Synthetic Love- Hiro

[Ramon Boutviseth]

Synthetic love stars Bobbie Portner, Tim Dobbins and Ricky Washington.
Special thanks to Daniel J.W. Hughes for the script, Bran. Kevin Peeples for the music/equipment, and Jeff "boomer" Alred, 800kamerman for lights.

Thanks for watching!

[Blaine]

Let me say that the watermark was very distracting. That said, you have made an excellent video. I loved the lighting and the cinematography. I thought you had a neat twist ending. I watched this earlier and I don't see it available for download so I'm hoping it is being redone without the watermark. Very nice. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

[HagerNYC]

I agree, though when I first saw the water mark it made me laugh out of sympathy, for the whole starving artist thing you know. But I didn't let it distract me. I loved your story too. Nice ending. Great lighting and camera work. :)

[Filmjunkie677]

I'm gonna wait until its reuploaded, I just couldnt watch with the watermark.

[Dahopafilms]

I watched it even with the annoying watermark and will watch it again when it gets uploaded without it.

Even with the watermark, I really liked the story, LOVED the lighting (IMHO perhaps the most ambitious and best so far) and thought the actors were extremely good.

I will comment further on the non-branded version. In the meantime, very well done!

[Norm Sanders]

Watermark was distracting at first, but you did such a fine job with the acting, story, dialogue, lighting, camera, etc. that I forgot all about the watermark & got into what you were doing.

Cool idea, and dug the subtle piano score in the BG. Emotionally, this film did very well, and it's ranking well on my score card. Nice job Hiro, and always a pleasure to look forward to & actually viewing your work. Hats off to your team.

[Norm Sanders]

Okay, just had to watch this again to come up with some critiques, and I really don't have any (trust me, read some of my other posts and I give 'em out in spades). This isn't ranking #1 for me, and I'm not sure why, but it's up there. Something really simple & pure about it.

In your past works, you've really let your edgy editing shine by fast erratic cuts, cool post work, etc. Here, you come through as director & rely more on story & talent and the actual production, more so than in post, I felt.

Oh, and the commercial was exceptionally good, with a VERY VERY solid actor. Seemed like the guy from the All State commercials ... sounded like him too. BTW, was that YOU rotating around in the hologram?

Okay, here's my only nit-pick ... what was that distracting girls voice at the very beginning when the title comes in? Was that just an artistic homage to Japanese commercials or something?

Other than that, so SO SO solid!! And that piano piece is still stuck in my head.

[EJ Pennypacker]

As the writer of this project, I must say I'm very pleased with how the production turned out. Very nice job indeed Ramon! Congrats again. A special pat on the back for how quick you had to put this all together. Less than 20 days right?

G-luck with the contest.

EJ aka Daniel

[Filmjunkie677]

Hiro, dude, magnificent work....

Props to your acting talent, you always seem to have great, talented young actors.

Your style and cinematography was top-notch as usual. Glad to see you didn't use that kinetic editing style of your zombie short. Worked there, wouldnt have worked here.

Your piece is in my top three, right now and is probably my favorite script and story, so far. Loved the little nod to your zombie short. Loved the ending.

You got talent, keep it up.

[MojoTrancer]

A very solid piece. I liked the little twist at the end. Great job.

[Blaine]

So much better without the watermark!!! As I said earlier, I really like your entry, particularly the lighting.

[Ramon Boutviseth]

Thanks for taking the time to comment on the film. It's been very chaotic on my end, I haven't been able to watch some films because i been working alot. I'll do my best to check this page regularly and reply to some questions or comments. Regarding the intro, it was a shoutout to anime. Back in the days (the days) I watched alot of anime...lots of it... My actors love anime too, bobbie loves japan. She loves sushi. *she did all the japanese writing* They will be stoked to hear your comments about their acting! We shot this on friday and saturday, the week before the due date so their was a little bit of pressure...but we got through it!

for lights, I was able to borrow a lowel kit. These light were very warm. It really helped the sunset look i was going for. I think on both days, it was cloudy.

thx everyone.

