DESIDERATUM - A Film By Ben Sliker

[Ben Sliker]

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/FINAL_POSTER_WEB.png

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN DEEMED "GREEN" BY THE STUDIO.

FROM THE DIRECTOR THAT BROUGHT YOU "IN PIECES", "JOHN ABBOTT MITCHELL", AND "MY NAME IS HAROLD ALLEN":

DESIDERATUM - [di-sid-uh-rah-tuh m] - A FILM BY BEN SLIKER

[Ben Sliker]

THE PLAYERS:

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/carolinehead.pnghttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/timhead.pnghttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/catherinehead.png

Elizabeth - CAROLINE GRANGER - I met Caroline through Davis Osborne and was not only impressed with her audition and talent, but her enthusiasm for the project and for the filmmaking process as a whole.

David - TIM HOLT (http://www.timholt.com) - Tim came out to auditions for the film and I was impressed with his delivery and ability to think on his feet during the improv session of the audition. He's also British and a Man U fan, I couldn't NOT cast this guy.

Dr. Phillips - CATHRINE TRAIL - Catherine also came out to auditions and really embodied her character right from the start. Davis and I could only use one word to describe, and that word was "natural." We're excited to have Catherine on board!

EXTRAS:
Jennifer Sliker
Marie Hartsell
Mason Black

GRABS!!!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab1.png

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab2.png

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab3.png

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab5.png

[Ben Sliker]

I'd like to use this post to give you a little more insight to the players involved in this project.

Director - Ben Sliker (http://www.benjaminsliker.com) - that's me.

DP/Sound Design - Joe Johnson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3318077/)- I called Joe's bluff when a year ago he said "I'd love to come down and shoot for you." One random PM and a phone call later, Joe was in. Who woulda thought?

Script Consult - Brad Mate - Brad is a long time friend and movie making buddy. Our first film was a horrific re-imagining of Hamlet back in high school. He's finishing up his Masters degree in English and is invaluable when considering literary references, symbolism, or parallels while writing a script.

AD - Tom Ryan - Tom works at SPEED with me in the next row of cubes. He's really interested in getting his own camera and starting to shoot and was very willing to come help me out. Tom gets the all important job of crossing shots off the list.

Acting Consultant - Davis Osborne (http://www.davisosborne.com) - Other than being a phenomenal actor, (you can see him in "In Pieces" and "John Abbott Mitchell"), Davis is a terrific judge of character. When he expressed interest in helping out with this project, I couldn't let it pass by.

Sound Recordist - Lana Bolin- Joe knows Lana, not only will she be charged with recording awesome sound on set, but keeping Joe occupied for the 14+ hour car ride they have to get to NC. I wish her the best of luck with the latter.


LOCATIONS!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/exterior1_crop.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/office5_crop.png

REHEARSAL!

Last night's rehearsal went REALLY great. We went out to Freedom Park and hung out in the amphitheater, the only downfall of the night was that it started POURING when we were halfway back to our cars...

It was only two hours, but this rehearsal will probably save us 5 on set, plus we won't have any crappy takes where it's like we were "rehearsing" on set. I highly recommend one, you also get the opportunity to block out scenes and hear the lines that you have written one more time and work out any awkward kinks that may pop up.

And with that, PICTURES ...

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal1.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal2.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal3.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal4.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal5.png

[ChristianScott]

Hey Ben, when did you send in your pitch? we are still waiting to hear back from them.

Thanks, Looking forward to seeing more from this.

[Ben Sliker]

Hey Ben, when did you send in your pitch? we are still waiting to hear back from them.

Thanks, Looking forward to seeing more from this.

sent in the 26th, inital rejection the 28th, re-submitted the 28th and accepted that day.

[ChristianScott]

Ah cool, we only submitted late last night, and still no reply, i think it was jason we sent ours to, anyway, when are you looking to start casting ? bet you cant wait, always was one of my favourite parts of this whole process, the excitement of finding someone who really fits your role,

[Tim Joy]

NICE! Glad to see you back!

[Richard J. Johnson]

Excellent! Welcome back.

[Rodney V. Smith]

dude!!! welcome back man. good to see you back.

[Luis_]

Super title and banner!

good luck!

--Luis

_

[Ben Sliker]

Ah cool, we only submitted late last night, and still no reply, i think it was jason we sent ours to, anyway, when are you looking to start casting ? bet you cant wait, always was one of my favourite parts of this whole process, the excitement of finding someone who really fits your role,
Casting will be our largest hurdle for this project. An exciting hurdle, but a big one.



NICE! Glad to see you back!


Excellent! Welcome back.


dude!!! welcome back man. good to see you back.

I make it a rule to hibernate for 3 months after a DVXuser fest. All work and no play make ben a dull boy. (and broke)

[MrKilloran]

You're in for this one! Fantastic!

[ramsaur]

nice poster and banner. welcome to the fest man!

[ZazaCast]

Ben...welcome back! Some of us missed your wonderful live chat reviews of the films for LossFest. I especially enjoyed your comments on my TwilightFest films and hope to RECTIFY some of the problems you so kindly pointed out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M17aG_Po2Y

[Ben Sliker]

I especially enjoyed your comments on my TwilightFest films and hope to RECTIFY some of the problems you so kindly pointed out.

It's true. This man's film gave me anal leakage.

but seriously ... awesome pun.

[stinkpot]

Love the poster. Can't wait to see what you do this time around.

Welcome to the fest!

:beer:

[ZazaCast]

It's true. This man's film gave me anal leakage.


I'm sending you some Depends now....should help.:thumbup:


:):)

[Chad_from_Chad]

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it. I can't wait to see everyones' movies.

[Ryan E. Walters]

I'm digging the poster and the banner- Nice work. :)

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks everyone for stopping by and wishing us well, it will be an adventure for sure.

UPDATE - After hammering out a bunch of little details, playing devil's advocate, and getting many people to put their perspective on it, I feel I have a suitable draft of my script. Now I just need a proper elevator statement so that when people ask me what it's about, I can blow their mind in 10 seconds.

Davis and I will be heading to a meet and greet for the Charlotte Film Community group on Monday, perhaps we'll meet our two protagonists there!

[Robert Eldon]

Wild poster. Do you have a desideratum to do this film?

I really like your previous stuff, so it'll be nice to see what you bring to the table this time and I'm interested to see what Sid comes up with for the soundtrack.

[Ben Sliker]

Wild poster. Do you have a desideratum to do this film?

I really like your previous stuff, so it'll be nice to see what you bring to the table this time and I'm interested to see what Sid comes up with for the soundtrack.

Alright, someone finally cracked open the dictionary. :) Thanks man, hope we can deliver again. :thumbsup:

Went to the first meeting of the Charlotte Film Community last night. Was a neat experience, met some potential actor/actresses for the short and passed out a lot of business cards for my feature. plug: www.inpiecesfilm.com

Over 100 people were there, nice little networking opportunity. Was going to take some pictures with my blackberry ... but i forgot, so just imagine 100 people mingling in an underground bar, it's like you're there with me. Considering posting audition notices here soon, should be a ... "different" audition ...

[SMarston]

looks kind of dangerous/entertaining. cant wait to see it

good luck

[Mike Manning]

Look out! He's back!... makes me wanna jump back in too... still debating... I have writer's / funds block. Hmmm...

[Ben Sliker]

Look out! He's back!... makes me wanna jump back in too... still debating... I have writer's / funds block. Hmmm...

I still have funds block ... no excuses, play like a champion.

[Ben Sliker]

posted casting call today, really excited about meeting some new actors!

Also added crew info for Lee Fries, the cameraman for the project.

[Ben Sliker]

Lots of fun things have been happening in our little film world.

Have gotten a fairly solid response to our casting call, of course, the most responses have come for the SMALLEST part in the film, but it looks like there's some solid talent out there for the leads as well.

Been working on an important logo that will play a part in the story.

Entered two of my previous films into a local short film fest, we find out if we are in on the 23rd so wish us luck! It was free to enter, but it cost me $60 cause the bastards gave me a parking ticket for the 10 minutes I was there. GRRRR. But, if I do get in, there's cash prizes, so hope I win, it will make this film even more awesome cause I'll blow even more cash on it!

[Ben Sliker]

someone just threw a shopping cart in the nice pond outside my townhome ... nice...

/rant.

[Ben Sliker]

well, here we go.

flipped some equipment today giving me more $$$ for production on this one. thanks to everyone here on DVXuser who bought stuff from me.

Auditions are early tomorrow morning, hopefully we can discover some talent!

[NoDice]

wow you got regected?!
now you got to show them that they made a mistake!

[RanRanBobandyMan]

is this a horror?

the poster is so cool. probably my favorite so far.

[Sarah Daly]

This looks great - love the poster and sounds like you put lots of thought into the script - can't wait to see how this develops!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

This looks good, guys. Keep us updated!
Always enjoy your work.

MAH

[Ben Sliker]

wow you got regected?!
now you got to show them that they made a mistake!

no, no, no ... best not to upset the mods ... *cowers in internet fear*

lol. jk, the reason we were rejected was that I was intentionally vague about my story in an effort to not let "the cat out of the bag" as they say. But I just spilled the beans and everything worked out fine.


is this a horror?

the poster is so cool. probably my favorite so far.

no, it's not a horror film, or thriller. In fact, it's completely unlike anything we've done before, which is exciting and nerve racking all at the same time.


This looks great - love the poster and sounds like you put lots of thought into the script - can't wait to see how this develops!

After I wrote this, it was amazing how many people that I knew had specific frame of reference for the story and were able to offer advice on emotions of the piece.


This looks good, guys. Keep us updated!
Always enjoy your work.

MAH

Alright, here's the update. I have to choose between two incredibly talented women to play the lead in my film. It's a win-win for me because I believe either would do a great job, but now I have to consider what would be absolutely best for the project.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Alright, here's the update. I have to choose between two incredibly talented women to play the lead in my film. It's a win-win for me because I believe either would do a great job, but now I have to consider what would be absolutely best for the project.Life is rough. :)
If this was Puck's thread someone would be suggesting that you make them Jell-O wrestle for the part.

Not me though.... :thumbsup:

Sounds like you're good to go either way.

