The Odd Squad

[J.R. Hudson]

By Jack Stanley (Jdanstan)

For anyone whose life was changed a little or a lot by Katrina, Rita, or their siblings.


The ODD Squad

Written, Directed, Shot, Cut, Mixed, Composited by Jack Daniel Stanley


Produced by Cammie West and French Quarter Features


Makeup FX by Tanner


Det. Joe ……………… Dane Rhodes
Det. Pitt …………….. Travis Champagne
Blue…………………………. Tanner
Handvil……………………... Michael Sullivan
Maggie……………………… Katy Chisolm

Assistant Director…………… Marcus Stanley

Line Producer……………….. Elaina Rodriguez

Focus Puller…………………. Shane Martin
Production Coordinator……... Megan Uebelacker
Best Boy……………………... Sean Patterson
Outerspace VFX consultant….. Norm Sanders

[Blaine]

Really nice effort. Of course, I kinda thought the kid was an odd but that's not the point is it? It's how his partner handles the whole thing. Loved the "big easy" feel, too. I'll be going back to his one later. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/beer.gif

[janzie]

i liked that a lot...i was expecting something special (after "shed") and got it. it´s just the style (as hudson mentioned hip & cool) that really made it one of my favorites. the music, the setting, the blue face, the green shirts...just cool, without taking itself too seriously...and a little dramatic at the end. those are the ingredients i really enjoy

good job...and the guys from new orleans set the bar really high.

[Kaz]

Yeah, Jack. You think my film will kick your ass, but I beg to differ. This was one killer-cool flick. Acting was top notch and it looked fabulous. The FX were suitably cheesy and the dialogue was a real stand-out.

I'm with John. Top 5 goodness.

Wish we weren't all leaving the Big Easy, man. I really wanted to work with you.

[Filmjunkie677]

Not bad.
Even though I was expecting some seriousness to the whole short after that "deep" intro and Voiceover.
Then it cuts to this goofy guy in blue makeup and took me out of the story.

The shift in tones throughout from comedy to serious drama just didnt work for me.

Your two lead actors were fantastic, especially the "gruff, tough, cop" who seems like he stepped right out of a noir film.

The cinematography was decent and the entire car sequence was very well put together.

The warehouse scene was cool, but again those "odds" just werent believable and were just too goofy for me to take seriously. But I guess that is what you were going for, idk.

But, all in all, a decent short. Keep it up.

[THX-1138]

Great to watch.

Jack tell me about the tech stuff. Your film looked great!

Lenses? Adapters? Filters? Color Correction?

BEST TITLE SEQUENCE!!!!!

If there wasw an award for best hand held camera work you would win. Nice and never annoying or trying too hard to be "hand held for that edgy look"


Very solid work all around.

Wish I had 100 posts.

Kip

[Brandon Rice]

OK! This is by far my favorite of all the films I've seen (About 75%). I loved the groovy 70s feel to it. Everything worked. The editing was cool, and the shots were perfect. THIS WAS AWESOME! Made me laugh a few times too! Excellent, excellent work. Great acting too! No negative critique here bro. awesome work!

[disjecta]

Unfortunately, I'm just not going to have time to go into any in-depth reviews of people's films but Jack, this is my favorite. There are only a handful or less of the entries that really felt like a film to me and this was one of them. The story was a little weak and "seen it before" for me but it was still compelling to watch. Cinematography and the look of what I'm assuming is your Letus35 really helped sell the idea of an actual film.

Acting was very good in my opinion and you used the hurricane aftermath footage tastefully.

I think if you stick with this filmmaking thing, you will really go places. For all the talking you do on the board, you have an equal amount of talent to back it up. :)

Nice job.

[Dahopafilms]

Wow - great opening. The blowback from the blast with the girl on the bike was great. Really grabs you from the beginning.

I had no trouble with the juxtaposition between the "Mike Hammer" film noire feel and the 70's series feel (I was kinda waiting for a blue Huggy Bear to jump out of the shadows). Given my drothers, I would probably have lost the hand-turning-into-an-anvil gag, but that's just me.

There was one music transition that didn't work for me (i.e. there was no transition, just a jump) where you cut from the car to the arrival at the warehouse.

Other than that, this is a great short (one of my favourites) - I have no idea why more people aren't commenting on it, but give it a little more time. They'll find quality.

Thanks for your efforts.

[janzie]

i just watched it again and liked it even more...now here are a few questions:

1. i loved your CC (especially outdoors) how did you get that look?
2. did you really use the letus35? how does it perform compared to G35 (i know the tech stuff after reading hundreds of threads,while waiting for G35) but all the demos i´ve seen from the letus couldn´t compete with G35, but yours looks way better...

for some reason i was waiting for closer shots in the car scene (intensity) and that´s the only thing i´d complain about, what do you think?

again, great job

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

thanks for starting this thread John
I'm, PMing you our credits so you can put them in the 1st post
We're moving and I don't have hi speed access anymore until we get to a hotel so I may not post much ... thanks for your comments everyone.

[wcs]

Some of the effects didn't completely sell, but they were good enough not to bother me.

I highly enjoyed the movie's tone, but I think the racism card wasn't dealt with properly. I get that he was feeling compassion, but I think the change was too quick. But, it didn't bother me too much, as it was such a fun short film.

I also wish the opening was a little tighter, and the ending was a little less hit-you-over-the-head.

Good makeup, fairly strong acting (especially the older guy--he's spot on), awesome music, and great camerawork put this in my top five. oh, and style.

style, baby, style.

[Beat Takeshi]

This one is my favorite so far. We all actually clapped after this one was done.


"It tickles me sometimes...."

[Slimothy]

Def. my fav. so far. There were some technical things that I wrote down, but don't feel the need to post because it didn't take me out of it. Some of the compositions were frickin great. Loved it all. The only shot I didn't really care for was the Long Est. shot of them entering the hideout. The fx were kinda fake, but it totally worked. Great job. You are one talented bastard. Tim.

[Norm Sanders]

Darn work got in the way ... otherwise I was hoping to be the first to comment in your thread ... would have been impossible though, since John started it for you! :) Good thing too, since it's already got 13+ posts already!

I've only read the first post (Hudson's) so if I repeat anything, forgive me.

So, I Loved it, with a capital L. Like John said, very cool, hip feel to it. I'm assuming this will be unique in the feel/vibe compared to others. Some of the FX were ABSOLUTELY top shelf as well ... to the point I tried pausing as often as possible the second time through to catch stuff. Really great work, Jack ... you do all that yourself?

The music was perfect ... only complaint would be the transition at about 3 minutes in ... just too quick, and would have preferred something more organic.

Also, as a critique, I noticed the ADR ... specifically when we see the ODDD Squad with the blue alien near the beginning.

Otherwise, great actors, and incredible dialogue/scripting ... by far, for me, that was the strongest aspect, though the whole thing was strong all the way through.

The low gravelly, 40's style detective voice was perfect. Some nice comical stuff too, especially with the lady in the warehouse, reminding me of THE MASK, as her hand turns into this huge anvil.

The co-lead, looked like David Arquette (sp?). Cool.

Many parts brought a smile to my face, and I cared about the characters enough in that short bit of time to hang & wonder if he was going to report the kid or not.

I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to see the extended cut of this. Great job. In my tops list.

[Norm Sanders]

wcs, just read through the posts. I didn't get that this was a racism thing ... more of a MIB feel, that they had to keep the ODDS in check before they completely freaked out & harmed everyone else around them.

I could be wrong ... just didn't see the racism card in this one.

[MojoTrancer]

This film had me smiling from start to finish. It had its own flavor. And what a tasty flavor it was. The 70's exploitation look made it even cooler. It almost had a color-reversal film look in places. And the freeze frames were in just the right spots. One of my favorites so far.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

thanks everyone for comments and thanks again john for starting the thread while I had no internet access and for pasting my credits up.

REALLY appreciate EVERYONE's comments but I have to help my GF pack as we move to NYC tomorrow and she's done 98% of it by herself while I was dealing with film fest stuff -- I wish everyone could have a GF like her.

"Honey I have to go to the internet cafe for a couple of hours to download/check the corrected version of my movie because there was a problem with it"

and she says "OK"

Not -- "the movers are going to be here in 15 hours and I'v done almost everything by myself and we're barely packed and your going off to an internet cafe to check on your little film"

OK that was time I could have used to respond to peoples posts -- sorry -- but I have to give her props -- don't know how I'd ever get frame one shot without her, get any bills mailed out on time, or find my keys, lol.


Damn ... thanks again for comments will try to somehow get internet access later to answer your questions

thanks thanks thanks guys!

Jack

[Rasquachemedia]

You da man again!!!!

i've only seen about 10 so far. had a late start and don't have time to see that many per day. i was already excited about seeing yours before it even dowloaded. very much worth the wait.

again, i haven't seen that many, but this was definately the very best so far. did you score this thing too?

can't wait for the bts stuff and the dvd version

by the way i'm going to pm you later on some other unrelated stuff.

but again, congrats on another great film.

[wcs]

they had to keep the ODDS in check before they completely freaked out & harmed everyone else around them.

In my opinion, that statement is the origin of racism. (replace ODDS with 'blacks' or 'arabs'). I'm not calling anyone a racist, just noting where I'm coming from in my analysis of the plot.

I get your reference to MIB, and I would agree, but when I looked at the dramatic base, I saw something else. I wasn't saying that there was anything wrong with his choice of arc; I was just saying it needed a little more to sell the climax.

In the end, it's a really funny, well-made movie. I'm just mentioning what would have made it 5% better for me.

[Shawn Murphy]

Great vibe, cool daddy-O!

http://www.stickypod.com/stickypod_upload/uploads/thumb.jpg

[Norm Sanders]

Jack, wcs is calling you a racist!!! Just kidding, wcs, I see where you're coming from.

I just wanted to post on here really quickly, that I was going back through my initial run on the score card, and I've only given out ONE "10" so far ... and it was to this one for the script/writing.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

ha -- but he is right though

EDIT: not that I'm a racist, lol - that there's something racially screwed up about Odd Squad.

