"Stopgap" - An IENCE Production

[Joseph Stunzi]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2916598402_dcb5b31153_b.jpg

Peyton, a teenage photographer, witnesses something he shouldn't have seen.
As he faces most certain death at the hands of Gray, Peyton must fight to stay alive.

Director – Jarrard Cole (imdb (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2578444/))
Director of Photography – Joseph Stunzi
Composer – Eric Boren

Cast:
Peyton- Billy Pate
Gray- Houston Mahoney
Cassie- Amy Bruckner (imdb (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1426904/))
Mom- Lorraine Thompson

Crew:
Mark Allen
CJ Brown
MacKinsey Cole
Drew Jacoby
Ned McGregor
Max Schein
Leo Milde
Evans Wellborn

[Joseph Stunzi]

CAST PHOTOS:

Cast:
Peyton- Billy Pate
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3272/2966046090_84648d0c0f_o.jpg

Gray- Houston Mahoney
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3291/2966045482_e0c2816513_o.jpg

Cassie- Amy Bruckner
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/2965202885_b7b6429f68_o.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2965201429_0e217c3ffb_o.jpg

Mom- Lorraine Thompson
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/2966046364_b039af4faf_o.jpg

Yoda- Yoda
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/2966045808_ff000cf273_o.jpg

[Joseph Stunzi]

CREW PHOTOS:
** Ned, Mark, Max, and Drew (Photographer) are missing **

Crew:
Jarrard Cole - Director/Producter
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2965203303_6b2bb27ab9_o.jpg

Joseph Stunzi - DP/Producer
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2146/2965203685_245e1acb21_o.jpg

CJ Brown
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2966046660_15d4dd6e1f_o.jpg

MacKinsey cole
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2966048284_ef1fe8e151_o.jpg

Evans Wellborn
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2965202195_3c8d09a1a3_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2966047696_019f01b142_o.jpg

[Joseph Stunzi]

Screen Grabs added below (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=1444018#post1444018).

Behind the Scenes to be below. Here (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=1445417&posted=1#post1445414) and here (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=1445417&posted=1#post1445417).

[gabrielflorit]

Cool poster!

[Joseph Stunzi]

Thanks all of our pictures from behind the scenes were taken with a Canon 5D.
We began and finished filming the first week of August.

[Simon Höfer]

Welcome to the fest!

[Geoff_R]

Poster looks intruiging. Cool location! Looking forward to this.

[pauly_the_hitman]

Very interesting...Looking forward to seeing it.Good luck.
Pauly

[Mike Insane]

nice poster. Welcome to the festival

[Ezekiel667]

I'm liking the poster! An awesome location indeed.

[AmyO]

Welcome to the fest. You sure got a jump on production!

[Joseph Stunzi]

UPDATE: Editing has been locked as of October 6, 2008

Now moving on to color correction, sound design, and soundtrack composition.

[King Cole]

Welcome to the fest. You sure got a jump on production!

Thanks- I'm excited to try out my first DVX Fest. I'm starting my freshman year in college and wanted to shoot something this summer before I was away from my awesome actors and crew (though I've already found some cool people here at UNC who love movies too). We had a short time to film, but I am very happy with what we came away with.

JC

[MOVIE MASTER]

Bang!! Your it welcome!!!!!!!! 666

[Joseph Stunzi]

FUN FACT: "StopGap" was filmed by an entirely youth crew. Everyone was 18 or younger!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Welcome. Looks pretty damn cool

[Kyle Stebbins]

FUN FACT: "StopGap" was filmed by an entirely youth crew. Everyone was 18 or younger!

Wow! Cheers! :beer: <-- apple juice.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Wow! Cheers! :beer: <-- apple juice.

the disadvantages of youth

[ZazaCast]

OH NO.... POWER LINES!!!! Guys... welcome to the fest, but I'd strongly recommend staying away from the power lines. Read about my incident in my "TWISTED" thread below...

Word to the wise...

[Joseph Stunzi]

No one died. Don't worry.

[King Cole]

OH NO.... POWER LINES!!!! Guys... welcome to the fest, but I'd strongly recommend staying away from the power lines. Read about my incident in my "TWISTED" thread below...

Word to the wise...

Wow! What a story. If only you'd left the camera rolling...

Fortunately for us, the guy with the gun in the poster owns the land on either side of the power lines, so we had a pretty good idea of not being disturbed. It didn't help that a storm blew over in the middle of our day to shoot the scene, but there were no attempted drug busts on our crew!

JC

[Joseph Stunzi]

Stress of the deadline is officially kicking in!

[Joseph Stunzi]

UPDATE: Cast and Crew Photos have been posted.

[Robbie Comeau]

Hmm...This one looks like it'll turn out fabulous.

Can't wait for it, nice grabs!

Robbie

[Robbie Comeau]

Any BTS?

Robbie

[Joseph Stunzi]

Robbie,

I'll load some BTS and Screengrabs later on tonight!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Robbie,

I'll load some BTS and Screengrabs later on tonight!
Cool! I'll look for that myself as well.

Cheers,

Mike

[Robbie Comeau]

What camera did you use for the pictures? I like the images it produces.

