THE JONES' - Do you wanna' f***in' die?!

[Marlon Ladd]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1253948893.jpg
After having to miss the questfest, I'm back in! Ready to maximize and utilize my new Canon Camera (loving it so far)! Plan to get this one shot and done early, so I'll have plenty of time to go back and make those changes we always want to make after we don't watch the film for a couple of weeks or so.


WRITER/DIRECTOR - Marlon Ladd
CINEMATOGRAPHER - RICCI JETT & Marlon Ladd
PRODUCERS - Marlon Ladd, Ricci Jett, Phillip Borghee
FILM SCORE - Hamza Lee
CAST - Chris Paul, Cara Black and more to come. . ..

Stay tuned.

[Marlon Ladd]

UPDATE:

8/16/09 - The script is locked (with possible ending change) and the film is already cast. Just looking for the time to shoot it. Looking at September 12th and 13th. Hopefully I'll only need a day, but planned for 2 just in case. I had a location type in my head, but I just got another idea I'm going to look into. Once I get that locked, then I'll be ready to go.

8/17/09 - Filmed the second part of a comedy sketch I'd been working on and was able to further test my camera and some of the new equipment (including a new DIY dolly). Hope to snap a couple of pics this weekend for the poster and maybe lock down the location.

8/26/09 - Yeah, didn't get any pics or anything accomplished on that end. Did finally finish the skit though and it looks good. We were able to play around with the makeup on Sunday and some of it came out okay and some not so good. Liquid latex hurts. Did learn a couple of things and we have some ideas that we'll test further this weekend.
The shoot this weekend went great. Of course we always seem to run out of time. There was about a page that we didn't get to shoot, but will do that this coming Saturday.

9/22/09 - My producer really came up on a cool location. He talked to a lady about buying or renting some gutted cars and that all led to her working with us and letting us use her place. At first when I saw it, I thought it was cool, but then she showed me this place in the back and I was flabbergasted! The place was perfect, so after getting a permit for the second weekend in a row and calling the police to let them know what we were doing, we cancelled the first location and used the new one.
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1253859341.jpg
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1253859563.jpg
The new location was a filmmakers dream and Dianna (the owner) really went above and beyond to help us. I'd love to give the type of location away, but I think I'll just post a few bts shots.
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1253597117.jpg

Uploading now - screen grabs to come.

[Marlon Ladd]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367088.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366793.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366928.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367027.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367193.jpg

Some more screen grabs! Rodney's been on my case, so here ya' go. Holdin' up my end of the deal.

[Marlon Ladd]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397219.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397384.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397478.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397523.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397699.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397767.jpg

Some bts pics. thanks to Kris Helton.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Great tagline, love it! Good luck, Marlon.

MAH

[Marlon Ladd]

Thanks, Mike!

[TMerry]

Hey Marlon, sound interesting can't wait to see the poster.

PS tried to visit your website "http://www.recoil-movie.com/"
Said it was not availible. Is the site down, or is it a bad URL?

Best!
-Tommy

[Rodney V. Smith]

Marlon!!! Welcome back dude. Looking forward to seeing this flick.

[ZazaCast]

I wanna' fu*kin' see this film!

[Marlon Ladd]

Hey Marlon, sound interesting can't wait to see the poster.

PS tried to visit your website "http://www.recoil-movie.com/"
Said it was not availible. Is the site down, or is it a bad URL?

Best!
-Tommy

Hey, Tommy! Yeah, the site has been down for a few months. I let it go, because I just didn't have the time or money to keep it going, but you can check me out on facebook (Marlon Ladd) or myspace.com/thenewestjack. I have a trailer up on one or both of those. Check it out and let me know what you think.


Marlon!!! Welcome back dude. Looking forward to seeing this flick.
Yeah!!! It's been a minute, Rodney, but I'm back. Can't wait for all the fun. You know I'm looking forward to yours too.

I wanna' fu*kin' see this film!
Zaza, I'm really excited about this one. Just wait, 'cause it's gonna' be off-the-chain. . .I hope. LOL. That flashing pic's kinda' creeeepppy.

[Richard J. Johnson]

nIce! welcome back my friend.

[Zim]

Sounds good.

[Brian Parker]

Welcome back man. Sounds really cool.

[Marlon Ladd]

Thanks, peeps. Lookin' forward to this one. It should be alot of fun. Got some new kick azz ideas for this one too.

[Marlon Ladd]

Been thinking about locations and just had another idea for one that I think would be perfect. Today I'll be searching online for what I'm thinking about and hopefully I'll come up with one close. If not, I'll just get a permit and shut downtown down at the snap of my fingers - ha!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Any luck?

[Marlon Ladd]

Any luck?
Yep, found the perfect place actually. I'm gonna' call them tomorrow and see if they're game. I've been to the place a long time ago and it hasn't changed since, which is great. I'll let you know once I see what's what.

[Marlon Ladd]

Yeah, didn't get any pics or anything accomplished on that end. Did finally finish the skit I'd filmed and been working on though and it looks good. We were able to play around with the makeup on Sunday and some of it came out okay and some not so good. Liquid latex hurts btw (if you have hair). Did learn a couple of things and we have some ideas that we'll test further this weekend. People are coming on board left and right too.

Changed my mind on the "perfect location," because I can see somebody else on the board is going after the same thing. I had another location in mind and will have to lock it down this weekend.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Hmmm... interested in what the new location is. Going to post any pics this weekend?

MAH

[Marlon Ladd]

I may post some early this week. Going to the lake to relax and chill on Sat., but plan to take pics on Sunday. Wait a minute - I checked out this location 6 or so months ago and I think I already have pics. I'll have to see.

[Sprocketboy]

Oklahoma City is the mecca of cool locations. Please post some pics when you have a chance. Good luck.

[Marlon Ladd]

Have you been here before, man?? What were you doin' way over here? LOL.

[Gord.T]

'The Jones' is a pretty cool title. I like that.

'Do you wanna fkin die.' I think maybe you should rethink that line.
Good luck m' man and above all, have fun. I shall watch. :beer:

[TMerry]

Does the title mean that you have to, "fu*kin' die?!" to keep up with the Joneses ? :-)

[Marlon Ladd]

'The Jones' is a pretty cool title. I like that.

'Do you wanna fkin die.' I think maybe you should rethink that line.
Good luck m' man and above all, have fun. I shall watch. :beer:
Thanks, Raptor! Once you see the movie, you'll know exactly why I used that line. LOL.

[Marlon Ladd]

Does the title mean that you have to, "fu*kin' die?!" to keep up with the Joneses ? :-)
Can't tell you that, Tommy. That would give it all away and then what would I do with myself? Oh! Make another movie - yeah! Hey, did you get my last PM?

[TMerry]

Can't tell you that, Tommy. That would give it all away and then what would I do with myself? Oh! Make another movie - yeah! Hey, did you get my last PM?

Just now saw it, you are D-Man Marlon! :beer:

[Marlon Ladd]

Going to check out another 2 locations today. We'll see what's what.

[Marlon Ladd]

The location I was gonna' use won't really work. Too much traffic noise, but one of my producers (like I have a big budget film - I don't) found a place that would be almost too perfect. If we get that place - man, it'll be on and poppin'! Waiting for approval now.

[Marlon Ladd]

Location would've been perfect (half of a hospital floor), but we were turned down! Shut down! Thrown down! Now my back hurts. Anyway, had to find another location yesterday. Went back to the first option that would have been great, but again, too much traffic NOISE. Drove around in an area I've shot before and found possibly the next best perfect place. Found an alley that'll work if I can dress it right.

It's gonna' have to work - we film this weekend!

[Rodney V. Smith]

locations have got to be the biggest problem for us no budget guys. ANything else e can maange to work around, but the location is a killer. You have any shots the alternate location?

[Marlon Ladd]

locations have got to be the biggest problem for us no budget guys. ANything else e can maange to work around, but the location is a killer. You have any shots the alternate location?
Nope, I haven't filmed anything yet, so it's all good. I did take pics of that locale that I might put up later though. I got the permit for the new location and like I said, it should be cool. It's just that once you get a certain place in your head, it's hard to change.

[Marlon Ladd]

BTW - check out the trailer I did and others in the "adfest" section. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=182485

If 2 of them don't work, read the last page in the thread to find out how to watch 'em. Don't forget to vote.

[TMerry]

Damn Marlon, sorry to hear that. I've had my bout with Hospitals or anything that resembles them in the past, a hard nut to crack.

On thing for sure is that as we need to improvise more creativity comes out of the final product.
Sometimes hinting at a location has more impact then being able to have free roam on the real thing.

I had to fall back on a backup location myself - however the great thing about monsters is that they are as happy attaching people in a pee wee golf course as... the Eiffel tower LOL!

Still, good luck bro!

[Marlon Ladd]

Damn Marlon, sorry to hear that. I've had my bout with Hospitals or anything that resembles them in the past, a hard nut to crack.

On thing for sure is that as we need to improvise more creativity comes out of the final product.
Sometimes hinting at a location has more impact then being able to have free roam on the real thing.

I had to fall back on a backup location myself - however the great thing about monsters is that they are as happy attaching people in a pee wee golf course as... the Eiffel tower LOL!

Still, good luck bro!
Yeah, monsters don't give a flip! LOL! They just wanna' kill! Kill! KILL!

[Rodney V. Smith]

what about caring monsters? has anyone ever offered a monster a cup of tea? King Kong would've turned out differently if they'd offered to sit him down for tea and biscuits!

[DarkElastic]

or crumpets!!!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Updates marlon. give us word.

[Marlon Ladd]

Man, you're right. That's a movie I should have thought of. Being nice to a monster. Hmmmm. . .IDK know though, cz that's almost like trying to pet a strange pit bull. Yeah, they could be cool, but if they decide to trip, it's pretty much over for you. LOL.

Okay, this day has been like a whirlwind. It's supposed to rain here this weekend, so I had to cancel the shoot. I've got like 30 people invovled, so that sucks. I had already found an alternate location and secured the permit and let the police know what would be going on. So, the weather report for the weekend here has been changing everyday. It went from no rain, to very little chance of rain to it's gonna' rain cats and dogs. WTF? This morning I decided to just cancel and reschedule until maybe next weekend. Well my producer said no, let me see if I can find a place.

Well, to make a long story short, he finds a place and secures a deal. I think it'll be great, but I haven't actually seen it. LOL! I'll see it when I get off work tonight. It's in an old mall, so I have some idea of what it looks like, but the tell-tell will be once I set eyes on it.

So, we were off, now were. . .um. . .on. . .again. . .for now. If this place is cool, my partner is "The Man Next to The Man," but if it sucks, then "I want that sonofabitch dead! I want him dead! I want his family - DEAD! I want his house burnt to the groundIwanna'cutoffhisheadandshitdownhisneck. . .."

Can anybody tell me where that quote is from?

[Marlon Ladd]

Okay, I want him dead! It didn't work out! We will not be filming this weekend. Maybe next weekend though.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay, I want him dead! It didn't work out! We will not be filming this weekend. Maybe next weekend though.

he wants to fuckin die you mean.

[Marlon Ladd]

he wants to fuckin die you mean.
Yeah! LOL! Nah, I think it'll work out even better if we film this weekend. Delays in time can be good. . .sometimes.

[Marlon Ladd]

The shoot this weekend went great. Of course we always seem to run out of time. There was about a page that we didn't get to shoot, but will do that this coming Saturday.

My producer really came up on a cool location. He talked to a lady about buying or renting some gutted cars and that all led to her working with us and letting us use her place. At first when I saw it, I thought it was cool, but then she showed me this place in the back and I was flabbergasted! The place was perfect, so after getting a permit for the second weekend in a row and calling the police to let them know what we were doing, we cancelled the first location and used the new one.

The new location was a filmmakers dream and Dianna (the owner) really went above and beyond to help us. I'd love to give the type of location away, but I think I'll just post a few bts shots.
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1253597117.jpg

Uploading now - screen grabs to come.

[Marlon Ladd]

Oh, and the footage looks pretty good. Uploading as we speak.

[TMerry]

Hey Marlon, great location, as a matter of fact, the third window from the left is MY room.
I thought I saw you guys down there :-)

On the serious, cool, we were both shooting on the some weekend. Good stuff!

[Sprocketboy]

Very nice skeletal roof above your heads. What did they use that place for?

[Marlon Ladd]

Very nice skeletal roof above your heads. What did they use that place for?
It used to be some office building a long time ago. It's not really used much for nothing now, except my MOVIE!!! It really is a great location and we were very happy and lucky to find it thanks to my boy Phillip.



Hey Marlon, great location, as a matter of fact, the third window from the left is MY room.
I thought I saw you guys down there :-)

On the serious, cool, we were both shooting on the some weekend. Good stuff!

Yeah, I rent out the room in the middle to a few folks. Think I'm gonna' evict them folks though! I think they're zombies. . ..

Yep, looks like there were a couple of us that did it this weekend. It's all good!!

[TMerry]

Marlon! You need to get that banner together. It makes it easy for us to zip over to your film's thread. The poster can wait, but we need the banner NOW! ;-)

[Marlon Ladd]

You're absolutely right, Tommy. It's just hard for me to pull myself away from editing! LOL. Man, I got pics for a banner and poster - I'm just being a dumb ass with tunnel vision. I'm gonna' do it tonight when I get off though. Thanks for kickin' my butt about it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

So when do we get to see some grabs? Even just one would rock

[Marlon Ladd]

So when do we get to see some grabs? Even just one would rock
I was just thinkin' about that last night while I was going through the footage. I've got a couple in mind that I think would be good. Will get on it after work. Also, I finally came up with a good idea about a poster, so hopefully that'll be up tonight too.

[Marlon Ladd]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1253859341.jpg
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1253859563.jpg

Here ya' go. Also added poster to the front. Working on the banner right now.

[TMerry]

Cool Poster Marlon! :-)

[Marlon Ladd]

Cool Poster Marlon! :-)
Thanks, Tommy. Got that banner done finally too. Thanks! Now I can go to sleep.

[Matt Sconce]

Cool grabs! Thanks for giving us a glimpse!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Hey Marlon,gotta link back your banner to the thread.

Nice poster. cool grabs.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Thanks for the glimpse! Looking good. :thumbup:

[Marlon Ladd]

Cool grabs! Thanks for giving us a glimpse!

Thanks for stopping through, Matt. I think you'll dig this one - it's got some action!


Hey Marlon,gotta link back your banner to the thread.

Nice poster. cool grabs.

Damn! I forgot about that. I'm acting like a straight rookie up in here. :zombie_smiley: Poster may change some and I've got a good idea for another. Not completely satisfied yet.


Thanks for the glimpse! Looking good. :thumbup:

Thanks Mike! It's coming along nicely me thinks. BTW - You know folks is lookin' for you in your thread.

[Sprocketboy]

Nice stills from your film. Your actors look great! The banner has a good vibe to it.

[Marlon Ladd]

Nice stills from your film. Your actors look great! The banner has a good vibe to it.
Thanks, Sprocketboy! Yeah, I'm still diggin' the banner, so I guess it's okay. LOL. Usually I do somethin' (artwork) and then quickly get dissatisfied with it - like the 1st poster (now changed).

