
Justin: "Look, it's a piece of one of those "push button" phones ... WEIRD."

[Tom Marshall]

So I'm checking the front page this morning and...

Happy Birthday, Ben! :beer:

[Brandon Rice]

YES SIR! Happy birthday!

[Ben Sliker]

So I'm checking the front page this morning and...

Happy Birthday, Ben! :beer:


YES SIR! Happy birthday!

Hey, thanks guys! I also got engaged a couple weeks back, so double coolness for me :):beer:


EDIT: Thanks also to Zaza for the nice B-day PM!

[ZazaCast]

Hey, thanks guys! I also got engaged a couple weeks back, so double coolness for me :):beer:


EDIT: Thanks also to Zaza for the nice B-day PM!

Well then... Double Congrats!!! :beer::beer:

[Mike Manning]

Happy Birthday and congrats!

[Simon Höfer]

Whoa! Happy Birthday Ben!! :beer:

[Ben Sliker]

Well then... Double Congrats!!! :beer::beer:


Happy Birthday and congrats!


Whoa! Happy Birthday Ben!! :beer:

thanks again everybody. I'm currently sitting in the black hole that is Day 8 of 17 straight work days (my whole department went on vacation). Good News= Fat paychecks, Bad News= I get to work 10 hours on my B-Day :( (followed by 9, 12, and 11 hours days ... respectively.)

on the plus side ... i do have a job that pays well, a beautiful fiance and it's my b-day, so i guess i can't complain too much. :)

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/94Regan.jpg
Our Leading Lady, Regan Deal. "You ain't talking to ME like that? ... HUH? ARE YA?"

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/96tomday1.jpg
Tom showing us all how he keeps his pearly whites ... umm ... pearly.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/97artintart.jpg
I call this one "Art interpreting Art"

[Justin Kuhn]

Regan don't suffer no fools.

[Ben Sliker]

ah ... i've made it. 18 straight work days are over. more updates coming.

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PHOTOS OF THE DAY:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/917smiley1.jpg
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/917smilies2.jpg
A couple of pre-production stencil tests. (Note: extra sheets of drywall lying around in your garage ALWAYS come in handy.)

[Ben Sliker]

just want to pop in to say thanks to the many people who are working on separate elements in post production. I'm really excited about the potential of this project. Just to give you an idea, I'm plowing away on 2d effects and some prelim sound design, there's two separate teams on 3d effects and Sid is working on scoring all going on at once. Gotta love filmmaking :)

[Ben Sliker]

new poster. (also on front page).

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/OFFICIALPOSTER.jpg

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Nice Poster, Ben! :thumbup:

[Ben Sliker]

ok, new sig too to follow the whole "blow shit up" theme i got going.

[Simon Höfer]

WHOA! That looks sick man! This one is going to rock! Really looking forward to your entry :)

[Ben Sliker]

WHOA! That looks sick man! This one is going to rock! Really looking forward to your entry :)

Thanks. It took f-ing forever to vector draw that tree.

As for the production, I just want to say that the combination of Shake and Keylight rocks my socks off.

[Mike Manning]

Hey man, great job on the tree! Vector Illustrating can be VERY tedious...
If I may make a suggestion..
I think it would be a lot more effective (design wise) if the tree didn't fit so uniformly in the mushroom cloud. Try extending some branches out and making them look less symmetrical... and then I think you'll have a design that's as strong as the concept...
..just my two-cents...

[Ben Sliker]

lol, thanks for the feedback mike, i actually almost knew someone was going to suggest that. I also was lazy and didn't extend my canvas, so the top of the tree is more flat than round. But oh well, depends on if i want to spend more time on my poster or polishing the edit. I think I'll go with the latter! :)

[Ben Sliker]

well, since we have fallen all the way to page three, i guess it's time for an update.

I finished/refined some of our 2d effects today, and i'd like to reiterate that the combination of Shake and Keylight is a phenomenal tool for greenscreen keying. I've put it through it's paces and although nodal composting was a little weird for me at first (also not having a 3-button mouse), i find it most awesome now.

I received some preview 3d effects shots from the FAT MONSTER boys and i am really pumped for the possibilities. thanks Mark!

[Ben Sliker]

alright, you forced me into it. Here's the first screen grab from "My Name is Harold Allen"

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/HAROLD_GRAB_1.jpg

[Brandon Rice]

LOL!... that's nice... lol

[Ben Sliker]

LOL!... that's nice... lol

i swear! it's in the film!

[ZazaCast]

Awesome! I love it!!!

[Ben Sliker]

i think i'll pull a fat monster and jack my own thread.

not much new for Harold Allen, but i did do some filming for a Yamaha press release of the new Yamaha V Star 950. I also added a skill to put on my resume.

*ability to change HVX scene files at 70 mph on the back of a motorcycle*

what's that mr. employer? you want proof? I just so happen to have a shot of myself. :)

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1224217308.jpg

*note death grip on HVX.

[ZazaCast]

Ben... how's the film coming? I guess if you didn't spend so much time making a living, it'd be done by now.:)

Updates?

[Ben Sliker]

Ben... how's the film coming? I guess if you didn't spend so much time making a living, it'd be done by now.:)

Updates?

There is so much truth in this statement, it hurts. Update - film is still out to composer, sound designer, 2 effects artists, and needs to have final touches done with color correction. We wrapped almost 2 months ago ... somehow i think i'll still be uploading day of.

Side note, got my "Sound for TV and Film" DVD as a prize from Timefest. Thanks Barry Green and David Jimerson!

[Ben Sliker]

ben=gitty.

got to hear a snapshot of the sound design today and received a finished 3d element from a friend who was nice enough to lend his talents to our production. AWESOMENESS ALL AROUND.

trying to make some final CC decisions now!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

ben=gitty.

got to hear a snapshot of the sound design today and received a finished 3d element from a friend who was nice enough to lend his talents to our production. AWESOMENESS ALL AROUND.

trying to make some final CC decisions now!
Great stuff, Ben! You'll be near or at the top of my list.

Cheers,

Mike

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Poster definitely has me intrigued .... :)

[Ben Sliker]

wow, the jack man posts on our thread and i totally miss it. Thanks dude!

*back to the bat cave to finish CC.

[MOVIE MASTER]

Fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ben Sliker]

MM, your signature gives me seizures.

[MOVIE MASTER]

MM, your signature gives me seizures.
i AM GLAD I COULD HELP!!!!!!!

[Tim Joy]

I'm looking forward to an atomic explosion of cinema goodness.

Hey, you should do and AIM session on your own movie. Might be a little biased though...

[Ben Sliker]

Hey, you should do and AIM session on your own movie. Might be a little biased though...

we tried last fest ... here's what happened.

11:02:08 PM Ben Sliker: This is probably the greatest film ever.
11:02:09 PM Brad Mate: Correction ... greatest piece of art in the history of mankind.
11:02:14 PM Ben Sliker: My bad. didn't mean to undercut us like that.
11:02:22 PM Justin Kuhn: They should just mail all the prizes to us now.
11:02:34 PM Ben Sliker: Except for 2nd place stuff, Mark Harris gets that.
11:03:05 PM Brad Mate: Everything else in my life is going to be a disappointment after watching this film.

needless to say, it didn't really work out ... we just repeated those 6 lines for the duration of the film.

[Tim Joy]

Oh yeah. I remember that now.

This time you should trash it and tell us all the dirty little secrets that went on BTS... even if it's made up.

[Ben Sliker]

well, of the 4 people who did AIM sessions last time around, only 2 worked on this film, maybe we can have an attack/defend session.

[Ben Sliker]

wow. my sound team ROCKS.

Inserted final score and sound design into my film this morning, and it was like I was watching a completely new film. The sound IS a character in this film, and I really think you guys are in for an audible treat.

Thank you John Maynard and Siddartha Barnhoorn for their AWESOME work.

[jojopop]

This is damned intriguing... looking forward to it!! Good luck!

[MOVIE MASTER]

YEAH THEIR IS NOTHING LIKE BAD WATER TO GET YOU ON THE RUNs!


and this movie looks like it is gonna rock!

[Ben Sliker]

This is damned intriguing... looking forward to it!! Good luck!


YEAH THEIR IS NOTHING LIKE BAD WATER TO GET YOU ON THE RUNs!


and this movie looks like it is gonna rock!

thanks guys ... just gotta make that upload deadline now. :)

[Ben Sliker]

v1 of our film is uploaded.

desperately scrambling to finish v2.