Very sharp.

Robbie

[King Cole]

What camera did you use for the pictures? I like the images it produces.

Very sharp.

Robbie

I shoot with a Canon 5D and some L-series glass. Thing takes unbelievable pictures. It's expensive, but the full frame sensor, which I initially questioned, is completely worth it. And the out-of-camera color is simply phenomenal (the photos posted in this thread were edited slightly). We also used the L-series lenses for the majority of the shots in the film.

JC

[Joseph Stunzi]

Screen Grabs added below:
** These are raw and lack any color correction **

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/2969919181_5ccfef0944_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3065/2969919515_039af69be9_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/2970762636_3e10e44592_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2969919867_81fcd68556_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2970762958_a8a59fdef7_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3014/2969920217_f3a2d86775_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3178/2969920373_659f05d00c_o.jpg

[Robbie Comeau]

Cool grabs.

Looking for someone to grade your film? Drop me a PM if you do!

Robbie

[Jacobra]

Nice poster. Can't wait to see the movie in all of its beauty.

[Joseph Stunzi]

Behind the Scenes Pictures:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3139/2975269316_4fbef6bf55_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2974416077_56e0bc82b1_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/2974415831_fa307b27bc_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2975268514_5edda0c3f4_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2974415383_296c660702_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2974415169_b781d9a732_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2975267638_0571a13f01_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2975267278_930f3a53b2_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3172/2974413727_f2efaf150e_o.jpg

[Joseph Stunzi]

Behind the Scenes Pictures (continued):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/2974413511_51121fbf7f_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/2975263164_76f8a5c5bc_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/2974413187_8859f9bd6b_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2975265470_ceee74dabe_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2975265058_60625525fc_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2975264068_58f88ab926_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3225/2974410967_e2474828ee_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2974410663_8f62da18ba_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/2975262740_f83cfda57a_o.jpg

[Robbie Comeau]

Wow, how old are you guys?

Seem to know what your doing.. Looks good!

Robbie

[Joseph Stunzi]

Wow, how old are you guys?

Seem to know what your doing.. Looks good!

Robbie

We're all 18 or younger. Jarrard (the Director) and myself (the DP) are the oldest of the bunch. Mostly all of the equipment belongs to my not-for-profit company IENCE which aims to promote youth filmmaking as well as science education. The Canon 5D and Canon class we used belong to Jarrard. You should see his pictures from his Alaska trip this summer!

As you can see, we used natural light for everything and shot in a variety of unique locations. Powerlines, horses, spider webs, dirt roads, etc. We're pumped to have locked our edit, our sound, and our CC, and are making final touches before submission later on today.

[Robbie Comeau]

What was that lens you had on the camera? Is that the one you can twist and turn and get a neat image?

Enlighten me.

Robbie

[Simon Höfer]

Looking great man!

[Danielleus]

Yep, looks good. Can't wait to see what you've got in store for us.

D

[Joseph Stunzi]

The selective focus lens you're seeing is called a Lensbaby 3G (http://lensbaby.com/lenses.php). They make a PL mount version as well.. but we just used a Nikon mounted version. It does a similar thing as a tilt-shift focus lens would but is a lot more cost effective for our purposes. We used it with a 5+ and 10+ macro adapter to get some unique shots. There's only one shot of it in the final cut, but it's definitely a cool little tool to use for specialty shots.

You'll see more of this in some of my future pieces I'm working on right now.

[Robbie Comeau]

Wow, not that expensive.

So If I got the Letus, I can just attach this on with the required mount.

Robbie

[Joseph Stunzi]

Yes. It's not meant to film an entire short, it's more for specialty shots in regards to video. It also works great for very unique photographs.

UPDATE: We're working on compressing our files down right now and optimizing the overall quality for 50 MB.

[King Cole]

Wow, not that expensive.

So If I got the Letus, I can just attach this on with the required mount.

Robbie

You could. I like my lensbaby for photography (I have one we didn't use on the shoot), but I wouldn't recommend it really for video. It's nice, but the uses are ridiculously limited. In our short, it's pretty much functioning as a macro lens but with less attractive bokeh. We didn't have a nice macro so we tried the lensbaby. If you envisioned a use for it I'd get one, but if you're looking for lenses to have for video, I'd start with cheaper primes (like a 50mm 1.8 or 1.4) first. Like Joseph said, it's like a tilt-shift lens, but instead of altering the focal plane, it converts it literally to a focal point. So, you end up with 1 point in focus that you can move around. It's very cool but very constricting as well.

JC (the director of Stopgap)

[Robbie Comeau]

Ya, I'm sure you can't use it for everything. It would get played out REALLY fast.

Robbie

[Troy Ruff]

looks good guys I can't wait to see. :)

[jojopop]

Cool premise! Got my attention!

[Joseph Stunzi]

Oh Compression! It's such an art! I set a personal goal of getting the final file size as close to 50MB as possible. About to upload.