MAH

[Rodney V. Smith]

Life is rough. :)
If this was Puck's thread someone would be suggesting that you make them Jell-O wrestle for the part.

MAH

now there's an idea....

[AmyO]

I am quite intrigued. Glad to see you back in the fests, Ben. Can't wait. :)

[Ben Sliker]

Ben is pumped that his films "In Pieces" and "My Name is Harold Allen" both took home first place prizes at a local short film fest!!!!!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/davisben1st.jpg

Ben and Davis in sh***y blackberry pic. :)

[DavisOsborne]

you would think that an Award Winning Director....Would have A Better still camera than That)...John Likes, Long Walks, Quiet Dinners, and Golfing....When Not Decapatating.......

[jasonthewho]

Congrats! I'm glad to see Harold Allen get recognized, you got shafted here.

[ZazaCast]

Ben is pumped that his films "In Pieces" and "My Name is Harold Allen" both took home first place prizes at a local short film fest!!!!!


Totally Bobble-worthy!
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=952

Congrats guys!!!

:happy:

[xpac84]

Man, whoever took that pic of you and davis has some real skill....Hire that guy!!! :)

[Ben Sliker]

Totally Bobble-worthy!
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=952

Congrats guys!!!

:happy:

screw accolades and cash prizes. this is by far the best award i've received for a film. :grin:

[DavisOsborne]

How Dare You Bobble Head Me!...I In No Way ....Authorize , Represent, Or Approve of This Picture......You Shall Here from my Lawyers....That is........ If I Had one.....Carry ON).....

[Ben Sliker]

i've made my first two casting decisions! The two leads in this film, Elizabeth and David will be played by two very talented Charlotte Actors: CAROLINE GRANGER and TIM HOLT.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/carolinehead.pnghttp://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/timhead.png

[Mark Johnson]

Totally rock'n, my man. Congrats on the wins too!!!

[Ben Sliker]

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/catherinehead.png

Last major casting decision has been made. Please welcome Catherine Trail to the Desideratum Team. :)

[DavisOsborne]

She has a very nice Way)...Great choice Ben!

[kurtmo]

Cool to see you've got your crew nailed down. When do you start filming?

[Ben Sliker]

Cool to see you've got your crew nailed down.

And I haven't even played my ACE in the hole yet. I've got one more crew announcement to make... :)


When do you start filming?

We're looking at Early June right now, not ALL of the pieces have fallen into place yet, but we're pretty darn close.

[Susanne G.]

Hi Ben,

I appriciate very much your poster - it has a very artistic and eccentric style. Seeing your cast, Catherine seems to me an interesting actress. Will she be the main actress?

Susanne

[Ben Sliker]

Hi Ben,

I appriciate very much your poster - it has a very artistic and eccentric style. Seeing your cast, Catherine seems to me an interesting actress. Will she be the main actress?

Susanne

Susanne! Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the comments on the poster!

As far as screen time goes, Catherine places a distant third to the two leads, but her character plays an important role in the development of the two leads.

[Ben Sliker]

In true DVXuser collaboration fashion, I'd like to make a crew announcement:

Joe Johnson (user conrad_johnson) is going to haul himself all the way from the great state of Minnesota to DP this project. You may know Joe from his work on the awesome-sauce film "R.P.D.M." I've have had some great conversations about the project over the phone with Joe, but I'm still skeptical that this is all a ruse and he's going to rob me blind and steal my pet turtle.

Regardless of the false sense of security Joe has lured me into, he's also bringing a sound recordist with him, Lana Bolin, which will also be awesome.

Everyone wish Joe and Lana a safe trip down to NC in June. :)

[Susanne G.]

In true DVXuser collaboration fashion, I'd like to make a crew announcement:

Joe Johnson (user conrad_johnson) is going to haul himself all the way from the great state of Minnesota to DP this project. You may know Joe from his work on the awesome-sauce film "R.P.D.M." I've have had some great conversations about the project over the phone with Joe, but I'm still skeptical that this is all a ruse and he's going to rob me blind and steal my pet turtle.

Regardless of the false sense of security Joe has lured me into, he's also bringing a sound recordist with him, Lana Bolin, which will also be awesome.

Everyone wish Joe and Lana a safe trip down to NC in June. :)

So, ususally you used to make high-quality-films, but know you really want win this fest. I wish you that they will realize this trip, because R.P.D.M. was in my little opinion the best film here around I ever saw.

Susanne

[Bro. Stephen]

looks good can't wait to see it

[conrad_johnson]

I'll be leaving NC one turtle richer....

[Rodney V. Smith]

I'll be leaving NC one turtle richer....


mmmm, turtle...

[Ben Sliker]

I'll be leaving NC one turtle richer....


mmmm, turtle...

why would you want to harm poor innocent Iris?

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1242083705.jpg

TELL HER YOU ARE SORRY.

[Rodney V. Smith]

why would you want to harm poor innocent Iris?

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5649/1242083705.jpg

TELL HER YOU ARE SORRY.


poor little Iris... I'm sorry you're delicious...

[Ben Sliker]

alright enough of this turtle business. Time to unleash some content. I intend on being more prepared to shoot this movie than I ever have for any other film. Been sending Joe tons of storyboards, location pics, location diagrams so we are on the same page. Here's a couple for ya. (I think we're gonna go 2.35:1 on this one, so in that spirit...)

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/exterior1_crop.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/office5_crop.png

[Rodney V. Smith]

Oh damn. Is it time to kick it into high gear already? **sigh** better go buy me some jello...

Locations look good dude. Makes me wonder what you're up to this time around. In a suburban setting no less...

[conrad_johnson]

Team Blackberry....

[conrad_johnson]

Team Ramrod...

[Ben Sliker]

joe is just going to keep saying "team ____" until something sticks...

[conrad_johnson]

Team confidence.

[Ben Sliker]

Alright, we are a little bit more than 2 weeks away from shooting this beast. Storyboarding is 95% done (sans one scene), rehearsal is set for 1 week prior to the shoot, things are getting exciting.

Now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty... I have a few things I need to build before we shoot!

[conrad_johnson]

Team Tide....GORICKYRUDD!

Talking a lot with Ben on this project, it's shaping up nicely. I mostly talk on the phone because I type so slowly I for get what I'm talking about halfway through typing it.

[Ben Sliker]

Team Tide....GORICKYRUDD!

THAT JUST HAPPENED. (but seriously ... i cut NASCAR highlights for a living)


Talking a lot with Ben on this project, it's shaping up nicely. I mostly talk on the phone because I type so slowly I for get what I'm talking about halfway through typing it.

Joe also forgets what he's saying halfway through it. Today he started talking about C-stands and ended up somewhere where he was drunk in Mexico, curled up in a ball hoping he didn't have Swine Flu ... WEIRD.

Which is why the program celtx is possibly the greatest thing ever created, especially for collaborating long distance like this. DL it now, it's for all OSs and it's FREE. I used to just write script in it, but there's SOOO much more you can do, all in one project file. (schedule, storyboard, notes, contact info, etc.)

My name is Ben Sliker, and I endorse Celtx.

[conrad_johnson]

Joe also forgets what he's saying halfway through it. Today he started talking about C-stands and ended up somewhere where he was drunk in Mexico, curled up in a ball hoping he didn't have Swine Flu ... WEIRD.

Which is why the program celtx is possibly the greatest thing ever created, especially for collaborating long distance like this. DL it now, it's for all OSs and it's FREE. I used to just write script in it, but there's SOOO much more you can do, all in one project file. (schedule, storyboard, notes, contact info, etc.)

My name is Ben Sliker, and I endorse Celtx.

No, you misunderstood. I WAS in Mexico drunk and curled up in a ball, but no swine flu (thank god!) when I was talking to you. Sometimes the phone connection is not so good.

[DavisOsborne]

No, you misunderstood. I WAS in Mexico drunk and curled up in a ball, but no swine flu (thank god!) when I was talking to you. Sometimes the phone connection is not so good.
I myself, completely Understand. Those Cell Phone Towers in Mexico Never Put out a Good signal...and if you are in one of the jail cells...you May As Well just give it up...Not That I would Know....A Friend Told Me....

[Ben Sliker]

Here's a bit of a convo Joe and I had this morning that interjected our filmspeak.

Ben: I get to go shoot some interviews with NASCAR drivers tomorrow ... BE JEALOUS.
Ben: actually ... i'm just excited about the OT pay.
Joe: Oh man ... are you going to talk with Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt?
Ben: Dale Earnhardt is dead.
Joe: Oh shitty. I didn't know.
Ben: HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS?
Joe: 3! Lives forever!!!

[Ben Sliker]

ok, more filmmaking stuff. We have exactly one shot that requires a type of flooring that doesn't exist at one of the locations. So, instead of trying to find a new location with this kind of floor, I went ahead and built a false floor. I know, it seems like a lot of work for just one shot, but so would lugging the entire cast/crew to a new location for it. Plus, I like to get out into the garage every once and a while and build stuff.

STEP 1:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/buysupplies.png

Supplies: find as cheap as possible, a lot of this i had lying around but I had to go and get a 4x8 piece of plywood.

STEP 2:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/buildframe.png

Now, this in no way means that woman skills couldn't accomplish the same thing. By use man skills, I mean don't measure and just eyeball it. It's more frustrating, and may or may not save you time. But you'll feel better in the end, just like when we don't ask for directions and miraculously find our destination.

STEP 3:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/attachfiles.png

Liquid nails is top 5 greatest substances every created. Just go get a tube. I guarantee in the next 6 months you'll have a use for it.

STEP 4:
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/prestofalsofloor.png

And there you have it, a false floor, for my one shot.

[jasonthewho]

Nice...

Out of curiosity, why did you put the 2X4s under the plywood?

[Ben Sliker]

Nice...

Out of curiosity, why did you put the 2X4s under the plywood?

ah yes. good question. Well, we're going to work some movie magic and shoot this shot in my garage (it's worked well in the past, notice my garage is painted black? That's from IN PIECES). And you can sort of see in the pictures that the garage is finished (has molding/drywall), but has cement blocks for a foundation. The 2x4s are so that the floor is raised and you don't see the cement blocks in the shot.

[ZazaCast]

You have the cleanest garage EVER!

