A Brief Case by TheMacB and abraham [Archive] - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

Shaun Patrick

02-17-2006, 11:21 AM

Geez guys, this was awesome. The best executed comedy I've seen so far. It was well acted and the visuals were really imaginative. It's also one of the few entries that didn't lose momentum in the ending, which is just a credit to your storytelling and directing abilities. Awesome job all around.

I guess I have to kind of echo the 'sci-fi'-ness of the piece but a Pandora's Briefcase definitely is enough to win me over. Others might not be as convinced.

Maybe, when you have a chance, you can talk a little about the production design--primarily how your approached destroying the office. It was a great shot to end the piece on.

Awesome job all around.

Karl151k

02-17-2006, 02:50 PM

This movie needs some recognition. I really loved the final shot. Are you taking your frustrations on Pulp Fiction out on this movie? (The breifcase nobody knows whats inside). Also, good title.

Blaine

02-17-2006, 03:01 PM

EXCELLENT! http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif I love this piece. A real treat. I REALLY wanted a look inside that briefcase. You kept me hooked all the way to the end. I thought the acting was carried off well, too. That music reminded me of something I'd see in a comedy located on the French or Italian Riviera...cool stuff. Did I say how much I like this? http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

angrynerdrock07

02-17-2006, 05:20 PM

Wow. I'm surprised there is more comments on this film. I thought it was definately one of the best. It's in my top 3 out of the twenty or so I've watched so far. I have to say it had the best pace out of all the entries I have seen. Never dragged for me at any point. Keep up the good work!

JTyner

02-17-2006, 09:15 PM

In my opinion this movie had NO flaws compared to other movies that people are saying were "great".

Ive seen other movies stretching even FARTHER into being called a "sci fi flick" that didnt even come CLOSE in quality to this one.

Anyways....Im suprised this movie has so little comments so far....but I must say that you have done a FANTASTIC job that SHOULD be a hell of alot more reckognised than it has been thus far.

I hope that post counts dont equal votes in the long run......And that "sci-fest" is more than just "let me pat my friend on the back".

Kaz

02-17-2006, 10:31 PM

This is by far my favorite sci-comedy of the bunch. You guys should be proud. The comic timing was close to perfect and there were enough little looks and gestures from the main players to keep you into it. And I agree with others who dug the music.

My one negative is somewhat insignificant as it involves the pinkness of the blood. You should darken that in post. Unless you wanted this piece to be a "lite" dark-comedy that is...

Shawn Murphy

02-17-2006, 11:17 PM

Easily in my top three so far (along side of 'We Are Not Alone' and 'Similo'). Although lacking in the realm of "Sci-fi", it made up for it with great camera/editing/production values! Excellent work, I really enjoyed watching this!

THX-1138

02-18-2006, 09:53 AM

Truly some of the best camera work of any entry.

Nothing overused...dollys or cranes...smooth. The camera had the weight and feel of a nice heavy 35mm like we're all used to seeing. Great Operator on this show!

It's obvious the amount of planning and care went into the preproduction.

THe Post it notes we're a great touch as well.

I enjoyed all of it!

Kip Kubin

macgregor

02-18-2006, 05:13 PM

I will give my points to this short.

Very very well made, and a story that just fits those 6 minutes.

Nice in every way.

Great!

BrianV

02-18-2006, 05:33 PM

Dug the camera work, especially in the first half... protagonist I felt sorry for instantly.

darkfader

02-18-2006, 09:36 PM

This one kept me smiling, very funny flick

Darkfader

EditPhish

02-18-2006, 11:59 PM

TheMacB,

Your film is our resident "sleeper" I think -- certainly not getting the attention it deserves, at least in replies/comments... I find that a bit of a shame really.

OUTstanding is what I can say about this. Let me tell you, you KNOW you've arrived when the teens in the family go around quoting your film like it's Napolean Dynamite. I heard my daughter say twice today "Let Ted play with Guinea Pig!" ... LOL

Your cinematography and lighting were superb, and the editing was flawless.... so natural, so professional that it goes unnoticed like it should. Your set/location was amazing (and man, I would not have wanted to clean up after the end scene! LOL).