[pborghee]

Marlon, Its been great working with you. Awesome poster and cant wait for a completed film.

[Marlon Ladd]

Marlon, Its been great working with you. Awesome poster and cant wait for a completed film.
Thanks for all your help and dedication. We'd be in big trouble without you. I think this one's gonna' be amazing. Fingers crossed.

[TMerry]

Marlon LOVING the new poster. Great colors/look and feel!

[Marlon Ladd]

Marlon LOVING the new poster. Great colors/look and feel!
Thanks, man! Means alot. I think it represents the flick pretty good.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Like the new poster dude. Shiny! How go things on your end? How's the cut coming along?

[Sprocketboy]

Rodney- I just realized that Marlon had his film in the can before you. Yet, I don't consider anyone done until they finish getting their pick up shots too. I thought I could pull mine off in 2 days and it will take me 3 and the 3rd day is in the middle of October. I hope I catch up to you filmmaking mavericks and make in time for the fest.

[Marlon Ladd]

Like the new poster dude. Shiny! How go things on your end? How's the cut coming along?

Thanks, Rodney. I worked hard on that darn thing! LOL. Things went pretty good. I seem to never have enough time. I did my reshoot Sat. to get about a page of dialogue we didn't have time to get the first time. We had plenty of time this time and were able to go beyond the script and I'm lovin' it. I've already finished a rough (rough) cut of the film and believe it or not, I'm under the 6 min. mark already. That's so crazy, but the film is fast-paced. Even still, I thought for sure it'd be longer.


Rodney- I just realized that Marlon had his film in the can before you. Yet, I don't consider anyone done until they finish getting their pick up shots too. I thought I could pull mine off in 2 days and it will take me 3 and the 3rd day is in the middle of October. I hope I catch up to you filmmaking mavericks and make in time for the fest.
Actually me and TMerry (Tommy) filmed the same weekend. I'm sure we weren't the first though. That would be too much like right. LOL. 3 days sounds about right. Are you gonna' have enough time to edit if your 3rd day is in mid. October?

[Rodney V. Smith]

Hey Marlon, did you do a separate photoshoot on the day of production and shoot your actor(s) for the poster? This is something I always make sure to do and it looks like you did the same thing.

[Marlon Ladd]

Hey Marlon, did you do a separate photoshoot on the day of production and shoot your actor(s) for the poster? This is something I always make sure to do and it looks like you did the same thing.
Actually that's the best way to do it, because you can just focus on that. I've done it that way before, but this time I actually just took shots on the set since my cam actually shoots still pics. I just got lucky and got a few good ones.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I did mine after the shoot. Now working on the final poster for myself. It's something that I;ve been recommending for a while now to people who ask me to design posters. That way you actually get to convey exactly the image you want and not be forced to use screenshots which lack resolution for a blowup. You actually get to DESIGN the poster you want.

Yours is just really fucking cool. So great job there dude.

[Marlon Ladd]

I did mine after the shoot. Now working on the final poster for myself. It's something that I;ve been recommending for a while now to people who ask me to design posters. That way you actually get to convey exactly the image you want and not be forced to use screenshots which lack resolution for a blowup. You actually get to DESIGN the poster you want.

Yours is just really fucking cool. So great job there dude.
Thanks! Means alot coming from you, 'cause you do excellent work on your posters. Yeah, that really is the best idea, because trying to use screenshots can be tough. You're limited to what you've filmed instead of having an idea for a cool poster and actually taking the kind of shots you want or need.

[Matt Sconce]

Marlon, I just had to drop in and say that your consistent encouragement of the film makers of this festival is noticed and appreciated. I have seen that you are present in many of the threads encouraging and asking questions. I wish there were a ton more dvxusers like you. Best wishes on your project. -Matt Sconce

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay you gotta seriously give us more than 2 screenshots. The title makes me really curious and I expect to see a ton of badassery. So here's my request: give us some badass shots and I promise I'll stop asking... (but I lie)

[Marlon Ladd]

Marlon, I just had to drop in and say that your consistent encouragement of the film makers of this festival is noticed and appreciated. I have seen that you are present in many of the threads encouraging and asking questions. I wish there were a ton more dvxusers like you. Best wishes on your project. -Matt Sconce

Wow. Thanks, Matt! That's the first time anybody has ever said anything like that to me on here. I didn't think I was doing anything different than what everybody else does. As filmmakers, we all know how hard it is to make films, especially on a low budget. People make promises and don't come through all the time. We have to wear alot of hats and it gets tough. I've been through the fire and all the ups and downs of trying to get a project finished, so I understand and think it's great that dvxuser has these film festivals to light that filmmaking fire under people. :violent5: Thanks again for noticing and I can't wait to see your feature. I also watched your action short a few weeks back. You had some really good cinematography and your action was on-point. I'm a fan of your work and I really hope you like "The Jones.


Okay you gotta seriously give us more than 2 screenshots. The title makes me really curious and I expect to see a ton of badassery. So here's my request: give us some badass shots and I promise I'll stop asking... (but I lie)

Okay, you put up more and I will (I lie). No, seriously, I will. I racked my brain trying to find those 2. I don't wanna' give everything away, although the movie is basically about badassery. Okay, I just thought of two or three more pics I can put up. Put yours up and I'll put mine up when I get off work. Deal?

[Rodney V. Smith]

Deal. I gotta find the shots that don't give too much away as well... damn action sequences reveal so much...

[Marlon Ladd]

Deal. I gotta find the shots that don't give too much away as well... damn action sequences reveal so much...
See, now you know what I'm talking about. LOL. I know you can find a few though. There's a total of 360 seconds in 6 minutes. 24 fps x 360 seconds = 8,640 total frames. I think you can come up with a few stills. I'm sure I made a mistake in there somewhere, but you get my meaning. LOL. Now get 'er done.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Time to hold up your end of the bargain Marlon :grin:. Show us your grabs!

[Mattykins]

I want to see this just because it has "Fu*k" in the title.

Looking good so far, best of luck!

[Marlon Ladd]

I want to see this just because it has "Fu*k" in the title.

Looking good so far, best of luck!
Matty, I trust you will not be disappointed. Be aware, the language in this one is def. rated "R." LOL. Thanks!

[Marlon Ladd]

Time to hold up your end of the bargain Marlon :grin:. Show us your grabs!

A deal's a deal, Rodney. Here ya' go!

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367088.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366793.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366928.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367027.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367193.jpg

Some more screen grabs! Rodney's been on my case, so here ya' go. Holdin' up my end of the deal

[Rodney V. Smith]

Screengrabs are crisp and sharp. what camera you using?

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

A deal's a deal, Rodney. Here ya' go!

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367088.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366793.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366928.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367027.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367193.jpg

Some more screen grabs! Rodney's been on my case, so here ya' go. Holdin' up my end of the dealGreat work! Grade these a bit and you'll have some amazing shots. :thumbup:

[Marlon Ladd]

Screengrabs are crisp and sharp. what camera you using?
I'm using the Canon HF S10. I love it!



Thanks, Mike! Did you come up with any more cc ideas?

[TMerry]

Cool grabs, I love this one:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367027.jpg
Its very artsy and gritty, Its cool you can see the girders reflected above from the
location.

I'm guessing that someones foot is going to
stomp that water 15 frames after that grab? :-) ??

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

I'm using the Canon HF S10. I love it!



Thanks, Mike! Did you come up with any more cc ideas?
Yes. Can you send me these? I love the new shots. Much more range involved.

[Marlon Ladd]

Cool grabs, I love this one:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367027.jpg
Its very artsy and gritty, Its cool you can see the girders reflected above from the
location.

I'm guessing that someones foot is going to
stomp that water 15 frames after that grab? :-) ??

Well, go ahead and let the cat outta' the bag, Tommy. :Drogar-Sick(DBG): LOL. Now I know you're a real filmmaker (if you could see that). Good call. I was wondering if anybody would pick up on that. I think the shot in the film is actually pretty cool, but I'll let you guys be the judge.


Yes. Can you send me these? I love the new shots. Much more range involved.

Yep, I sure can. I'll get 'em to you tomorrow morning. For now, back to editing! :violin:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Yep, I sure can. I'll get 'em to you tomorrow morning. For now, back to editing! :violin:

Wha? You aren't done yet? Get a move on man!

[TMerry]

Well, go ahead and let the cat outta' the bag, Tommy. :Drogar-Sick(DBG): LOL. Now I know you're a real filmmaker (if you could see that). Good call. I was wondering if anybody would pick up on that. I think the shot in the film is actually pretty cool, but I'll let you guys be the judge.


Oops, maybe that comment by me should have been sent by P.M.
My Bad :Drogar-Shock(DBG):

[Marlon Ladd]

Wha? You aren't done yet? Get a move on man!

Can't move as fast as you. It's just physically an impossibility. Your new nickname is James "Rodney" Brown - the hardest working man in show business.



Oops, maybe that comment by me should have been sent by P.M.
My Bad :Drogar-Shock(DBG):

Nah, it's all good. Maybe if you hadn't of picked up on it somebody else would've.

I got a question - what the hell will we do once are film is finished and tweaked to death. We'll probably be done (Rodney's probably already done) over the next week or so. Tommy, I know you got that other project too though.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I got a question - what the hell will we do once are film is finished and tweaked to death. We'll probably be done (Rodney's probably already done) over the next week or so. Tommy, I know you got that other project too though.

Marketing! Get the word out about the film and when its showing. Set up your facebook page, get some publicity stills, do interviews with your actors... supplemntal material. As for me... I might go shoot another one.. just for the fun of it.

[Marlon Ladd]

Marketing! Get the word out about the film and when its showing. Set up your facebook page, get some publicity stills, do interviews with your actors... supplemntal material. As for me... I might go shoot another one.. just for the fun of it.
See? That's what I was thinking about - shooting another one if I had time. One way more less intense. Easy location with only a couple of actors. Chris K. had a cool script, but I don't know if I'd have the time. Plus I need to get working on the next feature.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

If either one of you enters two films and I find flaws in them, I'm going to tear you each a new one! :)

Make these shine before you even start thinking ahead.


Says the guy who hasn't finished one yet. :)

MAH

[Rakesh Jacob]

Hey man nice work with the HFS10. I did a couple things with the HF100 myself, awesome little cameras. Your grabs look AMAZING! Looking forward to this one.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I wasn't encouraging anything. I still have a week of sound design to go through and then gotta go back and forth with Damian for the score, so I still have lots of work to do, not even to mention color correction. Now if I had another month...

I seriously think that marketing needs to be focus if anyone is finished. Get the word out and let people know about your film and the festival. Get more eyeballs over here. It's one of those parts of filmmaking that we as independents never pay enough attention to. There is so much else we can do at this point to garner interest, so what the hell are we waiting for?

[Marlon Ladd]

If either one of you enters two films and I find flaws in them, I'm going to tear you each a new one! :)

Make these shine before you even start thinking ahead.


Says the guy who hasn't finished one yet. :)

MAH

You're absolutely right, Mike! LOL. We're lookin' ahead like it's all gravy. I think it's because I had so much fun and like the way everything turned out that I'm ready to do another one to see if I can do it better. So, let me stop and keep my focus. I still have lots of work to do on this one and I would rather take my time and make sure it's "polished" as you say.

Now get your tail in gear and get that one done! :Drogar-Thinking(DBG


Hey man nice work with the HFS10. I did a couple things with the HF100 myself, awesome little cameras. Your grabs look AMAZING! Looking forward to this one.

Thanks, Johnny! Yeah, I love what Canon has done. It's really unbelieveable. Not to dismiss any of the other cameras at all. With all the advances in technology there are alot of cameras out there that can do some great things, but I think folks are slippin' on this one. I just felt like this was the best bang for my buck and I have practiced enough with it to really be able to get some nice results.


I wasn't encouraging anything. I still have a week of sound design to go through and then gotta go back and forth with Damian for the score, so I still have lots of work to do, not even to mention color correction. Now if I had another month...

I seriously think that marketing needs to be focus if anyone is finished. Get the word out and let people know about your film and the festival. Get more eyeballs over here. It's one of those parts of filmmaking that we as independents never pay enough attention to. There is so much else we can do at this point to garner interest, so what the hell are we waiting for?

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I've just never been even closed to finished this soon before the deadline before, so I kind of don't know what to do with myself. LOL. Plus, shooting with my cam. is so easy it's ridiculous.

I think you're dead on with the marketing. You have done an excellent job at it now and in the past. I know I don't spend enough time doing that and that needs to change. This may be the most marketing I've ever done for one of these festivals. Got my thread up way early and finished shooting early and it's not even October and I've got grabs up. I credit some of that to you for sure, because I've tried to keep pace as much as possible with your thread - yours is the "to go by." Once I'm completely done (or at least waiting on my music guy to compose), I'll be getting with you to see what ideas you have about more promotion.

[Sprocketboy]

Marlon- beautiful grabs! I like all of them. No complaints here. People may beg you for more grabs, but don't give in. Right now, I'm excited to find out what these two characters are up.

[Marlon Ladd]

Marlon- beautiful grabs! I like all of them. No complaints here. People may beg you for more grabs, but don't give in. Right now, I'm excited to find out what these two characters are up.
Thanks! Yeah, I really had to think hard to be able to get those shots without giving too much of the story away. It really is about what these two are up to. So, no more grabs! Maybe some interviews.

I've been keeping up with your thread - again, good luck and gets us some grabs!

[TMerry]

Thanks! Yeah, I really had to think hard to be able to get those shots without giving too much of the story away. It really is about what these two are up to. So, no more grabs! ....

Rodney is not going to like that talk,,, not one bit.. oh oh, too late, here he
comes and he wants more grabs j/k

(Sorry Rodney :happy:)

[Marlon Ladd]

I know, huh? LOL! I should say no more grabs, unless Rodney asks and agrees to put up some more in his thread.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

So... what I'm hearing is that there won't be a new grab per day until the 31st?

:(

[Rodney V. Smith]

I know, huh? LOL! I should say no more grabs, unless Rodney asks and agrees to put up some more in his thread.

They're coming. I had some cool ones from the credit sequence... but Ive shot 3 credit sequences so far trying to get the right feel and narrative thread. I agree though: no more grabs from you Marlon. Do some interviews with yuor actors. Let us meet them. It's great to have some extras anyway... supplemental material is always cool.

[Marlon Ladd]

So... what I'm hearing is that there won't be a new grab per day until the 31st?

:(

Ummmm, probably not. :violin:


They're coming. I had some cool ones from the credit sequence... but Ive shot 3 credit sequences so far trying to get the right feel and narrative thread. I agree though: no more grabs from you Marlon. Do some interviews with yuor actors. Let us meet them. It's great to have some extras anyway... supplemental material is always cool.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna' do that when I can get this darn editing done. I'm pissed you're on the credit sequence already..:violent5:

I've had some slight delays. I've been in the process over the weekend of changing laptops. Trying to get all the files and programs switched and loading new programs has been a task. In addition to that, I filmed a music video for a friend on Sat. Needless to say, I'm now 90% operational on the new laptop and will be finishing up some fx and cc this week.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I planned for my credit sequences to be part of the movie so not too much difference there. Of course i forgot to reinstall my fonts this weekend, so that went all to hell in a hurry. That's a reminder for you Marlon.