[Ben Sliker]

You have the cleanest garage EVER!

lol. I can guarantee you that this is the cleanest it's ever been. After someone stole my fiance's license plate, we decided to start parking at least one of our cars in the garage.

[Ben Sliker]

phew ... just got home from two long days of shooting NASCAR content for speedtv.com. Most of my time at my work is spent editing in a dark room, but occasionally they let me out to have some fun. Here's me shooting Marcos Ambrose, driver of the #47 Little Debbie Car.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/benshootsnascar.png

They were shooting episodes of PASS TIME, a game show on SPEED, so we piggybacked when they got a bunch of drivers to be on the show.

In DESIDERATUM related news, I FINALLY figured out how to get to the last shot of the movie. It's been killing me. ***ben goes to draw storyboards as quickly as possible.***

[Ben Sliker]

Rehearsal Today!!!

Worked 60 hours last week, so I've been crazy busy putting this whole thing together on my "down" time, but lately, I've been hunting for props, photoshopping like a madman, discussing wardrobe and locking down the schedule for next week.

Updates to come: Photos from rehearsal tonight and new poster here soon.

[conrad_johnson]

You didn't tell me there's going to be a new poster. PTHHHHTTTTTT.

Ha! 60 hours last week, try that every week and you're in my world.

/trying to get bad with Ben

[Ben Sliker]

REHEARSAL!

Last night's rehearsal went REALLY great. We went out to Freedom Park and hung out in the amphitheater, the only downfall of the night was that it started POURING when we were halfway back to our cars...

It was only two hours, but this rehearsal will probably save us 5 on set, plus we won't have any crappy takes where it's like we were "rehearsing" on set. I highly recommend one, you also get the opportunity to block out scenes and hear the lines that you have written one more time and work out any awkward kinks that may pop up.

And with that, PICTURES ...

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal1.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal2.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal3.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal4.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/rehearsal5.png

[conrad_johnson]

Dear Ben,

You should probably find a different dining room location. That one looks like they're outside.

Respectfully yours,
-Joe

[Ben Sliker]

I'm so stupid.

That should be "EXT. DINING ROOM - DAY"

[Mike Manning]

Guess who's back!!!!!!!

[Ben Sliker]

Guess who's back!!!!!!!

umm ... Jesus?



In related news ... WE SHOOT ON TUESDAY>>>@OMGCOMMENCE#@#(FRE?AKINGOUT.

Actually, I feel pretty good about preparedness for the shoot. Joe and Lana are on their way down from MN as we speak, we're probably about 95% ready to go.

Spent the last few nights making some sandbags that turned out really good all things considered, I have a book "Killer Camera Rigs you can build" that has a great step by step. I highly recommend the book.

[ConspiracyPenguin]

Guess who's back!!!!!!!

The Penguin! :)

Looking forward to this one, Ben, as always. I hope things are going well.

[Justin Kuhn]

Damnit Ben, forgot to comment on your beard when you were up here. I had no idea your hair was red! Probably 'cause there's so little of it on your head you can't see what color it is. Zing.

[Ben Sliker]

my only solace justin is the little "Last edited by Justin Kuhn" notation underneath your post... Meaning it took you more than one try to come up with an insult that lame.

BA-ZING. *self-high-five*

... but seriously ... thanks for the HVX lend. After winning our first kessler crane way back in oct. 2007 for in pieces and then another in late 2008 for harold allen, I'm finally putting one to use in Desideratum.

[Ben Sliker]

Day 1 is in the books! Thank you everyone for working extremely hard throughout the long day. Just logged all the footage and I am excited. Day 2 here we come...

[ZazaCast]

Congrats...half-way home! Can't wait to see what you come up with this time....and TWO cranes...WOW! :shocked:

[Brandon Rice]

Congrats man! We have our first shoot on Friday night... nervous as heck... we have probably four separate shoots for this one... lots of locations.

[Ben Sliker]

Congrats...half-way home! Can't wait to see what you come up with this time....and TWO cranes...WOW! :shocked:

well ... it was more like 80% done after day one, day two was nice and slow and relaxed. Yeah, unfortunately I went in the hole for in pieces and had to sell the first kessler crane, and although the second one lives with Justin, he was nice enough to let me borrow it.


Congrats man! We have our first shoot on Friday night... nervous as heck... we have probably four separate shoots for this one... lots of locations.

wow ... i thought 3 locations was a pain in the butt. Good luck buddy!

And in related news ... WE ARE IN THE CAN. AWESOME-SAUCE.

everyone wish Joe and Lana a safe trip home, they are on the road all day today, all the way back to MN.

[ZazaCast]

Congrats! Any more BTS stuff you can share with the anal-bleeding hoards? :)

[Ben Sliker]

Congrats! Any more BTS stuff you can share with the anal-bleeding hoards? :)

there sure is ... unfortunately, I am at work. look for something more "visual" tonight.

[ZazaCast]

there sure is ... unfortunately, I am at work.

All work & no play makes Ben a dull boy....

[Ben Sliker]

BTS PICS:

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/bts1.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/bts2.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/bts3.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/bts4.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/bts5.png
http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/bts6.png

[ZazaCast]

(rubbing hands together) EXCELLENT....

[AmyO]

Looks like a fun shoot. Congrats on wrapping filming.

[Ben Sliker]

(rubbing hands together) EXCELLENT....


Looks like a fun shoot. Congrats on wrapping filming.

thanks peeps. :dankk2: new poster uploaded on the front page.

maybe I'll put up a few grabs for you fine people here soon. normally i take a few days off after shooting to rest, but i just had to dive into this footage right away. I find you always end up with 3 different movies. There's the one that you wrote, the one you shot, and then the one that you edit together and each one is just a little different, whether you mean to or not.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Damn dude, you;ve been super busy over here. Congrats on the wrap!

[Justin Kuhn]

You seem like a motivated, self-starting young man. What's the deal with that?

[Ben Sliker]

Damn dude, you;ve been super busy over here. Congrats on the wrap!

thanks, it was a great shoot. I can't thank everyone enough.


You seem like a motivated, self-starting young man. What's the deal with that?

3 glasses of milk. Everyday.



In all seriousness... I just put together a super-early rough cut this afternoon that clocks in at a scant 6:08. This is particularly exciting news for me considering I usually have to widdle between :30-:90 off to get under the limit. 8 seconds is going to be a breeze.

[conrad_johnson]

Hey Ben, maybe you could post some more unflattering photos of me, you can only see five of my chins.

On a more serious note, the shoot went very, very well. Ben and all of the actors did a spectacular job. We had some great grip/PA help to, so cheers to everybody who worked their butts off to make a movie. I'm proud to be a part of it!

[Ben Sliker]

Hey Ben, maybe you could post some more unflattering photos of me, you can only see five of my chins.


Oh, don't you worry, i have plenty more where that came from.

In celebration of hitting 5:59:17 with my edit ... here ... are ... some ...

GRABS!!!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab1.png

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab2.png

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab3.png

[Brandon Rice]

Ben, fantastic grabs! Very dramatic! Wow. I love the third one especially!

[Justin Kuhn]

That flare is the awesome sauce. Behold, the Power of the Britek 650. Cower before its blinding Light.

[AmyO]

Beautiful! I especially like the second grab. The story it tells, the way the golden light is "painted" on the highlights. Nice.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Congratulations on getting the cut under time. The grabs look great!

Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with this go around.

MAH

[Susanne G.]

Very nice looking grabs. I especially like the tatoos on Joe Johnson's right arm :Drogar-Love(DBG):

Susanne :bath:

[Ben Sliker]

Ben, fantastic grabs! Very dramatic! Wow. I love the third one especially!


That flare is the awesome sauce. Behold, the Power of the Britek 650. Cower before its blinding Light.


Beautiful! I especially like the second grab. The story it tells, the way the golden light is "painted" on the highlights. Nice.

Awesome, three posts, they all think a different one is the best. Kudos to Joe, he did a fantastic job of lighting, and quickly too. I'll post up a comparison grab of the third grab, to show you how waiting a couple hours changes your lighting completely.


Congratulations on getting the cut under time. The grabs look great!
MAH

Thanks Mike, it was a very enjoyable process to edit this, instead of having to cut major chunks out to fit it underneath the timeline, I got to go through and smooth out my edit, by the time i got to the end, i was under!


I especially like the tatoos on Joe Johnson's right arm :Drogar-Love(DBG):

It's apparently from some story called "Alice in Wonderland" ... never heard of it ...

[Ben Sliker]

Ok, so, here's a little comparison and visual explanation of what kind of hose beast the sun can be sometimes.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab4comp2.png

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab4comp1.png

The running joke before we started shooting was Joe saying "don't worry about that sun, it'll be gone in about 15 minutes, we'll put a net up on that window and we'll be fine."

15 minutes later - "don't worry about that sun, it'll be gone in 15 minutes..."

But, the man was right, net on the window, cheat the table a bit right, and wait two hours, and the light was perfect! There's a couple Kinos hiding in there somewhere, but Joe will have to tell you more about that ...

[conrad_johnson]

I'll hide Kinos in your butt!

Yeah, that southern sun is a beast, much slower moving than I anticipated. But, the shoot didn't officially start until 2 anyhow, so it didn't hold up production.

The edit is coming along nicely. I just need to convince Ben that his feet being in one of the shots was my artistic integrity and not a mistake. I was going for hyper realism Ben, the idea that the audience knows we're making a movie, so we should see the directors Nikes in some of the shots.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Maybe you can add more feet to the other shots. That would be cool....

[conrad_johnson]

I think Rodney's on to something hmmmm.......

Btw, why are we Minnesotans up so damn early? We should be sleeping through all this rain.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I'm only a Minnesotan for one more week then it's back to Toronto... I think the early wake-up time is due to how bloody cold it turned last night. I'm waiting for it to stop raining, but alas... no reprieve from the deluge of overcast skies...

[Brandon Rice]

Joe, I love your avatar by the way!

[Tim Joy]

It's looking sexy guys, and gals. Looking forward to it!

[Ben Sliker]

I'll hide Kinos in your butt!

