Chasing Kangaroos - NEW ENTRY

[Noel Evans]

Hi all. So here it is. Again, thanks for the support thus far. Thank you to Alex for a killer effort in helping get this into shape.



http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/POSTER.jpg


CAST
Samaya - Samaya Murray
Garrett - Jackson Bradbury
Mother Voice - Nicole Holland
Father Voice - Lawrence Moorefield

CREW

Production
Screenplay - Alex Whitmer
Director / Cinematography - Noel Evans
AD - Sherie Johns
Hair & Makeup - Karen Dionne
Grip - Nick Lanning
Grip Assistant - Jordan Murray
Production Sound recordist / Studio Recording - Loz Moorefield
Boom - Melanie Fieldman
Craft - Takako Nagaoka

Post
Score - Herman Witkam
Editor - Noel Evans
Color Grade - Noel Evans
Sound Editor - Loz Moorefield

Produced by - Scarlet Digital Cinema

[Noel Evans]

TUESDAY 09 June

With our script locked (mostly), Ive hit the shot list and SB's hardcore.
Into the studio last night to record some O.S. audio - only three lines.


Wednesday 10 June


TEST SHOTS - Locked in the camera settings and basic color grade thats to be applied to locked cut.
More shots and storyboards today.
Everyones set to shoot. Looking up!

Sunday June 14

Most of the shots in the can - couple of easy pick ups scheduled for wednesday then wrapped. Had a lot to get through today, and in the end I feel we rushed a scene a bit too much - but we used the time we had the best we could.

Some BTS from today

SKIP - SDC MASCOT!

http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/SKIP.jpg

http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/IMG_2759.jpg

2k window pane
http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/IMG_2774.jpg

http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/IMG_2776.jpg
Ghosts in the picture?
http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/IMG_2784.jpg



Updated Grabs - June 28


http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/grabs2/CK1.jpg

http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/grabs2/CK2.jpg

http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/grabs2/CK3.jpg

http://www.scarlet-films.com/chasingkangaroos/grabs2/CK4.jpg

Monday 29 June - Notes on Cinematography and style

This is a pretty short short. So one of things I wanted to try and do is really connect the audience with the protagonist and her view in this piece, theres not a great deal of time to do so, so I felt important to keep her the focus - and by that I mean in lens terms and shot structure. So you will notice early on I really try to connect with her eyes and actions in the shot, this meant shooting fairly tight. I also wanted to the audience to feel right in there and thus shot most of this handheld - nothing crazy like Bourne, in fact much of it was stable and I used only the nuances of my natural movements such as breathing etc by staying connected to the camera.

I did a lot of things in this short that I dont normally do in composition as I really wanted to push my own comfort zone and see how far I could take that before it was too much for me.

When creating my shot lists I did a series of storyboards first from the scenes, a lot of which were scrapped. I took the good boards and then translated the in betweens onto the shotlist. Noting the appropriate focal length in terms of direct comparison to 35mm. We shot on the 500 and so I turned to my trusty Panavision lens conversion chart. As this is narrative, I wanted to mantain a level of audience perception as far as AOV and what a cinema audience would most likely be used to seeing (just my personal choice and I dont believe theres wrong or right in doing so or not doing so. On a lot of stuff I shoot I think, I have a zoom lens, why not utilise those lengths not commonly available on fixed primes - seems more of a bonus in many cases.

The 500 helped me a lot in some areas as far as getting the shot I wanted. Heres how and sorry for the technical specs. The 500 has 2/3" sensors and has pixels that are 29 microns. Relatively speaking thats big and thus the ISO rating for the 500 in the scene file set up I was using (whilst not measured) would be around 500ISO, maybe more. This means that whilst using an equivalent 35mm AOV I was able to maintain a pretty close to 35mm DOF by using my aperture at a lower fstop. To put it simply, lets say your shooting 35mm at 80mm at f4-5, I can emulate this pretty closely if not almost precisely by selecting the converted FOV on my lens and opening the aperture up much more than f4-5. This also means I needed a lot less light for this piece. One of the great conveniences when shooting on the 500. My way of thinking says a lens adapter for the 500 would be a waste of money, others will most likely disgree. But with the 500's ISO it makes life much easier in doing this.

So onto lighting. The first decision I made was that I wanted to complement what was naturally available. I took lots of loacation photos at diff times of the day to see how it played out on a sunny and cloudy day. As it turned out one shoot day was sunny and one was cloudy. The location had windows that got plenty of sun, so I either boosted light coming through those at different times of day or shut it down depending on where and for what I was shooting and to maintain continuity. I also wanted to overdo a dramatic feel, to give it some punch in the short time frame. We used gelled smaller tungsten fixtures inside, and placed large fixtures on the exteriors. This was a pretty small space to shoot in.

To display mood and character position I used the cameras angle quite a lot positioning one player higher or lower in the frame and using relative angle of the players eyes to each other as well.

Thats some rough notes. Was I successful? Personally I feel in some cases more than others, but I'll leave the final judgement up to the viewer and did it help them see action take place as I intended.

[dsto]

Welcome! Better "Late" than never!

[ramsaur]

Welcome to the fest!

[AmyO]

Yay! I'm glad you were able to get something worked out.

[stinkpot]

Nice looking poster! Welcome to the fest.

:beer:

[Brandon Rice]

Looking forward to it! :)

[ZazaCast]

Welcome...take 2...rollin'!

[Bro. Stephen]

Welcome. Cool poster.

[Noel Evans]

Welcome...take 2...rollin'!

Cheers mate and everyone else.

As an FYI - I have the next four days off to concentrate on my shots and storyboards. Going through and breaking down elements now. Its going to be a tighter shoot schedule than envisioned but we'll get there.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Welcome back dude. Time to really get cracking now. July is looming ahead... Since you have most issues sorted out, you should be fine and rock n' rolling!

[Noel Evans]

Cheers Rodney.

On an update issue there is quick piece of dialogue that occurs O.S. - we got that recorded in a studio last night.

[lawriejaffa]

Damnit Alex stole my idea!!! I had Chasing Koala Bears down for my Questfest entry, then you Noel and your sexy hpx500... and Alex with his sexy girlfriend comes along and steals my very serious erotic drama... set in ancient Rome, it had Malcolm McDowell and many Koala bears... but now i guess we'll never know.

I hope your both happy with yourselves!

Anyway yes - apart from that this is high up on the watch list - Noel is a talented cinematogrpaher, director, i have no doubt, and Alex is an exceptionally skilled writer!

Good luck gentlemen!

[Noel Evans]

Cheers Lawrie, but how did you know? You gave the story up!

Yes its a semi erotic thriller with a cast of thousands .... of kangaroos, but we have Mickey Rourke. Think Wild Orchid meets thousands of kangaroos.