How goes the editing anyway? You almost all done?

[cinealma]

Just catching up on all the threads. Hey, this one looks great. Some really nice shots. Looking forward to your flick.

Cheers!


John G.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Nothing crazy, just played with them a bit. Mine are the larger pics with the CC.
it will be interesting to see what you have done on your own.

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366793.jpg

http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/Pics/Jones_kreeseshotgunCC.jpg



http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366928.jpg

http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/Pics/Jones_metalkingCC.jpg



http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367193.jpg

http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/Pics/Jones_meguncuCC.jpg

MAH

[EditPhish]

nice!

[Marlon Ladd]

I planned for my credit sequences to be part of the movie so not too much difference there. Of course i forgot to reinstall my fonts this weekend, so that went all to hell in a hurry. That's a reminder for you Marlon.

How goes the editing anyway? You almost all done?

Ha! I don't know what "almost done" means. :Drogar-Kriz(DBG): I feel like I've got so much stuff to do, but it's really all tweaking. Been working on a few fx since yesterday. I found a really good cc, but won't apply that until completely done. Still need to get some shots for the opening. Will try for that this weekend. After all that, it'll be time for the score. Where are you at now?


Just catching up on all the threads. Hey, this one looks great. Some really nice shots. Looking forward to your flick.

Cheers!


John G.

Thanks, John. Again, it's good to see you back again.

[Marlon Ladd]

Nothing crazy, just played with them a bit. Mine are the larger pics with the CC.
it will be interesting to see what you have done on your own.

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366793.jpg

http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/Pics/Jones_kreeseshotgunCC.jpg



http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254366928.jpg

http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/Pics/Jones_metalkingCC.jpg



http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1254367193.jpg

http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/Pics/Jones_meguncuCC.jpg

MAH

Jeez. Up here I can only see the originals. Will check it out when I get off.


nice!


Thanks, Edit. . .I think. LOL. I can't see this pic either.

[TMerry]

Nice CC Marlon! The toning down of the reds put WAY more focus on the Gun mans eyes.

What else is new with the production besides editing?

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Nice CC Marlon! The toning down of the reds put WAY more focus on the Gun mans eyes.

What else is new with the production besides editing? :)
I did that CC for him.

Not sure if he's seen it or if he even likes it yet. :laugh:

[Marlon Ladd]

Nice CC Marlon! The toning down of the reds put WAY more focus on the Gun mans eyes.

What else is new with the production besides editing?

Hey, Tommy. Yeah, Mike had a little time on his hands and hooked the look up for me, but this is my first time seeing it. Looks good.

I've been doing some fx stuff trying to get some things just right. Also been playing a bit with the cc. It's funny because the look that I think I'm gonna' use is similar (almost identical actually) to the one Mike did. What's goin' on with your stuff?


:)
I did that CC for him.

Not sure if he's seen it or if he even likes it yet. :laugh:

Mike the grab with the guy with the shotgun is just about exactly the cc color of it that I'm going with. It's got sort of a yellowish tint. That's so funny 'cause I played with about 4 different looks and before I saw your pics, that was one of the looks I liked the best. It's crazy how we came up with virtually the same look for the film. I'll try and post a grab today or tomorrow.

[Marlon Ladd]

UPDATE:
I have been tweaking and tweaking and tweaking, but it's kind of been hit or miss. I've been busy doing other stuff as well and couldn't edit over the weekend hardly at all. I've been able to spend 4-6 hours a day on it since Monday and I've made some progress, but it doesn't seem like it.

The fx work is all done! There's only one small piece I'm not 100% satisfied with, but I think it still works fine. If I come up with some more ideas and have time later, I'll change it.

CC is finished!! Finally! I've been working on that for DAYS. The reason why the cc has taken so long is because some of the clips were better lit than the others and so I had to do some matching. In the end after doing all the cc, I decided to just go back and change out the less-perfectly lit clips. It took some searching, but luckily I had more coverage than a feature film for this one (LOL), so it's all good.

The sound is almost completely done (not the score), I just have to plug in some noise and that's a done deal.

I still have credits, opening and closing (hate closing credits!), b-roll to shoot for the intro. and the score and it's a wrap.

Will shoot the b-roll stuff this weekend (if weather permits) and work on the credits. I had an idea for an intro, but I don't think I will have enough time for that. Will also begin working on the score. I want my composer to hook it up, but there may not be enough time, so I may have to do it. Will also set a deadline for myself, because I want at least a couple of days to get the right highest quality compression.

[TMerry]

Updates my friend, updates.... ;-)

[Marlon Ladd]

Updates my friend, updates.... ;-)

Didn't shoot the b-roll stuff I'd planned to. Still trying to get the intro I want done. I really probably should scrap it, because just figuring out how to do it is becoming time consuming. I need to finish the film like it was intended and roll out. I should be done already.

Well, I guess I'll be making that final decision today and I'm leaning more towards what I should do rather than what I want to do. Freakin' deadlines!! A blessing and a curse. :Drogar-Thinking(DBG

[Nitsuj]

I had to scrap my intro for the dvxuser version due to time but I am glad I did it. I finished the dvxuser version first then shot the intro when I had time. You should do it but just make sure your picture is done on time. ;)

[Marlon Ladd]

I had to scrap my intro for the dvxuser version due to time but I am glad I did it. I finished the dvxuser version first then shot the intro when I had time. You should do it but just make sure your picture is done on time. ;)
Yeah, you're exactly right. Thanks for the advice! I don't know why in the hell I didn't come up with that idea. I've been struggling with this for days. It's like you always want to put your best, most polished and creative idea forward, but in the real world there are deadlines and we can only do the best we can do with the time we have.

So, I've decided to do a best case scenario intro that will incorporate a little of what I want to do later and just roll with that. Then as soon as I'm done with the dvxuser lock, I'll get started on the rest of it, because there's also a deleted scene that will be added to the other version as well.

Thanks, again, Nitsuj. Now let me get over and check out your updates.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Sounds like you are almost ready to submit. Good luck with the finishing touches.

MAH

[Marlon Ladd]

Sounds like you are almost ready to submit. Good luck with the finishing touches.

MAH
Thanks, Mike. Hopefully I'll have a pre-finished product to report this weekend. Wanna' have it done early enough in case I gotta' make some changes.

[Rodney V. Smith]

There are ALWAYS changes... Especially this late in the game. Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of letting it sit for a week or 2 before getting back to it with a fresh pair of eyes... Having someone else edit for you would be useful at this stage in the game.

[Marlon Ladd]

Maybe lettin' somebody edit for me will happen one day when we're rich and famous. Hell, even if we had a choice we still might not let it happen. It would be nice though.

[cinealma]

Looking good in the home stretch.

Can't wait cause I wanna poo pooing die! :thumbsup:


Cheers!

John G.

[Marlon Ladd]

Can't wait cause I wanna poo pooing die! :thumbsup:


Cheers!

John G.

And so you shall, my friend. So you shall. :violent5:
Now, who's next, please? :happy:

[Rodney V. Smith]

me! pick me!

[sfoster]

No, me. I deserve it. . . wait, oh, nevermind, I thought you were talking about something else.

[Marlon Ladd]

me! pick me!

Okay, then! :violent5:


No, me. I deserve it. . . wait, oh, nevermind, I thought you were talking about something else.

Too late. :violent5:

They were both such great people. But, alas, we had to lay them down to sleep. :embarasse :violin:

Eh-hem. . .who's next, please?

[Tom Marshall]

So Marlon's weapon of choice is apparently a flame thrower... :D

[Marlon Ladd]

So Marlon's weapon of choice is apparently a flame thrower... :D
Yep! BLAST 'EM!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, who's that over there? Is that. . .is that Tom Marshal? The actor?

:violent5:

BLAST 'EM!!!!!
:violin:

Who's next, please?

[Rodney V. Smith]

What's the status Marlon? You done yet?

[Marlon Ladd]

What's the status Marlon? You done yet?
Nope, not yet. LOL. Very happy with what I did with the opening though. Got that done and got the film to my music guy yesterday. Supposed to meet back with him tomorrow. Hope to have it finished by Wednesday, but silly me - I got an idea about something else to change.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Updates? :)

[Marlon Ladd]

Still working on the new idea I got that will make the movie better or worse. It's coming along and I hope to put the finishing touches on it tonight and add sound. Either it's gonna' work or it's not - no in-between. Went over to Hamza's (composer) last night to see what he had done and we went over some things. The score is GREAT, STUPENDOUS, FANTASTIC, WONDERFUL, AMAZING, UNPARALLELED, OFF-THE-CHAIN, JAMMIN' ON THE ONE. . .:Drogar-Shock(DBG):. . .eh-hum. . .I mean, "it's cool, ese!" Hamza's very talented (we call him a musical genius).

I usually score my own films and do fine, but this one would have been a little more complicated to do (you'll understand when you watch), because there are some places where the dialogue is paramount and tricky. I'm am so impressed with the score though - it's like watching the movie all over again without having seen it 50 million times in post.

So, Hamza wants to mix it down and tweak it a little and will have it done today. I hope to finish the new EXPERIMENT and closing credits as well and it's a WRAP!!!

[Marlon Ladd]

Okay, yesterday the music was finished. I was still working on an experimental shot though. Worked on that all last night and finally got it to work are midnight or so. Then I discovered some problems with some of the audio tracks! They weren't centered, so I had to go and do each one individually. Only got halfway through and went to bed (at 2:40 AM). Had to get up at 6 to get ready for work - was able to edit a little more this morning and got everything straight. Now I've got to do the closing credits (hate those) and it's a done deal. Plan to upload tonight!

[Om Nom Nom]

Location looks great - doesn't look like a typical horror movie, so I'm very curious to see what you came up with and where the monster is gonna come in!

[Marlon Ladd]

Location looks great - doesn't look like a typical horror movie, so I'm very curious to see what you came up with and where the monster is gonna come in!
It's sort of typical, but then it's not. :thumbsup: You'll have to check it out to see just what I mean. Hard to explain without giving it away, although I don't think it'll be so much of a surprise, since this is monsterfest.

[Marlon Ladd]

UPLOADED!! Waiting for the go-ahead. I think I got a pretty good compression goin' too. This is the biggest, best quality dimension size I've had so far in these fests.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Conversion was surprisingly pain free this time around, but. I've been getting some practice sending files off to Damian (my composer) for him to do his thing. Got any bugs out of the system with that process. Didn't you do any pre-renders to see how it would come out?

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

This movie is going to rock!
Good luck in the Fest.

MAH

[Marlon Ladd]

Conversion was surprisingly pain free this time around, but. I've been getting some practice sending files off to Damian (my composer) for him to do his thing. Got any bugs out of the system with that process. Didn't you do any pre-renders to see how it would come out?
Yeah, I did several and they were coming in at different sizes. When I really starting tweaking it I'd got one down to 52, then 52.1, then 51.1 and finally 48.9. I would have tweaked it until I got a 49.9, but alas, I was sleepy. Before (in previous fests) I really didn't have time to mess around too much. I was right up to the deadline and the last time went with like a 540x283 (the biggest I'd had until now).

[cinealma]

All right people, get your body bags because it's almost time to FUCKING DIE!

Yeah, baby!

[Matt Harris]

you had me at hand-uzi. sick poster, looks like youre bringing the action. veddy nyce.

[Marlon Ladd]

This movie is going to rock!
Good luck in the Fest.

MAH

Thanks, Mike! "One Percent" will be off-the-chain too!


All right people, get your body bags because it's almost time to poo pooING DIE!

Yeah, baby!

Somebody's always gotta' die. :embarasse BLAST 'EM :violent5:


you had me at hand-uzi. sick poster, looks like youre bringing the action. veddy nyce.

Thanks, Defcon! There's definitely some action up in here, but something else that will catch you off guard. MMUUUUUUWWWWWWAAAAHHHAAAAA!

[Sprocketboy]

Crazy guys, guns and monsters are a good combo. I'm hooked.

[Marlon Ladd]

Crazy guys, guns and monsters are a good combo. I'm hooked.
Damn, I shoulda' used that for my tagline! Way to sum it up, Sprocketboy. :evil:

[Tom Marshall]

Yeah, Marlon. Good ass-kicking luck!

[Marlon Ladd]

Thanks, Tom!!! Hopefully I can get a thumbs up review from ya'.

[Marlon Ladd]

Approved!! Whew!

[Nitsuj]

Thanks bro and yours is too dood.

[tmnt]

Nice poster mate, grabs look sweet too.

[Rodney V. Smith]

So here we are at the end once again. Time to stock up on the liquor and let the long wait begin. You're definitely in my top 10 Marlon. You;ve been a HUGE supporter of everyone's films and a good morale booster. This Fest's spirit award goes to...

Zazacast!

Hmmm.... the vote was rigged apparently..

Seriously though dude: looking forward to it. I DO wanna Fucking die!

[Marlon Ladd]

Thanks bro and yours is too dood.

It's about to be on and poppin'!!!


Nice poster mate, grabs look sweet too.

Thanks! Hope you enjoy the film and will stop in to let me know what you think.


So here we are at the end once again. Time to stock up on the liquor and let the long wait begin. You're definitely in my top 10 Marlon. You;ve been a HUGE supporter of everyone's films and a good morale booster. This Fest's spirit award goes to...

Zazacast!

Hmmm.... the vote was rigged apparently..

Seriously though dude: looking forward to it. I DO wanna poo pooing die!

AWWWWWW!!! Damnit! Lost again! Curse you Zaza!

I'm just really glad I had the time to get on here more than usual. There are a few people that get it right when it comes to promotion on the threads and you're one of 'em. You always get somethin' goin' early and keep everybody informed at all costs. We should all take a page outta' your book on that, man.

I sincerely hope with all my heart that everybody here is ready to. . .

POO POOING DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tom Marshall]

I sincerely hope with all my heart that everybody here is ready to. . .

POO POOING DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck yeah!!!!!! :beer:

[Shaun Patrick]

Finally read my way through the thread, Marlon. Great stuff--can't wait to the film today.

[TMerry]

Nomenclature clarification request:

What the hell is "POO POOING DIE!"??

Is that when a film so great that you*Pass a Log and then pass away*?? LOL!

[Marlon Ladd]

Nomenclature clarification request:

What the hell is "POO POOING DIE!"??

Is that when a film so great that you*Pass a Log and then pass away*?? LOL!
I'll take this one for $2500, Alex.

I would hope that's what that means, but you don't pass out - you actually "Poo Pooing DIE!"

LOL.

Man, let the gates be open. I'm ready to get it on!

[Marlon Ladd]

Finally read my way through the thread, Marlon. Great stuff--can't wait to the film today.
Thanks, Shaun! Really lookin' forward to yours too.

[Tom Marshall]

I'll take this one for $2500, Alex.

Alex Trebec should FUCKING DIE!!! :violent5:

[Marlon Ladd]

Alex Trebec should poo pooING DIE!!! :violent5:
BLASTED HIM!!!!!! Man, this thread is getting really dangerous. Tom is already takin' folks out and he ain't even seen the movie yet.:D

So, enter here at your own risk.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Loved this flick! The chemistry between the two characters was perfect. Laughed my ass off during a couple of scenes as well.