I just need to convince Ben that his feet being in one of the shots was my artistic integrity and not a mistake. I was going for hyper realism Ben, the idea that the audience knows we're making a movie, so we should see the directors Nikes in some of the shots.

lol ... we should tell people to try and find that shot in the movie and then at the end we can laugh cause it's not in there ... man that would be funny. Wait .. what say you? Anyone can read this?


Maybe you can add more feet to the other shots. That would be cool....

Don't encourage him.



Btw, why are we Minnesotans up so damn early? We should be sleeping through all this rain.

For serial ... If I'm posting on DVXuser and it's 7 am, i punch myself until i pass out again.


It's looking sexy guys, and gals. Looking forward to it!

Thanks Tim, that gives me the perfect segue to:

SEXY INSPIRATION TIME.

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab1whiteinspiration.png

The first thing that Joe sent me as inspiration was Bjork's "All is full of love" video. It really became the cornerstone of my inspiration for this piece. I've listened to the song about 100x, i'm using it as a temp track and it also served as visual inspiration for this shot. In the words of Joe "If there wasn't a music video that was already shot like that, I'd totally shoot one."

Ben ... is currently geeking out on page 32 of 364 in the Apple Color manual.

[Tim Joy]

I love that video.
Nothing like a little robot love-making to get the juices flowing... hydraulic fluid that is.

[Tim Joy]

Whoops

[Ben Sliker]

I love that video.
Nothing like a little robot love-making to get the juices flowing... hydraulic fluid that is.


Whoops

did you leak a little fluid of your own there?

[conrad_johnson]

I just got an email from Ben with the subject: Picture lock?



Love it.

[Brandon Rice]

Nice!

[Rodney V. Smith]

now you guys are just showing off.

me = jealous.

me also = behind schedule

[Ben Sliker]

I just got an email from Ben with the subject: Picture lock?

Love it.

And yet ... you still haven't responded ... I'M SITTING ON PINS AND NEEDLES HERE JOE.



now you guys are just showing off.


normally I take a few days off ... i couldn't this time ... HAD to start digging into this footage.

On that note...

BECOME A FAN OF DESIDERATUM ON FACEBOOK. ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IT. OK ... THE NOT-COOL KIDS ARE TOO. DON'T GET LEFT OUT. BUT SERIOUSLY ... JUST CLICK ANYWHERE IN THE LAST 3-4 SENTENCES. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Desideratum-A-Film-By-Ben-Sliker/86960890613)

[Ben Sliker]

Just blazed through about 100+ pages of the Apple Color Manual and still going.

I think a couple weeks of 4th grade have just leaked out my ear and have been replaced 3D color scopes, LUT, and histograms...

it's ok though, cause 4th grade wasn't that great for me anyway.

[lawriejaffa]

This looks like a very slick number you have here Ben - now im no betting man hehe but i reckon this is one to watch!

The cinematography from your grabs looks very pretty, and I remember Harold being a very pretty film too! How is the balance of style and substance going with this one Ben?

[Ben Sliker]

This looks like a very slick number you have here Ben - now im no betting man hehe but i reckon this is one to watch!

The cinematography from your grabs looks very pretty, and I remember Harold being a very pretty film too! How is the balance of style and substance going with this one Ben?

Whew ... wow a response I'm going to have to put some serious thought into. Refeshing and challenging all at once. I guess I'll take you all the way back to the beginning and perhaps that will help answer the style vs. substance question.

Normally it takes me a full month to come up with solid "fest" based idea. Not so this time, within a day I has crammed as much as I could down on one single sheet in my Steno Notepad. Like most of my good ideas, I came up with this one whilst showering, probably somewhere between conditioning and rinsing off. I rushed out of the shower to grab my notepad. It's actually kind of cool to still have that sheet of paper, it's quite close to what we actually ended up shooting. The thing that kept running through my mind was that I thought I'd see 40-50 National Treasure, Indiana Jones, LOTR, boy gets girl's number-themed films for QuestFest, which was something I really didn't want to do.

So I decided to do a human-drama, (no animal drama here) something that would lend itself to "substance." At the risk of being cliche, I'll tell you right now that you'll just have to watch to see what the film is about. My hope is that the story that I've come up with does set us apart from the rest of the films, leaving the viewer with a "well, they were thinking outside the box" feeling. When I originally wrote the script, I didn't have one person or persons in mind, but when seeking advice about my writing, I found that it's a topic that has touched many people in my life (some who I didn't know about).

Also, I normally figure out a few "have to shoot these" shots while I'm writing and then write around those shots. Not so much this time. Script, then storyboards, constantly asking myself, how can these shots best serve the story? I usually also get to about 75%-80% storyboarded out, and just use a shot list to connect the dots. Not so this time, this was 100% storyboarded out, and Joe and I talked at length about a lot of the shots. This is where our Celtx project came in handy, we could both be looking at the storyboards 1000 miles away from each other.

The thing that was especially nice about this project was that we nailed the timing. My first rough cut was just 6:08. After going back, refining, and editing the story and the beats how I wanted them to be and how they best flowed together I was underneath the time limit already. I didn't have to let the time limit dictate my edit like it has in the past, I edited my film together the way I wanted it to be. No sacrifices, no quick edits to get the whole conversation in there, no artifcially truncating time in post to hack :15-:30 off my film.

That's not to say that this film doesn't have style. If I were to look back through my body of work, it's easy for me to make the connection between my films. So, if for instance, someone watched In Pieces and then Desideratum, it wouldn't seem foreign to them that the same person directed both films. So, with this film, you get Ben's style, interpreted, shot and lit by the guy who did R.P.D.M, with an added emphasis on dramatic impact in writing. So, to answer your question:

Style: 38%-42%
Substance: 58%-62%

With that being said, I really do hope you all enjoy this film. It's some of my best work.

Regards,
Ben

[Ben Sliker]

Just wanted to thank Catherine Trail for the gift she sent me today.

During a break on day two, I was explaining to the actors how I keep myself and my thoughts organized. Basically this process consistent of writing all my notes and keeping lists in Steno Notepads (little 6"x9" flip notebooks). They usually also contain outlines and dialogue for the films I make.

So what's waiting on my desk for me when I get into work? A pack of 5 notepads from Catherine, with a note on the front "GET STARTED."

Thanks Catherine!!! I Will!!!

[lawriejaffa]

Hey there Ben,

Well I look forward to your film like I said (im sure i have - come on surely!)

Yes thank you for your earnest answer, and indeed I think that thought process will have aided enormously in contributing to what you feel is your best work.

I enjoyed your last film (the audio reviews - just wait this year its video reviews!) but i felt there was a bigger story bursting out (and by that i don't mean that your last film was superficial - it certainly wasn't ill make the clear now!)

That you feel you've learned I think from your last film and are experimenting in your approach is something I hope I too might achieve with Empire, which is a bit like an end result (I think) of other attempts!

So mon amie - the best of luck!

[Ben Sliker]

That you feel you've learned I think from your last film and are experimenting in your approach is something I hope I too might achieve with Empire, which is a bit like an end result (I think) of other attempts!

Absolutely.

I think even the greats look back at their films and said "i wish i coulda ...", for ex. Stephen Spielberg: "I wish we coulda got some nice walkie-talkies for ET instead of these stupid guns ..." :) Now I'm just being facetious. In all seriousness, thanks for the comments and I can't wait to start my next project based on some of the new processes that I created for Desideratum.

Now I get to play the waiting game with sound and score. I HATE PLAYING THE WAITING GAME. Time to dive back into Color...

[conrad_johnson]

Okay.

Just got back into town and I'm downloading the omf files as I type this. I have a LOT of work to do...Woohoo!

Oh yeah, just came home to a new HPX-300. I'm Fucking excited.

[Ben Sliker]

Oh yeah, just came home to a new HPX-300. I'm poo pooing excited.

which i'm sure we'll put to good use ... :beer:

I haven't watched my film for 4 days, and I'm loving the disconnect. Got to the point where I needed to step back and stop working on it for a while. 2 more days and I'll dive back in. Not to mention a day trip to the beach thrown in there... see y'all thursday.

[Ben Sliker]

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab5.png

a new grab to mark 2 weeks to go. :)

[ZazaCast]

SWEEEEEET! (sometimes I wonder why I bother entering these fests....):cry:

[Ben Sliker]

SWEEEEEET! (sometimes I wonder why I bother entering these fests....):cry:

don't worry, you'll be fine... hell, I haven't even got a "commence pee-pee shrink" comment from RodThompson yet ... gotta step up my game I guess. :Drogar-Smoke(DBG):

[ZazaCast]

don't worry, you'll be fine... hell, I haven't even got a "commence pee-pee shrink" comment from RodThompson yet ... gotta step up my game I guess. :Drogar-Smoke(DBG):

True... I always did wonder about that comment coming from a man named ROD??:shocked:

[conrad_johnson]

Hey everyone, important announcement:

Ben can't sit cross-legged because he has fused hips or some shit. Laugh at him.

[conrad_johnson]

Criss-cross-applesauce is apparently the new pc term for "indian style"

-ricky rudd

[Ben Sliker]

Hey everyone, important announcement:

Ben can't sit cross-legged because he has fused hips or some shi*. Laugh at him.


Criss-cross-applesauce is apparently the new pc term for "indian style"

-ricky rudd

this is the unfortunate result when you bug your sound designer constantly for a finished product and he turns to alcoholic beverages for comfort.

pray for joe,
-the intimidator


... but seriously ... i can't sit cross-legged.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Don;t knock alcoholic beverages for comfort in these dar and desperate times before the deadline. Many a night has seen the bottom of many a bottle.. that's how you know it's time to quit editing and go to bed: when you;re out of alcohol.

On another note: there seems to be a strike in Toronto among Govt workers and gues what? the major liquor stores here are Govt run.

This is me envying Joe his alcohol.

[Ben Sliker]

Don;t knock alcoholic beverages for comfort in these dar and desperate times before the deadline. Many a night has seen the bottom of many a bottle.. that's how you know it's time to quit editing and go to bed: when you;re out of alcohol.

This is me envying Joe his alcohol.

well, rodney, i just have to let you know. I'm a big liar. The story about me pressuring Joe into getting me a finished sound design resulting in him turning to the bottle ... all a ruse ...