[Aaron Marshall]

This is definitely one of the best ones yet in my opinion. The acting had a few slightly awkward moments, but overall was well done. The actors were also attractive, which helped sell the "beautiful, handsome" bits in the dialog. I loved the twist in the end. This is at least in my top 3, if not the top of the list.

[Slimothy]

Lighting, cinematography were great. Acting was great too. The T.v. sequence was cool too. It ranked high on my card. You always turn out good work and I'm not surprised this time around.

[KevinPeeples]

I agree, though when I first saw the water mark it made me laugh out of sympathy, for the whole starving artist thing you know. :)

I just want to throw in my bit and say that the watermark was not Hiro's fault. I felt so bad when I saw that one the first one and Im glad Jarred's got it all fixed now.

On another note, only Hiro could get away with having his previous dvx entry make a cameo appearance in this contests entry. Great job on that man!

[Ramon Boutviseth]

thx guys.
envision, nah that wasn't me spinning in the commercial.

[Jimmy John Worley]

It reminded me of Simlio a little. Very cool stuff. I enjoyed it a lot.

[EJ Pennypacker]

KevinPeeples --

I noticed you were credited with work in the music dept. What scenes did you work on? Nice job BTW!

EJ

[Brandon Rice]

Yeah, I think I may have commented on this before. But, just to reiterate, I love how you did this romantic film. It was beautiful. Loved the soft lighting, and the feel of this piece. Amazing! Top ten for sure!

[Z B Brox]

This was really good stuff. I had some trouble with a couple of the transitions, but on the whole this was one of the best looking films here. And not just because managed to get some damned good looking actors. The TV sequence may've been my favorite, it was just really flawless, from your actor to the commercial script to the TV effect. My only issues arise from the fact that I'm a geek, and I've seen this kind of idea done before a few times. The Japanese subtitles in particular drew to mind a manga called Doll, the anime Chobits, and various other fall-in-love-with-a-Robot things. I also would've liked a slightly better idea of what happened to the girl initially. But on the whole, this was really beautiful work with dead-on acting and killer rpoduction values.

[Ralph Oshiro]

Once again, a great cast that can really act! Nice lighting! The :30 TV spots were very well done!

[BrianV]

Without the watermark... I can actually see something :) *thumbs up*

[darkfader]

I couldn't stop watching this from start to finish double kudos to you my friend. Well done, I am sucker for robot love.

Darkfader

[arielman]

VERY NICE . The actors did a great job , the guy in the commercial was perfect.
I can't find much of anything to complain about except the girl died awfully quick . O the girl you picked , I do think you picked the right person for this. She seemed Sooo right in the role . The ending had a nice twist as well.
Ian

[conrad_johnson]

Very well-structured. Lighting was great, although the low-contrast look was a little overdone at times, and made it look like a Lifetime movie. But overall, great job.

[wcs]

Good story, well-told. Setup to ending, your focus was strong and steady. I felt like you were digging into basic human emotions in an interesting way, which is a sign of a great film in my book.

The repetition of the cute-names was a good device, but they repeated them one too many times for my liking. And, the guy's acting wasn't as strong as I'd have hoped (compared to the girl, who was excellent).

I'd say this short has the most consistently great lighting of any short in the contest I've seen. Good job.

Overall, it's a strong, enjoyable short film. Keep it up.

[pabloabad]

One of my favourites. Good story, rythm, lighting, acting (I agree with WCS, the girl is better) and self-explanatory images, nothing needs to be explained (maybe just what they die of).

Great job, Hiro

[Brandon Rice]

I think I have commented on this film, but I will again! Really enjoyed it! Watched it again last night, and I can say it's in my top 10 for sure! The only problem I had with this film is some of the music editing and adr work. Some of the lip sync was off, and sometimes the music cut off abruptly which threw the mood of the piece. I loved the look, and your actors were very good for this genre! Good work dude!

[EditPhish]

Without a doubt this was one of my favorites!

I didn't notice it until you mentioned it, but I think your whole film has a flavor of "anime style" to it... I think it's the framing and the edits...

Your cinematography is beautiful and I LOVE your framing choices... and I cannot say enough about the lighting and use of color. I love how you change from warm, to cool, to nuetral, to highlight the tone of the scene... it works SO well... and is really very subconscious... it was my 3rd and 4th viewings that made me realize just how well you had used color to portray emotion (and I really mean that in a good way... I was feeling those emotions, and no doubt color was an influence... I just didn't realize it until I went looking).