[Joseph Stunzi]

UPDATE: Jarrard and I have both seen the final compression of the file for submission and approved it. Uploading as I type this. Then going to bed.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

UPDATE: Jarrard and I have both seen the final compression of the file for submission and approved it. Uploading as I type this. Then going to bed.
Congratulations! Now get some sleep. :beer:

[gabrielflorit]

Robbie that looks like a tilt or swing lens. They change the focal plane. Very interesting effect.

edit: never mind. I posted too soon. There was another page.

[King Cole]

Before the viewing gets going, I wanted to recognize our incredible composer, Eric Boren, a fellow Tar Heel, who composed and performed Stopgap's score. It's just what I was hoping for, and I hope you all enjoy it. Joseph, can we add him to the crew list/credits up top?

To all the participating filmmakers, I cannot wait to see your movies (I'll do my best to get through all of them with my college schedule), and I'll try to provide as much feedback as possible. I welcome any and all feedback, criticism, praise, love, and hate regarding Stopgap. I've already learned so much from making this film, and the biggest reward for me will be receiving the valued opinions of fellow forum members on our work.

Thanks,

JC

[Brian Parker]

Welcome. Like the greenery of the location. Good Luck!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Looking forward to seeing how you use that swing tilt lens. I've thought about using one, but didn't know if it'd be too much to deal with for video, except for very particular shots - which sounds like the way you used it. Anyway looking forward to see what creative uses you put it to. Then maybe I will get one :)

[Zim]

Not bad. I didn't see that ending coming. I think you did a good job.

[Joseph Stunzi]

Not bad. I didn't see that ending coming. I think you did a good job.

Thanks for the comments. A fun fact about Stopgap is that we wrote, filmed, and ingested all of the footage in a matter of a week in early August. This was in part because half of our crew and cast were heading off to college the following week! I'm glad you liked it. Keep the comments coming!

[alex whitmer]

I think this is an very good film. The young actors, and especially your lead, did a great job.

The chase scene was done nicely. That last black screen maybe went on too long, but the rest had a nice, frantic pace.

The one scene i think didn't really do anything to move the film was the big house. Nothing was really accomplished there. I would have rather that time be spent on the horse - especially since it's white and carries some nice metaphor with it - and really add some nice movement to this. The lighting in the house was troubled as well, with washouts and black holes. If this is headed for other fests, I'd chop that whole scene and keep this in the pasture, the horse, the red barn - all delicious eye candy.

Casting was nice. Mom and Daughter had a very similar appearance - maybe they really are related? Didn't see actor credits (tsk tsk).


One odd thing was that the head shot was a reverse of where we last saw them before the 'dream sequence', but I sure liked it as a payoff to the story.

A good film. Lot to be proud of. f you do a final edit, give your cast credits.

I'm reluctant to watch 'teen' films as they almost always rely on lots of guns, lots of action, and little story. This one was a refreshing take on gun/action, and had plenty of story.

Really enjoyed it.

[King Cole]

I think this is an very good film. The young actors, and especially your lead, did a great job.

The chase scene was done nicely. That last black screen maybe went on too long, but the rest had a nice, frantic pace.

The one scene i think didn't really do anything to move the film was the big house. Nothing was really accomplished there. I would have rather that time be spent on the horse - especially since it's white and carries some nice metaphor with it - and really add some nice movement to this. The lighting in the house was troubled as well, with washouts and black holes. If this is headed for other fests, I'd chop that whole scene and keep this in the pasture, the horse, the red barn - all delicious eye candy.

Casting was nice. Mom and Daughter had a very similar appearance - maybe they really are related? Didn't see actor credits (tsk tsk).


One odd thing was that the head shot was a reverse of where we last saw them before the 'dream sequence', but I sure liked it as a payoff to the story.

A good film. Lot to be proud of. f you do a final edit, give your cast credits.

I'm reluctant to watch 'teen' films as they almost always rely on lots of guns, lots of action, and little story. This one was a refreshing take on gun/action, and had plenty of story.

Really enjoyed it.

Hey Alex,
Thanks so much for the AWESOME feedback. I really appreciate it, and thanks for watching the movie.

Our actors were completely awesome. Unfortunately due to running up against the time deadline I couldn't come up with a way to fit in actors credits that didn't interrupt the flow near the beginning, and I lacked time at the end for full credits. However, we will be posting the "Official" credits in this thread at the beginning soon, and all subsequent cuts of the movie that don't require the six minute deadline will include full credits for our awesome actors. You can see the actors names and pictures from the set at the beginning of this thread. Mom and daughter were not related actually, but we got lucky with a nice looking "family."

I agree on the last black slug- I was trying to separate the running from the conversation to follow, but more black does not successfully accomplish this.

Interesting suggestion about the house. It's not my favorite either, and due to time we had to remove some elements from that scene that leave it less-than-complete. I just might see what a cut without it looks like if this movie goes anywhere else. And lighting was definitely weak (/nonexistent).

Thanks again!

JC

[alex whitmer]

Hopefully there is some spare footage of the horse scene (?). Maybe if you keep some of the house scene, get right to the phone - he's in a panic.

Also, no clue as to where the house occupants might be, but the shot of the dog was kinda fun.

Think metaphor - the kids about to die. Red barn, white horse, lonliness, last chance to say goodbyes - all cool stuff.