Joe just likes to invent new games while he's drinking -

proof:

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/DSCN0273.JPG

[Rodney V. Smith]

well, rodney, i just have to let you know. I'm a big liar. The story about me pressuring Joe into getting me a finished sound design resulting in him turning to the bottle ... all a ruse ...

Joe just likes to invent new games while he's drinking -

proof:

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/DSCN0273.JPG


LOL! THat's effing hilarious!

[Ben Sliker]

Desideratum - fact of the day - Desideratum is my first film specifically shot for a 2.35:1 aspect ratio instead of 16:9. Going WIDE this time.

Also ... I drove 6 hours total on Tuesday to re-shoot ONE shot.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I feel you on the drive. I'm like THIS CLOSE to flying out to Minneapolis to reshoot one scene.. that lasts all of 5 seconds on screen. The things we do to get the right results....

[Ben Sliker]

Desideratum - fact of the day - Milk was used as "a drug" in 2-3 effects shot for this movie. It's also what's in the needle for the poster.

Also ... just got some score back from Sid, yay! And I worked for 8 hours in motion on wednesday on effects that you will hopefully ... never see.

[Ben Sliker]

forget anything good that I ever said about the program Color...

*currently re-doing about 20 hours of work from the past week that was destroyed because of it ...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Oh damn dude. What the hell happened?

[Ben Sliker]

I actually can just guess ... The Color project and my FCP project were both fine yesterday. I think it may have happened when I tried to reconform the Color project after making changes to my edit in FCP.

Regardless, Color doesn't edit non-destructively, it actually renders out new movies for each file on your timeline (replacing the old ones). I ended up with a big jumbled mess where FCP couldn't find any of the files anymore, and the export from Color was even worse. I knew it was a Color issue because my audio stayed the same throughout this process.

The KICKER of it all, the real time suck, is that spent 8-10 hours on some effects in Motion, most that you won't see :), but all those files were based off the newly rendered ... and now gone ... Color movies on the timeline. So now my Motion projects were referencing files that didn't exist. It was all such a giant CF that it would have taken me twice as long to try and fix it vs. blasting away a week of work and starting over. Thank goodness I duplicated my timeline before sending it to color.

So ... after about 2 hours of steaming and playing a little Guitar Hero to calm me down, I'm back to work. Unless this happens again next thursday, i think we'll be fine.

[ZazaCast]

If ANYONE can pull this off....it's you. I have complete faith that I'll be watching, in awe, probably...or should I say likely...one of the best films of the fest. You suck.... but I love you like a distant cousin's father-in-law's, crazy nephew's, sister's aunt's, bedridden brother! Get'er done.

I want to see this film in the fest.

:)

[Rodney V. Smith]

You'll get it done man. And probably better than before. Damn Color and its screwed up processes... and I thought Premiere was kicking my ass with my OMF Export...

[Ben Sliker]

Thanks for the encouragement guys! Don't worry, Desideratum will be in this fest. I just gotta grind it out over the next 7 days. In fact, I have an exported version that most would consider "done" anyway (before the color debacle), now I'm just satisfying my own neurotic needs!

And with that...

Desideratum - fact of the day - My geezer of a dog (13 y.o.) was so excited to have lots of people in the house for the shoot, that he ran across the living room ... peeing the whole way. (Thank god for pergo floor and clorox wipes) I had never seen a dog be "embarrassed" before.

[ZazaCast]

My geezer of a dog (13 y.o.) was so excited to have lots of people in the house for the shoot, that he ran across the living room ... peeing the whole way.

That's funny.... I did the same thing in the hotel room when I started shooting "Miss Laid"!:huh:

[conrad_johnson]

That's funny.... I did the same thing in the hotel room when I started shooting "Miss Laid"!:huh:

Are you sure that was pee?:Drogar-Smoke(DBG):

Sorry, that's gross.

[ZazaCast]

Sorry, that's gross.

Yes... but VERY funny... LMFAO!!!

[Susanne G.]

When our Golden Retriever 'Rufus' was four month old, I went with him in a pharmacy in Milan where we lived. Before I entered in, I asked permission to come in with the dog. There where some other clients in and all of them where very happy to see this little cute dog, who looks like a sheep until he made just in the middle of the room on a carpet his poo poo, which was very liquid. The pharmacist wanted to kill me with his eyes. I was completely imbarrassed. :-KnockedOut(D

[ZazaCast]

When our Golden Retriever 'Rufus' was four month old, I went with him in a pharmacy in Milan where we lived. Before I entered in, I asked permission to come in with the dog. There where some other clients in and all of them where very happy to see this little cute dog, who looks like a sheep until he made just in the middle of the room on a carpet his poo poo, which was very liquid. The pharmacist wanted to kill me with his eyes. I was completely imbarrassed. :-KnockedOut(D

Thanks for sharing? :huh:

This thread is going to the dogs!

[RodThompson]

...<crickets>...

[ZazaCast]

...<crickets>...

...no... I said dogs.

I'll be here all week, please don't forget to tip the help!
:thumbup::)

[Susanne G.]

Thanks for sharing? :huh:

This thread is going to the dogs!

Sorry sweetheart - I didn't want to bore you. I only thought it could be a funny variation of the same theme. Please forgive me :kiss:

[Rodney V. Smith]

How goes the reassembly dude? I wanna see this in the uploaded section...

[Ben Sliker]

Going well, like I imagined, a lot of the work that I had done before is now going twice as fast, because A. I've already done it before and B. I'm not creating a process as I go.

[Noel Evans]

Ouch! Thankfully color is holding up for me. Hope it doesnt take too long. Do you save your primaries and secondaries?

[Ben Sliker]

Desideratum - fact of the day - This is the 3rd film I've used a fish tank in for some special effect. I don't know why I keep throwing them away afterwards ...



Ouch! Thankfully color is holding up for me. Hope it doesnt take too long. Do you save your primaries and secondaries?

I did save my primaries, but the whole shebang was sooo messed up that I didn't even want any of that old project to exist, I dumped the entire Color documents folder and started from scratch.

And to mark less that one week to go: FINAL GRAB!

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab6.png

[Ben Sliker]

Desideratum - fact of the day - I built an entire tile floor for just one shot in this movie... Which is nothing compared to the 2,500 miles roundtrip that Joe and Lana drove to help me shoot it

[Noel Evans]

Desideratum - fact of the day - I built an entire tile floor for just one shot in this movie... Which is nothing compared to the 2,500 miles roundtrip that Joe and Lana drove to help me shoot it

Extra points for effort. Thats a long way to go - and they drove it! I recently did a shoot that involved travelling about (in your local version) 2500 miles and I thought that was a long way - even with all the shoot stops along the way.

[ZazaCast]

I'm getting the feeling there's going to be another one of these.....

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=952

God knows you must need another crane by now!:)

[Ben Sliker]

he he, thanks Zaza.

Desideratum - fact of the day - I've officially shot a scene in every room in my house. TIME TO MOVE!

[Ben Sliker]

Desideratum - fact of the day - It doesn't matter how much time I give myself for post-production ... I always seem to be working right up to the deadline ...

[ZazaCast]

You have plenty of time yet...

[Ben Sliker]

Desideratum - fact of the day - The ASL (average shot length) in Desideratum is 5.7 seconds. In 1984, the average feature film had an ASL of 15.6. In 2007 it was all the way down to 2.6. Most of this can clearly be attributed to Michael Bay, Transformers 2 has an ASL of a little over a second. :)

[conrad_johnson]

Almost done................

[Ben Sliker]

Got the mix in from Brad and all I can say is how much I absolutley love it. There are some things that he's like to clean up, if he had more time, but I'm listening to it and finding no faults with it. I didn't bother looping any dialog this time around, but maybe I should make it standard practice so at least I HAVE it and don't need it. Oh well, live and learn. These fests are excellent for working out the kinks in the system and getting the workflow right.

Anyway in a couple of days you guys will hear for yourself, the brilliant sound design from BRAD SEMENOFF.

I'm sure Brad S. did a great job Rodney ... maybe you should post that over on YOUR thread. :Drogar-Smoke(DBG):

[Rodney V. Smith]

oops. must be time to take a break. :grin:

[Rodney V. Smith]

When you say "almost done" does that mean total awesomeness is about to be unleashed?

[conrad_johnson]

When you say "almost done" does that mean total awesomeness is about to be unleashed?

Maybe... I hope so?.... yes.:huh:

[Rodney V. Smith]

You guys are up to no good again! I can feel it! And here's me color correcting with no beer...

[conrad_johnson]

I'm not color correcting and I AM drinking beer. Opposites!

Fuck

[conrad_johnson]

Rodney:

I meant to say:

yes, the awesomeness is almost upon you, after which, you will want to suck on the power teet that is ben and joe.

[Rodney V. Smith]

two words for you: EWWW!

oh and in case I forgot: EWWWW!

[Ben Sliker]

Desideratum - fact of the day - 3 songs that inspired the movie - Bjork - "All is full of love" - Gary Jules - "Mad World" - Johnny Cash - "Hurt"

[DarkElastic]

I'm looking forward to this Ben. Good luck in the Fest.

[Noel Evans]

Well Ive seen all your previous fest entries, always solid stories, interesting cuts, solid across the board. Im pre picking you as top two with tarts fools and g-men as the other.

No pressure. :P

[Ben Sliker]

Well Ive seen all your previous fest entries, always solid stories, interesting cuts, solid across the board. Im pre picking you as top two with tarts fools and g-men as the other.

No pressure. :P

AH! I don't know if I can handle that kind of pressure! Need Coffee!

http://www.mideastyouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/tweek1.JPG

[Ben Sliker]

I'm looking forward to this Ben. Good luck in the Fest.

Got all caught up in an opportunity to post a picture of my favorite SP character Tweek that I lost me manners and glazed over this comment. Thanks Dark!

[Ben Sliker]

exporting out a "safety" version right now... you know, a version that you can still upload even if there's catastrophic failures in the morning making last minute changes...

At least I have until 2pm here on the east coast.

[Tim Joy]

East coast rocks for these deadlines.

[Rodney V. Smith]

exporting out a "safety" version right now... you know, a version that you can still upload even if there's catastrophic failures in the morning making last minute changes...

