First Fest Entry Ever: SECOND CHANCES

[vnguyen972]

Hello, long time viewer but first time entry.
SECOND CHANCES

Story and Screenplay: Derek Granado
Directors: Vu Nguyen & Derek Granado
Producers: Vu Nguyen & Derek Granado
Director of Photography: Andrew Reyna
Score Composer: Jared Kraft
Song Writer: Justin Ewart
Make-up Artist: Erika Rincon
Assistant Director: Charles Willis
Cover Photographer: Candice Irion (http://www.candiceirion.com/)

Official Site: http://www.bluelightpictures.com/films/shorts/secondchances/
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Second-Chances/54076221279
Myspace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/secondchanceshort
BLOG: http://bluelightpictures.com/b2e/index.php?blog=6

Synopsis: After a tragic loss, a troubled married couple decide to make things right again.

Here is the final poster:

http://i43.tinypic.com/oge99w.jpg

CAST:

WHITNEY ....... Jason Magee (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0535846/)

http://i40.tinypic.com/9suv4p.jpg

MAIA ..... Natalie Cottrell (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3014534/)

http://i41.tinypic.com/i5xb2d.jpg

OTHER CAST:
Renee Wiggins (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3014368/)
Shannon Richard
Miranda Thomas
and Elizabeth

SHOOTING SCHEDULE: January 17th, 2009.

More updates soon...

[vnguyen972]

03/03/2009:
Officially uploaded and entered!!!!
02/05/2009:
Pictures are locked! We're sending the cut to our composer to work on the score while we're starting working on the coloring.
01/18/2009:
It's a wrap! Yes! just wrapped up our 2nd day of the production few hours ago. It's a relief because we managed to get everything as planned but sad because we have to say goodbye to everyone! It was a great experience and even though it was only 2 days, we grow to like each other and it was sad to shake hands goodbye... :-(
Oh well, more BTS will be uploaded on Facebook page, myspace and the website... real soon!!! and crap, when transporting the dolly tracks, I accidentally cracked my windshield... yikes!
Update: Here's the BTS of the 2nd day
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/vnguyen972/Second%20Chances%20BTS/?albumview=slideshow

01/17/2009:
Today is our first production day! Bright and early! I hope everything goes well... and will post BTS pics later!

01/11/2009:
We spent today on a photoshoot for the cover/poster to replace the concept one we had originally. We had a great time with the principle cast and Candice, our photographer, was awesome!
After the shoot we surprised Natalie with a little celebration. Today is her birthday!!
I'll post some pictures later from today's shoot real soon.

01/10/2009:
Met with the crew and discussed the storyboards and shots list.

01/07/2009:
Storyboards are done.

12/30/2009:
We had a table read with both Natalie and Jason. We discussed more in depth about the characters they're playing and they're both getting very comfortable with the script and the lines... We all are excited and cannot wait to start...

12/28/2009:
Andrew, Derek and I came to the cemetery again to ensure everything we need to cover are set. It was very windy but we had a great time. Andrew got a chance to play more with the camera. We went over a few shots that we had in mind with him and it seems like it's all good.

12/21/2009:
Derek and I drove around the area for a location scout, we are looking for a junk yard to film... it was super cold outside and we were freezing walking inside the junk yard. We didn't find what we were looking for but got a few contacts... so we couldn't say we got nothing from the scout :-)

Recruited Andrew Reyna as our Director of Photography. Andrew brought on board his assistant: Daniel. We are excited.

[vnguyen972]

Check out some of our storyboards:
http://i35.tinypic.com/xee87o.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/if0ot2.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/29digj6.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/28hjyqc.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/9sqao2.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/2i8f7gk.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/rley5i.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/t63xg0.jpg

Here are few test shots we did at the location, check it out:

0a98d6be1114e4c587

[vnguyen972]

SECOND DAY:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/vnguyen972/Second%20Chances%20BTS/?albumview=slideshow

FIRST DAY:

Actors are ready for first shot!!!

http://i35.tinypic.com/1hwhfp.jpg

Mounting the camera on our gheto steadicam!

http://i39.tinypic.com/9tlg8k.jpg

Discussing a shot with the DP:

http://i40.tinypic.com/2yvjuh2.jpg

Go over the shot list and storyboard with the crew:

http://i43.tinypic.com/712o05.jpg

Then confirm it with the DP :-)

http://i44.tinypic.com/jb20zo.jpg

Our lovely actresses:

http://i40.tinypic.com/iwt2fl.jpg

Setting up the crane shot:

http://i41.tinypic.com/23tmlqb.jpg

Setting up for a dolly shot:

http://i44.tinypic.com/2nrbxg.jpg

The run through:

http://i44.tinypic.com/1494a34.jpg

ENJOY!!! I have more but I can't post more than 9 pictures... The complete set is posted on Facebook page...