Got all my shot lists done, all people in place, all equipment in place. Need to grab a couple of readily available props this afternoon and we are set to shoot this weekend.

[Noel Evans]

Updated with some BTS on first page.

[Noel Evans]

With only a few pickups to shoot Wednesday - into the edit WE GO!

[kyrre]

Good luck with the editing! I like the title and the poster!

[Noel Evans]

Cheers kyrre.

Heres a couple of screen grabs to give a glimpse :)

Moved to 1st page.

[Noel Evans]

Rough edit is done. Going to grab two pick ups tomorrow then go through it again with AD at which point we should be able to get a locked edit. Then off for sound edit and score and I will polish it and get all the grading done. Looks like we are on track.

[ZazaCast]

Looks great! Nice grabs. Can't wait to see what this one is all about. Congrats on the wrap!

:thumbsup:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Oh totally sweet grabs dude. Nice colors.

[Noel Evans]

Seems it was my webserver down this morning.. confused. Anyway, glad you like them.

[Noel Evans]

Little miffed at myself atm. Need to go back and reshoot two shots.

EDIT: Reshoots all set :)

[Noel Evans]

Will be doing the two shots tomorrow. Ill let you in on some info. The shots required are due to a continuity mishap. We pushed through the final scene for the day pretty quickly and as a result made a simple error that no one picked up as we were shooting. The two shots in question were shot from the same angle and we have an arm in the wrong place..... sheesh. I tried desperately early in the week to cut around it - came up with two or three solutions to which one seemed to appease a person that was sitting in with me, and it did solve the issue. Just in the end, I wanted to get the shot I had planned. So off we go tomorrow to do just that.

Ive made a couple of choices when I was doing all the shot planning, that some may not agree with, but Im happy that these things were choices I have made to match the aesthetic of the story Im trying to sell.

[Noel Evans]

Wrapped!

[Simon Höfer]

Congrats Noel! Looking forward to your entry :)

[Noel Evans]

Congrats Noel! Looking forward to your entry :)

Cheers Simon


AND

YEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA EDIT LOCKED!!!!!!!!!!!

Ive got two small placeholders in for very generic pick ups that Ill grab this Wednesday. But on to grading, sound edit and score we go. Will def. make deadline and with credits and opener I finished up at 5:11:13 :)

[ZazaCast]

Congrats!

[Noel Evans]

Cheers m8.

Error in my previous post - that should read "WITHOUT credits and opener I finished up at ..."

[ZazaCast]

You really had to jump through some hoops to get an entry in here...cheers to YOU!
Looking forward to it.

[RodThompson]

Hi Five! :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG):kali:

[conrad_johnson]

Holy shit. I just saw a dead kangaroo last week in south dakota. There's a place in the black hills called roo ranch and one of the kangaroos escaped and got hit by some grotesquely large suv.

South dakota rules.

[Noel Evans]

LOL cheers for that :P

Heres a little hint at something.

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_188/11905988289wZ3IN.jpg

[Noel Evans]

Got my last two quick pick ups today! Officially nothing else to shoot. I used place holders in my locked edit for those to get it off to Herman. Started grading today. Did an OMF export for sound edit. Looking on top of it.

[Susanne G.]

Never mind that Susanne, we are reborn and on track

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=173702

Still Herman and Alex on board, same actors. Already shot and cut. Goes into sound edit tomorrow, sent Herman Edit last night my time and now Im in grading and polishing.



:):):) :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Tom Marshall]

Hey Noel, good looking grabs man. Just so you know, if I don't see a kangaroo in your film, I'm flying to Australia and I'm going to kick your ass... :beer:

[Noel Evans]

Grab your ticket man, after the beating we can have a few beers.

[Noel Evans]

Added some new grabs - PAGE1 (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=173702)

And if you haven't seen it yet, I have a link in my sig to Chasing Kangaroos on face book (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chasin...os/96095212459)

[Tom Marshall]

I'd absolutely love to visit Australia. It's #1 on my list... one of these days, Noel, one of these days... :beer:

[ZazaCast]

Nice grabs! Damn... lets see:

Great gear...check
Talented operator....check
Really cute kid....check
A few people to help out...check

...all you need now is for your actors to have an accent and this one's in the bag.... D'OUGH!!

:):beer:

[Noel Evans]

I'd absolutely love to visit Australia. It's #1 on my list... one of these days, Noel, one of these days... :beer:

Got a room for you when you come.

[Noel Evans]

...all you need now is for your actors to have an accent

Check.

:P

I love your great expectations. But really this is very simply done. And where the hell are my shower scenes with a naked nun? (Well an actor playing a nun) But who cares!

Jesus Ive got no guns, no nuns, no nudity what kind of story did you write here Alex? Sheesh.

Im kidding of course, about the guns and nudity anyway.

[Robert Eldon]

Noel, I'm just checking in to your thread here. Didn't you have another movie in the works?

Are kangaroos difficult to work with?

Looking forward to this one.

[Noel Evans]

Noel, I'm just checking in to your thread here. Didn't you have another movie in the works?

Are kangaroos difficult to work with?

Looking forward to this one.

Robert, yeah we did. We had some issues with one of actors parent think some content inappropriate for a ten year old. Not that I nor a umber of other people who saw the script did, as Id previously stated he is her parent and thus have every right to make these decisions - the time factor was where I was a touch annoyed.

Anyway Alex and I had a brainstorm one morning my time and came up with a new outline. Alex then hammered it out in his usual unforgiving pace. So we could get back on track and we have.

The kangaroos I was using were very easy to work with, they didnt jump around at all. (You'll see what I mean).

And I just added this to first page as well -


Monday 29 June - Notes on Cinematography and style

This is a pretty short short. So one of things I wanted to try and do is really connect the audience with the protagonist and her view in this piece, theres not a great deal of time to do so, so I felt important to keep her the focus - and by that I mean in lens terms and shot structure. So you will notice early on I really try to connect with her eyes and actions in the shot, this meant shooting fairly tight. I also wanted to the audience to feel right in there and thus shot most of this handheld - nothing crazy like Bourne, in fact much of it was stable and I used only the nuances of my natural movements such as breathing etc by staying connected to the camera.

I did a lot of things in this short that I dont normally do in composition as I really wanted to push my own comfort zone and see how far I could take that before it was too much for me.

When creating my shot lists I did a series of storyboards first from the scenes, a lot of which were scrapped. I took the good boards and then translated the in betweens onto the shotlist. Noting the appropriate focal length in terms of direct comparison to 35mm. We shot on the 500 and so I turned to my trusty Panavision lens conversion chart. As this is narrative, I wanted to mantain a level of audience perception as far as AOV and what a cinema audience would most likely be used to seeing (just my personal choice and I dont believe theres wrong or right in doing so or not doing so. On a lot of stuff I shoot I think, I have a zoom lens, why not utilise those lengths not commonly available on fixed primes - seems more of a bonus in many cases.