[Darkline]

thanks for the props ben, this looks loads of fun. Did you get your other version uploaded?

Love the title

[Ben Sliker]

yes, v2 made it in. :)

[Ben Sliker]

seriously ... who else is enjoying doing jack squat right now after scrambling to get a film in?

the fact that i have mon-wed off helps ...

[gabrielflorit]

BTS PHOTO OF THE DAY:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/94Regan.jpg
Our Leading Lady, Regan Deal. "You ain't talking to ME like that? ... HUH? ARE YA?"

I nominate this lady for the Cutest TwilightFest Chick prize.

[Ben Sliker]

I nominate this lady for the Cutest TwilightFest Chick prize.

lol. totally missed this comment. I'll let her know. :)

Oh yeah and ...


My Name Is Harold Allen (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=144372) - Ben Sliker - Uploaded - Approved


BOOYAH. IT'S ON.

[Brian Parker]

Amazing location and awesome grabs. Looking forward to this one. Good luck guys!

[Ben Sliker]

ooo ... i might get this in before everyone watches our film. Make sure to turn this puppy UP, Sid and John did some awesome and intricate work, i'd love for everyone to hear it!

[ZazaCast]

I nominate this lady for the Cutest TwilightFest Chick prize.

I don't know... I think there's some competition here:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/35446/1220075227.jpg

:beer::beer::beer:

[ZazaCast]

O.K., on to the film. Ben & crew... LOVED it! What can I say, as usual you guys have blown my socks off. Great story, well told. Excellent camera work. Really cool VFX. The edit rocks. Audio is solid throughout. I'll watch it a few more times to see if I can find anything wrong with it...but I don't think I will. You have a dark mind & thanks for sharing it with me!

This is sure to get my highest rating...just like the last one...and certainly like the next one! Please keep them coming. You guys are one talented group that consistently delivers top-notch productions.

[Ben Sliker]

O.K., on to the film. Ben & crew... LOVED it! You have a dark mind & thanks for sharing it with me!

I SWEAR we'll making something happy next time ... yeah ... probably not. :)

Thanks for the praise man, i'm stuck here at work, but i'm anxious to get watching some of these!

[Marlon Ladd]

I knew you guys were gonna' send us for a loop somewhere. Because of the poster, I knew there would be something big going on here. As always you had great cinematography and a compelling story. And the VFX (I guess that's what you call it) was really solid. Oh, BTW - the camera peeking around the corner making the guy think someone was there was a very cool shot. Nice job.

[bosindy]

you guys really shine within the psychological suspense genre. I really love the production value ever present in your work. It is always top notch. I look forward to when you expand beyond 6 minutes. nicely done.

[Tim Joy]

Production design was so well done, I couldn't look away for a second. It glued me.

I liked the style, and i'll definitely be watching this one many more times to catch all the things I missed. I think there are a bunch of flash frames that deserve some close inspection. :)

The look was very Clean. I felt that the VO audio quality bothered me a little- not sure what that was.

Overall I was really digging it and this is totally my kind of movie. The moneyshot at the end was awesome.

[Jason Miller]

Ben this was amazing, i dont know where to star so I won't just wow

[darkrequiem1134]

looks wicked rediculous, cant wait to see it.

[Ben Sliker]

I knew you guys were gonna' send us for a loop somewhere. Because of the poster, I knew there would be something big going on here. As always you had great cinematography and a compelling story. And the VFX (I guess that's what you call it) was really solid. Oh, BTW - the camera peeking around the corner making the guy think someone was there was a very cool shot. Nice job.

There was sort of massive subplot that ended up getting dwindled out and that shot is all that's left of it. basically, we wanted to have the idea that he was being watched the whole time. originally there were these creatures that had "survived" the toxic water, but were are mutated. yeah ... they got cut.


you guys really shine within the psychological suspense genre. I really love the production value ever present in your work. It is always top notch. I look forward to when you expand beyond 6 minutes. nicely done.

we'll put you on the mailing list then :) 20 minutes, here i go!


Production design was so well done, I couldn't look away for a second. It glued me.

I liked the style, and i'll definitely be watching this one many more times to catch all the things I missed. I think there are a bunch of flash frames that deserve some close inspection. :)

The look was very Clean. I felt that the VO audio quality bothered me a little- not sure what that was.

Overall I was really digging it and this is totally my kind of movie. The moneyshot at the end was awesome.

thanks! especially from a guy who had an awesome moneyshot in his film! most of the flash frames are man-made water structures, and of course, our little water drop guy. i have like 7-8 designs for him, then i realized that the simple smiley was the creepiest.


Ben this was amazing, i dont know where to star so I won't just wow

i'll take a wow! thanks!

[Darkline]

Hiya Ben,

I know I was quite hard on you last time around, so it's with great pleasure I can say I really enjoyed this. One of the best IMHO. The decisions you made with the styling this time really suited the piece, nothing threw me off. Technically top notch, and the story really pulled me in. You guys went to a lot of effort and it shows. Top marks in all categories.

Hard to pick my absolute fave but it's very close. Ceratinly top 3 for me.

Very pleased for you and the best of luck with this.

[Zim]

The was a good film. It is a stand out for me. Nice work

[Brandon Rice]

Ben,

Wonderful film... easily my favorite from you... I really enjoyed the ride and exploration of what was going on, as seen through your protag's eyes... def. one of the standouts in the fest my friend!

[majikfraug]

I'll save the positives (and there are plenty) for after I watch it again. I know, "What a jerk!" :D
Here's the only negative, and it comes from years of work in the costume department at Cal State San Bernardino: His clothes are not nearly dirty enough. The holes are better then most I've seen (worn through, not cut), but they look like they just came out of the laundry. We have a jar of leather dye that we use to "dirty up" just about everything. It stains the fabric, so you can wash it and it still looks dirty (actually I think we lost it somewhere during the shooting of Survival :( ).
Anyway, it was a small criticism, but with not much else to criticize . . . there it is.

[Ben Sliker]

lol jeremiah, this may be a casualty of the display size. Cause i gotta tell ya, i can't believe that Tom actually put that outfit on, it was disgusting. Perhaps i'll post some high rez grabs or more BTS, and show you THE GROSSNESS. :)

(Thanks for the criticism tho and leather dye idea)

[Mike Manning]

Ben... this is Top Ten material right here.
I really liked it. Honestly, I can't think of anything I really didn't like about it. There was just enough plot there to let us in on what was going on... but without explaining too much to where it got expositional.
I'll have to watch it again so I can find things to nitpick over, but well done man, I really dug it!

[Ben Sliker]

Alright, here it is.

Mrs. Kuhn (insert Justin's mom joke here) did a wonderful job on the costume for Harold and perhaps the 640x360 size of out file didn't show that detail.

Here was our thought process in creating the costume - He's supposed to be dirty, but if I was the last person on earth, i'd want my clothes to last as long as possible, and NOT be dirty. This is evident in the small repairs that he's made to his overshirt, most notably the pocket sewn back on to the overshirt and hole patched on the right shoulder of the undershirt. I would avoid rolling around in dirt and grease as much as possible to avoid having to trudge around in my own muck.

I think what Mrs. Kuhn came up with was a great compromise of an outfit that looks really worn and is dirty, but at the same time, Harold has tried to keep as nice as he can.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/costume1.jpghttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/costume2.jpghttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/costume3.jpg

Jeremiah, thanks for giving me something to post about! :) And just for the sake of curiosity, why would you think he needed to be more dirty? JOHNNY 5 NEEDS MORE INPUT!

[Ben Sliker]

Hiya Ben,

I know I was quite hard on you last time around, so it's with great pleasure I can say I really enjoyed this. One of the best IMHO. The decisions you made with the styling this time really suited the piece, nothing threw me off. Technically top notch, and the story really pulled me in. You guys went to a lot of effort and it shows. Top marks in all categories.

Hard to pick my absolute fave but it's very close. Ceratinly top 3 for me.

Very pleased for you and the best of luck with this.

Darkline, thanks so much, the combination of your film rocking so hard and you being hard on us last time makes me really take this compliment to heart. THANKS!


The was a good film. It is a stand out for me. Nice work

Thanks for the watch!


Ben,

Wonderful film... easily my favorite from you... I really enjoyed the ride and exploration of what was going on, as seen through your protag's eyes... def. one of the standouts in the fest my friend!