Shed (shot week before and after Katrina) = a family evacuating and leaving a loved one behind to die (or about a loved one that must stay behind while his family evacuates)

ODD Squad = a communty changed as a result of a catastrohpic event, graspin for some stability in a flawed set of rules which is all they got and said rules happen to be racially insensitive, like much of the rules or politics of NOLA and the way various agencies handled Katrina.

In Odd Squad what they are doing is pretty screwed up they "verify that mutations are on track to remain mentally stable" then tag the OK ones with ankle braceletts and shoot those that flunk the brain scan right there in the street. Its a legitimate concern when someone who can walk through walls or can throw fire goes mad, but these people aren't necessiarly even sick yet and they are still people -- tough call.

[EJ Pennypacker]

I thought this movie was groovy. The scene in the warehouse where they find the coke is very CSI - which is very good in my books.

Nice job!

EJ

[Ralph Oshiro]

LOVED IT, MAN! Well, you didn't disappoint this time around either! Great actors! Great gags! Great music! Nice daylight exterior photography! Seeing this tells me you're no one-trick pony. Versatile, funny, clever, whacko. I'd just LOVE to see what each of us do with a $1 million budget. There are some talented folk around here, and you are definitely near the top of the heap!

[BrianV]

Dude, I'm a big fan of zooms in movies, as they get a bad rep. You, you used them. And used them well. Groovy goody gumdrops. Rock on.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Ok packing going OK and internet cellphone connection not too bottle necked right now so try to catch up with a few of these before the GF puts me back to work ...


Really nice effort. Of course, I kinda thought the kid was an odd but that's not the point is it? It's how his partner handles the whole thing. Loved the "big easy" feel, too. I'll be going back to his one later. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/beer.gif
right on - its about change and a fixed view point

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

i liked that a lot...i was expecting something special (after "shed") and got it. it´s just the style (as hudson mentioned hip & cool) that really made it one of my favorites. the music, the setting, the blue face, the green shirts...just cool, without taking itself too seriously...and a little dramatic at the end. those are the ingredients i really enjoy

good job...and the guys from new orleans set the bar really high.


Ha thanks man -- yeah Kaz's film kicks ass!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Yeah, Jack. You think my film will kick your ass, but I beg to differ. This was one killer-cool flick. Acting was top notch and it looked fabulous. The FX were suitably cheesy and the dialogue was a real stand-out.

I'm with John. Top 5 goodness.

Wish we weren't all leaving the Big Easy, man. I really wanted to work with you.

thanks man

yeah I was looking at your film today and wishing I had time for you to teach me how to do compositing in a moving shot -- really professional.

This was the first time I've ever done compositing at all.

[Blaine]

I finally got back to this and watched it a couple of times. This is really good. Where'd you get that 70s cop show music? http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/beer.gif You had some great pictures, especially the outdoors stuff. I also loved the shot in the car. They were excellent. Perhaps you could talk a little about how you got them and if you used any special equipment.

This was a kick ass video. Dane Rhodes is a hell of an actor. I love his accent, too. The voice over worked great.

[macgregor]

I am watching it now.
Photography is superb! Congratulations. Let me finish it.

[macgregor]

Finished. You have a 10 in lighting from me. The best of all.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

WTF?

HUH?

Are you kidding!

take that 10 out of my column and put it in yours under that category right now, If I'm a 10 in lights then the scale doesn't apply to you.

Damn I'm speechless -- a rarity for me.

I guess I should shut up and say thanks.

Since there have been some questions about equipment I will say this though -- we only used one light -- the SUN and a bounce board ($10 silver sided insulation from home depot)

Even the interiors were shot that way -- the warehouse where we shot had 2 or three huge holes in the ceiling and we just bounced off those.

The only time we ever used power was in the car -- we held a 6 inch battery operated flourescent just out of frame behind the older cop to make his shot match the closeups of the younger cop more and we were loosing light.

As for the rest of the car -- all of the windows that were in the shot were covered on the OUTSiDE with two ply window tint -- you don't have to squeegee it on, just pull it taught over the window frame and gaff tape it, doesn't even have to touch the window, but leave all of the windows that aren't in the shot uncovered so they let in as much light as possible -- its basically like putting your ND filters on the outside of the car!

this is an old trick to you I'm sure, but some folks have asked.

this is only my 3rd "real" film, I've only been shooting for 4 monyths and that kind of comment from you -- THANKS

Now ... I was blown away by your film -- we are in the middle of moving and my internet connection is dial up speed so I am way behind on giving feedback but I will go ther soon

... damn dude.

[Brandon Rice]

DUDE! I gotta say this again, what a fun short!! Well done, and really cool! Only thing that I didn't like was the music cut already discussed here. Loved it man! Loved it!

[Pastaman]

loved your soundtrack! at first I thought the older dective was John "spud" McConnell from WWL, he sounds just like him! very playful comic book like feel. Good Job.

your moving?? that sucks, N.O. losing another talented person.

[CallaghanFilms]

Jack,

NY will never be the same again.

I really thought yours was a fun film to watch.
I especially thought the editing was right on
the money (not that we should have expected
anything less from you.)

You had a strong concept that translated well.
The locations were top notch.
Good casting on your part...
especially for the role of the senior detective.

The younger cop had a strong resemblance to
someone that I couldn't quite place...
Now I'm thinking it's an older version of
Spencer Treat Clark (Lucius from Gladiator.)

For me, the phenomenal opening scene was the
strongest, and the establising VO dialog really
opened the door to the "odd " world that you created.


Cheershttp://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/beer.gifJack on a job well done.

[Barry_S]

After Shed, I was really looking forward to Jack's Sci-Fest entry and I wasn't disappointed. This is a fun little film that actually has a coherent story line. It's pure comic book, and for the most part it works. Overall, the acting is excellent except that there parts of the younger actor's dialogue in the car that I couldn't understand very well. I'm sorry we don't have an award for makeup, because the makeup job on the Odds is just effin' fantastic. If I have one issue, it's that the pacing seems jerky in some spots. Probably the result of trying to shoehorn the story into 6 minutes. The story was very clear, so you didn't need to show the tickets or the briefcase cutaway at the end--we know what happened. Jack--you've got entertainment DNA.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Hey thanks for the comments -- I'm typing quietly so my GF doesn't know i'm not packing will be in hotel tomorrow with highspeed and probably stay up alnight catching up.

BUT

I need to send an update to hudson for the 1st post on the thread

in the interem I couldn't sit on this anymore:

There are three DVXuser easter eggs in the first scene ...

should I say what they are and see if you can find them or just see if you can find them?

[Kaz]

Don't say anything, dude.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

ok ... but I'm probably too impatient to wait till they are spotted

and when say first scene I mean the blue mutant scene!

[Kaz]

1. The mutant is wearing a DVXUSER shirt!

[Norm Sanders]

OH, OH, OH, FOUND ONE!!!! Blue's got a DVX shirt on!!! What's my prize?! I'm looking for the others now.

BTW, you SUCK, Jack. I saw this, and dropped watching everything else just so I could go back and look for friggin' easter eggs. I'm such a dope.

Nice marketing strategy, Cap'n Jack.

[Norm Sanders]

DAMN! Kaz beat me to it ... *keeps searching*

[Kaz]

The only other thing I can think of is maybe Barry's book lying on the box next to mutant's bed, but it's too tiny/blurry to see.

[Norm Sanders]

DRAT! I hate Kaz. That's what I was going to say as well.

[Kaz]

Well, there's still one more and I gave up.

[Norm Sanders]

Yeah, but did ANYONE else catch that DVXuser was carefully spelled out in both the electric bolts that were zapping the handcuffs, as well as the smoke coming from the barrel??

Huh, did'ja?!

Just like when people freaked about the dust from Simba (Disney's THE LION KING) floating up into the air and spelling SEX for a couple of frames before blowing out.

Oh, sure you all may not see it ... maybe not even jdanstan, but it's there. Ooooh, it's there alright!

Now I want my friggin' prizes.

[Norm Sanders]

Well, I DID notice now as I was freeze framing through to look at the lighting bolts, that the make up didn't cover all of the arm. Sorry Jack, your little easter egg hunt just caused me to go back and dock you points in .... oh wait, there's not a make-up category. Nevermind.

Only other LEGIT thing I can think of is maybe a throwback from SHED ... either a prop or some clothing used in it (i.e. those really snazzy ties, etc.).

[spencer]

I haven't watched many yet, but this by far my favorite so far. I know it's hard to do good sci-fi stuff on a low budget, but in my opinion, this one really gets it right. I mean, it's MIB mixed with 70's exploitation! FUCKING GREAT DUDE!. The acting was great (especially the older guy), the music was really good, and it was shot well as well. It's just a wonderful little thing. I even liked the way the odd's look.

And the whole relevance of it to the situation in Katrina gives it a pretty neat meaning to it. When i saw you guys start mentioning racism, i could see a scenario in my head: Kanye West standing with Mike Myers for a TV charity for stopping the radiation crisis stating matter of factly: "George Bush doesn't care about ODD people." It really made me wanna rewatch it again.

Not to mention Jack is probably one of the nicest people I've met on the boards so far. The first thread I contributed to involved Vincent Gallo's work, and shortly after my comments had instigated harsher comments from a fan of his work, the thread was locked, and Jack apologized that that was the first thread I was on. Top notch guy, he's also a top notch filmmaker. Really, really cool.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Lol, well I'm tryiing to go back and catch up on these in order -- but I have to say thanks Spencer -- I have my less than stellar moments too -- but that's nice to hear and even nicer to know that I made a difference :)

As for the Easter eggs
Ding Ding Ding

ONE: yes KAZ and NORM,
the mutant is wearing the DVXuser Guerilla T

TWO: Yes Barry Green's DVX book is in the lower right corner of the high angle shot of teh senior detective walking around the blood to remove the mutant's watch.

THREE: This one isn't fair -- definatley not visible in the windows compression and I'm not sure you can see it on a regular monitor -- but it's John Lyons Hunting Camp DVD, its right next to Barry's Book.