The action sequences/effect were really well done and I loved the comic book style opening. Nice editing all around.

Aside from a couple of minor focus issues and makeup effects that took me out of it just a bit. This was damn near perfect for the style you were going for.

Huge improvement all around from last fest. I would love to see these guys in another flick.

MAH

[EditPhish]

I felt like I was watching one of the possible winners. It looked fantastic and the editing was tight. The sound fx and the score were excellent... top notch. You put together a really good story that looked and sounded great.

My ONLY criticisms: I didn't understand why some zombies were green. I think a few of the effects could have been left out... they seemed gratuitous. Dialogue at the beginning was a bit wordy (and was almost losing me... but just almost)... However, none of it took away from my overall enjoyment of the film.

Great work!

[Edgen]

Cool Flick Marlon! I want to see more of these guys duke-in' it out and verbally bashing each other.

Cheers!
/j

[Dauntless]

nice, I really liked the part when he started singing:)... also the whole comic book transition was awesome!

[Maximus]

Marlon,

Great job! I've watched most of the entries, and yours is one of my favorites. Very entertaining and pro looking in most regards (I'll get to that in a moment), I would love to see more of these characters and their exploits. Feature potential!

*SPOILERS*

Writing, acting, directing, editing, music, VFX all very well done. The technicolor cinematography was perfect for the comic book style.

My one and major criticism would have to be the zombie makeup. WTF was that!? :)
Everything was going great until the big line, "Zombies" and you cut (3:13) to a big close up of this green pastry dough covered face! Yikes! Ed Wood! Everything was so slick and pro looking until that... What happened? It suddenly, to me at least, became campy and I was taken out of the picture.

I think it would be much better to play the zombies as real as possible. Have you seen Zombieland? Your film reminds me of that in many ways. Realistic, nasty badass muthapoo poo*n zombies is the way to go!

My two cents.

In my top three! :beer:

[dust'n the callipygous]

I thought the bright colored zombies went along with the whole comic theme (which was extremely well done). The sharpness and color were really nice. I really liked it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Have to re-download your film since the one in the zip file failed on me. But I'll be back with your review. You're next!

[AmyO]

Marlon -
THIS is the way you incorporate your comic book background with film! Awesome work. This film was near perfect for me. I liked the intro, it really set up the mood. I instantly got who the main characters were and their relationship to each other. They were very "well drawn" and distinct individuals. Perhaps the zombie makeup was a bit cartoonish, but I felt it went along with the comic aesthetic of the film so it didn't bother me that much. I want to see a whole feature with these guys, starting with the beginning of the zombie uprising. They weren't always this bada** were they? :)

[Denis Haineault]

In spite of the fact that I don't care about guns and zombies, I really enjoyed this. The whole thing looked and sounded really great. The intro was super, and I liked the comic book shots. The interaction between the two guys was excellent.

My only issues are that the makeup seemed a little too "harsh", and there seemed to be a noticeable boom mic shadow around the 4:50 mark on one of the actors face.

Overall, this was very cool. I'm adding this one to my favorites for this fest.

cheers

[Charli]

I also enjoyed the comic book beginning but I did feel it was a little bit too long for an introduction.

The interaction between the two actors were very believable they were both very likable and they were both very enjoyable to watch on film - I would definitely hire them in a heartbeat.

Though you might have kept with the comic book theme go in with a colored zombies, I do think it detracted from your story. The "green girl" seemed like an outtake of "Star Trek" and I was just waiting for the guy to kiss her.

If you had kept the zombies grayish I think you would have come out with a better told story. Still fun and enjoyable overall.

[Nitsuj]

This is one in my favorites list. It was entertaining and made me laugh. I did feel like maybe something was cut out when one of the actors said "I told you to wait" as the other shoots one of the zombies but it still worked. The make-up could have used work since I'm a big make-up EFX lover. A cheap effective way to get that look would be to get a bunch of gelatin from the local grocery store and apply it to their faces. Then throw on some make-up with less intensity. However the other digital effects worked well. The actors were great. I especially like the cuts of the actor saying "you wanna kickbox these muthas" that made me laugh. This was a great entry and I can't wait to see what you may come up with later.

[Marlon Ladd]

Loved this flick! The chemistry between the two characters was perfect. Laughed my ass off during a couple of scenes as well.

The action sequences/effect were really well done and I loved the comic book style opening. Nice editing all around.

Aside from a couple of minor focus issues and makeup effects that took me out of it just a bit. This was damn near perfect for the style you were going for.

Huge improvement all around from last fest. I would love to see these guys in another flick.

MAH

Thanks, Mike! You know your opinion means alot. Glad you liked it. I enjoyed yours too.


I felt like I was watching one of the possible winners. It looked fantastic and the editing was tight. The sound fx and the score were excellent... top notch. You put together a really good story that looked and sounded great.

My ONLY criticisms: I didn't understand why some zombies were green. I think a few of the effects could have been left out... they seemed gratuitous. Dialogue at the beginning was a bit wordy (and was almost losing me... but just almost)... However, none of it took away from my overall enjoyment of the film.

Great work!

Thanks, EP!!!!! I'm glad you enjoyed the film. I'm a big action guy so that's probably why I did what I did on the effects. It's really long story about the green makeup (LOL), but in the end we decided that it did fit the overall theme. Waiting to see what others think and react to that and we may change it.

Thanks for watching and thanks for stopping by to give your review. It is much appreciated.


Cool Flick Marlon! I want to see more of these guys duke-in' it out and verbally bashing each other.

Cheers!
/j

Thanks, Justin! Glad I got your seal of approval. You know I'm a fan of your films. And who knows, maybe you will see these guys again.

[Marlon Ladd]

nice, I really liked the part when he started singing:)... also the whole comic book transition was awesome!
Thanks, Dauntless! I love how the intro came out. Thanks for stopping through.


Marlon,

Great job! I've watched most of the entries, and yours is one of my favorites. Very entertaining and pro looking in most regards (I'll get to that in a moment), I would love to see more of these characters and their exploits. Feature potential!

*SPOILERS*

Writing, acting, directing, editing, music, VFX all very well done. The technicolor cinematography was perfect for the comic book style.

My one and major criticism would have to be the zombie makeup. WTF was that!? :)
Everything was going great until the big line, "Zombies" and you cut (3:13) to a big close up of this green pastry dough covered face! Yikes! Ed Wood! Everything was so slick and pro looking until that... What happened? It suddenly, to me at least, became campy and I was taken out of the picture.

I think it would be much better to play the zombies as real as possible. Have you seen Zombieland? Your film reminds me of that in many ways. Realistic, nasty badass muthapoo poo*n zombies is the way to go!

My two cents.

In my top three! :beer:

Hey, MAXIMUS!! Thanks for the great compliments. Top 3? Beautiful - I'll take it. LOL! Yeah, the jury is still out on the green zombies. We have the ability to change the color. We thought it fit with the theme. Seems that it does for some and then some don't like it so much. Seems there's already some controversy over it. In the end I don't want people to say, 'I liked the film, but. . .' so it may be something we have to go back and change.

And yes, I did see "Zombieland" and I liked the action in the movie. I wish there would have been more funny stuff mixed in though. I did still enjoy it.

Thanks for the two cents and the beer!! :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)


I thought the bright colored zombies went along with the whole comic theme (which was extremely well done). The sharpness and color were really nice. I really liked it.


Marlon -
THIS is the way you incorporate your comic book background with film! Awesome work. This film was near perfect for me. I liked the intro, it really set up the mood. I instantly got who the main characters were and their relationship to each other. They were very "well drawn" and distinct individuals. Perhaps the zombie makeup was a bit cartoonish, but I felt it went along with the comic aesthetic of the film so it didn't bother me that much. I want to see a whole feature with these guys, starting with the beginning of the zombie uprising. They weren't always this bada** were they? :)

Hey, Amy! Hell yeah they were always bad a**! :cheesy: Yeah, the zombie uprising would be very cool. I'll have to see what may come of this for sure. Thanks for the compliment about the comic book intro. I really worked hard on that and thought about it for some time before I decided exactly what to do and it seemed to work. Thanks for stopping through!


In spite of the fact that I don't care about guns and zombies, I really enjoyed this. The whole thing looked and sounded really great. The intro was super, and I liked the comic book shots. The interaction between the two guys was excellent.

My only issues are that the makeup seemed a little too "harsh", and there seemed to be a noticeable boom mic shadow around the 4:50 mark on one of the actors face.

Overall, this was very cool. I'm adding this one to my favorites for this fest.

cheers

Thank you, Denis. That's great for us if you don't care for zombies and guns, but you still enjoyed the film. That means we did our job. Yeah, we may revisit the whole makeup thing in post. We thought it would fit the theme fine. The jury's still out. My make-up lady is great - we just made a decision and we're gonna' see how it plays out with you guys. I know what you're talking about with that shadow. It was actually something on set, but I almost changed that shot because I thought somebody might think it was a boom.

Thanks for adding us to your favorites!!!!


I also enjoyed the comic book beginning but I did feel it was a little bit too long for an introduction.

The interaction between the two actors were very believable they were both very likable and they were both very enjoyable to watch on film - I would definitely hire them in a heartbeat.

Though you might have kept with the comic book theme go in with a colored zombies, I do think it detracted from your story. The "green girl" seemed like an outtake of "Star Trek" and I was just waiting for the guy to kiss her.

If you had kept the zombies grayish I think you would have come out with a better told story. Still fun and enjoyable overall.

Thanks for coming by, Charli. I'm glad you enjoyed it! So, you know about the green girl in "Star Trek," huh?? Does that mean you're a trekkie?

Thanks for the compliments. Yeah, we're still thinking about the makeup aspect of it. Aw, you thought the intro was too long?? No way. :embarasse That's like one of my favorite parts.




This is one in my favorites list. It was entertaining and made me laugh. I did feel like maybe something was cut out when one of the actors said "I told you to wait" as the other shoots one of the zombies but it still worked. The make-up could have used work since I'm a big make-up EFX lover. A cheap effective way to get that look would be to get a bunch of gelatin from the local grocery store and apply it to their faces. Then throw on some make-up with less intensity. However the other digital effects worked well. The actors were great. I especially like the cuts of the actor saying "you wanna kickbox these muthas" that made me laugh. This was a great entry and I can't wait to see what you may come up with later.

Thanks, Nitsuj. I was wondering when you were gonna' stop through. I'm blown away by all the positive responses. We will definitely keep the makeup thing in mind the next time. This was the first time I really had to do some serious makeup or create a monster. Yes, that part about the "motha' fuckaz" is one that I continue to laugh at as well. Everybody that has seen it finds that part laugh-out-loud funny.

Your favorites list? High-praise, my man. High praise. I'll be getting to yours soon as well.

[TMerry]

Watched it 3 times. Loved it. This film had a different approach to the genre that was refreshing. The dialog was off the chain!! Snappy, well acted. Editing was also well done as was music queues. After effects were nicely executred. "You wanna Kung Fu theese M**F**? you wanna Tae Bo these M**F**?" LOL!!! Funny Funny Funny. This was a comedy that was expertly brought into the monster genre. The only thing I didn't care for was the zombies makeup. The rest of it was Top Notch and IMHO THE film to contend with in the competition.

PS Extra props for the comic book work!

WELL DONE MARLON! Would love to collaborate with you on a future project.

[Gord.T]

I had to laugh at some of the lines. I even picked up a few new terms. Guess I'm out of touch, haha. What do I compare this too? Hollywood features and actors with a 300mil budget? I mean, poo poo. I got a kick out of it. The only thing that threw me off was maybe timing/pacing in the dialog. Being an old musician, I don't know, there's a flow or a rythym that I read about in acting. I don't know about that specifically but in music it's about the same thing, rythym/timng. I think it is most probably lost in the editing stages. I mean a 1/4 beat in comedic timing can make or break a line, seriously. Not that I'm an expert, I'm not, at all.
But, in comedy, the editing is so important, timing wise, almost or maybe more so (?) as much as in music, is it not?

Anyways, that's my big concern. Otherwise I loved it. The comedy allowed me to actually overlook maybe some of the cinematic elements, which I dont think you would generally expect in comedy anyways. So, that could be an area of discussion.:)

Yeah. It was good. I liked it. It was entertaining. I love the poster (although maybe a bit over sat, BUT I LOVE IT, haha).

Overall, it worked for me. That's all I care about. I enjoyed it and had a good time.

If I have to be a prick, I'd say tighten the editing for timing of the lines and I'll let the DOP's around here worry about the rest as I don't have a clue about that. haha.

-Cheers.

[Jason Ramsey]

What a little gem hiding amongst these films here!.... Really enjoyed this...

Rough around the edges... but.... it most certainly had a very strong personality and an identity all its own, this film....

Loved how absolutely cheesy looking the zombies were, which played with the vibe of the two characters, and also contrasted well with some very nice effects that you incorporated, and the whole opening was fantastic...

It was definitely more a scene or a skit.... but seriously.... This is the beginning of something that really has a TON of potential...

When I see films in this fest that have their own unique personality, they get props from me, and get my attention...

I'm really glad I was able to watch this one. Thanks for taking the time to enter it in the fest...

You should seriously consider expanding on this whole idea... hell, I could even see this as an episodic web-series or something... Little bit of polish in the right places, and I think you've got something very marketable here.

This had such a strong identity, and I can just see such potential in it, that I can pretty much completely overlook the technical shortcomings and such... I think this has become one of my faves of the ones I have seen so far... I'm actually sitting here smiling typing this, and it's got me all geared up to watch another batch of films... There have been some surprises this fest. This one gets a strong vote from me for potential and personality.

later,
Jason

[Rodney V. Smith]

Marlon this has got the be the hardest review I've ever written. Oh, before you freak out, I FUCKING LOVE THIS FILM! There. Iit's been said. Now I've had a bit of a battle writing this review. This is now attempt #3 after an inadvertent browser refresh. That lost review was brilliant and incisive and quite lengthy actually but it was one hell of a read. I may have even complimented you a couple of times in there. :grin:. But that is now lost. Attempt #2 was just lame.

So here goes: brilliant slice of a much bigger picture. There is history already going on, relationship stuff happening and real myth building stuff happening. I mean everyone hears about the zombie outbreaks and they may see the heroes, but you get right down and dirty to a pair of the most unlikely heroes to enjoy kicking zombie ASS!!! Gotta love it.

You have a brilliant knack for shooting AND editing action, which is alot harder than it looks. It's a hell of a talent for any filmmaker and you have it in spades. Stylized yes but one HELL of a style. The comedy was spot on and I really wanted to spend more time with these guys on their zombie killing spree. Kinda got the feeling that they got more kicks out of the chance to actually kill zombies than they were doing it for any noble reasons and that portral is key. After all who among us wouldn't like to grab firearms and shoot as many zombies as we can before losing count? Count me in.

Now with the zombies I had a couple of things that kept bugging me even on the 4th viewing. The makeup I can buy. Not too glaring there since it's such a comic book, but I would have loved to see more realistic makeup. Also the zombies just seem to stand around even when they're supposed to attack. I was actually waiting for the guys to be constantly bickering even while casually taking out the occasional rampaging zombie. The other zombies were just waiting around to die. Like the ex-girlfriend. I understand the set-up, but she should have torn his face off or at least tried to. There would have been an interesting joke right there in that situation.