I loved that shot at the beginning after he's playing with the fish... when he's walking down the hallway and the camera is on the other side of the wall... perfect!

Obviously, the guinea pig line cracked me up (and the rest of my family), and the post-it notes were hilarious. I also loved the guy looking over the cubicle at the beginning.

Music was excellent... perfect fit for the story. Sounds was good (though the dialogue seems just a bit low when the "boss" is giving him xeroxing orders)... loved the ambiant offices sounts. Great attention to details.

I'd love to see this on a bigger screen... I'm wondering if there are even more details I'm missing... like I wonder, what are the letters circled in each person's cubicle? Maybe an obscure question, but you paid so much attention to detail I want to absorb it all :)

SUPER professional all around.

The story was fantastic. Very clear from beginning to end, very well told, and had me emersed and interested. Incredibly clever without being over people's heads, and FUNNY.

Only nit-pick is the color of the blood...unless you intended a "fake" look to it to keep it light... it just stood out to me as TOO fake.

Otherwise, thumbs up across all rating points and across the board! You are absolutely one of the tops films!

and ps. I think a "supernatural briefcase" is certainly a sci-fi theme -- as much as any other film in this fest!

Kaz

02-19-2006, 12:09 AM

Well, MacB not responding isn't helping.

Is this sci-fi? Who knows. But it's a great film in any genre you want to stick it in.

TheMacB

02-19-2006, 09:52 AM

hey guys, i can't tell you how awesome it is to read these comments. especially coming from the people who made my favorite films in the fest. i was going to try to stick it out until voting without commenting because i wanted the film to speak for itself. i didn't want what i said about this film (or other people's films) to affect the voting. but after what Kaz said i don't want to lose out by appearing to ignore everybody.
gotta be honest, we're borderline sci-fi. it all depends on what you put in the briefcase. and that's up to the viewer. for us it was an alien. but what could be in that briefcase that would keep the movie from being sci-fi? a monster? a supernatural power? a guinea pig? are those things not sci-fi? if you ask me, a guinea pig capable of doing that stuff is a wonder of science and has got to be fictional. and if my fx skills were anything close to those of some of the other entrants', that blood would have been beautiful. so i'm going to have to say, yeah we made it pink to keep the film light (will you believe that?).

abraham

02-19-2006, 11:08 AM

Adam's right, this has been really fantastic reading what you guys write. All of the criticisms are dead on -- and god damn that blood. I've been gone a day, but adam and I were about not really wanting to stifle people's comments by jumping in and explaining everything while the comments were just trickling in.

Ah EditPhish, I'm really glad you mentioned those numbers! We found all of these sheets scattered around the office, and no, there's not really much more to it than random numbers on a page, and each cubicle has a different one circled in red. There were also some golden messages written on those post-its by the crew.

We basically were handed the keys to this office for three days ("Ted's" stepdad had a good friend at an office building) and we just slept there and shot into the morning, and every employee was so enthusiastic at the office all day (except for this About Schmidt guy who hated us). They are a lot of the extras, and they loved preparing for the last shot.

JimtheJib

02-19-2006, 01:31 PM

i have to say this has been my favourite short of all. the pacing, music, cinematogrphy and editing were all great quality. the story and actors were great as well. i just a have a couple questions:
how did you make the brief case move by itself?

and why was he holding the brief case at the end? did he manage to catch the alien after it had ravaged the office?

great job!

Norm Sanders

02-19-2006, 02:08 PM

You guys definately need to get in and respond more. Members want to know that you're getting their feedback, answering questions/comment they may have, etc. It also helps, when you respond, to keep the film more near the top of the heap so if someone hasn't watched your film yet, hopefully it'll help to remind them maybe they should ... though that's the least of the reasons to respond.