The 500 helped me a lot in some areas as far as getting the shot I wanted. Heres how and sorry for the technical specs. The 500 has 2/3" sensors and has pixels that are 29 microns. Relatively speaking thats big and thus the ISO rating for the 500 in the scene file set up I was using (whilst not measured) would be around 500ISO, maybe more. This means that whilst using an equivalent 35mm AOV I was able to maintain a pretty close to 35mm DOF by using my aperture at a lower fstop. To put it simply, lets say your shooting 35mm at 80mm at f4-5, I can emulate this pretty closely if not almost precisely by selecting the converted FOV on my lens and opening the aperture up much more than f4-5. This also means I needed a lot less light for this piece. One of the great conveniences when shooting on the 500. My way of thinking says a lens adapter for the 500 would be a waste of money, others will most likely disgree. But with the 500's ISO it makes life much easier in doing this.

So onto lighting. The first decision I made was that I wanted to complement what was naturally available. I took lots of loacation photos at diff times of the day to see how it played out on a sunny and cloudy day. As it turned out one shoot day was sunny and one was cloudy. The location had windows that got plenty of sun, so I either boosted light coming through those at different times of day or shut it down depending on where and for what I was shooting and to maintain continuity. I also wanted to overdo a dramatic feel, to give it some punch in the short time frame. We used gelled smaller tungsten fixtures inside, and placed large fixtures on the exteriors. This was a pretty small space to shoot in.

To display mood and character position I used the cameras angle quite a lot positioning one player higher or lower in the frame and using relative angle of the players eyes to each other as well.

Thats some rough notes. Was I successful? Personally I feel in some cases more than others, but I'll leave the final judgement up to the viewer and did it help them see action take place as I intended.

[ZazaCast]

Yeah, this sounds like it was just "very simply done"....NOT! This is going to be awesome.
I'm looking forward to it even though there's no nudity, nuns or shower scenes.

On another note... how did you get the kangaroos in costume? :huh:

[Noel Evans]

Oh dear, I seriously hope I dont disappoint.

Getting the kangaroos in costume was pretty easy actually, first they were melted down and dumped into a mould. From there they were dipped in a super heated metallic / gold mix, cleaned and polished.

I know at least one component that is fantastic. Score came in from Herman today, really great stuff going on.

[RodThompson]

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.

[Noel Evans]

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/?

[Noel Evans]

So close to complete that I can taste it.

Will be heading into the studio with the sound editor to tweek the sound edit tomorrow. The last thing needed and post that - upload.

Now which leader to use. Actually the choice is easy given the theme.

[Herman Witkam]

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

Maybe he's referring to the other one :D : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams_(guitarist)

Just sent the 2nd version of the score to Noel. I think the music is done :beer:

[Noel Evans]

Maybe he's referring to the other one :D : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams_(guitarist)

Just sent the 2nd version of the score to Noel. I think the music is done :beer:

And it is.

A big cheers to you sir, you really created a lovely piece that works incredibly well for the story that captured the vision of what I wanted so well. I am truly grateful.

[Noel Evans]

Well almost there, just been trying to organise this session with the sound editor to do some tweaks, which is tonight and then we are there!!

Also, I did some test outs and came in at 46mb, might go up just a fraction by I have the saved preset ready to go.

[Noel Evans]

Well sound editor completed the final tweeks going through it together tonight. Now midnight. Im going to get some sleep.... will be uploaded in about 12 hours.... that means on time!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Sweet news dude. Soon the mystery of the kangaroos will be solved!

[ZazaCast]

Good work Noel! Can't wait to watch you film.

[Noel Evans]

Uploading...still uploading...still uploading...still uploading...UPLOADED!

[Noel Evans]

17. Chasing Kangaroos - Noel Evans - Uploaded - Approved

[Herman Witkam]

Good to see that we're uploaded and approved. Looking forward to seeing the final version! :-)

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Really looking forward to this one! Good luck.

MAH

[Noel Evans]

Good to see that we're uploaded and approved. Looking forward to seeing the final version! :-)

Just hope I havent let you down somewhat. ATM to me the score is the best component.

[Noel Evans]

Really looking forward to this one! Good luck.

MAH

Cheers Michael. Hope things are on the up your end. Hope you can enjoy this short.

[Girgej]

Interesting ... Good Luck

[Tim Joy]

Hey Noel. Looking good. All approved and ready to go. Let's git' to it already! I wanna see this.

(PS- hope your not too offended by The OSG. [you'll see why when you see it])

[Noel Evans]

Cheers Tim. Im not easily offended, so I wouldnt worry.

Im catching up on work on a Sunday :S and looking for an excuse to procrastinate a little. If they released the films now that would be a valid reason, so cmon!

But in the mean time a little word.

Not sure if everyone reading this will know so Ill take it back to the beginning.

The original screenplay we had slated for Questfest was called "Petals Fall". It was a great story Alex Whitmer had written based on a simple outline I had given him. Rewind to a week before scheduled shoot. The father of an actor contacted me and told me that he thought the storyline was too much given his childs present circumstance. I understood and still understand his point of view insofar as as the parent what's right for child is utterly his call and cannot be disputed. It's his right as the father.

The issue for me was that the script had been been handed over as soon as written and that's going back awhile prior to the date I got that dreaded call. On many suggested changes the answer was still a resounding NO.

So what to do? Had the shoot scheduled, Id all but completed my shot list and storyboards, which might I add, I had spent considerable time on. I had people and places booked. But now I had no workable script, everything done so far was for naught. All except the fact that I wasn't prepared not to get something in.

So I got in touch with Alex and told him the news. Alex is a great person to work with. There and then we brainstormed ideas and came up with some basic concepts. I'd then contact the father to see if it was OK, then back and forward for a few revisions, more phone calls to father until finally we had something. You might say why not recast? Well this all happened a week before shoot. And to find someone to replace the actor may have put us out to pasture. I didnt want to get to a day before shoot and not have someone, so I made that call straight away, keep actor, write something acceptable to father.

So on Alex went, first draft, second, third all in a matter of days. That week was a busy work week for me so I didnt get to really do anything other than review revisions until the Wednesday. Then on to Storyboards and shotlist. I did keep everyone in the loop, but crew and cast call didnt go out until the Friday with the shoot day the following.

So that was our little adventure. Not perfect. But I think all things considered we got the job done and we are in the fest.

Special thanks to Alex for really helping me make this happen.
Special thanks to Herman for an outstanding score.
Special thanks to Loz Moorfield who had less days than expected to work on sound and still managed to come through.
Special thanks to Sherie Johns my AD, who is almost ready to give birth and soldiered through the shoot (with a few time outs).
Special thanks to the forum members who continued to encourage me throughout the process.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dammit Noel! Not a single rabid kangaroo to be found anywhere. I'm very disappointed. :grin:

Now on a positive note:

Outstanding visuals Noel. Never a doubt in my mind there. And your actors have a genuine nature to them. Lovely to see. Draws you right into the story. Nice music as well.

