THE REPLACER - hybridtheory aka Ben Sliker

[Ben Sliker]

Hey DVXUSERS!
Any comments, questions, constructive criticism is welcome. I'm sure to be popping in and out of here often.

Thanks to the few people who helped me shoot, esp. Brad, John, and Marie.

[Ben Sliker]

grrr ... WHY IS MY FILM GREY?????? God i hate compression.

[Blaine]

Shhhhh. I thought that was the look you were going for, kinda cold and distant. There was a section in there that reminded me of the scene in Broken. Interesting concept. It looked like you put some thought into it, a bigger hand running the show. You kept me on board for the whole ride, good job.

[Filmjunkie677]

This was cool.
I agree with Blaine, in which he's referring to the guy strapped to the chair. (I think)
That scene was very well put together and executed. I loved the look of it.
The whole piece had a very strange and ominous tone to it which I think was good.
Well done.

[Ben Sliker]

haha, yeah, that's what we were going for, it doesn't bother me for most of it, just that the title pages are dark grey and not black, why i have no idea. Thanks Alot Blaine.

[Brandon Rice]

I really liked this film! One of the films in the better category. I liked the montage of the guy doing his routine each day. Very cool way to tell your story. I'll have a little more in depth review after I watch it through again. Good job! Yeah, I loved the look of the guy strapped to the chair too.

[Ben Sliker]

This was cool.
I agree with Blaine, in which he's referring to the guy strapped to the chair. (I think)
That scene was very well put together and executed. I loved the look of it.
The whole piece had a very strange and ominous tone to it which I think was good.
Well done.


THAT WAS ME!!! I had to direct the film being strapped to that chair for 4.5 hours! I couldn't feel my right hand for a while afterwards ...

[Brandon Rice]

THAT WAS ME!!! I had to direct the film being strapped to that chair for 4.5 hours! I couldn't feel my right hand for a while afterwards ...

Dang! Props to you bro. That must have been fun ;)

[MojoTrancer]

I was digging this one. Interesting look. The use of darkness/shadows was very cool. I especially liked the eye effect at the end.

[Norm Sanders]

I got to be honest ... someone PM'd me asking if I understood the film ... which I'd not seen yet. If it wasn't for the fact that I was REALLY concentrating on following along, I probably wouldn't have "gotten" it the first time, and I don't think the viewer should have to work so hard to understand something ... at least not usually.

Anyway, the basement/chair scene was well done. Creepy, to say the least. Also cool that you were the main character in this ... you have a good look, and like the eye thing that you did in the end when you blinked.

However, the editing/layout of this was confusing as crap to me. The very opening type with subject, irriversable, replace, etc. was LOST because it's the first thing and we don't know why. By the time we see the character going down the stairs for like the 5th time, we've forgotten all about the opening frame/title ... at least I did, until WMV looped again and I saw that part for the second time ... then I was like "Oh, okay, I get it now ... kinda'".

If that had popped on AFTER the guy had fallen down the stairs, it would have made more sense.

Also, if at the ending, we see HOW the guy's life was saved, there would have been more pay off. What's with the crucial few seconds of delay? We have to assume he would have been SMASHED by a truck blowing through the interesection just up the road, or something, but we never see it, let alone hear the screach of tires, horn honking, the guy yelling at whatever just barely misses him, etc. Also, why is this one person so important?

Theres a difference to leaving the viewer hanging wanting to see what's going to happen next vs. leaving them hanging with valid questions that should be answered, since they were introduced to a degree. A little less time going through the routine, or stealing some time from the basement scene, and you could have quickly answered some of the other questions.

[Ben Sliker]

I got to be honest ... someone PM'd me asking if I understood the film ... which I'd not seen yet. If it wasn't for the fact that I was REALLY concentrating on following along, I probably wouldn't have "gotten" it the first time, and I don't think the viewer should have to work so hard to understand something ... at least not usually.

Anyway, the basement/chair scene was well done. Creepy, to say the least. Also cool that you were the main character in this ... you have a good look, and like the eye thing that you did in the end when you blinked.

However, the editing/layout of this was confusing as crap to me. The very opening type with subject, irriversable, replace, etc. was LOST because it's the first thing and we don't know why. By the time we see the character going down the stairs for like the 5th time, we've forgotten all about the opening frame/title ... at least I did, until WMV looped again and I saw that part for the second time ... then I was like "Oh, okay, I get it now ... kinda'".

If that had popped on AFTER the guy had fallen down the stairs, it would have made more sense.

Also, if at the ending, we see HOW the guy's life was saved, there would have been more pay off. What's with the crucial few seconds of delay? We have to assume he would have been SMASHED by a truck blowing through the interesection just up the road, or something, but we never see it, let alone hear the screach of tires, horn honking, the guy yelling at whatever just barely misses him, etc. Also, why is this one person so important?

Theres a difference to leaving the viewer hanging wanting to see what's going to happen next vs. leaving them hanging with valid questions that should be answered, since they were introduced to a degree. A little less time going through the routine, or stealing some time from the basement scene, and you could have quickly answered some of the other questions.

First off, thanks for the critique, i enjoy the challenge.
1. the opening statement is an homage to THX-1138, a movie that really doesn't make sense a lot of the time, and the title is meant to make you think, if i put up there "Broken leg ... must replace" it would be, in a sense, lame. It was put there so that you start to think about what it could mean. And I wholeheartedly disagree with the statement that a viewer should not have to work to understand what they are watching.

2. There is one statement that should solidy tell you what this film is about "That's Why I'm here Christian, to replace you" ... I can't explain it better than that.

3. The man at the end IS NOT IMPORTANT and for all that it matters, doesn't have to be. It's the replacers control over earth that does matter. I found that this is depressing for Christian because his life really doesn't matter, he had one purpose, and he messed it up, so now he dies. (Think of it as trying to keep a butterfly effect intact).

4. What are these valid questions? You know that the man's life was saved because the replacer was there to bump into him ... I think I would have lost a lot from my short if i (for a lack of a better phrase) spelled it out for everyone.

Again, thanks for the criticism!

[Norm Sanders]

Well, thankfully, since they're just opinions I can't really be wrong. From my perspective, as an audience member watching for the first time, they were important to me.

If I stated that he DIDN'T break his leg, when it's clear he did, then yes, I can be wrong ... but no one can ever be wrong in the questions they're left with. Perhaps I'll be the only one with these questions ... if so, I'm in the minority and every film will have a minority group that feels a certain way, while everyone else champions it.

If others agree, then while you chose the artistic path of leaving those things unexplained, because you felt they weren't important, the audience you're showcasing it to feels otherwise.

No worries either way, and again, it was someone else that brought it to my attention with a PM saying they had no clue what the film was about & wanted my take on it. I DID understand that THE REPLACER was there to replace Christian ... pretty simple. What I didn't understand was the IMPORTANCE of it. Since he went on to say that there was a man's life that was supposed to be saved, to me, as the viewer, it's saying there's something important about that man.

Obviously, I'm an idiot.

[Ben Sliker]

Well, thankfully, since they're just opinions I can't really be wrong. From my perspective, as an audience member watching for the first time, they were important to me.

If I stated that he DIDN'T break his leg, when it's clear he did, then yes, I can be wrong ... but no one can ever be wrong in the questions they're left with. Perhaps I'll be the only one with these questions ... if so, I'm in the minority and every film will have a minority group that feels a certain way, while everyone else champions it.

If others agree, then while you chose the artistic path of leaving those things unexplained, because you felt they weren't important, the audience you're showcasing it to feels otherwise.

