"The Fence Rider" - A Rod Thompson film

[RodThompson]

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/2342/poster2i.jpg


A GRINDHOUSE EXHIBITION



A Rod Thompson Film
Assistant Director Tom Shortridge
Special Advisor on all things Gnarly Chris Curl
Cinematography by Jon Abrahams
Sound Mixing and Music by Steve Graef


Adapted from the feature length screenplay "The Yank" by Rod Thompson


LOGLINE: Hunting for the runaway sister of local drug lord, Connor finds that the problem with questions is getting the right answers.

TAGLINE: Which side are you on?

GENRE: Crime / GRINDHOUSE

UPDATE:


I've finally caved, as some people PMed me in regards to the poster design and said that they totally knew what I was planning.

So...without further adieu, I give you "The Fence Rider - A Grindhouse Exhibition."

Why? Because something just told me to. It's one of those "fix it in post" inspirations that paid off. The angles we shot, the lighting and acting fit the bill, and after I started color correcting I started noticing how easily I could pull a 1970s look from the footage. All I can say is that if you haven't taken the time to watch the old grindhouse trailers on YouTube, you're missing out. Blackula and The Blood Farmers are easily some of my favorites, "They plant the living...to harvest the dead."


No...I'm not trying to be Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez...just paying some tributes. :kali:

BECOME A FACEBOOK FAN (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/The-Fence-Rider/88551947897?ref=nf)


BTS

My buddy Kevin took this with his phone when we were done shooting...plenty o'blood.

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1378/48539067361782157697782.jpg

[RodThompson]

SCREEN GRABS - Looks better in motion, lol. Plus these aren't from the final render either, so there is a whole lot more going on than what you're seeing here.
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2154/comp10002315.jpg

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/561/final0014807.jpg
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9834/final0052701.jpg
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9641/final0030500.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3969/final0050709.jpg

[ZazaCast]

Welcome Rod! I really enjoyed your LossFest entry...everything except that guy in the red shirt...don't hire him again. ;-)

[RodThompson]

Noted, lol

[Rodney V. Smith]

Welcome to the fray Rod. Now prepare for the madness...

[chriscurl]

Hmm, if you're in charge, then there must be an opening for guy that that distracts the guy in charge with random nonsensical questions, sign me up!

[RodThompson]

Lol. At some point, said nonsensical guy has to realize that his questions truly have no grounding, but must continue to ask them to train the director for real-world retardationism from actors.

True Story.

So...you in for more than just that?:beer:

[stinkpot]

Welcome to the fest. I like the title!

:beer:

[kingcujoIagain]

Wouldn't it be rad if it was about a runaway drug lord? But what would be really rad is if it wasn't about getting the right answers, but asking the right questions?

[Tom Shortridge]

Yo Rod, don't mean to be a d-bag, but have you been getting my PMs? I'm not sure if they're getting through.

[Chad_from_Chad]

Can't wait to see it... Who needs a budget anyways?

[Ryan E. Walters]

Nice! I dig crime / noir flicks- should be a fun one.

[RodThompson]

Yo Rod, don't mean to be a d-bag, but have you been getting my PMs? I'm not sure if they're getting through.

Your PMs aren't getting through. :(

[fixitinpost]

Mmm... Crime/Noir. Methinks this could be all kinds of awesome. Looking forward to following your progress.

[RodThompson]

Think Layer Cake meets Usual Suspects

[fixitinpost]

You sir, are my new hero. :thumbsup:

[RodThompson]

Save the hero worship until I actually get it made, lol

[Richard J. Johnson]

Get it made dammit. I need to watchy.

[RodThompson]

Got me some crew sign ups...and they are all EPIC!

[dsto]

There are some seriously ambitous projects going on! This sounds great. Best of luck! If you find the magic ticket to funding...let us know where the terminal is do we can get in line!

[RodThompson]

Uploaded some storyboard pics.

[KTOOFRESH]

welcome to the fest, I like the step by step method, cant wait to see whats next.

good luck in the fest

[RodThompson]

welcome to the fest, I like the step by step method, cant wait to see whats next.

good luck in the fest

Yeah, this is my first fest outside of writing/acting, so I'm a little overzealous. :thumbsup:

[SMarston]

you say you have sero budget but you seem very thorough im sure you'll do great, good luck

[Robert Eldon]

Rod, 'zero budget' is the mother of invention.

You can try appealing to friends or relatives for some funding. Every little bit helps. Offer 'Executive Producer' credits for amounts over X dollars. Offer 'Associate Producer' credits for anyone willing to offer production assistance. Don't be afraid to approach local 'locations' at add some depth to your film. Tell them what you're doing and you may be surprised!

Good luck with this and have fun!

[RodThompson]

Updated the cast

[mattspat]

story sounds cool man g'luck

[RodThompson]

Updated first post. This is really an awesome learning experience.:Drogar-Love(DBG):

[RodThompson]

Auditions are a go! Updated first post.

[RodThompson]

Finally made a poster...:badputer:

[AmyO]

Poster looks good. Have fun with this! :)

[RodThompson]

Bump for casting

[Rodney V. Smith]

Give us news Rod. No pictures of your cast yet?

