"Diner for Two" - an Anthony Misiano film

[armisiano]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3536/3744763940_62c8fb8f7d_o.jpg

05-14-2009
Looks like I'm back for more. I will warn everyone, this thread will not be ANYWHERE near as cool and entertaining as the "STUPENDOUS: THE MOVIE" thread. Not at all. "Diner for Two" is a different kind of movie for me. The story is sweet and simple, about a boy and a girl. Doesn't sound like much, but I'm actually quite excited about doing it. Such a departure from "Sixty Seconds" and "STUPENDOUS: THE MOIVE".

Already looks like there's SOME bad news though, but I'm adjusting. It all takes place in a diner, and I found a fantastic location, the only problem is I can only get it at night. The fact is it takes place in the day, it CAN take place at night, and now it will, but it's not that heavy of a story, and I was hoping to avoid any really dramatic lighting, something you tend to get with night shoots. I have a limited amount of wattage and have to try and light an entire diner, so wish me luck.

Auditions are this coming Monday evening, so we'll see how that goes. Already have 32 people scheduled and more keep coming, so that'll make me happy. I have 7 roles to fill.


05-19-2009
So audition were Monday night, and I can now officially anouce the cast. (photos to come soon)

MICHAEL - Michael Lamendola
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SARAH - Jennifer Provenza
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JACK - Taran Gray
BAR TOPS - J.G. Franklin, Stevan Turk, Ken Baker
COOK - Bryan Barbarin


05-23-2009
Monday the 25th will be the first rehearsal. It should be a lot of fun, I really want the cast to bond and have a good time. I know that shooting this is going to be a bit of a pain, so I'd like everyone to be going into the shooting days with already present good vibes. We're not even really going to rehearse this time around, just gather in someone's living room, meet and hang out, watch some shorts, talk about the project and characters, and have a bit of a jam session. Someone's bringing a guitar, and I'm bringing my keyboard and bongos. Good vibes baby, good vibes.

Also, I have a FANTASTIC production assistant on this project, Robin Hatfield. Robin has worked for numerous theatres professionally and is by far the most helpful person to have around, helping out with whatever tasks are needed. Love this lady.

Lastly, I have some crew to announce, Jeremy & John Tuttle of DTC Productions (see their thread for "Red Moon Rising" (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=129354)) are on board as my DP's and co-executive producers. And Alex Rodriguez, a great P.A. and sound guy I met while working together on another project, is on board as my boom mic operator.


05-27-2009
Monday's rehearsal went FANTASTICALLY! Everyone bonded, it was tons of fun! (now to the actual work) Below are a couple pictures with captions. Can't talk too much, start a new day job today. Very busy, also got hired on as a DP for two other projects. Yeesh. When it rains it pours I guess.
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GROUP PHOTO: From left to right: Anthony Misiano (writer/director/me), Jeremy Tuttle (D.P. along with brother John Tuttle who is behind the camera right now), Bryan Barbarin (Cook), Jennifer Provenza (Sarah), J.G. Franklin (Bar Top #1), Michael Lamendola (Michael), Taran Gray (Jack), Robin Hatfield (P.A.) - not featured, Ken Baker & Stevan Turk our two other Bar Tops who had to leave before this photo was taken. Also Alex Rodriguez our sound guy couldn't make it. And Yes, I made everyone wear nametags, why? It was funny.

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This is just pre-jam session, you can see the bongos in the background on the left, and of course the keyboard (a classic 87' CASIO baby, YEAH!) and the guitar. Right now people are enjoying the special features on "STUPENDOUS: THE DVD".

[armisiano]

06/06/2009
So I realized my quest may not be as obvious as everyone else's, though it is still a quest, small in scale and personal. To avoid any misinterpretations, or "going over your head-ness", here's a pretty detailed synopsis, enjoy:

Our main character, Michael, is on a quest for love, pining after Sarah, the waitress of his dreams. Sarah is meanwhile on a quest for finding the meaning in her life, escaping, and finding that "something more". His obstacle is his fear, it's internal, and it is symbolically manifested in the form of Jack, Sarah's ex. Sarah's obstacle is the trappings of mundane life. Michael sets out at the beginning and decides today's the day to approach her, to say something to her, when in comes his manifested obstacle, Jack. Will he overcome his fear? Will he defeat the man that stands in true love's way? Will Sarah and Michael find what they were looking for in each other?

I guess you should watch and find out, even if it may be obvious, lol.

-Anthony


06/13/2009
Below are some pictures from the final dress rehearsal we had the other night actually IN the location. A few people weren't in FULL costume, but it was close enough. We shoot the next two nights, Sunday the 14th and Monday the 15th. I'm excited and actually rather nervous.

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Bryan Barbarin (COOK) making us all laugh. Michael Lamendola (Michael) accidentally staying in character between run-thrus.

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Jennifer Provenza (Sarah) laughing at her ridiculous waitress cap before it was altered and the frills were removed. As you can see in the photo on the right I cannot help but assume the position of camera whore as soon as I hear a shutter snapping.

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Jon & Jeremy Tuttle, our DP's and co producers working hard at, um, stuff.


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Taran Gray (Jack) rocking out.

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And finally me NOT being a camera whore for a moment (this one was candid, I was not aware of it's being taken) and assuming my more natural position. Looking confused, in thought, while for some reason posing as if I'm a little teapot.


06/27/2009
Here are some behind the scenes photos from the first 2 nights of shooting. It went on for a thrid night, but sadly our behind the scenes photographer, Derrick Tuskan, (check out his website HERE (http://www.derricktuskan.com/)) was not available that night. Read captions & enjoy.


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From left to right, we have (in focus) J.G. Franklin who plays one of our "bar tops". You know the type, they come every day, eat the same food, drink their coffee, and USUALLY keep quiet. Next is Michael Lamendola trying his best to calm a situation that may have gotten a little out of hand. Finally Jennifer Provenza, completely in character, looking on to a visitor from her past she's not very happy to see.


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Taran Gray snapping out and quickly back into character. Such a funny guy. Takes his acting and performing very seriously, but as soon as you yell "cut" he's off in a tree chasing a cat or something.


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TOP - I think Jennifer Provenza wishes this were a musical. This is what you get when you cast theatrical actors. BOTTOM - Bryan Barbarin looking on as the cameras start to roll.


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Finally some true behind the scenes photos. On the far LEFT we see Jon Tuttle, one of the D.P.'s holding the beast, an HVX200 SGPro combo with a 20-40mm f2.8 lens on board. CENTER TOP you see Jon & Jeremy Tuttle along with myself going over the shot list, look closely and you'll notice the storyboards beside my elbow. CENTER BOTTOM is a pretty self explanatory typical behind the scenes photo. And on the far RIGHT is Donovan Vaught on my DVX100B shooting some making of footage for potential DVD use at a later date.

[armisiano]

07/07/2009

Yeah so the dang thing already came out, so what? Here are some more BTS pics with my typical captions. Also I thought it'd be cool to show some screen grabs before and after color grading.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3517/3700614108_0260895d37_o.jpg
Pic 1) Jennifer Provenza posing with what is probably a 3 day old "Roast Beef on Rye" plate. Pic 2) It looks like everyone's acting and in the moment, but I have no clue why. The cameras weren't rolling, you can see me over Bryan Barbarin's right shoulder setting stuff up, eh well, good stuff. Pic 3) Jenn in the moment holding out that third "love" in the opening number. Someone described her energy in this film perfectly:

I find Jennifer utterly bewitching in her own, very unique way.


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Pic 4) Hey look, I can direct. Woo-hoo. Pic 5) Michael & Taran share a special moment. Seconds ago Michael was actually coloring Taran's nails black with a Sharpie since he forgot to paint them at home with his sisters nail polish. He works at SeaWorld as a contracted entertainer, and is not allowed to have his nails painted (and Taran's the sort of guy to want to anyway).