The music was really beautiful and PERFECT in the story... the only nitpick I'd have is that some of the cuts/transitions were a little awkward... just a little. I'm sure part of that is due to the fact that in 6 minutes it's tough to get everything in.

The commercial was fantastic... really sold the product as believeable, very professional. I completely bought the whole story and the commercial was an integral part of that.

The acting overall was very good as well.

The story was very touching, and I loved the twist at the end. Romance is not an easy one to pull off, especially in six minutes... and you did so beautifully. Your story had me hooked from beginning to end... and you made the whole thing just work because of everthing you did right.

Thanks so much for sharing your film with all of us! Like I started off by saying, this is one of my favorites in the fest!

[EJ Pennypacker]

I couldn't stop watching this from start to finish double kudos to you my friend. Well done, I am sucker for robot love.

Darkfader

That's the good thing about robot love. It goes on and on and on and on... :D

EJ

[J.R. Hudson]

I've spent most of this evening watching as many films as and can and then rating them and just had to post s reply in this thread for Hiro

Hiro, you did not disapoint me. I have been a fan of yours for awhile now and I can say that I loved this film. The talent, the cinematography, the sound, the story. Wow! You could work and entire feature into this concept !

I had trouble with the transitions but a Wonderful job. I applaud you !

You got high marks on this from me ! The tools have come together for you. The next film you do will be magic.

[J.R. Hudson]

It reminded me of Simlio a little. Very cool stuff. I enjoyed it a lot.

I too cuaght this vibe but think this film has more emotional impact and talent that S I M I L O. The real payoff on this piece is the story, the actors and the intimicy in Hiro's direction

Loved this!

[Ramon Boutviseth]

Hey guys,

I'm not ignoring ya I promised, I was in NYC for work, it was busy busy! Thanks for the taking the time to review our film! Its very much appreciated, and it will definetly help us. I think my main focus for this movie is the emotional impact. I tried really hard to push that mainly because of the feedback I got from Scripture. Everyone seem to like the scene where stefanie had to shoot her friends because they were infected by the *zombies*. I wanted to bring that kind of emotion back for this film. When I recieved the script from daniel, the script couldn't be more perfect.. it was exactly what I had in mind for this month's contest. It was a good break from action movies...& Bobbie was happy to get more than a line this time haha.

Hudson, sup!? always good to hear from ya. One of the few projects for this year is LUCID, remember that horror trailer from last year? I think you were one of the first to critque it, I think its cool that you still keep up with us! We came a long way from the trailer and I think its time we revisit LUCID again. It will be a 30 minute flick so there will be no excuse for bad transitions!

thanks everyone!

[EJ Pennypacker]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c292/beautifultyrant/tv.jpg

Just because it looks that good.

EJ

[Gary the Llama]

I don't have 100 posts so I can't vote but so far your film and Similo are my favorites. I'd probably give yours first place because it felt like a more complete piece. And the last shot and line of the film gave me chills. Love the way she says "call me beautiful" and then smiles.

Fantastic work. Wish I could've voted for ya buddy!

[macgregor]

OK. Here comes my comment.
I liked it. Absolutely. The story is very close to mine too.
Remind me of Blade runner, Vanilla Sky/abre los ojos, but that is not a problem for me. I love this kind of stories a lot.
Visuals were quite good.
Now, for the bad part. Sound editing was terrible, really really bad to me. Music just fades out and in too sudden, i can notice that. ANd if i can notice then i guess it is bad.
Sound recording is not good either, i can hear wind, and noise in the background.
It is a pity, because the romantic feeling is lost a bit.
But hey, the good thing is that sound can be re edit easily now that you have time!
I think it will be a much better film then.
Still i like it. And i like her too.

[pastywhiteboy]

Synthetic Love was an interesting flick. It really didn't have much flow with the music, but it did have nice shot composition. The audio would have been nice, but the noise gate that was used cut off the beginning of some words. At least some audio tools were utilized, though!

It had some poor transitions and abrupt edits that distracted from the story. It's an interesting story and although the actors did a good job, the script just didn't feel natural in spots.