Check them out here (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Second-Chances/54076221279)

[reaktor]

Good luck. :p

[stinkpot]

Welcome to the fest!

:beer:

[vnguyen972]

LOL, yeah thanks... reaktor, we gotta meet this weekend...
how's Sunday 5pm sound? let me also send you an email!

[Will Clegg]

Welcome! I like the concept, and the poster is intriguing.

[MrKilloran]

Welcome!

[vnguyen972]

So we went out to the location and shots a few test shots. It was very windy but we had a great time. Check out the footage on the first page.
Thanks.

[vnguyen972]

Some updates on first few posts.

[Skribbleman]

Hey Vu, Looking forward to this. I recognize you from your clips on vimeo. Could this be the first use of the Handy35 in a dvxfest? :)

[vnguyen972]

Yeah, it is .. as well as my first :-)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Welcome dude. good to see some test shots. just gotta watch that wind on the day of the shoot. where's your locations?

[vnguyen972]

Thanks man. Yeah.. the wind creates a great mood but then would be hard to shoot in... but I doubt it'd be that windy again on the shooting day :-)
Our location is in Dallas, TX.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Sandbags will be your best friend. Here's hoping for dramatic wind.. rather than constant, tripod tipping wind on the day of your shoot. :beer:

[vnguyen972]

LOL i know right? sandbags would definitely be our best friends!!!
Enjoyed your podcasts a lot!

[Rodney V. Smith]

I just DIYed a couple of sandbags this week. One of the most important things is to actually FILL it with sand though, so right now sandbags are my potential friend. :grin:

You should do a podcast as well. Let us view some of your shenanigans down in Dallas.

[vnguyen972]

I like the idea but not sure if I would be able to. We might have a podcast or bts footage on the production day though... if I could get one dedicate person for the job as I'd be busy with other things and often forget about it.

[Robbie Comeau]

Woah, nice video!

Also, sweet storyboarding. First I've seen in a fest with that much work done into a storyboard :)

Robbie

[aravance]

What program/software are you using for the storyboards? They look vaguely familiar to this Lionhead Studios game called The Movies.

[vnguyen972]

@Robbie: LOL thanks! yeah I'm trying to plan out every single shot and camera angle/movement....

@aravance: I was using Antics3D version 4.

They are no longer in the business. They closed their door right after releasing version 5... Not sure why but I guess went bankrupt or something... I bought a license but I guess I'd never get upgraded ;-) but I think what I have serves what I need. The later version you could even animate the character reaction... last storyboard I did I actually animated it... but it took a lot of time! I am not making animation and the reason I bought it was mainly for creating storyboard helping me shooting... and it's been great!!!

[aravance]

Yeah, it looks like a great program. I have Storyboard Quick, which leaves much to be desired.

I've just been going back to hand-sketching.

[vnguyen972]

Hand sketching is great if it helps you. I tried many times and I found it doesn't really help me much only slow me down. One reason I suck at drawing and second if I can't draw... stick figures don't really help me on the shoot!!! I need something that has camera view so I could set it up the way I wanted. 3D app is the only option for me to do a good concept storyboard.

[vnguyen972]

Today is our principle photography day... bright and early... hope everything goes well... will post BTS pictures soon!!!

[warau]

Looking forward to the BTS shots. I am impressed with your storyboards! I have Moviestorm for the same purpose but haven't used it for that yet.

[vnguyen972]

First day BTS pics are up.. on first page!

One day is done, one more to go!!! :-)

[Rodney V. Smith]

I hope the wind treated you guys well. I checked out the photos on your facebook page and it looks like you made out okay. Any podcasts coming for this entry?

Interesting design on your ghetto steadicam. Are you using circular rods with some kind of spring and a monopod?

[Rodney V. Smith]

i envy your lack of snow. ENVY!

[vnguyen972]

oh thanks.. surprisingly there was no much wind today...

oh yeah, the ghetto steadicam ;-) it was made by a friend of mine and the harness was made out of a shoulder pad of a marching band drum ... the spring and the rod are from a table photography set... i told you.. real ghetto ...LOL

Thanks for checking out and no... there is no podcast.. I did not plan for one.