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Pic 6) I'm a huge fan of the song "Get Away". It's sort of a tribute to Teddy Riley, the producer who invented "New Jack Swing" and produced the late 80's Bobby Brown solo albums, as well as Michael Jackson's 1991 album "DANGEROUS" of which I am a big fan. Pic 7) I posted this soley because it's the only BTS shot we have where you can directly see some of our lights. Two china balls are reflected in the window above.


And now for some color correction.
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[armisiano]

reserved 3

[kurtmo]

Welcome to the fest!

[ghennek]

Nice to see you here again !

GOOD LUCK !

[stinkpot]

Cool. Stupendous was great but it's always good to zig and zag. Looking forward to your film.

Welcome to the fest!

:beer:

[ZazaCast]

Welcome back....I'm sure this one will be Stupendous too!

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=771

:):):)

[Bro. Stephen]

I like simplicity sometimes. can't wait to see it.

[Bro. Stephen]

good luck.

[sschedra]

Already looks like there's SOME bad news though, but I'm adjusting. It all takes place in a diner, and I found a fantastic location, the only problem is I can only get it at night. The fact is it takes place in the day, it CAN take place at night, and now it will, but it's not that heavy of a story, and I was hoping to avoid any really dramatic lighting, something you tend to get with night shoots. I have a limited amount of wattage and have to try and light an entire diner, so wish me luck.



Anthony, too bad we don't have budgets like the big studio's. There is a perfect diner location on Long Island. We have called it "The Blob Diner" for years, because it is a small single isle old fashioned stainless steel diner identical to the original 50's diner in the movie. It is only opened through lunch so the owners are real open to having it used for other affairs (we had a bridal shower there for 30 people). Summer vacation on Long Island anyone?

All the best on this effort,
Stephen

[Rodney V. Smith]

DUDE!!!! Welcome back! Good to see you in the fray once again.

[armisiano]

DUDE!!!! Welcome back! Good to see you in the fray once again.

Agreed. :)

Hey, awesome signature by the way. I have no idea what my poster should look like, normally I'm full of ideas. Wait, I think I have it... Got it. Okay. Cool.

No, seriously though as I was writing this responce I just saw in my head how it should look. Cool. :) (Now I just need a photoshoot with the cast)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Photoshoots with the cast are always a good thing to have. I'm using Andrew's studio to take photos of my cast for posters and other promotional stuff besides just BTS Photos. Very important for marketing the film especially in festivals.

Can't wait to see what you come up with...

[armisiano]

05-27-2009
Updated. See first post. Blogged and BTS photos added.

[jeremytuttle]

Just wanted to say this is going to be a fun project and I'm excited to be working on it... that is all:)

[armisiano]

06/06/2009 Updated. Synopsis added, check it out, 2nd post, first page. :)

[armisiano]

06/13/2009 Updated. Behind the scenes pics added, see first page, second post.

[ZazaCast]

Is it just me or is this thread lame?

....Just kiddin' around. I don't know what you're talking about, this is a very informative thread. Great BTS picts. I for one am looking forward to this film. I hope to see you acting in one again soon.

Best of luck.... keep us posted!

[ZazaCast]

Updates? How goes it? I'm looking forward to this one.

[armisiano]

06/27/2009

Updated. Plenty of cool behind the scenes photos added from the shoot. Check them out. First page, third post.

[ZazaCast]

I vote BEST BTS stuff I've ever seen! Really nice job. Someday I hope to know what it's like to have a crew.

This is a Must-see!

[Robert Eldon]

Anthony, it looks like you had a lot of fun making this, and that's the best thing!

Great location... and it looks like a period piece? You always seem to challenge yourself with story or costumes, locations, etc. Good for you!

I'm looking forward to seeing your film!

[kurtmo]

Yes, great BTS! It looks like you've done some excellent casting.

[Jeff Anderson]

Beautiful location!! Looking forward to this - enjoyed Stupendous - looks like another well done production here too.

[armisiano]

06/30/2009
Just finished recording some pretty hard core foley work, lol. Seriously so much fun. I think I'm gonna put together a special feature on the DVD for the foley work that had to be done. We got good dialogue, but there were so many unique sounds in that diner we shot in that were not successfully captured that we had to go in and get in post. Glasses, plates, silverware, coffee pots, shoes, footsteps, yada yada.

[armisiano]

07/01/2009
So in keeping to the 6 minute time frame I found my film ran a little long, but luckily only a little.

If you watch and feel the ending is just the tiniest but incomplete, I'd agree with you. Basically two of our characters exit a building at the end, but now instead of finishing off with the external of the building, we simply finish seeing them start to leave from inside.

Not a big loss. For the first time I WILL be doing the whole 1 frame of credits thing though. As well as staring some audio during the leader (which I planned to do anyone to set the mood). Ah well. Rules are in place for a reason. Hope everyone enjoys.

Coming up is the part I always suffer with the most. Exporting. The last two fests in a row I've had problems here. You all remember the audio fiasco with STUPENDOUS. When I export with the h.264 codec my audio goes out of sync about 11 frames.

Wish me luck.

[Tim Joy]

That six minute thing is a pain sometimes...

Looks like you had a fun shoot. Can't wait to see it. Hopefully the export process is a little more forgiving this time.

[Girgej]

Hmmm .... A Sweet Short ... Good Luck

[Jeff Anderson]

Looks like you made it in - suffered some of the same problems with audio you did last time on my export - any good way to fix it? I just ended up shifting the entire audio track 4 frames and that took care of it, but would love a better fix than that...

Good luck in the fest!

[armisiano]

Looks like you made it in - suffered some of the same problems with audio you did last time on my export - any good way to fix it? I just ended up shifting the entire audio track 4 frames and that took care of it, but would love a better fix than that...

Good luck in the fest!

I was never able to figure out how to fix the audio issue I experienced with STUPENDOUS. This time around I just went with exporting as an mov instead of an mp4. Picture quality (in my opinion) not QUITE as clear and sharp, but still good enough.

[Jeff Anderson]

Ahh cool, will have to try that out and see how it comes out.

[Michelle J. LaBonney]

05-14-2009
It all takes place in a diner, and I found a fantastic location,

I am really curious how you got your location. Was there a budget for the location fees or did you know someone? It is so perfect!

[armisiano]

I am really curious how you got your location. Was there a budget for the location fees or did you know someone? It is so perfect!

Got lucky, the owner was VERY nice and VERY open to the idea of people filming there. Only charged me about $20 an hour and that was just to pay the person who'd be there sort of watching over the place, which ended up just being her mother! Luckily for me the layout of the place was almost exactly what I had in mind when coming up with the story.

[Noel Evans]

Good luck mate. From your bts etc, looks like you guys really put a lot into it. I hope you get your reward for doing so.

[Noel Evans]

Are you poo pooing kidding me? That was poo pooing fantastic!

That's all I have to say at this time.

[Michelle J. LaBonney]

Spoiler Alert!


06/27/2009
TOP - I think Jennifer Provenza wishes this were a musical.

Ha Ha! Very funny! Excellent job!!! Truly impressed!

[armisiano]

Spoiler Alert!



Ha Ha! Very funny! Excellent job!!! Truly impressed!

Well technically it's NOT a musical. By definition there's no spoken dialogue in the entire piece, I think, technically, that qualifies it as an opera. :)

[mustardseed]

Haha! Brilliant! I was not expecting that at all. Great job!

[Lawsuit_Boy]

An opera! This is the kind of fun I was looking for with Quest Fest! I was sort of floored by how well structured the entire piece was as well as the smooth sound design/mixing.

I feel that the film was blocked very well. The cuts and the camera's all-seeing eye seemed to work fluidly together. Cinematography is very strong. I find it particularly interesting that the film shows moments of stage-like direction, but it is primarily shot like a traditional intimate love story--S/RS setups, lines of axis, etc.

Excuse me for not getting a little more involved with the analysis, but I'm beat tonight! There weren't really any particular "faults" with the film. Some might come right out and call it "schmaltzy" or "cheesy"...and that may be so to just a small degree, but I really enjoyed it.