At least I have until 2pm here on the east coast.
Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking about safety... especially in these last hours. I got my safety is finally locked and ready to go.


East coast rocks for these deadlines.
I hear you on that one. Doing any final tweaks tomorrow morning. Big advantage of this side of the universe.

[Ben Sliker]

exporting ...

[conrad_johnson]

My part is all done! (I hope, Ben is a picky motherfucker.)

[Edgen]

hope everything worked out for ya! Looking forward to seeing your entry.

cheers!
/j

[conrad_johnson]

hope everything worked out for ya! Looking forward to seeing your entry.

cheers!
/j

Thanks. I think it turned out nicely. And it was a hoot to work on.

[Ben Sliker]

hope everything worked out for ya! Looking forward to seeing your entry.

cheers!
/j

thanks man! I hate slow exports ... maybe it's time to upgrade from the ol' dual G5 tower ... 2 hours til deadline!

[Ben Sliker]

uploaded ... anyone want to try and beat us to be "last film uploaded"? you've got about 12 minutes ...

[Girgej]

Beautiful Shots ... Good Luck

[ZazaCast]

Ben... I know it might be early, but I'd like to get in line for more of your abuse via your famous live reviews (if you're doing it this time around). Last time I believe you said my film caused anal bleeding...this time I'm hoping for mere anal leakage...so grab a depends and let her rip!:)

...and as always....I'm really looking forward to your film.

[Jeff Anderson]

Yeah Ben are you doing your reviews again? Looking forward to seeing your film - and the reviews too! Go ahead and put me down as #2 if we're starting a list. May be my first fest, but that doesnt mean I dont want some real criticism... tear it up!

[Ben Sliker]

Ben... I know it might be early, but I'd like to get in line for more of your abuse via your famous live reviews (if you're doing it this time around). Last time I believe you said my film caused anal bleeding...this time I'm hoping for mere anal leakage...so grab a depends and let her rip!:)

...and as always....I'm really looking forward to your film.


Yeah Ben are you doing your reviews again? Looking forward to seeing your film - and the reviews too! Go ahead and put me down as #2 if we're starting a list. May be my first fest, but that doesnt mean I dont want some real criticism... tear it up!

Again, thank you for all the enthusiasm for our film. As for the AIM sessions, all I can say at this point is maybe...

[conrad_johnson]

I'm trying to get this eunuch to do these this time around, and I want to be a guest AIMer

Everyone convince Ben to do the AIM sessions again!

[Tim Joy]

AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM aim AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIM AIMA IMA IMA IAM IAM AIM AIM AIAM IAM AIMAIAM AIM AIAM IAM AIMAI AMI AMAIAMA IAM AIMA IAMAI AMIAA AIAM I AAI!!!!!!!

Is that clear? :) :) :)

[Matt Harris]

maybe it's time to upgrade from the ol' dual G5 tower ... 2 hours til deadline!

I upgraded to a 8-core and I cant believe how fast my workflow has become in FCP
and Color. Cant wait to see this flick, seems to be a top runner.

[Ben Sliker]

Well, Since we've got some time to kill here, I'd thought I'd take a look back into:

THE HISTORY OF BEN AND JOE IN DVXUSER FESTIVALS:

Scifest - Early 2006 - Surprisingly, this was both Ben and Joe's first DVXuser festival. Ben finishes 25th with his film "The Replacer", which featured his first ever special effect. Joe faired better, placing 7th with "Wages of Sin."

Herofest - Summer 2006 - Ben plans to shoot his film "The Red Avenger", but has neither actors or funds, and also a College graduation to attend, the film falls apart before it starts. Joe, on the other hand, is the first to get up on the DVXfest podium with a 3rd place finish with "There goes the neighborhood", a tale of "regular" people.

Horrorfest - Fall 2006 - Ready to take on another festival, Ben decides to go Zombie for Horrofest, placing 17th with "Dead Inside", a film criticized for it's epic score and crappy swapping back and forth between 35mm and naked DVX shots. Joe, not to be outdone by Ben's improvement, enters two films (one with lingothree) and both place better than Ben's, Dear Jane, with it's dead, boob-exposed hooker placing 6th and Girl Next Door coming in at 14th.

Dramafest - Early 2007 - Ben again has plans to shoot a film, "Ride Along", a story of a cop who gets led to crimes by the ghost of his dead wife, no money, no actors again doom him. Joe is MIA.

SpyFest - Summer 2007 - Ben finds a team of people who actually want to make films with him and puts out his real first contender, a spy vs. spy film "Refill", breaking into the top ten with 10th. Joe continues to work on a career as a ballerina and has no time for SpyFest.

All Hallows Fest - Fall 2007 - VICTORY! Ben finds his niche in the arms of Serial Killer John Abbott Mitchell and finds himself on top of the podium for his film "In Pieces." Ben loses a ton of money making the film and must sell all his prizes to break even ... :( Joe's comments on In Pieces: "If I had entered, I'd probably have placed better." Joe quits his dreams of becoming a ballerina.

TimeFest - Summer 2008 - Ben follows up "In Pieces" with a prequel "John Abbott Mitchell," and crams a lame time element into the story which ultimately damaged the film. Ben is still ecstatic to be a finalist and screen out in LA. Joe's triumphant return came in the form of the team up with Mark Harris and "R.P.D.M.", a film with boobs and awesome slo-mo enhancing drugs. TimeFest was also the birth of the "AIM sessions", some people loved them, some wanted to stab us with a toothbrush. Joe is so coo coo for cocoa puffs over JAM, he blindly offers to shoot for Ben. (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1317074&postcount=199).


TwilightFest - Fall 2008 - Ben comes in and directs "My Name is Harold Allen", a post-apocolyptic wonder child shot in Winston-Salem, arguably the toughest set Ben has been on. It goes on to be a finalist and then later, win at the UNCC short film fest. Joe has a TwilightFest idea and an entire score, but no money forces him to call it quits.

Which brings us to:

QuestFest - Summer 2009 - Ben calls up Joe, "Remember last year when you said that you'd shoot something for me, and then.." Joe - "Yeah, I'll do it. I just left." Ben - "Whaaaa?" Script Sent. And the rest is history. Will Ben and Joe be able to combine their respective superpowers to become one? Tune in to QUESTFEST TO FIND OUT.

[Matt Harris]

Hilarious! Great retrospective. But im bummed Ben already did a "prequel" because i thought my
QuestFest entry was the first dvxuser prequel. Oh well. Good luck guys but i doubt you need it.
Sounds like you're a major contender.

[armisiano]

Great job all around. Excellent technical execution in every sense. The audio and visuals were both fantastic. I think the poster on the first post of this thread is a bit inappropriate though and doesn't really communicate the sincerity and human emotion that this piece conveys. Good work really.

[Mattykins]

Watching now.

The cinematography is excellent. It truly looks fantastic. Really professional.

Though I thought I knew what was happening until 5:30. Did she kill herself? It is a visually jarring shot, but I don't know what it does for the story. In fact, I think it might derail it a bit.

[conrad_johnson]

What?

[Ben Sliker]

Watching now.

The cinematography is excellent. It truly looks fantastic. Really professional.

Though I thought I knew what was happening until 5:30. Did she kill herself? It is a visually jarring shot, but I don't know what it does for the story. In fact, I think it might derail it a bit.

*SPOILER* She has a miscarriage. Lots of blood involved. *SPOILER*

[Mark Harris]

Dick. I'm not to the end yet.

Okay, now I am.

Nice work guys. Really nice on all counts. Good job with the actors keeping them real small and subtle. Joe, your cinematography was spot on. Very very nice stuff. I noticed some Johnson signatures in there, like no crazy shallow DOF. He hates that :)

This is just a really nice, solid film. Watched it twice, just for enjoyment. The skill you both have built up over time really shows. The execution of every aspect is masterly and sure-handed.

And Lana is about the most valuable person you can hope to have on set. Put a GPS on that girl and NEVER LOSE HER.

[Mattykins]

Ooh. That was not my first guess. I suppose I was thrown by the physical location of the incident. A shower and said incident don't exactly coincide in my mind.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Wow. This certainly wasn't what I expected and in a lot of ways, that's a good thing. You've told a real emotional story here, very effectively with good stunning work all around. The poster was a little misleading, so we didn't quite know what we were getting into, but the progression of the story, especially with the edits to not not tell us everything outright... perfect. Great editing job there all around, leaving the reveal to be quite a surprise and a smile on my face at the end.

Good solid work guys.

[ramsaur]

This was a good one! The sound was very well edited as well as the color, camera, editing, music, etc. The only thing I had a problem with is at the end when the adopted child comes, the child acts like he already knows the woman. But overall it was good.

[conrad_johnson]

This was a good one! The sound was very well edited as well as the color, camera, editing, music, etc. The only thing I had a problem with is at the end when the adopted child comes, the child acts like he already knows the woman. But overall it was good.

What's funny about that is the child had never met the actress before that day. Kindred spirits I guess.:)

[Zak Forsman]

really lovely execution. your pitch worried me and I hesitated even watching it because i thought your intent was to overplay and exploit the physical trauma. but you didn't. it was honest and real, and poetic too.


This was a good one! The sound was very well edited as well as the color, camera, editing, music, etc. The only thing I had a problem with is at the end when the adopted child comes, the child acts like he already knows the woman. But overall it was good.

not that i've ever adopted a kid, but i don't think they'd just show up and drop off a kid you've never seen before.

[Rodney V. Smith]

...not that i've ever adopted a kid, but i don't think they'd just show up and drop off a kid you've never seen before.

it's a bit of a process.. a very very long process that sometimes takes months. During that time the adoptive parent get to know the child, spend time with the child, to make sure there is a good match. It's a pretty realistic portrayal, especially since the kid is glad to be FINALLY with the people who want him, after so long. Red-tape is bewildering to children and they have so many doubts about if the adoptive parent even want him anymore.

[Zak Forsman]

i liked that the font for the adoption agency was the same as your title. i did the same on a few props for Heart of Now.

[Ben Sliker]

i liked that the font for the adoption agency was the same as your title. i did the same on a few props for Heart of Now.

Yeah I really fell in love with that font right from the get go (i think it's called Rough Draft), but of course, had to go back to my old favorite Trajan Pro for the end credits.