[vnguyen972]

Oh man, snow could have been hard to work in... but it would definitely have been awesome for the mood.


i envy your lack of snow. ENVY!

[Rodney V. Smith]

i have snow. lots of it for my shoot tomorrow. on the ground and coming down. want some? And i'm shooting a comedy!

[vnguyen972]

LOL

Let's shoot on green screen and I'll send you the footage to put in the background and I'll replace your snow background in return ;-)

deal?

[Rodney V. Smith]

i'll think about it. gotta plot on how i much i don't want to freeze. Hmm... i need to sire some new PA's just for shooting snow tomorrow....

[GoodLuck]

Great cast you got there, excited to see this one! :beer:

[vnguyen972]

Second day's BTS pictures:

http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f202/vnguyen972/Second%20Chances%20BTS/?albumview=slideshow

I might post some grabs later...

[Rodney V. Smith]

hey dude, the photobucket is password protected.

[vnguyen972]

oops ;-)

Sorry... it's public now!

[GoodLuck]

Really love the films website...
http://www.bluelightpictures.com/films/shorts/secondchances/

very well done!

[vnguyen972]

Hey GoodLuck, thanks for the kind words and thanks for checking it out!!! :-)


Really love the films website...
http://www.bluelightpictures.com/films/shorts/secondchances/

very well done!

[Rodney V. Smith]

looks like Justin's and Sarah's music is going to be all over this festival.

[vnguyen972]

They certainly has made beautiful music!!! so talented!!!

[reaktor]

I am really glad I decided to DP for this. Thanks for giving me the oportunity Vu. Can't wait to see it.

[vnguyen972]

Hey Andrew, no problem man, I'm glad that you did too. It was a great experience working with you on set.

[vnguyen972]

More updates on the first page! basically we got our pictures locked and music score and color grading work have already started! Looking forward completing the film in the next few weeks.

[vnguyen972]

Uploaded. Waiting for approval! Fingers crossed...

[Rodney V. Smith]

You beat me to the upload dude. Fast fingers you have there. :grin:

[vnguyen972]

LOL

I thought you beat me... I was uploading it then forgot to rename the file... so I canceled the whole thing and retried...

[dgranado11]

One of the best shorts out there.

[orchidsofwrath]

Awesome! That one was an attention keeper for sure. I must admit though I didn't really understand some stuff that seemed significant...

One crit I have for the audio/dialogue is it sounded like the high transients and treble were way too high for my taste. Alot of sibilance.

[Zak Forsman]

nice work vnguyen972. this was an earnestly told story and i enjoyed watching it unfold. if i could offer some advice for editorial, try a little more of what's called an "L-cut" where we hear the person speak before cutting to them. it helps give the perception of the characters leading us thru the story rather than the edits. make sense?

[vnguyen972]

Definitely! Thanks for the great advice!

[Zim]

Nice film. The HV30 does a great job

[lordambrai]

I loved the way your short looked. That was really an HV30? And the cast was really good. It started a little strange for me though and ended strange somewhat, maybe my IQ isn't up to par ><

And btw nice use of the flare effect, I'm a fan =D

[Lawsuit_Boy]

Intriguing little film, that's for sure. I was definitely a fan of the smooth, soft texture that the film made use of. It certainly added a little more dimensionality to the ending of the film. I thought the actors really handled their parts and lines well. Their relationship did not feel forced, over-the-top, or hackneyed. The colors were pretty strong as well and you kept the color palette very consistent. The make up work in the car was very strong, kudos there!

Also, I really enjoyed the surrealist aspect of the masked apparitions leading the man to where he needed to be.

There were a few quirks with the sound and I'd felt as if this sort of film has been presented to me a number of times. Even with that hanging over its head, it was still a fairly pleasurable viewing experience. :thumbsup:

[FDL film music composer]

Great film ..the score have a very good piano theme..the string have quite unreal sound (but depending on what library the composer used on) overall the score is one of my favourites

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Nice work. Played back with a bit of a stutter for me. Could be my laptop.
Most of the others have played back fine though.

Did you use an adapter? It looked soft for the HV30.

Nice story. Interesting framing, it worked well. Loved the music at the end as well.

MAH

[MrKilloran]

A wonderfully shot short, the music fit well, very dream-like and soft. Great coloring and believable acting.

Your crane shots were very shaky, unnatural, they didn't flow quite as well as the rest of your shots. Also, the dialogue/audio was sharp, sort of too high.

I keep hearing you used an HV30? That's impressive. Great first entry to the fest's!:beer:

[reaktor]

MrKilloran: The crane did pose many problems for us, I believe we had too much weight on it for it to work correctly.