Apart from that little quibble, it was a solid effort and went directly into my favorites. I wanted to give you a solid ten, but your bribe was a litle short. (kidding guys! kidding)

Solid improvement all around. You focused and brought the cat in out of the rain.

Time to fucking die!

[Chris_Keaton]

This was a fun campy romp. With the aweful makeup and the car marked for the junkyard I don't think you were going for anything deeper. I really loved their back and forth banter. It had some nice lines. I certainly laughed when he blew away the dudes ex. Good Job.

[Richard J. Johnson]

Good stuff Marlon. Dialog was funny and you are getting better with every fest. Keep it up. I finally don't have any projects on the table and I'm jumping in the next one for sure this time. Great sound design too. I need an MP3 of those gunshots!

[MrFluffy]

That was well cool. Fast dialog, well acted, excellent sound and a great concept with top notch production.
And green zombies :)

Outstanding.

[Sprocketboy]

First off - you did wonders here. I had a feeling this was going to be good from the screen shots early on, and your two leads have what it takes to make this happen for you. Excellent performances all around. I like how you started off with the comic book pages, except the movements on them were a little erratic. It looks as though you had some trouble setting your motion splines correctly. Its an easy fix. Previous posts may have mentioned the out of focus shots. Get rid of it. Its jarring. Replace that moment with a cut away to a zombie or stay on the other character. Green zombies? It surprised me. But it didn't take long for me to accept. Your film is fast pace, gritty action with personality. It was done before I knew it. That's a good sign.

[AJ Brooks]

You should seriously consider expanding on this whole idea... hell, I could even see this as an episodic web-series or something... Little bit of polish in the right places, and I think you've got something very marketable here.

I definitely agree.

Extremely funny film. A good refresher to have some comedy in there. Their relationship and banter was very entertaining. It made me wonder if it were not scene taken right out of a feature.

Great work. High score. The only thing that holds me back is that I did not feel it was a complete story. Yes I was entertained and laughed the whole time regardless, but it still should have felt complete and less like a scene.

Great work!

[ZazaCast]

This was a fun film! Really enjoyed it. The opening was very well done (and it should have been, you had this film in the can with about 2 months to go!) and set the episode in motion. I say episode because that's really what it was... a few pages from a comic book.

The acting was strong and I think you did a great job casting these two....the old girl friend thing had me rollin'! It's amazing how good direction, camera work and editing can make a film shine, which is what you did here. This film looked great to my eye.

The make-up on the zombies....MEH....hey, it's a comic book for Christ sake.

Congratulations to you, the cast, and the crew on a very sucessful production. I look forward to future films.

[NOBELO]

This was another one that my friends and I found very entertaining. Before I go into any more details I will say that I wished you had gone for better zombie makeup. That being said, I found it funny, entertaining, refreshing and stylized. Style seems to be one of the things lacking from a lot of the entries but this one had it's own thing going for it. I though a lot of the blood hits were done well and the comic book elements in the beginning were cool. What did you use for the bullet effect?

Nice work.

[Marlon Ladd]

Watched it 3 times. Loved it. This film had a different approach to the genre that was refreshing. The dialog was off the chain!! Snappy, well acted. Editing was also well done as was music queues. After effects were nicely executred. "You wanna Kung Fu theese M**F**? you wanna Tae Bo these M**F**?" LOL!!! Funny Funny Funny. This was a comedy that was expertly brought into the monster genre. The only thing I didn't care for was the zombies makeup. The rest of it was Top Notch and IMHO THE film to contend with in the competition.

PS Extra props for the comic book work!

WELL DONE MARLON! Would love to collaborate with you on a future project.

Thanks, Tommy. You know I was looking forward to you input. Glad you liked it and the dialogue appealed to you. It's a funny story about the "Hong Kong Fooey the M**F**?!" Initially I'd written the first "Kick-box these. . ." in, but the other actor (my brother) wanted to say, "Box these. . .." So, I thought about it and had him come up with several of them and say all of them and then in editing I threw them together and it turned out so funny! I still laugh at that part.

We can definitely collabo, man!!


I had to laugh at some of the lines. I even picked up a few new terms. Guess I'm out of touch, haha. What do I compare this too? Hollywood features and actors with a 300mil budget? I mean, poo poo. I got a kick out of it. The only thing that threw me off was maybe timing/pacing in the dialog. Being an old musician, I don't know, there's a flow or a rythym that I read about in acting. I don't know about that specifically but in music it's about the same thing, rythym/timng. I think it is most probably lost in the editing stages. I mean a 1/4 beat in comedic timing can make or break a line, seriously. Not that I'm an expert, I'm not, at all.
But, in comedy, the editing is so important, timing wise, almost or maybe more so (?) as much as in music, is it not?

Anyways, that's my big concern. Otherwise I loved it. The comedy allowed me to actually overlook maybe some of the cinematic elements, which I dont think you would generally expect in comedy anyways. So, that could be an area of discussion.:)

Yeah. It was good. I liked it. It was entertaining. I love the poster (although maybe a bit over sat, BUT I LOVE IT, haha).

Overall, it worked for me. That's all I care about. I enjoyed it and had a good time.

If I have to be a prick, I'd say tighten the editing for timing of the lines and I'll let the DOP's around here worry about the rest as I don't have a clue about that. haha.

-Cheers.

Thanks for you feedback, Raptor. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I mean that's really why we make films, isn't it? We want people to relax and be entertained if even for a little while to escape some of the pressures of everyday life. So, if I did that for you, then I did my job. Thanks so much for watching!


What a little gem hiding amongst these films here!.... Really enjoyed this...

Rough around the edges... but.... it most certainly had a very strong personality and an identity all its own, this film....

Loved how absolutely cheesy looking the zombies were, which played with the vibe of the two characters, and also contrasted well with some very nice effects that you incorporated, and the whole opening was fantastic...

It was definitely more a scene or a skit.... but seriously.... This is the beginning of something that really has a TON of potential...

When I see films in this fest that have their own unique personality, they get props from me, and get my attention...

I'm really glad I was able to watch this one. Thanks for taking the time to enter it in the fest...

You should seriously consider expanding on this whole idea... hell, I could even see this as an episodic web-series or something... Little bit of polish in the right places, and I think you've got something very marketable here.

This had such a strong identity, and I can just see such potential in it, that I can pretty much completely overlook the technical shortcomings and such... I think this has become one of my faves of the ones I have seen so far... I'm actually sitting here smiling typing this, and it's got me all geared up to watch another batch of films... There have been some surprises this fest. This one gets a strong vote from me for potential and personality.

later,
Jason

WOW!!!! Thanks, Jason!! I am so glad you liked the film. I knew the film would be funny, but you're never completely sure how people will respond to it and it has seemed to resonate with people. I wish I could say I had some control over that, but I don't. I wrote a funny script and did what we indie filmmakers do - do our best to make a solid film based on a huge lack of resources, including time and money. These fests are so good, because they keep people making films and the filmmakers here continue to step their games up. I can't tell you how much I've learned since I've been a part of this site and that all came together on "The Jones.'"

It seems that this film has taken on a life of it's own and really does have me revisiting the idea of making it something bigger. All the positive responses surely cannot be ignored!

I feel humbled by your presence in my thread and the presence and positive responses from so many talented filmmakers. Thank you and the other mods for keeping these fests going. It's a wonderful thing.

P.S. If you have time, please leave a note here, or PM with any notes about what you think I may need to tighten up or polish. Oh, and BTW - we have an additional scene for the end of the film that couldn't be added because of the time. Will throw that in for you guys after the fest.


Marlon this has got the be the hardest review I've ever written. Oh, before you freak out, I poo pooING LOVE THIS FILM! There. Iit's been said. Now I've had a bit of a battle writing this review. This is now attempt #3 after an inadvertent browser refresh. That lost review was brilliant and incisive and quite lengthy actually but it was one hell of a read. I may have even complimented you a couple of times in there. :grin:. But that is now lost. Attempt #2 was just lame.

So here goes: brilliant slice of a much bigger picture. There is history already going on, relationship stuff happening and real myth building stuff happening. I mean everyone hears about the zombie outbreaks and they may see the heroes, but you get right down and dirty to a pair of the most unlikely heroes to enjoy kicking zombie ASS!!! Gotta love it.

You have a brilliant knack for shooting AND editing action, which is alot harder than it looks. It's a hell of a talent for any filmmaker and you have it in spades. Stylized yes but one HELL of a style. The comedy was spot on and I really wanted to spend more time with these guys on their zombie killing spree. Kinda got the feeling that they got more kicks out of the chance to actually kill zombies than they were doing it for any noble reasons and that portral is key. After all who among us wouldn't like to grab firearms and shoot as many zombies as we can before losing count? Count me in.

Now with the zombies I had a couple of things that kept bugging me even on the 4th viewing. The makeup I can buy. Not too glaring there since it's such a comic book, but I would have loved to see more realistic makeup. Also the zombies just seem to stand around even when they're supposed to attack. I was actually waiting for the guys to be constantly bickering even while casually taking out the occasional rampaging zombie. The other zombies were just waiting around to die. Like the ex-girlfriend. I understand the set-up, but she should have torn his face off or at least tried to. There would have been an interesting joke right there in that situation.

Apart from that little quibble, it was a solid effort and went directly into my favorites. I wanted to give you a solid ten, but your bribe was a litle short. (kidding guys! kidding)

Solid improvement all around. You focused and brought the cat in out of the rain.

Time to poo pooing die!

It's about time, Rodney!!! I'm gonna' poo-pooing k :kali:. . .ah, I digress. I let you slide on this one. Hey, I got a 4th viewing?? Shoot, I'm thrilled about that! Sorry your first review got destroyed. I'm sure it was brilliant, because this one is. I appreciate the compliments and the high score. I respect your opinion for sure and you always leave excellent, in-depth reviews, so I was looking forward to it.

Well, that SHE zombie didn't attack, because she sort of, well you know, recognized the guy. Not that she wasn't going to kill him. She was just waiting for the right time to pounce and bit his freakin' head off, but alas, she didn't get her chance, because the brother took care of all that. And who knows, maybe Craig was going to "hit it" and she was going to let him. Did you ever think about that? I know you've heard of inter-zombie relationships. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

Again, you influenced me to start early and it made all the difference, so thanks for that and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Appreciatcha' man.

[Rodney V. Smith]

A good early start can avoid most problems... (unless you;re stuck in New York without half of your gear) A nice long pre-production cycle is excellent to have. I guess the sweetspot for shooting is in the second month. Then you have time to edit and do your reshoots. Glad you had so much time on this. It gave you room to really stretch and use your unique style to its full potential. And you have LOTS of style and content.

[Marlon Ladd]

This was a fun campy romp. With the aweful makeup and the car marked for the junkyard I don't think you were going for anything deeper. I really loved their back and forth banter. It had some nice lines. I certainly laughed when he blew away the dudes ex. Good Job.

Thanks for the watch, Chris. I'm glad the humor appealed to you and I thank you for giving a review. Those damn ex zombie girlfriends. :kali:


Good stuff Marlon. Dialog was funny and you are getting better with every fest. Keep it up. I finally don't have any projects on the table and I'm jumping in the next one for sure this time. Great sound design too. I need an MP3 of those gunshots!

Thanks, Rich. I was wondering if you'd have time to stop through and check out the flicks. I know you've been busy. Yeah, you definitely better get in the next one. I can hook you up with the sound fx. I told you that. Let me know.


That was well cool. Fast dialog, well acted, excellent sound and a great concept with top notch production.
And green zombies :)

Outstanding.

Thanks, so much, MrFluffy. That name just cracks me up. LOL. Glad you could appreciate our film and thanks for stopping in to leave your comments. Means alot.


First off - you did wonders here. I had a feeling this was going to be good from the screen shots early on, and your two leads have what it takes to make this happen for you. Excellent performances all around. I like how you started off with the comic book pages, except the movements on them were a little erratic. It looks as though you had some trouble setting your motion splines correctly. Its an easy fix. Previous posts may have mentioned the out of focus shots. Get rid of it. Its jarring. Replace that moment with a cut away to a zombie or stay on the other character. Green zombies? It surprised me. But it didn't take long for me to accept. Your film is fast pace, gritty action with personality. It was done before I knew it. That's a good sign.

Yeah, I know exactly which shots you're talking about with the focus. That will be an adjustment I make. You saw some jarring? I'll have to go back and look at it and see what's what. Glad you could accept the green zombies. Some folks don't like 'em too much. LOL. Thanks for leaving a review. It's much appreciated! I liked your film as well. This stuff is just too much fun! :2vrolijk_08: :kali: :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)


I definitely agree.

Extremely funny film. A good refresher to have some comedy in there. Their relationship and banter was very entertaining. It made me wonder if it were not scene taken right out of a feature.

Great work. High score. The only thing that holds me back is that I did not feel it was a complete story. Yes I was entertained and laughed the whole time regardless, but it still should have felt complete and less like a scene.

Great work!

Thanks AJ. Yeah, that's what I was going for, that it was a continuation of something or rather the beginning of something bigger in that respect. That's why the comic cover says Part 3, because there's a backstory to be made here as well as a continuation. I wanted the audience to come in on the middle of something (since there was such a short time limit). Thanks a million for the high score. Though I haven't watched all of the movies yet, yours was also one that I really liked.


This was a fun film! Really enjoyed it. The opening was very well done (and it should have been, you had this film in the can with about 2 months to go!) and set the episode in motion. I say episode because that's really what it was... a few pages from a comic book.

The acting was strong and I think you did a great job casting these two....the old girl friend thing had me rollin'! It's amazing how good direction, camera work and editing can make a film shine, which is what you did here. This film looked great to my eye.

The make-up on the zombies....MEH....hey, it's a comic book for Christ sake.

Congratulations to you, the cast, and the crew on a very sucessful production. I look forward to future films.

I was waiting for you to come by too Zaza! Great summation! You get it! You really get it and that's all a filmmaker can ask for. Thanks for the outstanding comments. I'll make sure and pass along the good news to the cast and crew!

"It's a comic book for Christ sake." :cheesy: Great line!

[Marlon Ladd]

A good early start can avoid most problems... (unless you;re stuck in New York without half of your gear) A nice long pre-production cycle is excellent to have. I guess the sweetspot for shooting is in the second month. Then you have time to edit and do your reshoots. Glad you had so much time on this. It gave you room to really stretch and use your unique style to its full potential. And you have LOTS of style and content.
Thanks, man. For real. And you ain't too damn shabby yerself!! So, when are you gonna' get started on your new thread for the next fest??

[Marlon Ladd]

This was another one that my friends and I found very entertaining. Before I go into any more details I will say that I wished you had gone for better zombie makeup. That being said, I found it funny, entertaining, refreshing and stylized. Style seems to be one of the things lacking from a lot of the entries but this one had it's own thing going for it. I though a lot of the blood hits were done well and the comic book elements in the beginning were cool. What did you use for the bullet effect?

Nice work.