You handled the end brilliantly.

Anyways, I think there is plenty here with a touch-up or two to run it through some fests.

It's one of my faves so far.

aw

[Joseph Stunzi]

I'm with Jarrard on the house scene. We didn't light it at all! Or use gels. Or use anything for that matter!

The horse, well the horse was certainly majestic. Riding it bare back was quite a challenge for Billy who had no prior horse-riding experience! I'll be sure that JC or I post some BTS pictures of this really soon. It was quite funny to watch!

The cuts to black were added later in the editing process. The transitions were difficult indeed to accomplish.

Mom and daughter were not related... but Amy (the actress who played Peyton's sister) was a joy to work with. She's quite an accomplished actress and definitely knew her stuff. Plus she knew a little bit about filmmaking at the same time!

[King Cole]

Not bad. I didn't see that ending coming. I think you did a good job.

Thank you very much for watching. I truly appreciate the comment. I'm not sure too many people could see that ending coming :)

JC

[ZazaCast]

Good film guys! I enjoyed watching. That said, I felt the story was a little weak....the idea was great & I loved the ending (didn't see it coming until I saw the white horse), just need some tweaking. Wan't totally believing the acting, if someone was shooting at me, right after I finished pissing myself, I'd run & never stop! I wanted to see the guy more frantic. I think you should take a closer look at your lighting too, a lot of improvement could be had there. The score IMO didn't set the proper mood either.

All in all...great job, you should all be proud of this film. I look forward to seeing more from this group.

[King Cole]

Good film guys! I enjoyed watching. That said, I felt the story was a little weak....the idea was great & I loved the ending (didn't see it coming until I saw the white horse), just need some tweaking. Wan't totally believing the acting, if someone was shooting at me, right after I finished pissing myself, I'd run & never stop! I wanted to see the guy more frantic. I think you should take a closer look at your lighting too, a lot of improvement could be had there. The score IMO didn't set the proper mood either.

All in all...great job, you should all be proud of this film. I look forward to seeing more from this group.

Thanks so much for the feedback and for watching.

I think most of your criticism is valid (it's all valid, just saying valid in the sense that I agree with you), and I agree with your identification of weaknesses. I must defend my actors. The script allowed for a greater passage of time between the running and later scenes (I'm trying to remain ambiguous to avoid potential spoilers), but I had to cut pieces of that to fit within 6 minutes. Therefore, the actors believed the situation to be a bit safer than it may appear in this cut. This doesn't mean your criticism isn't correct, just that the fault lies mainly with me rather than my actors.

As far as lighting- due to the equipment that we had access too, we were dealing with ambient light. It's definitely a skill I need to improve on and learn.

We are quite proud of this movie. For an end of summer project, I'm so excited about how it turned out. I learned so much, and I cannot wait to get started on my next project.

Thanks again for the view!

JC

[Imaginate]

Wow I thought the first minute of your short was intense , very gripping, beautifully shot, and acted brilliantly. Probably the most powerful intro of the competition.

Great casting choice for your lead he did an amazing job. I like your use of symbolism with various objects in the film.

Some of the fading to black during the chase scene was a bit distracting.

Overall it was a great adaptation of a really powerful story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", you really made it your own story but it would have been nice for you to give some homage to the original.

Keep up the good work.

[MrKilloran]

Great idea, loved the interaction between the leads ... theres a horse riding sequence, that has to be good for something haha :thumbsup:

Nice work, kudos!

[Joseph Stunzi]

HAHA! You crack me up Killoran!

Thanks very much.

[AmyO]

Nice work. I appreciate your attention to detail and variety of shots. Your actors were great. Nice to see a young cast with that much talent and energy. The mom and sister seemed odd, but the ending brought everything into place. Didn't see it coming. Nice.

On an unrelated and personal note, as mom of a daughter born 3 1/2 months early, thanks for promoting March of Dimes in your sig!

[King Cole]

Imaginate,
Thanks so much for the feedback and for watching Stopgap. I really appreciate your comment. We were wary of referencing "Owl Creek" in the thread or in the pre-roll credits (probably a little too wary), in case someone knew the story in advance, but in the longer-than-six-minute version that we'll post after the Fest, we will definitely give Mr. Bierce his credit. I love that TwilightZone episode.

JC

[Robbie Comeau]

Hmm, I was a little disappointed with this, (just trying to be as honest as I can).

I mean, the image was great! The male lead did a good job acting, and the audio was there, the story just didn't work for me..

I was excited to see this.

Just an opinion thing, I guess.

Thanks for sharing! I loved the overall look you got for this film.

Robbie

[King Cole]

Robbie,
Thanks for watching and commenting. Also, I realize I never thanked you for your very generous offer to grade the film for us. I'd just finished doing my best in Color when Joseph let me know about your offer.

Regarding Stopgap: I'm disappointed that you didn't enjoy it, but I also understand. It's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and there are definitely points we could've improved. I'm glad to hear what you think. Was there something specific about it that you didn't like or something you think we should have done differently? As to the story, it's very simple and very strange, so that may just not appeal to everyone.

Thanks again for commenting.