Michael: We used the Handy35 lens adapter with this, thank you for the feedback.

[robertwerden]

This is the first film Im commenting on, but not the first I watched.

I gave it 9 stars because I loved the story. The technical stuff did need improvement, but it was not enough to make me loose track of what was going on.
Really good entry.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Michael: We used the Handy35 lens adapter with this, thank you for the feedback.I knew it! I can usually tell a naked HV20/30 from a dressed one. :)

Nice look! The adapter worked very well.

Cheers,

Mike

[seductivepuppy]

those masks are gonna haunt my effin nightmares. nice production value!

[Chris Messineo]

I enjoyed your film. I thought the actors did a very good job and I liked the arc of your story.

Lastly, I especially liked the song that you used at the end. I thought it fit in with the mood of the film perfectly.

[Richard J. Johnson]

I looked great. The audio issues didn't take away from the story. I loved the grading. I don't like the soft stuff but it worked so well here.

And it ended perfectly with an amazing song. Great film.
The actress is beautiful.

[vnguyen972]

The masked figures are the symbols of temptations which the character has to deal with right before his time on this purgatory place...

Thanks everyone for watching and commenting on the film, it means so much to me!

[tpludow]

this film was nicely shot. The framing felt clean, but I'm guessing you didn't have a dolly because there was some pretty bad camera movement going on. BUt overall the look of the film was great. The audio however killed it. You should check out some lynda.com tips for fixing your audio, it woul've helped a lot. Your dbs was way to high on the treble side it was insane. I could hear every S sound that your actors spoke, but it would come tearing into my ears. Extremely distracting. Where'd you get the car with the smashed up windshield? And who wrote your music? If you don't mind me asking?

[Norm Sanders]

Okay, so I just had a chance to watch this one, and really enjoyed a great deal about it.

Some GREAT editing choices, and camera work (rough crane work, especially at the cemetery gate, but otherwise SOLID on much of the angle choices). The audio I felt was the weakest part of this film, causing me to wonder if there was ADR, or if the whole thing was just a few frames off? There was enough background/mic noise that I can't imagine it was ADR, but not sure what it was about the audio that was throwing me off.

Some super strong moments from both leads, my favorites being the non-chalant, smaller movements ... where their faces said more than their words.

I had to work JUST a tad to pull together some of the story elements such as the maked women kissing, etc., and then the very ending, as far as her being sure if he wants to commit to her in such a way, that she had been fine without him up to that point, etc. But I still loved the story concept of them fighting & dying together in the car wreck, and still spending eternity together. Very cool. :)

[vnguyen972]

Norm: thank you so much for the comments and yes, audio was our biggest problem as the location was right in the middle of busy city... we had someone to clean up the sound the best he could but obviously not best... I thought about ADR it but I was afraid to lose the solid delivering that the cast did on the set... oh well, lesson learned.

Thanks again and it meant so much to me that you enjoyed it.

[Norm Sanders]

Oh, and BTW, is this your 1st entry, or actually your 1st film ever? If it's your first film, you are going to ROCK THE HOUSE soon! My first film STUNK, lol, and I'm on my 8th short film now, I think.

ADR can be a VERY tricky thing, so I understand your hesitation ... but done well, no one would ever be the wiser, and would HOPEFULLY take them out of the story less so than intrusive bad audio would.

[vnguyen972]

This was my 1st entry... and 5th short film... my 1st short is unwatchable :-) well... so was the 2nd...

Thanks for the advice on the ADR... yeah, definitely something I'd remember that!

[reaktor]

When it came to it being in production, audio was definitely the limiting factor. The rest of the production had to be catered around the audio, becuase, like how Vu was saying, we were in the middle of the city, the worst being the jets overhead.

[vnguyen972]

Thanks tpludow for your comments and advice... it meant so much to me and sorry I didn't reply any sooner...

We actually went to a junk yard and bought a cracked windshield and just put on top of the "actual" windshield of the car and shot through it.

The score was composed by Jared Kraft (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=925600) and the song at the end was from the talented Justin Ewart.

Thanks again for checking it out.


this film was nicely shot. The framing felt clean, but I'm guessing you didn't have a dolly because there was some pretty bad camera movement going on. BUt overall the look of the film was great. The audio however killed it. You should check out some lynda.com tips for fixing your audio, it woul've helped a lot. Your dbs was way to high on the treble side it was insane. I could hear every S sound that your actors spoke, but it would come tearing into my ears. Extremely distracting. Where'd you get the car with the smashed up windshield? And who wrote your music? If you don't mind me asking?