Nice work! :thumbsup:

[armisiano]

An opera! This is the kind of fun I was looking for with Quest Fest! I was sort of floored by how well structured the entire piece was as well as the smooth sound design/mixing.

I feel that the film was blocked very well. The cuts and the camera's all-seeing eye seemed to work fluidly together. Cinematography is very strong. I find it particularly interesting that the film shows moments of stage-like direction, but it is primarily shot like a traditional intimate love story--S/RS setups, lines of axis, etc.

Excuse me for not getting a little more involved with the analysis, but I'm beat tonight! There weren't really any particular "faults" with the film. Some might come right out and call it "schmaltzy" or "cheesy"...and that may be so to just a small degree, but I really enjoyed it.

Nice work! :thumbsup:

Thank you, sir. I was hoping to hear from you this fest around. And my GOD is it schmaltzy and cheesy. But that's sort of the appeal for me.

If you remember I was such a big fan of your LossFest film for the sweetness it captured. It's something that I've never really had before. Now, granted, yours was realistic and subtle and my attempt at a sweet ending leaves cavities in your mouth and a need for insulin, but hey, catchy tunes, right? (I've got nothing else to go on here)

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the audio comments. Believe it or not, ALL audio was done post production. I foley'd myself up the butt with this project, but it was a blast.

[ZazaCast]

WOW... I was NOT expecting that! Well done!!! I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this project. You nailed the look & feel I believe you were going for. The camera work was top-notch. Great choice of actors and every one of them did an outstanding job. The lighting...just beautiful. It worked. Congrats.

[Lawsuit_Boy]

Thank you, sir. I was hoping to hear from you this fest around. And my GOD is it schmaltzy and cheesy. But that's sort of the appeal for me.

If you remember I was such a big fan of your LossFest film for the sweetness it captured. It's something that I've never really had before. Now, granted, yours was realistic and subtle and my attempt at a sweet ending leaves cavities in your mouth and a need for insulin, but hey, catchy tunes, right? (I've got nothing else to go on here)

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the audio comments. Believe it or not, ALL audio was done post production. I foley'd myself up the butt with this project, but it was a blast.

Heh, it certainly does require one to carry insulin shots, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, but it was a really endearing film. I really do have a soft spot for cheesy works that demonstrate a truly big heart. The actors performed well and they seemed to really care about one another, which is what's important. And the comedic relief was certainly there.

Once again, thank you for your kind words about Tiny Dancer. It means a lot to me.

I had a feeling most of it was foley'd, haha. It was excellent though. Extremely smooth.

[Rodney V. Smith]

FUCKING PERFECT.

Top of the list. Phenomenal work dude.

[ramsaur]

Awe man another musical! Sweet! This was really good! The camera and acting was great! They can sing well! Awesome job for pulling off a musical. Check mine out "Carpe Diem"

[ghennek]

I Love it man, you're awesome !!!

[armisiano]

I Love it man, you're awesome !!!

Thanks, you too! I couldn't have pulled this one off without your help. I'm sorry I don't have a poster for you to use in your signature. I'll get to work on that soon, hopefully.

[Ryan E. Walters]

WOW- ANOTHER MUSICAL!!! Very nice! I like how you incorporated all the classical elements of a musical. It's like a mix of Grease & West Side Story. Good job all around- acting, set design, camera moves / framing, etc. and extra points for doing a musical.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay dude, 6th time watching this one and I'm still loving it. It seems to be very much "Dr Horrible" inspired in the way the lyrics seem more like actual lines from a conversation. You've taken an inner monologue, with each character having a distinct voice, so if they were talking instead of singing, it still works. Great use of the dialog that way and is a lot more engaging. Personally I hate musicals, always have, but this style of musical, where it's not just everyone singing and dancing for no damned good reason... man that's got style and more than anything, is a driving force to to the narrative.

Choreography and blocking was awesome as was the sync. Great choice of actors. Real characters all around, especially the cook and the guys at the counter. Everything here was inspired and hit the right notes.

Cheesy Rock Guy, Bad Boyfriend was awesome... definitely brought a darker and more threatening NIN style to the film. The way the characters interjected and followed the rhythm of that section was great... as well as the interruption.

Hey! Good sequence and great cinematography.

Like I said, the best thing is that if you took away the singing, you still have a story that still works.

Everything comes together. Style, pacing, story, cinematography... music.

Damian Sanchez once again does an awesome job. Thanks for finding him. Something like this really allows him to shine.

This is easily your best work ever.

Time for my insulin injection!

[Susanne G.]

What a little diamant. I especially enjoyed the exaggerated irony of the whole film. There are so many lovely clichés in it, that it let me laugh a lot. Compliments for the music part. I think it will a lot of creativity to create this sung dialog.

Very nice work

Susanne

[Erik Olson]

Really enjoyed this one - the photography, choreography, cast - it's all spot on. The flat spoken/sung at the top was tough to get through, but it does often play just like that in legit musical theatre.

Your cast from leads to the supporting and atmosphere did a terrific job and the location - perfect. HVX - wow. Someone must've taken some time to light, because the images are very good.

Thanks for doing something really, really different and inspired.

[Noel Evans]

And my GOD is it schmaltzy and cheesy.

Im so glad thats where you went. Have to say that Im not much of a musical fan. But I can respect the cinematography (great work Tuttle brothers), the story (schmaltzy and cheesy), the music and the great work by the cast - and of course the top notch direction.

Actually my wife is the musical fan in this house so I brought her in to watch as soon as I had. She loved it from start to finish.

[armisiano]

Funny thing is I typically hate musicals. I really do. I usually feel so many moments are uninspired and fake. I wanted to have the emotions of the characters be the driving force behind what happens and where the songs go. I wanted all the moments, even if they were very cheesy, to be as genuine and real as possible, and I think I captured enough of those to make it all work. There are a couple more of those moments in "the directors cut" (with 34 whole seconds of never before seen footage!) but some things had to be tightened up, glances, exchanges of looks, things that make it more personal but didn't necessarily move the story along fast enough to fit it into the 6 minute time slot.

The Tuttles did a great job of helping me realize my vision. I actually storyboarded the entire thing in extreme detail. I went to the location one afternoon and photographed every single shot, labeling what lens I used, that way shooting would be very organized and tight and nothing would be "up in the air". I then made an animatic of the entire film up through the first 3 songs, which if you watch looks almost exactly like the finished product sans the lighting (I photographed the place during the day with natural light).

I plan to put together a little featurette showing side by side comparisons of the animatic and finished film.

If you'd like to see the animatic go here: http://vimeo.com/5090733
The password is: musical

(at a certain point I got tired of drawing in the little characters, but they come back, so watch the whole thing)

[jeremytuttle]

Really enjoyed this one - the photography, choreography, cast - it's all spot on. The flat spoken/sung at the top was tough to get through, but it does often play just like that in legit musical theatre.

Your cast from leads to the supporting and atmosphere did a terrific job and the location - perfect. HVX - wow. Someone must've taken some time to light, because the images are very good.

Thanks for doing something really, really different and inspired.

Thanks for all the comments on the cinematography guys! It means a lot. We spent a lot of time getting the place lit up like a Christmas tree so we could get the kind of shots we wanted and really make the HVX shine (which with the SGPro requires A LOT of light:Drogar-Dum(DBG):)




The Tuttles did a great job of helping me realize my vision. I actually storyboarded the entire thing in extreme detail. I went to the location one afternoon and photographed every single shot, labeling what lens I used, that way shooting would be very organized and tight and nothing would be "up in the air". I then made an animatic of the entire film up through the first 3 songs, which if you watch looks almost exactly like the finished product sans the lighting (I photographed the place during the day with natural light).

I plan to put together a little featurette showing side by side comparisons of the animatic and finished film.