[RodThompson]

Pics of location 2

[RodThompson]

Start shooting tomorrow. Stressed, but confidently sure that we can rock it out. I just pray that I can pull off the shots that I want. :thumbup::beer:

[RodThompson]

Principle done! Now to wait for capture and start the good stuff.

Really happy with the way shit went today. I was the most inexperienced person on the set, but the Chris, Jon and Tom really carried me through it. Sp I have only them to thank for this film if it turns out the way I want.

My actors were spot-on as well. At one point, we were afraid my neighbors were going to call the cops it sounded so real. Oh, and anytime you get a chance to work with fake blood (we used the ole food coloring/corn syrup bit) TAKE IT! Gross fun all around! :D Granted, the floor in my shack now looks like someone was murdered...but meh! I only use it for storage anyway.

Anyway, now to patiently wait for Chris to finish the capture for me, and then it's off to teach myself Vegas while editing...lol. This should be gnarly.

Standby for BTS pics!

Rod

[conrad_johnson]

Awesome dude, congrats on wrapping.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Congrats on the wrap and on continuing the great tradition of not getting arrested while shooting your movie.

[Brandon Rice]

Congrats on the wrap!! Looking forward to seeing more!

[RodThompson]

Got my footage loaded onto my PC...got my editing suite up and running...and then BOOM! Deflation!

It just dawned on me that I have no idea how to color correct. I'm going to read some tutorials for the next 12 hours at work and see if I can pull something out of my ass. :)

I'm sticking to acting for a while after this one. Lol.

[dsto]

Congrads on the wrap. Don't give up on the other side of the camera yet!

[RodThompson]

Oh, never. I understand that no one jumps into something knowing everything. My only goal in this was to learn and to make a top ten film. I mean, why even try if I'm not aiming to score, yeah? So far, based on what I have, I need to pull off some hardcore miracles to get anywhere near top ten, and I'm talking story as much as colors and shadows. I cut a scene from the script that bridged Act I to II, because of time. Now, I need to rock some gnarly cuts to make sure it's a smooth transition without that scene, without looking like a Tony Scott production.

All in all, I love movies and all aspects of making them. Sure, I may be a little better at acting and writing (save the Russian accent I bombed on set...ughhhh) but that's because I've been doing them longer. Maybe one day... :)

[RodThompson]

First scene cut!!! My first scene EVER! HA!

[RodThompson]

Bump for new poster!:thumbup:

Photo credit to Jon Abrams...I just added the text, lol.

[lawriejaffa]

Hey there Rod!

Righto so you definately have a challenge ahead of you - the torture / interrogation on a chair in a shed setting! But you know what - if you have a clever angle/ or a good story or whatever, then i'll be wrapped around your little finger and ill be like woop woop - this is great!

But if its not... if its like all the others, then i will be waiting in the shadows... the very moment you hug your bedroom cuddly toy tight only to notice the window a little ajar...

that will be me... standing... eyes glinting...

But yeah apart from that good luck mate!

[RodThompson]

As I said, my buddy Chris who directed Blackout for LossFest (plug) informed me when he captured that he felt we were missing something in the story. Hopefully I can pull it off with a little clever cutting, but PRAY it comes off as gnarly as I want...if for anything, so that I don't awake to a half-nekked Scotsman, holding a plate of haggis, staring at me while I sleep.

<shudder>

[jpixx]

I like the new poster Rod! Hope it's all going well.....
Depending on the look you're going for, blue might be your best friend when color correcting....

jon

[fixitinpost]

The people demand frame grabs!

Loving the new poster.

[Brandon Rice]

Tony scott rocks by the wAy! :)

[RodThompson]

I like the new poster Rod! Hope it's all going well.....
Depending on the look you're going for, blue might be your best friend when color correcting....

jon


Of course you love the new poster...It's your picture!:beer: I just added a border and text.



Tony scott rocks by the wAy! :)

Have you seen his short film for the BMW "The Hire" flicks? AWESOME! James Brown and Gary Oldman as the Devil...just sick! Domino is another fave. The more I go over this footage, I think this is most likely the route I'm going to take. I just want to get my safeties cut and laid out, so the film is done, THEN (and only then) am I going to get crazy with the After Effects.



The people demand frame grabs!

Loving the new poster.

Having to take the weekend off due to family in town, so it'll be Tuesday night before I even get back to my PC. Only reason I'm online now is because I'm at work. Lol.

[Steven Graeff]

blah blah, whether you pull it off or not you still spelled my name wrong... p.s. i want film so i can make it musically noisy!

[RodThompson]

Back, and getting to work...Oh, and I'm not changing the spelling of Steve's name.

[RodThompson]

Bump for screen grabs.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Love the new poster man. ROCK ON!!!

[RodThompson]

EMERGENCY!

When I export, I'm following the directions to a T...in Vegas and AE, the footage is clear as a bell, but in Quicktime it looks like shit...what do I do?

[ZazaCast]

EMERGENCY!