[Norm Sanders]

Hmm, something to consider in the future ... a REALLY good shotgun mic that's very directional with a good boom operator, and you may be able to help cut out a lot of the harsh city/jet noises. Or, since you only had two actors, perhaps LAV mics on each of them would have worked even better?

Not sure if you shot using a shotgun, or a hyper, etc. so just thought I'd throw those out there for future stuff.

[vnguyen972]

Norm: great advice...thanks! yeah... we used a shot gun mic, actually had two and used one for each day :-) on the first day we used one and ran the audio into a dvx, then on the 2nd day, our guy fell through and no dvx so we used the other shotgun to run audio straight into the hv30... and the mics had a huge deadcat on it... and still, the road and air traffic was really killing us...

[singleframe]

yeah for this i would have gone with two lavs, and a boom, as well as recording plenty of room tone (city-tone).

well done besides that. very moving story.

[MiniMan]

If it hadn't been for the extremely bouncy crane shots and the sloppy audio, this would have been more or less perfect. The acting was great, and pretty much every shot was simply awesome. The shallow DOF look really fit this film.

Great stuff!

[Brian Parker]

Maybe I'm paranoid but I swore that the facial expression on the demon masks was changing! Nice. Really good short and well told story. Everybody's already mentioned the minor issues but I think you did a great job of putting across without being heavy-handed. There was a subtlety to the cinematography and the actor's performances which kept the film from becoming hackneyed. I enjoyed it!

[vnguyen972]

Champloo, thanks for watching! glad you enjoyed it!

[Lost Skies]

I LOVED this. I'm really impressed with the story and the production value you got. I have an HV20 and I've been looking for a 35mm adaptor for some time, and the Handy35 really caught my attention with this short.

What problems were you having with your diy dolly?

[Spear670]

Not really much to say that hasn't already been covered. Like most I'm sure, I watched all these entries in order and I have to say you set the bar pretty damn high. It's a shame the crane shot didn't work out perfectly but great job with the cinematography and casting! I enjoy the story board pictures you posted, really shows the work you put into this. Great job overall!

[Robbie Comeau]

Ahh...Beautiful.

Favorite so far.

If it wasn't for the ADR, and some shaky/jittery camera movements, this would be absolutely goregous.

Aside from the cons I just mentioned, GREAT acting. Great score/song, and the look of this film (adapter to lenses to grading) was my favorite.

I've seen a video like this on this site...A one minute film about a guy and a girl, and it's about love. At the end we see them in a car, and the girlfriend is dead while the driver is calling her name (He's alive, of course) and it's about a drunk driving video.

You captured this beautifully, and them walking in a graveyard added so much to this.

Expect to place in the top 8.

PS- What'd you shoot this on?

Robbie

[SMarston]

I really liked the actors in this, they seemed to have good chemistry, the overall idea of the story was great but i didnt really understand what the women in masks making out was all about, i assumed the masked represented that everyone alive looked the same. over all it was enjoyable to watch

keep up the good work

[Postmaster]

Verry good acting and story.
A bit over the top in grading for my taste - especialy the diffusion.
But still a very strong peace.

Frank

[vnguyen972]

Robbie, thanks and we shot it with an HV30 with a handy35 adapter.


Ahh...Beautiful.

Favorite so far.

If it wasn't for the ADR, and some shaky/jittery camera movements, this would be absolutely goregous.

Aside from the cons I just mentioned, GREAT acting. Great score/song, and the look of this film (adapter to lenses to grading) was my favorite.

I've seen a video like this on this site...A one minute film about a guy and a girl, and it's about love. At the end we see them in a car, and the girlfriend is dead while the driver is calling her name (He's alive, of course) and it's about a drunk driving video.

You captured this beautifully, and them walking in a graveyard added so much to this.

Expect to place in the top 8.

PS- What'd you shoot this on?

Robbie

[vnguyen972]

I LOVED this. I'm really impressed with the story and the production value you got. I have an HV20 and I've been looking for a 35mm adaptor for some time, and the Handy35 really caught my attention with this short.

What problems were you having with your diy dolly?

Thanks.

Yeah, it wasn't real smooth and most of it I think because of the PVC tracks got dirty and the old wheels...

[vnguyen972]

Verry good acting and story.
A bit over the top in grading for my taste - especialy the diffusion.
But still a very strong peace.

Frank

Frank, thanks for the comments.. were you the one that sent me an email the other day?