Thanks for the comments everybody!!!

[HCPROD]

WOW! Top notch job. You did an excellent job of invoking emotion with this one and it was beautifully shot. You should be proud!

[Noel Evans]

This was great. Exceptional visuals especially in the opening sequence. Very touching piece and a serious issue for many couples really well portrayed.

When I was watching I felt somewhat that you were constantly trying to throw me of the scent of what was really taking place, and then we would flow back into it. Times I felt this were in relation to the medication, after the needle an arm strap fell to the floor. More related to drug use than giving an injection of some kind, so I felt there was an insuation near the start it was to do with a drug issue . And then in relation to the adoption place she says "It was the best place we went to it was clean...", I felt here there was an insuation that this was meant to be related to IVF.

Was this the way you played it or my false perceptions? (Wouldn't be the first time).

[Ryan E. Walters]

Good visuals- I really liked the opening sequence. some of the framing choices were very appealing to me- I especially liked the phone call. Nice work. :)

[Ben Sliker]

I think the poster on the first post of this thread is a bit inappropriate though and doesn't really communicate the sincerity and human emotion that this piece conveys.


The poster was a little misleading, so we didn't quite know what we were getting into.

Poster First - Not that there is this huge reveal/twist to the movie, it's more subtle, there's really no way that I wanted to spoil that for the audience ahead of time with any images of pregnancy, child birth, adoption, etc. The poster is comprised of two images that are a part of the story, first, the needle with fertilization drugs in it and second, a bathroom floor with blood streaking across it from the miscarriage. I guess maybe? the poster would have made more sense if THIS shot had made it into the movie:

http://www.benjaminsliker.com/film/DESIDERATUM/grab7.png

But since I made a cameo in it, It just didn't work out. Plus the composition was kinda meh, so I wasn't a big fan of the shot anyway. CUT IT!



When I was watching I felt somewhat that you were constantly trying to throw me of the scent of what was really taking place. Was this the way you played it or my false perceptions? (Wouldn't be the first time).

We weren't necessarily trying to throw you off the scent for the first 4:20 of the movie. Just not giving you the whole truth and letting the audience's mind wander a bit. There are a TON of cues pointing to different things, but for the first 2/3 of the film, that's really up to the viewer to decide what means what.

[~jai~]

Haha, you got me on this one! I really thought she was a dopehead. Really liked the camera work and the music was really nice & touching. I would have liked more oomph in the dining room scene and in the bathroom I would have liked a little more panic or concern from him. Overall though, a good film, excellent camera work, and beautiful music!

Great job! Thanks for sharing!

[Ben Sliker]

The execution of every aspect is masterly and sure-handed.


really lovely execution. it was honest and real, and poetic too.

Thanks guys, means alot from two filmmakers on this site whose work I also admire. Thanks everybody for the comments, keep 'em coming!

[hoz]

you fooled me with this story. i liked it though. i loved the shots you pulled off. really well done.

acting- maybe this is where i was kinda thrown? the man didn't portray too much panic , or anything, true, this is who is he is maybe but i found him hard to relate to. the woman did a much better job but maybe not enough for my liking either. that said they took on tough roles and were fine, i'm just being picky.

really interesting film- before the reveal it just seemed so creepy in a way. it had a creepy kind of undercurrent. . like in the body snatchers kinda way almost. maybe it was too sci fi or something, i'm going to watch it again later...

in any case - really good job!

[Brandon Rice]

Ben,

Having seen a rough cut, and reading the script I knew a lot going into this, however, the final short really stands above the previously mentioned things...

My ONLY critique is that I felt sometimes the actors said their lines in a veiled way... like it felt like they were hiding something from us... not being transparent and real... it is probably very subtle and most people won't pick up on that, and it may be because I had read the script beforehand... I don't know...

otherwise, it looked great, loved the structure! This is your most heartfelt work yet!

[Susanne G.]

Have watching other of your last works, I was completely surprised about this one. I didn't expected this lovely touching film. The film has a sensitive mood, the acting was great, score and cinematography as well. I loved the detail when she was in the bathroom and you can see the doorknob - beautiful cinematography. The only thing which wasn't clear at the beginning, was the syringe - I thought first that she is addicted to drugs. So I got it only more or less in the middle of the film. Maybe you wanted this irritation!?
Overall a very enjoyable film. Compliments!

Susanne

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Hey, guys. Watched this the other night.

While I really liked this movie I felt that you didn't need to try and trick the audience. I almost felt that if you had been upfront from the start that this movie could have been even more powerful and raw. Not that it isn't, it just seemed very misleading, in a forced way, if that makes any sense. Also, the amount of blood you used probably would have called for immediate medical attention. :)

I also felt that the adoption at the end seemed a bit tacked on. Probably due to the time limit though. If you had an extra minute or so there I think it would work much better.

Now, as for the rest, I really liked it. Joe did a great job on this one. I really enjoy his style.
One thing I did notice near the beginning was a spot in front of the office door when they walk in. Around the 1:30 mark. It's there in front of the entire even after the door opens. What is that? It's not a knock against the film, I'm just curious as to what it is.

This film was very touching and I really liked seeing that from you guys. It's nice to go in a different direction and try new things. Very nice work. You should all pat yourselves on the back for another solid entry.

MAH

[conrad_johnson]

One thing I did notice near the beginning was a spot in front of the office door when they walk in. Around the 1:30 mark. It's there in front of the entire even after the door opens. What is that? It's not a knock against the film, I'm just curious as to what it is.


MAH

That is a window frame, we're outside with the camera.

Thanks for the lovely comments.

-Joe

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

That is a window frame, we're outside with the camera.

Thanks for the lovely comments.

-JoeAh, so that little white spot is actually on the window? Cool. It was driving me crazy.

Nice job as usual, Joe. :thumbup:

[Edgen]

Ben.. I enjoyed your film. Definitely one of my favs of the fest. It took me a while to see what was happening, but I finally figured it out.

kudos man.
/j

[Ben Sliker]

I would have liked more oomph in the dining room scene and in the bathroom I would have liked a little more panic or concern from him.



acting- maybe this is where i was kinda thrown? the man didn't portray too much panic , or anything, true, this is who is he is maybe but i found him hard to relate to. the woman did a much better job but maybe not enough for my liking either. that said they took on tough roles and were fine, i'm just being picky.


hey guys, thanks for the comment/criticism: here's a little trip into the director's brain as far as David's reaction goes, because I did consider the option of a more panicked scene, but here's what I went with:

Why we chose to not have David "panic" in the bathroom - I really boned up and did my research on the emotions that one feels during the course of these events and created the emotions for the character from the ground up. It's not something a lot of people like to talk about, but if you were to ask 10 friends/family, I bet 9 of them have had something like this happen or know someone who it has.

That being said, this entire story takes place over a LONG time, think over a year, perhaps longer that they've been trying to have a child. It has obviously started to wear on both of them, on Elizabeth more than David. So, when they do become pregnant, it's a very scary situation for them, like it's their only chance to get it right. But at the same time, these are people who know the risks of what they are trying, they've had doctor's tell them the risks, etc.

When David comes through the door and hears the thud, he is obviously concerned, i think there are few other times when a thud in your house would send you running to see what happened. The worst possible situation is already running through his head.

So, when he enters the bathroom, i think the panic of the situation has already passed, and the reality of his worst concern has already set in. This is his time to be disappointed, if only for just a few moments before he rushes over to comfort his wife. And although a situation where blood loss is an issue, the emotional trauma of this situation supersedes the physical damage in the immediate. He must be the man at this point, tell his wife it's going to be okay over and over when it's really not, not someone who panics and frets, not knowing what to do.

Although it's a shot that lasts a little over 2 seconds, I feel that a realistic portrayal of a man trying to process what he has seen came through.

[Brandon Rice]

Great thought process Ben... it completely makes sense, and I felt the intimacy, and comfort he gave her there.

[Zak Forsman]

yeah, i didn't have a problem with his choices in that scene. considering what they were going thru, as a husband, he would have run this scenario in his mind a few times in his head during the preceding months. he'd be prepared (to the extent one can be) for this outcome. I think being shocked and panicked would have been the superficial, ramp-up-the-drama, less realistic choice.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

yeah, i didn't have a problem with his choices in that scene. considering what they were going thru, as a husband, he would have run this scenario in his mind a few times in his head during the preceding months. he'd be prepared (to the extent one can be) for this outcome. I think being shocked and panicked would have been the superficial, ramp-up-the-drama, less realistic choice.
No problems for me in that scene either. Now, if it had been the blood loss that we saw in the latter scene I would have been dialing 911 like a mad man. :)

My wife and I do have some personal experience with this subject so I can relate.

One thing is for sure, you are never really prepared for that moment.

I'm still happy that he didn't freak out during that scene. It wouldn't have helped the matter any.

MAH

[Mike Manning]

Hey Ben... I need to watch your film again before I give you any criticisms. I'm hoping that on a second (and more critical) viewing, I'll come to appreciate more, but off the bat I was a little disappointed. Perhaps because you set the bar so high with 'Harold Allen'! I don't know, I'll watch it again and get back to you. But congrats on getting the film made! It looks great and is definitely the best of what I've watched so far! Ill get back to you soon..

[Ben Sliker]

No problems for me in that scene either. Now, if it had been the blood loss that we saw in the latter scene I would have been dialing 911 like a mad man. :)

My wife and I do have some personal experience with this subject so I can relate.


Mike, I really wanted to get that scene right, so I talked to 3 couples who had it happen to, and showed the cut to one of them afterwards. The reaction as far as blood loss? "Ugh ... yeah ... that's about right" Two of the couples also had stories about how it was hours afterwards that they went to the hospital once the bleeding stopped. (One was actually in her sleep, who knows how long she was there for. yikes!!!)

[Ben Sliker]

The only thing which wasn't clear at the beginning, was the syringe - I thought first that she is addicted to drugs. So I got it only more or less in the middle of the film. Maybe you wanted this irritation!?
Overall a very enjoyable film. Compliments!

Susanne


Hey, guys. Watched this the other night.

While I really liked this movie I felt that you didn't need to try and trick the audience. I almost felt that if you had been upfront from the start that this movie could have been even more powerful and raw. Not that it isn't, it just seemed very misleading, in a forced way, if that makes any sense.