Anyhow ... this short. Ugh, is all I can say. Ugh, meaning, why couldn't WE have thought of such beautifully created shots? Don't get me wrong, Ryan (waltind) did a bang up job DP'ing for our project, but WOW, you guys take the cake.

Only two films so far have rec'd 10's from me for Cinematography ... yours and SIMILO, for different reasons. SIMILO was gorgeous in it's images it created, and the surreal world. Yours, however, is pure genius in some of the long tracking shots, the crane shots (nice seeing your DIY crane in action - huge props on that, BTW), etc.

The VFX, aside from the pinkish blood, were top notch with regards to beleiveability (paperwork blowing from the wind, the movement of the case, etc.).

My only gripe might be the sound mix at the beginning was too low. I really had to crank the speakers to hear the receptionist.

I didn't see this as straight up comedy, though it was humerous to me ... especially everytime I saw homages to OFFICE SPACE, which was nearly throughout the entire thing.

Was it Sci-Fi? Sure it was. Anything to fit in that case, short of C4, and to do THAT kind of havoc has to be Sci-Fi. I also felt REAL sorry for the poor guy who had to play freeze tag & balance on top of the cubicle walls like that ... dedication to the craft of being an "extra".

Music was good, acting paid off well, and aside from not having much of a story (still above average, but that's where it ranked lowest for me - screenplay), this film was pickin' excellent!

Really great work guy, you should be proud. It's in my top favorites of a small handful.

Blaine

02-19-2006, 02:16 PM

Okay, I've watched this a couple more times and I really want to give you some constructive criticism that might make this better. I can't. This is a complete story. A true short. This isn't the type of story that needs longer or to be explained. Your pacing was perfect, music (as I said in an earlier post) great and fits the movie like a glove. Suddenly, things have become difficult. There are many good shorts in the fest and it has now become oranges "competing" against "apples". I have seen five movies here that could claim top honors based upon the different catagories. In fact, at this point, I don't see it as a competition. At the top level, how can you say, "this movie is better than this other one."

Guys, this was REALLY, REALLY good. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

abraham

02-19-2006, 03:01 PM

and why was he holding the brief case at the end? did he manage to catch the alien after it had ravaged the office?

Yeah Jim, that's at least what I had in mind. We cut out all the action, and we come up on him finally clasping it shut. The first clasp is in the black and the second comes with the picture.

As far as planning goes, this is really the first time we've all gotten together and really planned out a movie. We originally had a sci fi flick planned for Kinko's Copies, but that location fell through. Then, a week before shooting was supposed to happen, we got an office. So Dan Samiljan (Owen Sheldrake) and I wrote the movie over dinner at his birthday party. I wrote up a tentative script with no dialogue. We all sat in a conference room in the first hours on site, and we wrote the shooting schedule for the next three days.

Envision (and others) you guys are right about the sound mix. That was the biggest problem we had. We only recorded with the DVX mic, because we just dont have any other way of doing things. Adam (themacb) really had this movie on his shoulders for the weeks up until upload, and he was taking criticism from all directions -- by phone, e-mail -- and every one was about sound. I think he nailed it as best as the material let him. And what about that music? That's all him.

If anyone has ever mixed perfect fake blood, PLEASE tell me how. Bruce Campbell's method I heard is nice, but very staining, and it reaaaallly hardens.

--evan

Norm Sanders

02-19-2006, 03:23 PM

The music was good.

I made some blood (not sure about Bruce Campbell's recipe) for our DEATH MARCH short. Just Karo syrup, red dye and blue dye mixed in until you're happy with the look. For a dark, thick blood, it's tough to beat. Looks GREAT, but it does stain like crazy and hardens ... I made the mistake of letting mine sit on the concrete for HOURS ... cleaned it the next day, and that also took a few hours to clean.

abraham

02-19-2006, 03:41 PM

Yes! Man...that is the recipe we used. We just couldn't get it to be dark enough without looking purple, or red enough without looking pink...It was killin' me.

bruce campbell's book says to add non-dairy creamer, i think? I'm pretty sure the point is to take away the transparency, but it stains like crazy.

Norm Sanders

02-19-2006, 03:49 PM

I think the trick is to add LOTS of red and quite a bit of blue as well ... in one container of Karo syrup, I used up nearly ALL of the red & blue dye. If you were to lien one direction or the other, I'd say to go with more of a purple, as it's at least darker and from a distance people won't be able to tell as well ... vs. pink/red just looks too light.

abraham

02-19-2006, 03:59 PM

That is almost certainly it. We wanted a large batch, so simply must not have used enough color...IDIOTS. ;)

Norm Sanders

02-19-2006, 04:16 PM

Probably kind of an Einstein thing ... guy could do quantum physics in his sleep, but rumor has it he couldn't count change.

Comparison to your team is the genius camera movements, but can't make fake blood to save your lives. :) j/k

Blaine

02-19-2006, 09:16 PM

If I don't see this in some filmfest after the SciFest is over, I'll be very disappointed and you'll have missed a golden opportunity.

HagerNYC

02-20-2006, 09:08 AM

I loved the comedy in composition for instance when he opens his briefcase for the first time and looks to his right to see if anyone heard or saw anything. lol And the timing for your actors was great. At the same time he looked left the other guy looks over the wall. In any shot inside the cubicle areas you had movement all over. It was choreographed very well. One of my favs. :beer:

HagerNYC

02-20-2006, 09:09 AM

awe. I was so excited that I found an instructional guide to all the smilies that everyone uses only to find that beer doesn't work. I even copied and pasted. lol :cry:

SilverWolf

02-20-2006, 11:01 AM

I loved this movie. There isn't anything I can say that hasn't been said. This movie was great!! Keep up the good work

Captain KickAss

02-20-2006, 02:29 PM

I have watched this one a couple of times, and I have to agree with all the praise that has been given to it thus far. But there is something that is nagging me.

When the protagonist first sits down at the desk, he pulls off a post it note and tosses it. Was that note supposed to say something, or is it just something I am making too much of?

abraham

02-20-2006, 04:39 PM

Hey Cap'n -- yeah, nothing too significant written on that post-it. But I'm pretty sure the lead, Dan, did that with the idea of foreshadowing in mind.
Thanks for the comment!

--evan

Larry Rutledge

02-21-2006, 02:28 PM

Quick Disclaimer: I am avoiding reading other comments before rating each of the films, so I may repeat comments others have said to death.

I really enjoyed this piece. The framing and camera movement was wonderful, the acting was great, the story was compelling, the music was memorable. Good job!

My biggest complaint with this piece is the audio, particularly the dialog in the opening (receptionist shot). I had the volume slider in Windows Media Player all the way up and the computers volume all the way and I could barely make out the voices. Then it went to the next scene and almost blew the headphones right off my ears :)

Anyway, good job overall. I really liked this one.

Larry

Kholi

02-21-2006, 07:01 PM

Well shot, well done.

Watched it all the way through and that really says something, trust me.

abraham

02-21-2006, 07:22 PM

My biggest complaint with this piece is the audio, particularly the dialog in the opening (receptionist shot). I had the volume slider in Windows Media Player all the way up and the computers volume all the way and I could barely make out the voices. Then it went to the next scene and almost blew the headphones right off my ears :)
Larry

Yeah Larry. Friggin sound, huh? I think you're right, that is our weak point. I wish one of the prizes was a shotgun mic -- I think a lot of us would be gunning for it.
As far as the leaps from cut to cut, I know, it's tough.
And unfortunately, though it doesn't show, we spent -- I would say -- the majority of time on sound in post. Adam will tell you, it was a bitch -- particularly getting that conversation between Owen and the boss to sound remotely smooth took a lot of finagling (anyone wanna spell that?)

But hey, when we get a few grand the big choice will be: do we spend it on a shotgun mic, or Macregor's adaptor? ; )

--evan

Daniel Skubal

02-21-2006, 09:30 PM

I've watched this film 3 or 4 times. I just love it! I think you found a clever concept and the way it was shot including camera movements and setups were great! Dolly shot towards at the beginning was great, I'm curious how many 10 ft lengths you used to get that shot. Also the final shot in the office with everything torn up was great!

my only crit is your audio. Some spots were way soft. I liked your music though and I thought whoever composed it did an excellent job with music cues.

