"Found and Lost" by Orchids of Wrath

[orchidsofwrath]

Well, this is my first DVXfest! I think I'm actually gonna be able to do it this time! I'm excited this is fun.

Script is in its final stages and already have some ideas for who to cast.


http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff48/OrchidsofWrath/Found-and-lost-poster-1.jpg

Crew:

Produced, Directed, DP, Edited, etc etc: Daniel Weinbaum (me)
Original Music by: Phoenix Glendinning
Boom Operater/set helper: Austin Meininger

Cast:

Simon Paterson
Mark King

[orchidsofwrath]

Feb 11th - Well I'm all casted and ready to go. This weekend was gonna be my first shoot... but... fever!!! I think shooting with a fever would kind of suck the fun out of lossfest. I was so excited for this weekend. If by some miracle I'm better by weekend I will be one happy camper. If not, I'm gonna try my hardest to still get it done even if I have to rush at the end. Luckily I only have 2 actors so and two locations so rescheduling is pretty easy. Simple easy scripts are the way to go for a guy like me! I don't think I'll ever write another script with more than 3 actors.

feb 17th - Well I'm all better and today was the first day of shooting... It was kind of a disaster... Things broke in transit... very crucial things but I improvised with the help of one of my cast members and his impecable habbit of always having duck tape. I forgot to charge my second battery (I know its ridiculous) so shooting was cut a little shorter and we didn't get everything done we wanted to. The shots came out pretty bad imo. Should have planned it all better. At least the audio came out dead on. I have screen grabs :).

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/33007/1234942816.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/33007/1234942843.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/33007/1234942865.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/33007/1234942879.jpg

Gonna have to really step on it to get this thing done.

[orchidsofwrath]

March 6 - Well its getting dangerously close to the deadline. We've had to leave out some stuff and revamp the story a bit to adhere to the quickly ticking clock. Thank god were done with shooting/production. Now its up to me to have the final cut done by monday morning. My composer will be hard at work getting the music done as well. I know I won't be sleeping at all till Monday night! Its gonna be a tight one! Call me crazy, but to be honest I love this part. This happens to me with almost every film (no matter how early I start) and Its gotta be my favorite part when I've been up for 40+ hours mixing, editing, doing folly, and then finally seeing it all come together. Then I'll have time to make one final render and after its uploaded I will notice I made some crucial mistake in the edit... But it will just add character :). Stoked to see every elses film!

[Will Clegg]

You know, for screenshots, updates, whatnot. Or whatever you want to put there later - it's your thread, after all.

Welcome, and good luck.

[stinkpot]

Welcome to the fest!

:beer:

[Rodney V. Smith]

welcome! Any screenshots? :grin: I kid! I kid!

[warau]

Welcome! I look forward to seeing your film!

[orchidsofwrath]

thanks guys! I'm so excited!

[alex whitmer]

Sweet poster. A fine, fine example of less is more.

Welcome.


a


www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com

.

[RodThompson]

I dig that poster. Rock on!

[Robbie Comeau]

Nice title!

Can't wait for this one.

Robbie

[orchidsofwrath]

Well today was the first day of shooting. New updates.

[clarkage]

Nice grabs man! Can't wait to see how this comes out!

[orchidsofwrath]

Time is running out! new updates.

[warau]

I liked your opening. You also have really nice color throughout. I was hoping for a bigger payoff at the end though!

[vnguyen972]

Agreed, very nice color... I really like the guys acting... especially the one that lost the key!
Good job!

[Richard J. Johnson]

Great location and some good acting as well. Nice film. I really wanted to see what was in that box.

[armisiano]

I like it, I think. I do want to see it continue. I think this could be a great beginning to a fun, interesting, and entertaining sort of quirky comedic adventure. Side note, really liked the music.

[orchidsofwrath]

Thanks guys for the feedback and kind words! Wish I had scheduled the shoots better so I could have finished the ending we originally had planned. Perhaps... when the voting is over I will tell everyone whats in the box...

[ramsaur]

The grading on this was really good! Was hoping to see what was inside.