Thanks, Nobelo. I'm so glad I was able to keep everybody's attention. That means alot. Yeah, some people are feeling the makeup and some aren't. Different strokes, I guess. The ones that aren't feeling it really don't like the green color and that may be something I change in post. That's an easy fix. If you're talking about the slo-mo bullet - well, I never give away my secrets!!! No, JK! I actually used AE (After Effects) I actually did several tests on that. I took my own screen shot of the bullet (very close up) and worked it through AE until it came out right and consistent with what a real bullet would be doing in that situation - spinning for instance. I had to key frame and change the light reflection on it as it moves towards the camera (little details are important). The trail was something that just happened with a bunch of effects I applied. I liked it and stuck with it and it came out nice, I guess. That was one of the things I was worried if people would like.

Thanks for stopping through. I thoroughly enjoyed your film too. Top-notch!

[Troy Ruff]

Great job guys, I really liked the comic book style and the opening credits. The two guys were great, very natural, and funny. I wanted to see more. I laughed out load with the whole driving miss daisy line. The only thing that pulled me out was the colored faced zombies. i know it was comic style, but over all it was fantastic! great job! :) one of my top films.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Thanks, man. For real. And you ain't too damn shabby yerself!! So, when are you gonna' get started on your new thread for the next fest??

I've already started the script! Just kidding! (or am I?)

[NOBELO]

I liked the bullet and thought it worked very well with the comic book theme you were going for. Nice job. I'd like to do a test like that some day. RPG slo mo? Next film!


Thanks, Nobelo. I'm so glad I was able to keep everybody's attention. That means alot. Yeah, some people are feeling the makeup and some aren't. Different strokes, I guess. The ones that aren't feeling it really don't like the green color and that may be something I change in post. That's an easy fix. If you're talking about the slo-mo bullet - well, I never give away my secrets!!! No, JK! I actually used AE (After Effects) I actually did several tests on that. I took my own screen shot of the bullet (very close up) and worked it through AE until it came out right and consistent with what a real bullet would be doing in that situation - spinning for instance. I had to key frame and change the light reflection on it as it moves towards the camera (little details are important). The trail was something that just happened with a bunch of effects I applied. I liked it and stuck with it and it came out nice, I guess. That was one of the things I was worried if people would like.

Thanks for stopping through. I thoroughly enjoyed your film too. Top-notch!

[Marlon Ladd]

I liked the bullet and thought it worked very well with the comic book theme you were going for. Nice job. I'd like to do a test like that some day. RPG slo mo? Next film!
Jeez, Nobel!! RPG slo mo?? Man, don't give me any ideas. LOL. Hey, was this your first film on here?

Yeah, the theme was the deciding factor in putting it in, because I was hoping it would be fine.

[NOBELO]

Jeez, Nobel!! RPG slo mo?? Man, don't give me any ideas. LOL. Hey, was this your first film on here?

Yeah, the theme was the deciding factor in putting it in, because I was hoping it would be fine.
I've worked on films here and there but this is my first entry personally.

Yea, it worked well. I would definitely keep it in there.

[Marlon Ladd]

Hey, talk to me about how you did the stake off in your film. Great first entry btw. That's how you comin' in party. Kickin' doors down and sh*T. What lenses did you use for your GH1?

[lyonfilms]

Marion -

Really liked the flick. The interplay between the two was a blast and they seemed liked brothers who love each other but love to give each other never ending sh*t. Great stuff. Good edit and camera work all around. I also thought the grade was solid.

I felt the front end with them behind the car was a bit long. The gag dragged a bit. Also, the zombies (the look anyway) was the weakest part. This was such a fun location and the guys were spot-on so the relatively "weaker" looking zombies distracted me. Especially the green - didn't like it. Now, I know that makeup and effects are the hardest and most expensive so I know what you were up against. That's me being farily nit-picky for a great flick.

[NOBELO]

I'm trying to gather some BTS stuff so I can show you guys the stake etc.

[hoz]

way cool flick!!

loved the beginning and the comic book intro. soo cool. and the brothers were great too. zombies were weak looking but that didnt matter to me that much since you worked in the comic book look here and there. had some really fun stuff in there. the two could def play these parts in a full length movie.

awesome job!!

[Marlon Ladd]

Marion -

Really liked the flick. The interplay between the two was a blast and they seemed liked brothers who love each other but love to give each other never ending sh*t. Great stuff. Good edit and camera work all around. I also thought the grade was solid.

I felt the front end with them behind the car was a bit long. The gag dragged a bit. Also, the zombies (the look anyway) was the weakest part. This was such a fun location and the guys were spot-on so the relatively "weaker" looking zombies distracted me. Especially the green - didn't like it. Now, I know that makeup and effects are the hardest and most expensive so I know what you were up against. That's me being farily nit-picky for a great flick.

Hey, Thanks! Glad you stopped in to give the review. Another one that doesn't like the green. Check! LOL! Really, thanks so much for the kind words though. Much appreciated!


I'm trying to gather some BTS stuff so I can show you guys the stake etc.

Cool! Let me know, because that was spot on. The realism was unbelievable. I mean too believable.


way cool flick!!

loved the beginning and the comic book intro. soo cool. and the brothers were great too. zombies were weak looking but that didnt matter to me that much since you worked in the comic book look here and there. had some really fun stuff in there. the two could def play these parts in a full length movie.

awesome job!!

Thanks, Hoz! Full length? Yeah, I'm definitely thinking about it big time now. Was planning to do one anyway, just couldn't decide which script to do. All this positive feedback helps. Thanks again.

[Blaine]

Hey Marlon, this was a fun ride and I loved the stylize comic book look...except for the zombie makeup. I found the makeup to be a bit jarring even with the comic book theme. Some of the brothers' banter seemed to go on too long but it was easy to see you were having fun with it, so I just sat back and let it flow.

You had a lot of good bullet hits. I also loved the transition from comic book to "real" life in the beginning.

Good job.

[killacam]

really fun and entertaining. loved the bullet hits and some of the cuts were very fast paced and kept the film moving.

[vurfing]

This was great. The comic book opening totally threw me off - in a good way.
I like the characters but the banter did feel a bit too stretched out - more action or breaks between talking perhaps? The two actors were really good though - it was definitely like 'Bad Boys vs the Zombies' (maybe will smith would be interested in the full length version!).
The whole apocalyptic setting was really well done - the only thing that detracted from it was the writing on the windscreen that screamed 'junk car'.
Overall a fantastic effort - i'd love to see a full length movie of this :)

[Kevin E. Curry]

Very funny flick, I found myself laughing out loud several times. The dialogue was great and the interplay between the two actors was spot on. They did a kick ass job.

I also loved your kill shots and blood splatters. VERY well done!

I'll add my agreement to those commenting on the zombie make-up, it took me out of the film because it was too campy.

Overall, loved it! It's near the top of my list.

[Marlon Ladd]

Hey Marlon, this was a fun ride and I loved the stylize comic book look...except for the zombie makeup. I found the makeup to be a bit jarring even with the comic book theme. Some of the brothers' banter seemed to go on too long but it was easy to see you were having fun with it, so I just sat back and let it flow.

You had a lot of good bullet hits. I also loved the transition from comic book to "real" life in the beginning.

Good job.

Thanks for swinging by, Blaine. I always look forward to your very objective viewpoints. I'm so glad that intro is shinning through. Worked hard on that to get it right.


really fun and entertaining. loved the bullet hits and some of the cuts were very fast paced and kept the film moving.

Thanks, for the compliments, Killa!


This was great. The comic book opening totally threw me off - in a good way.
I like the characters but the banter did feel a bit too stretched out - more action or breaks between talking perhaps? The two actors were really good though - it was definitely like 'Bad Boys vs the Zombies' (maybe will smith would be interested in the full length version!).
The whole apocalyptic setting was really well done - the only thing that detracted from it was the writing on the windscreen that screamed 'junk car'.
Overall a fantastic effort - i'd love to see a full length movie of this :)

Yeah, some people saw that writing on the car. I, myself wouldn't have known that that's what it meant and the reality is (and I guess it's not explained in the film), our location was an actual salvage yard. There's supposed to be a sort of zombie post-apocolyptic theme and that these guys are just passing through this salvage yard. Since the beginning of the film (the intro) changed it's not evident.

Thanks so much for checkin' us out and leaving a critique.


Very funny flick, I found myself laughing out loud several times. The dialogue was great and the interplay between the two actors was spot on. They did a kick ass job.

I also loved your kill shots and blood splatters. VERY well done!

I'll add my agreement to those commenting on the zombie make-up, it took me out of the film because it was too campy.

Overall, loved it! It's near the top of my list.

Thanks, Kevin! Near the top?? Great! I'll take that any day of the week. Thanks for stopping by. I'll let the actors know they did a good job.

[bosindy]

I liked spending some time with these characters. They had good chemistry on screen and it made me laugh. Really like the effects in this as well, that bullet shot was cool. Comic beginning was a nice touch, we know right off not to take it all too seriously. Only criticism would be the Zombie make-up was not up to the rest of it all. Great job man.

[Marlon Ladd]

I liked spending some time with these characters. They had good chemistry on screen and it made me laugh. Really like the effects in this as well, that bullet shot was cool. Comic beginning was a nice touch, we know right off not to take it all too seriously. Only criticism would be the Zombie make-up was not up to the rest of it all. Great job man.
Thanks, Bosindy. You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for the compliments. Hope to see you next fest.

[Marlon Ladd]

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397219.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397384.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397478.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397523.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397699.jpg

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/5936/1257397767.jpg


Just a few BTS pics. thanks to Kris Helton.

[MOVIE STUNTS]

Big comic book fan here! Loved the intro as well as the overall look of the film. I think the Zombies could use some work mostly more shredded clothing and some of that makeup smeared on other parts of the body and not so excusive to the faces. The gore was great and there was lots of heads exploding it was lots of fun. There seemed to be too much going on all at once for me but it was teetering on a good balance. The text messaging in the middle of battle was great! When I'm texting I can tune out just about anything else. I would have liked to see the boys get in a little danger here to get the blood pumping, however this was well made and I like your visual style. Great stuff!

[REHov520]

i really liked the opening narration bit to this, and thought the style throughout was cool. personally i found the interaction between the two guys a little annoying at times - I felt like they were going too hard for laughs instead of acting like real people - but that's not really a valid criticism for this type of movie anyway. i liked the idea of colorful zombies, especially in a comic-book zombie movie, but i think you maybe could have made the coloring a tiny bit more subtle. good job!

[Rakesh Jacob]

Loved it man!!! Really nice composites on the gunshots and blood bursts. Love the matter of fact style.
Can't believe you had Zombies as PAs on your set, how cool is that?!!

[cinealma]

One cool motherfuckin' film, Marlon. I really think the chemistry between the brothers is perfect. The dialogue works very well and I didn't mind the pacing. I could tell you were trying for the perfect blend of fast action and nicely paced comedy/drama.

I think maybe the film as a whole went on a tad to long for what it was, like maybe you were trying to fill up the six minutes, when maybe you only needed five. Again, I didn't mind the pace of the dialogue, but I think they could have taken out the zombies a lot faster. It felt like a "last stand" from a bigger picture. But in the short, there really wasn't much of a payoff.

So what's up with the make-up? Was it a comic-book thing, maybe? I feel you should have either done "real" zombies OR go all the way with the comic book angle. Like, give them purple hair, have them act totally psycho, etc. I think you stopped somewhere in the middle and it just didn't seem to fit. *You probably talked about this by I honestly haven't read through your entire thread, so my apologies if you touched on it already.

And I really liked the whole comic book angle. The VO over the images was SPOT ON!

This is really a HIGH CONCEPT idea. I TOTALLY could see this as a feature. Go write that bad boy!

Great job, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!

[Marlon Ladd]

Big comic book fan here! Loved the intro as well as the overall look of the film. I think the Zombies could use some work mostly more shredded clothing and some of that makeup smeared on other parts of the body and not so excusive to the faces. The gore was great and there was lots of heads exploding it was lots of fun. There seemed to be too much going on all at once for me but it was teetering on a good balance. The text messaging in the middle of battle was great! When I'm texting I can tune out just about anything else. I would have liked to see the boys get in a little danger here to get the blood pumping, however this was well made and I like your visual style. Great stuff!

Thanks, alot, MS! Yeah, I wasn't really going for any danger on this one. That's not the theme I was going for. If I decide to make this a feature, there will definitely be some of that element involved. It can't be all fun and games. Gotta' turn serious at some point. Oh, and yeah, that texting will get you everytime.


i really liked the opening narration bit to this, and thought the style throughout was cool. personally i found the interaction between the two guys a little annoying at times - I felt like they were going too hard for laughs instead of acting like real people - but that's not really a valid criticism for this type of movie anyway. i liked the idea of colorful zombies, especially in a comic-book zombie movie, but i think you maybe could have made the coloring a tiny bit more subtle. good job!

Thanks for the compliments, REH. If you thought the two were annoying at times, then you just didn't get the intent and that's okay. No film can appeal to everybody in all ways intended. The film and the characters wasn't about going for laughs (a la slapstick). These were two characters that have strong personalities and are brothers and they clash and argue about things that may seem silly to you or me, but very serious to them, because of their history together (and that's what's supposed to make it funny/absurd). Yeah, we're still thinking about the makeup stuff. Some people got it and some people didn't. We may change it in post. Easy fix. Thanks for coming by!


Loved it man!!! Really nice composites on the gunshots and blood bursts. Love the matter of fact style.
Can't believe you had Zombies as PAs on your set, how cool is that?!!

What up, Johnny?? Thanks, man. Glad you liked it! Yeah, zombies gotta' be good for somethin' besides just killin' and eatin' people, right? They gotta' make their contribution to society too.


One cool motherpoo pooin' film, Marlon. I really think the chemistry between the brothers is perfect. The dialogue works very well and I didn't mind the pacing. I could tell you were trying for the perfect blend of fast action and nicely paced comedy/drama.

I think maybe the film as a whole went on a tad to long for what it was, like maybe you were trying to fill up the six minutes, when maybe you only needed five. Again, I didn't mind the pace of the dialogue, but I think they could have taken out the zombies a lot faster. It felt like a "last stand" from a bigger picture. But in the short, there really wasn't much of a payoff.

So what's up with the make-up? Was it a comic-book thing, maybe? I feel you should have either done "real" zombies OR go all the way with the comic book angle. Like, give them purple hair, have them act totally psycho, etc. I think you stopped somewhere in the middle and it just didn't seem to fit. *You probably talked about this by I honestly haven't read through your entire thread, so my apologies if you touched on it already.

And I really liked the whole comic book angle. The VO over the images was SPOT ON!

This is really a HIGH CONCEPT idea. I TOTALLY could see this as a feature. Go write that bad boy!

Great job, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!

Hey, John. Thanks for the kind words. The zombies were a comic book theme in a sense. We really weren't sure about the green color, but in the end I left it that way, because I thought it would fit and be fine since the film itself is so absurd. I'd thought about changing it, but wanted to see what the masses here thought and then make a decision from there. I can change the color in post very easily. Everybody is saying they could see this being a feature, so I guess I better get started on it. LOL. I've already written another piece of this puzzle, but the reaction from people here is very encouraging. Now as far as the 6 minutes, it's actually longer than that. There's one more scene that comes in after the credits. I'll put it up when the competition is complete. Thanks for throwing in your 2 cents. Really like your film as well.