JC

[King Cole]

Hey AmyO,
Thanks for commenting and watching. I really cannot say enough about our actors, they delivered on very short notice too.

JC

[King Cole]

MrKilloran,
Thanks for the comment. Yeah, we had a nice little time getting Billy bareback onto that horse, it was no easy task! Thanks for watching.

JC

[Robbie Comeau]

Maybe I should give it another watch, but it was simply the story that didn't work for me.

Any time you need a colorist, I'd be happy to help out! :)

Robbie

[Joseph Stunzi]

Thanks everyone for watching. Keep in mind that this went down in the matter of a week and a half in early August before we all went off to college. That was writing, shooting, and ingesting! In the editing room, Jarrard and myself both ran into lots of "man I wish we had gotten this" shots and what not. I cannot say enough about how great it was working with Amy, Billy, and the whole cast! Expect more from us in the future.

[stinkpot]

This story was a bit choppy but I like the concept. Given more time I think you guys would have been able to do more with it.

I look forward to checking out more of you stuff in the future.

:beer:

[Joseph Stunzi]

Thanks for your comments stinkpot.

[King Cole]

stinkpot,
Thanks for watching Stopgap and for the comment.

JC

[Darkline]

Hi

Sorry its taken me a while to get to this thread.

SPOILER :

I liked this, those final moment that go through your mind before, erm, the bullet does... lol
I piped up and guessed the ending a minute or so before it happened, but at the start I liked that the girl was completely unphased by the events and just walked away. That was when it went a bit creepy for me.

Ive read a bit on the thread so there is no point in telling you what stood out because you did well to put this together technically in the short space of time you had. it flowed well.

I'd maybe liked to have seen more story about the guy shooting him and the circumstances around that, why? because that could have taken the audiences attention away from guessing the ending if you had wrapped up his wandering around with an alt storyline. Perhaps the resolution could have been the moment the audience discovers 'why' he is getting shot, maybe he stole money or killed someone. In that way you could have his 'final glimpse' as him getting away with it, only to be brought crashing back to reality with the final gun shot in his head. - but thats just an idea and I guess it would have changed this a lot.

Things I liked, the pacing, shot choice and editing. I'd like to see what you guys do with a bit more time on your hands. Thanks for the entry.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Another surprise!

I won't go into what's been rehashed over and over again.
I really liked the opening shot. I also liked the shot when he came into the house, that was quite nice. I like what you did with this story wise.

SPOILERS:

Where our mind goes during those final moments.
That was really well done and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Get more coverage and you'll be fine.

Nice work.

Mike

[pauly_the_hitman]

Although very predictable, still enjoyed the ride. Keep it up guys good job.
Pauly

[John LaBonney]

Jarred:

I've seen this very concept before several times, but I think you pulled it off pretty well.

Actors were great.

Of course we all wish we had gotten another shot of this or that while we're editing. I said that to myself a thousand times working on Barn Dance.

I really liked the transition to the final shot as he drops to his knees in front of his mother.

Nice job!

[Noel Evans]

Im late, so not a lot of detail here for you.

I thought visually you constructed the story well. Your focus pulls had purpose that also served the story and I think on that front you got it. I thought all the things that occurred did help, again, drive the story forward. Personally I think youve got the hard part fairly well figured out and whilst theres some shorts in the comp with more beautifully engaging shots etc the story was hard to follow. Not everyones going to always like your story, thats often down to perception, but if I were you I would separate that from your ability to construct it through images. I liked it.

[Joseph Stunzi]

Noel and John,
Thanks so much for your comments. It's greatly appreciated by Jarrard (Director) and myself (DP). It was such a great learning experience for everyone involved. I'm so impressed by everything entered into Twilightfest and I think I have so much to learn from them and others here on DVX. Biggest improvement I could see in the future is lighting. However, due to the number of locations we originally shot at... lighting would have been difficult. Jarrard thought it best to use ambient light and I feel for most shots it worked well. You should see some of the raw footage. We shot our lead actor Billy running while hanging out of the back of a speeding Jeep Wrangler with our camera rig. Lots of other things too.

Anyway, thanks for the comments everyone and keep em coming!

[Neil Rowe]

Well done here. It was fun to watch and I enjoyed it. great job on this guys. although I do have to agree with an ealrier poster that its basically a "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"remake which strays very little from the original. I actually made this correlation as soon as he made his move to escape and then basically watched the rest waiting to see it all play out. I watched the original way back when i was in grade school and the power of that film stuck with me until now and likely always will. it was part of what made me realise the power of film and storytelling and make me get into it. but not to say that all that somehow takes away from what youve achieved here. its a great short and you guys should be proud of a job well done.

[Joseph Stunzi]

Thanks Neil.
I'll relay that message to the whole cast. It means a lot especially from a guy like you!

[Marlon Ladd]

I enjoyed this film. I thought there was too much fade to black, but I thought it kept a pretty good pace, had good action and the lead actor did a pretty good job.

[Joseph Stunzi]

The cuts to black were used to help transition better between the action. To add to the confusion and devolution from reality that Peyton (the lead actor) experiences in the film. We didn't plan on initially having these when we started filming, it just seemed like a good idea in the edit.

Thanks for your comments Marlon.

[King Cole]

SPOILER :
I'd maybe liked to have seen more story about the guy shooting him and the circumstances around that, why? because that could have taken the audiences attention away from guessing the ending if you had wrapped up his wandering around with an alt storyline. Perhaps the resolution could have been the moment the audience discovers 'why' he is getting shot, maybe he stole money or killed someone. In that way you could have his 'final glimpse' as him getting away with it, only to be brought crashing back to reality with the final gun shot in his head. - but thats just an idea and I guess it would have changed this a lot.

Things I liked, the pacing, shot choice and editing. I'd like to see what you guys do with a bit more time on your hands. Thanks for the entry.

Darkline, thanks so much for watching and for the comment. It's so cool for me to receive comments from people who make such incredible movies. I value your opinion highly.

I think that you've presented a very compelling story, unfortunately we didn't shoot it ;). I think that your arc would have provided a very nice feeling of resolution and circularity, it would've been very exciting. We opted for a simpler script with a probably blameless protagonist. Giving him responsibility for his "possible" end would have made for a very different (and probably equally or more exciting) dynamic.

Your story is similar to the "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" short story, while mine is closer to the Twilight Zone episode. There are a lot of cool directions to go with the concept.

Very glad you liked the pacing, I hate slow moving films, so that's good to hear.

JC

[King Cole]

I really liked the opening shot. I also liked the shot when he came into the house, that was quite nice. I like what you did with this story wise.

[...]

Get more coverage and you'll be fine.


Mike,
Thanks so much for the comment. I've enjoyed your movies from the fests, especially The Watchman. I appreciate your feedback. I'm looking forward to "Calls" when I'm past my midterms this week.

Regarding the coverage, I would've been happier with a few more shots, but wouldn't we all be? That said, I did learn a lot about necessary coverage and will use that for much tighter shooting in the future.

As a general response to everyone regarding time for filming, rushed (or not), etc.:
We had a limited shooting schedule, but that's the case for just about every film ever. There are definitely things that could've improved with more time, but I wrote a script that I thought was doable given the timeframe. I think we definitely pulled it off, and I'm very proud of what we did. I would not want any forgiveness for flaws in the film because of some sort of extraordinary shooting circumstances. I'm sure other films in this fest had much tighter circumstances than we did, so our film merits just as much scrutiny and criticism as any other. Thanks for all of the feedback.

JC

[King Cole]

Pauly,
Thanks for watching!

JC

[Darkline]

No Problem King, there was a lot about this I liked and you have to be very careful where to take advice. Everyone on here is a film-maker and you have to stay true to your vision at the end of the day. Otherwise you'd get someone else to make it for you. :-)

I'll look forward to any future work you guys do.

Ps I think I've seen owl creek, is it an old B&W one?

[King Cole]

Darkline,
It is a b&w Twilight Zone episode. It was a French film that the Twilight Zone used as an episode. It was the only TZ to win an Emmy. You can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jLxlyTrAC4

JC

[Darkline]

Interesting, Ive only ever seen the french film. I will check out the TZ version!

[King Cole]

I believe they are the same, minus Serling's introduction.

JC

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Mike,
Thanks so much for the comment. I've enjoyed your movies from the fests, especially The Watchman. I appreciate your feedback. I'm looking forward to "Calls" when I'm past my midterms this week.

Thanks! I enjoyed yours as well.

PS- Just get to it before voting closes. :grin:

[King Cole]

No worries, I definitely will. It's the least I can do for the effort everyone's put into making their movies.

JC

[Tim Joy]

Nice action and story.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS******


It was a little bit like Jacobs Ladder where the whole story is what takes place in the characters mind at the moment of his death.

Without knowing why, "he must die for what he's seen", it was little hard to buy, but I went with it because you had an action chase scene right in the beginning.

Fun production, and I liked all your posters and imagry, so had to check this one out.

Good job!

[Joseph Stunzi]

yeehaanow:
I personally felt not knowing why made it even more mysterious. Well that's me watching it now that the editing and all is done. Funny thing to note, I hadn't watched Stopgap for just the fun of it and to enjoy it until the other night. It changes ones perspective.

We had a blast and it was a great way to end the summer and transition into college life for a lot of the people involved with production.

[Dick Campbell]

Good production. Had seen something similar to this so before, I figured this one pretty early, but you pulled it off well.

[Joseph Stunzi]

Yes. It is based off of a classic TZ episode! So it might look a "little" familiar!

[Brian Parker]

Nice film guys! I really liked a lot of your cinematography and a lot of the acting was well done, especially the lead. The audio was a little muffled in the first conversation. As I watched I thought that there was no way I would let my sister go towards that guy. She'd have been knocked out and over my shoulder as I ran in the opposite direction of him. When the film finished though, it mades sense. Nice concepts and homage here. I enjoyed the ride. Good job!

[Edgen]

I really dug the concept of this film. The end still sticks in my head even days after viewing.

Thank you for submitting.