No worries either way, and again, it was someone else that brought it to my attention with a PM saying they had no clue what the film was about & wanted my take on it. I DID understand that THE REPLACER was there to replace Christian ... pretty simple. What I didn't understand was the IMPORTANCE of it. Since he went on to say that there was a man's life that was supposed to be saved, to me, as the viewer, it's saying there's something important about that man.

Obviously, I'm an idiot.

What's with the idiot line ... there's no need for that. I just disagree with some of the points you made.

Sorry you got the impression that I was telling you that you were wrong.

Why is the replacer replacing Christian important? Because something went wrong, which threatens the replacers control. And now they have to fix it. Christian isn't important, the man sure isn't. Keeping Control is.

Maybe there's room to explore a larger plot line in something that is longer than 6 min, but I really feel everything comes together when he turns around and exposes who he is, laughs (because he's completed his mission) and leaves.

Peace.
Ben.

[mikkowilson]

Ben,
good stuff.

I LOVED the openign shot of the clock. Really clever. how on earth did you come up with that idea?

I do have to agree though that I was distracted fromt eh end of the film by waitign to see how the life was saved. I was waiting for somethign to fall just in front of the guy after he was stopped and I may have mised one of the points of the film because of it.

Well shot scene inside, I liked how you kept the camera moving. The guy was tied down to the chair and coudln't move, but the scene never remained still. Nice.

- Mikko

[Norm Sanders]

Got'cha, sorry, my bad. I did read into it that you were telling me my opinion(s) were wrong. Nothing worse than taking the time to give someone your honest feedback (both good & bad) and having them blast you back.

That's how I took it, and apparently I was wrong. Thanks for the clarification.

[Ben Sliker]

Ben,
good stuff.

I LOVED the openign shot of the clock. Really clever. how on earth did you come up with that idea?

I do have to agree though that I was distracted fromt eh end of the film by waitign to see how the life was saved. I was waiting for somethign to fall just in front of the guy after he was stopped and I may have mised one of the points of the film because of it.

Well shot scene inside, I liked how you kept the camera moving. The guy was tied down to the chair and coudln't move, but the scene never remained still. Nice.

- Mikko

The clock/glasses thing was just something i had done before, unfortunetly, with the DVX's long focus, you have to place the glasses and the object that you are focusing to pretty far apart from each other. I need to get one of those G35's. Video focus frustrates me, you have to get creative with placement.

Now that I think of it, a narrow miss at the end might have worked, it might have shifted the focus off the replacer which i wanted to keep it on. Perhaps just a bus passing in front of the man would have worked, but hindsight's always 20/20 right?

[Ben Sliker]

woohoo, half way to being able to vote ...

[CallaghanFilms]

hybridtheory,

I've heard and said many variations on the old "It's X meets Y, set against the backdrop of Z" pitch...but I must admit your film may have taken the proverbial cake for uniqueness.
I can hear the pitch now, "It's Groundhog's Day meets The Prophecy, set against the backdrop of Hostel."

Seriously though, I think you laid the groundwork for a strong premise. Personally I know that I have the face for directing, and am much more comfortable behind the camera (save for perhaps a Hitchcockian cameo or two)...but I must say you turned in a decent performance for an auteur. Cheers on that.

I also thought you had solid dialog especially during the "torture" sequence.

I do think the story could have been polished into something a little more clear...and a little more sci-fi like.
Not to say yours doesn't qualify as such...
but I feel it is more of an interpretive subject matter that some may be left with a science fiction vibe, while others a more supernatural one.

I look forward to seeing more from you.

[Jeremy Ordan]

Well I haven't read anything that anyone else has posted, so I'm sorry if I repeat anything that has been said, but...