[vnguyen972]

I really liked the actors in this, they seemed to have good chemistry, the overall idea of the story was great but i didnt really understand what the women in masks making out was all about, i assumed the masked represented that everyone alive looked the same. over all it was enjoyable to watch

keep up the good work

SMarston, thanks for you kind words. We cast them separately but as soon as we put them together... we were like... they're perfect together! And it shows on screen!

[vnguyen972]

Not really much to say that hasn't already been covered. Like most I'm sure, I watched all these entries in order and I have to say you set the bar pretty damn high. It's a shame the crane shot didn't work out perfectly but great job with the cinematography and casting! I enjoy the story board pictures you posted, really shows the work you put into this. Great job overall!

Spear670, thanks for your comments and yes those are the areas I really need to improve!

[warau]

This is a beautiful film to watch! I never really got into the story but found the images very intriguing.

[Robbie Comeau]

What was with the faces in the beginning? Some sort of motif/sign but I can't figure it out.

Robbie

[vnguyen972]

SPOILER ALERT BELOW:

They were demon figures, also symbols of temptations (ie. lust) before his soul unites with his lost love after the accident... the cemetery here is the gateway to the white light from the purgatory place.

crap... can't find a color to hide it :-) oh well!

[Mercurialvenus]

The masked faces were interesting but a little cliche. I don't think it was the acting but the words seemed forced, it might've been the dialogue perhaps. Seemed sometimes the actors weren't IN the dialogue. My favorite part was the end, well right before the end when you showed her eyes. I really felt that kiss from her. What a great song, too. The gore effects were kind of over the top, not very realistic it took away from the fact that they reconnected. It didn't hold my attention but you got some great shots. Look forward to seeing your evolution as your work progresses. :)

[vnguyen972]

Mercuralvenus, thanks for checking out the film! See you're also from Dallas, finally a fellow from the same town! Hi!

[Sprocketboy]

This film is gorgeous to look at and you did it with HV30. Wow. Kudos. The actors looked and performed very capably, but they spoke with too much importance on each line. Also the cadence of how one line came after the other was too even / unnatural and had the markings of ADR work. Use ADR for emergency purposes only. I'm aware you are trying for something unearthly, but it didn't work for me. Right at the moment they step away from the two headstones and began to walk along the path, the camera broke the director's line several times, and took me out of it. The final transition from her eyes is awesome. Many memorable shots in this one.

[vnguyen972]

Thanks Sprocketboy for your comments. There was no ADR in this piece but I'm not gonna defend for the quality of audio either :-)

[Sprocketboy]

There was no ADR in this piece but I'm not gonna defend for the quality of audio either :-)

I've been tricked. :crybaby: It was over processed with filters perhaps, or you used lavalieres through the whole shoot?

[vnguyen972]

I think over processed with filters in the cleaning process would be a best guess... and we chose not to ADR... lesson learned.

We used boom mic, no lavalieres...

Thanks.

[Ty Izquierdo]

I thought it was beautifully shot. Definitely among top favorites. Nicely done.

[streetraces]

It was a pretty snoozefest.

[armisiano]

I really enjoyed a lot of what you did here. It was nicely shot, I like the song, and I like what you were going for. A couple things didn't quite work, the fake lens flare at the end comes most immediately to mind. It would've worked better had you just blown out everything to white right as it was approaching it's final position and then faded that all to black, but because it stayed still in a moving handheld shot, it became noticeable. With the masked girls at the beginning, I understand NOW what you were getting at having read some previous posts, but as you may have figured out, it doesn't come across. I'd suggest maybe instead having prostitutes standing outside in front of the gate trying to proposition him and rubbing up on each other a little. Since heaven and purgatory and all aren't shown as literal translations, but instead contemporary visual metaphors, do the same with the demon figures.

But again, nice work.

[vnguyen972]

armisiano: thanks for spending time to watch and comments. Most of the suggestions are helpful and I'll keep those in mind.

Ryan: thank you and i'm glad you enjoyed it. Really appreciated it!

[Nick_Lee]

that was nice. interesting concept once again....there are a lot of interesting concepts this fest. anyways, I really liked the opening shots and the whole dreamy color correction, although I felt like it went too far a couple of times. rarely though. nice locations also.

acting was good and camera work was also. nice job sir.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Gentlemen: it's time.

Crap, my kid is yelling down the stairs for me. I'll be back to complete this review.

Okay, let's try this agan. Were the three women in masks a representation of the "Furies". They seemed to be deliberately teasing him, provoking him, yet "barred" from touching him.