[Marlon Ladd]

Nice, simple story, but still very intriquing. Yes, we all want to know what's in the box! "What's in the f*&^in' box!" Brad Pitt - "Seven" That was a very cool location as well. I'd love to find some woods like that to shoot in. It almost seemed too perfect.

[Chris Messineo]

I totally agree with everyone about the colors and location. Those woods are so wonderful and atmospheric.

I especially loved the ending, it felt perfect for this short, circular - in a good way.

My only suggestion would be to tighten up the opening credits a bit on a short this long, we shouldn't have to wait almost a minute for the film to start.

Still, I really did enjoy this.

[orchidsofwrath]

I totally agree with everyone about the colors and location. Those woods are so wonderful and atmospheric.

I especially loved the ending, it felt perfect for this short, circular - in a good way.

My only suggestion would be to tighten up the opening credits a bit on a short this long, we shouldn't have to wait almost a minute for the film to start.

Still, I really did enjoy this.

I'm really glad you liked the ending! Thats a good suggestion on the starting credits. Now that you mentioned it I agree credits should have been tightened up. I hope I'm not loosing people in the first minute.

[Chris Messineo]

You didn't lose me and even though they were a bit long, it was definitely worth the wait. :)

[Imaginate]

I loved the intro with the key... the titles and soundtrack were great. I enjoyed your camerawork in those woods.. really nice composition.

It kinda took me out of the story when they pulled out this modern looking case.. I was expecting an old wooden box or something.

All in all a great little story.

[jasonthewho]

Loved the key sinking over the opening credits, how did you do that?

Some cool shots in this. Liked how different the two actors were, they played off of each other nicely.

The sound could be improved a little. I'm not looking at the film right now, but if I remember correctly some of the footstep sounds sounded off.

Would love to see a longer version with the scenes you had meant to film.

[orchidsofwrath]

Loved the key sinking over the opening credits, how did you do that?

The sound could be improved a little. I'm not looking at the film right now, but if I remember correctly some of the footstep sounds sounded off.


Thanks, friend! The key was some quick and dirty 3d (I'm a budding cg artist but I just didn't allow myself enough time to make that key scene properly). I guess I got away with it though because people seem to like it!

Your right about the crunching steps. They were kind of arbitrary, hah. I didn't think anyone would notice! I wasn't aware though that there were film making prodigies on this forum that can see all imperfections *cough you cough* :)

Did I mention your film was celestially extraordinary? (seriously I'm not like this about everyone's film!) If you don't make the finals... there will be unexplained deaths globally relating to dvxuser members.

[jasonthewho]

Did you know you're my new favorite dvxuser member?

[orchidsofwrath]

Did you know you're my new favorite dvxuser member?

I actually loled!

[Lawsuit_Boy]

That was a very simple, curious, and humorous film! The simplicity helped give the audience time to absorb the characters a little and try to figure them out. The exposition given didn't seem excessive or banal like exposition usually can.

It hits home the theme of "loss" pretty hard with a fairly obvious plot, but it was carried out in a convincing manner. Overall, there's really nothing else for me to report. I thought the opening image was well conceived, although it felt a little tacked on and not a part of the film. It also gave away the lost item before the film even began.

Other than than, a few sound hiccups (cut-off of room tone occasionally and a rough cut) were the only other things to detect.

Nice film! :thumbsup:

[Skribbleman]

I liked this. You make that Hv20 work. Your composition and editing is great. I love how quietly funny your actors were. They didn't have to act wacky and nothing seemed force. The whole thing felt like the intro before the title of a feature. One suggestion I would make would be to cut the music after the blond guy answers "the key?" and then start the music again after the bigger guy says "yeah that's usually how stuff gets lost". It plays funnier in my head that way. But then again your film works fine as is. Good job.

[SMarston]

ahh man i wanted to see what was in the box! darn that kid for losin the key! good movie keep up the good work

[Will Clegg]

I liked the concept here, and althought the saturated look kind of bothered me at first, I cam to appreciate it. I think it was just jarring after a too-long credits sequence that was mostly black.

It did feel incomplete to me - I know there was more that you didn't have time to complete - and so I was a little frustrated at the end. But it was still engaging and created nice tension.