When I export, I'm following the directions to a T...in Vegas and AE, the footage is clear as a bell, but in Quicktime it looks like shi*...what do I do?

Give up! ... I couldn't resist.

I use Vegas too & it took me awhile to get the render settings right for a good looking Mp4. Can you tell us more about how you're rendering?

[RodThompson]

Give up! ... I couldn't resist.

I use Vegas too & it took me awhile to get the render settings right for a good looking Mp4. Can you tell us more about how you're rendering?


Why don't you tell me what you do...lol

[RodThompson]

Act one is DONE. LOCKED. From title card to end of first act. FINITO.

Act two is cut, but no effects yet.

Got to sleep my three hours before work!

[RodThompson]

Hmmm...this is strange...:cool:

Rockdale County Police - Archives (http://casefiles.freehostia.com/Index.htm)



Think I might just post this on my Facebook...who knows...there may be some good reading there in the days leading up to the fest...

(If anyone has web authoring abilities and some time to BS with me today, PM me. And yes Chris, that means you if you're available. Lol)

[RodThompson]

Final One-Sheet now posted...needed an editing break.

[RodThompson]

Damn it all! I can't export out of AE to save my life! DAMN IT!

[chriscurl]

Dude, you have to tell us what you are doing so we can tell you what to do differently, ZOMG its broke! doesnt give us much to go on.

[kingcujoIagain]

Like Christopher J. said, we'll need a bit more detail beyond "quicktime is the anti-gnarly."

Coming off recent fun times with integrating After Effects, the first piece of advice I can give is to make sure the frame rate of your After Effects composition is exactly the same as the frame rate of your footage.

For example. We shot the Civil War footage in 24p. The editing line setting in FCP for 24p is 23.98. So I set my After Effects composition to that. I then would get stuttery footage. It turned out te 23.98 is just a shorthand. The footage is actually edited at 23.976. When I set my After Effects composition frame rate to that the jittering stopped.

As far as the export after the fact, you should be able to use the lossless template in the render queu. Just set the destination to a footage folder and them import into Vegas from there after rendering.

These are just wild guesses based on problems I and a few others had in the beginning with AE.

[RodThompson]

New report file posted at the Rockdale site about the murder of those two guys...may be something worth reading before watching The Fence Rider, methinks.

http://casefiles.freehostia.com/Index.htm

[RodThompson]

The secret is out...refer to first page. Read the UPDATE for my reasoning, and see the screengrab in the second post to see the "close" to final product.

[ZazaCast]

Grind baby...grind!

[RodThompson]

I just took a walk outside to clear my head at work and the entire title sequence came to me...even the score composed itself! Seeing that I have an extra minute of playtime, this is going to work out all too well! The best thing is that I've taken nothing from the story (rubbing it in Puck).

[RodThompson]

The more I work with the footage, and the more I hear the dialogue over and over, I'm both depressed and elated. Depressed because hearing it in my head whilst writing, and hearing it delivered are two different things and it comes off considerably...corny. I'm elated though, because the somewhat cheesiness of it fits well into the GRINDHOUSE style of the film. Even my shitty Russian accent (which sounded good at the time) plays well into the film...like a B movie actor who just can't get that R to roll right but they can't afford anyone better.

Being my first film, I can't say that I expected to remake Jurassic Park, but I can honestly admit that I didn't expect the complexity of bringing something to life. Especially one's own work. If I ever direct again, I think I might try someone else's script, because I was way to particular about small things. My attention to detail and organization must also be taken to the next level as well...I have to bail. More rants later.

[RodThompson]

Okay, to add one more post to my "reply to one's own post exercise" I want to rant about YouTube, Grindhouse home made swill. Seriously, some of these are so damned horrible, that they shouldn't even put Grindhouse in their title. I'm looking for legitimate trailers to get a feel for audio and scoring, and these waterheads are putting up recital videos with a few gate rolls and a vignette, calling it Grindhouse. Since I decided to go Grindhouse, and after watching REAL trailers and clips from old films, I've really come to respect these flicks as a totally gnarly (though HORRIBLE) art form. Blacula! Who thought of that? But you know what...I dig it. Lol.

I could smack these homos. (No offense to gay people...I'm not comparing you to vid-raping, teenage, ass-donkeys.)

[RodThompson]

Just started from almost scratch. Took the prerendered acts into Vegas, put them in order, rendered out, then into AE to relay ALL of the effects (5 Crashes and counting, need more RAM). I'm rending out of AE now, with more effects still to come, and my killer title sequence.

They need to hurry with those leaders.

Looking at one and a half to two hour render time...meh. Time for bed.

[lawriejaffa]

Yep man keep it up! I know exactly how you feel bro, ive got insane rendering times! Booooh! Look forward to seeing this though mon amie - you have a unique look in store for us i reckon :)

[RodThompson]

I have to make up for what I lack in story, LOL

[RodThompson]

Efffects are in the final stages, and I'm clocking in at a definitive 5:08 seconds. So...in a stroke of something genius...PREPARE YOURSELVES! Got an awesome filler, without a 52 second opening credits.