The Replacer – The first thing I need to say is I have that same green chair from Walmart of my porch. The beginning of Monday through Friday I enjoyed and I like how you mixed it up just enough to keep it interesting. The only thing that sticks with me is the sky conditions seem to change just a bit. For the stair fall I like the close up of the knee and enjoyed the foley effect. Great use of sound there. I liked your shot choice for the chair scene and thought it worked well. I wasn’t crazy about the whole concept of the replacer and I thought that some of the dialogue got a little cheesy at times. The camera movement in this part though was great. I like the low light and the blacks. Your location was perfect for what you were doing. The tubing, well that could have been more elaborate, but I thought it was good. The payoff at the end didn’t do it for me, but this was a good looking project that hinted just a bit of video that was overcome by good camera work. I enjoyed it. For some reason though, it did feel a bit like Broken. I don’t know if this was intentional, but it just felt that way, even the name Christian being used. Just something that stuck out at me. I would say that this film had one of the better jobs of sound in general with no drop outs, and it just worked for me. I certainly enjoyed it. Good job.

[EditPhish]

Theres a difference to leaving the viewer hanging wanting to see what's going to happen next vs. leaving them hanging with valid questions that should be answered, since they were introduced to a degree. A little less time going through the routine, or stealing some time from the basement scene, and you could have quickly answered some of the other questions.

I agree with Envision here... I did read your reply and get what you were trying to do, but I thought it felt unfinished... and what you were saying that you were trying to get across isn't what I got -- Christian's one purpose, the depression he is supposed to feel... it didn't shine through for me.

That said...

I though it was an incredibly cool concept... Your cinematography and editing were very good, and I LOVE when we first see Christian tied up in the chair... excellent shot and lighting.

(I hear your frustration about compression... I personally thing WMV is about the worst format and it ruins the color).

Great ominous shot with the line about the eyes.

Liked the shots with the glasses and the clock in the beginning.

Your editing really matched the feel... I didn't even think about it and had to go back and watch again to specifically watch just the editing... and it's GOOD when you don't "notice" it :)

The music really suited the story, and the sound was very good... though there were part the dialogue could have been louder, or fuller. I loved how the music realled paced along with the story... especially in the beginning with the Monday through Friday repetitive nature of the lead's life.

Like I said right off, the ending was the problem for me... it just seemed anti-climatic for such a good concept.

[Ben Sliker]

Since this has appeared twice already, just want to let you all know that no one on this project has seen Broken, but I do say, i'm kind of interested in taking a look at it.

Thanks for the comments people.

[conrad_johnson]

Hey - Nicely done! Editing was great, and I also loved how you employed a variety of camera techniques/angles to make the long, drawn out chair scene more visually engaging. The story leaves a little to be desired, though. The concept itself is great, and contrary to an earlier post I don't mind when shorts are a little difficult to "get" upon first viewing. However, the whole story seems to be told in that chair scene - the rest almost doesn't even need to be there. So when you watch that final scene, it's like - who cares? Nothing really seems to happen, it's anti-climactic. Aside from that part of the story, the short is great. Good job.

[thartley]

I loved the cinematography in this one...really great look to it! I thought the first act (?) with the various days was a little drawn out.

Loved the basement scene, but wasnt digging the chair. It distracted me for some reason and took me out of the story for a split sec.

Only having watched this once, I am a little confused on the story. I was thinking that maybe people's PARTS were being harvested to keep others going. And that when the guy bumped into the man on the street, it would be a blind crippled guy in a wheelchair. So the ending was confusing to me.

I'll watch it again, good film!

[Ben Sliker]

Hey - Nicely done! Editing was great, and I also loved how you employed a variety of camera techniques/angles to make the long, drawn out chair scene more visually engaging. The story leaves a little to be desired, though. The concept itself is great, and contrary to an earlier post I don't mind when shorts are a little difficult to "get" upon first viewing. However, the whole story seems to be told in that chair scene - the rest almost doesn't even need to be there. So when you watch that final scene, it's like - who cares? Nothing really seems to happen, it's anti-climactic. Aside from that part of the story, the short is great. Good job.

Haha, From now on I think I should give the audience what they want, and it's a slam dunk ending. Thanks for the comments, as I read more and more, ideas keep flying into my head about what I "should" have done.

