A Fistful of Flesh

[Dahopafilms]

Be gentle. Or not.

[Jarred Land]

Nice camerawork :)

[khmuse]

One of the better shorts, an entertaining and complete story. The only technical criticism is that the angle of the pizza delivery drivers door revealed the key light source. Either a little matting spray or a different angle would have solved this. The humor (though not very subtle) worked for me.

[Jarred Land]

Thanks khmuse.. good eye on the hit from the reflection... Bad Jarred, Bad.

[Dahopafilms]

I am concerned:

1. I never even saw the screwup on the light source (you mean, I have to watch that thing AGAIN?). My editor kept jumping in front of the screen every time that scene started.
2. Who is this Jarred guy? Never heard of him.
3. Even if I had heard of him, the guy I know would never be up at 7:26 am.

[Jarred Land]

I am concerned:
the guy I know would never be up at 7:26 am.

Your clock is wrong. Its 12:26pm where I am.

[Dahopafilms]

Your clock is wrong. Its 12:26pm where I am.

Interesting. Based upon my calculations, you can therefore only be in Nuuk, Greenland (or in the middle of the Atlantic).

I had heard rumours ...

[khmuse]

I am concerned:

1. I never even saw the screwup on the light source (you mean, I have to watch that thing AGAIN?). My editor kept jumping in front of the screen every time that scene started.
2. Who is this Jarred guy? Never heard of him.
3. Even if I had heard of him, the guy I know would never be up at 7:26 am.

I know exactly what you mean, if I have to watch ours again I think I will literally become ill.

Now as for your choice of DP...

Just kidding, great work.

[Jarred Land]

Yeah.. its beautiful here in gold old Nuuk,

Here is our new house, its got central A/C and a place in the back for the dogsled.

http://iserit.greennet.gl/sajare/images/ulrik11.jpg

[Dahopafilms]

... The only technical criticism is that the angle of the pizza delivery drivers door revealed the key light source. Either a little matting spray or a different angle would have solved this. The humor (though not very subtle) worked for me.

Thanks kmuse. You're good. And as long as you got a small grin from it, I'm delighted.

[Dahopafilms]

Yeah.. its beautiful here in gold old Nuuk,

Here is our new house, its got central A/C and a place in the back for the dogsled.


Nice place. Congrats. And I heard Nuuk has the highest per capita ladder sales in the world. I'm not sure if that statistic is true, but ...

[Jarred Land]

Nice place. Congrats. And I heard Nuuk has the highest per capita ladder sales in the world. ...

yes indeed. The italians control the ladder industry here, and they have been firebombing my house because they don't like my kind in town.. at 6' 7" I don't need ladders, and my neighbors have opted to bake me cookies to get me to patch their roofs instead of paying $140 for the Ferrari-branded ladders.

This is a problem that I hope will pass, because my house isn't as fire-proof as my house back in Vancouver for some reason. however I am delighted to discover I had built in Fire sprinklers! Seems like that cold white insulation on my roof magically turns into water when it senses fire.

[khmuse]

Yeah, them Ferrari ladders look really sexy, but just try to get one fixed and you'll see what they really cost to own!

[Dahopafilms]

Yeah, them Ferrari ladders look really sexy, but just try to get one fixed and you'll see what they really cost to own!

Sure. But at least they don't reflect key lights (unlike their taller, but cheaper competition).

Now, back to the film discussion ...

[jpbankesmercer]

First film to make me laugh...The f. off, (out loud), the blouse opening, (to myself(though might have had a little more flesh going on(bad Jarred(should have pushed for it)))
Funny, wasnt expecting it...
Don't give any of the prizes to Jarred, hes rich enough, but maybe not now after the bandwith...
Good work fellas...Top notch, have a steak, raw.
Your main actor reminded me of Ash a little, only a good thing.
J.P.

[Dahopafilms]

First film to make me laugh...The f. off, (out loud), the blouse opening, (to myself(though might have had a little more flesh going on(bad Jarred(should have pushed for it)))
Funny, wasnt expecting it...
Don't give any of the prizes to Jarred, hes rich enough, but maybe not now after the bandwith...
Good work fellas...Top notch, have a steak, raw.
Your main actor reminded me of Ash a little, only a good thing.
J.P.

Wow. I get home, crack a beer and find your message. Even a smile would have satisfied me - but a laugh? Thanks.

And Jarred (rather strongly) suggested that the female camper role be played by a guy, but I resisted. And even if it were an issue, the prizes would be worthless to Jarred as he's had to sell all his video equipment to pay for the extra bandwidth (I saw him eyeing a used 8mm Sony on eBay earlier). Save-the-Jarred-Fund donations will soon be able to be made through your local bank.

[Bigmagic]

Excellent effort. I really enjoyed this one. Very professional.

[Dahopafilms]

Excellent effort. I really enjoyed this one. Very professional.

Thanks Big. We had fun making it - finished shooting after about four hours and ten minutes (put about an additional three hours into set-ups and makeup). Pretty simple stuff and a pretty simple story (ultimately made even simpler by the fact that I had to cut out 1 min. 6 secs. to fit the damned entry requirements).