[Gord.T]

Looking forward to it Rod. I'm a bit of an old film buff. I just finished watching "The House of Wax" - 1954 with Vincent Price (yeah, I have the DVD). I like movies from all generations so it'll be cool to see a 'replication' of an era I used to know. I guess 'Grindhouse' is a way to describe some of them now. We used to call them 'movies', lol.

[RodThompson]

Actually, Grindhouse refers to theatres that called themselves Grindhouses. The movies they showed were normally strong R to X rated movies that exploited violence, gore, and sex. Thanks to Grindhouse cinema, we have classics like the original Halloween and Friday the 13th. Early 80s horror was the end of the evolution from Gindhouse. I mean, what was Jason without two boobs running from him, or an arrow shoved graphically through Kevin Bacon's throat. There is no sex in The Fence Rider, but there is some gore and definitely two STRONG moments of violence...one of them was so convincing, that when we shot it, we thought...well, you'll see.

In regards to Planet Terror and Death Proof, one article truthfully stated, "Planet Terror shows us the best of what Grindhouse was, while Death Proof shows us why it died."

[Gord.T]

Ahhhh, gotcha ya. So when I went to see 'Frankenstein 3D' rated R, at 16, (they let use in), high on LSD, that would count? (mid 70's)

//Acutally I have Planet Terror here. Good movie.

[RodThompson]

Perhaps...I never saw it. :) lol

[Gord.T]

I could never find it since then, but it was cool. Guts dangling in your face in 3D, haha.

But a good movie is 'Electra Glide in Blue' (70's). No sex, min violence. Not sure if it would be classified as Grindhouse, but..cops/hippes setting. Still a good movie to pass the time from that era, while we're here.

[RodThompson]

New screen grabs posted on first page!

[ZazaCast]

Damn... a little Grindhouse CC on "Miss Laid"...and we'd have a great double feature!

....Hummmmmm

[conrad_johnson]

Oooh, Dirtay, I like :)

[RodThompson]

Damn... a little Grindhouse CC on "Miss Laid"...and we'd have a great double feature!

....Hummmmmm

I was hoping to have room for a "trailer" before the short, but my opening sequence and new end graphic chomped all my time.

Still going to make a trailer for Exhibition only, so standby for that! :)


Oh and PS, I have a ten second graphic that's taking 30 min to render! IT'S AWESOME! Honestly...I'm surprising myself with this one. Now, to follow up with something worthy a a much much later date.

[RodThompson]

Nothing better than waking up two hours after your musician calls to invite you over...!

[conrad_johnson]

Is that football supposed to look like the monkey's penis?


You're a dirty man. I love you.

[RodThompson]

No, it's a monkey f*kin' a football...which is my life. Lol.

Just left Steve's. After five hours of ragging on how the film could have been better and how I'm too indecisive and demanding...I came away with a new sense of awe about this short. The music MAKES the short. He outdid himself. Now, to grain it out, distort it and add some heavy static, crackles and pops and we're good!

[RodThompson]

Just getting started on another edit of the film...because I'm dumb. Not going too far into it, but I'm getting a hang of things and should have some sort of representable product at the end of it all.

Oh, and there is one effect I created for the film, that I want to clarify now, when you see it...I MADE IT. Not trying to be like, "Oh, look at me! I can make graphics!" But moreso, "No, I didn't jack it from something else." You'll know when you see it.

[ZazaCast]

Not trying to be like, "Oh, look at me! I can make graphics!"

Nope... not going to do it... it's just TOO easy.

[Tom Shortridge]

No, seriously, why the re-edit?

[RodThompson]

Because the original edit in Vegas came out pixelized at the end of the "shack scenes." I am thinking I can just pull up the old project file and re-render.

All in the learning process, I guess. Not getting frustrated with it, just like, "Damn, I'm dumb."

[RodThompson]

I'm dumber than shi*...

I was rendering the ten second "end credits" composition and was like "DAMN!" because it estimated the time at 1 hour. So I was like, "Okay, it has a lot of layers and effects and stuff...meh..."

Yeah...so my ten second clip when rendered is a very slow, very steady TEN MINUTE clip.

I need sleep.


EDIT: New screengrab up. Ambiguously obvious!

[RodThompson]

Rendering End Credits now!!! All I need now is the score and I am DONE! Oh, and a leader. I just snatched one from the CGIfest and cut the front off of it for the time being.


EDIT: The end creds go AWESOME with Icky Thump by the White Stripes...gah!

[chriscurl]

Who do i petition to get my title changed, as I am pretty sure "gnarly" is a word i haven't used since i was 15 and don't have any immediate plans to use again. Besides, I'd hate to take it from Rod.

[RodThompson]

Gnarly is the most dynamic word in the English language next to the F word. Think about it.

BAD - Dude, that three day old enchilada tastes gnarly.

GOOD - The Fence Rider is going to be so GNARLY!

Meh - I mean, it was gnarly and all, but...


Damn your blaspheming of the Gnarly.

[chriscurl]

if by dynamic you mean it is akin to fingernails on a chalkboard, then yes, you are correct.

