"Thick Window"

[Mobie540]

"Thick Window"
A poignant drama about a father and daughter who survive in a small underground bunker after a cataclysmic world event.

Directed by Chris Westfield
Written by Kyle Patrick Johnson then butchered by Chris Westfield (Sorry Kyle)

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1068/thickwindowdvxuser.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/641/thickwindowdvxuser.jpg/)

[Mobie540]

Stuff goes here.

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/162/thickwindowoutside1.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/thickwindowoutside1.jpg/)

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/2212/caitlyncans.jpg

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/5708/melpaints.jpg

[Mobie540]

Behind the Scenes


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8xRAoHul_Y&feature=channel_video_title

[Lynchenstein]

13 minutes....you can do it!

Hint for the upload page: walk away from your computer when uploading as it knows when you're watching it. I think watching it makes it nervous or something.

[Hawk Teflon]

Wow, look at all these threads! This is great! Good luck getting it all in on time!

[SuperEgo Saxton]

Nice screen grabs! This looks really promising :)

The last SG it looks like Eric Bana ;)

[Mobie540]

13 minutes....you can do it!

Hint for the upload page: walk away from your computer when uploading as it knows when you're watching it. I think watching it makes it nervous or something.

I watched that pot until it boiled now I need a cigarette but I don't smoke.



Wow, look at all these threads! This is great! Good luck getting it all in on time!

Thanks and Boomer Sooner!

Nice screen grabs! This looks really promising :)

The last SG it looks like Eric Bana ;)

LOL, awesome he hates being called that.

[Hawk Teflon]

Thanks and Boomer Sooner!

Ha! That's what I'm talking about!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

But didn't you work on this during FictionFest? I remember seeing some of the grabs and everything. :huh:

[Matt Harris]

I swear i almost did a father and daughter in a bunker after the apocalypse as well, glad i didn't!

[Hawk Teflon]

But didn't you work on this during FictionFest? I remember seeing some of the grabs and everything. :huh:

I believe you are correct...

[Mobie540]

Yep I did pre-production and this was for Fictionfest. I shot it the weekend of 16/17 Apr and 30 Apr and 15 Jun. Those screen grabs you saw were after Fictionfest was well over with.

Just took them down this evening and moved to this thread.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Yep I did pre-production and this was for Fictionfest. I shot it the weekend of 16/17 Apr and 30 Apr and 15 Jun. Those screen grabs you saw were after Fictionfest was well over with.

Just took them down this evening and moved to this thread.I'm no Mod but I think that will DQ you.
It was clearly prepared for FictionFest was it not? I remember the thread. VillainFest was just announced on April 8th and you already had grabs posted April 19th. In your FICTIONFest thread.

I believe you are supposed to wait for the theme and then start working on it. This is why they throw in required elements.

I think Noel commented on it in your FictionFest thread as well when someone else suggested that you should have kept it a secret and then entered it into VillainFest.
I'm no Mod though so I'll keep out of it. Best of luck.

[KhamIsk]

Looks like you made it! Can't wait...

[KhamIsk]

Just hit me - you're a writer of Caijin. Good luck to you with the Thick Window. The storyboarding looks super great.

[Chris Messineo]

I LOVED this script on MoviePoet. I can't wait to see the film. Your screen grabs and BTS are great. Best of luck in the fest!

[ZazaCast]

But didn't you work on this during FictionFest? I remember seeing some of the grabs and everything. :huh:
Hate to rub anothers rhubarb...but this was posted back in January...I remember the grabs too.
What's up with that? :huh:

[Mobie540]

Hate to rub anothers rhubarb...but this was posted back in January...I remember the grabs too.
What's up with that? :huh:

No worries, this thread would no doubt cause controversy.

As to your question, started that thread for Fiction Fest which was originally called Zulu Dawn, a zombie movie. Then couldn't pull it off, then later went this route but building the set literally took forever. I'm a one man show.

I just ask for honest feedback of the film.

[ZazaCast]

No worries, this thread would no doubt cause controversy.

As to your question, started that thread for Fiction Fest which was originally called Zulu Dawn, a zombie movie. Then couldn't pull it off, then later went this route but building the set literally took forever. I'm a one man show.

I just ask for honest feedback of the film.

I'm confused.... you posted the same grabs on 4/19.... Fiction Fest ended about 3/23... VillainFest was announced early April... that doesn't leave much time to write a script, build a set, shoot and post grabs. What am I missing here?

Don't want to beat a dead horse, just trying to understand....

[Mobie540]

I'm confused.... you posted the same grabs on 4/19.... Fiction Fest ended about 3/23... VillainFest was announced early April... that doesn't leave much time to write a script, build a set, shoot and post grabs. What am I missing here?

Don't want to beat a dead horse, just trying to understand....

My shoot dates fell within Villain Fest.

[ZazaCast]

Gotcha

[Lynchenstein]

This was fantastic!

I really liked the lighting and the overall look in the basement - you nailed it. The acting was also terrific - the little girl did a superb job I thought, as did your villain. After watching I went and watched your BTS video: your villain did a great job with the score as well.
The time it must have taken to storyboard everything, then BUILD A SET! Well it certainly paid off.

I don't have anything else to say - I would not change a thing (except maybe the sparks - those looked off).


I aspire to produce a look like you achieved here: professional, cinematic, consistent and completely appropriate for the story. Awesome.