Some of the composition bothers me on this, especially just dealing with blocking and the visual language. He moves closer on the line "How are we to part..." and the shot is mirroring his intentions... but her subsequent rejection or doubting could have also used a visual indicator but moving her away from him instead of her turning and moving in closer. It woudl have lent a little more believability to her question and given us a visual for when she says "in this place". Great place for a nice wide shot of the entire place and to communicate the distance again, but there was nothing there. Also gives him the opportunity to close the space once again and create some more movement. it's a motivated move.

How much time did you spend on blocking the location if you don;t mind me asking? And just sitting back and watching? The script has all of these visual cues hidden in the language of the dialog, about what we need to see right here, right now and you can only capture that if you're just listening, no script in hand.

Also visually it would have been a better transition shot that the rack focus on the plant. I thought that gravestone may have been important and it's because you were sending us the wrong visual cues.

I like this film and its well made. The story gets a little bogged down in areas though and its becasue you introduce elements like the 3 women and then the mysterious gravestone... but there's no payoff. When you introduce characters like that, who have such strong visual presence, and they're the first thing we see, there needs to be a payoff. I was expecting them to try to thwart him/them in some way, but nothing happened. It just became a melodrama between the man and the woman about choices, metaphorical or otherwise. There was so much more that could have heppened, developing the characters and the environment and I felt a little let down.

Axe the three women, find a better transition that doesn;t send the wrong cue, and you have a much better film already that builds to its dramatic conclusion of choice.

Good job with the production, but some things were out of joint and feels like they were shot becasue they looked cool. Develop those storypoints and if they don;t work, either find a way to make them work, or eject them. A little script development and you guys got it locked and loaded. You already have great production value and you can only add to that.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Thanks.

Yeah, it wasn't real smooth and most of it I think because of the PVC tracks got dirty and the old wheels...

Solution for the dirty track (which probably spun round and round) is to get some cross braces and elevate off the ground even by half an inch. I had to keep wiping my tracks down every couple of takes and finally i said "screw it" and did it. Haven't regretted it since. Plus it keeps the tracks a consistent distance.

[vnguyen972]

puckthemad, thanks for the detailed comments, they're very helpful to help me get better on the next project!

[Rodney V. Smith]

puckthemad, thanks for the detailed comments, they're very helpful to help me get better on the next project!

you;ve got a good thing going on and you're rocking the hell out of the HV30. I really wanna see what you guys come up with next, for the fests or otherwise.

[Brandon Rice]

Ok, plain and simple... I liked the concept... didn't like the script at all... the dialog was ridiculously spot on, and dry.... Maybe you wanted it to seem that way since they were dead? The actors looked "hollywood" and didn't necessarily have "bad" performances, but I felt like the dialog just wasn't there. Technically there were a few issues with the film, but it looked decent... wanted to love this, just couldn't because of the dialog :(

My 2 cents!

[Noel Evans]

It was a pretty snoozefest.

Dont usually concern myself with what others say - but really unconstructive comments like this really goes against the camaraderie and community feel of DVXuser. This is not youtube.

Sorry Vu, had to get that one off my chest.

Ok. Some points covered that I will merely mention (processed audio, cam sometimes shaky). So next.

Really liked this as a story, the reveal timing was good. I liked the mood, look and feel of the entire short. Really well done. Liked the look of your actors and I think they turned in a good performance. There was some dialogue that just didnt hit it for me. Just as an example of some dialogue that didnt play well for me - starting at 3.14 her starting at "How...".

But a solid effort, some high rating points in there as well - well done.

[ZazaCast]

Can't say anything that hasn't already been covered. I have to agree with Brandon's take. Enjoyable but for me, it felt llike a long 6 minutes. Keep up the good work, I look forward to more from you guys!

[alex whitmer]

Are the phantom girls supposed to be temptation?

Like the look of the film a lot. Much thought went into the details and the shots. Nice looking cast as well that work great - with what they had.

I think your dialogue leaned too far toward the melodramatic, as well as some redundancy. The delivery and everything was so nice, just the words lacked luster.

Two ghosts trying to resolve unfinished commitments? It's a good idea, but the dialogue was geared toward the living.

You accomplished a lot in one location. Nice economics.

The CU of the eyes hung a little long for my taste. Could have been a nice snap to the shattered face to emphasize the violence of the accident.

Really enjoyed watching this. Very slick and polished look. Beautiful palette of colors.

Excellent music.


Alex

[Blaine]

This was your first entry. Good that you got it finished.