The intention was always only to have fun making it and (hopefully) bring a smile from the end result.

Now that I've seen the talent exhibited by the other entries, I'd probably try and ramp it up a few notches in the next go-round. Competition is good, but not necessarily for the ego!

Cheers, and thanks for taking the time to view and comment.

[CallaghanFilms]

You took a strong comedic premise and blended it with technical professionalism...the best of all scenarios. Fistful of Flesh feels in every way "big-budgety".

Good show.

[Dahopafilms]

... Fistful of Flesh feels in every way "big-budgety"...

Thanks very much Callaghan. Kind words.

For the next one, we're going "VERY big-budgety" by upping our pizza order to $175. (Scary when the biggest budget item is pizza - and the cast and crew didn't even drink all the beer). :beer:

[MattinSTL]

What the hell is the deal? Why isn't there more discussion on this flick? I haven't heard any real buzz on it and so far it's got BY FAR the hottest chick in it... plus the blouse gets tore open (ha! you're downloading it NOW are you!) and it's at least as funny as the other flicks which are being pumped up for their humor... I can honestly say that at two points in this flick I clapped my hands while I was laughing so hard. (yes like a "learning disabled" child might when you hand him a puppy)

I would like to have seen more action and a little less dialog, but it didn't really matter since the entire flick was entertaining... which is my FIRST criteria. I don't care how great somebody's skills are if they can't keep my interest...

I also found it ironic that the girl is actually called "drop dead gorgeous"... there is NO doubt what cast member that was!

Anyway... are we not supposed to pump this one up because of the members involved or what? This is for CERTAIN at LEAST a top 10 on the list...

[Slimothy]

Someone mentioned that this had "big" feel and I totally agree. It looked like something I might see on daytime television. It seems as if the ADR being off a bit was on purpose so most of the time, it looked totally in-place and normal, then sometimes it was so off that it was a bit distracting. Overall, it was pretty funny and alot of the sound f/x were good. When they were eating, it was grossing me out, so that must mean it was pretty decent. The dialogue ran on sometimes, but the story was really origina and the chick was hot, so you had my attention from the get-go. Good job. Tim.

[janzie]

do you know the feeling when you think of yourself as a wannabe-filmmaker, trying to accomplish 500 things in a 5-minute-short, fail at 498 and then watch a simple approach of a few guys,who know what they´re doing and have a little fun...

that´s how i felt after watching your movie. it seems to be so easy,when you watch it...it´s highly entertaining, crafted very well and made me think,that i have to learn to focus on the real thing instead of trying to do the dusk-till-dawn-28-days-later-kill-(zombie)bill-land-of-the-dead-leone-style-with-no-budget-and/or-talent-thing.

i also think that after watching disjecta´s movies,but then i take my camera and keep watching these european ducks and trees and lakes,but they just don´t act as good as those lakewood birds...or maybe it´s just me...

back to the topic:
everybody i showed it to loved it...it seems just fitting in every place,because i couldn´t think about anything like camerawork,lighting or story...and that´s how a movie should work.
good job

[Dahopafilms]

What the hell is the deal? Why isn't there more discussion on this flick? I haven't heard any real buzz on it and so far it's got BY FAR the hottest chick in it... plus the blouse gets tore open (ha! you're downloading it NOW are you!) and it's at least as funny as the other flicks which are being pumped up for their humor... I can honestly say that at two points in this flick I clapped my hands while I was laughing so hard. (yes like a "learning disabled" child might when you hand him a puppy)

I would like to have seen more action and a little less dialog, but it didn't really matter since the entire flick was entertaining... which is my FIRST criteria. I don't care how great somebody's skills are if they can't keep my interest...

I also found it ironic that the girl is actually called "drop dead gorgeous"... there is NO doubt what cast member that was!

Anyway... are we not supposed to pump this one up because of the members involved or what? This is for CERTAIN at LEAST a top 10 on the list...

Matt,

Thanks for your kind words. A few comments on your post:

Yes, our lead female "non-zombie" was/is hot. I am actually auctioning off her telephone number with the proceeds going to the Save-The-Jarred-Bandwidth-Fund. All in spite of the fact that my DP originally wanted our hiker to wear a turtle neck sweater under her blouse. Go figure.

Less dialogue? Given that I originally wrote this as a radio play, I thought I was doing rather well ...

And the reason it appears that we haven't received much buzz is because Jarred has been deleting all the negative comments on the short. Given that most of those have dealt with our DP's shortcomings (rimshot), you can probably understand why.

Thanks again for your comments.

[Dahopafilms]

Someone mentioned that this had "big" feel and I totally agree. It looked like something I might see on daytime television. It seems as if the ADR being off a bit was on purpose so most of the time, it looked totally in-place and normal, then sometimes it was so off that it was a bit distracting. Overall, it was pretty funny and alot of the sound f/x were good. When they were eating, it was grossing me out, so that must mean it was pretty decent. The dialogue ran on sometimes, but the story was really origina and the chick was hot, so you had my attention from the get-go. Good job. Tim.