[orchidsofwrath]

thnks guys for the watch and reviews! Skribbleman, scoring was indeed a hard task in this film. It was a strange tone. It wasn't really comedy (didn't intend to make anyone laugh) but then again wasn't drama or action etc.

Will thats understandable. I know what you mean by getting bothered by the saturated color at first because I personally hate films that faces are red like pumpkins etc. But I must say I didn't add any saturation on this. Just some contrast (.2 worth in vegas) and actually lowered the saturation some. I think more it was just my extremely cheap DOF adapter hotspotting all over the place. Perhaps next time I should knock even some more off the saturation and less contrast. I feel like a noob that my film looked like one of those uber saturated films. That really stinks :(. Thnkyou for telling me otherwise I wouldn't have known.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

So many adapters, so many spots on the image. I've seen that a lot this Fest. The opening was also far too long, the effect was cool but it was almost a minute before we got going.

Aside from that everything else was good. It was framed well, the location was excellent, decently acted, and I loved the ending. :)

Nice job.

MAH

[alex whitmer]

Agree on the opening dragging. It was all nice stuff, but just a tad long.

Liked the film. Not quite sure how he was so certain of the spot after so long. Forests change overnight. I would have liked to see some other marker.

Great closing lines. Really nailed it.


Loved the lush look.


alex

[orchidsofwrath]

thnks guys for the feedback. Idk what I was thinking making the opening that long. I wasn't even happy with how that effect turned out idk why I made it that long. Oh well... next time!

[Zak Forsman]

I really liked the photography here. the look reminded me of "Old Joy", one of my favorite films.

[killamill]

Hey, how are you?

First, congratulations on your film. I personally liked most of the shots and i thought that the music gave the film a nice touch, let´s say that it fitted the story very well.

I do agree with some of the observations above that would probably make it better.

SPOILER
The prop of the box it´s definitely not correct though... It doesn´t goes with the key shown, it´s not the box their great great grandfather would get to bury something (my gf uses the same to store her make up)... and also it would take away the problem of "we can´t open it now", because is not really a tough job being fragile.

[Sprocketboy]

You have a nice film here and I like the score. Its only problem is the length. Shorten it here and there, and you will have a great film on your hands. Also check your black levels they can be taken up a little to remove the crush. You have a great technical aptitude and look forward to seeing your next endeavor.

[orchidsofwrath]

Thanks zak and killamill for watching and thankyou extra for leaving helpful, kind feedback.


You have a nice film here and I like the score. Its only problem is the length. Shorten it here and there, and you will have a great film on your hands. Also check your black levels they can be taken up a little to remove the crush. You have a great technical aptitude and look forward to seeing your next endeavor.

Thankyou so much sprocket. I very well could have tightened it up but it was already down to 4 minutes so I figured it'd be ok. I think your right though I should have tightened it further. I will also pay closer attention to the histogram next short. Hopefully with all this great advice you guys are giving me my next short will be bounds better.

[singleframe]

i enjoyed your film. great woodsy location.

score was very well suited. one thing, did you loop that bird over and over again? too me it was a little distracting. dunno, probably just me!

like the opening, but you know what i'm gonna say there ;)

nice addition to LOSSfest!

[MrKilloran]

That opening is just WAY too long for a short. almost a minute.
You have some good shots that could be trimmed here and there to tighten up the film.

Great music, I'd like to see more, like where there adventure goes to next.

[Blaine]

Your opening credits were about 20% of you movie. I loved the music in the opening credits, along with the key. I felt like I was going to see some kind of mystical story, but alas, I was wrong.

When we got into the story they were searching for something that was buried by their grandfather's grandfather. That's four generations earlier...a long time. They seemed to stumble onto the exact spot rather easily...without the use of a map of any sort. Considering the length of the story, I wouldn't have minded if you had taken a minute to set up some sort of montage of them digging in several spots in the area before the found their "treasure." The box they found looked very contemporary. You'd have gotten much more production value if you could have used something that looked older, more like an antique.

It was kind of a let down that the key had been forgotten but I wondered why they just didn't take the box back with them and open it at home.

And while I liked the music on the opening credits, it didn't work for me in the film itself. It drew attention to itself and competed with the story on the screen.