Very nice work. You should all pat yourselves on the back for another solid entry.

MAH

Mike! (and others) Sorry you felt this way man, here's a second trip into the director's brain, maybe that will clarify our intentions for this short a little bit. (and I apologize ahead of time, cause it's kind of an "agree to disagree" thing)

I'll be completely transparent here and say that, yes, it was our intention for the first two-thirds of this movie to carry a dual meaning with it. BUT! Everything that went with that was NOT with the intention to try and pull the rug out from underneath the audience 2/3 of the way through the movie. So why did we do it?

Frankly, I can only speculate about how well the emotions would have worked if we laid it all out on the table instead of how we structured the film. I personally think that it wouldn't have near the impact because of this: I didn't want the audience to carry their pre-conceived thoughts and emotions about child birth/conception/adaoption into watching this movie. I wanted to create those emotions right there on the spot, perhaps elicit even different emotions from the audience for this kind of film. It was my way of making sure the audience wiped their emotional slate clean before watching.

I also wanted to focus on the raw power and emotion of the images and THEN give them meaning, so that the meaning didn't interfere. In this day and age, for people who are struggling to conceive, fertilization drugs and injections are a very mundane and common practice, we did everything we could so that they were the least mundane and common as possible.

[Marlon Ladd]

I thought this was a good film with a nice ending and acting. Yes, I was one of those people that thought it was going somewhere else, but that's okay, because that's how I write as well. I like to see films like these. You took a real life situation that people hardly ever talk about, but that millions of people struggle with and it's not easy. As men we many times have a very difficult time understanding a woman's emotions and how their minds work and even though I think this is a story about a man and a woman and their struggle together, this is just one of those many things that a woman goes through for a man. Very thought provoking film.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Mike, I really wanted to get that scene right, so I talked to 3 couples who had it happen to, and showed the cut to one of them afterwards. The reaction as far as blood loss? "Ugh ... yeah ... that's about right" Two of the couples also had stories about how it was hours afterwards that they went to the hospital once the bleeding stopped. (One was actually in her sleep, who knows how long she was there for. yikes!!!)I work in the medical field and that's probably an exaggeration on their part, especially if they didn't seek medical attention. It is a very dramatic occurrence but that kind of blood loss in the last scene is cause for an immediate response and a call to paramedics, just so we're clear.

I would hate for someone to watch this, have this happen to them, and think to themselves that that amount of blood loss is normal.

As for the scene with the husband and her in the shower, I thought that was fine. No issues at all.

This is really getting off topic since we really didn't see what happened after that last scene anyway. For all we know she went to the hospital. :)

I just don't think people should walk away from this thinking it's a normal amount of blood loss. Always seek medical attention when things get that bad. :thumbup:

I'm done with my PSA and I'll leave it at that.

Still some fine work from you guys.

MAH

[ZazaCast]

Beautiful film. Very wide. Great cinematography, some of the best I've seen in this fest. (That Joe is a true artist!)
Like the others, I thought she was a drug addict or something, blah, blah, blah...then it turns into a Hallmark Channel film. :huh:

Now I've only seen a few of your other films and maybe I've come to expect a certain 'something' from you, but this was not one of my favorites.
The acting was so-so and they might have just been reading cue cards at the table scene. I'm not buying the level of intensity that this subject evokes. I've known couples that divorced over it. I also feel she looked too good for the amount of stress she would be under.

The score, beautiful. The cinematography, top-notch. The lighting, to die for. The edit, sweet.

Tough subject to tackle, kudos for taking it on.:beer:

[Noel Evans]

That being said, this entire story takes place over a LONG time, think over a year, perhaps longer that they've been trying to have a child.

That information was very clear to me, and I think its a real credit you could pull that component off.

[Sarah Daly]

I really liked this - visually - really inventive framing, lots of frame within a frame stuff that really worked and gave an almost voyeuristic tone. I also like how you obviously thought about a colour scheme - this gives the film a cohesive feel. I like that your shots weren't just oretty for the sake of it but with a grander purpose in mind.

As for the story - yes the 'twist' did annoy me a little at first as this isn't really the subjesct matter that calls for trickery but I see what you were trying to do - to force the viwer to think of the subject differently by comparison. And this worked. It did get me thinking in a different way about the private and shared trauma of not being able to have children.

The visual intro is beautiful but maybe jars a bit with the rest of the film? Stylistically it implies that this will be something more abstract? You would get away with it if you were more abstarct throughout..you almost tie it in but not quite I don't think. Maybe it would work better iif you bookended with a similar sequence at the end?

I liked the mostly understated performances and did find the film affecting - which is the ultimate goal so well done! Certainly pretty to look at but this is also a film with a clear message and an intelligent and thorough thought process behind it.

Great job!

[Ben Sliker]

I thought this was a good film with a nice ending and acting. Yes, I was one of those people that thought it was going somewhere else, but that's okay, because that's how I write as well. I like to see films like these. You took a real life situation that people hardly ever talk about, but that millions of people struggle with and it's not easy. As men we many times have a very difficult time understanding a woman's emotions and how their minds work and even though I think this is a story about a man and a woman and their struggle together, this is just one of those many things that a woman goes through for a man. Very thought provoking film.

Marlon,

It's really interesting you say some of that because we really had to define our focus, in the beginning, I contemplated and wrote parts of the story where both of them were struggling (say that he was shooting blanks, etc.) But as I write, and then we shot, and then edited, it became more and more of a story about HER than anything else. I think it offered us an opportunity to frame the characters better (like would you feel resent, disappointment, etc if your wife couldn't bear a child?) We even worked some magic with the way we framed shots to downplay his feelings vs. hers (e.g. the dining room scene), in fact, in that scene, she's being the more rational one. Even after all that has happened to them, david still wants to go back and start from scratch. Elizabeth has resigned to the fact that this is the only way she'll get to have a child.

Thanks for the insight!
Ben

[Ben Sliker]

...

I liked the mostly understated performances and did find the film affecting - which is the ultimate goal so well done! Certainly pretty to look at but this is also a film with a clear message and an intelligent and thorough thought process behind it.

Great job!

Thanks for the thoughtful and nuanced review Sarah! I appreciate comments like this, they really make me look at my film in a different light.

[Sarah Daly]

No problem Ben! My pleasure . You seem really open to feedback and eager to improve - really nice to see! I expect we'll be seeing big things from you sir!

[AmyO]

Ben,

Very powerful and beautifully shot film about one of the intimately difficult times in a couple's life. I got infertility treatment thing the whole time. I questioned it briefly when the rubber band hit the floor - hormone shots are usually given in the buttocks not the arm so that threw me (and my partner who is an R.N.). But despite that stumble, I was really sucked in to their story. I think you really captured that feeling of "How much is too much?" that couple's get when trying to start a family.

I don't think the adoption felt tacked on. Bringing the car in the middle of the film established it as being part of their journey. Then we flash back to what else they went through to get to that point. I have to say, as an adoptive parent myself, I really appreciated that they chose adoption - and an older child at that! Not that I think everyone should adopt in that situation, but that she was so happy with the decision in the end. Very positive. Thank you.

[sschedra]

Ben,
Striking cinematography, fluid edits, sound and score all right there. I, for one, enjoyed being held at bay by wondering if it was about her addiction or some other medical condition because I felt it drew me in. I looked more intently at the characters and what they were feeling and sharing. I thought the ending was not inappropriate, but the way it was paced, it almost rushed by before I could get it. I think it bears a second viewing to see if that holds water, but that was my first instinct. I think it might be that I didn't follow right away.
This is really a fine piece and certainly of the highest quality. I have only looked at about five so far, but this is right up at the top.
Congratulations and thanks for sharing this,
Stephen

[Ben Sliker]

No problem Ben! My pleasure . You seem really open to feedback and eager to improve - really nice to see! I expect we'll be seeing big things from you sir!

Just had a brainstorming session for our next film. It's epic to say the least!!! It's also a bit daunting, being at the bottom of the mountain again...

AmyO and sschedra, thanks for the wonderful comments, i'm really glad you enjoyed the film. (and I guess I'll have to do even more research next time, find out which shots you get in the arm and which ones you get in the butt! lol.)

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

(and I guess I'll have to do even more research next time, find out which shots you get in the arm and which ones you get in the butt! lol.)I was going to comment on this as to one of the reasons why I felt you were misleading the audience but I didn't want to seem like I was trying to pick everything a part. :)

I do want to say this... you guys still made a very powerful film and I'm glad that you shared it with us. Well done. :thumbup:

MAH

[DarkElastic]

Hi Ben,

I can't really add anything, but will say it was a good watch and a very powerful film. It looked great and the actors did a very good job. The score was also excellent.

Well done.

[Ben Sliker]

I do want to say this... you guys still made a very powerful film and I'm glad that you shared it with us. Well done. :thumbup:

MAH


Hi Ben,

I can't really add anything, but will say it was a good watch and a very powerful film. It looked great and the actors did a very good job. The score was also excellent.

Well done.

Thanks Guys! It's nice to wake up and have a couple more positive comments. I really want to thank Joe Johnson and Sid Barnhoorn for their work on the sound design and score for this piece. I was a giant pain in the ass, I think Sid went through 8 drafts for the beginning and middle of the film, trying different things until we had something.

Joe was pretty much sound designing right up to the deadline for me. I have to say, I really cobbled the dialogue together for timing on the picture lock and listened to it that way for a long time. After he sent me a version of the clean dialogue it was like I was watching my film for the first time again. Sound was definitely half the picture this time around.

[JonB]

Wow, truly terrific. A very powerful and moving piece. I, like many, followed your false trail you were leading us on during this film, and was almost shocked with the twist. I was so expecting a drug addiction of some sort that I was almost losing interest, and once the real problem hit, I got right back in to it. Its such a topic that is so rarely thought about by so many, and I think thats what helps make it so moving. I have to say, the scene with her in the tub covered in blood gave me chills. That was the most moving shot of the whole film for me. Really, a great job. This easily beats out Chasing Kangaroo's for most moving piece. Great work Ben, and great work to Sid with the soundtrack. I still have that ending piano piece playing through my head.

Jake