Your actors were fun to watch. The coffee-sipping ponytail man was hilarious. He was so goofy.

Great job man, you took the sci-fi genre and twisted it into something clever and different. A+

TheMacB

02-21-2006, 10:30 PM

thanks dj. the dolly shot at the beginning was 70ft. 14 pieces of pipe and 14 takes. the music was all recorded in my bedroom using the mic on the DVX except the upright bass and the piano which came from my yamaha S80.

the sound was sooooooo difficult. like evan said, most of our post time was spent on the conversation with the boss. i could never get it quite where i wanted it. in the end i'm happy its as good as it is. sound equipment is the next step. or macgregor's G35.

Daniel Skubal

02-21-2006, 10:48 PM

somewestfilms

02-22-2006, 12:07 AM

I really liked this one, it was quite funny. The people that let you use their office must have been really nice to let you wreck it like you did. Awesome.

Jack Daniel Stanley

02-22-2006, 01:46 AM

i gotta get back and do a full review but saw the thread and had to say this film rocks!

cool indie vibe, great art direction, and oh so mysterioso!

Lottsa funt to watch!

AMA

02-22-2006, 02:18 PM

The movie looks awesome guys!

We had a great time working with you guys and helping out on the production of the film. It's nice to see the finished product and some good recognition being said. These guys worked really hard on this short and it really shows in the attention to detail and the dedication they had to get this thing done right.

Keep up the good work and good luck in the contest.

All of us here at AMA (who's office you used) will be pulling for you.

From: Shawn and the entire staff at AMA.

abraham

02-22-2006, 06:02 PM

yeah! thanks for the praise guys.
JDanstan--please do come back and give the full review!

THX-1138

02-22-2006, 07:40 PM

My score sheet is almost full and it looks like you guys took 1st place in my book.

Congratulations on your exceptional work.

Kip Kubin

abraham

02-22-2006, 09:59 PM

Wow. Thanks SO much THX. That is Really cool.

JimtheJib

02-23-2006, 04:45 PM

i'm not sure if you've answered this before (i couldn't find it) but how did you get the brief case to move one its own?

thanks

TheMacB

02-23-2006, 05:18 PM

hey jim i guess we forgot to answer about this. in most cases, there was a piece of the briefcase that was outside of the frame. in these cases somebody would just hold it and shake it. in the copy room scene we had fishing line tied to the hinges inside the case and two people standing outside the room pulled it out when cued. before it took off evan was hiding behind the copier shaking it.

JimtheJib

02-23-2006, 05:23 PM

i figured about the people being off camera.... thanks... it sold the fx very well (you got me!)

abraham

02-23-2006, 06:31 PM

My favorite part about moving the briefcase is the briefcase-cam shot. We tied two pieces of fishing line from the briefcase to the dolly, and pulled it back. It's the shot where Owen dives on top of it. It isn't the prettiest shot in the movie, but it was a fun one to construct.

Dahopafilms

02-23-2006, 08:02 PM

It's been a bad week and so I'm just back to watching shorts I haven't screened yet. This was a great place to start.

My apologies for not reviewing the previous posts, so repetition may follow - sorry in advance.

The sound was a little iffy for me at the outset and I was fiddling with my speaker level to hear the secretary at the beginning and then later when the boss was speaking to the lead. Other than those examples, no issues.

The music was awesome! Loved it. Cirque du Soleil meets The Office (the better UK version). Quirky - really great. Period.

The cinematography obviously reveals that you guys know what you're doing. Great job. Nice dolly shot and a couple of good crane shots. Fluid movement and well done.

Fun story line. Simple and clean. Nice job.