[RodThompson]

Pfft...

Render's done. Looks good. I'm pleased.

[ZazaCast]

GNARLISH. Now there's a word you can sink your teeth into!

[RodThompson]

After watching the final cut a few times, I realize that not everyone is going to see things through my eyes. So most notably, if you see something that looks like a hiccup in editing...cut offs right before someone talks, repetitive sequences or dialogue, etc...they are PURPOSELY in there. For the feel of the form.

So know that before you watch it. I'll probably cut/paste this post into another one the day the films go live.

[ZazaCast]

Don't explain your film away....if people 'get it' great...if not, well...you'll have a lot of comments! I think the idea is for viewers TO see it through your eyes. If they don't, you'll learn why. That's the beauty of these fests!

But please... stop explaining things... relax & take a short intermission, "Lets all go to the lobby, lets all go to the lobby, lets all go to the lobby....and get ourselves a treat!"

:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

[Rodney V. Smith]

It's all nerves Zaza. Quick somebody hold Rod while I slap him into insensitivuty!... wait.. or was it supposed to be IN to sensitivity? I get the two mixed up alot.

[ZazaCast]

I know... I know.... you always start to second-guess yourself at this point. I'm still tweaking...MUST stop!

[RodThompson]

Woo-sahhhh

[RodThompson]

DONE!

I'll be uploading within the hour.

[RodThompson]

Dude...not cool. After MP4 export, it's still 94 meg...dropped data rate to 950kbitz...hope it still looks good....


EDIT: UPLOADING NOW

[ZazaCast]

Dude...not cool. After MP4 export, it's still 94 meg...dropped data rate to 950kbitz...hope it still looks good....


EDIT: UPLOADING NOW

I would think being Grindhouse...the worst, the better. Maybe you'd better explain that in the thread? :):)

..and you still have a good week before the deadline? My film was done 3 days ago, but I like to sit back and look at it...see if there are little tweaks that can make it better. Then once all the RED films start rolling in...and the guys who actually have a budget, crew and great actors...and the last minute surprize enteries (yes, that's you Tim Joy!)...THEN I start to think about uploading.

...but I'm sure you're fine!:beer:

[RodThompson]

See, I'm at that point, I don't want to tweek it, think it looks better and then realize after the fact that it looks like crap.

I made the movie I'm happy with submitting, and dude I'm telling you...I'M NOT TOUCHING IT.

Be my luck I'd lose the whole thing...seriously. :zombie_smiley:

[ZazaCast]

You know I'm just having a bit of fun with you. Congratulations on getting the film done & uploaded. Best of luck, can't wait to see it.

CHEERS!

[~jai~]

From the screen shots, this film looks eerie and cool! Definitely one I want to see!

[Steven Graeff]

i may be bias, but i HAVE seen it and the only thing about it is... the music is great... ha... *sigh*, i toot my horn for freedom...



noise guy:
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/4881/bannerdyg.jpg

[ZazaCast]

Rod... You did it! If you check the submission page...you made the top ten so far! Congrats. :beer:

:)

[RodThompson]

Har har

[ZazaCast]

Har har

You've been bobbled! :)

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=1311

[RodThompson]

Say hello to my little friend!

[Rodney V. Smith]

What? You have a Conspiracy Penguin hanging around now?

[Noel Evans]

How did you go with the compression Rod?

[RodThompson]

What's compression!?

[ZazaCast]

Compression? ...I'll show you compression mang!
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=1311

[Noel Evans]

Moved this from my thread


Scores to me are the most important part. When I talked to John (Williams) about my score, we found a good middle ground between an earnest, heartfelt tune, and an overture that would cause en eruption of flow from the story.

Wait a second.... wait just a second are you talking about THE John Williams - http://www.johnwilliamscomposer.com/?

[RodThompson]

Moved this from my thread



Wait a second.... wait just a second are you talking about THE John Williams - http://www.johnwilliamscomposer.com/?


LOL...Yes...but in no way am I serious. :)

[Tom Shortridge]

Yo Rod - congrats on getting the sumbitch approved.

[RedCat]

How does a newbie view these films?

[Tom Shortridge]

How does a newbie view these films?

He or she waits until the films go live (according to the rules, that's tomorrow, the 4th). The mods will probably sticky a thread in the main Questfest forum with the link to the download page.

[RodThompson]

Just got back in town from an internetless In-Laws excursion! Looking forward to some late night viewing tomorrow when I'm done BBQing, fireworking, boating, and overall badassedness.

[Girgej]

Hey Good Luck ... Nice old film Effect ...

[Tim Joy]

Interesting title. I couldn't figure out what it meant at first, but after reading the tagline, I get it.

Good luck to ya' I like the look of those grabs. Pretty gritty.

[ZazaCast]

O.K. Rod... I guess I'm the first.