If you'd like to see the animatic go here: http://vimeo.com/5090733
The password is: musical

(at a certain point I got tired of drawing in the little characters, but they come back, so watch the whole thing)

Yeah, the detailed story boards Anthony did for Diner For Two was a god send. I don't think we would have been able to pull it off without it because of the time restraints we had with only having the Diner location for as long as we did and also because we were shooting out of order, who knows what would have happened and what weird inconsistencies we would have gotten:huh:

Glad everyone is enjoying the film, it was a lot of work (especially for Tony, not to stroke his ego but that guy is talented), but it was also a lot of fun to make:beer:

[Lawsuit_Boy]

Funny thing is I typically hate musicals. I really do. I usually feel so many moments are uninspired and fake. I wanted to have the emotions of the characters be the driving force behind what happens and where the songs go. I wanted all the moments, even if they were very cheesy, to be as genuine and real as possible, and I think I captured enough of those to make it all work. There are a couple more of those moments in "the directors cut" (with 34 whole seconds of never before seen footage!) but some things had to be tightened up, glances, exchanges of looks, things that make it more personal but didn't necessarily move the story along fast enough to fit it into the 6 minute time slot.

The Tuttles did a great job of helping me realize my vision. I actually storyboarded the entire thing in extreme detail. I went to the location one afternoon and photographed every single shot, labeling what lens I used, that way shooting would be very organized and tight and nothing would be "up in the air". I then made an animatic of the entire film up through the first 3 songs, which if you watch looks almost exactly like the finished product sans the lighting (I photographed the place during the day with natural light).

I plan to put together a little featurette showing side by side comparisons of the animatic and finished film.

If you'd like to see the animatic go here: http://vimeo.com/5090733
The password is: musical

(at a certain point I got tired of drawing in the little characters, but they come back, so watch the whole thing)

Very interesting. Well, despite not liking musicals, you really nailed a lot of the elements that make the truly great musicals good. You should certainly be proud of the immense amount of preparation you put into this. It truly shows in every frame.

I would love to see the featurette when you're done. That sounds like a great way to demonstrate your process and pass on tips and tricks to others. This sounds very much like what the Coens and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (just to name a couple well-knowns) do on all of their films.

[hoz]

wow, a musical! i got no clue on musicals so i don't know how someone writes a song, much less 3 so i am impressed. the images you got are amazing! the diner is a character onto itself so great find and awesome use of it. the acting was good too. especially liked the background characters, the guys on the stools and the cook. the leads were good too, better actors than singers in my opinion. the bad guy wasnt the toughest dude in town but he pulled it off fine. and i think as far as musicals go the story was strong. i think the best parts were where you integrated everyone in it.

good film!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Ah... the Tuttles! :)

First off, this looked amazing! Nice work there. Great shot choices and framing throughout. Excellent lighting. Had a really great look to it.

As a musical is was very good. After the bad guy was tossed it seemed to drag just a bit for me. BTW, when the man in black walked in I laughed out loud! He looks a bit like one of the recent American Idol finalists. :)

Very nice work, guys. A really solid entry.

MAH

[mentatDUKE]

armisiano,
I enjoyed this a whole lot. Definitely had a Joss Whedon vibe. The songwriting, direction, character design, and cinematography was top notch. Did I mention the music? This sounded really great on my Klipsch. :)

Jeremy,
Can you describe your lighting package, etc? Did you remove the adapter for the tracking shots on the z axis? What stop did you guys shoot at? Everyone says the HVX is noisy, but your film looked really gorgeous. How'd you handle grading? Did you shoot flat or get the look mostly where you wanted in cam?

One of the top films.

P.S. Yes. That guy looked like the dude from American Idol.... not that I watch that show or anything.......

[armisiano]

armisiano,
I enjoyed this a whole lot. Definitely had a Joss Whedon vibe. The songwriting, direction, character design, and cinematography was top notch. Did I mention the music? This sounded really great on my Klipsch. :)

Jeremy,
Can you describe your lighting package, etc? Did you remove the adapter for the tracking shots on the z axis? What stop did you guys shoot at? Everyone says the HVX is noisy, but your film looked really gorgeous. How'd you handle grading? Did you shoot flat or get the look mostly where you wanted in cam?

One of the top films.

P.S. Yes. That guy looked like the dude from American Idol.... not that I watch that show or anything.......

I'm not sure how often Jeremy checks this, I don't wanna step on his toes but I'll answer what I can.

The adapter was kept on for all the shots. We shot everything at f4 (the Nikon's that is, the HVX had an open iris), with the exception of the closeup dolly back shot of Taran Gray (the ex boyfriend), because I saw the lights behind him I wanted them to have that nice soft rounded open iris look. We had to set the HVX to medium gain, so there is a little noise, but I crushed the blacks the tiniest bit in post so a lot of it goes away.

We could've shot the whole thing with our Nikon iris's at f2.8 and saved the gain, but we just didn't want the film to have what is becoming an almost amatuer "look at me I have a lens adapter so I'm gonna shoot everything with a super shallow DOF" look to it, if you know what I mean. Also we knew how many dolly shots I planned to be in there, shooting wide open would've made that so much harder, where as closing the iris a little bit helps forgive some of that, also I intentially planned all dolly shots (but 1) to be shot with wide lenses, either 20mm, 24, or 28, which is also more forgiving to DIY dollies and racking focus.

Most of the look was achieved in camera, but I color correct everything, even if only a tiny bit. I may later post some before and after color grading screen grabs.

As far as lighting goes we had three china balls overhead taking care of a soft fill from the top (we wanted it to look mostly realistic and justified), each I think had either 600 or 900 watts in them, (300 watt flourescent bulbs, either 2 or 3 in each). A big 2k outside shining the orange light in basically heightening the intensity of a nice cliche orange street lamp. And lastly a 1k that would be filtered if needed and moved around to act as whatever it needed to act as, fill, edge, etc. We had a couple little 100 watt clamp work lights around too doing the same job, boy those silly little things come in handy.

[armisiano]

armisiano,
I enjoyed this a whole lot. Definitely had a Joss Whedon vibe. The songwriting, direction, character design, and cinematography was top notch. Did I mention the music? This sounded really great on my Klipsch. :)

Jeremy,
Can you describe your lighting package, etc? Did you remove the adapter for the tracking shots on the z axis? What stop did you guys shoot at? Everyone says the HVX is noisy, but your film looked really gorgeous. How'd you handle grading? Did you shoot flat or get the look mostly where you wanted in cam?

One of the top films.

P.S. Yes. That guy looked like the dude from American Idol.... not that I watch that show or anything.......

Oh, also, had to look up Joss Whedon (don't watch TV, sorry). I will say, thank you? Not sure, but he seems to work a lot, so I suppose that's a good thing, yes? I dunno, help me out here.

Also, (again, I don't watch TV) the American Idol thing, Adam Lambert (or something like that). I was told during one of the shoots that he resembles this guy. I looked him up online and I find it so funny that not only does he naturally bare a very slight resemblance (which our actor doesn't like very much) but then I coincidentally almost dress him up like the guy! The truth is I just made Taran wear the kind of stuff I wore when I was like 19. I totally went through a pleather/velvet/belts galore phase and thought it suited his songs and character well. Funny, eh?

[jeremytuttle]

Jeremy,
Can you describe your lighting package, etc? Did you remove the adapter for the tracking shots on the z axis? What stop did you guys shoot at? Everyone says the HVX is noisy, but your film looked really gorgeous. How'd you handle grading? Did you shoot flat or get the look mostly where you wanted in cam?


Anthony pretty much hit it on the spot, but just to add because I'm a nerd:

We did the 3 600 Watt China Balls down the middle of the Diner for an all over fill. Each one had 2 300 Watt Fluo. Bulbs. If we had the time and money we would have done 6 or even 9 china balls because we ended up leaving on the existing fluorescent banks for a little added light, but it ended up casting a slight green on the "outer edge" shots. Why so much light... because we wanted to shot it in F4, which helps with focus, overall sharpness, and that infamous noise. If we would have done a few more china's we could have forgone using Medium Gain which I dislike:zombie_smiley:

We had a 2K (not 1k Tony :Drogar-Dum(DBG):) as back/side light when needed. We went with the 2k cause we needed the extra punch to shoot it across the diner if need be and then scrim it down in certain shots if it was too much.