/j

[Joseph Stunzi]

Edgen... thanks! That was one of the crucial moments for Jarrard and myself in the film – the end. We didn't want a ton of credits clouding the viewers mind. We basically just wanted the abrupt finish that left an echoing chill down your spine. Thanks for watching!

[Edgen]

Edgen... thanks! That was one of the crucial moments for Jarrard and myself in the film – the end. We didn't want a ton of credits clouding the viewers mind. We basically just wanted the abrupt finish that left an echoing chill down your spine. Thanks for watching!

:) Yup... it worked! the spine is still tingly.

[hoz]

really strong story!

spoiler




frenetic pace is terrific. the boy's acting is good. and i loved the concept!

only thing that sort of bothered me was the music, i'd have loved to hear a heart pounding thump throughout the movie, especially when you blacked out the screen. make it match the boy's adrenaline spike. small small point.

this is really well thought though, great use of the color white too, especially on the mom. awesome short!! looking forward to your next film....

[King Cole]

Im late, so not a lot of detail here for you.

I thought visually you constructed the story well. Your focus pulls had purpose that also served the story and I think on that front you got it. I thought all the things that occurred did help, again, drive the story forward. Personally I think youve got the hard part fairly well figured out and whilst theres some shorts in the comp with more beautifully engaging shots etc the story was hard to follow. Not everyones going to always like your story, thats often down to perception, but if I were you I would separate that from your ability to construct it through images. I liked it.

Noel,
Thanks so much for your comment and for watching Stopgap. I really appreciate it.

JC

[King Cole]

Well done here. It was fun to watch and I enjoyed it. great job on this guys. although I do have to agree with an ealrier poster that its basically a "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"remake which strays very little from the original. I actually made this correlation as soon as he made his move to escape and then basically watched the rest waiting to see it all play out. I watched the original way back when i was in grade school and the power of that film stuck with me until now and likely always will. it was part of what made me realise the power of film and storytelling and make me get into it. but not to say that all that somehow takes away from what youve achieved here. its a great short and you guys should be proud of a job well done.

Neil,
Thanks for watching and the comment. In the version with credits, we will definitely thank Mr. Bierce, because this was a very intentional update of "Occurrence." I loved the TZ episode as well, and I was going for a modernization. We debated putting a pre-roll credit with the story, but we were hoping to surprise people who didn't catch on. I had hoped that it would work whether you know what's coming at the end or not, but it certainly loses some of its power if you know what's going on. Again, thanks for the feedback!

JC

[King Cole]

I enjoyed this film. I thought there was too much fade to black, but I thought it kept a pretty good pace, had good action and the lead actor did a pretty good job.

Marlon,
Thanks for watching and for commenting. I wasn't excessively happy with the cuts to black in the running sequence- we'd planned for something else that didn't quite work in the edit room. It's a very stylized editing that works for some and not for others, and I understand how it feels a bit much. Thanks for the feedback.

JC

[King Cole]

Good production. Had seen something similar to this so before, I figured this one pretty early, but you pulled it off well.

Thanks Dick. We based it off of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" which you may have seen as a Twilight Zone episode.

Thanks for commenting.

JC

[Bryce A]

The second he let his sister go, I just knew he was already dead. No one in their right mind would have let her walk off like that. It had that dream logic feel. Anyhow, the film is competently made and I believed your achieved the aesthetic you were going for with the action sequences and rapid dolly shots. I felt the film was a bit roughly made, but not in a bad way. In an up and comer way. You got the story across without much effort. That’s the most important aspect. Good work.

[Joseph Stunzi]

The second he let his sister go, I just knew he was already dead. No one in their right mind would have let her walk off like that. It had that dream logic feel. Anyhow, the film is competently made and I believed your achieved the aesthetic you were going for with the action sequences and rapid dolly shots. I felt the film was a bit roughly made, but not in a bad way. In an up and comer way. You got the story across without much effort. That’s the most important aspect. Good work.

Thanks so much Bryce. Glad you liked it. Almost glad you could see it coming. Way to recognize the dream logic feel!

[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 and Brad Mates thoughts on "STOPGAP."