Touching story, good dialog from Alex. Felt very natural coming from the characters. The flow of the story was quite nice as well, taking each point towards the solution. Great lighting all around and excellent use of color in the night time shot.

Had a couple of audio blowouts there, but overall good audio, nothing distracting except for a few crossfades that didn;t quite make it.

All in all it was a nice film. I would have liked to have seen some kind of further interaction with the parents, maybe some more doubt, and that would have brought more closure to the story... more completeness.

Solid work all around.

[armisiano]

I'm a man of few words when it comes to reviews. Good work. I really liked the story and intent. Very sweet and sincere, and well acted. People seldom realize how hard it is to find good child actors, and you succeeded. Nicely executed post production work too. :)

[ramsaur]

This was a good one. Good job on alex on the script. The camera work was really good. The acting was really good. The color grading was good. It was a good story as well. I liked this one.

[Tom Marshall]

Just hope I havent let you down somewhat. ATM to me the score is the best component.

The score was fantastic and fit the story very well - nice job Herman... but Noel... don't be so humble - this was a very solid short film. Seriously. I can easily see myself watching something like this on IFC or in a theater somewhere. I'm very impressed.

The kids performances were spot on. Everything was very honest and you really got a feeling that they are brothers and sisters. Her willingness to help our her brother really shows through and it's touching. And how he deals with the humility of what he's faced with is great and touching as well. I think the two of them have a great future ahead of them and this is a solid piece of film for both of their reels.

Alex, kudos on a top notch script. :beer:

Nice job. This might just be my number one pick. :)

[Marlon Ladd]

Noel, I really liked the movie. It was very professional and very well put together. I enjoyed the cinematography and the lighting inside the house. The picture looked very crisp and nice. I had to go back and see what camera you used. Excellent work! Good luck.

[MrFluffy]

10/10

[mattspat]

I agree with Mr. Marshall....You were psyching everyone out the whole time by trying to be modest!!!! Fantastic. I love the simplicity of the story concept and the bonds created through the acting and the cinematography...pretty much all of it! Keep it up :)

Well written Alex! Must feel good to see one of your pieces fall into such talented hands!

[HCPROD]

I really liked this one. Great story, beautiful shots, and talented cast. Nice job!!

[~jai~]

WOW! F'ing brilliant! That Samaya is a gem! Both of your actors were strong and the story moved nicely. It was shot beautifully, and I really enjoyed the way the film focused on her. She's a great actress. I did want a little more frustration from him when he comes back saying he can't do it, and at the end the eye line for him putting the coins in seemed off as well as the ticket coming a little too quickly, but those are really just nit-picky things for a great film!

EXCELLENT! Thank you for sharing!

[Noel Evans]

Ive tried to avoid my thread all day, but couldnt any longer. I even opened it a few times and closed it before I could read anything :S

First off, I am seriously floored by all the positive comments. Totally beside myself that it has had such a positive response. Really poo pooing happy people can enjoy something I and others created. It's starting to get late here, and im so poo pooing excited I dont think Im going to get much sleep. Great excuse to have a beer then! :beer:

Really thank you all so much for watching, and so glad those that have are enjoying it.

[Herman Witkam]

The score was fantastic and fit the story very well - nice job Herman...

Thanks Tom :beer:

[ZazaCast]

I knew it...damn you Noel...this is a GREAT film!! Besides this being a wonderful story with a really talented cast, by the way, good thing you and Alex stuck in there, Samaya was well worth the extra effort, the cinematography and camera work are brillant! Add to that the outstanding score and I think we have a winner here (Damn you!).

I can not find even the slightest fault in this film. Please congratulate the entire cast & crew on a job well done. 11 of 10 for me! :beer:

[lyonfilms]

This film, Empire and "Joey" were at the top of my list as must-see flicks. I've got to tell you that I absolutely enjoyed your film. The performances were great and the story moved along keeping me engaged throughout. The score was a perfect compliment.

After watching the actor test you posted a while back I was looking forward to seeing the young girl's performance and she did not disappoint. This is a strong point for you as a director and the girl as a natural.

The only point that didn't work for me was the very first shot of the kids listening to the parents...didn't like the mix on the voices as well. Not sure what else you would do to convey the information as quickly, but it was the weakest point in my opinion - but I am stretching here...

Bravo.

[Erik Olson]

Noel,

Excellent all around. Small stories win again and again. Love the HPX500 for this kind of work and a "more HD" or different color camera would've made no difference. Terrific acting and I couldn't help getting a little misty as I watched the interaction between the brother and sister as she invented the counting game. Just really understated and sad, yet optimistic.

Story is King.

e

[Mark Harris]

I agree the parents voices did not work very well, but that is easily fixed.

But really good job with the kids noel. I didn't read the thread, but did you have to work with them a lot or did they just go for it? Both were exceptional.

I think i might have liked one more scene in there where the girl was at a low point before she gets the idea for the lady and the kangaroo. It's always very very hard to film someone "just getting an idea" and I think it might have been nice to have a scene with her alone as SHE gets the idea, and show us how she gets the idea visually.

But that is all just nitpicking. You took on a hard task(kids) and did a great job with it. Photography was absolutely fine all around, which sounds bad, but means I didn't stop to think about it once, so that's good.

One question: What's the crazy language they're speaking????

Start thinking about where to show this film. Since I am knee deep in a feature now, I have been researching how to land audiences and the one thing that comes up over and over for an Indie Film is to get hold of a niche audience. So this film might have some built in legs if you focus it on communities around kids with that or similar learning problems. I could definitely see it being something helpful, inspirational, even a teaching tool.

[Ryan E. Walters]

The main actress did a great job, I enjoyed her performance. While the story was not necessarily my thing, I thought that the elements worked well together- the pacing, shots, sound design, score all added to the film. Congrats!

[Noel Evans]

Now Im am pinching myself. Believe me with the responses here from people whose opinion I sincerely respect and some whose work Im in awww of, and to get such positive words means a great deal to me.

[Noel Evans]

But really good job with the kids noel. I didn't read the thread, but did you have to work with them a lot or did they just go for it? Both were exceptional.

Hi Mark thanks for your review, greatly appreciated. Wanted to respond to the above, as its something I made a very conscious decision on the way I worked with them.

The young guy, had only ever been on one shoot before and that was a music vid that I shot. Out of a bunch of possibles, I plucked him to take a larger role as I thought he showed some promise.

The young girl, this is the first effort for her. She's never acted before or taken an acting class.