My main question was why in the heck would two strapping young adults die suddenly of presumably natural causes within such a short period of time and in the same room?! I know the story makes that necessary, but it's just so unlikely.

I do commend you on your cinematography as it was very nice throughout. Some tweaking of the script and the edits would really bump it up a notch!

Disclaimer: whether your short is good, great, or grand, I will still be mostly pointing out things that I feel to be negative aspects.

[Beat Takeshi]

I havnt gotten a chance to see this one but I want to. I liked your zombie joint.

[Ought2bCommitted]

Hiro,

Great work. I can't really add too much to what has been said before. My only complaint and it really is nit-picking from the writer part of me was that I didn't like the little twist at the end. Okay I'll give you one attractive youth suddenly dropping dead, but not two! You really had me in that world up until then.

Beautifully shot, gorgrous music, competent actors (off slightly here and there, but overal SOLID), great shot selection.

Even with my minor quibble, yours is my favorite so far. Thank you for a beautiful movie.

-Robert

[Z B Brox]

Maybe this is just me, but I assumed the male lead had committed suicide somehow. Hard to tell how each died form the shots we saw.

[KevinPeeples]

KevinPeeples --

I noticed you were credited with work in the music dept. What scenes did you work on? Nice job BTW!

EJ

Hey thanks,
Well funny thing is, I technically did not write any music for this film. All of the music I contributed I wrote over a year ago, and I just gave Hiro all my files and he cut and layered them himself. The song at the very beginning was not mine and the song that starts at 4:10 isnt mine either, but everything else I wrote a long time ago. Its cool to hear it used in this way. I think the organs turned out quite nicely when he first took the female robot out of the box.

Thanks though

[EJ Pennypacker]

Hey thanks,
Well funny thing is, I technically did not write any music for this film. All of the music I contributed I wrote over a year ago, and I just gave Hiro all my files and he cut and layered them himself. The song at the very beginning was not mine and the song that starts at 4:10 isnt mine either, but everything else I wrote a long time ago. Its cool to hear it used in this way. I think the organs turned out quite nicely when he first took the female robot out of the box.

Thanks though

Yes, that moment when her eyes come on line and the music swells... it's all good baby :)

EJ

[hienben]

I really liked this film. The scenes were beautifully lit with the exception of a few shots at the beginning which seemed a bit dark. I thought the girl died a bit too suddenly and the story had a familiar ring to it. There was an Arnie film some time ago with a similar storyline. I also felt the film would benefit from a change of location. You obviously have a talent for lighting, very well done!

[mrpunch]

I really liked this short as well and agree with most of the comments I've read. Great cinematography! Work on the sound issues pointed out. Nice script - although I agree that if he's going to die as well - which makes a nice twist - it needs to build to it somehow or we need a reason. I love the end - it's chilling - but I want to know how and why he died to really make it work.

Overall - loved it. Congrats!

[Ramon Boutviseth]

Hey guys thx for addressing the technical issues of the film, we'll get it right the next time! just gotta take one film at a time until we get it right... If we get select for the dvd, I'll work on it..and other things like mispelling daniel's name.. *sorry* lol. I'd tell you what guys.. it was a crazy weekend... but we got through it. I'm glad the music went through ok, cuz it was a big part of the film. The film itself with the ADR .... sucked until bran & kevin donated their music. In the end, my actors got free Bojangles chicken.. cant nobody touch good ole 1.99 2pc dinner.. not even mr.colonel can do that!

[Beat Takeshi]

ok i just peeped this and love it also. From what I saw, was it always robots? Meaning the first girl that died was a robot and then she is brought back and then he dies and he is brought back and so on? Anyways, yeah she was beautiful and the lighting accentuated that a lot. He was even looking kind of ... you know what I mean. I didnt like the holo-TV thing. The bedroom didnt have any type of futuristic look that fit that type of TV and when it popped up it distracted me from the story. I started thinking Minority project but the setting didnt fit. The minimal dialog was great as I am a fan of that.
Great little flick.

[iSTy]

Thought the sound was a bit quiet. Picture quality was a bit jerky to begin with, but I think i got into the film that after a while I probably didn't notice. I liked this one alot. The girl was very pretty.
I'm intrigued to know how they died.