I had a bit of problem with the glowing pink blood in the final shot. That ruined it a little for me (perhaps I should say "broke the spell" rather than "ruined). I also paused a little with regard to the lead actor's entrance wearing the jacket, tie and scarf. My first thought was "that guy's never worn a tie before today in his life". Probably wrong, but your lead's great acting soon let me forget that first impression.

Lastly, I was looking for the Sci-Fi, but couldn't find it. Regardless this was a great short and I thank you for the time it took to make it. I look forward to watching it again very soon.

Great job!

arielman

02-24-2006, 03:15 PM

So many good scenes . I liked the idea of using your imagination and the ending... great!!

Well done guys !!!!
Ian

Texture

02-24-2006, 03:23 PM

Perhaps what's in our dear central character's suitcase is his alter-ego.

Suddenly - we have a Lynch film!

When Ted opens the brief case, all I could do is laugh and think, "I don't need to know!"

The beauty in the wrap up moments of this film, is that there is a sense of completion, yet it is completely open for the viewers to continuously debate, "What actually happened?

And what was in that friggin' suitcase anyway?"

Hitchcock would have been proud...

In addition, I totally loved the music!

abraham

02-24-2006, 04:36 PM

Thanks again for the comments all.
Hell yeah Dahopa -- you'se right about the blood and the sound. And I'm not sure, but I think the lead, Dan, enjoys a nice tie and a warm scarf as much as the next chap! Thanks a lot for taking the time to give a full review -- it's really cool.

Suddenly - we have a Lynch film!

Nooooooooo!!! : )

Z B Brox

02-24-2006, 10:30 PM

This was awesome. I don't know if it's flat out the funniest of the comedy entries, but it's certainly the best produced, and if it's not the funniest it's close. That is one fine score you've got going there, too. The score, the acting, the pacing, it all makes it come off as silent film or even mime and it's both aggressively amusing and arrestingly different from the other entries. Really good work, and it really seems like it was just an infectious amount of fun to make. Thanks for sharing it with us.

conrad_johnson

02-24-2006, 11:37 PM

Hi -

I would say lots of nice things about this, but I won't belabor the point - everything about this was really natural, and looked really great. I found myself not paying attention to the production because it was invisible. Great job!

Dialogue levels fell a little low here and there, but that's really the only critique I have.

Music was well-chosen, and you added some smart and charming elements to a pretty simple story.

Well done!

Jack Daniel Stanley

02-24-2006, 11:49 PM

glad this film is getting getting a lot of attention now, it really deserves it :)

sean90291

02-25-2006, 09:49 AM

Finally saw this short. Totally, totally impressed! I loved the tone. Production design was just incredible. Really great choice of shots. Great story. Simply told. I love it. Hm...I might give this one top marks over Similo even.

abraham

02-25-2006, 12:07 PM

yeah! thanks for the nice words fellas. This is good fun. Checking out the threads on this website has turned into "what I do."

I'm gonna go watch some Steven Seagal.

iSTy

02-25-2006, 02:44 PM

I liked the music in this and the picture was clear. I want one of those to take to work.

abraham

02-26-2006, 10:37 AM

Yeah, iSTy, I want one to take to the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean II.

Jeremy Ordan

02-26-2006, 08:25 PM

Wow, like everyone else I really enjoyed this and thought it was a great entry. I echo everyone elses comments about what makes this a great film and the only negative I can find with it is really with the sound mix. Ya'll have a great visual feeling but it didn't seem like the sound was recorded as well as everything else. Overall I really enjoyed this film and it's in my top views so far. Good job.

Beat Takeshi

02-26-2006, 08:37 PM

Hey man, I thought you guys did an awsome job on this. The flicks on your site are good too. You definitly have a comedic style I like.

abraham

02-26-2006, 11:29 PM

thanks a lot yankee and aram -- man, i am just reading that the results will be IN tonight...first time I've been a little anxious about this.

Aram! Be sure to keep in touch and keep checking that site, because there will definitely be more to come. And on brief case we collaborated with the guys at birthday boy -- so check that one out too! thanks a lot man. the suspense is giving me some chills...