SO with the her, I did a little shoot test for the original script called "Petals Fall" as I wanted to test her out and see what did and didnt work. It soon became apparent if she was given too much she would spill it out without much feeling in her words. But if I fed her small amounts and gave direction on only that, she could do something really meaningful with it.

So coming into the shoot, I kept the script from her. This made shooting very slow, as I needed to give her the line for the first time, coach her through a few rehearsals then shoot it. But I am pleased the approach I took really seemed to have paid off. I let the young guy Jackson have the script as soon as it was finished, but similarly took the script from him at the shoot and applied a similar approach.

[Edgen]

Noel... I really dug this film. one of the best i've watched from the fest. Score was wonderful. acting was great. cine was key and the story was believable for the most part.

I did however; have a hard time following how a boy like this could be so 'dumb'. Perhaps an explanation of his disease or lack of learning capabilities could have sold it. After a bit, however; you do catch on that he's rather slow. I would say it would be hard to make him a 'mentally challenged' kid with physical deformations and get away without criticism from this crowd of movie watchers or the general mass of society.

Kudos on the entry and thank you for submitting your film.

/j

[Susanne G.]

You are a master of cinematography - this was beautiful. A very touching story. It was recognizeble the story by Alex. The acting was great. I enjoyed this work very much.

Compliments!

Susanne

[Brandon Rice]

Noel,

Nice little short :) Herman did a wonderful job with the score... subtle and beautiful...

I just don't get why the kid is SOOO dumb? Is he mentally handicap? And why does he need to learn how to buy a train ticket everyday? To go to a job?

The little girl was a terrific actress! Kudos to casting her!

Nice work!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Nice work by all. Great story, acting, cinematography, it all works.
I kind of wanted a bit more info as to what was wrong with the boy though. He seemed quite normal in most respects.

I loved the moment that he and his sister shared during the discovery. Excellent!
The music was also great! Suited the film perfectly.

One of my highest ratings so far.

Nice work.

MAH

[DarkElastic]

Hi Noel,

That was a really good film... So simple, but with a powerful story. Great performances from your young actors. I give credit to Alex for producing a really good and compelling script.
I can't really add to the comments, just agree with the one from Edgen with regards to the illness, and why he can't count, but for a short I am sure I can use my imagination or Wikipedia!

Well done to you.

[MrFluffy]

I just don't get why the kid is SOOO dumb?

I took it to be because he suffers from Dyscalculia (http://www.familyrapp.com/Results/archive_results_details.asp?ArticleID=243), he's not dumb.
Sorry for commenting on this Noel, but as someone who has Dyslexia is really irritates me when this type of disability gets labelled dumb.

[Brandon Rice]

my apologies.... I didn't get that he was dyslexic...

[Noel Evans]

I took it to be because he suffers from Dyscalculia (http://www.familyrapp.com/Results/archive_results_details.asp?ArticleID=243), he's not dumb.
Sorry for commenting on this Noel, but as someone who has Dyslexia is really irritates me when this type of disability gets labelled dumb.

No problem at all Sir. Speak your mind.

[Noel Evans]

You are a master of cinematography - this was beautiful. A very touching story. It was recognizeble the story by Alex. The acting was great. I enjoyed this work very much.

Compliments!

Susanne

Im sure Alex will love to hear that! He did a great job in getting this down so quickly.

[Noel Evans]

Noel... I really dug this film. one of the best i've watched from the fest. Score was wonderful. acting was great. cine was key and the story was believable for the most part.



Really appreciate those kind words Edgen.

[Noel Evans]

One of my highest ratings so far.

Nice work.

MAH

Thank you Michael!!!!!!

[Blue_Food]

Hi Noel,

Congratulations on producing so sweet and tender a film, whilst somehow managing to steer clear from any abject, twee sentimentalism; a tough task, I would imagine, given the story/subject-matter. I also think that a fair amount of credit for that fact must be handed to Herman, whose score tastefully avoided the type of manipulative practices that a more heavy-handed (heavy-eared?) composer might have brought…

Personally, I did get the fact that the brother suffered from dyscalculia – and that he wasn’t just supposed to be ‘slow’ in general. However, it would seem that some people are a bit confused with respect to this. Perhaps by rewriting/rerecording the parents’ brief dialogue (which has already faced some criticism mix-wise, and with which I would agree) you could help clear up that potential misunderstanding, without having to re-shoot/add any new scenes.

I really don’t have much to criticise from a visual point of view, other than an apparent shift in colour and exposure during the last three shots of the first scene (beginning at 01.22), in comparison with what came before it.

Again – congrats! I expect your film to fare well in this fest and others!

Danny

[Noel Evans]

Hi Noel,

Congratulations on producing so sweet and tender a film, whilst somehow managing to steer clear from any abject, twee sentimentalism; a tough task, I would imagine, given the story/subject-matter.

Thank you mate. Really appreciate that comment (especially as it was positive).




[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]I also think that a fair amount of credit for that fact must be handed to Herman, whose score tastefully avoided the type of manipulative practices that a more heavy-handed (heavy-eared?) composer might have brought…


Cheers to that! Totally agree. I had a fairly specific aim and style I wanted with the score, and Herman nailed it for sure.

[kurtmo]

Just an aside, this wouldn’t play on my H.264 media player. I was able to play it on my PC. I really enjoyed this one. I thought the acting by the kids was really excellent. I’ve worked with kids frequently and I know how tough it can be to get them into the roles. Way to go.

I also liked the story a lot. Simple and elegant. The score was well done and enhanced the mood. Overall a great production! Definately a fav of mine! Thanks for sharing this!

[hoz]

really loved this movie - the girl was amazing!!!! great work directing this! so simple and sweet. really nice job!!!!

[Noel Evans]

Just an aside, this wouldn’t play on my H.264 media player.

I created the file on mac, not sure why it wouldnt play though. hmmm

Glad you enjoyed watching, and glad you took the extra step to watch. Cheers


really loved this movie - the girl was amazing!!!! great work directing this! so simple and sweet. really nice job!!!!

Thanks Hoz, deeply appreciate you taking the time to say so as well.

Really Im just blown away by some of the comments Ive received. Plenty of smiles for me lately I can assure you.

[Simon Höfer]

Hey Noel, this is one polished film! Really outstanding! It felt so professional.

Great Lighting, Camera work, sound, score, acting, story, etc. You've got it all.

I was a little bit confused though, about the parents at the beginning. As others have mentioned as well.

And I have to mention Hermans score seperately. Awesome work man! (Have to make sure he scores my next film :D)

[Noel Evans]

Hey Noel, this is one polished film! Really outstanding! It felt so professional.

Great Lighting, Camera work, sound, score, acting, story, etc. You've got it all.


Thanks Simon, appreciate that.

Criticism duly noted from you and others.



And I have to mention Hermans score seperately. Awesome work man! (Have to make sure he scores my next film :D)

Ive said it a million times, but Ill keep saying how great I think Hermans score is.

[Herman Witkam]

Hi Noel,

I also think that a fair amount of credit for that fact must be handed to Herman, whose score tastefully avoided the type of manipulative practices that a more heavy-handed (heavy-eared?) composer might have brought…

Thanks, Danny!


And I have to mention Hermans score seperately. Awesome work man! (Have to make sure he scores my next film :D)

Thanks Simon! Well - let's talk about that soon :beer:

[Simon Höfer]

Thanks Simon! Well - let's talk about that soon :beer:

Hehe, I've got nothing in the pipeline right now, was just sayin' in case when I finally make another one :D Maybe when I'm in Hong Kong and buy a GH1, so we'll see.

One question about your score. Did you play the flutes yourself at the end?

[stinkpot]

Wow! Very touching story and well told on the screen. This was paced just right.

Great job.

:beer:

[Herman Witkam]

Hehe, I've got nothing in the pipeline right now, was just sayin' in case when I finally make another one :D Maybe when I'm in Hong Kong and buy a GH1, so we'll see.

One question about your score. Did you play the flutes yourself at the end?

Hong Kong! Sounds awesome :)

Yep. I played it myself. It's an Irish Low Whistle, a big aluminium tenor whistle (picture here: http://www.folkfriends.com/images/big/chieftain_low_whislte.jpg ) and I also used two live percussion instruments: Frame Drum and Udu. And I performed the steelstring guitar as well.

[Noel Evans]

Wow! Very touching story and well told on the screen. This was paced just right.

Great job.

:beer:

Thank you Nathan.

[Ben Sliker]

Noel,

Your little actress was great! Really great pacing and delivery for someone her age. The story as a whole was simple and sweet.

And I think as you've discovered from some of the other posts that the pitfall is not explaining his condition enough. I personally screw up numbers sometimes (I often flip digits once i get past 7-8 digits, so every once and a while phone numbers are a pain in the ass) so I guess I got it a little more, but I can imagine how it's tough for a viewer to understand. I've worked with adults with severe retardation that could still handle simple math and counting so it's a little confusing to see an otherwise capable boy have trouble.

Perhaps work it into the adults arguing in the beginning?

But don't let that take away from the fact that you made a touching and beautiful film !

[Noel Evans]

But don't let that take away from the fact that you made a touching and beautiful film !

I'll just add that to the list of comments that drew a big smile! Cheers Ben.

[RodThompson]

Thats was a delightful change!

I also wondered why the boy couldn't count, but looked over it.

Great Job

[ConspiracyPenguin]

Touching piece that made me smile not just once. Lovely story, beautifully filmed, accented wonderfully by a brilliant score. Very good work Noel, Herman and everyone else. This one is definitely one of my favorites.

[Noel Evans]

Touching piece that made me smile not just once. Lovely story, beautifully filmed, accented wonderfully by a brilliant score. Very good work Noel, Herman and everyone else. This one is definitely one of my favorites.

Cheers mate. I realise people dont comment on every film, so appreciate you taking the time. Another tick in the smile box!

[Robert Eldon]

Noel,

I really liked this film! It was a nice story and fit the 'quest' theme very well. Both of the young actors did very well, especially the young girl who seemed a natural? My favorite scene was when she was teaching him and drew the 'ticket' coming out of the machine on the mirror. Very nice :thumbup:

I liked how you used the interior and exterior locations. Great images and pacing. The score was motivated and fit well.

One of my favorites! I'm a sucker for this kind of story. Good job!

[Noel Evans]

Thank you so much Robert.


My favorite scene was when she was teaching him and drew the 'ticket' coming out of the machine on the mirror. Very nice :thumbup:

Have to give Alex all the credit for that little piece of inspiration. I loved it too when I read it.

[ConspiracyPenguin]

Cheers mate. I realise people dont comment on every film, so appreciate you taking the time. Another tick in the smile box!

I've tried the whole commenting on every film thing before and I found many posts to be insincere and cookie-cutter which, in my opinion, is useless. This time I decided to comment on those that I truly enjoyed and had an impact on me in one way or another and yours definitely did.

[Girgej]

Hey ... Great / Simple / Sweet story ... with beautiful visuals .... good actors btw ... keep it up ...

[Noel Evans]

Hey ... Great / Simple / Sweet story ... with beautiful visuals .... good actors btw ... keep it up ...

Cheers mate. Greatly appreciated.

[Brian Parker]

Some great visuals here in terms of composition/lighting Noel. Loved the shot near the beginning when she was sitting on the edge of the bed in the foreground and he was behind her. There was some genuine chemistry between the actors and she was really good. I enjoyed your film and look forward to seeing what you do in the future.

[Darkline]

Really good work. Along with 'meeting' I felt this was right up at the top of the festival.

I dont feel the need to pick the specifics apart, I just know how I felt after watching it which is why I know 'it worked'.

The tone of this is pitched nicely. The bittersweet ending isn't soppy or overhandled, it feels real. Every other aspect of the short felt like it was there to support the story and not detract from it.

I rarely watch a short more than once, maybe 3 films a festival I'll feel the need to go back and view. This one I would watch again.

[Maximus]

Great job! Your young actors were fantastic. The boy in particular was very believable in a challenging role. The film looked amazing. One of my favorites. :beer:

[Noel Evans]

Really good work. Along with 'meeting' I felt this was right up at the top of the festival.

I dont feel the need to pick the specifics apart, I just know how I felt after watching it which is why I know 'it worked'.

The tone of this is pitched nicely. The bittersweet ending isn't soppy or overhandled, it feels real. Every other aspect of the short felt like it was there to support the story and not detract from it.

I rarely watch a short more than once, maybe 3 films a festival I'll feel the need to go back and view. This one I would watch again.

Really appreciate those comments Darkline.

[Noel Evans]

Great job! Your young actors were fantastic. The boy in particular was very believable in a challenging role. The film looked amazing. One of my favorites. :beer:

Sincerely, Im really just happy that I can look through the comments and see this has an audience that can enjoy my intentions. Thank you.

[Chris Messineo]

This is definitely one of my favorites of the fest so far. Lovely story. Wonderful actors. Great look and visual style. Beautiful score (Herman is always amazing). Very well done.

[Solomon Chase]

One of my favorites...
The cinematography wasn't always consistent, but still good. Foley work and score were well done. I felt it was warm and touching, but (like others have said) not in a melodramatic way. The two kids did a very good job :)

[Noel Evans]

The two kids did a very good job :)

Seems to be common in the responses. Is it wrong that I dont tell them so I can still afford to keep using them should the need arise? :P (Kidding of course).

Thanks for stopping by Solomon.