[Ralph Oshiro]

Hey! Thanks for commenting on my short, DISTRACTION, in my thread. I just wanted to add something else to your film's thread as well. I thought your zombie entry was one of the most creative entries of the bunch. One of the most creative shorts, period. I loved its "edgyness." Although competently done, I was expecting something a bit more "edgy" for your Sci-fest short as well. Don't take that as a slam, because I truly think you're one of the most talented filmmakers on the site with a real chance at a future in the business. Go with what you know and with what you do best. Keep writing and keep shooting. When you have something really good to show, you may have a decent shot at a real distribution deal.

[Ramon Boutviseth]

thx NBC, after that zombie movie, i wanted to tone it down a bit.. show you my soft side.. lol.

[CallaghanFilms]

Hiro,

I had to wait for the non-watermarked copy to screen.

That out of the way, I enjoyed your film & I like your style. What I enjoyed above all else was the music, which flowed with the pacing of the film quite fluently. Nicely done. The actors were both respectable in their performances as well.

From a writing standpoint, I felt the story may have been in need tightening. I thought at first that the twist was an endless cycle of defected robots replacing one another...but if that were the case why would the commercial for Life Corp be needed to introduce that idea into the male's head. If this was the intended plot, however, I feel this wasn't conveyed to the audience effectively.

Once again, I dig your style, my man...and I look forward to wherever you decide to bring us next.

Cheers:beer:

Edit: Thanks again, Hiro for explaining the whole watermark issue. I'm very glad it was resolved.

[iSTy]

Have I missed the post with the explanation as to what they died of?

Theire deaths seemed rather sudden. Or was there something to do with the dress?

[EJ Pennypacker]

I am consistently surprised and impressed with the varied thoughts people have regarding the death of the two main leads in “Synthetic Love”.

I think if I were to explain to you just why they died, I do fear it would break some of the mysticism that perhaps has since been created… and would somehow fail to live up to people’s own expectations.

Either that, or its too much fun seeing what else people come up with next. Lol.

Congrats on making 100 posts iSTy, now get balloting!

EJ

[Captain KickAss]

I could totally get why the man died at the end, having apparently died of a broken heart. But when the girl died at the beginning...it struck me as being so out of the blue. But then again, things happen, and an easy explanation even in real life is not always there.

That said, had this been a lesser film, I don't think I could have forgave this lack of explanation for such a crucial plot point. But it was not a lesser film. This was a flipping brilliant film.

As such, I was able to let it go, and go along with what I feel is the best love story in the entire sci-fest. Absolutely incredible.

Your cinematography was probably the best, and your actors were so easy to connect to. Plus, your lead actress was so flippin hot! My lord, I could have lost myself looking at her eyes.

Back to the point though, this film is an absolute gem. Great job!

[J.R. Hudson]

What if the girl in the beginning was a droid ass well ?

[Captain KickAss]

Ooooooooh! What intrigue?!

[Ramon Boutviseth]

CallaghanFilms, yo bro! That watermarked was created when jared was compressing the file. Just wanted to clear that up. I proudly own my vegas :)
About them dying suddenly, I wanted to keep that mysterious. For all I know she could have been a droid... and ran out of battery in the beginning!?

[CallaghanFilms]

Thanks for doing so, my man.

Again, nice job.:thumbsup:


:beer:

[iSTy]

EJ_PennyPacker says:
"Congrats on making 100 posts iSTy, now get balloting!"

Thanks :) I did, although I didn't have enough time to vote on all of them (even though I had watched them all) as I didn't think I'd reach the '100' in time.

But I can assure you I made sure the ones I enjoyed got my vote :)

Pleased to see you reached the top 10 although you were higher IMO Top 10 ;)

[KevinPeeples]

Congrats hiro on taking best lighting. Woohoo!!!!

[Ramon Boutviseth]

http://www.studiorb.com/mike/synlove.mov

[EJ Pennypacker]

Congrats Hiro! Nice job. I had you higher on my list as well! :D

EJ

[badassmofro]

Awesome film. I loved the look and feel you accomplished. I had you in my top three.