"Catch"

[HVXOU]

So far, it is a fun little script that has been going pretty well. It's just something my group wanted to do to get our feet wet. It should be interesting and entertaining.

It is more of a child life lesson topic you might say... I don't want to say too much but I'm excited to even be part of the DVXuser Fest!

[clarkage]

Welcome to the fest! Can't wait to hear more! =)

[pauly_the_hitman]

Cool good luck.
Pauly

[hazelwould]

Hey welcome! Looking forward to this short!

[HVXOU]

Thanks! I should post more soon maybe some screen shots too if I get the chance. We finished up production yesterday.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Thanks! I should post more soon maybe some screen shots too if I get the chance. We finished up production yesterday.
Awesome. Can't wait to see the grabs!

:thumbup:

[HVXOU]

Hey seems kinda silly -what is the best way to post grabs on the site?

[Mike Manning]

Wow that was quick!

If you don't have your own server, easiest thing to do is photobucket.com

[stinkpot]

Hey seems kinda silly -what is the best way to post grabs on the site?

Try the Members Upload Center (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/uploader.php) it worked for me.

Good luck with your production. It's good to see Clevelanders in the mix!
:beer:

[Simon Höfer]

Welcome to the fest!

[HVXOU]

Hey, just wanted to give some updates. We are doing some audio work and a little color correction and thats a wrap!

We also have renamed our production group Easy Fix Productions. Screen grabs when I have a moment to breath!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Screen grabs when I have a moment to breath!Post them first, then breathe. :)

[dash]

This project has a special place in my heart because "catch" was my first spelling word. Don't ask I how I remember that. And I had fun lighting it.

Anyways, I'm making David post grabs soon. And then perhaps a poster will magically appear.

[HVXOU]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/32327/1224016341.jpg

Establishing Shot, no adapters!

[HVXOU]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/32327/1224016445.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/32327/1224016487.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/32327/1224016522.jpg

[HVXOU]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/32327/1224016578.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/32327/1224016686.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/32327/1224016710.jpg

[ZazaCast]

Welcome to the fest! Looks like you have the "ball" requirement covered.
I love films like this and am looking forward to seeing what you've come up with.
Best of luck.

[HVXOU]

thanks, yeah my group and I have done some other competitions where we kinda just touched the prop, and this one we wanted to be sure that it was a critical part of the story.

We'll see and if nothing else I hope to get some feedback on it.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Yup! You definitely have the ball down. :)

That railing on the stairs looks almost identical to mine.
Good luck! Looking forward to it.

Mike

[Rodney V. Smith]

no denying the ball here. welcome.

[Otchete]

Hey everyone! I just registered here on DVXuser. My name's Corey, I wrote the script/am the audio for our group (in case anyone cares hahaha). Yeah, when I heard the prop, I figured I could make a neat little story around it, so I thought up a twilight-y scenario and ran with it. The footage is beautiful (it'll be on here soon. I've seen it while working on the audio), so I hope you all enjoy!

[HVXOU]

Agreed, I am pretty happy with the footage overall. Working on color correction right now in After Effects!

[HVXOU]

AHHH Running out of time!!!

[HVXOU]

well its uploading, hopefully it looks ok - I hate compression settings.

[gabrielflorit]

Congratulations on the upload!

[Brian Parker]

Welcome to the fest. Nice grabs. Good luck!

[galbach]

Decent story.. just needed a Look...

[Bryce A]

Surprisingly effective piece. I wasn’t diggin it, til the hand grabs the ball. I’m not sure if it was the music or what, but it worked out great. Especially the grab at the end.

I’d try to work on your lighting a bit. It came off as very diffused and overly even. The acting was a little stiff too. I know Ben tried his best! Keep it up. Short and sweet piece.
Also, not sure if it was your intend, but having the visitor in the closet be a burly man… creepy pedophile ideas abound! Yuck.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Yes, that scene actually got me! And I rarely jump in movies, I just wasn't expecting it. The sound helped as well. :)

Short and to the point.
Yes, the acting wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.

Nice job.

Mike

[Bryce A]

Yes, that scene actually got me! And I rarely jump in movies

Yeah! Exactly. I just have to comment on this again. You really pulled off a feat getting a scare at that moment. Especially considering I wasn't to into the film until then. If nothing else, you should consider the flick a success based solely on that.

[HVXOU]

Hey thanks for your comments guys, my team was pretty proud of the shoot, and I do appreciate the lighting and sound comments.

Just to put it in perspective the whole thing was shot in about 10 hours, which was our mistake.

I love criticism and that was the whole reason we entered!:) So thanks again!:dankk2:

[Simon Höfer]

I have to second the other comments. The ending was really good and had a great payoff. This leaves me with a feeling that I liked this short :)

Good job for a 10 hour shoot!