I didn't mind the over-saturation at all. It made the forest look a bit magical.

[orchidsofwrath]

Thnks guys.

They seemed to stumble onto the exact spot rather easily...without the use of a map of any sort. Considering the length of the story, I wouldn't have minded if you had taken a minute to set up some sort of montage of them digging in several spots in the area before the found their "treasure." The box they found looked very contemporary. You'd have gotten much more production value if you could have used something that looked older, more like an antique.

It was kind of a let down that the key had been forgotten but I wondered why they just didn't take the box back with them and open it at home.


Well the key was long lost. Thus it sinking into the deep sea in the beginning.

Now I see that props make a big difference in immersing you into the story, and that box clearly popped people out. I will definetally pay attention next fest to having more realistic/better suited props. Thnks for the feedback.

[Norm Sanders]

Orchid, some strong & positive notes here, and some things that left me in want (i.e. not so positive.

On the positive note, you really had room to add more to this story & you would have held the viewer's attention because you've got SOLID production value all over the place there! Opening credits, end credit/placement of title, etc COMPLETELY pro!

Visually, whatever was on the ground glass was annoying, especially as I think there were some shots where I didn't see it (some grit, or whatever that was ... a couple of spots on the screen, actually). Other than that, however, good focus, nice framing, movement, etc.

Audio was really good & clean on this as well! Although, I didn't care for the guy in the plaid shirt as much ... voice, everything just felt unnatural. But, the dude with the Young Life shirt on?? WOW! I felt he had a great look/screen presence, and his humble factor that he portrayed on screen was SO real. I really enjoyed him.

BTW, before I forget, your poster is amazing. However, it speaks to an entirely different story .... as well as the opening with the key. So it was a bit of a rope-a-dope, but in the wrong way, because we didn't get some twist....instead, we expected something else that wasn't really delivered. So, while you want to market & make your film look bigger than it is to a degree, you also don't want to leave your audience feeling misinformed, because even if they would have loved the movie, if they were expecting something different, it could impact their overall feeling of what they experienced, which you don't want.

In the end, this felt like half a story....like we cut out before we could see what was inside the box, or anything else. They're looking for a box, they find it, but now no key. The end. Even if we had faded out with the guy in the plaid shirt yelling at the other, as he frantically starts to break the box open with the shovel, etc. ... giving us reason to think there's some backstory, something desperately important inside, etc. It would have given us more.

I hope this doesn't come across too badly, as I truly do feel you've got a lot of merit as a filmmaker .... just give us MORE next time! :)

[Robbie Comeau]

I don't think there was a story to this one. At all.

Other than that, I really enjyoed the look fo this. Probably one of my favorites in the fest.

Acting was meh, could do better, but the sound was really good which added a lot to this.

Location was good, and so was the prop.

Just the story didn't do much for me!

Robbie

[orchidsofwrath]

In the end, this felt like half a story....like we cut out before we could see what was inside the box, or anything else. They're looking for a box, they find it, but now no key. The end. Even if we had faded out with the guy in the plaid shirt yelling at the other, as he frantically starts to break the box open with the shovel, etc. ... giving us reason to think there's some backstory, something desperately important inside, etc. It would have given us more.

I hope this doesn't come across too badly, as I truly do feel you've got a lot of merit as a filmmaker .... just give us MORE next time! :)

Didn't come across as badly at all! I thought you were even being generous! Thanks so much for this great review. I shall tell you all how the story was originally going to play out:

after where the movie ends now, it cuts back to the one who lost the key's room at night and it turns out he did have the key, but he wanted what was in the box for himself. Then as hes opening the box the other guy walks in on him, and the blonde runs for the hills (as the big one is angry). The chase continues to a boardwalk at night and the bigger one finally catches up. In a sort of brawl the key is knocked to the water. Then I was going to show that same beginning scene of the key sinking and the end.

But time ran short. So I just made something out of what we had. But norm sander's your right I could have easily done one more shot with some more pizzaz to make for a more conclusive ending. Shoulda! Anyhow thanks alot you guys are really getting me pumped for next fest.


I don't think there was a story to this one. At all.

Other than that, I really enjyoed the look fo this. Probably one of my favorites in the fest.