Outside we had a 2k with orange gel on it for our street light back/side light when needed.

We also had 2 500 watters as floaters that we would pop in from time to time for acccent/side lights. And like Anthony said a few clips on for random accents and what not.

Hope that helps:)

[Richard J. Johnson]

I'm not a fan a musicals myself but the way you get the HVX to look is just amazing. Technically it was superb but I would not expect anything less from you. I watched it a few times an marveled at the beauty of the old HVX in the right hands

[jasonthewho]

The staging, and the use of the camera were great here. Everything was perfectly orchestrated. The bad guy was perfect and the highlight of the film. The three old guys were a great comic back up chorus.

Really the thing that brought it down for me was the weak singing from both leads. The lyrics were a little iffy too, but with more capable voices I would have gone along with them.

Still really enjoyed this, and thought it really had a great movement to it.

[DarkElastic]

Hi Jeremy,

As I have attempted to state previously, I don't generally like musicals, but then I do love certain ones (Labyrinth, Sweeny Todd, Muppets Christmas Carol...). Anyway, loved this. The story was the basic shy lad loves girl, she doesn't notice him, but has been with the Villian, the villian wants her back, so the protagonist must stand up and win the day... Nothing we havn't seen before. But, as musicals are not the standard, you get brownie points for trying something different, and you made a really enjoyable movie. It looked great and sounded fantastic. Well done.

[Brandon Rice]

Beautiful film! I LOVE the HVX/SGPro look! Pretty much shoot using that rig whenever I can :)

The actors were very good as well, and the music quality/sync/etc was terrific. I felt the leads voices weren't as strong as I would have liked... however, you have a great little short here, and it's going to be very highly ranked for me! :)

[stinkpot]

I enjoyed your film. The singing was a bit harsh but it looked great and the cast cool. As people stated before, the lighting was superb.

:beer:

[jeremytuttle]

Hi Jeremy,

As I have attempted to state previously, I don't generally like musicals, but then I do love certain ones (Labyrinth, Sweeny Todd, Muppets Christmas Carol...). Anyway, loved this. The story was the basic shy lad loves girl, she doesn't notice him, but has been with the Villian, the villian wants her back, so the protagonist must stand up and win the day... Nothing we havn't seen before. But, as musicals are not the standard, you get brownie points for trying something different, and you made a really enjoyable movie. It looked great and sounded fantastic. Well done.

Thanks for the comments DarkElastic but just to remind people my brother and I were DPs only (and co-producers:Drogar-Dum(DBG):). Anthony Misiano (armisiano) did the rest:beer:

[mentatDUKE]

Thanks for the info Anthony and Jeremy . It seems china balls are key to effective soft lighting. I'll have to start using them. Any suggestions on using them on common sets? I suppose I could by about 10 and hang them from ceilings?

Were you guys using the ikea 23 inchers?

Are these more useful for closeups rather than wides? I wonder how you hide them. Any BTS stills?

Thanks again.

[jeremytuttle]

Thanks for the info Anthony and Jeremy . It seems china balls are key to effective soft lighting. I'll have to start using them. Any suggestions on using them on common sets? I suppose I could by about 10 and hang them from ceilings?

Were you guys using the ikea 23 inchers?

Are these more useful for closeups rather than wides? I wonder how you hide them. Any BTS stills?

Thanks again.

I can't remember where we got them, online somewhere but we use Nylon ones cause they can take the heat a little better but it's not too big of a deal because the Fluos don't generate a ton of heat like tungs can. The problem with Fluos is getting a color temperature exactly 3200 or 5600.

I would say using China Balls is great for fill light, except two problems:
1. They are kinda big and hang which can lead to a lot of headaches for your wide shots unless you have a really tall ceiling.
2. They cast round reflections in eye glasses or anything shiny

My brother and I were talking about making open sided soft boxes with fluorescent bulbs that we would put some diffusement on for the next project to help with the wide shots. Now you can of course just put a ChinaBall on a C-Stand and move it around like a normal fill light and avoid the "hanging in the shot" problem.

Anthony could probably post some BTS of the china balls, I'm pretty sure the on set photographer got some.

[~jai~]

DUDE! I don't really go in for musicals, just not my thing, but yours I actually really enjoyed! I loved it when the "bartops" (great band name!) chimed in! Man, what a great job with everything from sound, cinematography, to the performances (which captured the essence of the entire piece beautifully)! My only feedback is next time invite me to set, I love being around this type of atmosphere, even if I'm not actually performing!

Thanks for sharing, GREAT JOB!

[Noel Evans]

DUDE! My only feedback is next time invite me to set, I love being around this type of atmosphere, even if I'm not actually performing!


I think that comment says a lot. People WANT to be on your sets.

[Brian P. McQuilkin]

This one is simply awesome. The first time I watched it I didn’t even think about the camera or the lighting – the story and the characters, as simple as they were, consumed my attention. I like how there was always some kind of conflict going on, which I think lends a lot to what makes this such a great short, despite what has been said about it being too sweet (which it was sugary but I don’t see anything negative in that as long as its done well, and this was done very well). From the time the story opens you have the guy pining for the girl (will he make a move?), the girl wanting out and to find true love, then enter the bad guy and his conflict with the girl, then our protagonist takes action for what he wants and confronts the bad guy and wins….but it doesn’t stop there – the girl laments she has been down that road before and is reluctant to hook up with our hero…
I know – I’m falling into a synopsis here, but damn it – the story is tight and you sold the characters. The actors were good (I say to hell with them not being great singers – it works and makes them more relatable, or as much as one can relate to a character from a musical), and I think it directly stemmed from proficient directing.
Watching it the second time I paid attention to the technical details, the shot compositions, and lighting. I’m not going to say, “It was good for what you had to work with,” because I think that would slight what you actually accomplished – a very clean and professional looking piece. You did an amazing job.
Add to that the nightmare that must be making a musical and I’m pretty sure that you’re my new hero.

And I have to say, I’m impressed with the quality of a lot of the entries – I’ve been lurking on this board for years and watching entries from the past few Quests, and there are some friggin’ wonderful productions this time around.

[Blue_Food]

Hi Anthony,

I must be honest – when I first saw/heard that teaspoon tapping along in rhythm, and sussed the fact that this was going to be a musical, my heart sank a little, and I think that my enjoyment upon first viewing was tainted somewhat by (what I THEN considered to be a disappointing) surprise, whilst still respecting the outrageous cheek/restraint involved in holding back such pertinent information!

Upon repeated viewings, however, I’ve found myself enjoying the film more and more on its own terms…

I suspect that most of the criticism that has been aimed towards the vocals from the two leads has probably come about from their performances during the first song. Yes – they DO ‘search’ a bit on certain notes during that number, but the fact is that IT IS a tricky/atypical melody, and perhaps they weren’t given enough time to nail it. Things could also be tightened somewhat, in terms of both timing and pitch during their harmonizing in the third song. The good news, of course, is: you can call them back in, and work with them a little more, given the possibilities that this genre enables.

That said, I think that the two of them (along with the rest of the cast) did a great job on the acting front, and that I find Jennifer utterly bewitching in her own, very unique way.

The cinematography, including the blocking/choreography of humans/cameras, I thought, was near-flawless.

My only suggestion—in terms of the great ‘What I Would Have Done’—would have been some over-cranking during the ‘Jerk’s’ entrance -- particularly on the shots of Taran himself, but also on the reaction-shots. I’ll bet a dollar that you actually DID think of that on-set (since you had him kind of ACT slo-mo), but just didn’t have the double-speed playback ready to go!

The only other thing was the distant headlights rushing past beyond the the open door during the third (title) shot. Here we are, trying to focus on the title, and then this distracting flash occurs towards the left of the screen, … I’d paint them out!

Anyway…

I expect this film to fare very well in this fest, and deservedly so – which is kind of ironic considering you’re being viewed and judged largely by a bunch of 20-60-year-old heterosexual males, whose tastes are likely to fall towards Truth-Ache at the one end, and Jizz-aster flicks at the other!