Brandon ... why you no enter no more? :) You used to be able to beat me in these fests :evil: THAT'S RIGHT BRICEMAN, I CHALLENGE YOU.

(lol, thanks man, i appreciate it, especially cause you'll watch all these even though you don't have an entry)


Ben... this is Top Ten material right here.
I really liked it. Honestly, I can't think of anything I really didn't like about it. There was just enough plot there to let us in on what was going on... but without explaining too much to where it got expositional.
I'll have to watch it again so I can find things to nitpick over, but well done man, I really dug it!

BRING ON THE NIT PICKS! for serious tho, it gives me an opportunity to share info behind the process that was HAROLD ALLEN! Thanks for the watch and we are happy that you liked it!

[Susanne G.]

I think that you have already a high standard of production, lighting, acting, etc. - I expected this and nothing else, knowing your last two films in dvxuser. I especially like the special effects in this one. Very nice work - compliments! I am not sure if I understood the story. It seems to me that the character is a normal person, nothing special, not a hero - what means that the world will die, because the normal population have the blame with all their habits being like parasites on this planet? Is this the message? I am also not sure what did mean the sign (the sprayed drop of water with the face). This could be the mystic element of twilight, thinking that there is still an other person alive?
However - very professional! :thumbup:

Susanne

[Ben Sliker]

I think that you have already a high standard of production, lighting, acting, etc. - I expected this and nothing else, knowing your last two films in dvxuser. I especially like the special effects in this one. Very nice work - compliments! I am not sure if I understood the story. It seems to me that the character is a normal person, nothing special, not a hero - what means that the world will die, because the normal population have the blame with all their habits being like parasites on this planet? Is this the message? I am also not sure what did mean the sign (the sprayed drop of water with the face). This could be the mystic element of twilight, thinking that there is still an other person alive?
However - very professional! :thumbup:

Susanne

Susanne! thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

I think you are overthinking things a little, here's a basic outline.

Harold is in the classic "last man on the planet" scenario, the problem is, he can't remember a thing (even his own name) or why that is. The "water drop" is the emblem of the organization that he was a part of before everything went awry. To not stuff you with backstory, something that he did involving the water (presumably poisoning it) lead to the death of A LOT (thousands, maybe millions) of people. All of this comes flooding (pun not intended) back into his brain once he sees the emblem.

There's no real over-arching lesson for humanity to it, just one man trying to understand his place in the environment around him. Does that make more sense?

[Susanne G.]

Susanne! thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

I think you are overthinking things a little, here's a basic outline.

Harold is in the classic "last man on the planet" scenario, the problem is, he can't remember a thing (even his own name) or why that is. The "water drop" is the emblem of the organization that he was a part of before everything went awry. To not stuff you with backstory, something that he did involving the water (presumably poisoning it) lead to the death of A LOT (thousands, maybe millions) of people. All of this comes flooding (pun not intended) back into his brain once he sees the emblem.

There's no real over-arching lesson for humanity to it, just one man trying to understand his place in the environment around him. Does that make more sense?

Thanks I understood it now, it makes more sense and thank you also for not making lessons for humanity! :beer:

Susanne

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks I understood it now, it makes more sense and thank you also for not making lessons for humanity! :beer:

Susanne

I'm glad. Oh and lessons for humanity seems a bit out of my paygrade. Maybe when i grow up. :)

[MrKilloran]

This was great. I really enjoyed your editing style especially.

This feels like an introduction to a longer piece, and it certainly got me hooked. Very memorable and it stands out as one of the best.

[Ben Sliker]

This was great. I really enjoyed your editing style especially.

This feels like an introduction to a longer piece, and it certainly got me hooked. Very memorable and it stands out as one of the best.

Haha, you got us. I don't know if it will ever be a longer piece BUT we certainly had to flesh out a longer story so that this smaller one made sense. Thanks for watching!

[deedive]

harold is part of the army of the 12 monkeys, lol
Really liked this piece, you used the montage perfectly.
Loved the way you handled his memory.
One of the best paced films i have seen in all the fests.

[Richard J. Johnson]

One of my favs. No problems at all with this IMHO. It felt much longer than six minutes. Great locations.

[Ben Sliker]

Alright, for those art department people out there.

I fabricated the spear out of some old stuff i had lying around in my garage, a broken painter's pole, and some metal from the rails of an old dresser. I pounded the metal flat with a mini sledge and cut out the triangular shape. I then sawed a slit in the top of the painter's pole, stuck it in a secured it with some duct tape (i figured this wouldn't be out of the realm of possiblities for someone left all by themselves out in the world. This was draft one of the spear.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/spearhead.JPGhttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/spearlong.jpg

Which Justin so lovingly put it ... "It looks cool, but we're not playing f*cking cowboys and Indians" So I went back to the drawing board (and to hobby lobby to pick up some supplies.)

I decided to cut the spear head in a different way, taking off the bottom corners and adding indents to hold some twine. Then I got an 88 cent roll of twine and started to wrap up the top. After tying it off, I covered it in wood glue and let it harden so that it wouldn't move or come undone. I did a similar treatment to the handle for the bottom. The last touches were to nick up the painter's pole and smear some black paint on it. Here's how it turned out:

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/SPEARV2top.JPGhttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/SPEARV2bottom.JPG

The only change i made from there was to douse the whole thing in some dark wood stain, and Voila! you have yourself a post apocalyptic fish/rat hunting spear.

Oh, and here's the cool dolly system I built for us to use - portable and small!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/dollytrack.JPG

[Jarrod Homer]

Awesome stuff! This is probably one of the best that I have watched so far. The story really sucked me in and I would absolutely love to see an expanded version of it. Great Work!

[Ben Sliker]

harold is part of the army of the 12 monkeys, lol
Really liked this piece, you used the montage perfectly.
Loved the way you handled his memory.
One of the best paced films i have seen in all the fests.

haha, our stencil isn't nearly as cool as that one!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/111503766_50fe2b2cc4.jpg?v=0


One of my favs. No problems at all with this IMHO. It felt much longer than six minutes. Great locations.

believe it or not, all of the locations were within about a 1/4 mile of each other. The studio we shot the greenscreen and "cheating" scenes has this phenomenal outdoor area around it and is also under construction so it looked really beat up as well.


Awesome stuff! This is probably one of the best that I have watched so far. The story really sucked me in and I would absolutely love to see an expanded version of it. Great Work!

Thanks Jarrod!

[Mark Johnson]

Methinks there is something amiss here. I posted on this thread earlier today and was surprised to find it and a few other posts missing. (Here's my post: http://174.133.57.30/V6/showpost.php?p=1454341&postcount=143)

However, it doesn't show up here, leading me to suspect that when they updated the server they inadvertently have two instances of the forum running at the same time ????? Could this be the case?

[Mark Johnson]

And here's the link to the "other" page 15: http://174.133.57.30/V6/showthread.php?t=144372&page=15

Kind of appropriate for Twilight Fest, eh? A parallel dimension perhaps?????

[jasonthewho]

I posted this in the other thread Mark refers to, but here it is again:

Loved it! My favorite work I've seen of yours yet.

The editing was excellent, esp. in his memory sequences. Kind of I Heart Huckabees, but still unique in its own right. The shifting memories ("She hated bacon!", replace with apples. Awesome) were done perfectly and were interesting, cinematic, and clever.

Loved the water symbol, and the chime sound cue that accompanied it.

Also liked his name search, a great way to tie it all together.

My big complaint is that the end lacked some clarity for me. I didn't quite get that it was seeing the symbol that brought back his memory. I think only having one shot that connects him to being part of the water poisoning is not quite enough. It slipped by me on the first viewing.

I showed it to my wife, and she really liked it too. Her criticism was that she didn't understand the timeline. If the world destruction was recent, why was Harold hunting for food, when he could easily have found tons of canned food in all these newly abandoned homes? And if it was a long time back, why were his clothes still in such good condition?

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks Mark and Jason!

I'll re-post Mark's comment, cause he obviously took some time to write it out, a link doesn't do it justice.