[Hawk Teflon]

SPOILER REVIEW:
I was finally able to view this. This was very well done. Unfortunately, since this is VF, I was thinking the whole time, "He's the Villain. I'll bet everything is fine outside. I bet she's missing." But ONLY because this is VF. This was very well done, and very depressing to boot. I really like the shots, the lighting, the score ... a very strong entry.

[lawriejaffa]

Spoilers...

Thick Window worked around the premise of well... a window (that didn't really work i think in order to justify itself in relation to the girls entrapment or the films title.) Thats just one point however, because there is much to like in this handsome short film. Fine performances, attractive cinematography and a wonderful atmosphere of imprisonment akin to a post apocalyptic setting really plays with our heads. Were it not for the prevalence of other kiddie kidnap movies (yikes!) then i probably would not have guessed that our chap was in fact the 'villain'. A unique and subtle atmosphere which avoided some of the schlock bluntness of other films (for example our artist doesnt spend the last 10 secs cleaning his brushes in a child's skull or something...)

Mature, interesting but mired by a little confusion over its premise. A good effort and generally entertaining macabre film.

[ZazaCast]

I liked this one. It had a great story line with a twist, looked beautiful and the actors were on point (how cute is that little girl).
Loved the opening shots! The score & sound design were tight.

diggin' for nit-picks:
- Although the story was good, it was predictable...because we're looking for the villain.
- Focus was soft in spots.
- The 'sparks' from the fusebox looked a little off to me.

That's all I could find...and even that isn't any kind of a deal-breaker. Really good film.
Great job on the set.

I liked the case # DVXUSER07092011 on the flyer...nice easteregg!

[Matt Harris]

Movie 540, good job man, this really worked for me. Nice slow deliberate pace, good acting, both leads were solid especially the little girl.
The twist was obvious to me, but that's because with only 2 actors and a fest called villain fest, you can pretty much see what the underlying story is.
None the less, i really liked the way you shot it, the premise, and your location. really cool.

[Nemesis TS]

This movie looked great man. Nice job and the acting was also very good. However, I was bored by the story itself. Probably because it was the last one I watched. So in a way not totally fair to you. One thing is for sure you are an awesome DP and Director. Some story problems. Dad is just sitting there waiting while she climbs the ladder, he should have been more engaged in something to not notice this. And I didn't understand the light bulb? What was his plan hide in the basement forever? So while I'm not a fan of the story, I am most certainly a fan of the story teller, and I look forward to your next one. Awesome execution.

[Chris Messineo]

That ending surprised the hell out of me. I know this script from MoviePoet and I love it. But, I wasn't expecting that new twist. Honestly, I'm not sure what I think about it yet. It takes a sweet and tender story and turns it on it's head.

As for the actual look of the film, I thought it was beautiful. Your staging and blocking was great.

I also really liked your actors a lot. They worked very well together.

I know it's early, but I hope you enter this into the MoviePoet short film fest in November.

[Mobie540]

First and foremost, I really appreciate the kind remarks.

I'm not good with multi-quotes so I'll try to just cover everything in a paragraph here. Like I said in my BTS I like to focus on one or two things to really work on when I make a short. "Kinship" was a heavy dialogue, no kidding I have to direct performances piece. "Thick Window" was an exercise in producing/directing something I did not write, it was also an exercise in lighting. After story...lighting and set design was a huge focus for me. When people say I want it to look filmic what does that really mean? Shoot on 35mm? Use expensive lens? I think it's a combination of lighting and art direction. When I read "The Thick Window" originally I was so stuck on, how am I going to shoot this? How am I going to make a painting look like a window? So I threw out trying to be so literal and just went abstract with it. (I almost thought about stop motion animation at one point.) So the images of the grey cinderblock basement that popped into my head while reading the script are the same images you see in the short. That's exactly what I wanted and achieved.

Lychenstein - You want to know my secret to lighting it? DVD: Lighting for Film and Television Barry Green & David Jimerson. Seriously, best money I ever spent. That and the lighting forum.

Chris - I am going to submit to the moviepoet contest. You will see a version that's 2 minutes longer and is more in tune with the original script.

Finally, I'll probably lose the sparking FX, I think you understand what happens without them. They didn't look real to me either.

Thanks again for watching the film and providing me with feedback.

[Chris_Keaton]

I liked this piece. Acting was good and it looked nice an claustrophobic. I new and was hoping that the world was fine above and think that knowing this would've been enough without the missing child poster. Because kidnapped or not what he was doing was cruel. Great Job. I'm not sure why it was exhibition only though?

[Matthew B]

This was a nice entry with some good performances.
I'll echo the comment about the sparks, because i think it would be just as effective without them. I also think the end shot with bus stop and the poster could be done differently or taken out all together.
All in all a good film. Well done.

[ashpatel]

Nice storyboard work in the BTS. I enjoyed the BTS. Haven't had a chance to watch the film. Will do so soon.

[Sunk99]

Great acting. Also enjoyed the lighting. Story - a solid B. I'm not that good at guessing twists, but I pretty much saw this one coming.
Still over all I enjoyed it much and you had a great submission. Look forward to more.

[KhamIsk]

I watched it and liked it a lot. Your actress is great, the man too but considering she's just a child - she did a superb job! It's paced very well. The shot of him changing the window is very powerful.
The only thing I'm not sure about is the ending - I thought it's apocalypses or something - that would suit the story better I think. I read the script on MoviePoet first - it's a great script.