[Mile Bozicevic]

Nice job! That scene with ball made me jump-most of all the films on the fest. I kinda expected it, but really, it got me.
At the beggining when dad's telling his son to go to bed, I think the kid was laughing because of the whole filmmaking thing-maybe I'm wrong, but I think working with kids is really hard, and little Jeff did his job pretty well.

And I like the part when he goes up the stairs and camera moves form left to right-how'd you did that? With cran of sort or some alternative way?

10 hours-we share pretty much the same time used for shooting:D.

Don't miss the next fest, it would be a shame!

[Robbie Comeau]

Mile, that shot looked like it was a dolly.

Correct, HVXOU?

Not a great cast, as it looked like the boy wanted to laugh half the time, but I understand if you didn't have cast, and family, or friends were your last resort. It happens :).

The part at the end was predictable, but it was neat. It looked fast forwarded, and the sound effect really helped!

Thanks for sharing!

Robbie

[ZazaCast]

Interesting film. For me, the story was predictable. Acting was..well, inexperienced. I liked most of the camera movements. It had a natural video look..not filmic to me. The video wouldn't playback smoothly for me? Good job on getting a film made and in the fest!

[HVXOU]

Yes it was a dolly, and yeah I was hoping we could have actually had casting, but stupid school got in the way.:violent5:At least it was enjoyable and fun to shoot.

[HVXOU]

Interesting film. For me, the story was predictable. Acting was..well, inexperienced. I liked most of the camera movements. It had a natural video look..not filmic to me. The video wouldn't playback smoothly for me? Good job on getting a film made and in the fest!


Playback was probably the compression settings, I could not get them to straighten out for me and the film was due. I was also wondering if you had some quick comments on how to make it look a little more filmic.

[pauly_the_hitman]

I am not here to beat a dead horse but...Better acting and more of a less predictable ending.
Congratulations on getting it done.
Pauly

[HVXOU]

I am not here to beat a dead horse but...Better acting and more of a less predictable ending.
Congratulations on getting it done.
Pauly

I agree, thanks for the comments everyone. Tell you friends to comment too, we joined for feedback because this site is awesome!

[stinkpot]

Hey HVXOU, I just checked out your film. Like others have said, the acting wasn't the greatest. I did like the way you cut most of your footage and the ending, though predictable, was just what your film needed and I liked it.

Keep it up!

:beer:

[clarkage]

same thing basically acting and predictable. another thing though, i noticed that the music sometimes drained out the Dad's audio levels a bit. If you brought that down a bit it would have been perfect. But as the way it was shot and everything from on your part, Great Job! Nothing you can do about a bad cast.

[Dick Campbell]

seemd like a bit of audio trouble and the dialog was a bit stilted, but generally good photography. OK story.

[Ben Sliker]

Carrying on the tradition from Timefest, the AIM sessions have returned, a live stream of whatever may come out of our heads as we watch your films. Here are Ben Sliker, Brad Mate, and Justin Kuhn's thoughts on "Catch."

Since for some reason, since we couldn't get Adium, AIM and iChat to all agree with each in one chat room, we had to go to an online chat room for the 3-person chats. After almost being molested by a forty year old man in a chat room for "privates" (ben read private chat), we managed to hop on to the chatzy client, which worked well. Note: Never search "free chat" in google and expect what you are looking for.