Without question my absolute favorite of the many "classic" film scenarios is the "last survivors on earth" varietal. I'm a sucker for all of them that are successful in creating a sense of isolation and desolation. I was floored by "On the Beach" - a true masterpiece - but also must admit that I enjoyed almost as much watching the low budget B-flick "The Earth Dies Screaming" (which I would bet money was part of the inspiration for "28 Days"). I still hope desperately for a decent remake of "Day of the Triffids" and for somebody to make a film from the Luna Brothers' graphic novel "Girls." As much as I hated the flaws of Will Smith's "Legend", I still have watched it repeatedly just for the almost flawless rendering of a deserted Manhattan. ... So, it is with great pleasure and no small amount of admiration that I announce that this little 6-minute gem is a happy addition to my personal collection of favorites.

When Ben first asked if we might help him find someone to assist with the closing FX I made a mental note to try and keep the project in the Monster house once I learned what it was. I've always wanted to do a ruined city scene (see, e.g., the DVXUSER VFX Fest "Urban Destruction.") and was delighted when Ben chose to wipe out a substantial portion of the planet.

I also have to give him great credit for rolling with the flow and not descending into panic when the deadline approached and we had not finished the shot. He knows of what I speak and why I am grateful that he has some serious chops of his own to make things happen.

To be able to craft this much scope into this short a piece is a real credit to you guys. This was a great film in the first rough cut I saw, and it is polished and wonderful now. Kudos to everyone involved with pulling this off. We are so honored to have been able to play a small part.

The Dude (for Fat Monster)

And here's Jason's "other" post.


Just realized you already said it is a lead in to a longer piece. Well, glad to know I was right. :)

Jason, I'm really glad you liked it, we left the story where it is cause trying to explain anymore would have been disastrous in the 6 minute arena, unfortunately, this leaves viewers like you a little out in the dark, or as you said, with less clarity than needed. What we wanted to leave the viewers with was that something VERY bad happened and it started with him.

I'm surprised nobody's asked me if that was a real rat ... :)

[jasonthewho]

"Viewers like me"? What are you trying to imply?

;) Just kidding, I know what you meant. At least, I hope I know what you meant.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Hey, guys! Nice work.

I think your banners kind of gave things away a bit, at least that's how I felt while watching. Still great stuff though.

I need more though. Which isn't a bad thing as long as that's what was intended.
Beautifully shot. You guys are really making great looking movies and are definitely hitting your stride. You have a look that I really dig.

Good acting as well.

Nice work, guys!

Mike

[Ben Sliker]

"Viewers like me"? What are you trying to imply?

;) Just kidding, I know what you meant. At least, I hope I know what you meant.

lol ... viewers that need more clarity, like you ... cause ... you said you wanted more clarity ... :beer:


Hey, guys! Nice work.

I need more though.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US MIKE? WE GIVE AND GIVE AND ALL YOU WANT IS MORE! WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU HAPPY MIKE?! MORE SHORT FILMS FROM US? WOULD THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY? TELL ME! I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS. AND YOU KNOW I'M YELLING CAUSE I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS.

all goofiness aside, thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, is there anything specific you would have liked to have seen in the 6 minutes? or just more specifics in general? or do you think the story was too large for the time limit?

Thanks Mike!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

all goofiness aside, thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, is there anything specific you would have liked to have seen in the 6 minutes? or just more specifics in general? or do you think the story was too large for the time limit?

Thanks Mike!No problem.

I think it was a little large for the six minutes. I would have liked to have seen a little more on what he did to cause the problems with the water. And maybe a hint as to how it managed to spread so much.

And yes, I want to see more from you guys! It's always a nice ride.

Cheers,

Mike

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks Mike! I really value the in-depth commentary like that. Like I said, we fleshed out a longer back story so that this short story would make sense. Here's what it included.

Numerous secret underground organizations.
A food shortage.
Nuclear War.
Mutated Humans.
A search for a loved one.

Now that i think of it ... that probably doesn't clear anything up for you. Just know that Harold is a small but vital piece to the end of the world. :)

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Thanks Mike! I really value the in-depth commentary like that. Like I said, we fleshed out a longer back story so that this short story would make sense. Here's what it included.

Numerous secret underground organizations.
A food shortage.
Nuclear War.
Mutated Humans.
A search for a loved one.

Now that i think of it ... that probably doesn't clear anything up for you. Just know that Harold is a small but vital piece to the end of the world. :)No problem, Ben. I would line up to see the longer version with all those elements. :thumbup:

Glad you appreciated the comments. I would actually like a real Ben Sliker review when you have the chance.
That's why I didn't sign up for an AIM session this Fest. I can never tell what you really think in those.
Although I enjoyed getting the first one last Fest. :)

As a filmmaker who really respects your work I'm looking forward to reading what you thought. When you have six minutes slap on the headphones (Herman and Rutger's work is amazing) and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers,

Mike

[Steve Strickland]

Really nice job guys! The cinematography, sound design, acting, and pacing were top notch.

My only minor critique would be to see more of how he created his fate. I know this is hard to do in six minutes, and I bet the longer cut would take care of that.

I really love the low angle dolly shot. Amazing. Such a pleasure to look at. I felt everything in your framing was deliberate.

Very high on my list. Cheers!:beer:

[majikfraug]

Alright, here it is.

Mrs. Kuhn (insert Justin's mom joke here) did a wonderful job on the costume for Harold and perhaps the 640x360 size of out file didn't show that detail.

Here was our thought process in creating the costume - He's supposed to be dirty, but if I was the last person on earth, i'd want my clothes to last as long as possible, and NOT be dirty. This is evident in the small repairs that he's made to his overshirt, most notably the pocket sewn back on to the overshirt and hole patched on the right shoulder of the undershirt. I would avoid rolling around in dirt and grease as much as possible to avoid having to trudge around in my own muck.

I think what Mrs. Kuhn came up with was a great compromise of an outfit that looks really worn and is dirty, but at the same time, Harold has tried to keep as nice as he can.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/costume1.jpghttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/costume2.jpghttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/costume3.jpg

Jeremiah, thanks for giving me something to post about! :) And just for the sake of curiosity, why would you think he needed to be more dirty? JOHNNY 5 NEEDS MORE INPUT!

Yup, definitely a rez issue. I stand humbly corrected. I loved the shoes, btw, if that helps. I understand the problem, Ive had to make things REALLY dirty to look dirty enough on my DVX, even at 853x480. It just seemed a little too clean around the holes, where it should have been worn/stained through, in my opinion. But again, it looks plenty fine in the pics you posted, so maybe the grading could have brought that out more, ot maybe I'm just being nit-picky :)

[majikfraug]

Oh and: they wouldn't be related to any Kuhns living in Apple Valley, CA, would they?

[Ben Sliker]

Yup, definitely a rez issue. I stand humbly corrected. I loved the shoes, btw, if that helps. I understand the problem, Ive had to make things REALLY dirty to look dirty enough on my DVX, even at 853x480. It just seemed a little too clean around the holes, where it should have been worn/stained through, in my opinion. But again, it looks plenty fine in the pics you posted, so maybe the grading could have brought that out more, ot maybe I'm just being nit-picky :)

Ah for sure, that makes more sense. I think some of the intricate gritty details were lost, it's almost like stage makeup i guess ... if we made him really dirty it would look good at 360p, but at 720p, people would be like "damn ... now that's dirty"


Oh and: they wouldn't be related to any Kuhns living in Apple Valley, CA, would they?

I have no idea. Don't know if Justin is crawling this thread much, I'll ask him. Apparently there's a lot of Slikers in Jersey, haven't met one of them.

[clarkage]

Hey great film! I thought that everything played out perfectly and i loved the whole story line and the cinematography! Just a question do you think you could PM me your export setting? What do you use?

[jasonthewho]

Here's my question about the clothes. Why doesn't he just break into people's houses and steal clothes out of their closets?

[Ben Sliker]

Here's my question about the clothes. Why doesn't he just break into people's houses and steal clothes out of their closets?

presumably ... everyone is dead and rotting. or a mutant. or on fire. so ... considering he can't remember a damn thing. it's not a top priority for him? that's all i got.

[Ben Sliker]

Hey great film! I thought that everything played out perfectly and i loved the whole story line and the cinematography! Just a question do you think you could PM me your export setting? What do you use?

will do. and thanks for the watch! I use QT pro, best 30 dollars ive ever spent.