Damn you guys were fast ... and you each win a Sci Fi box set on me.

I guess I should have announced there were prizes :)

[Norm Sanders]

Oh. So no DVXuser spelled out in the electricity or smoke? You know, because if you LOOK hard enough, or smoke enough ....

Just kidding.

I actually wondered one/both of those articles were either:
a.) Barry Green's DVX book
b.) Barry Green's DVD
c.) Panasonic DVX100 manual

Had no clue it would have been another member's DVD. Stinkin' compression & lack of ZOOM on your part. :)

[lookatmeimbender]

This movie was Entertaining in some parts. the older cops is a fun actor and entertianing but the younger one was acting... to hard. The mutants seemed a little corny to me too. They were too comic like for me to really love. the shots are good though and it was fun to watch. I hope to see more in the future. :)

[Kaz]

Damn you guys were fast ... and you each win a Sci Fi box set on me.

I guess I should have announced there were prizes :)


"Now you're singin' my song!"

:Cue Funky Music:

[Norm Sanders]

LOL! I loved that line.

[Beat Takeshi]

I just watched this again...the shot with the little girl in it looking up... thats my favorite shot so far out of the few flicks I have seen. After monday I will be able to sit down and really watch everyones and write some thoughts.
Good job again Jack.


PS. Dude, if we were not so damn busy trying to get everything done for this meeting we have with Nickolodean Tuesday we would be there to help you guys move in. I have been sitting here editing, tweaking, fixing, breaking our promo and show for days straight. Cant wait to meet you guys!!!

[abraham]

Wow. Thank you guys for that, haha...god. Those special efffects must've been pretty fun. You guys knew your limits with the digital stuff and you have some really great props to combine your efforts. The home-grown special effects really translate well to the feel of the movie, and the actors performances do the same. What a voice on the big man.

[EditPhish]

This film was excellent! SO enjoyable and fun, but had a "message" that didn't get lost.

The color was fantastic... and you totally captured that groovy 70's MOD-Squad feel in your shots, color and editing style. The effects were a bit "B rated" but that was FINE as it fit the whole piece well... it didn't take me out of the story, but was PART of the story.

The rear-view mirror shot at the end was awesome... loved the shot and transition out of it...

The only real nitpick I can say is the car scene... the inconsistency (to me) was noticebale with the windows open, then closed, then open. I realize you have to shoot from outside the car somehow, but because we could see the outside of the car it was just too noticeable to have windows open vs. closed in the opposing shots.

Thumbs up... enjoyed your film a lot! Thanks for sharing it!

[kimko]

Well I'l Be Seeing This Soon I Hope Jack My Dialup Sucks

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Ok catching up on a few more -- should be in a hotel tonight with hi-speed (fingers crossed)


Great to watch.
Jack tell me about the tech stuff. Your film looked great!
Lenses? Adapters? Filters? Color Correction?
thanks man -- will do an update of 1st post with details but here's quickie:
Used anamorphic adaptor for wide shots and anything to be green screened
Used lettuce 35 with nikon 50mm for close ups and some mediums
used stock lens for anything I didn't have a focus puller on (SDOF in warehouse fight is fake using layers in FCP)

No filters in camera and very few in post except for the warehouse scene and the ext. car shots. YES all those outdoor shots are raw with CC and tweaking done in camera.

No lights were used - all sunlight and reflector - even the warehouse whitch as there were holes in the ceiling.


BEST TITLE SEQUENCE!!!!!
If there wasw an award for best hand held camera work you would win.Nice and never annoying or trying too hard to be "hand held for that edgy look"
I do a lot of stabilization in post. I have a homade dolly that sucks and I always wind up saying screw it and using my Fig Rig instead for push in or tracking shots -- I long for a good dolly and crane - I do have steadycam which I have yet to learn to use, it was used only for the title sequence in this but I would have loved to use it more.


Very solid work all around.
Wish I had 100 posts.
Kip

thanks man -- sorry it took me so long to respond http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/smiley.gif

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

OK! This is by far my favorite of all the films I've seen (About 75%). I loved the groovy 70s feel to it. Everything worked. The editing was cool, and the shots were perfect. THIS WAS AWESOME! Made me laugh a few times too! Excellent, excellent work. Great acting too! No negative critique here bro. awesome work!
Thanks man -- I have a few negative critiques and I'll post a self critique here in the near future -- but after I've gotten to all the other threads for the great movies I've seen like yours

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

...There are only a handful or less of the entries that really felt like a film to me and this was one of them. The story was a little weak and "seen it before" for me but it was still compelling to watch. Cinematography and the look of what I'm assuming is your Letus35 really helped sell the idea of an actual film.
yeah the cabbage35 :)
I also had some interesting scene settings that I'll try to post soon, but again sage one, I took from you - most of my settings were to optimize sharpness and reduce noise, so I shot with normal gamma as per your F.A.Q. page (to minimize noise) and then tweaked the S curve as needed in post

EDITED TO ADD: Not sure if sharpenss is an issue with all 35mm adpators (will have to ask MacGregor) but it is with Lettuce, and noise is minimal with lettuce but still "additional".




Acting was very good in my opinion and you used the hurricane aftermath footage tastefully.

I think if you stick with this filmmaking thing, you will really go places. For all the talking you do on the board, you have an equal amount of talent to back it up. :)

Nice job.

high praise from you sir, and appreciated http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/wink.gif

[spidey]

I forgot I had a easte egg to I didnt realize i wasnt the only one to do this haha cool JDS.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

cool I'll have to look for it ..

any hints? (but don't say what exactly!)

[spidey]

hmm not much i could say, just look for it. three people will be in a scene.

[MsManhattan]

I've only gotten to watch a few of the films so far as I've been working on a major deadline, but, Jack, this blew me away. From the very first line... I welled up, then I laughed, then I got tense, then I welled up again. Really, really tight story and just a great job overall on the filming, editing, etc. And the actors were really great, totally believable all the way through, not one false move. The alien dude in the warehouse was hilarious, but not overplayed -- just right for the style of the film. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this. Congrats!

[thartley]

I have nothing but good things for this one! I want the VO man to read me to sleep everynight, though! :p The only jolt I had ws the music transition (or lack of) that has already been mentioned.

Very good movie. Looked good, great story, well done all around!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

OK catching up -- in holiday inn with hispeed now -- was going through awful withrdawl, lol


Wow - great opening. The blowback from the blast with the girl on the bike was great. Really grabs you from the beginning.

Cool ... no one's asked how that was done -- I guess people assume it was a matte painting, but that wall is actuallty before and after Katrina. I happened to have a clip of my GF riding her bike in front of that wall before Katrina (old company logo) adte the storm the wall was cracked and there was a pile of rubble so I just tried to match the shots as much as possible ... BUT THEN ... the final sunday that this was due -- A work crew just demolished the thing so I talked them into letting me peel back the saftey barrier and shoot it.

the blowback was a composite of a depth charge and clouds.


I had no trouble with the juxtaposition between the "Mike Hammer" film noire feel and the 70's series feel (I was kinda waiting for a blue Huggy Bear to jump out of the shadows). Given my drothers, I would probably have lost the hand-turning-into-an-anvil gag, but that's just me.

There was one music transition that didn't work for me (i.e. there was no transition, just a jump) where you cut from the car to the arrival at the warehouse.

yeah the music tranistion was just a boo boo in the final mix -- supposda be a "swish" there also supposed to be a flash dissolve with the next swish that goes into the warehouse ... woops!


Other than that, this is a great short (one of my favourites) - I have no idea why more people aren't commenting on it, but give it a little more time. They'll find quality.

Thanks for your efforts.

Well we went up a liitle late so people are slowly finding us.

Glad you enjoyed it - and the seriocomic tone shift is a staple of a lot that I do -- it probably doesn't work as well in this film as other things I've done (plays, and "Shed") because the serious moments are rushed to a degree - as Barry_S alludes in his comment about the ersatz pacing.

thanks again man I will get to your thread a soon as possible now that I have hispeed again http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/smiley.gif

[conrad_johnson]

Very nice - this has to be the best one I've seen thus far and I'm almost through the list. I agree with all the nice things that have been said so far. In particular, the main character (older guy) and all the odds were great. Really great acting has been hard to come by in this festival, as has great writing - I think your main character and dialogue take the cake in both regards. Great work!

[Kaz]

I guess people assume it was a matte painting, but that wall is actuallty before and after Katrina.

I thought that was how you did that, but then I thought, "he's not THAT clever...is he?"

Apparently you are. :) Great job meshing them!

And Dane Rhodes...Is he still around these parts? I gotta get him into a flick before I move.

[EJ Pennypacker]

I thought Dane was excellent. I even punched him into IMDB and was not surprised to see a list of credits.

EJ

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

i just watched it again and liked it even more...now here are a few questions:

1. i loved your CC (especially outdoors) how did you get that look?
I have to post settings soon, but it was basically cranking the chroma to full then cooling it off just a hair in camera to account for the DVX red/magenta shift.

Ideally the sun is behind your actor on an angle and then I used a reflector to get light on the face. it's amazing how much shape and "beauty effect" the bounced light off a $10 piece of foil coated insulation from home depot will give you.

While a lot if this sucker was thrown together - part of any success of the look in the Blue mutant scene is due to the art direction - the mold matches the senior cop's shirt, the orange rust vibrates against the blue mutant's skin, and the blue sky works well with the mutes ties and earth tone colors. I wish I had a better framed shot of the senior detective with the white 70's building in the background with the blue sky and his green shirt ... oh well



2. did you really use the letus35? how does it perform compared to G35 (i know the tech stuff after reading hundreds of threads,while waiting for G35) but all the demos i´ve seen from the letus couldn´t compete with G35, but yours looks way better...
Well I tweaked ny camera settings to compensate for noise and softness (you want the in focus part as soft as possible, but with all that glass in front of the camera theris some softening). I need to check but basically I cranked the sharpness, then used detail coring and normal cinegamma to minimize noise.[/QUOTE]


for some reason i was waiting for closer shots in the car scene (intensity) and that´s the only thing i´d complain about, what do you think?
Well you can't get much closer in 2:35 to 1 aspect -- but I think what you may be reacting to is the fact that the junior detective never opens up to the camera until the "bug up your ass" line (it was the only useable take for various reasons). So you might feel somewhat distanced as we don't see his eyes until quite late in the scene.


again, great job

yj


Thanks -- glad you enjoyed it -- will get some specific settings up soon!