Tim,

Thank you for your comments. Actually, the entire concept was modelled on an episode of Maury Povich (albeit with a little less blood), so your perception about daytime TV is right on.

I think we did three takes on the ADR (we were too perfect the first two times). We did, however, use about eleven bunches of crisp celery. Let your mind wander ...

As for grossing you out with the eating, imagine a mixture of Spam, sliced ham, ju jubes and over-cooked lasagna all mixed up with special F/X powdered blood which, if you've ever used it, really smells foul (by the way, Thomas F/X in North Vancouver makes some AWESOME special f/x supplies). Then my lead zombies went nuts and were stuffing it all in their mouths - even after the camera shut down.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cheers.

[Dahopafilms]

do you know the feeling when you think of yourself as a wannabe-filmmaker, trying to accomplish 500 things in a 5-minute-short, fail at 498 and then watch a simple approach of a few guys,who know what they´re doing and have a little fun...

that´s how i felt after watching your movie. it seems to be so easy,when you watch it...it´s highly entertaining, crafted very well and made me think,that i have to learn to focus on the real thing instead of trying to do the dusk-till-dawn-28-days-later-kill-(zombie)bill-land-of-the-dead-leone-style-with-no-budget-and/or-talent-thing.

i also think that after watching disjecta´s movies,but then i take my camera and keep watching these european ducks and trees and lakes,but they just don´t act as good as those lakewood birds...or maybe it´s just me...

back to the topic:
everybody i showed it to loved it...it seems just fitting in every place,because i couldn´t think about anything like camerawork,lighting or story...and that´s how a movie should work.
good job

Janzie,

Ok,Ok. Your kind words deserve at least a half sincere response.

The recipe was: (1) start with a good friend over a BBQ dinner with one or two Heinekens; (2) be open to anything; (3) write something with a beginning, middle and end - then throw it away, cut it down and rewrite it again; (4) for on-screen talent, use two professional actors, one lawyer and one awesome little girl who were willing to try anything; (5) find the best pro make-up person you can, and arrange the shooting schedule around her's; (6) strictly limit the shooting schedule so you HAVE to get each shot in no more than three takes (OK - maybe four) and move on; (7) find a great DP with an awesome attitude and the ability to pull the director to one side if he has his head up his ass; and (8) above all just have fun with it.

That's enough sincerity for now.

And where do people get off complaining about too much dialogue? Just look at my responses to the posts for Christ's sake! Now THOSE are wordy!

[MattinSTL]

I've been involved in a couple local projects that each had extremely hot chicks in them... the last one had what might very well be the hottest chick I've ever seen in person.

If you guys can maintain this level of casting I may change my mind about the next contest being "sci-fi".

You'll be glad to know that you guys made my "suggested viewing" list for my crew... based not entirely on your casting, but at least seven and a half percent on your excellent production.

Honestly I really liked how they talked... I was laughing almost non-stop at their southern accent.

If it wasn't for the fact that you guys demonstrated such capability I never woulda' mentioned the dialog to action ratio... it's just that you accidentally proved you coulda' handled anything in the way of my wimsical demands.

[Bigmagic]

I too wonder why the most complete films I watched(Fistful of Flesh,Uzraa and Red Meat) are not generating more buzz. I wonder if the fact that the filmmakers are new to the site has made everyone hesitant to heap praise upon these? Again good luck in the contest.

[Dahopafilms]

I too wonder why the most complete films I watched(Fistful of Flesh,Uzraa and Red Meat) are not generating more buzz. I wonder if the fact that the filmmakers are new to the site has made everyone hesitant to heap praise upon these? Again good luck in the contest.

Nawww ...

Think of this. A Ferrari, a Chevrolet and a Yugo drive by. Which ones are you going to comment on?

Next time, however, the Chevy may drive over the Yugo as it t-bones the Ferrari. THEN we'll see who's talking about what.

BwaaHaaHaaHaaHaa.

:laugh:

[puredv]

I loved the lighting of the girl when she first comes face to face with the zombie, how did you pull that off? Gorgeous!

[Dahopafilms]

I loved the lighting of the girl when she first comes face to face with the zombie, how did you pull that off? Gorgeous!

It's really easy.

Step one - find a gorgeous girl.

Step two - light her.

Step three - get your DP to shoot her before she moves.

Actually, I owe it all to my DP who lit that shot. Not bad for a guy who drinks Heineken. While he's shooting. I guess he was a little lit himself.

Personally, I loved that shot and I think you're about the first to specifically comment on it.

Thanks.

[Jarred Land]

Hey i had to be drunk to work with such a whackjob director :)

[Dahopafilms]

Hey i had to be drunk to work with such a whackjob director :)

Ahh. The innocence of youth.

And note how the easily-distracted DP isn't even watching the shot:

http://img439.imageshack.us/img439/6901/dsc014503yz.th.jpg (http://img439.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc014503yz.jpg)

Yep. I remember my first beer ...

:beer: