The Last Kiss - hienben [Archive] - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

hienben

02-17-2006, 07:40 AM

I downloaded my own file to check how it looked and was disappointed to see it appearing to be stretched. I'm hoping to re-upload the file in the future so it can be viewed as 'normal'.

I was fairly pleased with the final film given the time and resource constraints that I had. Once again it has been a huge learning experience that has helped me to improve my skills in many different areas.

This was another 'one man and his dog' production with the only help coming from my wife. At one point I was looking into the LCD and saying 'why does the picture look so red?' She replied 'Maybe you forgot to white balance.' Ah yes, of course.

The film was shot with a DVX100A, no extra accessories. CG was done with 3DMax and put together with a mixture of greenscreening and cookie cutter from Vegas.

I hope I can upload the 'unstretched' file soon as it looks much, much better...

thanks, Ben

ProfD

02-17-2006, 08:24 AM

Dude...love the fact that you created all of this with a limited creative 'tool-box'. The DVX, Vegas, and 3DMax. More and more I'm wishing the contest had clearly defined a specific list of allowable creative tools...thereby putting the emphasis on the individual's creativity and originality.

Hmmm...I felt like I was watching the intro's to new video games on more than one occassion. Like the scene with the slaming door...I was ready to pick up my game controller and...do something...heh. Or the bright light mocing across the body of water towards the city...again..ready to pick up my controller and kick some alien booty.

It was interesting.

Cool.

Blaine

02-17-2006, 02:51 PM

I loved your production design. You took me to an interesting location and fed me with cool visuals. The overall was "cool" on a couple of levels. A little too dark in a couple of places, it could have used just a little light to highlight the onscreen action. I thought you did a good job and I liked it a lot. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif btw, the fear of machines developing emotions and their being given limited lifespans was straight out of Blade Runner, was it not? ;)

hienben

02-17-2006, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the comments. The 3DMax work was really time consuming and animating the robot was a real challenge.

I loved Blade Runner but any similarity in plot is just coincidental (honestly!) I suppose it's hard to think of a sci-fi story in which some element or other hasn't been used before.

Blaine

02-17-2006, 05:16 PM

I can't believe you're not getting more feedback. I thought this was a remarkable "film".

hienben

02-17-2006, 05:25 PM

I can't believe you're not getting more feedback. I thought this was a remarkable "film".

Thanks Blaine, I appreciate your positive comments. I suppose more feedback will come later, there are alot of films to get through.

Have a great 'sci-fi' weekend!

D_and_G

02-17-2006, 11:35 PM

Good Stuff. Ok, I'm biased because i did something similar years and years ago :)

I liked :

- the female voice and effect. it was pleasant, soothing, and felt very Corporate/futuristic.
- the music/score fit your scenes beautifully.
- the scene of the girl floating (in yellow) was gorgeous.

maybe coulda' been improved :

- the CGI (although I dug the overall look you were going for, it was just too different from the live footage to blend naturally) but it's not a huge thing :)
- some of the scenes were too dark on my monitor. Examples, briefly in the stairwell, and running down the hall.
- the animation of the door opening to the girl seemed unnecessary (a real door would've not taken me out of the moment).

Beyond that I enjoyed your film. I had a couple of questions that may be inconsequential, but why did the guy drop the mop ? What set off his race to the girl ? The activation of the robot ?

I like the minimalism vibe and the lowkey CGI. Perhaps, a tightening of the story, and possibly adding some backstory instead, would have made it more effective. Either way, congratulations.:beer:

Keep the films coming :)

Cheers.

hienben

02-18-2006, 12:05 AM

Thanks for the comments D and G and thanks for taking the time to watch the movie.

The idea was that the guy and girl were android workers. The girl was approaching her 5-year recall and this prompted the guy to down tools and race off to see her. If I had more time I would have included a flashback scene to where the two of them first met.

The scenes look dark on WMV. They were originally CC'ed for Quicktime and looked just how I wanted them, still dark but acceptable. I think WMV makes files look darker and more saturated.

thanks again for the comments, Ben

Shawn Murphy

02-18-2006, 12:19 AM

hienben

02-18-2006, 04:34 AM

great locations/scenes! I liked a lot of those shots, the floor mopping scene had a great look and feel. What was the location for the scene at the 1:58 mark, alarm going off and running down a hall that kinda looks like some kind of shuttered mall? are those all existing lights?

You're exactly right! it was a shuttered mall in the basement. none of the units are being used. I also took some stills which allowed me to comp. the sentry robot.

Captain KickAss

02-18-2006, 10:16 AM

First of all, I do have to say that I think this film was very well produced. In terms of production value and overall look, I think that this was one of the best I've seen. I thought the camera visuals were stunning, and the CG stuff was very well composited given the resources available.