Nice job! Overall, I'm really diggin' the whole idea of the film. The camera work pulled me into it and helped set the mood. I LOVE the opening dock shot...MONEY! What I didn't like was the 1 minute intro. I think you could have used that time (or a portion there of) to develop the story a little more. I know I'm thick, but I didn't really understand what had happened the first time I watched it...I had questions. Miguel is a very strong actor and believable, so great job directing him. I think you could have left the Russian accent back on the bridge of the Star Ship Enterprize. (LOL) The car ride in the end dragged a bit for me too. The music and sound design worked too, although sometimes it just sounded like you added 'scratch' sounds over the top instead of actually distorting the audio...there is a difference.

As far as the Grindhouse treatment... you nailed the feel. I really liked the CC & grading. The torture scenes were nice and dark, nice. It's ALWAYS nice to go get a taste treat...but by the time I got back, the movie had ended!

Congratulations on a job well done. This one gets my highest style marks to date.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Rod. You. Are. An. Insane. Person.

No seriously. You are insane. "Tasty Treats" were very tasty indeed though, but like Zaza said, when I got back the movie had like 3 minutes remaining! Damn I missed so much of it.

You COMPLETELY embraced Grindcore and that's what makes this movie cool. Or adds to the cool factor involved. For your first time out... hell for any time out at all, it was a really solid film.

The choice of grindcore did make we wonder if you were using the effect to cover up some flaw with the editing, or the story, but that's the filmnmaker in me trying to look behind the scenes. What you did with what you habe however and the artistic choice you made with the Grindhouse look is exactly that. It's not some guy making a movie that it's bad by any standards and would only fit in during that era. This is style through and through and I loved it!

Gonna watch it again now so I can give you more direct notes.

[RodThompson]

Wow, Puck and ZaZa! Thanks!

I'm taking ZaZa's earlier advice and not divulging anything, or overexplaining my decisions until after all of the reviews are in and everything is closed out. :beer:


EDIT: Oh...and as for my Russian accent...pfft...I'm 2/17 Eastern European...it's in my blood. Who are you to judge me!? Never judge art by it's defects...a flamboyant, crossdressing circus clown with fratricidal tendencies told me that once...but it makes a little sense. My horrible Russian is art...thus, cannot be judged.

[Noel Evans]

Rod, as for the Grindhouse appearance, seems there were a lot of little touches to make that complete, seems like a lot of post work to get it right and the right shots were used to help that look.

Pretty cool, well done.

[RodThompson]

Thanks. And yes...One day of shooting = 3 weeks of post work, at about 6-12 hours a night. But most of that was learning how to use After Effects after I installed it. Lol. Seriously though, thanks. I'm just waiting for that "kick in the nuts" review. I know it's coming. Lol.

[ZazaCast]

I'm just waiting for that "kick in the nuts" review. I know it's coming. Lol.

:nads:

...feel better now?

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Cool flick. I felt that the candy break should have come in the middle of the torture scenes but that's just me. :)

That was done well and suited the look. I'm not sure the music fit at the end of the torture though. Didn't seem to suit the grind style. Took me a minute to figure out exactly what was going on at the end.

You lose marks for no kick ass girls. :nads:

Editing this must have been fun and challenging at the same time.

MAH

[RodThompson]

Thanks, MAH!

The music selection was a bout between me and Steve (Who did my score). I wanted to go more in the direction of Robert Rodriguez' score for Planet Terror, while Steve disagreed. He felt that based on the fact that everything took place in the present, we should focus on a more relative score. In the end, I agreed and really loved what he did with it. Hope that kind of explains where we were coming from with the music.


No girls? You put a wig on Miguel and that's one sexy bitch! :)

[Brian Parker]

Wow...Nice job recreating the Grindhouse experience Rod. Very solid acting. Great lighting and locations My only issue was that sometimes the music overpowered the dialogue, particularly during the torture scene. Other than that, I enjoyed it. Nice job!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Thanks, MAH!

The music selection was a bout between me and Steve (Who did my score). I wanted to go more in the direction of Robert Rodriguez' score for Planet Terror, while Steve disagreed. He felt that based on the fact that everything took place in the present, we should focus on a more relative score. In the end, I agreed and really loved what he did with it. Hope that kind of explains where we were coming from with the music.

Not knocking the score, it was quite good. It was just the section at the climax of the torture scene. I don't want to give it away but it just seemed very different from the rest.

MAH

[Richard J. Johnson]

I thought it was damn cool personally. I loved those odd color changes that seemed to happen at random. I thought the score was kick ass.

[John LaBonney]

The Grindhouse style is done pretty well. Although it's not 100% perfectly emulated here, it's dang close, and it's considerably more authentic than other attempts than I've seen in other shorts. I appreciate the time and work it must have taken to do all of this and I imagine that render times must have been a nightmare.

But there's too much Gringhouse effect in my opinion. WAY too much. It's overly distracting and I get to a point where I'm like, "hey, can I just watch the film please?"

Tin-foil on the dental fillings---surpised we haven't used that as a torture technique instead of waterboarding.

I always like a good twist in the storyline of a short film and you measured up here. Nice job.

[RodThompson]

You guys kick way too much ass. Really! I appreciate your comments. Makes me feel warm and bubbly. :bath:



I thought it was damn cool personally. I loved those odd color changes that seemed to happen at random. I thought the score was kick ass.