Once the fest is over, you need to get a link of the film in the hands of some teenage girls, and then, well… Meme me up, Scotty!

Cheers,

Danny

[JonB]

That was great! Carpe Diem (no offense) kind of turned me off to musical shorts. But this blew me away! The lip syncing was PERFECT! The bad guy did a great job too! It reminded me so much of Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog! Great job guys!!

Jake

[Ben Sliker]

Really well produced piece- shots, blocking, sync were all spot on.

Seems the beginning vocals really weren't in the wheelhouse of the lead, comes together more once everybody gets in on the singing.

I wasn't a big fan of the structure of the whole thing, feels like the film climaxed way too early without building enough tension, and then we have to go on a magic carpet ride with these two afterwards for two minutes. I feel like the last two minutes should have been more of a coda, and his/her insecurities should have been worked into the beginning. but that's just me. :)

That being said, I can't imagine what a daunting task putting a musical together is, good work and thanks for sharing!!

[armisiano]

07/07/2009

UPDATED. Check out the first page, third post. More behind the scenes pics and some screen grabs before and after color correcting.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

07/07/2009

UPDATED. Check out the first page, third post. More behind the scenes pics and some screen grabs before and after color correcting.Nice. Looks like most of it was done in camera. You just brought out the highlights a bit to brighten things up.

Nice work, guys.

[armisiano]

Nice. Looks like most of it was done in camera. You just brought out the highlights a bit to brighten things up.

Nice work, guys.

Thanks. Yeah, that's what it looks like, but believe it or not I used about 4 different effects on each shot. I'm very particular, lol.

[RodThompson]

WOW...This was awesome! How did you lock down a Diner to shoot in? And how long did it take to shoot the whole thing?

Your opening shots were pro-level.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Thanks. Yeah, that's what it looks like, but believe it or not I used about 4 different effects on each shot. I'm very particular, lol.
I believe it! Just pointing out that what was captured in camera was pretty nice. The final outcome was of course even better.

[John LaBonney]

Not much else to say about this one, it's extremely well done and shot, very professional. I'm hoping to do a musical myself soon, so I was particularly interested in this.

[Brandon Rice]

the "bad" dude, for some reason reminded me of Adam Lambert (American Idol)

[jeremytuttle]

the "bad" dude, for some reason reminded me of Adam Lambert (American Idol)

Ha ha yeah, he get's that A LOT. We had a few people walk by while shooting and ask, "Is that Adam Lambert?" I wanted to say yes and make some money selling them autographs... but alas, I was honest:engel017:... and broke.

I told him he could do a unauthorized biography of him but he didn't seem to keen on the idea:)

[Brandon Rice]

hehe nice

[armisiano]

WOW...This was awesome! How did you lock down a Diner to shoot in? And how long did it take to shoot the whole thing?

Your opening shots were pro-level.

Thanks a bunch for the compliments.

I knew I wanted an old fashioned looking diner that wasn't too large. I went to the San Diego film commission and looked through their photo library of locations and then proceeded to scout them out in person. Grab a burger and look around, covertly snap a couple photos to see how the light works in there.

Originally the film was supposed to take place during the day, it's just that kind of story, light mood, uplifting, easy. Securing a location during the day for less than several grand proved to be impossible, so then I decided, okay, night shoot.

The owner of Clayton's Coffee Shop, Mary Frese, is a very sweet woman and a supporter of the arts and only charged me $20 an hour to be there, and that money was simply to pay the person who stayed in the store while we shot to keep an eye on things.

We shot 3 nights. Out initial set up took from about 9pm to 10:30pm, and then we actively shot from about 10:30pm to about 3am each night with a (roughly) half hour meal break each night. We'd clean up from 3am to 4am, and be home between 4:30am and 5am.

[Robert Eldon]

Anthony, what a nice surprise for QuestFest! At first watching, I was thinking 'uh, oh, attempt at a musical', but it didn't disappoint.

The cinematography was beautiful and the camera movement didn't distract. It was very comfortable to watch. I understand what a challenge it can be to acquire a location like that, so thumbs up to you on that.

The location added a lot of production value to an already well written piece. Good job! :thumbsup:

[kurtmo]

Liked a lot of the shots in this piece. You really worked the moving camera and matched it well with the dolly shots. The acting was great, the singing and audio great. My only little nit, I didn’t like the one handheld shot.

Otherwise great production! Thanks for showing!

[armisiano]

Liked a lot of the shots in this piece. You really worked the moving camera and matched it well with the dolly shots. The acting was great, the singing and audio great. My only little nit, I didn’t like the one handheld shot.

Otherwise great production! Thanks for showing!

I know how you feel about that handheld shot. It's one of two shots in the film that I'm not really happy with. I won't mention the other, because no one but I would notice it.

[MattinSTL]

Easily the most gutsy entry of this fest (so far anyway)... I'll be surprised if I see something more daring this time around.

[armisiano]

Easily the most gutsy entry of this fest (so far anyway)... I'll be surprised if I see something more daring this time around.

Thanks Matt!

Hey, by the way, loved you on the sound DVD. Good work.

[Girgej]

Hey .. Great / Sweet Musical ... Loved it ... although the Voice of the main Character at the very first shot he is singing is a bit off, and the music of the bad guy ... is a bit loud that his and the woman's singing are not understood ... but those are the only minor faults i could find ... very entertaining ... Great Film ... Very much looking forward to your next entry ....

[ConspiracyPenguin]

Very beautifully filmed, as always. Simple, good story. I think it may have been better if all the dialog wasn't sung, but I'm not entirely sure. Great work and high marks, nonetheless. Good luck! :)

[Mike Manning]

Wow man! I (thankfully) came into this one completely blind and was caught off guard by the fact that this was a musical...or i guess more of an opera! Bravo dude, you did a great job!

[Brian Parker]

Refreshing change of pace here. Very well made film. Technically, it was very good. Great cinematography and crisp colorful images. Story was sweet and simple. The actors did a great job as well. I really enjoyed this one. Good work!

[Postmaster]

Fresh, surprising, very very well done, and lovely in any way.

My one and only 10 Star in this fest. :thumbsup:

Great work.

Frank

[mentatDUKE]

We did the 3 600 Watt China Balls down the middle of the Diner for an all over fill. Each one had 2 300 Watt Fluo. Bulbs.

Thanks again for the info Jeremy. When you say you used 300 watt fluo bulbs, do you mean they were 300 watt tungsten equivalent, and are actually 85 watts? I've been shopping around and the highest fluos I've found are 200watt screw-in bulbs that are 600watt tungsten equivalent:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/150-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorscent/33999/

Were your bulbs scew-in or plug-in? Will I end up being able to use the bulb linked above?

Also, how were you guys fitting two bulbs in a single china ball? Did you just tape both sockets to the inside of the ball? I didn't think they were designed to hold two bulbs unless you guys modded them.

I'm shopping around if you couldn't tell :).

[Maximus]

I'm not usually a fan of musicals, but your film was very well done. Great job.

[jeremytuttle]

Thanks again for the info Jeremy. When you say you used 300 watt fluo bulbs, do you mean they were 300 watt tungsten equivalent, and are actually 85 watts? I've been shopping around and the highest fluos I've found are 200watt screw-in bulbs that are 600watt tungsten equivalent:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/150-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorscent/33999/

Were your bulbs scew-in or plug-in? Will I end up being able to use the bulb linked above?

Also, how were you guys fitting two bulbs in a single china ball? Did you just tape both sockets to the inside of the ball? I didn't think they were designed to hold two bulbs unless you guys modded them.

I'm shopping around if you couldn't tell :).

Yeah, 300 watt equivalent (actually 68 watts) and screw in type. Got them at Home Depot in the more specialized/big light bulb section (for outside wall lights). They were about twenty bucks each. Keep in mind these bulbs are huge. The ones we got were about ten inches long the ones you found 13 inches. So a small china ball isn't going to cut it:) Unless you just put on bulb in each china.