[Noel Evans]

This is definitely one of my favorites of the fest so far. Lovely story. Wonderful actors. Great look and visual style. Beautiful score (Herman is always amazing). Very well done.

Chris. Really glad that YOU enjoyed this. And very happy when I read your comments.

[Noel Evans]

Couple of things I have seen in more than one comment are the actors performances and that a few have mentioned is that the material wasnt overhandled / soppy, Along those lines anyway.

The first thing I come back to is the shoot day, and when directing the actors how that fine line between overstating everything and giving enough in the performance was probably the highest on my priority list. I was very aware that going one way or the other could kill performance so I really worked hard to create an approach and then put this into action on the day. So, for me its quite gratifying when people actually voice that in their comments, even if just one person said it, it would be enough for me, but it seems more people noticed this than not, so for me it's kind of like a personal win so to speak - if that makes sense.

[Ben Sliker]

but it seems more people noticed this than not, so for me it's kind of like a personal win so to speak - if that makes sense.

makes total sense Noel. seems that it's a generally accepted feeling, so good job. Acting critiques are really a mixed bag here usually, some might think a film's acting is brilliant whereas others will watch the same film and cringe. The fact that you have had consistent positive feedback in this arena DOES say something.

[Sarah Daly]

Hey I loved this Noel - a simple story, well told. And yep - the acting was spot on - great job to the kids and to you for that. This is an example of a script that fits the brief and the timeframe perfectly. A heartwarming little piece handled with confidence and subtlety. And as many have said, the soundtrack rocks. A great fit with the tone of the piece that truly takes it to another level.

Basically, great job all involved!

[Jeff Anderson]

notes while watching :)

Ok in the first 15 seconds I can tell this is going to be fantastic! An instant winner.

I like the lighting, but in that initial bedroom scene there's a pool of light on the wall that just feels out of place. Everywhere else it feels perfect.

The night scene in the bedroom feels too "day for night" for me.

Love this story! Had wondered how kangaroos factored in... Very nice! And very sweet but not overly sweet. Good family movie anyone could enjoy.

Nice acting by the kids - nice casting too - very believable as brother and sister both in looks and acting.

Sound - didnt notice anything so it must've been great! :) Score was perfect! Totally added to the movie without making me notice it. Honestly didnt notice it until the very end. Everything just comes together and lets you watch a nice a little story play out.

Nice work Noel, you're making this competition quite tough!

[Norm Sanders]

Noel, I really enjoyed the story & message behind this. I think this is the best I've seen from you yet. Simple. Sweet.

VERY well shot in the majority, with only one of the bedroom scenes being underlit, in my opinion. I had a difficulty at times understanding the dialogue, so I'm not sure if that's from accents, talent talking a tad fast, recording, or final compression ... but as I was understanding what was going on, I had to go back & listen again to catch some of what was said.

Your talent did a great job. Really liked both of the kids in here ... solid deliveries, and great direction.

Awesome title too ... loved it. :)

[Noel Evans]

This is an example of a script that fits the brief and the timeframe perfectly. A heartwarming little piece handled with confidence and subtlety. And as many have said, the soundtrack rocks. A great fit with the tone of the piece that truly takes it to another level.

Basically, great job all involved!

Sarah, thank you very much for taking the time to comment. Very glad you enjoyed it.

[Noel Evans]

Nice acting by the kids - nice casting too - very believable as brother and sister both in looks and acting.


Cheers Jeff, those particular comments mean a lot.



Sound - didnt notice anything so it must've been great! :) Score was perfect! Totally added to the movie without making me notice it. Honestly didnt notice it until the very end.

Couldnt agree more, still a bit spellbound on score. I will provide some BG info on the score side as in my brief to Herman after the vote is over.

[Noel Evans]

I had a difficulty at times understanding the dialogue, so I'm not sure if that's from accents,

Most likely cause from my end. English is sometimes difficult :P (IM KIDDING!)




Your talent did a great job. Really liked both of the kids in here ... solid deliveries, and great direction.

Awesome title too ... loved it. :)

Appreciate that Norm.

[Steven Graeff]

everyone else has already said much of what i possibly could have mentioned...

so i will reiterate some things. The quality of acting was amazing, the visuals were attractive and the score was beautiful. my only wimpy concern was the mix of the parents voices, they sounded like they were talking into a mic somewhere else and not reeeaaallly be hind the door...

but all in all, it was a wonderful experience for me, one of my favs

[Norm Sanders]

Couldnt agree more, still a bit spellbound on score. I will provide some BG info on the score side as in my brief to Herman after the vote is over.

To avoid a potential beat-down from Herman, for not mentioning score, let me do so here! :thumbsup:

As always, the dude rocks ... apologies for being so focused on the other comments as to not mention the quality score as well, which supported vs taking over the film.

[Noel Evans]

but all in all, it was a wonderful experience for me, one of my favs

Awesome! Cheers Steven, appreciate that.

[Herman Witkam]

To avoid a potential beat-down from Herman, for not mentioning score, let me do so here! :thumbsup:

As always, the dude rocks ... apologies for being so focused on the other comments as to not mention the quality score as well, which supported vs taking over the film.

haha Norm - I forgive you. Thanks for the positive feedback :-)

[kurtmo]

Way to go! I'm glad you made the final. Congratulations!

[Edgen]

congrats Noel on the top 8!

cheers,
/j

[Rodney V. Smith]

Top 8! Told you that you'd be kicking ass. Are you making it out to LA?

[Ryan E. Walters]

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

[Brian Parker]

Congrats on the top 8!

[Noel Evans]

WOW thanks all!

[~jai~]

A VERY HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU! I really, really loved your film and can't wait to see it as it should be seen, LARGE! Hope to see you there in LA!

[Noel Evans]

Top 8! Told you that you'd be kicking ass. Are you making it out to LA?

Gonna try mate. Long way from here though.

[Noel Evans]

A VERY HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU! I really, really loved your film and can't wait to see it as it should be seen, LARGE! Hope to see you there in LA!

Thanks jai. Very heartily accepted.

[armisiano]

Noel my friend, excellent work. Congrats on making it to the top 8, I loved your film. :)

[Brandon Rice]

Congrats!

[hoz]

congrats, i really dug your film

[Tim Joy]

Way to go Noel!

Haven't commented on this one yet, but just watched it again. It really draws you in. The acting, sound, music, lighting... all very solid. I definitely feel like I'm watching people, not watching actors trying to be people.

Great job. Very nice script too. Congrats!

[Ben Sliker]

way to go Noel! and the fact that you are going to the screening inspires me to try, since my flight is MUCH shorter ...

[conrad_johnson]

Nice work dude, def one of my favorites. I'll get around to reviewing it tomorrow.

[Noel Evans]

way to go Noel! and the fact that you are going to the screening inspires me to try, since my flight is MUCH shorter ...