[pauly_the_hitman]

I really liked this one it had a great story and a cool illusive quality that kept me watching it waiting to see if he caused all of this. Well shot great acting and good story. Well one.
BTW this is a picture of what my brother was trying to say about the wardrobe.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/album.php?albumid=48&pictureid=395http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=48&pictureid=395
Pauly

[jefflebowski]

Two things are important with a short story like this. First, if there is some ambiguity about what led your protagonist to his current situation, there better be some decent payoff. And secondly, make it interesting along the way. I'd say you adhered to these principles closely enough to keep my interest. Personally, the line, "I killed the world" is good enough for a six minute film. I don't really need to need more. So kudos for that. I especially like the contradictory narrative. "She broke up with me"-"I broke up with her." This really works and I'll be thinking about it for a while. I like when you make me think!

You have also paid close attention to detail in this film. That is why it feels complete.

Overall, great film. I appreciate all that I suspect you went through to make it.

[Ben Sliker]

You have also paid close attention to detail in this film. That is why it feels complete.

Overall, great film. I appreciate all that I suspect you went through to make it.

thanks jeff, it's nice to know that our details shined through. I think the only thing I had to concede was having one rat on the spit instead of three like in the script. :)

[Ben Sliker]

I really liked this one it had a great story and a cool illusive quality that kept me watching it waiting to see if he caused all of this. Well shot great acting and good story. Well one.
Pauly

Thanks Pauly!

[heccky]

cool:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

[John LaBonney]

I really enjoyed this film, great editing and visual effects. Awesome shot composition and good acting. It felt to me like more than a six minute short, almost like you fit an epic saga in there. I felt like I was watching for twenty minutes! I've enjoyed all the post-apocalyptic stuff in this fest (I'm not all about rebellious kids sneaking into the barn to commit the subversive act of dancing, see?), and this one was no exception.

Love to see you do an AIM session on this one...

Great job!

[Ben Sliker]

cool:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Glad you liked it. I'll take three thumbs up any day. Although, I'm curious how you got three thumbs.


I really enjoyed this film, great editing and visual effects. Awesome shot composition and good acting. It felt to me like more than a six minute short, almost like you fit an epic saga in there. I felt like I was watching for twenty minutes! I've enjoyed all the post-apocalyptic stuff in this fest (I'm not all about rebellious kids sneaking into the barn to commit the subversive act of dancing, see?), and this one was no exception.

Love to see you do an AIM session on this one...

Great job!

I have to get enough people on the horn who weren't a part of it, it's definitely a possibility. Thanks John!

[DavisOsborne]

can't wait to see what you boy's did with this one.......all my best)))......Rock It to the Top!!!

[stinkpot]

Heavy Duty! Last man on earth stories are always high on my personal list and yours really made my day. Everything from pacing to production quality was very good. The score worked well and the ending was just right.

:beer:

[hoz]

i liked your film! very good use of imagination with all of the switching around. loved the plate of food scene and of his girlfriend scenarios. this is really cool and different! awesome touch!

liked the logo of the water drop and the ending was great. good switch on showing the end of the world through the eyes of the dude who might've done the deed.

don't know if i cared for the cooking the rat scene, not sure it helped the story along all that much, it looked plenty real but it was a little slow there, gotta see it again though to be sure.

this film shows a lot of work and effort and it does looks great!

[Ben Sliker]

can't wait to see what you boy's did with this one.......all my best)))......Rock It to the Top!!!

Thanks Davis! We need to have a sit down about our next project.... :)


Heavy Duty! Last man on earth stories are always high on my personal list and yours really made my day. Everything from pacing to production quality was very good. The score worked well and the ending was just right.

:beer:

Thanks for the watch!


i liked your film! very good use of imagination with all of the switching around. loved the plate of food scene and of his girlfriend scenarios. this is really cool and different! awesome touch!

liked the logo of the water drop and the ending was great. good switch on showing the end of the world through the eyes of the dude who might've done the deed.

don't know if i cared for the cooking the rat scene, not sure it helped the story along all that much, it looked plenty real but it was a little slow there, gotta see it again though to be sure.

this film shows a lot of work and effort and it does looks great!

Thanks for the praise. As for the rat scene, a. that is a REAL rat. Justin picked it up from the pet store on the way to the fire scene. But before you call PETA on us, it was a freeze-dried rat, but that doesn't mean that it didn't bleed when I had to jab a sharpened stick through its side. Tom has a great picture of it, definitely top ten grossest things I've done. As for the motivation of the scene, we wanted to show an emotional transformation for Harold. In the beginning, he's at least hopeful he will remember his past, and that notion gradually dissipates until he's in front of the fire, and becomes emotional about it. I agree that it's a touch long, but the edit was hindered by a couple beats and a one take. (the one where Tom actually throws the book in the fire, that's a real reaction, it was just supposed to get close, but he went with it and it turned out awesome.) Glad you enjoyed the film!

[Dick Campbell]

lot of good editing work evident here. A good watch and pretty good as "last man" stories go.

[Bryce A]

Great flick. I’m a sucker for the apocalypse and this showed it in an different light. It was one of the more original takes on the last man senerio I’ve seen this fest. By the time it got to the last line, I knew what it was going to say and was happy when it did.

The opening got me off on the wrong foot. I was worried about the direction, because fo the lines used. We’ve heard them before (then again maybe that’s what you were going for). But the structure and reality of the film (as his memories) soon came in and put it on the right track. I wrote a film for lovefest that dealt with similar ideas of remembering what you want, not necessarily what was. That said, it was fun seeing it applied into the mind of a man with the world on his shoulders.

My only real cons were the close ups of water. For some reason they just bothered me. Maybe I don’t feel like they match the rest of the film? I’d also say the score was a bit over dramatic at parts. I’m not saying the score was bad (it wasn’t). I just thought often put A LOT of emphasis on how crazy something was. i.e. the brick names, water drop symbols. Camera work at those parts for that matter.

All in all, great work.

Placement of water drop symbols was fun too!

[alex whitmer]

Just averything about this felt big screen. I love the way the confusion of his life played out - name, who did who - a great and playful execution.

Nicely filmed - like you have both the tech and the artistry thing down. Left brain and right brain.

I didn't care for the breaking of the forth wall.

Also, your poster shows a nuclear mushroom, but according to this, it's the water. Did I miss something?

Love the small clues with the water drop. Very clever.

If I had not read the tag line, I may have missed the depth of the payoff. Also, he killed the entire planet?

Little Tom Hanks-ish with the stabbing of the fish, but excusable. MAkes up for it with the rat skewer.

Really enjoyed this one.

alex

[Ben Sliker]

Great flick. I’m a sucker for the apocalypse and this showed it in an different light. It was one of the more original takes on the last man senerio I’ve seen this fest. By the time it got to the last line, I knew what it was going to say and was happy when it did.

The opening got me off on the wrong foot. I was worried about the direction, because fo the lines used. We’ve heard them before (then again maybe that’s what you were going for). But the structure and reality of the film (as his memories) soon came in and put it on the right track. I wrote a film for lovefest that dealt with similar ideas of remembering what you want, not necessarily what was. That said, it was fun seeing it applied into the mind of a man with the world on his shoulders.

My only real cons were the close ups of water. For some reason they just bothered me. Maybe I don’t feel like they match the rest of the film? I’d also say the score was a bit over dramatic at parts. I’m not saying the score was bad (it wasn’t). I just thought often put A LOT of emphasis on how crazy something was. i.e. the brick names, water drop symbols. Camera work at those parts for that matter.

All in all, great work.

Placement of water drop symbols was fun too!

bryce, thanks for the nuanced and well thought out review. I always love for the score to become a character in the film, and sometimes the feel is different for the viewer than it is for me, so I can understand what you mean. As far as the water shots go, I CC'd them to be a bit jarring and over-saturated, whether it's for his dream or flashbacks, it's a reminder for him. He doesn't quite know what happened, but there's a strong chance it had to do with water, cause that's what he dreams/sees when he tries to remember.



I didn't care for the breaking of the forth wall.

I don't quite get what you mean here. more explanation please!


Also, your poster shows a nuclear mushroom, but according to this, it's the water. Did I miss something?

It's a metaphor for 2 separate worlds, you'll see that the tree is perfectly healthy in the "water" half of the poster, representing the world he once lived in and the world he had a hand in destroying.


If I had not read the tag line, I may have missed the depth of the payoff. Also, he killed the entire planet?

Harold makes what you can call an overly dramatic statement at the end of the film. Since he had a hand in it, the weight of his guilt makes him feel like "he killed the world", when in reality, he was probably more like a catalyst in an escalating conflict.

[alex whitmer]

Okay, that clears up the poster.

4th wall - when a character looks directly into the camera - sometimes speaks.

Malcomn in the Middle used it effectively. Usually I don't like it. The audience is supposed to attach themselves to the MC, and when the MC stares right back at you, that is called breaking the 4th wall.

a

[Ben Sliker]

oh yeah, for sure. the misspelling got me, i was like, forth wall, wtf?

needless to say i don't make connections with homonyms very well ...

[Tim Joy]

I was watching this a couple more times and I always wonder about those brick names. It's a cool idea and shot, but what are they?

[Marlon Ladd]

So, are you guys gonna' add the mutants back in for the Director's Cut? That would be cool.

[Ben Sliker]

I was watching this a couple more times and I always wonder about those brick names. It's a cool idea and shot, but what are they?

There's a few ways that I could answer this, so i'll just give you them all.

1. They were from a pile of bricks sitting next to a destroyed building.

2. It's a game that's he's playing to A. waste some time, and B. perhaps choose a new name for himself, like a little single elimination tournament. He throws a rock, if he breaks part of a window, he makes a mark under one, if he misses, the other. As you can see, "TOM" won out 4 times in a row.

3. Originally, the concept was to just draw a large bracket of names (perhaps 30-40 names) in the dirt and pan up, but as you can tell from the marks, it didn't show up clear enough to play. The idea there was to show that he's been doing this for a LONG time.


So, are you guys gonna' add the mutants back in for the Director's Cut? That would be cool.

We didn't really shoot any of that stuff. Justin originally came to me with this concept and also ponied up most of the $$ to shoot it, so the intellectual property is his. I really don't know what his plans are with it.

[King Cole]

Nice work. I enjoyed watching this. I must emphasize that overall this was a great entry. Certain parts worked very well for me, but others not so much. I REALLY liked the changes in the memory. I liked the blue screen stuff (even though it wasn't my favorite visually) because it was a cool concept. I liked the substitution of the characters in the cheating scenes, I liked the idea of trying out names or trying to remember names, etc. Didn't quite understand the whole brick thing and it wasn't as impressive dementia as the soundtrack may have indicated, but I DID get that it was a name thing he was working on and the camera movement was nice. I wasn't sure about how memory fit in with the end of the world. Was it the water? Why did the whole relationship with the girl matter at this point? I didn't understand the water logo and why it was significant. I felt like some of these elements detracted from what I thought was a beautiful thrust of a man trying to remember his life in a now very ugly world. Since it was all so arbitrary in his mind, I didn't feel like the water signs were anchors enough to give me an idea of what happened.

Again, I liked this entry a lot, just putting to words any questions or criticism I could think of. This was an ambitious undertaking that certainly works well as a short. Thanks for sharing it with us.

JC

[Ben Sliker]

King Cole, hope you don't mind if I tear your thoughts apart a bit, give you a little insight to where we were coming from/things you may have missed.


I wasn't sure about how memory fit in with the end of the world. Was it the water?

That's one of those "suspension of disbelief" questions. There is no answer, other than us asking you to believe that he doesn't remember anything and to run with it. Hence the line in the beginning "I don't remember why", frankly, we didn't think it was important enough to spend time on in the 6 min.


Why did the whole relationship with the girl matter at this point? I didn't understand the water logo and why it was significant.

The relationship matters because he doesn't remember any of the "big picture", he's trying to get the basics down first, what's my name, where did i live, what car did i drive, what did my GF look like? Like trying to jog his memory by visiting familiar places or things.

The water logo is important because it's his trigger. It's a direct lift from 12 monkeys or fight club. He was involved in a terrorist-like organization and that was their "mark". They left it wherever they did something bad. So when he sees the logo again, it all floods back to him.


I felt like some of these elements detracted from what I thought was a beautiful thrust of a man trying to remember his life in a now very ugly world. Since it was all so arbitrary in his mind, I didn't feel like the water signs were anchors enough to give me an idea of what happened.

I don't really think any of what he was thinking was arbitrary. Especially the water triggers. Like me running up to my computer and then forgetting what it was i was going to look up. Harold knows that what he is thinking/dreaming has to do with how the world came to be how it is. He narrates "I can remember a little bit, little pieces here and there, pieces that used to fit together, I don't have the box they came in anymore." So like I said, he's knows there's a big picture and knows that what he can remember has something to do with it, he just can't put it all together.

As far as "what EXACTLY happened" to the world, we just didn't have the time for all that backstory to fit in, we fast-forwarded to the present, the end. I commented before that Harold makes an overly dramatic statement - "I killed the world", this is mostly out of his guilt. He killed a lot of people, but in reality, was probably just the start, or the catalyst to the end of the world, he still feels responsible for the whole thing.

[Justin Kuhn]

So, are you guys gonna' add the mutants back in for the Director's Cut? That would be cool.

As far as that goes I actually grabbed some more POV "watching" stuff under a nearby loading dock, Tom wanted to do it and that played into what I wanted to do, so he and I sort of ganged up on Ben and got it before we switched sets. It was easy to get done quickly because it had natural lighting I liked (and all these super-cool support beams at odd angles) and the POV was handheld. As a filmmaker I generally like to use everything that gets shot, but I knew it was too confusing and beside the point to leave in so I didn't argue too much over not using it in the movie. But Ben might trot out some stuff like that if you're lucky.

[Edgen]

great film fellas! Loved the shots and great to finally see the marketing of the water droplet come to life on screen. I'm not sure I understood the film the first time around, but hey... that's what twilight fest is for right?

congrats on entering and looking forward to your next film.

/j

[Ben Sliker]

Justin, no comments on Sid's score? Love to hear what another pro has to say about it. :)

[Ben Sliker]

But Ben might trot out some stuff like that if you're lucky.

sure, i'll put together a cutting room floor piece, will give me a chance to use DVXuser's new embed video tool. :) Maybe tonight.

[Troy Ruff]

Man I really love the shots you got, very clean, I agree with Edgen the water drops were amazing. I don't think I really get the point either, but I will watch it again. Congrats you guys, great job. :)

[Ben Sliker]

Guys and Gals, here's some stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor, some more "watching harold from a distance" stuff and the original ending we shot, it was good, too bad we ran out of light outside. We also decided that those train tracks were a little "too clean" since they had been recently used.

ee98d1b81c1ae164

The MotionBox embed tool is really cool, the only issue I have with it is that you must upgrade to Flash 10 (considering it just came out, and flash 9 has permeated about 95% of the market). But other than that, awesome tool, thanks mods for putting it together for us.

[Inexistence]

Excellent job Sliker! The editing is crisp, score supported the short without 'being the star' and
the sound design was spot on. Visually I felt the look of the short varied from shot to shot, but
the story was engaging. I missed something on the first go around, but caught it on the second
viewing. This is a solid top five short for sure.

[Ben Sliker]

Excellent job Sliker! The editing is crisp, score supported the short without 'being the star' and
the sound design was spot on. Visually I felt the look of the short varied from shot to shot, but
the story was engaging. I missed something on the first go around, but caught it on the second
viewing. This is a solid top five short for sure.

thanks a lot, i think that may be one of the things i re-visit post-fest, giving the things that are real one consistent look, and giving the things in his brain another consistent look. (perhaps a yellow/orange look vs. blue) So, thanks for that criticism, I needed someone else to tell me that to make sure that it was important enough to re-visit. :beer:

[joeloud]

I like seeing creative editing like with the memories swapping in and out. You get a better sense of what the lead character is thinking about, with all the disjointed imagery. This is among my top 5. Good job, guys.

[DavisOsborne]

the editing is modern and crisp..nice work! love the cinematography and differing images of water (it becomes a character), the scenes with the summer sprinkler and lifeless children laying in the grass are beautiful and tells a story that no dialogue could ever speak. i dug the fact that he searched his mind to just remember his own name, like a mental dog-tag that had been lost in his denial............overall.....i drank this piece in.....and stumbled away Happily intoxicated)

[Ben Sliker]

I like seeing creative editing like with the memories swapping in and out. You get a better sense of what the lead character is thinking about, with all the disjointed imagery. This is among my top 5. Good job, guys.

Thanks for watching!


i dug the fact that he searched his mind to just remember his own name, like a mental dog-tag that had been lost in his denial............overall.....i drank this piece in.....and stumbled away Happily intoxicated)

Davis, you warrior poet you. Thanks for checking in on us :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

And you guys even warned us: Don't drink the water.

(and it's good water too)

[Brian Parker]

One of my favs this fest. Great cinematography, story, actors, everything. Awesome work. Nothing much else that I can really say. Amazing job! :beer:

[jojopop]

Very cool. I loved the editing with the memory sequences... you really got across how subjective our memories can be. Awesome... with style.

Voiceover can also be pretty tough but I think your actor and your overall direction made it work.

And I loved the last line of the film. That made it for me.

Great work!

[Ben Sliker]

And you guys even warned us: Don't drink the water.

(and it's good water too)

haha :) I'm glad our little viral marketing campaign paid off for someone.


One of my favs this fest. Great cinematography, story, actors, everything. Awesome work. Nothing much else that I can really say. Amazing job! :beer:


Very cool. I loved the editing with the memory sequences... you really got across how subjective our memories can be. Awesome... with style. Voiceover can also be pretty tough but I think your actor and your overall direction made it work. And I loved the last line of the film. That made it for me. Great work!

Thanks for the continued praise everyone. It's really nice to see the hard work everyone put into this connect with the audience. :beer:

[gabrielflorit]

I love all the pickup shots, it takes a lot to get so many, they're very well done. I also like the poisonous water montage, did you shoot that in 30p? High shutter? I like, it makes it different from the rest. Great locations, great lighting.

I liked the story, but I think it got weak near the end - you didn't need the last minute, we already knew what had happened. I think maybe you could have focused more on the poisonous water gang and less on the end of the world scenario?

I must say I absolutely love the - don't know how to describe it, the series of shots where we see the lead doing something that's opposite what the VO says, eg he's cheating on his wife / then she's cheating on him, I love all those parallel shots, really well done.

[Ben Sliker]

I love all the pickup shots, it takes a lot to get so many, they're very well done. I also like the poisonous water montage, did you shoot that in 30p? High shutter? I like, it makes it different from the rest. Great locations, great lighting.

I liked the story, but I think it got weak near the end - you didn't need the last minute, we already knew what had happened. I think maybe you could have focused more on the poisonous water gang and less on the end of the world scenario?

I must say I absolutely love the - don't know how to describe it, the series of shots where we see the lead doing something that's opposite what the VO says, eg he's cheating on his wife / then she's cheating on him, I love all those parallel shots, really well done.

Thanks for the lengthy review! The sprinkler was shot in 60p with a high shutter to get all that nice water in motion. It stinks that the story didn't pan out for you at the end, but I think it would have cheapened both parts if we tried to explain more about the water poisoning gang, cause for me, this is a movie about one man. I hoped that we at least gave a vibe that there was something brewing that was much bigger than this one man, the payoff at the end was showing what that big thing was. Was there any specific point where you knew what the ending was going to be? (excuse my director's neverending need for input) :) We're glad you liked it! :dankk2:

[Susanne G.]

Congratulations! :beer:

Susanne

[pauly_the_hitman]

Congratulations on making the top 7 I really liked your short.
Pauly

[Ben Sliker]

Congratulations on making the top 7 I really liked your short.
Pauly

THANKS!

http://www.hybridcars.com/files/imagecache/article_lead_image/files/graphics/south-park-smug-313.gif

[Mike Manning]

Congrats! Glad to be up there with your film!

[Darkline]

Ben, I would say 'well done' but I'll wait for my AIM session before I say anything too nice. I might regret it.

Really good film guys. you made my top 7 for sure.

[Tim Joy]

Congrats! You deserve it!

[Steve Strickland]

Ben, congrats on your film. I'm honored to be on the list with you.

Va Beach isn't THAT far from Charlotte. We need make a movie together.

:beer: Steve

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Congrat's guys! Nice job.

Mike

[galbach]

:beer:Congratulations! If you are ever in VA Beach Look us up!!

[Ben Sliker]

Ben, congrats on your film. I'm honored to be on the list with you.

Va Beach isn't THAT far from Charlotte. We need make a movie together.

:beer: Steve


:beer:Congratulations! If you are ever in VA Beach Look us up!!

i will, we actually were just up there for the 4th of July, I grew up in VA Beach (from about 2 YO to 2nd grade!)

[Mark Johnson]

Great job Ben. You've made a gorgeous film and you deserve all the accolades you get.

[Brian Parker]

Awesome! You're in! Congrats!

[Ben Sliker]

Ben, I would say 'well done' but I'll wait for my AIM session before I say anything too nice. I might regret it.

Really good film guys. you made my top 7 for sure.

Oh ... you're going down for sure. :) But remember, you asked for it....

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Congratulations. Really enjoyed your flick but too busy to comment properly. Working today till just now, but will leave feedback soon.

Very well deserved.

:beer:

[Sid Barnhoorn]

Congratz, Ben! :-)

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks Sid! (you were a big part of it man!)

And Thanks Jack, look forward to the review!

[Ben Sliker]

MORE BTS!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0169.jpg
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0191.jpg
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0201.jpg
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0095.jpg
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0131.jpg
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0135.jpg
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0167.jpg

[Tim Joy]

MORE BTS!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0131.jpg


Proof that true filmmakers spend all their money on gear.... none on pants.

[Tim Joy]

I want to see how you did that dolly shot over the walls. Any pics of that?

[Ben Sliker]

Proof that true filmmakers spend all their money on gear.... none on pants.

lol. you're argument is problematic, it's also obvious from homemade dolly and spiderbrace that we don't spend money on equipment :)


I want to see how you did that dolly shot over the walls. Any pics of that?

hmm ... i don't think i have any pics of that. But here's how we did it. The room that we shot that in has an open ceiling going in to the hallway.

It's the hallway and the room behind the wall in this shot.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0191.jpg

So, we put an 8ft piece of dolly track on the edge of the ceiling and braced it with two c-stands/boomarms on either end. as for the dolly, I drilled a hole as close as I could to the edge without interfering with the wheels, and justin tilted the tripod head down over the edge to get the "bird's eye" angle, of course, we counterweighted the other side of the dolly so that it wouldn't tip over from 10 ft up. From there, justin just ran it back and forth, (he was sitting on a ladder) i was directing from behind the wall in the back room (where the making-out was occurring).

My favorite part about those shots is that they cut together well. Also the shoes on the ground, i thought it would be neat for them to change.

[Tim Joy]

Cool way to use an available space. I thought it was a set. The dolly moves match up really well and adds a lot to the story. Same thing with the dolly move into that wipe transition. Wipes always seem cheesy to me, except when they're done in such a way that makes them invisible. I didn't even notice it the first time. :thumbup:

I have another question- Why did you choose to greenscreen the girl? Practicality? To match the guys montages?

[Mike Manning]

Show us how you got that overhead shot that glides from room to room!

[Tim Joy]

Beat you to it Mike. Check a couple posts back.

[Ben Sliker]

Cool way to use an available space. I thought it was a set. The dolly moves match up really well and adds a lot to the story. Same thing with the dolly move into that wipe transition. Wipes always seem cheesy to me, except when they're done in such a way that makes them invisible. I didn't even notice it the first time. :thumbup:

I have another question- Why did you choose to greenscreen the girl? Practicality? To match the guys montages?

:) I rarely do a wipe that i can't hide. Of course, we all can't be George Lucas.

thanks, yeah, that whole dolly sequence i came up with on the fly the day before shoot. The original plan was to shoot that scene in a library and to have Harold be staring through a rack of books to them making out on the other side. Justin had some trouble securing a library location in Greensboro, so we decided to shoot it in the photography studio where he works. I looked up at that hallway and yelled to Justin ... "Dude! Dolly over the door ... let's do this."

As for the greenscreen, yes, we wanted to match Harold's thoughts about himself to his thoughts about Julia. She is a calming presence for him, and so his memories of her are a little less disjointed but he still can't remember specifics, aka the "Kansas (Iowa) (Wisconsin)" line. That and practicality of driving an actress who was only there for 4 hours out in the middle of a farm field. Also adding the timelapse sky shot was cool as well to match the dialogue behind it. We wanted to give the impression with the line "God, I always loved making breakfast for her", that he made breakfast for her after she slept over (hence the sexy ensemble and sunrise timelapse).

[Darkline]

Show us how you got that overhead shot that glides from room to room!


Yeh I was well impressed with that. I was like 'they built a whole set!! or they are so poor they cant afford a roof'.

[Ben Sliker]

or they are so poor they cant afford a roof'.

rofl!

But seriosuly, i feel left out cause I haven't got a review from SparkyZa, that guy is posting like a madman.