Nonetheless though, this film did not stand out for me. I watched it, and was impressed by it, but not excited by it. It just didn't grab my attention, or make me feel compelled to watch. I could tell the shots, locations, lighting and everything else were very well planned, but the story just seemed a bit predictable and flat.

That's not to say it was a bad movie. I just didn't find it to be a compelling movie. But that's just one dude's opinion.

THX-1138

02-18-2006, 11:03 AM

Loved the blue floressent lights and the cool colors throughout.

Some of the best establishing shots of any film in the running.

Some CGI better than others but as I have no knowlege of that subject I will not speak to it.

Hi marks for the Juno 106 ish pad sound in your soundtrack.

The story could have used a little clarification...why did he putthe broom down before the alarm sound and go and look into the mirror?

You could have had the alarm ring he dropped the mop and ran down the hallway???? That would have made more sence to me.

And why the swirling leaves around her? I did'nt get that.

But those are minor points.

You have alot of talent, I watched it 4 or 5 times alerady.

Kip Kubin

BrianV

02-18-2006, 05:27 PM

Dug the CGI... and even if the story is not clear, I was still entertained.

Which really is the purpose at its most basic level.

Rock on

hienben

02-18-2006, 05:53 PM

Loved the blue floressent lights and the cool colors throughout.

The story could have used a little clarification...why did he putthe broom down before the alarm sound and go and look into the mirror?

You could have had the alarm ring he dropped the mop and ran down the hallway???? That would have made more sence to me.

And why the swirling leaves around her? I did'nt get that.

Kip Kubin

The guy threw down the mop because he felt resentment towards the system that had given him a dull job and taken away his girl. This set off the alarm and activated the sentry droid thing. The swirling leaves was a mixture of memories and emotions, a blissful moment before recall.

If I had more time I would have filled in some of these 'gaps'. I would have also liked to extend the sentry chase sequence because to me it felt a bit short.

thanks for the comments, keep em' comin'

darkfader

02-18-2006, 06:20 PM

the cg was awesome. What program are you using, flame, smoke, maya?

Kaz

02-18-2006, 06:36 PM

The scene with the girl was beautifully created. A mysterious film.

Dude...love the fact that you created all of this with a limited creative 'tool-box'. The DVX, Vegas, and 3DMax

That's all I used on mine. I certainly wouldn't call it "Limited".

hienben

02-18-2006, 07:20 PM

the cg was awesome. What program are you using, flame, smoke, maya?

The CG was done with 3DSMax.

THX-1138

02-18-2006, 07:41 PM

The guy threw down the mop because he felt resentment towards the system that had given him a dull job and taken away his girl. This set off the alarm and activated the sentry droid thing. The swirling leaves was a mixture of memories and emotions, a blissful moment before recall.

If I had more time I would have filled in some of these 'gaps'. I would have also liked to extend the sentry chase sequence because to me it felt a bit short.

thanks for the comments, keep em' comin'

Now I get it!

Thanks.

hienben

02-18-2006, 07:57 PM

The scene with the girl was beautifully created. A mysterious film.

That's all I used on mine. I certainly wouldn't call it "Limited".

That was the hardest scene to create, a bit of a mind-bender in terms of composites and layers. Glad you enjoyed it!

Norm Sanders

02-19-2006, 01:38 PM

Ben, the FX/CG on this was extremely impressive ... some of it flat out amazing! The only thing that stood out to me as inconsistant with the rest of the CG quality was the animation of the robot, specifically the walk & how the feet interacted with the floor ... especially the initial shot of it as it's walking towards us.

The film was a little harder to understand, but I did generally grasp your explaination before you had to explain it in this thread. As far as story goes, however, this seemed to focus around an event more than a story as the only real footage we see is the guy dropping his mop & dodging the robot so he can go kiss someone ... who I never quite knew if she was a bot, or the last woman who was being cloned, etc.

Otherwise, fantastic job on a film that I'm sure took a TON of time. The compositing was top notch.

Blaine

02-19-2006, 01:58 PM

Having watched this a second time I had some things I'd like to add. I've come away with the feeling that I've just eaten a great looking meal, but a little light on the substance. I'm still hungry. You have created some of the best images in the fest. Your locations were visually astounding. The night shots across the water can't be touched.

My only complaint about the film is the story. I loved watching it but just didn't get much out of it. I've read all the posts here so I understand what you're trying to say. The only problem I have with it is I need you to tell me that to get it...it's not on the screen. But, oh, is it nice to look at. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif This is the kind of piece that I would love to see re-done in a longer format so the story would have the time it needs to unfold.

With everything taken into account, I still love this entry because of how it looks. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

EditPhish

02-19-2006, 03:47 PM

Think I'm in the minority again :)

The first live-action shot with the guy mopping the floor was great... loved the tone and lighting. But you took a full minute to narrate/explain the story to me, and it was all 3D animation, so I was a little turned off right from the start.

Don't get me wrong, I thought the CG looked pretty darn good... though something about the robot's head bothered me, and it was a little too Robocop for me. I also felt it was of great quality for a video game, but not so much for a movie.

The shots of the woman towards the end are beautiful, but I didn't feel drawn into the story, so their "last kiss" didn't touch me in any way. I felt like I was watching a video game through so much of it that the story was lost.

I think you did outstanding work... IF that had been a 3D/CG contest... there was just so little live-action footage for me, and like I said, since it seemed more video-game like, it just didn't feel like a film. The story felt cold, and the characters too detached for me to get any sense of emotion out of it.

Thanks for sharing it... you obviously have some mad CG skills!

hienben

02-20-2006, 01:11 AM

Thanks for taking the time and effort to watch the film and make comments, it is very much appreciated. I hear what you are all saying and to me it's all part of the learning process.

I agree that the cg and live footage don't mix together that well, that's just down to my cg skills. The animated robot was really hard to pull off but I felt it looked quite good in most places.

' there was just so little live-action footage' ... well the 1st minute was almost pure cg but the rest (4 mins) was either straight DVX or DVX/cg mix.

I never expected to win any prizes so people's comments make it all worthwhile... thanks!

MsManhattan

02-20-2006, 05:46 AM

I, too, thought the shot toward the end with the girl was incredibly beautiful, really amazing. But I sort of felt like, Oh, he had this image in his mind and he built his whole film just trying to get to a point where he could put that image in. Like you started with the image and then built everything else around that,. And I'm sure that approach can work, but in this case, the story did not build up to that scene for me. In fact, I felt like I was watching tow different films that somehow got pushed together. In any event, that last section was worth waiting through the rest of the story for -- it looked incredible.

arielman

02-20-2006, 07:34 PM

My last post for the night
Nice opening shot. Vo was great.
I really wanted to see another 1:15 secs more . Not complaing though.
I didn't really understand the relationship between the 2 BUT you have answered my question..see below

Another one of my favourites .Nice work.

Ian

[quote=hienben]The guy threw down the mop because he felt resentment towards the system that had given him a dull job and taken away his girl. This set off the alarm and activated the sentry droid thing. The swirling leaves was a mixture of memories and emotions, a blissful moment before recall.

If I had more time I would have filled in some of these 'gaps'. I would have also liked to extend the sentry chase sequence because to me it felt a bit short.

hienben

02-21-2006, 04:59 AM

Glad you liked the vo arielman. You probably noticed that it was created with voice simulation software. I tried doing a vo myself but didn't think a Lancashire accent suited a sci-fi film so well!

For those people interested you can check out the vo software here...

http://www.research.att.com/projects/tts/demo.html

Brandon Rice

02-22-2006, 01:49 PM

I finally had a chance to watch this film (the last one I had not watched yet) and must say that I did enjoy it. I felt the story was very undeveloped, and it felt like it dragged a bit, but your lighting, and CG looked awesome. I really enjoy it purely on the asthetic look and feel, which I thought you nailed! Great, solid looking short!

hienben

02-23-2006, 07:37 AM

Thanks briceman, glad you enjoyed the lighting and the cg. Yeah, the story was underdeveloped, I had to keep it short, sweet and simple because of the time constraints I had but i definately wanted to create a look and feel which I'm happy you picked up on. thanks for the comments, much appreciated.

Ben

EJ Pennypacker

02-23-2006, 09:21 AM

I'm probably going to echo everyone's comments; lack of story, nice choice of music, mix of CGI and DVX footage...

I will say that this film has a certain dreamlike quality to it. Which I admire. Congrats to that.

EJ

hienben

02-24-2006, 06:59 AM

Z B Brox

02-24-2006, 11:28 PM

I think this suffers from the classic issue that, as filmmaker, you know what's going on, and it's *endlessly* hard to figure out exactly what you need to tell an audience to make sure they get it too. Me, I didn't get it. I thought the opening monologue set a great scene and the CGI was extremely impressive for the most part. I just didn't get the story you explained out of the movie I saw. Focus on telling your story and I'm sure you'll do some really good stuff, but this fell a bit short for me.

conrad_johnson

02-24-2006, 11:28 PM

Hi - nice work.

It felt like you really focused on creating some cool effects without thinking of how they would carry the story. The story, as a result, just wasn't very engaging.

iSTy

02-25-2006, 05:12 PM

Hi - nice work.

It felt like you really focused on creating some cool effects without thinking of how they would carry the story. The story, as a result, just wasn't very engaging.

Nicely put, and I thought I had lost something somewhere.