The beginning montage is there to emphasize the monotany of the man's life. So when something serious goes wrong, that poses a problem. I guess emphasizing monotany is hard to do without being anti-climactic. We've learned a lot through this contest, so keep the comments coming!!!

[Ben Sliker]

I loved the cinematography in this one...really great look to it! I thought the first act (?) with the various days was a little drawn out.

Loved the basement scene, but wasnt digging the chair. It distracted me for some reason and took me out of the story for a split sec.

Only having watched this once, I am a little confused on the story. I was thinking that maybe people's PARTS were being harvested to keep others going. And that when the guy bumped into the man on the street, it would be a blind crippled guy in a wheelchair. So the ending was confusing to me.

I'll watch it again, good film!

I think the main problem with the opening montage is that it doesn't have staying power, aka, I wouldn't want to watch it more than a couple times. Again, it was to emphasize monotony, but I've got a couple different ideas about how to switch it up to keep it lively.

Basic story - Christian's one purpose in life (according the replacer's plan) is to run into this man, keeping the replacer's ultimate plan in alignment. Since he falls, he obviously can't do it anymore, so he must be "replaced" to keep things in order.

Sorry you didn't like the chair. When I drew the storyboards, I had a more elaborate wood chair that was more upright, but we're poor college students and we work with what we have. Glad you liked cinematography!

[Z B Brox]

I think on a technical level this worked very well. It looked pretty marvelous, you did a good job acting, it was very creative, and the dialogue (considering it's really a villainous monolgue) was solid. I like the idea of this control and this monotonous existence defined by one moment he misses... but when I stop and think the story kinda falls apart for me. Maybe I'm just thinking too hard about it, but I don't get why he needs to be "replaced" before the replacer bumps into the guy. I don't really get why it's easier to replace him, presumably through major surgery, then fix him. I don't really get, if this is a buterlfy effect thing, how him being replaced won't mess up the big plan somewhere farther down the line. I don't really get... well, you get the idea. And I'm sure there could be perfectly reasonable explanations for all these things, and I shouldn't expect a sci-fi piece to answer every question. Trust me, I'm generally prettyg ood about suspending my disbelief. But in this case the premise itself, why interesting, seems so contrived that when it was over, I was thinking about these questions rather than the character's existential crisis.

In some ways, that's a fairly minor quibble, of course. On many, many levels this is really good work, and it's good to see it. It just left a bad taste in my mind, as it were, as the really interesting concept seemed to fall apart under a second's thought. But that could just be me, like I said, I over think things. ;)

[xpac84]

I guess i'll throw my hat in the ring and try to answer some questions. i was part of the making of this film and the writing of the script so maybe i can answer some of these questions. first of all i'd like to thank everyone with their comments. it makes us feel great that many of you enjoyed the film overall (even though a lot of you had issues with the story).

i think that the guy cant just merely be replaced isnt because the controllers dont have the technology (because they can take his vocal cords and eyes) but because falling down the stairs has already altered what christian is supposed to do. even if they fix him up, he isnt going to be on the same path as if he didnt fall at all. lets say he just wakes up and miraculous he is unharmed (because the replacers fixed him while he was out), he isnt just going go on his marry way, and if he does the timing will invariably be off. the same goes for if the replacers tell him his fate and what he has to do, knowing his fate (or the fact that there is a control over the world) will change everything for him and the world itself.

but explaining this doesnt really do much because in the end you will see the film and be still have questions which is obviously a disappointment to us, but this can be nothing but helpful in that we know how not to do it for next time.

i think there were two problems that we had in telling our story (and which seem to be the problems for 80% of the films in this contest as far as i can tell) are:
a. 6 minutes isnt a whole lot of time to tell the beginning, middle, and end of a story (especially a sci - fi story that is almost always convoluted). those who tried to tell just one part of a story seemed to fail just as badly because everyone wanted to know what led up to that point or what came after and had maybe even more questions
b. its easy to understand your own story and see it in your film but sometimes very difficult to see what others will take away from your film with no knowledge of your intentions.

ive seen a lot of people being called out on their stories and i think its a good thing because you can have great cinematography and editing or sfx but without a solid story and decent acting the movies fall flat on their faces.