[Barry_Green]

Only watched about half the sci-fest pics so far (flying back and battery died on the laptop) but this one was far and away my favorite so far.

[Ought2bCommitted]

Hey Jack!
Nice to be seeing your work again!

I read through some of your posts because I was curious how you got the look you got, so I'll try not to repeat myself... but you know you're 30 seconds over??? ;-) bastard!

Anyway, I loved the vibe/feel of your film... You had it from the beginning and didn't lose it. Major kudos on sustaining that feel. I really just loved the 70s feel.

I really enjoyed your opening scene and my first thought was you had earlier footage for the before and after since I assumed it was your hood. GREAT use of that footage. Very effective and really nice use of NOLA footage. Not too much of it, just enough. Good call there.

I liked the acting in your piece a lot. Felt spot on almost all the time (the reveal at the end that the one officer is an Odd felt forced, but that was it).

My only real gripe was the effects during the fight at the warehouse. I felt the rest of your effects and scenes felt polished and that one was a little weak. The smoke effect in particular.

I love you humor and enjoy seeing it make its way into your work.

Sensational job, Jack. A great film to be lucky enough to watch. Thanks!

-Robert

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Hey Jack!
Nice to be seeing your work again!

I read through some of your posts because I was curious how you got the look you got, so I'll try not to repeat myself... but you know you're 30 seconds over??? ;-) bastard!
lol -- still trying to go back and get through these in order, but wanted people to know you were joking cuz of something I said in another thread. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/grin.gif

thanks for your comments and I'm glad you liked it -- will respond to rest of them soon -- thanks again man.

[Z B Brox]

Wow. This is amazing work. I'm not enough of a filmmaker (just a wannabe writer, as it says in my profile) to even begin to criticize. The acting was fantastic, the dialogue was wonderfully stylized, the effects and the makeup were all at least as convincing as your average big-budget sci-fi TV show. This is the kind of thing I'd pay to see for two hours. My only issue may be the slight predictability--but given the way you played with existing archetypes that was really a given. Really great stuff.

[Daniel Skubal]

Holy shite! I've been hearing about your film all week and I've FINALLY gotten the chance to see it! I LOVED the story!

Your dialogue was superb. The "But then that thing you thought could never happen; but it goes right ahead and happens anyway"... it just sounded so badass!

Your opening shot had me in awe, and the narration was incredible! What kind of mic did you use and who did your voice over?

The blue man was incredible too! Your dialogue was great for that character. I just loved that whole scene. It set the mood for the film and had a lot of subtle exposition.

I'm going to read over this thread about your cinematography, but it looks like you used a 35mm adapter. It looks great, whichever you used, and if you didn't used one, then I will bow down to you for achieving DOF like that without it. haha

The world you created with this film is probably the most believable and creative in the entire fest. Although it's sort of a quirky 70's crime fighting style film, it worked great with the sci-fi genre. It's fresh, and worked well with your story.

The rearview crossfade was a really nice shot. I'm curious how you did that?

I thought overall, your effects were great. That may have been the only thing that was lacking in your film though. There were a few shots where the effects just didn't blend as well as the others. But I do have to admit that even the not so good effects looked good.

Your story, along with great dialogue, acting, effects and cinematography was one of my very favorites in this contest! Great job man! I hope you've got a lot of extra goodies for the dvd for us to watch :)

Just an incredible job, man. Be proud!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

This one is my favorite so far. We all actually clapped after this one was done.
thanks mam!


"It tickles me sometimes...."

that line was inspired by the first Dirty Harry movie (my principle research for this - even though I diverged from the music - but the mostly day light look, and pallete is what I tried to emmulate)

anyway the line that inspired it was this sequence where harry has just been assigned a new partener who happens to be latino. He and the new partner, Gonzales, go to get another cop, De Georgio, who Harry refers to as Fatso. When we see De Gorgio we know why and Harry says something like "hey fatso, the chief wants to see you" and De Gorgio smiles and informs Harry's new partner that Harry is an equal opportunity hater .. the rest is verbatim:

"De Georgio: Harry hates everybody. Limeys, Niks, Hebs, Fat Dagos, Niggers, Honkies, Chinks, you name it.

Gonzales: How does he feel about Mexicans?

De Georgio: Ask him.

Harry Callahan: Especially Spics."

OK ... I hope that didn't offend anyone, but that's what Harry says and he's just trying to push his new partner's buttons, whom he sees as young and inexperienced and a burden. He looks his new partner right in the eye and gives pretty much the same delivery as Dane for the "it tickles me sometimes" line in that squinty I'm as tough as nails eastwood delivery ... anyway its pretty funny and I asked Dane for that basically. Neither Dane nor clint Eastwoods characters are 100% serious and you see (hopefully) that they have a sense of humor AND are tough enough to eat nails for breakfast.

[Larry Rutledge]

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 enjoyed this one, clever and funny... "It tickles me sometimes" :D That line made me laugh out loud (really laugh out loud, not virtual LOL).

The colors and shooting style fit the piece well, felt like a gritty, 70s crime comedy. I liked that you mixed in some serious moments as well. The FX were really good, the one creature's hand turning into the smashing whatever-it-was looked very smooth.

The acting was pretty good too, although it seemed like there was ADR done or something because it seemed like the voice was not always in sync with the actor.

Great job.

Larry

[g0ldenb0y55]

Great job! Enjoyed it very much. I was totally glued to my screen the whole time. Great look, great dialogue, and cool effects! It's at the top of my list.

[Daniel Skubal]

Man I can't stop watching this one. I love it!

I need to know what kind of mic you had for your voice over. Whatever it is, I am buying it. lol

[John C Lyons]

Excellent work! You managed to compress an interesting and complete storyline into 6 minutes and you did it with flying colors. The dialogue felt very real to me even though there was some crazy stuff going on on screen at times.

I was really impressed with your camerawork here. I really loved the one shot of the little girl at the end, magnifico! You are improving greatly, how have you found the time to practice so much? I was happily shocked by the cinematography.

I will have to read here what tools you used for all the car scenes, but they were well put together and again, shot very good.

The lead with the scruffy voice was a perfect bit of casting. I think his partner didn't seem like a realistic match, but who cares (that kinda odd partnership has been done successfully million of times so who cares, odd, ha ha, get it? har har)

You worked in some effects and humor there and I found both to be funny. I felt some serious Troma vibes there at the end, wasn't expecting that. Not sure if I liked all of it, but damn you pulled a shocker on me.

My parting thoughts would be that this thing just oozed a cool vibe, and that's gonna make it stand out amoungst the others for sure. Dood, keep it up!

[J.R. Hudson]

There are so many nice elements going on in Jack Daniel Stanley's ODD SQUAD I barely know where to begin.

This film is very well thought out and the planning is evident in the final product. The choice of aspect ratio and the comps are wonderful. The second we see a starfield and hear a voice over I'm into this.

The lead was just so perfect it was sick. The score is wonderful, from the spacey score to the bass riffs and of course the 70's horns and 'guitar wow wow'

The lingo, the lines; all of it is perfect. The sound design and score.

Any changes I have are purely budget related; pro titles, pro CGI, pro make-up FX

There are some memorable shots in this piece, the girl of course. I loved the tranny when homeboy looks into the rear view and then it changes...........

You are indeed the real deal jdanstan!

Inspiring work.

[John C Lyons]

OK after posting my review, now I am going back and reading the rest of this thread and ...


THREE: This one isn't fair -- definatley not visible in the windows compression and I'm not sure you can see it on a regular monitor -- but it's John Lyons Hunting Camp DVD, its right next to Barry's Book.
...you kick azz! I am honored to have a little piece in one of JDoodStan's flicks (I totally missed all 3 when I was watching!). Thanks man! :thumbup:

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Darn work got in the way ... otherwise I was hoping to be the first to comment in your thread ... would have been impossible though, since John started it for you! :) Good thing too, since it's already got 13+ posts already!

I've only read the first post (Hudson's) so if I repeat anything, forgive me.

So, I Loved it, with a capital L. Like John said, very cool, hip feel to it. I'm assuming this will be unique in the feel/vibe compared to others. Some of the FX were ABSOLUTELY top shelf as well ... to the point I tried pausing as often as possible the second time through to catch stuff. Really great work, Jack ... you do all that yourself?

The music was perfect ... only complaint would be the transition at about 3 minutes in ... just too quick, and would have preferred something more organic.

Also, as a critique, I noticed the ADR ... specifically when we see the ODDD Squad with the blue alien near the beginning.

Otherwise, great actors, and incredible dialogue/scripting ... by far, for me, that was the strongest aspect, though the whole thing was strong all the way through.

The low gravelly, 40's style detective voice was perfect. Some nice comical stuff too, especially with the lady in the warehouse, reminding me of THE MASK, as her hand turns into this huge anvil.

The co-lead, looked like David Arquette (sp?). Cool.

Many parts brought a smile to my face, and I cared about the characters enough in that short bit of time to hang & wonder if he was going to report the kid or not.