My brother and I basically took a small 1to3 plug adapter and then got two fixtures that just had the two wires dangling out the end and connected those to short extensions that we plugged into the 1to3 adapter. So then the bulbs kinda just hung down on the five/six inch extensions and the adapter created a natural blank space in between (remember to tape the connections spots cause you don't want a cord with a bulb on it to slip out).

What we also use (for smaller sized bulbs 75w to 100w equivalent) is the simple 1 to 2 screw in y adpaters. Use three of those you have four bulbs, use seven of them you get eight bulbs and so on.

Let me know how the ones you found work. They seem a bit expensive but you could a lot more light doubling up the ones you found compared to the ones we got.

[conrad_johnson]

Watching and commenting. (although I've watched this a few times)

Record player: money.

Tiltles and spoon tapping: money, you're batting a thousand here buddy.

"Look in your eyes and see" is way out of tune.

God, dolly shot and subsequent cuts are seamless.

This singing is still out of tune.

Okay, Brothers Tuttle are knocking this out of the park (second baseball reference) Joe=jealous camera movement is fucking flawless and exciting whilst being not distracting. Way to go guys!

Dudes at counter are fantastic, great acting/appropriateness to film

Singing is killing me.

Ooh, tough guy can sing!

Like the compresson/distortion on his vox as well

Damn, shot at 3:04 WINDOW WALL PROJECTION. Can I bear your children?

This needs a stronger thematic element in the songwriting.

Orch hits on the punching=happiness.

4:18. Lighting is amazing, dof, composition, yep, nailed it.

The story is great too, not to complicated, yet totally grabs the attention.

Blocking is excellent.

Watch those "in between" notes on the runs, etc... they're falling out of tune.

The synth drum and bass sounds are very GM (general MIDI) This would rock with some real instrumentation.

Dolly in on the two at the end is awesome.

Okay, This is so good. The singing and songwriting I have a problem with. I think this film needs a musical "theme" and some better singers, Their voices are nice, but man, the intonation killed me the whole way through. Everything else, spot on.

Nice work guys.:D

[Neil Rowe]

one of my favorites from the fest. in fact one of the only ones i remember at this point. entertaining and well produced. bad rocker guy was great.. i too.. yes.. i too was thinking adam lambert. anyway. :) hmm.. nothing really bad to say about this one.. .maybe couldve focused a little more on quest (charachter initiating quest on own initiative). as it felt a little like the opportunity sort of fell into his lap and all of a sudden he loved her specifically vs in the beginning it sounded like he would take about anyone with the whole.. "i just want love". ..had he said "her" instead of "love" .. sure they wouldnt have been lyrically balanced as well, but it wouldve made more questy sense. :) ..anyway . great great job on this one guys.

[Jeff Anderson]

Beautiful! I love this! Lighting is perfect, camera work is nice, and the songs are perfect. THe little bits like the tapping of the cup, the pouring coffee and the singing gentlemen at the bar make this just fantastic! Actoring directing is great - everything is incredibly fluid nothing feels out of place.

If I had to pick anything out to gripe is the shot around 5:25 could be a little smoother but thats being really picky - everything else is just perfect.

Very inspiring to bring my own work up a few notches and maybe even someday try a musical.

If this isnt in the top 10 (or 3 for that matter) I'll be very very surprised. I really enjoyed Stupendous, but you've really raised your own bar with this one.

[Sarah Daly]

Not a musical fan but can't really fault this! Tuning of the vocals and music a bit discordant at the start but maybe this was on purpose? Anyway apart from that this was very well executed - well acted and technically very good. Loved the location and the 'chorus' of guys at the counter - nice comedic touch. Would have amped up the comedy a little maybe, to counteract the (perfectly genre suitable) cheese but that's just me. Works very well as is. Tough genre to crack but you've made a really impressive attempt. A surprising little gem - good job!!

[Adam Beck]

I, like many here were completely surprised by this film. One of the best, Congrats on the film!

[armisiano]

I, like many here were completely surprised by this film. One of the best, Congrats on the film!

Thank you very much. :)

And thanks to everyone for the kind words. I can say in all honesty I was completely surprised by it too in a way. From the initial conception all the way through to the last step of rendering I couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculous the concept of me trying to pull off a musical was. This project tickled me beyond belief. On set I kept my composure and just worked tirelessly not even breaking to eat really, but in the back of my mind I couldn't believe the grand orchestration in front of my eyes, and the fact that there are professional musical theatre actors singing and walking through MY songs, that I wrote and composed. It was a little surreal. This was by far the biggest production I've ever headed, between cast and crew I had over twenty people basically looking to me saying "okay boss, now what?". Very humbling, amusing, and it definitely kept me pushed to work harder. But, it seems to have paid off, and I couldn't be happier. :)

My next project I've decided two things already. Keep it small (I'm tired and need a little break), and give myself a part (I miss acting).

[kyotonils]

I walked right into this film and nothing took me out of it. Stunning camera work, nice lighting, great acting, the pace was really flawless; a great short film story. I really enjoyed it. I wanted to hear the music bust out with real instruments, as someone else mentioned, but that's no knock on what you did. I'll be watching this again...and again.

[kurtmo]

Way to go on making the finals. Definitely deserved! Good luck in the next round!

[Rodney V. Smith]

DUDE!!!!! Top 8 baby! You;d better be coming to LA!

[~jai~]

AWESOME DUDE! Finals and screening on the big screen in Los Angeles! I can't wait! I hope to see you in LA!

[chriscurl]

Congrats on making the finals, I fully expect to you to be at or very near the top once all is said and done.

[Ryan E. Walters]

Great job on making it to the top 8! :)

[Edgen]

congrats on the top 8 Anthony!

/j

[conrad_johnson]

Great work, you're in my top 2.

[Brian Parker]

Congrats on the top 8 man!

[Noel Evans]

Congrats Anthony!

[Brandon Rice]

Great musical! Congrats on top 8!

[lawriejaffa]

Extremely well deserved gents :)

[jeremytuttle]

Damn, shot at 3:04 WINDOW WALL PROJECTION. Can I bear your children?


Ha ha, yeah I don't know about the bearing the children part but thanks for the comments!

What's funny is that was kind of a happy accident/after thought. We knew we wanted a back/kicker light coming from outside and then we were like, "hey if we move the light over here we get the window on the wall... sweeeet":cheesy:.



4:18. Lighting is amazing, dof, composition, yep, nailed it.


Yes! I love that shot, it's one of the most magical ones.

Thanks again for the compliments man:dankk2:.

[Noel Evans]

Sorry want to add - another congrats to the brothers Tuttle - really great work.

[jeremytuttle]

Sorry want to add - another congrats to the brothers Tuttle - really great work.

Thanks Noel!

It feels really good working on a project that made it into the top 8:2vrolijk_08:.

[Norm Sanders]

H-O-L-Y C-R-A-P-!!!!

Now my second film I've given a 10 to. Just got done saying I was amazed at the last one I commented on, and now this, which just blew me away. This film gave me goose bumps, and I'm not even a huge fan of musicals.

But you & your team, SOOOOO nailed this!

Expertly cast, awesome original music/lyrics, great acting, WONDERFUL art direction, editing, shooting (AMAZING job, Brothers Tuttle!!!!), etc.

You, sir, have risen among the top of filmmakers that I respect & am eager to see every work from.

If I'm to have a quip (I swear I don't look for 'em ... just things that come to mind as I watch & experience a film), would be the mix. It was way too much bass, not enough vocal on my speaker set up, so I plugged in my studio head phones which dramatically improved it, but I still felt the bass was a tad overpowering throughout, making it at times a little harder to hear & understand the vocals.

Plenty of times near the beginning where I felt a voice/note was a little 'off' (like a dissonance was being created), but perhaps that was on purpose, because when they would really harmonize & bang out a chorus in the middle/end, it just made it all that much more rewarding! :)

I could go on & on, but needless to say, I'm in utter awe. I would so have loved to have been a part of this team, which made such an awesome treat.

[armisiano]

H-O-L-Y C-R-A-P-!!!!