THANKS! After watching your LossFest entry, that means a lot. Yeah, those were just solids with odd shaped masked, feathered about 30% with opacity at around 40. As far as my composer, Steve Graeff is actually a sailor in the Navy. I served with him on my last ship and he's totally wasting his talent, don't ya think?



The Grindhouse style is done pretty well. Although it's not 100% perfectly emulated here, it's dang close, and it's considerably more authentic than other attempts than I've seen in other shorts. I appreciate the time and work it must have taken to do all of this and I imagine that render times must have been a nightmare.

But there's too much Gringhouse effect in my opinion. WAY too much. It's overly distracting and I get to a point where I'm like, "hey, can I just watch the film please?"

Tin-foil on the dental fillings---surpised we haven't used that as a torture technique instead of waterboarding.

I always like a good twist in the storyline of a short film and you measured up here. Nice job.


Yes, render times stayed around an hour from After Effects, running on my simple little HP Desktop. I'm sorry that the effects were distracting. At some points, I actually went back and removed some of the blurs and jitters because I didn't want to overdo it.

The tin-foil thing just came to me, and if you've never tried it...DON'T.

[Girgej]

Hey .... Great Grindhouse Effect / Recreation ... good story ... touching a lot of the basic / essential elements in a Grindhouse story ... Obviously the Story / Effects aren't for everyone ... but other than that ... you should try a longer version ... It would be nice... (not commercial though)

[RodThompson]

Thanks, George! Yeah, it's not for everyone, and until I started cutting, I had never really gotten into it. I tell ya, you spend 3 hours on YouTube watching old Grindhouse trailers and horribly cut modern short films that try for Grind and you pick up a few things. Lol.

[keaseyb]

Nice job on the The Fence Rider. Good cast and locations. Love that first dock shot. Being a short i could have lived with out the commercial break. Instead, I wanted to see more of what You could do, and that is a compliment. Good luck!

[RodThompson]

Thanks!, Keasyb!

[Ben Sliker]

rodimus prime,

this was a really neat, but inconsistent film. I'll give you a break down of "Grind" factor.

Intro - 100% grind. very good emulation of the style.
Dock scene - 50% grind. probably too much grind effects here, would have liked to have seen some close-up profile shots instead of all the frontal shots.
Commercial Break - haha 95% grind - Mike is right, feels like it was just thrown in there, needs to interrupt the climax of a scene.
Torture sequence - 85% grind. Angles. Dialogue. Lighting. All well done for the style. The wire choking on the skinny guy didn't look nearly as cool as the fat guy.
Outside Ending - 10% grind. The only thing I liked about this part was the opening car mirror shot. His car, the neighborhood, didn't really work for me.

Regardless of all that, great job for your first time out, it's always fun to tackle such a specific style like this, love the "hey, i can do that" attitude.

[hoz]

this was good. grind is good. i mirror the above post for the end though - not enough grind - doesnt match the rest of the flick -

liked the twist though!

the music was great. so was the european dude. the lead was okay too though i thought he wasn't bad ass enough in the beginning or at the end.

congrats on your film!

[Steven Graeff]

Congrats Rod!

And while i am here i would like to say thanks for all the compliments on the "music" stuff. This was a fun project to work on.

[kurtmo]

I didn’t really get into this film due to the subject matter and the grind look, but that's just me. Stylistically, the gradient color correction in the begining didn’t do anything for me. I will say you did do the grind well.

[Lawsuit_Boy]

A grindhouse/exploitative film is always a welcome addition to my collection of viewings. I find it to be a particularly intriguing genre socially, artistically, aesthetically, etc. Sure, some are just plain crude and offensive and I don't support their intentions, but I do support the study of such works.

The Fence Rider gets going very much in the slop-chop, beat-up temperament that one would expect from the genre. The editing work is done with quite a bit of authenticity, chiefly in the use of what appears on screen as a reel misaligned in the projector, rendering a floppy, blown out image. Combined with the textural torture the film has undergone and the sensationalized color grading, these elements make for, as mentioned, a fairly authentic viewing.

However, it's jarring to find stripes of discolor running past the margins of the cropped aspect ratio. If one is attempting to portray the whole piece as something running wildly through a projector or telecine, this sort of error would not occur. This is where works attempting to build a grindhouse visage tend to falter--the visual elements become a distraction. Considering that the story and performances are not stellar, these elements become all the more distracting as a result. However, the performances were by no means bad.

Now, the story does feel very much like a vendetta tale depicting a man torn between good and evil and having difficulty discerning the boundaries while another struggles with an odd job. This is quite natural to the genre. Aside from the story feeling just a little vague and derivitive, it doesn't really suffer from any gaping plot holes, but there are some loose ends. The final scene hits one with very little build-up or anticipation for the sort of twist element. It works, but it was jarring and not entirely conclusive. That's not to say that I don't enjoy ambiguity or ending on questions, but I just did not feel like the situation delivered much of an impact. I liked the juxtaposition of the two being interrogated. This cut well together.