[Horncastle]

This was a blast! There's some really great stuff going on both in the stylization/comic book integration and in the acting/dialogue. I really enjoyed it. If I must find some criticism I felt maybe the ending was a little weak - that "you shut up, no you shut up..." repeated several times didn't have the punch of the rest of the dialogue. But it was in line with their characters so it's a minor quibble. Great job, one of my top votes.

[kennethhurd]

Very fun movie! Your editing was excellent and your actors did a good job. I liked how you started it off and ended it with the comic book. Even though the zombie make-up didn't look realistic, I liked it. It added to the comic book feel. My only recommendation would be to watch your framing on the close ups. Everything was shot so well, so this may have been your intention, but when the close ups cut off the actor's chin, it made the shot feel really cramped. Thanks for the highly enjoyable entry!

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Nice dude!! Really enjoyed this. It really works well especially because of the two actors, they really did a great job and carried it well, good personality pairing and camaraderie. I really liked the editing style, suited it well. Looking forward to more entries from you!

[Lawsuit_Boy]

Marlon,

Because of time constraints I can't get as detailed in my review as I normally like. However, I do have things to say.

I really enjoyed this one! The premise works in the boundaries of the fest's theme and the use of two central characters that play witty and colorful banter off of each other was also a great idea. It keeps the film focused on a specific relationship and in a small amount of time, allows it to evolve. The actors did a fine job carrying their weight. A few lines occasionally felt excessive or over-cooked, but it didn't cause any real grimaces. Always a plus!

The editing, as most have mentioned, is probably the film's strongest asset. Some occasional shots felt poorly framed and might have benefited from being on a longer focal length. Overall, it was a fun, exciting short. Nice job. :thumbsup:

[Mark Harris]

Fun and unique entry in the fest. The actors had a good back and forth. I think their dialog could have been worked a little more. They seemed to go in too many circles. I know the point is for them to be a couple of goof-ball brothers always fighting but I dunno, I think it could have gone a little more somewhere.

Like maybe when the ex girlfriend shows up, take that a lot further into their rivalry for women, maybe. Or take it further with what the other one will do to his brothers ex when they find her.

Also, I would settle on a stylistic device in something this short; either freeze-frame OR comic book, and the choice should be comic book, since you open it up so nicely with that. Like I would replace all of the freeze frame kills with comic-book panels. Makes it tighter I think to stick with one choice in that regard.

Fun movie.

[Marlon Ladd]

This was a blast! There's some really great stuff going on both in the stylization/comic book integration and in the acting/dialogue. I really enjoyed it. If I must find some criticism I felt maybe the ending was a little weak - that "you shut up, no you shut up..." repeated several times didn't have the punch of the rest of the dialogue. But it was in line with their characters so it's a minor quibble. Great job, one of my top votes.

Thanks! So glad it's one of your top votes. Glad you enjoyed it. As for the end, we did finish it with, "Oh, there goes one of your ex girlfriends right there" and then the other brother tells him to wait as he runs after him and that's where it ends. And the "shut up" part is perfectly within their characters (being brothers) and how kid-like they can act with each other. That's where alot of the humor from these two comes from. They have conversations and talk to each other in ways they couldn't and wouldn't talk to anybody else. At least that's the intent. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for stopping through!


Very fun movie! Your editing was excellent and your actors did a good job. I liked how you started it off and ended it with the comic book. Even though the zombie make-up didn't look realistic, I liked it. It added to the comic book feel. My only recommendation would be to watch your framing on the close ups. Everything was shot so well, so this may have been your intention, but when the close ups cut off the actor's chin, it made the shot feel really cramped. Thanks for the highly enjoyable entry!

Thanks, Kenneth. Yeah, I do know exactly what shots you're talking about. I did intent for it to be tight (it is maybe a tad bit too tight in a couple of places) - hope it didn't pull away from the enjoyment. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG) Thanks for coming by.


Nice dude!! Really enjoyed this. It really works well especially because of the two actors, they really did a great job and carried it well, good personality pairing and camaraderie. I really liked the editing style, suited it well. Looking forward to more entries from you!

Thanks, Shawn. Great compliments! Well appreciated!! Can't wait to see what the theme is for the next fest. Hope to see you there again too.

[Zim]

Great film.

[Marlon Ladd]

Marlon,

Because of time constraints I can't get as detailed in my review as I normally like. However, I do have things to say.

I really enjoyed this one! The premise works in the boundaries of the fest's theme and the use of two central characters that play witty and colorful banter off of each other was also a great idea. It keeps the film focused on a specific relationship and in a small amount of time, allows it to evolve. The actors did a fine job carrying their weight. A few lines occasionally felt excessive or over-cooked, but it didn't cause any real grimaces. Always a plus!

The editing, as most have mentioned, is probably the film's strongest asset. Some occasional shots felt poorly framed and might have benefited from being on a longer focal length. Overall, it was a fun, exciting short. Nice job. :thumbsup:

Sounds like you're busy like the rest of us. Still making films, I hope. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to critique. I was wondering if you'd come through.


Fun and unique entry in the fest. The actors had a good back and forth. I think their dialog could have been worked a little more. They seemed to go in too many circles. I know the point is for them to be a couple of goof-ball brothers always fighting but I dunno, I think it could have gone a little more somewhere.

Like maybe when the ex girlfriend shows up, take that a lot further into their rivalry for women, maybe. Or take it further with what the other one will do to his brothers ex when they find her.

Also, I would settle on a stylistic device in something this short; either freeze-frame OR comic book, and the choice should be comic book, since you open it up so nicely with that. Like I would replace all of the freeze frame kills with comic-book panels. Makes it tighter I think to stick with one choice in that regard.

Fun movie.

Heya, Mark. Glad you liked it. I'm not sure what you mean by the dialogue though, because at the end of the film it does go into what Craig will do when he finds or sees one of Tyrone's ex girlfriends. The last line of the film Craig says he sees one of Tyrone's ex and runs after her. That's why there's the "To Be Continued," to further explore what the comedy of that situation would bring as well. This film was about basically one thing though - these brothers. You just get a brief glimpse into their zombie-ass-kicking lives. 6 minutes is not alot of time to tell a story and I felt the story could really stand on it's own as a sort of peek-a-boo. Although there is a beginning, middle and end. At the beginning, zombies are alive, in the middle they're being killed and at the end their all dead. :kali:

You make an interesting point about the stylistic choice. I'll certainly revisit that, because it does make sense. Thanks! And thanks for watching and leaving a review.


Great film.

Thanks, Zim!

[Lawsuit_Boy]

Sounds like you're busy like the rest of us. Still making films, I hope. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to critique. I was wondering if you'd come through.




Yeah, life has been hectic lately. I'm just now finishing up a 30 minute short I began at the beginning of August (finishing the film involved breaking and entering as well as rappelling). On top of that, I work and am a full-time college student (about to enter Grad school soon, hopefully). So I'm swamped with stuff. I hope I can get around to actually reviewing some more films. I'll try to take another look at yours and see if I can add to my critique. Anyway, good luck in the voting!

[Susanne G.]

I love this film. It was a very refreshing and funny one. I enjoyed very much the ironically interpretation of the theme. It feels good to see that someone has broken the cliché of this kind of films. Especially I like your eye for all the details - this perfect mixture of comic strip and real; for example when one of the main actors put his foot in a puddle - very nice sequence. The conversation between the brothers was hilarious and your zombies were really comic strip-like with their strong colored faces. For sure one of my top three.

Susanne

[Robert Eldon]

Love this film! I'm not in to 'Zombie' movies, but this was surprisingly entertaining.

I really liked the comic book stylization and wished that there had been a little more of it dispersed later in the film.

The dialog was snappy and fun. Great editing and camera work. Nice location, it really sold the environment and story.

My favorite shot was the bullet coming out of the barrel. It was nice that you didn't over do a lot of the effects. I thought the zombie make up was probably the weakest part of this film.

Great use of the music without it being obvious. It was subtle and just the right amount at the right time.

Great work on this by everyone! :thumbsup:

[Marlon Ladd]

Yeah, life has been hectic lately. I'm just now finishing up a 30 minute short I began at the beginning of August (finishing the film involved breaking and entering as well as rappelling). On top of that, I work and am a full-time college student (about to enter Grad school soon, hopefully). So I'm swamped with stuff. I hope I can get around to actually reviewing some more films. I'll try to take another look at yours and see if I can add to my critique. Anyway, good luck in the voting!

It's kind of funny how our lives can just be so busy. It's a miracle that we can even find the time to do the things we really enjoy sometimes. Sounds like you have been super busy. Glad you're still making films and let me know when your short is completely finished. I'd love to check it out. Yeah, if you have time, come on back - if not I totally understand.


I love this film. It was a very refreshing and funny one. I enjoyed very much the ironically interpretation of the theme. It feels good to see that someone has broken the cliché of this kind of films. Especially I like your eye for all the details - this perfect mixture of comic strip and real; for example when one of the main actors put his foot in a puddle - very nice sequence. The conversation between the brothers was hilarious and your zombies were really comic strip-like with their strong colored faces. For sure one of my top three.

Susanne

Thanks Susanne! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Your compliments bring a smile to my face.
We're so excited about the responses we've been getting. Thanks for leaving a review. :cheesy:


Love this film! I'm not in to 'Zombie' movies, but this was surprisingly entertaining.

I really liked the comic book stylization and wished that there had been a little more of it dispersed later in the film.

The dialog was snappy and fun. Great editing and camera work. Nice location, it really sold the environment and story.

My favorite shot was the bullet coming out of the barrel. It was nice that you didn't over do a lot of the effects. I thought the zombie make up was probably the weakest part of this film.

Great use of the music without it being obvious. It was subtle and just the right amount at the right time.

Great work on this by everyone! :thumbsup:

Thank you very much, Robert. Yeah, we really got lucky on the location find thanks to one of my producer friends. So glad you liked the bullet effect. That was actually one of the very last pieces I put in there and was hoping it wouldn't be too much. Thanks for swinging by.

[Horncastle]

And the "shut up" part is perfectly within their characters (being brothers) and how kid-like they can act with each other. That's where alot of the humor from these two comes from. They have conversations and talk to each other in ways they couldn't and wouldn't talk to anybody else. At least that's the intent.

I think you're probably right - I've watched it several times now and that ending no longer worries me. Each time I've watched it I've enjoyed it as much as if not more than the time before. Familiarity does not breed contempt with this film. Now I find myself anticipating the lines and grinning gleefully as they come up - that, I think, shows that it really works very well.

[Marlon Ladd]

I think you're probably right - I've watched it several times now and that ending no longer worries me. Each time I've watched it I've enjoyed it as much as if not more than the time before. Familiarity does not breed contempt with this film. Now I find myself anticipating the lines and grinning gleefully as they come up - that, I think, shows that it really works very well.
You watched it several times? GREAT!! That means we've entertained and have done our jobs. I must admit that having edited it, I've watched it more times than humanly possible and I can still watch it and enjoy it. I think that's a sign that there's something here that really works. That's all we could ever hope for.

[xxrotinivol2]

Some really fantastic shots--especially the high angle at the end, that was crazy cool--and dialogue. I grew to love the make-up, but it was something I wasn't too crazy about at the beginning. Entertaining short about killing zombies! Thanks for the trip.

[Noel Evans]

Hey Marlon. Nice job mate. Really like what you did here and there are many really good things you did.

My personal thoughts - comic book opener could have been a bit more snappy. I felt the dialogue going 'round in circles a few times, whereas maybe there was opportunity to go somewhere else with it. Hey I dont do comedy though so ...

The other thing for me was the grading, for my eyes seemed a little too saturated. Wondering also if its due to the lack of separation on the actors within the scene itself.

Good entry and well done.

[lawriejaffa]

Hello there!

This is a crowd pleasing and very entertaining monster horror film with genuinely endearing characters. Like Noel i believe too the comic book opener could be quicker and that some of the voice over was redundent.

I quite liked the oversaturated look (as im sure that was particular to the comic book vibe) so i think that is fairly effective as is.

Some mentioned that the zombies seem strangely passive in the face of there attackers - and i think that is perhaps a worthy point to an extent however its fairly forgivable as this is a very abstract film really. Its a motion comic! Its about our invincible heroes really and there hilarious jive talking.

This is a film that held my attention throughout, and while there is the odd technical point and room for improvement, its something im sure you'll cover at your own pace quite comfortably Marlon. Most importantly you have an amusing story and good characters at your disposal.

[Marlon Ladd]

Some really fantastic shots--especially the high angle at the end, that was crazy cool--and dialogue. I grew to love the make-up, but it was something I wasn't too crazy about at the beginning. Entertaining short about killing zombies! Thanks for the trip.

Thanks for watching and enjoying. Glad the makeup grew on you. :thumbsup: It's interesting that you mention the high angle shot. Glad you liked that one - I don't think anyone else has mentioned it.


Hey Marlon. Nice job mate. Really like what you did here and there are many really good things you did.

My personal thoughts - comic book opener could have been a bit more snappy. I felt the dialogue going 'round in circles a few times, whereas maybe there was opportunity to go somewhere else with it. Hey I dont do comedy though so ...

The other thing for me was the grading, for my eyes seemed a little too saturated. Wondering also if its due to the lack of separation on the actors within the scene itself.

Good entry and well done.

Thanks for the compliments, Noel! Not sure what you mean by the opener being snappier. I'm not sure what else I could do to it or if I'd even want to touch it really. That intro kind of took a life of its own and turned out (IMO) better than I could have hoped for. Appreciate your feedback on that though.

As far as the dialogue goes, where else could you have seen it go? It really wasn't meant to go anywhere. This was kind of a glimpse into these characters' lives while they're basically doing some bada** things. They're brothers and they argue about silly things that they wouldn't argue with anybody else about and that's what makes it humorous.

I do appreciate your feedback though and I thought "Chasing Kangaroos" was an excellent film.


Hello there!

This is a crowd pleasing and very entertaining monster horror film with genuinely endearing characters. Like Noel i believe too the comic book opener could be quicker and that some of the voice over was redundent.

I quite liked the oversaturated look (as im sure that was particular to the comic book vibe) so i think that is fairly effective as is.

Some mentioned that the zombies seem strangely passive in the face of there attackers - and i think that is perhaps a worthy point to an extent however its fairly forgivable as this is a very abstract film really. Its a motion comic! Its about our invincible heroes really and there hilarious jive talking.

This is a film that held my attention throughout, and while there is the odd technical point and room for improvement, its something im sure you'll cover at your own pace quite comfortably Marlon. Most importantly you have an amusing story and good characters at your disposal.

Hey, Lawrie. Thanks for the compliments and feedback. Much appreciated and thanks for taking the time to write a review.

I really don't think the intro could have been quicker though and I say that simply because there's alot going on there. The first page has the title, chapter and some additional writing on the bottom and the next two pages have additional text boxes to read and you're supposed to get all that and the VO, so I was really thinking that it would end up being too quick if anything. If you think it's a bit too long then I can live with that, because I'd rather it be that than not long enough for the audience to get out of it what's intended. Anyway, I think you got what this film intended and I was able to amuse, so I'm very content with that.