I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to see the extended cut of this. Great job. In my tops list.

thanks -- but there is no extended cut, lol. this was written shot for shot and story boarded pretty much as shown...

actually yeah a few things should just take a little more time as you mentioned, but no new scenes will be added - the DVD version will probably be 6:30 before credits.

here's the boards for scene one followed by the script ... we had to flip the staging left to right on set for the light, but its still pretty close:
http://live-theater.org/SMALLStoryBoardPG1.gif
http://live-theater.org/SMALLStoryBoardPG2.gif
http://live-theater.org/SMALLStoryBoardPG3.gif

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

http://live-theater.org/SMALLStoryBoardPG4.gif

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

here's the script for those shots
http://live-theater.org/BLUE1.png
http://live-theater.org/BLUE2.png
http://live-theater.org/BLUE3.png

[Peter Murphy]

sweeeet, I think this is the best one I've seen so far. Can't say I am surprised though. It was very interesting to watch, it had a great atmosphere, I actually believed in your world and didn't have to try too hard to suspend my disbelief. The story was pretty swell too.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

This film had me smiling from start to finish. It had its own flavor. And what a tasty flavor it was. The 70's exploitation look made it even cooler. It almost had a color-reversal film look in places. And the freeze frames were in just the right spots. One of my favorites so far.
hey man I'm glad you liked it

got the look by cranking the chroma and then cooling it off 2 points top account for dvx magenta shift

thanks man!

[mrpunch]

A picture is worth .... well you know the phrase. And here's the proof: I'm at work, so I can't listen to the sound without causing a stir ... so I watched this for the first time w/o sound. And it pulled me in and kept me there for the entire length. I knew what was going on by the actions, and the acting, and the shot selection. The story was well defined and I had a vested interest in how it was going to turn out. It was a great thing to see! And I mean, SEE. Can't wait to experience it with sound!

[mrpunch]

Oh, yeah! Man, the sound effects and the V.O., music, etc. were awesome! So, the film had more - but not an entirely different - feel to it after watching it w/o sound, then listening w/ sound. Maybe I'll try this technique more often!

One suggestion for the sound - with the headphones on, I had to adjust the volume a few times, as the dialogue (minus the V.O.) was mixed rather low compared to the music.

REALLY enjoyed the acting in this film!

I didn't see anyone ask how you did the readout on the ODD scanner, or tester in the first scene?

[John C Lyons]

A picture is worth .... well you know the phrase. And here's the proof: I'm at work, so I can't listen to the sound without causing a stir ... so I watched this for the first time w/o sound. And it pulled me in and kept me there for the entire length. I knew what was going on by the actions, and the acting, and the shot selection. The story was well defined and I had a vested interest in how it was going to turn out. It was a great thing to see! And I mean, SEE. Can't wait to experience it with sound!

That's an interesting f*kn' idea. I don't have the time to watch them all again (athough I can think of a f*kn' couple I would have preferred to watch w/o sound) but in a weird f*kn'way it's cool you watched this entry like that. Definitely forces you to concentrate on JDoodStan's f*kn' beautiful images.

[EditPhish]

I think that's a neat idea too... and to do so in reverse... watch with ONLY sound... then watch with ONLY picture... can tell a lot about a story.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

OK new system now -- respond to one catch up post for each new post -- or conversation gets stale.



sweeeet, I think this is the best one I've seen so far. Can't say I am surprised though. It was very interesting to watch, it had a great atmosphere, I actually believed in your world and didn't have to try too hard to suspend my disbelief. The story was pretty swell too.

Well big compliment that you didn't have to work too hard to suspend disbelief given that the world was sooooo out there, and not just in terms of departure from reality, but also tone, etc.

THANKS MAN!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

You da man again!!!!

i've only seen about 10 so far. had a late start and don't have time to see that many per day. i was already excited about seeing yours before it even dowloaded. very much worth the wait.

again, i haven't seen that many, but this was definately the very best so far. did you score this thing too?

can't wait for the bts stuff and the dvd version

by the way i'm going to pm you later on some other unrelated stuff.

but again, congrats on another great film.

thanks man -- hopefully I will have time to do some good BTS

didn't do score this time around .... noooo way I coulda done that and all that
compositing for the first time ever

the music was royalty free which I paid to use
main theme
http://www.royalty-free.tv/rmstream.php?Cat=FB00660

theme at end
http://www.royalty-free.tv/rmstream.php?Cat=BS00492

obviously from http://www.royalty-free.tv

the rest was apple loops and from my personal design library

Glad you enjoyed it ... no, you da man!

[Brandon Rice]

Yeah dude, that compositing was awesome! Really really "transparent"!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Great vibe, cool daddy-O!

http://www.stickypod.com/stickypod_upload/uploads/thumb.jpg
thanks shawnhttp://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/thumbup.gif

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/smiley.gif

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I thought this movie was groovy. The scene in the warehouse where they find the coke is very CSI - which is very good in my books.

Nice job!

EJ
thanks EJ

of course you are referring the Euridium - a drug that allows mutants to pass for for human for periods of time

yeah I just figured out how to do some CSI CC while working on this scene allthough I used mostly green where they use yellow and blue

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

LOVED IT, MAN! Well, you didn't disappoint this time around either! Great actors! Great gags! Great music! Nice daylight exterior photography! Seeing this tells me you're no one-trick pony. Versatile, funny, clever, whacko. I'd just LOVE to see what each of us do with a $1 million budget. There are some talented folk around here, and you are definitely near the top of the heap!

Thanks man, means a lot from a real pro like you, gotta get to your thread soon -- oy so much to do!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Oh, yeah! Man, the sound effects and the V.O., music, etc. were awesome! So, the film had more - but not an entirely different - feel to it after watching it w/o sound, then listening w/ sound. Maybe I'll try this technique more often!

One suggestion for the sound - with the headphones on, I had to adjust the volume a few times, as the dialogue (minus the V.O.) was mixed rather low compared to the music.

REALLY enjoyed the acting in this film!

I didn't see anyone ask how you did the readout on the ODD scanner, or tester in the first scene?
cool litmus test to have a fresh audience get the story and vibe from just the images since, well that's the way film supposed to work -- meaning telling the story visually ... so that's greaty to hear.

Also glad you dug it -- and yeah -- this was a tough mix -- generally I try to have most things between - 6 and -12db with explosions etc. at -3 or just under 0.

In this I was trying to get the VO to sound different from the dialogue and wasn't liking the results I was getting with EQ so I may have overdone the VO to dialogue drop. Will work on some more for DVD

Thanks for constructive comments and again glad it worked for you!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Dude, I'm a big fan of zooms in movies, as they get a bad rep. You, you used them. And used them well. Groovy goody gumdrops. Rock on.
ha thanks man

I think if i was doing something very slick I would think twice
but sometimes it just adds something and its better than a static shot
but Dirty Harry was my principle research for this and they had a lot of low budget stuff -- like instead of using a crane to go from high to low ona tall building they just tilted from up the top of the building to the entrance on sticks

[Norm Sanders]

Geez, pad the posts, why don't you Jack! :) You know, I nearly thought about doing that for PANDORA, but haven't .... yet.

Speaking of PANDORA, I'd like to take this time to talk about my film. Yes, on Jack's thread. :)

Now, the idea of PANDORA started out on morning over a bowl of Apple Jacks and ...

Just kidding. I'll quit talking about PANDORA. Rude of me to even mention the name ... PANDORA! ... in this thread.

I am SOOO bored. Can't wait for the results to come out. Jack crowned King ... maybe I can play Jester? :)

[Brandon Rice]

HAHA, you're a funny guy Norm!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Geez, pad the posts, why don't you Jack! :) You know, I nearly thought about doing that for PANDORA, but haven't .... yet.

Speaking of PANDORA, I'd like to take this time to talk about my film. Yes, on Jack's thread. :)

Now, the idea of PANDORA started out on morning over a bowl of Apple Jacks and ...

Just kidding. I'll quit talking about PANDORA. Rude of me to even mention the name ... PANDORA! ... in this thread.

I am SOOO bored. Can't wait for the results to come out. Jack crowned King ... maybe I can play Jester? :)

i think that role must be reserved for Briceman :D

don't know if there's any reason to think that will be the case -- poo poo -- the votings not closed is it? when does voting close?

DUDE! you know I've been moving and doing a part in a movie -- I'm just catching up -- you and Spidey and Briceman have been able to respond to every post but I have let so many posts go rudely unattended...

...And yes my scene was in the Tony Scott movie Deja Vu - And yes it was just me and Denzel Washington one on one in the scene in a bombed out building with an on fire capszied ambulance sticking halfway out of the wall, and yes it was frickin cool and No you didn't ask but I told your ass anyway ! (there's supposed to be a smiley here but you can only have 4 images in your post now ... so imagine smiley)

[Norm Sanders]

His thread needs some humor, especially with how stinkin' serious and art house that film is.

I am just DRIPPING with sarcasm tonight. Ugh, I need to log off soon. Thanks for letting me take up space in your thread, Jack.

Later,
PANDORA ... er, I mean Norm.

[Brandon Rice]

His thread needs some humor, especially with how stinkin' serious and art house that film is.

I am just DRIPPING with sarcasm tonight. Ugh, I need to log off soon. Thanks for letting me take up space in your thread, Jack.

Later,
PANDORA ... er, I mean Norm.

LOL!

[Norm Sanders]

1.) We're limited on the amount of smiley's in a post now?
2.) About you whining about moving. WAH! Do you need me to call the Wambulance now? :) (That's smiley #1)
3.) I knew you were going to be in a flick, but didn't know what and CERTAINLY didn't know you were going to be acting one-on-one with a star! WOW! So did they have you move or anything when he was looking for something under your dead corpse? :) (That's smiley #2)
3.a) Seriously ... you like ACTED against/with him????!!! And I KNOW you?! :) (Smiley #3 -- getting close to limit).
4.) This is where I run out of things to say, but I felt like I needed a fourth point. ... :) (oh, and smiley #4)
5.) THIS IS SMILEY #5 ... let's see if it showed. EDIT: Wow, yep, won't even let you post. *to self - Why didn't I believe him?*

[Norm Sanders]

Personally, I liked this film.
At first, as in from the start, it really grips us.
Not like some others that take forever go get to the story.
Do you know what I mean?
Of course you do.
Really a great flick to watch!
A must see!

[J.R. Hudson]

Jack Daniel is a baaaaaaad muthaaaaa - shut your mouth !