Thnks Robbie one of your favs (even in terms of look) is really flattering! I know what you mean the story was a little light, but it did have a clear conflict and resolution!

[hoz]

the forest looked great, you got a good eye for location and i liked how you filmed it. didn't get the beginning credits though. they looked great but i was ready to see a boat or something, not a forest. maybe use credits with a key being buried in dirt? maybe also have the one guy nervous about not having the key, i mean, he knew he lost it already, so, he should've been real weird about going into the forest to uncover this box he knows he can't open. to me it would've been more believable if he was making it hard for his partner to find it or something. the other guy is ready to be a dad! " That's how things get lost." cool.

good film!

[orchidsofwrath]

the other guy is ready to be a dad! " That's how things get lost." cool.

good film!

Thanks for the kind words! Ready to be a dad?

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dudes: you had my interest until they pulled out the box.

I can buy that box from Walmart! Same one. Come on guys! You have good cinematography, passable acting (pretty natural), great sound, and a story that looks like it's goign somewhere and you give us a box from Walmart? Couldn't you have at least have gotten an old rusty box or hell: MADE an old box and then beat the shi* out of it so that
A) it looks authentic for the time period and its aged over the decades, and
B) doesn;t look like breathing on it would cause it to open?
That's the point you lose all credibility, and shortly after that, the audience.

I gotta wonder how long you guys had been sittign on the script. Didn;t you at least have time to get the props made? Or did you and somebody forget them 50 miles away on the day of the shoot?

Sorry I sound so disgruntled, but i was really sitting back and enjoying the movie.

[orchidsofwrath]

yikes i didn't think the box was that bad! No I usually dont 'get props made' unless I make them myself. I use props I find around the house and that was the best I could find. It was like the day before the shoot and i was like "oh god i need a box!". I found that because it looked extremely rugged and hard to open (to me) and it actually is an extremely sturdy box! But clearly it was bad! aye... Well I appreciate you guys telling me. I know for next time to put more time into props.

[Brian Parker]

Hey pretty good film. You had nice shots and natural lighting. The audio was super crisp which is always commendable. Ehat kind of mic did you use? The story you had going was interesting. Oh, and I like the key sequence at the beginning. You've already got a good grasp on the cg stuff, especially the way you got the lighting. Yeah, the box is kind of modern looking. It doesn't ruin the short for me or anything. Is this your first short or your first dvxuser fest short? Either way, good job man!

[orchidsofwrath]

Hey pretty good film. You had nice shots and natural lighting. The audio was super crisp which is always commendable. Ehat kind of mic did you use? The story you had going was interesting. Oh, and I like the key sequence at the beginning. You've already got a good grasp on the cg stuff, especially the way you got the lighting. Yeah, the box is kind of modern looking. It doesn't ruin the short for me or anything. Is this your first short or your first dvxuser fest short? Either way, good job man!

Hey champloo, thanks for the review. I used an azden sgm-1x (shotgun on a boom) for the audio. I think alot of the magic is in the mix and noise reduction though. This is indeed my first dvxfest.

[Brian Parker]

Nice man...looking forward to seeing more of your work!

[John LaBonney]

I agree the box is an issue since it was supposed to be buried so long ago. Although they appeared to have a little difficulty finding the spot, I think that if there was some weird landmark shown that would have sold them finding where to dig, you know, like a very unique and old tree stump or something, I was wishing that he at least shared a hint of how he found the spot with the audience.

Writing-wise, I liked their chit-chat on the way, and I think the premise of the movie is cute, but I think it could have gone a lot father here if the imagination had been stretched. One thing that always annoyed me in films like Pulp Fiction and Ronin is that you never find out what's in the cases. I don't need it all handed to me on a silver platter but that always just bugged me. In this film, the mystery of what's inside the case is built up early on, so I really want to know (and expected to find out) what was inside.

I think you've got a really good start of a film here and by re-utilizing the nearly 40 seconds of opening credits, along with the remaining 2 minutes of time allotted, there is potential to go a lot further into a story.

Cinematography looked pretty sharp, the woods are a nice setting. I liked the music but found it slightly overpowering.

Best of luck in the fest!

John