[Richard J. Johnson]

Finalist! that's how it's done. Congrats. You deserve it.

[EditPhish]

Congrats on being a finalist! Well deserved for sure! :)

[TMerry]

Yeahhhh Buddy!!
That's what I'm talkin' bout!! :2vrolijk_08:

[Marlon Ladd]

Thanks, Rich, EP and Tommy! I feel blessed for sure!

[Marlon Ladd]

I hear crickets, it's been so dead around here today. Maybe 'cause it's Friday.

UPDATE:

Since "The Jones'" has gotten such a good responses, I've decided to take it further. Will be making this one my next feature and have already written an additional 25 pages. The follow up scenes to the film are maybe even funnier (IMO).

[Horncastle]

Congratulations and good luck as a finalist and:


Since "The Jones'" has gotten such a good responses, I've decided to take it further. Will be making this one my next feature and have already written an additional 25 pages. The follow up scenes to the film are maybe even funnier (IMO).

Great stuff!! I look forward to it.

[TMerry]

I hear crickets, it's been so dead around here today. Maybe 'cause it's Friday..

Bang Bang, Clank Clank, Blah Blah, Pop Pop, Boom Boom, Squealing Breaks, Police Siren, Baby Crying, Car Crashes!!!!!!!!!!!

There now, it's not quiet here anymore LOL!

Oh yeah and...
:kali: :kali: :kali: :kali:
:kali: :kali: :kali: :kali:

-Tommy ;-)

[Marlon Ladd]

:kali:
Congratulations and good luck as a finalist and:



Great stuff!! I look forward to it.

Thanks, man! Hey, you changed your avatar!


Bang Bang, Clank Clank, Blah Blah, Pop Pop, Boom Boom, Squealing Breaks, Police Siren, Baby Crying, Car Crashes!!!!!!!!!!!

There now, it's not quiet here anymore LOL!

Oh yeah and...
:kali: :kali: :kali: :kali:
:kali: :kali: :kali: :kali:

-Tommy ;-)

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Tommy! Bring the freakin' NOISE!!!!
:kali::kali::kali::kali::kali::kali::kali::kali::k ali:

[Susanne G.]

Hi Marlon,

I just saw that you are not only the director/producer/writer, you are also one of the two lead actors. That is amazing!!! It is even more difficult to make such a good film when you are acting in it yourself.

Susanne

[Marlon Ladd]

Hi Marlon,

I just saw that you are not only the director/producer/writer, you are also one of the two lead actors. That is amazing!!! It is even more difficult to make such a good film when you are acting in it yourself.

Susanne
Heya' Susanne. I can tell you one thing, it's definitely challenging. LOL! It can be very difficult to explain the type of shot you want when you're actually in it. Luckily I've been doing this for a little while and my friends and I have kind of developed a system. My new camera makes it alot easier (and faster) too, to switch back and look at the shot - if I don't like it, then we do it again. Thanks for dropping the compliment!!

[Susanne G.]

This seems an interesting experience to me. What is your back round? Did you go to film shool? I heard something about comic artist? When did you start making films?

Susanne

[Marlon Ladd]

This seems an interesting experience to me. What is your back round? Did you go to film shool? I heard something about comic artist? When did you start making films?

Susanne
Well, I was an actor first. I had always wanted to act and write, but it wasn't until I started working on my Masters Degree that I found an English/Creative Writing program. That opened up the avenue for me to explore all the things I wanted to do (make movies - be in movies). I started off writing and acting in plays - somebody saw me and thought I had acting talent and hired me for video work. After that, got a local agent and was hired to act in a short 45 minute student film. The director (who is still a good friend of mine) showed me the BTS stuff and shortly after that, I made my own first short film (1998 or 1999). After that I made my first feature (a historical western about the first black US Deputy Marshal in the OK Indian Terr. - "Black Marshal") film and since then I've made another feature (2007 - "Recoil") and 8 or so short films.

Now, how I learned to edit came about while I was doing my first feature. The people that filmed it for me only had a limited amount of time to work on the film, because they were doing it for free pretty much. My friend, who had just moved back from LA and had an editing system showed me how to edit, so I could finish getting my film done.

I'd spent thousands and thousands of dollars on that film, so when it came time for me to do another one, technology had changed everything and I was determined not to ever go into debt like that again. I bought all of my own equipment, which included a DVX100A and filmed my second feature ("Recoil") at a fraction of the cost of the first one. So, I stepped out on a limb, left my job (worked for the government) and committed to being a full-time filmmaker and finished that film in about 7 months.

Since then, alot of life stuff has happened and I've just been gearing up to get another feature done. I've written 4 scripts and was trying to figure out which one I wanted to do and which one would be the easiest to do and along came "The Jones.'" LOL!

Now, as far as the comic aspect of the film - the artwork was all computer generated and I did it in After Effects. I'm not a comic book artist by any means.

[zeke]

This is my second favorite one so far. Loved the interplay of the characters and the sense of menace the zombies brought, even during the comedic bits.
My one and only advice, and this is strictly a personal take, is less is more, as in the cussing.

I'm not against it, but too much can be distracting. Even if that's how people really talk on the street, it can overpower the story.

Great job though, and glad you are making it into a feature. If you maintain the tempo of the short, it's sure to be a hit.

[Susanne G.]

Well, I was an actor first. I had always wanted to act and write, but it wasn't until I started working on my Masters Degree that I found an English/Creative Writing program. That opened up the avenue for me to explore all the things I wanted to do (make movies - be in movies). I started off writing and acting in plays - somebody saw me and thought I had acting talent and hired me for video work. After that, got a local agent and was hired to act in a short 45 minute student film. The director (who is still a good friend of mine) showed me the BTS stuff and shortly after that, I made my own first short film (1998 or 1999). After that I made my first feature (a historical western about the first black US Deputy Marshal in the OK Indian Terr. - "Black Marshal") film and since then I've made another feature (2007 - "Recoil") and 8 or so short films.

Now, how I learned to edit came about while I was doing my first feature. The people that filmed it for me only had a limited amount of time to work on the film, because they were doing it for free pretty much. My friend, who had just moved back from LA and had an editing system showed me how to edit, so I could finish getting my film done.

I'd spent thousands and thousands of dollars on that film, so when it came time for me to do another one, technology had changed everything and I was determined not to ever go into debt like that again. I bought all of my own equipment, which included a DVX100A and filmed my second feature ("Recoil") at a fraction of the cost of the first one. So, I stepped out on a limb, left my job (worked for the government) and committed to being a full-time filmmaker and finished that film in about 7 months.

Since then, alot of life stuff has happened and I've just been gearing up to get another feature done. I've written 4 scripts and was trying to figure out which one I wanted to do and which one would be the easiest to do and along came "The Jones.'" LOL!

Now, as far as the comic aspect of the film - the artwork was all computer generated and I did it in After Effects. I'm not a comic book artist by any means.

You have more than ten years of filmmaking experience behind and in front of the camera - this explains a lot, why this film works that well from different aspects. I just rewatched 'Trivial' from LossFest and 'U...' from TwighlightFest. I remembered that you did 'U...', but not 'Trivial'. Haved watched them both, I must say that you did a big step forward compared to your last films. This film is much more fluid than the others. Also the second lead actor did a fantastic job. I would say it is the most entertaining film of the fest. I would love to see the feature from it. Let me know when you finished it. I am sure, you will put all your heart in it - so it will be great like the short.

Susanne

[Marlon Ladd]

This is my second favorite one so far. Loved the interplay of the characters and the sense of menace the zombies brought, even during the comedic bits.
My one and only advice, and this is strictly a personal take, is less is more, as in the cussing.

I'm not against it, but too much can be distracting. Even if that's how people really talk on the street, it can overpower the story.

Great job though, and glad you are making it into a feature. If you maintain the tempo of the short, it's sure to be a hit.

Thanks, Zeke. Glad you enjoyed our film. I hear ya' on the cussing and don't think that I didn't think about that. I did, but in the end, I went with my gut and where the characters took me. That can be a fine line sometimes too.

Yes, we hope to maintain the tempo for the feature and I believe and hope that it will not only emulate the short, but take it to another level. Thanks for stoppin' in, man! Appreciate it.


You have more than ten years of filmmaking experience behind and in front of the camera - this explains a lot, why this film works that well from different aspects. I just rewatched 'Trivial' from LossFest and 'U...' from TwighlightFest. I remembered that you did 'U...', but not 'Trivial'. Haved watched them both, I must say that you did a big step forward compared to your last films. This film is much more fluid than the others. Also the second lead actor did a fantastic job. I would say it is the most entertaining film of the fest. I would love to see the feature from it. Let me know when you finished it. I am sure, you will put all your heart in it - so it will be great like the short.

Susanne

I do feel like I've improved from every film I've made. "U" was definitely a rush job. It was a good story, but editing and lack of time to edit it and this was way before I had After Effects too, caused this film to suffer some. It was also the first time I used the HVX. "Trivial" also suffered from a lack of time and again, no After Effects. Both those films have been re-edited and work much better now, but I can say I learned alot from the shortcomings of those films. I was determined to give myself plenty of time and take my time and upgrade to the programs and equipment I felt like I needed to make an impact.

BTW - You should check out my hallows fest entry, "The Unassumed" and my lovefest entry, "Lyrical Transitions."

I will definitely let you know when I'm done with "The Jones.'" The script is looking good so far and I can't wait to get to filming. This stuff is so funny and fun!

Hey, you changed your avatar and where's your banner.

[Susanne G.]

Hi Marlon,

I watched your Hallow- and LoveFest Entry. 'Lyrical Transitions' was for me something like a Rap. I had the idea that you have a lot of creativ ideas in your mind and you made in every short a new experiment. So I loved the dialogs - I think you have a great ability as an scriptwriter. 'The Unassumed' took really my attention, but it is a completely different film genre. At the end of the film I needed a moment to understand that it is him trying to control himself and that he has two identities. The end was probably too fast. I loved the actors in 'Lyrical Transitions', but I have to admit that especially in 'U...' the acting wasn't that good. I think that in 'The Jones' you mixed up all your good abilities and especially the comic part and the fantastic dialogs did the trick, because this film is super good. Then I adore well done humourous films and this is one. I hope you will do more films like this.

Oh, my banner. To took the banner with me was really a habit and I didn't realize that it is a bit embarassed to still show it since TimeFest :embarasse - the time past that fast! Jason and me like to make another short, but we want first by some equipement.

The new avatar is a photo of a painting I did on the cage door for a rabbit who lived ones with us. It is my ironic fantasy to give the rabbit his own crest with two crossed carrots and the motto 'More vegatables no war'. Then the other sentense 'Dimorra due denti' is italian and sounds really good in this language. It means 'Two teeth manor'.
I was a bit fat up with the old avatar and wanted simple another one. This is the reason.

Susanne

[Marlon Ladd]

Hi Marlon,

I watched your Hallow- and LoveFest Entry. 'Lyrical Transitions' was for me something like a Rap. I had the idea that you have a lot of creativ ideas in your mind and you made in every short a new experiment. So I loved the dialogs - I think you have a great ability as an scriptwriter. 'The Unassumed' took really my attention, but it is a completely different film genre. At the end of the film I needed a moment to understand that it is him trying to control himself and that he has two identities. The end was probably too fast. I loved the actors in 'Lyrical Transitions', but I have to admit that especially in 'U...' the acting wasn't that good. I think that in 'The Jones' you mixed up all your good abilities and especially the comic part and the fantastic dialogs did the trick, because this film is super good. Then I adore well done humourous films and this is one. I hope you will do more films like this.

Oh, my banner. To took the banner with me was really a habit and I didn't realize that it is a bit embarassed to still show it since TimeFest :embarasse - the time past that fast! Jason and me like to make another short, but we want first by some equipement.

The new avatar is a photo of a painting I did on the cage door for a rabbit who lived ones with us. It is my ironic fantasy to give the rabbit his own crest with two crossed carrots and the motto 'More vegatables no war'. Then the other sentense 'Dimorra due denti' is italian and sounds really good in this language. It means 'Two teeth manor'.
I was a bit fat up with the old avatar and wanted simple another one. This is the reason.

Susanne

Yeah, most of the complaints from "U" were about the acting. We had some first time actors and I thought they did fine when we were filming. I think what else contributed to their performances not being so stellar were my camera angles and shots. I just couldn't really get exactly what I wanted with the amount of time and the location where we were. I was rushing entirely too much towards the end of that.

Yes, I think you should do another short. Jump in the next one.

Well, I've had the same avatar since I signed up. I really need to change it! So, you painted that? That's cool. I really like the idea behind it. Very cute! :thumbup:

[Susanne G.]

Yeah, most of the complaints from "U" were about the acting. We had some first time actors and I thought they did fine when we were filming. I think what else contributed to their performances not being so stellar were my camera angles and shots. I just couldn't really get exactly what I wanted with the amount of time and the location where we were. I was rushing entirely too much towards the end of that.

Yes, I think you should do another short. Jump in the next one.

Well, I've had the same avatar since I signed up. I really need to change it! So, you painted that? That's cool. I really like the idea behind it. Very cute! :thumbup:


Thanks that you like my avatar.

Probably we will not make a film next fest - we are not ready now, but there are good possibilities the fest after next one.

Very much luck for tomorrow - I would love to see your film in the first three :engel017:

Susanne

[Horncastle]

Just watched it again, it's as good as ever.

What a great monologue:

"People ask lots o' questions about ma boys,
They always say 'what happened to 'em?'
People say lots o' things about ma boys too
They say that they saved this city, yes sir they do
They say when it started, well they was the only ones prepared
Like they knew it was comin'
Shiiit - I don't know if they knew or not
But they always been on point
People ask why they was so good at fighting
Well I tell people 'cause that's all they used to do'
Legends, saviours - I don't know about that
Why don't you judge for yourself"

[Arturo Sanchez]

Funny.. Great zombies. Filming was well done.

[Marlon Ladd]

Thanks that you like my avatar.

Probably we will not make a film next fest - we are not ready now, but there are good possibilities the fest after next one.

Very much luck for tomorrow - I would love to see your film in the first three :engel017:

Susanne
Okay, well I wanna' see you back in the fests soon.

Thanks and keep your fingers crossed.

[Marlon Ladd]

Just watched it again, it's as good as ever.

What a great monologue:

"People ask lots o' questions about ma boys,
They always say 'what happened to 'em?'
People say lots o' things about ma boys too
They say that they saved this city, yes sir they do
They say when it started, well they was the only ones prepared
Like they knew it was comin'
Shiiit - I don't know if they knew or not
But they always been on point
People ask why they was so good at fighting
Well I tell people 'cause that's all they used to do'
Legends, saviours - I don't know about that
Why don't you judge for yourself"

Thanks! I love that opening. I wrote it, but Cara Black, the actress that did the voice, really brought it out. She did her thing! And man, you wrote it word for word like she said it - that's some cool sh*t!


Funny.. Great zombies. Filming was well done.

Thanks, Arturo. Glad you stopped by!

[Slimothy]

Nice work man. Keep it up.