9:02:03 PM Ben Sliker: STOPGAP
9:02:39 PM Ben Sliker: rdy?
9:02:57 PM Brad Mate: yep
9:03:00 PM Ben Sliker: 3
9:03:01 PM Ben Sliker: 2
9:03:02 PM Ben Sliker: 1
9:03:04 PM Ben Sliker: go
9:03:22 PM Ben Sliker: this guy has a llama for an avatar
9:03:25 PM Ben Sliker: it's sweet.
9:03:31 PM Brad Mate: im glad they made a movie about this. I've been pissed about gaps for years, and want them stopped now.
9:03:41 PM Ben Sliker: lol
9:04:30 PM Ben Sliker: one more shot from his laserbeam and i'm done for, and guess what he starts doing?
9:04:38 PM Ben Sliker: HE STARTS MONOLOGUING
9:04:51 PM Ben Sliker: about how im so feeble
9:05:03 PM Ben Sliker: how my defeat is inenvitable
9:05:11 PM Brad Mate: yeah get your rifle...you lazy bastard. if you ran you could have been in range with the pistol
9:05:27 PM Ben Sliker: i wonder what happened in the story during all those black spots
9:05:35 PM Ben Sliker: HEY BRO
9:05:38 PM Ben Sliker: WASSUP ... you walking down a random road too? cool.
9:06:25 PM Ben Sliker: OH SHE GETS IT
9:06:27 PM Ben Sliker: YOU CRAZY
9:06:28 PM Brad Mate: lol
9:07:03 PM Ben Sliker: why does everything in this movie look out of focus ...
9:07:09 PM Brad Mate: (cause it is)
9:07:33 PM Ben Sliker: this is why i hate 35mm adapters
9:07:49 PM Brad Mate: lol. is 911 busy?
9:07:51 PM Ben Sliker: i wonder if that hourglass is going to come into play ...
9:08:05 PM Ben Sliker: or if it was just a metaphor ...
9:08:21 PM Brad Mate: this guy is such a quitter
9:08:24 PM Ben Sliker: hey, it's out of breath 90's running guy LINK (http://www.hulu.com/watch/4259/saturday-night-live-out-of-breath-jogger-from-1992)
9:08:33 PM Ben Sliker: WAIT ... A WHITE HORSE? WTH?
9:09:21 PM Brad Mate: i would have imagined a better story for myself
9:09:34 PM Ben Sliker: man, if i was going to dream up something right before i took one in the noggin, i would have thought about something cooler
9:09:38 PM Ben Sliker: DAMN
9:09:41 PM Ben Sliker: NINJAD
9:09:42 PM Brad Mate: NINJA
9:09:54 PM Ben Sliker: I JUST NINJA'D YOUR NINJA
9:10:02 PM Brad Mate: how bout instead of imagining it you dont just stand there and let someone kill you
9:10:39 PM Brad Mate: i dont get taht. if you are being robbed you are complacent so they just take your stuff and dont kill you. when they monologue about how they are gonna kill you....time to do something
9:11:08 PM Ben Sliker: CAUSE ITS A MONOLOGUE ... DUN
9:11:10 PM Ben Sliker: *DUH
9:11:24 PM Ben Sliker: ben not soo good typing in da dark ...
9:11:31 PM Brad Mate: i should do something...but i'd really like to hear the conclusion of what he's saying....
9:12:17 PM Ben Sliker: next?
9:12:22 PM Ben Sliker: or more thoughts?
9:12:27 PM Brad Mate: hold on buckaroo
9:12:30 PM Brad Mate: jeez
9:13:38 PM Ben Sliker: all i know is that I'd happen to stumble upon a naked kate beckinsale on a white horse in my pre-death dream.
9:14:17 PM Brad Mate: i like the twist. its definitely more believeable than some we've been seeing. but i hate the circumstances as he just takes getting killed. and what he imagines is lame. if you had those last moments you wouldnt think about what you would do, if you really could do nothing you'd think about your family and your life perhaps, or something else fantastical. its like...im gonna stand here and get shot...but im gonna imagine that im actually gonna try to live.
9:14:46 PM Brad Mate: HOW BOUT TRYING TO LIVE
9:15:53 PM Ben Sliker: normally i'd fight for my llife...but its just too damn hot out. and this bandana covering my eyes..do i just lift that or do i untie it....poo poo, ill just think about escaping
9:16:28 PM Brad Mate: yeah, take the easy way out.

This was a solid entry. As far as the look, I'm not a fan of the everything's out of focus 35mm look, it looks good for the closeups, but just made your wides look blurry. it was also a bit blown out at times, which was a little distracting. As far as story goes, I think our criticism is well laid out in the session, we'd like to see a more fight or flight response out of him. But then again, that's not what WE would be thinking, it doesn't make what this character was thinking wrong. Thanks for sharing guys. Cheers! :beer:

[Joseph Stunzi]

Appreciate the AIM comments. The llama, well the llama has been with me from quite some time. Hopefully one day it will be integrated into a custom user status for me! *WINK* moderators!

It's not really supposed to make logical sense. Flight or fight... well that's logical but not necessarily applicable. I'm sure Jarrard, the director, will chime in here too and give his 2 (or 5) cents.

[Ben Sliker]

i hear ya! that's really the logical nature of how Brad and I think. Like, for instance, horror movies kill us cause we're like "turn the light ON, grab GUN, THEN look in closet. DUH." it's hard for us to process something that's not the next logical step sometimes. :)

ps - i'm glad it was a llama, i'd look like a douche if it was a goat...

[Joseph Stunzi]

HAHA goats have beards silly. I guess it could be a goat in do shave december.

[Ben Sliker]

better watch out, your custom title might become "beard-less goat" :)

[Joseph Stunzi]

as long as it's not in hot pink bold font!

[SparkyZa]

Very well done.

[devaristo]

Sorry for re-life the topic two years after the last post but, i just do it for asking where can i view your short. I searched everywhere but not found anything, just this topic.

I found this topic searching info of Amy Bruckner and have noticed, that so far, this is her last work i think, so as a fan of her of Phil of the future i wanted to see new stuff of her.

Thanks so much for answering in advance and sorry for my english.