[Ben Sliker]

Hi bradley, nice of you to finally register.:thumbup:

[THX-1138]

Your film's been quite picked over so I'll just touch on the things that cought my eye.

Some of your cinematography seemed overambitious for the gear you had. The first shot of the man exiting the house and getting into his car seemed like a handheld version of a sloppy crane shot. Up until them your camera work was locked and elegant so the shot hit me as funny. I would have panned with him on a trypod to match your previous shots...and when the car pulls away you see all the crap and dust on your lens. Just small thing but as filmmaker we notice this stuff.

Your indoor lighting needs work "That's why I'm hear Christian...to replace you." A single bulb kicking some hard light on the actors would have helped trmendoiusly.

I could'nt figure out why your outdoor backs we're OK and indoor you were grey...I'm sure that bugged you as much as me.

Your audio was inconsistant as far as the levels go "Where'd my keys go" Loud and clear. The man speaking to you in the green chair hard to hear.

Not bad just a few areas to clean up. When you're on your game your film shines when your off it suffers...true of all of us.

Thanks for the entry.

Kip Kubin

[Ought2bCommitted]

Hey!

I enjoyed it. I read at the top of this page something about Broken... I don't think its really similar as I thought it was a dreadful overrated bore...Broken that is. I enjoyed your film.

The audio was uneven at times. Some lines were lost.

I liked the opening with the glasses and the clock. Nice shot.

Maybe speed up the other repeats a bit. We get pretty quickly its monotonous. You could move the footage faster. That might help a bit.

Some interesting lighting would have helped the interview sequence.

I didn't find it as anti-climatic as others above have posted, but I had a bit of questions when it was over that the short didnt really explain and frankly I didn't care too much about our lead. We didn't see much of him to really care.

Overall, nice work! Good job!

-Robert

[Ben Sliker]

The first shot of the man exiting the house and getting into his car seemed like a handheld version of a sloppy crane shot.

Your indoor lighting needs work "That's why I'm hear Christian...to replace you." A single bulb kicking some hard light on the actors would have helped trmendoiusly.


Being director and actor, I couldn't really see any of the shots until i started editing, I just explained what i wanted, threw some storyboards at my cameraman and said "go". We bought a crane like 2 days before we shot, so ... that was a sloppy crane shot. And as for the lens dust ... that's something you just say "poo poo" when you started logging your footage.

We were actually only working with one light in the basement there, which had a ring inside it to direct it even more. Anything else lit up the room like a christmas tree. I was actually thinking of doing the same thing, but I could imagine the flurry of posts "Where the hell did that light come from?". The shot we got seems like an unfortunate compromise.

[Ben Sliker]

Some interesting lighting would have helped the interview sequence.

I didn't find it as anti-climatic as others above have posted, but I had a bit of questions when it was over that the short didnt really explain and frankly I didn't care too much about our lead. We didn't see much of him to really care.

Overall, nice work! Good job!

-Robert

The lighting we were going for was that single light look, so that was really an aesthetic choice. We did alot to direct it down (on me).

Perhaps I should have thrown a shot of me rocking a baby or something in the beginning, throw that emotional pull in there ... it's hard to get attached to a character in 2 min. But I totally see where you are going, I watch it and don't even care about myself. Since we we're going for a monotonous character, I'll chalk that up as a win. :cool:

Thanks for the comments, keep 'em comin.

[iSTy]

I quite enjoyed this one.
The sound, I thought, wasn't too clear and the picture quality kept changing in some areas. I'm certainly more careful about walking down the stairs now. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)