[Brandon Rice]

HAHA! That's why we do it, we love ya Jack, you're the man!:cool:

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

lol, John

hey Norm you better hope people are subscribed to this thread are also subscribed to your thread so they know I'm tossing the gag back at you after each post other wise ... you'd look like a big ass hat :)

[Norm Sanders]

Yeah, I guess I would ... but since you just spelled it out for them, should be cool. Thanks, just in case. :)

Hopefully people know me well enough to know I'd never do that but in jest.

[Brandon Rice]

I think people know you well enough... haha!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

you mean so that they would think he's an asshat anyway?

OK you can get the last word in after this Norm but we've got to stop :) -- sorry to any subscribers who expected discussion here actually pretaining to ODD SQUAd but we were having too much fun

logging off

Good Night America.

[Brandon Rice]

Night Jack.

[Norm Sanders]

'Night John Boy.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Very nice - this has to be the best one I've seen thus far and I'm almost through the list. I agree with all the nice things that have been said so far. In particular, the main character (older guy) and all the odds were great. Really great acting has been hard to come by in this festival, as has great writing - I think your main character and dialogue take the cake in both regards. Great work!

thanks conrad -- the older Guy is DANE RHODES and he's a great guy in addition to being a great actor, look him up on IMDB though.

You can also see him in A Love Song for Bobby Long with John Travolta and Scarlet Johansen -- I hear that the movie is just OK but that the performances are good + Dane has a scene with Scarlet Johansen.

Thanks again and sorry it took so long tp respond :)

[a2zproductions]

Where can I see this film?

Can't find a link anywhere...
Adrian

[Brandon Rice]

Download individual films here http://www.hvx200.com/scifest/

[a2zproductions]

Download individual films here http://www.hvx200.com/scifest/

Sorry, broken link. Could not find hvx200....

Maybe they changed addresses.

?
Adrian

[Norm Sanders]

http://64.38.14.46/scifest/

BTW, Jack, you may have stated it, but how did you do that Anvil FX?

[conrad_johnson]

thanks conrad -- the older Guy is DANE RHODES and he's a great guy in addition to being a great actor, look him up on IMDB though.

You can also see him in A Love Song for Bobby Long with John Travolta and Scarlet Johansen -- I hear that the movie is just OK but that the performances are good + Dane has a scene with Scarlet Johansen.




I haven't seen it - will have to check it out. He was really great. I'll bet he blew Scarlet Johansen away. I just saw Match Point tonight. Eeeeh...She's a little flat. And I'm obviously not referring to her chest.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Sorry, broken link. Could not find hvx200....

Maybe they changed addresses.

?
Adrian
http://64.38.14.46/scifest/jdanstan-JackStanley-Theoddsquad.wmv

yeah -- right click download on the above

sorry you had trouble finding it :thumbsup:

[kimko]

well jack it was good .i liked the actor he drew me in but the dialogue didn't do it for me and the a odds were a too colrful, i would have liked to see them in drab grey colorless faces to offset the mood of the cops and regular people wearing their colors. it was too comical and it took away the lead cops comical dryness to which i liked, good writing on his character. nicely shot

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I finally got back to this and watched it a couple of times. This is really good. Where'd you get that 70s cop show music? http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/beer.gif You had some great pictures, especially the outdoors stuff. I also loved the shot in the car. They were excellent. Perhaps you could talk a little about how you got them and if you used any special equipment.

This was a kick ass video. Dane Rhodes is a hell of an actor. I love his accent, too. The voice over worked great.

sorry just getting to this ... glad you liked it

shot in the car was done with the stickypod and a century wide angle lens for teh establishing shot -- gonna see if I can blow that shot up a little so the car ext is not visible in the shot

inside I put window tint on the outside of all windows in the shot and left off all windows not in the shot -- so as much light bouncing around as possible without overexposeing the ext and under exopsing the int.

for closeups it was stock lens hand held, although to get the shots of the younger cop I had to hold the camera upside down so the LCD viewer would be on the right side of the camer rather than right, so I could get the camera further to my left / infront of the actor as I was really packed in there between he and the driving actor - then flipped the image in post

thanks man!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

loved your soundtrack! at first I thought the older dective was John "spud" McConnell from WWL, he sounds just like him! very playful comic book like feel. Good Job.

your moving?? that sucks, N.O. losing another talented person.
yeah wish I wasn't :crybaby: Brooklyn here I come though :kali:

[iSTy]

Is this going to be a regular series? I liked this.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Jack,

NY will never be the same again.

I really thought yours was a fun film to watch.
I especially thought the editing was right on
the money (not that we should have expected
anything less from you.)

You had a strong concept that translated well.
The locations were top notch.
Good casting on your part...
especially for the role of the senior detective.

The younger cop had a strong resemblance to
someone that I couldn't quite place...
Now I'm thinking it's an older version of
Spencer Treat Clark (Lucius from Gladiator.)

He just played Sean Penns son in the All the Kings Men (think spicolli vintage) he gets christian bale on occasion too.


[QUOTE=CallaghanFilms]For me, the phenomenal opening scene was the
strongest, and the establising VO dialog really
opened the door to the "odd " world that you created.


Cheershttp://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/beer.gifJack on a job well done.

Glad it worked well for you!

DAMNIT -- I HAVE TO GET IN A UHAUL AND DRIVE ANOTHER 15 HOURS TODAY -- SO I MIGHT NOT GET TO YOUR THREAD .... GRRRR

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

After Shed, I was really looking forward to Jack's Sci-Fest entry and I wasn't disappointed. This is a fun little film that actually has a coherent story line. It's pure comic book, and for the most part it works. Overall, the acting is excellent except that there parts of the younger actor's dialogue in the car that I couldn't understand very well. I'm sorry we don't have an award for makeup, because the makeup job on the Odds is just effin' fantastic. If I have one issue, it's that the pacing seems jerky in some spots. Probably the result of trying to shoehorn the story into 6 minutes. The story was very clear, so you didn't need to show the tickets or the briefcase cutaway at the end--we know what happened. Jack--you've got entertainment DNA.
thanks man that means a lot from you -- sorry I'm just getting to this!:dankk2:

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I just watched this again...the shot with the little girl in it looking up... thats my favorite shot so far out of the few flicks I have seen. After monday I will be able to sit down and really watch everyones and write some thoughts.
Good job again Jack.


PS. Dude, if we were not so damn busy trying to get everything done for this meeting we have with Nickolodean Tuesday we would be there to help you guys move in. I have been sitting here editing, tweaking, fixing, breaking our promo and show for days straight. Cant wait to meet you guys!!!
glad you liked it man -- we'll be in Brooklyn minana but we got movers hired dog -- no worries -- still haven't seen yours!!! -- tonight tonight then vote

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Wow. Thank you guys for that, haha...god. Those special efffects must've been pretty fun. You guys knew your limits with the digital stuff and you have some really great props to combine your efforts. The home-grown special effects really translate well to the feel of the movie, and the actors performances do the same. What a voice on the big man.
thanks guys -- yeah Dane has a great instrument so to speak

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

This film was excellent! SO enjoyable and fun, but had a "message" that didn't get lost.

The color was fantastic... and you totally captured that groovy 70's MOD-Squad feel in your shots, color and editing style. The effects were a bit "B rated" but that was FINE as it fit the whole piece well... it didn't take me out of the story, but was PART of the story.

The rear-view mirror shot at the end was awesome... loved the shot and transition out of it...

The only real nitpick I can say is the car scene... the inconsistency (to me) was noticebale with the windows open, then closed, then open. I realize you have to shoot from outside the car somehow, but because we could see the outside of the car it was just too noticeable to have windows open vs. closed in the opposing shots.

Thumbs up... enjoyed your film a lot! Thanks for sharing it!

yeah --- I think I'm gonna try blowing that establishing car interior shot up a lttle to see if I can crop the frame of the car out and still have a decent shot.

Thanks for teh kudos and constructive comments!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I've only gotten to watch a few of the films so far as I've been working on a major deadline, but, Jack, this blew me away. From the very first line... I welled up, then I laughed, then I got tense, then I welled up again. Really, really tight story and just a great job overall on the filming, editing, etc. And the actors were really great, totally believable all the way through, not one false move. The alien dude in the warehouse was hilarious, but not overplayed -- just right for the style of the film. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this. Congrats!
As I try to do a final catchup before i get in the uhual for god knows how long today -- I'm feeling so guilty that I haven't seen yours and Aram's - you know what tight driving schedule be damned - I'm gonna watch it right now if I can pick it off the old link ...

thanks for your support guys!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I have nothing but good things for this one! I want the VO man to read me to sleep everynight, though! :p The only jolt I had ws the music transition (or lack of) that has already been mentioned.

Very good movie. Looked good, great story, well done all around!
Really glad you liked it ... I'm sure Dane would gladly oblige (wink wink)

anmd yeah the transition was a deadline induced boo boo -- fixed now :)

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Hey Jack!
Nice to be seeing your work again!

I read through some of your posts because I was curious how you got the look you got, so I'll try not to repeat myself... but you know you're 30 seconds over??? ;-) bastard!
inside joke follks


Anyway, I loved the vibe/feel of your film... You had it from the beginning and didn't lose it. Major kudos on sustaining that feel. I really just loved the 70s feel.

I really enjoyed your opening scene and my first thought was you had earlier footage for the before and after since I assumed it was your hood. GREAT use of that footage. Very effective and really nice use of NOLA footage. Not too much of it, just enough. Good call there.

I liked the acting in your piece a lot. Felt spot on almost all the time (the reveal at the end that the one officer is an Odd felt forced, but that was it).

My only real gripe was the effects during the fight at the warehouse. I felt the rest of your effects and scenes felt polished and that one was a little weak. The smoke effect in particular.

yeah none of them are WETA qulaity -- are you talking about the gun smoke here? 'cuz I was using civil war muzzle flares -- I figured since it was sci fi the guns could have any sort of phyics that I wanted so I choose lots of exagerated smoke ... was that what especially didn't work for you you? any quick fixes for the DVD? its easy to make things brighter, darker, bigger, smaller, noisier, more opaque, less opaque, etc.