[Darkline]

Your film was rubbish!

lots of love

SparkyZa

[Ben Sliker]

Your film was rubbish!

lots of love

SparkyZa

Something tells me that this really isn't SparkyZa ... wait ... I know what it is! He used Rubbish! This guy must be British ... wait ... snarky ... british ... DAMN YOU DARKLINE!:)

[Gord.T]

I guess I'm late for the party. Oh well.

I liked everything. A couple minor visual things but I'm sure they've been covered.
A number of shots had that artistic look to it which I really like.
And the ending I was not expecting. What a great line to end with.

And, not sure if it's just the mood I'm in but I was engrossed through out the whole thing (maybe cause I'm actually sober at this particular moment :)) .Also, I think the music really added to the flow of things so that helped slide everything along quite smoothly.

Yeah, it just felt easy to watch. Nice short, glad I finally got to it.

[Ben Sliker]

I guess I'm late for the party. Oh well.

hell no man! party's just started! grab a beer!


I liked everything. A couple minor visual things but I'm sure they've been covered.
A number of shots had that artistic look to it which I really like.
And the ending I was not expecting. What a great line to end with.

And, not sure if it's just the mood I'm in but I was engrossed through out the whole thing (maybe cause I'm actually sober at this particular moment :)) .Also, I think the music really added to the flow of things so that helped slide everything along quite smoothly.

Yeah, it just felt easy to watch. Nice short, glad I finally got to it.

I'm glad we grabbed you and held your attention. Now, challenge. Get totally hammered and watch it, please post thoughts afterwards. I want all perspectives! :) Thanks for taking the time to watch and review Raptor, we appreciate it!

[Ben Sliker]

I wanted to talk a bit about this shot cause how Jessie set it up was really cool. We shot this in the same room that the "making out" was going on:

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/DSC_0201.jpg

There are a number of lighting gags that are at work here. First off, the small "vial" that Tom is holding is the case that an Apple iSight camera comes in. In that vial, I dropped some knowledge on the crew that highlighter juice glows under black light. So I squeezed out 5 highlighters worth into the vial and added a little water.

Here's what the lighting diagram looked like, I'll explain everyone's role and light modifications below.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/HAROLD/DVXUSER/lightingdiagram.jpg

Ben - I was sitting on the "make out" bed calling the shots and holding the bar style black light as close as i could to the vial without being in the shot.
Justin - On camera
Jessie - Jessie was on the floor shaking the bin of water/broken mirror shards to make it look like water was shining up on his face.

I believe the back light was just an open face ARRI light. The ARRI in front was tilted down at the glass to reflect back up on his face and had a couple blue-ish green gels on the front that Jessie had in her Jelly Roll. We also hung a black sheet in the back so that it was easier to eliminate the background by crushing the blacks a little in post.

[Texture]

An incredible effort, but I'm sorry to say I was a bit distracted by how well groomed the last man on earth was... Top notch production in every way, sorry to have gotten hung up on this small detail...

[Ben Sliker]

texture, sorry that that got in the way of you enjoying the film, that's a bummer. Again, might be one of those things that doesn't translate to screen well, but Tom was gross, un-showered, greasy, disgusting clothes, there was nothing that said "groomed" about him to me. We also didn't want to stoop to hyperbole on his look either, meaning make it look so ridiculously awful and disgusting that people would have to wonder how it got that bad for him. It's a double edged sword really. We also didn't want to give the impression that he just stopped caring about himself as a human, he's patched up some of his clothing, tried to keep as clean as possible (somewhat unsuccessfully). Sure, we could have had a scene where he finds an old razor and shaves or cuts his hair with some rusty scissors, but it really wouldn't have been an efficient use of our 6 minutes, cause that's really not what the film is about. Anywho ... that's what I was thinking, it's definitely a detail that we hoped the viewer would file under their suspension of disbelief.

Regardless, thanks for watching and taking the time to comment, we're ecstatic that you thought everything else was top notch. Cheers. :beer:

[Texture]

Awe Ben, sorry I can just be silly, its a Virgo problem I think. Best of Luck in the final voting!!!

[Ben Sliker]

hey thanks man, i think it's important to let people know what the thought process was behind things sometimes!

Virgo here too. :)

[Ben Sliker]

As we near the end, I'm reminded of an anecdote from my cousin Dan.

Dan, in his college years, used to volunteer for the special olympics. A few members of his fraternity were matched up with a special needs olympian named Danny. I forget what Danny competed in, but Dan said he was a very big man, and sometimes unaware of his strength. Danny would win events and then almost crush fraternity men, tackling them in his excitement. Before a particular event tho, Danny wanted Dan to take him up to the announcer's booth to see what it was like. So, Dan obliged, and off they went. As soon as Dan opened the door to the booth, Danny rushed the announcer, stole his microphone, hit the PA button and yelled:

"GOOD LUCK ... EVERYBODY!"

And then proceeded to walk calmly back out of the booth.

[Gord.T]

I took your earlier challenge but not that night, albeit I did get hammered.

Anyways, I'll do it now (hint) so here we go (tongue in cheek):

Intro:

The only guy in the entire fest that I've seen so far, had to put
"Made For DVXuser TwilightFest" type into the leader.

As I'm watching...

-Oooh, some green screen stuff, say no more, say no more.
-Nice ceiling cam shot.
-Smooth though, like I said before. Real easy to watch and I can't tell you why.
-Another crane shot, nice.
-A lot of thought going into every shot, artistically.
-Nice voice overs, seems to fit without distracting, unoticeable really, great.
-GREAT ending. Vo and directing on that last scene made the short. I love great endings.

There ya go. Results of my beer challenge, but I did miss the blow out this time, weird.

Looking forward to more from you my friend. Justin Kuhn wrote it huh? Wow.
You guys should do another one. I enjoyed that both sober and drunk. There ya go then, lol. Great job guys.

[Ben Sliker]

The only guy in the entire fest that I've seen so far, had to put
"Made For DVXuser TwilightFest" type into the leader.

he he, it's about time i got shit for that, might as well be from the guy who made it.


-Another crane shot, nice.

this must be the booze talkin'. No cranes here. :)


Looking forward to more from you my friend. Justin Kuhn wrote it huh? Wow.
You guys should do another one. I enjoyed that both sober and drunk. There ya go then, lol. Great job guys.

Justin came to me with this neat concept that he wanted to direct. Essentially, it was a 2 pager with 4-5 paragraphs of dialogue. Each paragraph stayed the same except for the details (for ex. Hector Andrews changed to Harold Allen). I thought it needed to be a little more focused and so i went to work on some re-writes, and some new dialogue. Justin thought I had a really good grasp of the character from Day 1 so he asked me to direct and he would be on cam and produce. So started the process of making Harold Allen.

[Gord.T]

It worked, your in the top ten. Not an easy task. A good team is everything really. If you find someone who clicks, stay with them as long as you can and look for more talent, lighting, sound, ect, IMO. :beer:

[Tim Joy]

Job well done guys! You really got very cool unique style. Congrats!!!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Congrats on the creative award.

Cheers!

Mike

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Congrats guys
really nice work
:beer:

[Rodney V. Smith]

more :beer::beer:
here's to the next fest! good job you guys and you;d better stick around for LossFest

[Steve Strickland]

You guys rocked it. Now you've got a Kessler crane in the arsenal. Look out! Great job.:beer:

[Brandon Rice]

congrats Ben... you rock.

[Susanne G.]

Congratulations! :beer:

Susanne

[Darkline]

congrats Ben. You know what I thought of this short. You're a real contender in every fest you enter now and I hope to see you in many more fest. please keep the good work going! enjoy the crane (as you didnt have any in this one you can get them in the next)

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks everybody! Been away all day and I can only pop in quick to say thanks. Justin ponied up the $$$ this time around so he gets the crane, but I'll take the accolade! :)

BTW, I want to thank the people at Kessler, as this is the 2nd crane we have won! (sold the first to recoup losses from shooting In Pieces)

Sincere Regards to you all and to everyone who had a hand in putting these fests together!

[Simon Höfer]

Congrats Ben! :)

[DavisOsborne]

Way Big Congrats Gentlemen!!!...You stepped out of the box, and did something different)....and people will take notice, It's Called CRED! On the street... It's How You Roll))).....All my Best......davis...Warrior poet......LOL.....thanks Sliker....it is on my resume now)

[Ben Sliker]

thanks simon and davis!

*new sig, yay!