Now my second film I've given a 10 to. Just got done saying I was amazed at the last one I commented on, and now this, which just blew me away. This film gave me goose bumps, and I'm not even a huge fan of musicals.

But you & your team, SOOOOO nailed this!

Expertly cast, awesome original music/lyrics, great acting, WONDERFUL art direction, editing, shooting (AMAZING job, Brothers Tuttle!!!!), etc.

You, sir, have risen among the top of filmmakers that I respect & am eager to see every work from.

If I'm to have a quip (I swear I don't look for 'em ... just things that come to mind as I watch & experience a film), would be the mix. It was way too much bass, not enough vocal on my speaker set up, so I plugged in my studio head phones which dramatically improved it, but I still felt the bass was a tad overpowering throughout, making it at times a little harder to hear & understand the vocals.

Plenty of times near the beginning where I felt a voice/note was a little 'off' (like a dissonance was being created), but perhaps that was on purpose, because when they would really harmonize & bang out a chorus in the middle/end, it just made it all that much more rewarding! :)

I could go on & on, but needless to say, I'm in utter awe. I would so have loved to have been a part of this team, which made such an awesome treat.

Thank you very much. I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed it so thoroughly. Though I'm surprised to hear about the bass and almost wonder if it might be your sound card or speakers or something. I say this simply because I've heard it from no one else, and I've checked the balance on so many sources (computer speakers, studio headphones, living room TV with stereo, and in my honda civic). But eh, no big whoop.

I do have to make one thing clear though, and I've been hesitant to say it out of fear of coming off as douch-ey or egomaniacal or something, but, the brothers Tuttle did a FANTASTIC job lighting this project and helping me bring it to life, there is absolutely NO way I could've pulled this off without them, but, I was actually the one behind the camera for every frame of this, framed each shot, moved, panned, and even manually followed focus bare hand on lens (though THAT part was only for half of the time, the other half did require the assistance of Jeremy Tuttle whipping a marked follow focus). The reason? I am VERY particular, and really quite love being on camera, so much so I hire out my services as a DP myself, and have actually done that MORE than directing.

But, to state again, I could NOT have done this without them. They are SO incredibly professional and the greatest pleasure to work with, 100% dependable in every way, and EXTREMELY talented and great at what they do, and I owe so much of this film's received praises to them and their contributions.

[Norm Sanders]

You're right, prob sound card if no one else had that issue ... I'll have to see if I can turn down some internal settings on the bass end as well, perhaps...because I will be watching this a few times over. :)

And .... I take back what I said about the Brothers Tuttle, then! HA! :) They do great work on their own, and lighting is HUGELY important as we all know (really made your set & shots pop), so I agree that without them this wouldn't have been visually anywhere near the caliber that it is now.

Again, great time, and great piece. And solid Camera work, by yourself sir! :beer:

[jeremytuttle]

You're right, prob sound card if no one else had that issue ... I'll have to see if I can turn down some internal settings on the bass end as well, perhaps...because I will be watching this a few times over. :)

And .... I take back what I said about the Brothers Tuttle, then! HA! :) They do great work on their own, and lighting is HUGELY important as we all know (really made your set & shots pop), so I agree that without them this wouldn't have been visually anywhere near the caliber that it is now.

Again, great time, and great piece. And solid Camera work, by yourself sir! :beer:

Ha ha, thanks Norm, your comments mean a lot. Yeah Anthony does love to get in there on the camera. I started off shooting the first night and he keep getting closer and closer and closer to the camera until before we knew it he was working it like a champ. It was fine with us we had plenty of other things to worry about.

[armisiano]

Ha ha, thanks Norm, your comments mean a lot. Yeah Anthony does love to get in there on the camera. I started off shooting the first night and he keep getting closer and closer and closer to the camera until before we knew it he was working it like a champ. It was fine with us we had plenty of other things to worry about.


I'm a sneaky s.o.b., aren't I?

[jontuttle]

I just wanted to stop in and say hi. I absolutely suck at keeping up with this fest. Shame on me. I just caught up on the thread and all of the positive comments are rad. The negative ones too. Jeremy is rad. Anthony is rad. Everyone on the shoot was rad. The word rad is rad. Thanks again everyone.

[armisiano]

UPDATE 07/18/2009

Two things. One, I turned twenty-four on Thursday. That was, well, whatever it was. And two:

So, those of you attending the DVXFest screening in L.A. will be seeing a somewhat "enhanced" version of "Diner for Two".

I finally gave in to the pressure and had all the vocal tracks VERY SLIGHTLY pitch corrected digitally. I was morally apposed to it at first, but hey, f**k it. I did make sure to go through every single syllable of every single vocal track and make sure none of the digital enhancements were noticeable (I find that it's not on the holding of notes, but the changing of notes that one can notice if something has been digitally tampered with). So it is seamless.

Anyhoo, just a little behind the scenes update.

[armisiano]

UPDATED 07/19/2009

Spent all day on it, and here it is, the completed poster. It's also been thrown onto the top of the thread, first post.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3536/3744763940_62c8fb8f7d_o.jpg

[Sprocketboy]

Lots of work and planning went into this short. You are a master at pre-planning, judging by your previous films. This is your most professional looking production, and it wreaks with production value. It looks beautiful, sounds beautiful, and most, if not all of the performances are beautiful. The only downside is that I've seen it all before. Dr. Horrible took a different approach and felt original. This lacks that originality but I marvel at your command of fimmaking. Regardless, you did score high in my book.

[armisiano]

Lots of work and planning went into this short. You are a master at pre-planning, judging by your previous films. This is your most professional looking production, and it wreaks with production value. It looks beautiful, sounds beautiful, and most, if not all of the performances are beautiful. The only downside is that I've seen it all before. Dr. Horrible took a different approach and felt original. This lacks that originality but I marvel at your command of fimmaking. Regardless, you did score high in my book.


Thank you for the good feedback. I've always felt preproduction is immeasurably valuable, I'm glad you noticed. :)

Believe it or not, I'm very out of tune with what's popular online. In fact I don't watch TV or use the internet for anything really other than work. It wasn't until AFTER making this film and hearing comments from people that I discovered things like Adam Lambert (who people tell me Taran Gray, the villian in my film, resembles) and Dr. Horrible.

Although technically I would like to point out, even after seeing some of these other projects, that technically "Diner for Two" is an opera. :) Not a single spoken work to move the story, all exposition, and story and character progression is via song, either inner monologue or conversation.

[ZazaCast]

Congrats Anthony! Really great job on this one and deserving of the award.
Cheers.

....and quit the smoking cigs!

[Susanne G.]

Congratulations for the 3rd place - well deserved!

Susanne

[Robert Eldon]

Anthony, congratulations on 3rd place. I bet it was really cool to see on the big screen! :thumbup:

[lawriejaffa]

Excellent and original opera (if you say so) hehe ;) no seriously it is it is an opera!!! This was a film i felt should have been in the top 3 but never expected it to survive the Y chromosome bias of most voters. Forunately the advent of metrosexual clothing has opened all our minds and seen this excellent film poll where it deserves to be.

My earnest congratulations mon amie!!!!

[Luis_]

Congrats!
I just wanted to get on here and say that your entry was awesome!
great job!

[jessicalsin]

Congratulations anthony!!!!

[Ryan E. Walters]

CONGRATS! Well done!

[DarkElastic]

Congratulations Anthony, on a well deserved third place. It is nice to see a musical do so well... You managed to dissolve many male's masculinity with your movie, and for that you deserve a prize.

[Noel Evans]

Congrats again from me Anthony. Great to meeet you and the Tuttles at the screening - hope we can catch up again sometime.

[armisiano]

A behind the scenes video was uploaded to vimeo, for those of you who wanted to know what it was like on the set, now you can see.

Also uploaded a video I made demonstrating some of the audio work done in the film. It's pretty primitive and not made necessarily for THIS demographic (referring to y'all here), but was shown at the premiere party the other night as sort of a DVD special feature to entertain families and friends.

Check them out by going to this thread: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=180292