I love you humor and enjoy seeing it make its way into your work.

Sensational job, Jack. A great film to be lucky enough to watch. Thanks!

-Robert

thanks - really glad youl liked it!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Wow. This is amazing work. I'm not enough of a filmmaker (just a wannabe writer, as it says in my profile) to even begin to criticize. The acting was fantastic, the dialogue was wonderfully stylized, the effects and the makeup were all at least as convincing as your average big-budget sci-fi TV show. This is the kind of thing I'd pay to see for two hours. My only issue may be the slight predictability--but given the way you played with existing archetypes that was really a given. Really great stuff.


if I ever have a feature -- you go free -- thanks a ton!

jack

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Only watched about half the sci-fest pics so far (flying back and battery died on the laptop) but this one was far and away my favorite so far.
kick ass man -- glad you dug it!

[Z B Brox]

I'm gonna hold you to that offer. I want an invite to the premiere, man ;)

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I'm gonna hold you to that offer. I want an invite to the premiere, man ;)
limo reserved!

er ... for a hypothetical date :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

[Steve Strickland]

Jack, once again a fine job. I've watched "Odd Squad" several times now, and it just keeps getting better. Your direction is top notch. I honestly wasn't sold on the younger "cop" in the beginning, but as the movie hit its stride, I was won over. I LOVED the over the top camp. Complete, engaging, and fun as hell. On a whole, "Odd Squad" may be my favorite of the contest. Sorry, as always, I don't have a credible critique. Just a bunch of congratulatory babble...

[Captain KickAss]

This film was awesome. I loved the comic book/70s cop style that you achieved. The acting was great, the score was incredible, and as a whole, this was probably the best complete film in the competition.

There may be one or two other films that rank with me as high as this one, but this one takes the cake for films that had a definitive beginning, middle, and end.

Your story was great, and very creative. I have seen this film many times, and each time gets a little better than the time before.

AWESOME!

[ecking]

From 0:01 I loved every freaking thing I saw! It had that sick ass 70's vibe I love so much, even cc led to that! Even had the zoom from back before zooms went out of style! I love it, I'm gonna watch it again right now. Pure 10's across the board, if the 70's were to make a sci-fi short in this day and age this would be it!

Please tell me EVERY detail about this! I usually don't read 14 pages worth of posts but I'm gonna read this one all the way through once I watch this again.

The only thing that could have been a bit better was the kid's acting, but other than that, spot on man spot on!

You'd better crank your length game up and make a feature!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

richie,
captain,
ecking,

really glad you guys dug this and thanks for dropping by to say so

:dankk2:

ecking if you have any questions not covered in the thread - let me know

still gotta post precise camera settings

THANKS AGAIN ALL

if I skipped your post just now I'll try to get to it tonight :)

Jack

[sd006]

A very nice short; well done! :)

[Ramon Boutviseth]

hey.. Just saw your film, another well made entry. It has a retro Men in black thing going on well, it was entertaining. There are some spots where his "partner", the younger guy wasn't very convincing. I guess its because the main guy played the generic badass detective very well and made his partner seem like the guy whos just along for the ride. I found the story to be predictable halfway but it was still interesting to see everything fall into place. Everything fits well. Nice sfx& makeup. I can't vote cuz I dont got excel but ...good job and good luck!

[iSTy]

I thought the young guy was convincing and acted rather well, in fact they all did, still didn't like the acting right at the very beginning though. The rest of it was very good.

I think I said previously that I thought I was actually watching a series.

[sd006]

doesn't OpenOffice support xls?

[Brandon Rice]

Yes, it does.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

After Shed, I was really looking forward to Jack's Sci-Fest entry and I wasn't disappointed. This is a fun little film that actually has a coherent story line.
ah cool, glad you liked it man


It's pure comic book, and for the most part it works. Overall, the acting is excellent except that there parts of the younger actor's dialogue in the car that I couldn't understand very well. I'm sorry we don't have an award for makeup, because the makeup job on the Odds is just effin' fantastic. If I have one issue, it's that the pacing seems jerky in some spots. Probably the result of trying to shoehorn the story into 6 minutes.
yes you are right on. there were several moments I would have liked to take more time with


The story was very clear, so you didn't need to show the tickets or the briefcase cutaway at the end--we know what happened. Jack--you've got entertainment DNA.

lol, thanks

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I thought the young guy was convincing and acted rather well, in fact they all did, still didn't like the acting right at the very beginning though. The rest of it was very good.

I think I said previously that I thought I was actually watching a series.

haha --

it might be a fun series -- might be hard to keep the storylines fresh without going over the top all the time -- maybe a featurelength or like a made for scifi channel movie

but I did handle it like a series - the opening title was inspired by "the shield" where they just slam you with the logo real quick

again, glad it worked for you:thumbsup:

[arielman]

Jack ..I think you topped the SHED with this one .
Just watched it not long ago .
Loved it !
Ian

[krestofre]

I just wanted to chime in here and say that this film was outstanding. You impressed me with Shed and you blew me away with Odd Squad. Loved it. Your main actor was spot on!

[spidey]

congrats Jdanstan and to your team~!

[dakotapod]

:beer: Hat's off guys. This was great!!

Way 2 go!

[EditPhish]

Congrats on 2nd place! Way to go! :happy:

[Brandon Rice]

Yep, you rock Jack!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

lol, thanks guys

whew finally in our new place in Brooklyn -- BOXES everywhere ... now to finish that DVD cut :)

[Cinestarproductions]

Where to begin on this piece of art. Great job. Love the effects! The hand into the sledgehammer thing was a nice touch. I thought the actor playing the partner seemed a little young for the role. Storyline was interesting. Loved the make-up on the blue man at the beginning. Can't wait to see what's next.

[badassmofro]

Very cool film. The style really reminded me of films from when I was growing up in the 70s. Total awesomeness. Congratulations!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

thanks evrybody!!!

it's been a blast :thumbup:

[tributary]

I had to come looking for the movie, as I worked on it and I wanted to see how it came together. JDan, it looked beautiful! So many of those scenes which were so torturous to shoot came out just awesome. I was very excited.

If you have the chance to work with JDan, do so. Guy's got vision. He knows just what he wants from a scene and works until he gets it. Only trouble is, sometimes this takes a little longer than anticipated, and the Earth moves. This is a normal occurance, of course, but it changes the angle of the incident sunlight, which is a drag when you're lighting everything by sunlight alone. ;)

Took me a week to get the horrible smell of that warehouse out of my jeans, though.

[EJ Pennypacker]

Congrats on the placing - and G-luck with the move!

EJ

[StMad]

This short oozed quality. A pleasure to watch and had a smile on my face most of the way. The only thing that pulled me out briefly (as others have mentioned) was a bit of the ADR. We were outside but it sounded like we were inside.

Great job overall - you've got a bright bright future.

[Beat Takeshi]

Jack your PM is full. I cant send you the info!!!

[Ought2bCommitted]

Hey Jack-

So how about those camera settings? :furious3:

Hope your move went smoothly. Hope to see you this weekend?

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

yeah I'll see you there dood

I'll hook you up with those settings next couple of days -- gotta writting deadline and I'd have to get out the camera, transcaribe the scene settings, whine, whine, whine.

[Ought2bCommitted]

yeah I'll see you there dood

I'll hook you up with those settings next couple of days -- gotta writting deadline and I'd have to get out the camera, transcaribe the scene settings, whine, whine, whine.

want some cheese with that whine?

take your time! no rush! if you get to it, you can just get it to me on Sunday.

Thanks!

-Robert

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

want some cheese with that whine?

take your time! no rush! if you get to it, you can just get it to me on Sunday.

Thanks!

-Robert

I want you to get me a waahhhmbulance.

[Ought2bCommitted]

LMAO. I'll see what I can do.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Hey Jack-

So how about those camera settings? :furious3:
.....

here ya go dude!

ODD SQUAD
LENSES
1. Anamorphic for establishing, soak up the set shots, and green screen shots.
2. Letus 35mm adaptor with a Nikkor 50mm f1.4 lens for close ups and mediums – basically any time I could
3. Century Wide angle for the 2 shot in the car.
4. Stock lens for moving guerilla shots with no focus puller.

SETTINGS

DETAIL LEVEL +7 (cranked to compensate for Letus softening)
V DETAIL LEVEL +7 (cranked to compensate for Letus softening)
DETAIL CORING +5 (high to minimize noise caused by Letus and sharpening, not full so as not to soften image further)
CHROMA LEVEL +7 (to get as much info in camera, and adding saturation in post can add noise, whereas you can always de-saturate easily)
CHROMA PHASE 0
COLOR TEMP +2 (to offset the magenta shift that is more prevalent with chroma cranked)
MASTER PED -12
A. IRIS LEVEL -3 (low to keep gain down and minimize noise)
GAMMA CINE-LIKE (lowest noise setting to offset Letus and sharpening)
KNEE MID
MATRIX NORM (lowest noise setting to offset Letus and sharpening)
SKIN TONE DTL ON (hoping it would help with noise)
V DETAIL FREQ THIN (sharpness)
Progressive 24p ADVANCED
Was gonna back the detail off for non Letus shots but it was just too crazy on the first day of shooting so I shot stock lens stuff with these settings too and just kept them no matter what lens I used.

SHED
LENSES
Entirely shot with the Anamorphic Adaptor except for the shot of the Mom and Daughter walking away from the shed.

I was pretty happy with these settings except that the camera was very warm with the chroma cranked even when correctly white balanced.

Also with the Thin Line Setting and the Anamorphic, we got some dancing lines in the herringbone blazer.

SETTINGS

DETAIL LEVEL -5
V DETAIL LEVEL -2
DETAIL CORING +3
CHROMA LEVEL +5
CHROMA PHASE 0
COLOR TEMP 0
MASTER PED -12
A. IRIS LEVEL -4
GAMMA CINE-LIKE V
MATRIX ENRICHED
SKIN TONE DTL ON
V DETAIL FREQ THIN
Progressive 24p ADVANCED

[Norm Sanders]

Jack, some questions:

First, why didn't you just program the different scene settings in advance for the lens you'd be using? Then you could just switch to Scene 4, Scene File Setting 5, etc.

Master Pedestal to -12 ... what does that tend to look like vs. having it set to +12, etc. I thought having the pedestal in the negative REALLY crushes the blacks?

A. Iris Level -3 ... I guess I'm backwards or confused on this. Is that stepping the light down, or opening it up further? If you're saying less noise, then I'm assuming it's opening up the camera further ... yet does not act like a gain & induce noise?

Gamma CINE LIKE - I would think Normal would be the least noisiest, but it's not? Is this from Barry's or someone else's instructions or actual results you've tested?

Skin Detail On - I would also select this, but not from a reduced noise stand vs. just hoping that it would help bring out that much more detail from an already softened picture because of the adapter. Have you tested with it on and off to see if there's a difference?

Sorry for all the Q's, but appreciate you posting these! Just want to understand some of the why's a little better.

[Brandon Rice]

I am also wondering why I don't have all of these settings, like detail coring... what's that? I cannot find that setting in my camera.

[Norm Sanders]

Brandon, go into your Scene File settings, and that's where you'll adjust it ... top choice in the main menu, I believe.

Just make sure you go to the VERY end of that menu after your adjustments, so you can save & overwrite the scene file setting ... otherwise, once you turn your camera off & on, it's all reset back to what you had it before.

[Brandon Rice]

Brandon, go into your Scene File settings, and that's where you'll adjust it ... top choice in the main menu, I believe.

Just make sure you go to the VERY end of that menu after your adjustments, so you can save & overwrite the scene file setting ... otherwise, once you turn your camera off & on, it's all reset back to what you had it before.

Ok, I'll look again tomorrow. I know where all the settings are, but I could swear I don't have all the ones listed here available to me.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Jack, some questions:

First, why didn't you just program the different scene settings in advance for the lens you'd be using? Then you could just switch to Scene 4, Scene File Setting 5, etc.
Like I said the first day was so crazy and I just didn't have time to think about it. The day before, my GF totalled our van/grip truck and thay blew 16 hours of the day and I still had props to build and paint. So I didn't get to set down with barry's book and DVD / or look up my settings for Shed and see what setting I used for the Ananmorphic.

So since I already shot on anamorphic and stock on day one, I just kept the settings uniform. One of the actors was 4 hours late to set due to make up and it was just crazy and we barely got it in before we lost the light.

Of course it would have been best to program f5 for the ananmorphic and f4 for the stock and use f6 for the letus ... so just error.


Master Pedestal to -12 ... what does that tend to look like vs. having it set to +12, etc. I thought having the pedestal in the negative REALLY crushes the blacks? this should be a sticky everywhere or be a banner somewhere
http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/MP/
Notice I shot both Shed and ODD Squad this way. Did you watch my BTS on SHED?
The lights are very bright but the image on the tape is dark and conytrasty. Master Ped along with gamma curves done in post is how this is achieved. NBC shooter said dropping the master ped that much was a revalation to him after watching the BTS for Shed. Basically it gives you a very contrasty image that to me is more filmic and more asthetically pleasing, and as you can see in ODD Squad there is plenty of details in the shadows. Disjecta shoots with his down to -5 or -6 I think.

So it increases contrats without adding noise like some S curve gamma tweaking can.


A. Iris Level -3 ... I guess I'm backwards or confused on this. Is that stepping the light down, or opening it up further? If you're saying less noise, then I'm assuming it's opening up the camera further ... yet does not act like a gain & induce noise?
My logic was a little flawed on this one in retrospect. Yes it stops down, in fact when you use Cine Like gamma it defaults to -3 to under expose slightly since there is no blowout protection in CINE LIKE.

But my thinking was that it allows the camera to accept lower light without engaging any sort of autogain or anything. But its sort of irrelevant because I rarely use the auto iris.

But you are right, for a scene that should be open the auto iris would instead be at llike f.3 so it would be darker, but then you can manually pop it up.

I think the camera just auto set it to -3 since I used CINE LIKE and I thought I set it that way to keep the gain from coming on, but I was confused 2 months after the fact when I was writing the settings down.


Gamma CINE LIKE - I would think Normal would be the least noisiest, but it's not? Is this from Barry's or someone else's instructions or actual results you've tested?
For the MATRIX yes -- NORM is the least noise inducing.
FOr the GAMMA however only CINE-LIKE D is known to add noise and CINE LIKE give the most range from the darkest dark to the brightest bright as per barry's book.

This is from disjecta's FAQ on his webpage
"I changed [the Matrix] to NORM and made sure gamma was set to Cine-Like (not D or V) and the noise level during low light shooting is drastically reduced."



Skin Detail On - I would also select this, but not from a reduced noise stand vs. just hoping that it would help bring out that much more detail from an already softened picture because of the adapter. Have you tested with it on and off to see if there's a difference?
Skin detail ON does not enhance "detail" in the skin, on the contrary it applies a slight blur to anythying it percieves as skin tones to smooth out wrinkles and such.


Sorry for all the Q's, but appreciate you posting these! Just want to understand some of the why's a little better.

[Daniel Skubal]

I've got a question, you said you shot with the me66/k6 mic. Did you shoot with roll off on or off? (that red slider switch on your mic). I've been shooting with it on, but that's how it was when I got it and never attempted to turn it off. It actually sounds better with it off.

[Brandon Rice]

Ok... all I've got settings wise is

Detail Level: +1
Chroma Level: +3
Chroma Phase: 0
Color Temp: 0
Master Ped: -6
A. Iris Level: 0
Gamma: Cine-Like
Skin Tone DTL: Off
Matrix: Norm
V Detail Freq: Thick

No detail coring setting here. What's the deal? By the way, I am trying to get the best settings for the upcoming kid's show we're shooting in two days. I'll be shooting it 30P.

[Alex DePew]

I read (looked at the pretty pictures since there were like 8 words in Jarred's article) the master pedestal article and was confused as to the two columns. They reference a setup of 0 and 7.5. I'm sure it is something simple but I don't know what they mean. Enlighten me please.:dankk2:

Quoted from Jarred
"yes Leigh, although it doesnt really matter, everyone that knows anything will recommend you shoot DV with 0 setup. Then adjust your master ped to whatever you want."

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I've got a question, you said you shot with the me66/k6 mic. Did you shoot with roll off on or off? (that red slider switch on your mic). I've been shooting with it on, but that's how it was when I got it and never attempted to turn it off. It actually sounds better with it off.

It should always be off unless you are in windy situation or maybe on a car with a rumbly egine or something.

That roll off switch just rolls frequencies off at the low end of the spectrum. It cuts frequencies that don't overlap human speech or do so minimally, but are at the heart of wind thump and some other basey noise.

So yeah to get the full frequency response always use it set to off.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Ok... all I've got settings wise is

Detail Level: +1
Chroma Level: +3
Chroma Phase: 0
Color Temp: 0
Master Ped: -6
A. Iris Level: 0
Gamma: Cine-Like
Skin Tone DTL: Off
Matrix: Norm
V Detail Freq: Thick

No detail coring setting here. What's the deal? By the way, I am trying to get the best settings for the upcoming kid's show we're shooting in two days. I'll be shooting it 30P.

It's because you have the 100, not the "A".

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I read (looked at the pretty pictures since there were like 8 words in Jarred's article) the master pedestal article and was confused as to the two columns. They reference a setup of 0 and 7.5. I'm sure it is something simple but I don't know what they mean. Enlighten me please.:dankk2:

Quoted from Jarred
"yes Leigh, although it doesnt really matter, everyone that knows anything will recommend you shoot DV with 0 setup. Then adjust your master ped to whatever you want."

The set up refers to the absolute black level. The rest of the world uses a setup of Zero (superblack) and North America NTSC uses 7.5 (black) The setup of 7.5 sometimes called "The Pedistal" and then can be manipulated via teh Master Ped or Master pedestal.

And what Jarred said is right -- the setup really ony applied to ananlog equipment and gets some extra play in at the dark end of the scale because its a cheat -- it boosts what's percieved as black. But shooting digital you should always use the full range which is a setup of 0.

So you can forget about the setup and what it means -- just set it to 0 then play with your Master Ped.

[Alex DePew]

The set up refers to the absolute black level. The rest of the world uses a setup of Zero (superblack) and North America NTSC uses 7.5 (black) The setup of 7.5 sometimes called "The Pedistal" and then can be manipulated via teh Master Ped or Master pedestal.

And what Jarred said is right -- the setup really ony applied to ananlog equipment and gets some extra play in at the dark end of the scale because its a cheat -- it boosts what's percieved as black. But shooting digital you should always use the full range which is a setup of 0.

So you can forget about the setup and what it means -- just set it to 0 then play with your Master Ped.

Thanks Jack. I'm pretty sure the default on the 100B is set to 0, so I should be fine.

[Brandon Rice]

It's because you have the 100, not the "A".

I see... thanks for clearing that up.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

If you are in the NYC area ...

"ODD Squad" will screen in the Falcon Film Fiesta at the East Village Pioneer Theater in Manhattan this Sunday at 6:30pm!

I think you can find all the info you need here:
http://shootingpeople.org/calendar/index.php?mode=detail&event=3033&day=2006-07-09&event_type=single

It's 9$/adults & $6.50 for students & Seniors. There's about an hour and twenty minutes of programming over 8 shorts. ODD Squad will screen in the 1st half hour. And again, it all starts at 6:30.

No plans for drinks or whatnot before or after yet but message me if you are interested. (really ... anyone .... anyone ... Beuller?)

And I know everyone always says this but it's true - space is limited and this thing always sells out ... So follow the link above to get your tickets beforehand.

Hope to see some of the NY/NJ DVXusers there.

Best,

Jack

[Larry Rutledge]

That would be awesome, I wish I was on your side of the country Sunday. Good luck on the screening :thumbsup: http://www.nrestudios.com/images/smilies/emote_woo.gif