I had a hard time with it because of the writing. The minute I saw them in the car (the first time) I knew they were now dead. And this is where I had the problem with the writing. The dialogue seemed to be saying, "We're dead but we're cleaver in the way we talking so we don't come right out and say it but if you're listening you should be able to figure it out." It felt too clever by half.

I also thought the masked characters also played into the same trap as the dialogue.

Your leads were very attractive and pleasant to watch, though.

btw, Did you ADR this because a lot of the dialogue looked like it wasn't sync'd up well?

[Will Clegg]

I felt like you had a really nice concept here but it just went a little too over the top, especially in the color grade and the dialogue. I loved your lead actress though, and the photography was very nice - I just wish there was a softer color grade so that it could shine a bit more.

You obviously have some good storytelling skills, and I'm sure that your next effort will be even better. Good stuff.

[jasonthewho]

Interesting film. Some things I loved, some not so much.

What's up with the masked girls at the beginning? I thought I was in store for a completely different kind of movie. I would personally axe all that stuff, it looks awesome, and it's super creepy, but I don't think it fits in this story.

The audio was a little distracting, especially the S's.

There were some beautiful images.

SPOILER


When I first saw the eyes close-up, I was like "What?" Then "Whoa" Then "Holy sh!t this is awesome."

The car wreck just looks amazing. The entire last 30 seconds or so, starting with the eyes is just perfection. Really moving and powerful. The music works beautifully.

LOVED the ending. Just wish the beginning wasn't so confusing, and that the meat of the film was a little more concise with more compelling, unique dialogue.

[Spear670]

After watching this film again I realized I had totally forgotten about phantom girls at the beginning. What was their purpose? And why did two of them kiss? This isn't so much a complaint, they had just totally slipped my mind by the end of the movie and I was wondering why they were there.

[vnguyen972]

Brandon, Noel, ZaZa, alex, Blaine, Will Cleg, jasonthewho and spear670, thanks for taking your time to watch it and comment it ... I really appreciated that!

Some of your questions (if any) had already been answered in the thread somewhere on the previous posts...

The masked people really confused everyone and I was afraid about this at the beginning of the production because it was really hard to put them in this 6 min and successfully told their stories. The script was part of a bigger script and the masked figures play a very important role in the story but yeah... it wasn't just not wise to introduce them without the explanation why or what... and I was trying to use the visual scenes to explain it but i guess it didn't come off quite right for most viewers!!! Its a failure... hopefully I'll learn that and be better on the next time!!!

Thanks again.

[Ryanrjack]

Second Chances was one of the first films I watched in the fest, so I'm sorry I'm just now giving my feedback on it... I just wanted to say that I really liked the look you had going on in this movie! How much was with an 35mm adapter and how much was it shot with the HV30 naked?

Enough with the technical questions! I pretty much agree with jasonthewho comments on the last portion of the movie:


The car wreck just looks amazing. The entire last 30 seconds or so, starting with the eyes is just perfection. Really moving and powerful. The music works beautifully.

LOVED the ending.

I liked the girls with the masks on in the beginning as well, unlike some of the others who've reviewed Second Chances. I thought they were very David Lynchian. The first half of the movie could be shaved a little, because it felt almost too melodramatic, but with that said I really liked the movie and it's one of my favs of the fest!

Good work

Ryan Jackson

[vnguyen972]

Hi Ryan, thanks for taking the time to come back and comment it... I greatly appreciated it!

To answer your question, the short was shot entirely with HV30 + Handy35 adapter...

I'm glad you enjoyed it, the whole thing was a great experience!!

[Luis_]

my summary: the delivery was not well executed.
Also, the actors did not make me feel it. the lines were weak and average.
The crane shot over the gate, let's just say I would of left that one out, or fixed it during post.
I enjoyed the color, the feel, and everything else.
oh wait!!! the blink of an eye switching to the other scene I did not like at all.
The scene with the accident setup I did not like at all.
And what I disliked the most was the fact that the whole time I knew they were dead talking, it didn't catch me off guard.
Thanks for your time and efforts in creating this movie, it brings a lot to learn for us, specially for me.
--Luis

[Chad_from_Chad]

I don't know, none of the imagery made sense to me. It was overly melodramatic, but not dramatic. The consept is nice, and the production quality was up, but I would have preferred a lot more focus on the acting and the dialogue. It felt like an M. Night style movie where he down plays the actors and expects to get everything out of his shot layouts. Keep cracking away, I look forward to seeing what else you guys have coming.