Jebus: so catch
Kuhn: ok
Ben: Rdy?
Kuhn: ready
Jebus: rdy..
Ben: ok
Ben: 3
Ben: 2
Ben: 1
Ben: go
Ben: BLING!
Kuhn: AAAGH TITLES COMING OUT OF MY EYES
Ben: ooo ... text wipe ... who is this guy? george lucas?
Jebus: again. some title work can go a long way to getting a legit look
Ben: MOM TALKS WITH NODS
Ben: if all else fails, black screen, white text
Ben: the 80s rap video titles ... little distracting.
Jebus: apparently these parents don't allow posters.
Ben: and apparently his wife was in a windtunnel
Kuhn: that's how she keeps her youthful jowels
Jebus: reallly? you are gonna stay up late to catch a ball? don't you have video games?
Kuhn: that's what i did when i was a kid.
Jebus: I said "catch a ball" not "play with balls"
Kuhn: oh ... right ... (*dick)
Ben: GET UP KID
Ben: I WANT SPELL RIGHT NOW
Ben: A-B-C-D-E-F-G ... I WILL KILL YOUR FAMILY
Kuhn: dad is kind of a sadist really.
Ben: it's over?
Kuhn: There's a lot of parent's not listening to kids in this fest ...
Jebus: yeah...turning on the poo pooing light would have helped you look in the closet
Jebus: light helps
Jebus: thats why you die
Jebus: dark=death.
Kuhn: he eats lots of carrots
Ben: "no animals were hurt"
Ben: i guess we dropped the ball on that one for the end of ours ...
Ben: "only freezedried rats were stabbed during the making of Harold Allen"
Kuhn: whata pain in the ass it was to get even that
Jebus: well thats because we tend to hurt a lot of animals to make our films
Jebus: method
Ben: that rat was a pro.
Jebus: cant think like a serial killer without killing animals...
Jebus: and seriously. i didn't get in the film industry to not hurt animals
Ben: we should ahve some insight on this one, since it's about a killer in the closet
Kuhn: I don't think we saw enough of the guy
Kuhn: it wasn't foreshadowed
Ben: im thinking a light passing through window gag for a reveal at the end?
Jebus: there was no twist. the kid thinks there was someone in the closet, then there was a guy in the closet
Jebus: not a big mystery
Jebus: there were so many creepy ideas passed up for a "twist" ending
Ben: final thoughts?
Kuhn: somewhat lackluster I felt overall
Jebus: it was all very ok. sound was fine. shots were ok when they were stationary. i hated the dolly when he's on the stairs and when he walks into his room
Jebus: the story could have been way better with the concept, felt like opportunities were missed
Jebus: no real resolution
Kuhn: agree, if you are going to go scary, play that up, not just a few seconds at the end.
Jebus: good one
Kuhn: I'm a clever boy.
Ben: boy being the operative term
Jebus: the story is about the kid, hes the main character but he disappears at the end. the point of view shifts at the end for a cheap ending
Jebus: that = weaksauce
Ben: good sum up.

HVXOU, i'll try not to re-iterate what has already been said, but I think my bud Brad (Jebus), makes a really great point there at the end of the session, the piece completely switches focus at the end to the father just so he can get pulled off of screen. Here's what I would have liked to seen. If the story is about something scary in the closet, set the entire short in the bedroom. No one is going to have trouble believing that it's bedtime. Play up the child's fear and make the father a secondary character. There was no less than 10 REALLY scary things that went through my brain as i watched this and it made me sad cause i didn't get to see any of them. Good job getting a film across the finish line. Cheers! :beer:

[HVXOU]

Thanks,
There is some useful advice in the AIM session. Appreciated.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Hey I enjoyed this. It had cool retro Tales From the Darkside vibe. I especially liked the music which was very much in that vein with the pitchbend wheel synth etc.

Thanks for the entertainment.

:beer:

[Danielleus]

Hey,

Just caught the piece. I thought the set-up was good and the scary factor worked for me (I was actually kinda freaked out. But then I'm a sucker for tension and music). Good work there.

Lighting was okay, but the production design needs a bit of work. White walls are terrible in any piece unless you want that modernist minimlism, which is not what it looks like here. Also I think this piece could have been improved with on different shot selection.

And I agree with what they said in the AIM session. The POV shifts so we don't know what's going on with the character. Is he being rewarded somehow for not brushing his teeth? Is he being punished via the death of his father, for the piece? I think it's important for us to know how you want the character to evolve, which he doesn't really seem to. I think that could have helped.

But kudos for getting one done. Thanks for sharing and looking towards next time.

[Inexistence]

This was pretty straight forward for the most part. I too jumped at the ending even
though I was expecting it. Finding talent is tough, but that could mean all the difference
in believability even if the dialogue is dull. There's room for improvement here and I look
forward to your next short!

[HVXOU]

Hey,

Just caught the piece. I thought the set-up was good and the scary factor worked for me (I was actually kinda freaked out. But then I'm a sucker for tension and music). Good work there.

Lighting was okay, but the production design needs a bit of work. White walls are terrible in any piece unless you want that modernist minimlism, which is not what it looks like here. Also I think this piece could have been improved with on different shot selection.

And I agree with what they said in the AIM session. The POV shifts so we don't know what's going on with the character. Is he being rewarded somehow for not brushing his teeth? Is he being punished via the death of his father, for the piece? I think it's important for us to know how you want the character to evolve, which he doesn't really seem to. I think that could have helped.

But kudos for getting one done. Thanks for sharing and looking towards next time.


Very helpful response - thanks!

[Brian Parker]

A very traditional thriller (in a good way). I like the piece overall but there were a couple of things that have been mentioned already that could be improved. They have already ben mentioned but mostly the lighting. I think that there is a good sense of storytelling here, and a decent concept that can be fleshed out even more. Good to see you in the fest!

[HVXOU]

just wondering, there have been a lot of comments about lighting - not sure what should be fixed. Any thoughts?