You have no excuse :P

Thanks again all.

[Imaginate]

Congrats on top 8. I enjoyed your film, your actors were great and you handled the story really well.

[jambredz]

late to the party....but i really really liked this. All has been mentioned already but i'd still like to say its beautifully shot and score excellently. Big ups to the writer Alex (whom i admire his work), and Herman. One thing that took me out for a quick second was the difference in grading from the shots at 1.19...and then 1.23. Was kinda like "whoa...what happened". but thats about it. But colours were nice...just not consistent.

Man i hope to enter a fest one day, i'd be shooting with my dvx which i got december and more or less alone (dont have much support when it coems to that). Gonna feel kinda weird goin up against u big boys with experience and HD :)...but hopefully i can get a decent script and decent actors and wow u guys.

Good work man!

[Noel Evans]

late to the party....but i really really liked this. All has been mentioned already but i'd still like to say its beautifully shot and score excellently. Big ups to the writer Alex (whom i admire his work), and Herman.

Glad you liked it mate and thanks for your thoughts.

Cheers!

[Ryan E. Walters]

So are you still working on trying to figure out how to get to the screening? I'm impressed that you are even considering it. I'd offer you a free place to stay at, but as I'm in Oregon, I do not think that would do you much good .... (But if you are ever in this part of the woods, let me know, and you've got a place to stay.)

[Noel Evans]

Your a gentleman Ryan. Very nice of you.

Im all set here. Will be in LA for just a few days to fit with my work schedule. But Ill be there!

[Rubbersquare]

yours was my fave of the fest, something i could see playing at a fest in a theatre or spotlighted on IFC or Sundance. amazing performances from the cast and a great feel overall - if maybe a bit sad, it was real and true and real. great work.

[Noel Evans]

yours was my fave of the fest, something i could see playing at a fest in a theatre or spotlighted on IFC or Sundance. amazing performances from the cast and a great feel overall - if maybe a bit sad, it was real and true and real. great work.

Holey crap man! Thats such high praise I had a goosebump moment reading that.

Seriously to have just one person say what you did makes me feel that the aim of what I set out to create, something real and honest, has made this whole fest worthwhile for me.

And again I say to Alex Whitmer for helping make this happen.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Wow, well done film! Really great film!

I'm still very confused...what happened? she taught him to recognize money, does that mean he's severely disabled? he didn't seem disabled at all. is she his sister? it seemed so, but then suddenly that closeup of her hand on his gave me some heebiejeebies. really great acting, probably the best direction/acting of the whole fest.

And the music :-), Herman, you knock it out of the park my friend. Chantelle and I were watching it together and she was like 'you have to mention how great the score is!' then your credit popped onscreen and she goes 'oh, no wonder I loved it' :-)

To summarize, extremely well done, definitely hope you entire more fests. So far this seems like Top 3 contender

[Noel Evans]

probably the best direction/acting of the whole fest.


Cheers Shawn. That really means a lot. We have done a small update to clarify things a touch at the outset.

So glad you liked the soundtrack, when I initially gave Herman the brief, I was concerned a touch - of course not with Hermans skill but the approach I wanted to try. But as you say Herman knocked it out of the park.

[Sprocketboy]

You definitely cast a pair of very talented young actors to direct. They are convincing on the most part. I didn't buy the crying, yet it wasn't so bad it distracted me from the story. Its a very touching story that works from beginning to end. Take a pat on the back for your fine work.

[Herman Witkam]

And the music :-), Herman, you knock it out of the park my friend. Chantelle and I were watching it together and she was like 'you have to mention how great the score is!' then your credit popped onscreen and she goes 'oh, no wonder I loved it' :-)

Haha :D Thanks Shawn!

[Faith Nelson]

I'm not allowed to vote but if I could this film would get high marks! Love the girl actress. Alex, the SP is great. Good job!

[ZazaCast]

Congratulations Noel... this was a great film!

[conrad_johnson]

Really good work here. Congrats!

[armisiano]

Much congrats Noel! It was great to meet you and hang out. Good job on the film man, I look forward to wat you bring us in the future. :)

[Susanne G.]

Congratulations to Noel, Alex, Herman and all the others who worked on the film.

Susanne

[Robert Eldon]

Noel, congratulations on your placement. Are you glad you made the trip to see it on the big screen and be there when it won 2nd place?

This was a wonderful heartwarming film!

[Jason Ramsey]

Nice meeting you last night, Noel.

later,
jason

[Brandon Rice]

Noel! Congratulations! Your film played AMAZING on the big screen... much much better than on the small screen, and the line recording at the beginning made a HUGE difference. I LOVED it, and it gave me not only chills but a smile on my face! Great work! This was also one of Chentelle's favorites of the night!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Well deserved. Congrats to Alex as well.

I've been away so where can I see the new edits?

[lawriejaffa]

Well done Noel, I had hoped this film would do well, and so it has! But you just know if the kids got problems putting coins into a slot machine that sex ed at highschools going to be way tougher! If only Matt had finished his F*ck me First Film!

Seriously mon amie - congratulations - utterly well deserved :)

[Noel Evans]

Thanks everyone, really do appreciate all the comments received and the kind words. Havent had much chance to get on the net so just a quick note, getting ready for that long flight home.

Has been an awesome weekend. Lots of fun with everyone. And thats the reason I took this trip. Really loved the nature of the fest, was more like a mutual camaraderie among the competitors and that was fantastic.

[Ryan E. Walters]

CONGRATS! Well done- an excellent showing. :)

[DarkElastic]

Congratulations Noel, for a well deserved second place. I said it in my original review that I hoped it would do well and it has. This has one of the strongest scripts, direction and acting in the whole Fest, and for that I salute you. I look forward to your next short.

[Luis_]

Hey I just wanted to say congrats, your entry was great I enjoyed it a lot.
Great stuff!

[Noel Evans]

Hey all, thanks again so much. Just getting it ready for the local circuit at the moment.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I expect to hear tales of you fully spanking the competition down in Aus

[Noel Evans]

We shall see :P Of course the first hurdle is just getting it looked at - coming in Silver sure wont hurt my chances though.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Damn skippy silver is good. Will definitely open some eyes to you. How hard is it there to get noticed on the local circuit?

[Noel Evans]

Damn skippy

HEH loved that. Well see how I go, doing everything I can at the moment.

[Herman Witkam]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1486607/

Now up on IMDb :)

[Noel Evans]

Yeah it is, but they havent added all cast and crew at this stage.

[Herman Witkam]

Yeah it is, but they havent added all cast and crew at this stage.

First they add "major credits" and people who are already up there. Then the rest.

[dre83]

Sow it via Facebook. Of course very nice music of Herman.

Also very nice camerawork and directing.

Hopefuly I can sounddesign and soundedit your next ;-)