The music was certainly well done for the genre. At times, it was mixed a little strong with the interrogation scene, but overall, I enjoyed it. It embodied a cool, swanky vibe.

Overall, I think it's a strong effort all-around, and a fine addition to the festival. Nice work. :thumbsup:

[Martin Landsburg]

I think people are being too critical of this movie. A grindhouse is SUPPOSED to have a somewhat vague story line, not the best acting etc. but supplies you with those intense images burnt into your retina to take home with you, the likes of which you won't want to see again (or start craving for, depending on who you are). Years later, you'll sideways-refer to one of the scenes from that 'cheaply made grindhouse movie' in jest at a birthday party watching one of the kids take another one in a choke hold, and everyone chuckles - uncomfortably; knowing full well they will never forget...the shocking horror...

Anyway that's kind of what i got from this film so I think you hit the nail right on the head :D

[John LaBonney]

I think people are being too critical of this movie. A grindhouse is SUPPOSED to have a somewhat vague story line, not the best acting etc.

Very interesting point.

[Lawsuit_Boy]

I think people are being too critical of this movie. A grindhouse is SUPPOSED to have a somewhat vague story line,

This is only half true. Many of the "grindhouse" genre films from even a few decades back that I've seen were actually surprisingly well structured for the budget and talent involved. I agree that some degree of slack in the writing helps sell the genre, but by no means are they strictly "vague" every time.

However, with a six minute film, one does not have the luxury of leaving too many loose ends. As I said in my review, I think the story is simple and easy to follow, but it makes the viewer feel cheated at the end. This is why six minute film fests are so difficult. It's tough to really get an audience involved and into a film in six minutes while developing an entire story. As a past competitor, I understand the complexities. But even if someone is going to use the Grindhouse gimmick (not saying the film is a gimmick, but that the aesthetics of the genre are gimmicky now), there should be a certain degree of clarity and guidance. This film has it, but it's...vague.

Just because a film is part of a wild, destructive, and ocassionally "lazy" genre does not justify cruddy story telling (once again, more a reference to the actual genre, not this film).

[lawriejaffa]

Yep there's no excuse for mediocrity, that is not the quality that type of genre depiction is celebrated for Intern, with respect. I agree with lawsuits positive points :) more to come in my review!

[Chris Messineo]

You had me at "tasty treats". Great style throughout. I loved the 70's retro look of it. Very well done.

[Martin Landsburg]

Ok, so what about the latest tarrantino/rodriguez grindhouse tributes/homage pieces...they cut out part of the scenes on purpose, just to make the movies look and feel cheaper than they are! The cheesy lines are even obviously planted there to convince the audience that it's a cheap film! It's to add to the nostalgia of a time when flaws like these were accepted so all in all they do celebrate the mediocre nature along with the features of the genre that has spawned a following.

[Lawsuit_Boy]

Ok, so what about the latest tarrantino/rodriguez grindhouse tributes/homage pieces...they cut out part of the scenes on purpose, just to make the movies look and feel cheaper than they are! The cheesy lines are even obviously planted there to convince the audience that it's a cheap film! It's to add to the nostalgia of a time when flaws like these were accepted so all in all they do celebrate the mediocre nature along with the features of the genre that has spawned a following.

But those scenes weren't integral to the story. They were superfluous. They were able to maintain the atmosphere of a grindhouse experience while still delivering interesting and complete stories that make great use of silly conventions and devices of the genre. I understand where you're coming from, but the fact is that even grindhouse films have stories. As I said and am saying once again, The Fence Rider HAS a story, but because of the time limit, it just doesn't quite hit the right notes. I appreciate it for the obvious effort and style points, but one cannot (in relation to the new obsession with "grindhouse" films) justify lesser story telling abilities simply by saying, "hey, it's a grindhouse film!" That makes it okay for stories to be written more poorly. And remember, all of this has nothing to do with The Fence Rider, but with people attempting to justify weaker scripts or direction by slapping the "grindhouse" patent on it. It limits the integrity of the film and the filmmakers tremendously.

[Fictionfeatures]

I loved the old film look you gave to it although I felt the green scan lines were a bit to contrasting and distracted me. I liked the overall idea and while I thought it was funny to use the tasty treats promo to cut to later in the film it seemed like a cheap short cut as far as story telling is concerned. But again great treatment on the video to get the old film look!

[Gord.T]

Tasty Treat was pretty good, got a laugh out of that. Liked the look. Ummm, felt the hash scrapes and dust overlays were too sharp. Maybe in the future give those a slight pixel blur.

As much as I wanted to like this I didn't find it entertaining story wise.

Just a thought, the audio should maybe have blurps and hash in it also? As in, while the footage looked vintage the audio seemed clean.

Pretty close though. A lot of really good burns and other broken-tape goodies as well as playing with the CC. Grats on going for the vintage look.
It's not as easy as it looks. :)

[RodThompson]

I'm not even going to say where I placed, but apparently I have a lot to learn or improve on. Lol... :nads:

I appreciate all of the kind comments and encouragement throughout. Looking forward to taking on something new, sometime SOON.:kali::2vrolijk_08: