RF EYE-D -- Aram Bauman and MsManhattan

[MsManhattan]

http://www.puffinfilms.com/HeroFest/RFIDbanner.jpg

Here's mine and Aram Bauman's film. We hope you enjoy it!
http://www.nrestudios.com/hero_mirro...tan_RFeyeD.mp4 (http://www.nrestudios.com/hero_mirror/smallerAram_N_MsManhattan_RFeyeD.mp4)

CREDITS
Executive Producer: Aram Bauman
Producer: Leslie Jaye Goff
Directed by Leslie Jaye Goff and Aram Bauman
Cinematography by Aram Bauman
Screenplay by Leslie Jaye Goff
Editing/fX/Post-Production: Aram Bauman
Original Music by Stephanie Pray
Additional Music by Justin Durban

CAST (in order of appearance)
Katrina Ricca
Aisha Ricca
Adina Bauman
Rich Paul
Ken Kecevar
Olivia Bauman
Steven Boling
Irma-Estel LaGuerre
Keston Paul

CREW
Second Camera: Steven Boling
First Assistant DIrector: Adina "Who's the Boss of You Now?" Bauman
Production ASsistant: Jessie Baum

Special thanks to Aram who worked tirelessly to complete the special effects, compositing, etc., in a mere three weeks.

[capitalP]

I saw this and the fx on there was amazing... would love to get a behind the scenes DVD. Great work guys.

[Aaron Marshall]

First impression: Wheeow! Those special fx looked incredible. I'll post a more in-depth review later when I'm on my main workstation. Right now I'm just doing preliminary views on all the films and getting them all downloaded.

[OmaR]

maybe I'm going out of my mind but... where are the links to the shorts?

[MsManhattan]

Omar, the link is http://www.dvxuser2.com/herofest/.

It was originally posted in the "uploaded" thread in the HeroFest forum.

[OmaR]

Omar, the link is http://www.dvxuser2.com/herofest/.

It was originally posted in the "uploaded" thread in the HeroFest forum.

thank you:2vrolijk_08:

[mrpunch]

Great SFX! But for me, they didn't match / or become part of the movie - the style was so different than the other scenes. Some of the SFX reminded me of a Nike commercial. (not that there's anything wrong with being compared to a network quality commercial!)

Regardless - the concept is great. The society that is depicted comes across well. And there's some great camera work!

[Beat Takeshi]

Hey Mr punch, thanks for viewing. The 3 different types of visuals were because 2 of the scene were flashbacks. The shopping scene was a more closer to the real time flash back and the mother and son scene was much further back in time. The sound effect and flash between each of those scenes was supposed to give the idea of a flashback.

Im glad you were able to get the society thing because that was the hardest part in such a short time.

[Brandon Rice]

Ok.... this film is awesome!!! I love the anime influences and feel of this flick... I sense a deeper meaning to the storyline, and felt it was very organic. Loved it!

[snodart]

Great job. As stated FX are great. I know that had to take some time. The best FX is the scene shown in your banner.

I like the way you introduced the world. You made good use of your surroundings. I do wish the world (supermarket, etc) more closely matched the feel (art direction) of the other shots, but I know that take more $$ and time.

Overall great job!

[Mike McNeese]

You should be proud of the FX work...it pops. But, maybe it pops too much. Still, this is one of the stand outs.

[capitalP]

I do wish the world (supermarket, etc) more closely matched the feel (art direction) of the other shots, but I know that take more $$ and time.

Overall great job!

So true! but that Action sequence bumped up the production quality alot if you ask me. Just imagine what they could of done with a decent budget... I say don't stop there... expand the story, get funding and stretch this bad-boy.

[Beat Takeshi]

Oh we have been talking about remaking the story with everything it needs. We are going to start on rewriting the script after MsManhattan finishes her script for a project she has. Then I can build the worlds like a see them in my head.

[dvxnerd]

Aram and Leslie,

You guys did an awesome job. Great visuals and the music by Stephanie and Justin was nice.

Adam

[Kholi]

Man I wish I could download this. Can't wait for the new links to jump back up.

[JimtheJib]

i watched your film again and i can't get over the quality of the FX. many times fx hinder stories but in this case they worked perfectly and even seemed plausible. Very well done over all! Great concept.

Alex

[Kholi]

Yeah pretty good go at the special effects, guys n gal.

Looks like you had fun.

[Matt Sconce]

I liked this. I loved the marks rising from the city.

[MsManhattan]

Hey, everyone, thanks for all the props. We really appreciate it! I have to say, I wasn't initially too enthused about doing a superhero flick, but once I found a way to weave one of my technological obsessions into it, then I got into it. And Aram had the whole fight scene imagined in his head before I could even finish the script. Da boy has some skillz with the fX -- you should see the difference between the raw footage with the green screen and the finished product.

[Brandon Rice]

Screenplay: A bit confusing but I got it at the end. Cool underlying message too.

Acting: Pretty good, not too much acting was required as this was a more visual film.

Cinematography: Really awesome, all the green screen stuff turned out very great.

Score: Not the best, but it fit the piece, some places it seemed repetitive

Overall: The cinematography combined with the really great effects make this film a winner for a Superhero film! I would like to see a longer version of this done with more backstory on the relationship of the villan and hero.

[Edgen]

Aram,

Finally got to see the final final version of the film. "Dragons" and "Art of the Saber" worked great! Lindsay's haunting voice as those little 'souls' rose up was great!

I think Stephanie's tribal rythmic drum cue was amazing too! Fantastic job on such a short time notice.

anxious to see all your behind scenes footage of this FX PIece. :)

cheers!
/j

[Beat Takeshi]

I have some footage of the before and after that I will put up. When i was showing friends the rough edits to get an idea of how it was moving, they were like, why are you standing there next to him blowing wind? or I dont like the green background. It looks cheap. Heh.

[MsManhattan]

I just have to sing Aram's praises because he really worked hard to bring all of the ideas in the script to life. We were originally going to do a much different film -- a comic one with very little post work. But then, our lead actor (the Super Hero) came to us with the idea of doing a story based loosely on the Eye of Horus. He and Aram went to Pratt together, and he really wanted to do an fX-heavy film so he could work on the post-production. So we agreed, came up with our own take on the legend, and went to work. With only a month to go to the deadline. And then... Super Hero had to go out of town for a family thing, leaving Aram to do all the post work alone...

He was at it every single night and available day for three-and-a-half weeks, taking out the green screen, compositing in the backgrounds, doing the CGI and fX, and editing. He was relentless. And, I really think it shows. There are many other things we wanted to do with the look and feel of the film that we just didn't have time for, but it impresses me tremendously what he was able to accomplish -- on deadline and with a day job to boot.

Of course, no one could accuse me of being objective about Aram, so feel free to consider the source of these comments. That said, I really think his work speaks for itself. Congratulations, Aram!

[eyespy]

What stands out the most about this film are the SFX. I was internally-cheering on the hero as he was defeating the villian - what an image! With the amount of time you had to actually produce this film, I was impressed.

I would have liked to have seen more camerawork, however, than SFX. Don't get me wrong - they are wonderful - but the FX at times were a little too heavy and overloaded for my taste.

Overall, I would be proud of this film. I am looking forward to hearing how you were able to construct and integrate these FX.

[Beat Takeshi]

Thanks all. I think we tackled a story very different than the earlier fests. This is the first time we had a story that could not be told in 6 minutes but the challenge was fun. 3 weeks to finish with the amount of work that had to be done just was begging to be taken on. I gives me the confidence knowing the next version of this will be amazing especially since there will be time to create a surreal environment.

[Beat Takeshi]

Here are some early tests for the church scene. I painted in the light shafts and lighten up the areas around the windows and added contrast in the ceiling. It looks much darker in the compressed movie for some reason.

http://www.puffinfilms.com/HeroFest/Screenshots/churchVFX.jpg

Here is the raw.

http://www.puffinfilms.com/HeroFest/Screenshots/church_no_VFX.jpg

[Blaine]

Let me talk about the FX work first since this is such an FX driven story. Technically, I feel it was really well done. The opening shot was great and set the tone for what was to follow. It wasn't until the final battle that the FX work became a problem for me. It just became too much in the overall scheme. Perhaps it was the backgrounds (the blue one in particular), I don't know, but I found myself paying more attention to the FX than the story which is too bad because I thought it was a good apocalyptic story.

i.e.:
"Refusing his mark forces us to live like this." And seeing this line on 6-6-06. Pretty cool. Whether intentional or not, the Anti-Christ parallels are striking. Even the flames behind the Arphid felt like a representation of Hell.

...

Okay. I still stand by what I wrote in the opening paragraph, but I have watched again, two times, and I'm appreciating the FX of the "Final Battle" more than I did on the initial viewing.

[capitalP]

Yeah, that's why this film is so great... I don't know what to like more, the FX or the Story... I'm torn between the two... so as a writer first and a director second.. I'd have to go with the story! Great effects, but the story moved me... It's rare you get emotion in an action pack film... but RF EYE-D pulled it off.

-honorable mention-The Villian was awsome in the 5 seconds he was in there :)

[Beat Takeshi]

Hey Blain, MsManhattan would be able to explain these better than I can but Im going to try.
Yes the mark refers to the mark of the beast that scene also represents the virgin birth of a child which would be Horus in egyptian stories and Jesus in others. For it to be 6-6-06 was a nice coincidence. The Tattoo is the eye of Horus to tie it in even more.
The Arphid (RFID) is the growing threat of our privacy being invaded by the government. Im going to post links in the news that deal with these issues today.
The world may end up like our story.

"The most popular story of Horus is the one in which he grows to manhood to avenge the death of his father Osiris (http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm) by battling against his cruel uncle Set (http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm). In many writings, he is said to continue to battle Set (http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm) daily to ensure the safety of the world."

The idea for this was live action anime style hence the weird backgrounds like they do when they battle in the cartoons and the famous sword. The time limit didnt allow me to create more anime like scenes which would have read better when they were all together. I have a ton of shots that I didnt use with them flying and stuff but hey, no time. This was the only get-to-the-point shots I could use. I wanted to have it look like a hand drawing but it too much time to test. I tried a few things and even PMed some people for help but couldnt do it.

I was hoping people didnt get caught up in the vfx because the story is deeeeep.

[MsManhattan]

Hey Blain, MsManhattan would be able to explain these better than I can but Im going to try.
Yes the mark refers to the mark of the beast that scene also represents the virgin birth of a child which would be Horus in egyptian stories and Jesus in others. For it to be 6-6-06 was a nice coincidence. The Tattoo is the eye of Horus to tie it in even more.
The Arphid (RFID) is the growing threat of our privacy being invaded by the government. Im going to post links in the news that deal with these issues today.
The world may end up like our story.

"The most popular story of Horus is the one in which he grows to manhood to avenge the death of his father Osiris (http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm) by battling against his cruel uncle Set (http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm). In many writings, he is said to continue to battle Set (http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm) daily to ensure the safety of the world."

The idea for this was live action anime style hence the weird backgrounds like they do when they battle in the cartoons and the famous sword. The time limit didnt allow me to create more anime like scenes which would have read better when they were all together. I have a ton of shots that I didnt use with them flying and stuff but hey, no time. This was the only get-to-the-point shots I could use. I wanted to have it look like a hand drawing but it too much time to test. I tried a few things and even PMed some people for help but couldnt do it.

I was hoping people didnt get caught up in the vfx because the story is deeeeep.

I would explain the story a little differently -- mostly simply because of how all the ideas came together in my head. I didn't really care about the Eye of Horus story -- they wanted to use that so I worked with it. My concern was more about what is the SuperHero fighting for? What has the villain done that he needs to be taken down for? What does each have to lose and/or to gain? So, the story really arose from there. I will elaborate more later, but I gotta dash -- going to see... The Omen -- what else???

[Edgen]

I was like a back up, back up composer if all else failed, and I asked Aram if I could post the cue I made for the film. and... here tit tis!

http://edgen.hostpaw.com/edgen_rfeyed.mp3

Show of hands who thinks it sounds like the matrix at the end? :)

The story I really dug. I really liked the symbolism, and ya man, if you guys ever have the time to expand this bad boy... OR... get a studio to give you a few 10-20 million, i'm sure you could really turn this into something else.


/j

[capitalP]

I was like a back up, back up composer if all else failed, and I asked Aram if I could post the cue I made for the film. and... here tit tis!

http://edgen.hostpaw.com/edgen_rfeyed.mp3

Show of hands who thinks it sounds like the matrix at the end? :)

The story I really dug. I really liked the symbolism, and ya man, if you guys ever have the time to expand this bad boy... OR... get a studio to give you a few 10-20 million, i'm sure you could really turn this into something else.


/j

I agree, hey Aram & MsManhattan, why don't you guys polish this bad-boy and try to get some funding... I guess easier said then done... well good luck! I'm pretty sure with the right person pitching for you you can get that Pay-day to make this.. but the problem is getting that pitch in the first place.. or maybe raise money yourselfs (Friends, Family, DVXUser, ect..) and do it!

[JimtheJib]

i was just watching the short again and i realized how it could make more sense, for me atleast. if you started with the lady talking to the one and then proceeded to the shot where the girl sees the tatoo , it would have worked better i think. Then you could have gone on to the fight scene and the audience would realize the one was fighting to free this society.

What do you think? i don't mean to be too critical.

alex

[Alex DePew]

Aram and Leslie,
This movie came out really well. The visual effects are awesome. Better than a lot I've seen on the Sci-Fi Channel. I really liked the anime feel to this. Aram, this definitely has your stamp as the DP. The colors really look great. I agree that this movie would have been benefitted immensely with more time to work on it and no 6 minute limit, this is a big story that was able to squeeze into 6 minutes but could use a lot more time. Envisions' is the same in this respect. I really liked this movie. It is in the top of the heap. I can't believe how much you were able to get done is such a short time. Really amazing!!!!
Great work guys,
Alex

[Dahopafilms]

I put off commenting on this piece because (a) I wanted to watch it a few more times, (b) I kinda got behind on the "real" world after yesterday and had to catch up, and (c) I'm a freaking quivering coward.

BUT! I've had my G'n'T and I'm ready. Kinda.

So here we go ...

I didn't get it.

I got the storyline, no probs. There were some downright beautiful shots (especially the hero and his mother in the church - you posted a breathtaking image pre- and post-tweak above). Likely the best score I've heard in any of the shorts, in all of the fests, bar none.

But in the end, I really came away with the feeling that the short became a vehicle for the effects as if to say (and I really don't mean to be trite or condescending) "look what we can do". I felt the effects drove the short and I was hoping the story would drive everything. I honestly felt it didn't. And maybe that's because I'm a total alien when it comes to anime and if so that's my problem.

A few specific comments to dig myself in a little/a lot deeper:

I really didn't like the blinking LED alarm "Arphid ID removed. Apprehend NOW!" (did the exclamation mark make the "apprehenders" move any faster? Hmmm.) I just didn't buy it.
Why is our hero sitting around waiting for fleeing girls with oranges? He obviously hasn't had the big battle yet. What's he waiting for? (and no, don't say "an orange").
Again, I loved the scene in the church. That totally worked for me.
The scene where the hero "powers up" (?) and "sproings" the bad guy off his back and stands up and growls/groans/aaaargghs ... I gotta say I almost laughed out loud there thinking you were transitioning to a comedy (did I say that out loud? sorry).
Did I mention I loved the score?
And what was with the burning sea behind the bad guy? Where did that come from? And why? (maybe this is where I started thinking it's there because they have the skills to put it in - not because it pushes the story forward or makes any thematic sense)
Yep. I loved the "shooting fire and resisting the fireball" effect. That clearly worked as a visual. But our hero suddenly grows a double bladed sword (I thought he was having enough trouble fending off the fireball - or maybe it wasn't so nasty after all), somehow ended up BEHIND the villain (holy smokes! how did he get behind him?) and lops his nasty head off. Hmmm. That was pretty easy ... NEXT!
I loved the score. I really did.
Then the hero gets into his "green squat" and telekineticaly rips the Arphid IDs out of everyone's arms like a manic Urri Geller on acid. Cool, but what was it about killing the bad guy that let him DO that? Why didn't he just do that when he was chatting with fruit-girl?

Anyway, there is no question you guys have the horsepower in areas I can only dream about. I just admit that I felt a little (ok, more than a little) let down after I viewed this.

Then again, I never got van Gogh either. So I suppose that you're in good company.

Please accept these comments in the spirit in which they are offered. If I offended with anything above, I unreservedly apologize, but they are my genuine (if unpopular) views. And I genuinely look forward to your next project.

[moviemaestro]

Likely the best score I've heard in any of the shorts, in all of the fests, bar none.

Did I mention I loved the score?

I loved the score. I really did.
Speaking for myself, and for Justin (hope you don't mind J.) Thank you so much for your kind words and nice compliments. It means so much to me (and J. too, I'm sure) :) Thank you :dankk2:

Steph

[Dennis Wood]

Ok Aram. Now I understand why you needed some sleep. I see Adina is not just a DOF model :-) You guys did some serious work here.

[TimurCivan]

I just have to sing Aram's praises because he really worked hard to bring all of the ideas in the script to life. We were originally going to do a much different film -- a comic one with very little post work. But then, our lead actor (the Super Hero) came to us with the idea of doing a story based loosely on the Eye of Horus. He and Aram went to Pratt together, and he really wanted to do an fX-heavy film so he could work on the post-production. So we agreed, came up with our own take on the legend, and went to work. With only a month to go to the deadline. And then... Super Hero had to go out of town for a family thing, leaving Aram to do all the post work alone...

He was at it every single night and available day for three-and-a-half weeks, taking out the green screen, compositing in the backgrounds, doing the CGI and fX, and editing. He was relentless. And, I really think it shows. There are many other things we wanted to do with the look and feel of the film that we just didn't have time for, but it impresses me tremendously what he was able to accomplish -- on deadline and with a day job to boot.

Of course, no one could accuse me of being objective about Aram, so feel free to consider the source of these comments. That said, I really think his work speaks for itself. Congratulations, Aram!

:)

I thought it was great.
I always like Aram's work.

FYI he really is an AMAZING Gaffer. ( just so you all know)

[Edgen]

Did I mention I loved the score?

ahhh yes! I agree with Steph. Thank you! =)

/j

[MsManhattan]

I put off commenting on this piece because (a) I wanted to watch it a few more times, (b) I kinda got behind on the "real" world after yesterday and had to catch up, and (c) I'm a freaking quivering coward.

Hey, Dahopafilms, that gin and tonic really wasn't necessary with us, and you never have to apologize for your opinion, at least some of which I would agree with you on. But, we don't derive our entire identity and sense of self from what's said on this board, and in fact, we feel the discourse here makes us better at what we are trying to do. Thanks for weighing in!

[PK Gillock]

Obviously a lot of work into this. Each frame shows it. The score was great, the FX were great (although over used - I agree with the fire background and the sword - BAM he's behind him. What? - and also the clouds near the end loop). But overall it was a great flick. Very entertaining and well made. Good luck! :)

[Beat Takeshi]

Ok Aram. Now I understand why you needed some sleep. I see Adina is not just a DOF model :-) You guys did some serious work here.
Thanks. Yeah running home after work everyday and staying up all night for 3 weeks was beating the crap out of me. Not everyone can stay home and work on their films all day for 3 months.

Yeah D, not everyone will get it. Its a certain genre where you have to like cartoons to watch them. Flames, crazy background fx, weird angles are all part of the style. They all have a sword in there somewhere. He gets behind him in the spin move to get close enough to cut. THe clouds were a last minute attempt to makeit seem like something has changed. I faded them to the lighter part.

I wish i had more time to do it like i wanted. Check out "Final Fantasy:the advent child" Thats the level i wanted to go but as you can see it would take about 6 months to a year of planning. That fight scene was super condensed and really didnt do any justice to the genre. When we revisit the full length though, your comments will be kept in mind as will all others.

Im glad you like the score. She literally did it in 2 days, if we would have known we could have submitted after the films were up I would have given her more time and imagine what she would have done. Justin made a back up track the night before just in case things fell through (since the first experience, i didnt want to leave it to chance) fully understanding hers would go first. I wound up using his tracks for the opening and the fight scene to change it up some.

Steph and Justin, thanks again for making the score happen. I was soo stressed when Leo said he couldnt finish, I thought my head was going to explode. :violent5:

Alex: I can see where it gets confusing. The shopping and mother scene were supposed to be flash backs he was having at the time where he was being defeated. They were like his way of conjuring up his last bit of strength to get out of the situation. So thats why they run in that order. THe shopping scene actually had to play 2 rolls. That i just mentioned, and to establish a totalitarian regime over the people.

Thanks Timur. You did a great job on that commercial we shot this weekend.
He told me that the footage was way above the level of expectations and was really happy. Thanks again.

[Brandon Rice]

Well, I've watched over every film again, and I've gotta say, this one stood out... deep story... great FX, decent acting... it is sure to be in my top 3... great job!

[david jerome]

I loved it Aram and Leslie. I simply rate films on my enjoyment of them. This one I very much enjoyed. It kept me completely interested all the way through. And on top of that, you actually had super heroes in your film, ala Hero-Fest. Great job. I can't wait to see more films from you both.

David

[Aaron Marshall]

This was a very good film. I liked the build and the world's dark mythology you developed. It was a bit like revelations, mark of the beast, or a very biblical storyline. I also picked up influences from Sin City, anime, and video games.

In my film I tried to push my visual effects as much as I could. I don't have very much experience with AE. This film really showed me what might be possible for me in the future if I stick with it.

One thing that I didn't like much was the mother's performance. It felt a little bit like she was reading cue cards or just reciting her lines without much emotional thought. Once she started talking to the hero directly the performance became much better.

I loved the environments you used. The rolling skies, the city skylines, the statue etc. were all a very heightened reality. It didn't seem like a DVX movie at times. It seemed beyond that cold DV world that a lot of films fell victim to.

I really liked how the hero moved in the end when he finished off the foe.

Thanks for making this film. It was a pleasure to watch.

[Dahopafilms]

... and you never have to apologize for your opinion, at least some of which I would agree with you on. But, we don't derive our entire identity and sense of self from what's said on this board, and in fact, we feel the discourse here makes us better at what we are trying to do. Thanks for weighing in!

Class personified. Awesome.

... Yeah D, not everyone will get it. Its a certain genre where you have to like cartoons to watch them. Flames, crazy background fx, weird angles are all part of the style. They all have a sword in there somewhere...

Thanks Aram. Classy classy classy.

And I went to see if I could rent some anime to find out what it's all about, but all they gave me was a hot water bottle and a tube. Looking for further instructions now.

And the guy who rented the stuff to me seemed to think it was somehow appropriate ...

Weird.

[MiataFilmSomething]

Just got done watching this one for the first time.

Pros - Great story line - This is something I can see being made into a feature film. I loved the concept, it raises some good questions about the future, and even some end time prophecy if you are interested in that subject.
Some great SFX shots. I liked the dude in the crater after he landed, very anime and very clever. Awesome locations used as well.

Cons - A few of the SFX shots didn't work for me, mostly the backgrounds with the fire and the fast moving clouds. Some of the colors and camera work seemed to not mesh 100%.

Overall - A great movie. I honestly enjoyed watching it and can totally see its potenital to become a feature. Congratulations!

[MsManhattan]

Hey, everyone, thanks so much for all of your comments! We really appreciate them all.

Noct, I thought your film looked awesome. I was so surprised to read about all the hiking and equipment lugging and acting you did all on your own. It certainly didn't look like the product of a one-man band. Re: using AE, I'm sure Aram would be willing to answer any questions, so feel free to PM him -- he used a wide variety of software for the SFX and is probably chomping at the bit to talk about it more. ;)

David, I'm right there with ya -- how much you enjoy a film is key so I consider that high praise. Thanks so much! I feel the exact same way about Sonic Man.

Miata, it always makes my day when someone mentions the story, so... you made my day! I will be posting, at some point when I have more time, some more info on how the story came together.

And, Briceman, you're always so supportive, and we always appreciate what you have to say. Top three in a contest that I feel has so many high-quality entries... well, we're honored.

Thanks again to everyone who has viewed the film and to those of you who have posted here. We're just so grateful to be be able to make these films. Seriously, we're in our 40s and both making a career transition that would have been impossible even just five or six years ago when you couldn't have gotten such a high-quality camera at such a low price point. I don't mean to wax too poetic, but the DVX really brings power to the people in the same way that PCs and the Internet have democratized the availability of information and the opportunity to express yourself. So, we just consider ourselves damned lucky!

[Beat Takeshi]

Yes thank you all for watching and taking the time to post.
D-check out some of the dragonball z joints. They go over the top with the crazy effects and fight scenes. This is where i was drawing alot of the ideas that never made it in the film. The only live action Anime type films i know of is Casshern:
http://www.apple.com/jp/quicktime/trailers/casshern_large.html
and Zu warriors:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/zu_warriors.html

and hopefully when we finish our next version ours will be added to that list. :)

It would be cool to assemble a full crew from the the boards to do it and make history too.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

guys frickin amazing to look at
the FX were really good
I know with a team of one you don't / can't go for photo real so you do a consistent stylization, and that works well here. But I just wanted to clarify because I think the FX are really over the top great in another way besides being being believeable withing the vocabulary of the piece.

they're just fucking beautiful.
The pallete, the composition -- who cares if they were done with a paintbrush on a canvas or with pixels.

Again teh colors chosena and the way they work together and the images you made from all that --- just awesome.

I liked the context of the story and it was clear enough but didn't feel one scene was leading to the next by setting up story questions and relationship issues or questions that we would want to keep watching to have resovled. More just an A to B to C layout of the plot and the world.

Only a small ding other than that and that was the lighting on Olvia's face wen she falls .... but I know that would be hard top deal with ... not sure if you could get a good bounce in there with all the foilage.

Good job guys. Again looked amazing beyond the context of the image being SFX ... it could have been Metropolis or something in the way that it had its own unique look.

Aram it might not be reasonable in terms of the man hours but I would love to see you do something almost like Tron - not that story but something that gives you an excuse to kind of make the whole world that the poeople run around in. Who knows Horror fest is 4 months away. Although if these contests become cyclical and Sci Fest is repeated, then it might be better for that since part of horror working is contingent on making it feel like it could happen to us in our world and sci fi deals with taking us to another world.

Again great use of color and composition.

[Beat Takeshi]

Thanks Jack, that whole scene with the running and shopping I wanted super saturated colors but it came at the expense of those shots. I was more focusing on the orange to get it to pop. I was going to try to rotoscope but I saved it to the last minute and wound up just throwing some CC on it. Everyone I showed the roughs said the raw looked much better which I agree with. Oh well, I pushed that render button too soon. The DVD version actually reads much better but it also shows all the mistakes in the rushed green screen pulls.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Thanks Jack, that whole scene with the running and shopping I wanted super saturated colors but it came at the expense of those shots. I was more focusing on the orange to get it to pop. I was going to try to rotoscope but I saved it to the last minute and wound up just throwing some CC on it. Everyone I showed the roughs said the raw looked much better which I agree with. Oh well, I pushed that render button too soon. The DVD version actually reads much better but it also shows all the mistakes in the rushed green screen pulls.

yeah but just the contrast of the oranges and greens and stuff in the super rays and forcefields is very original and looks great

[Beat Takeshi]

Thanks, thats what I was looking for in colors. I went back to my art school teachings to form the pallete of colors. I really wanted the fruit stand area to pop with all the colors but that was a total gorilla shot in pathmark and they have cameras all over in the ceilings so i had to hide the camera under a jacket and hoped that they didnt see her putting the oranges in her pockets.

[MsManhattan]

Actually, that Pathmark shoot makes a decent case study in guerilla shooting.

We knew we needed to shoot there because we had to have shots of a flatbed barcode scanner -- like the ones they have at self-checkout aisles. That store was one of the few we knew of in Brooklyn that had those. So, Aram and I went in there late one Friday night (it's open 24 hours), and I was saying, "OK, just shoot it -- just get a wide shot and a close-up of the POS terminal and scanner, and we'll green-screen the wrist swipe later."

But, he thought it would be best if we secured permission from a manager, so we took the high road, tracked down the overnight manager, and I gave him a whole shpiel about how we were doing a news story for an IT Web site on technology in our day-to-day lives, and we just wanted to shoot the terminal, and we wouldn't show the Pathmark brand name, etc etc. And, he was a wus, and said he didn't have the authority to give us permission.

So, two weeks later we go back, in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday -- surely the busiest day of the week in a grocery store -- and shot the whole thing in plain view with either a sales circular or a jacket over the camera -- and no one said a word. Olivia put oranges in her pockets, and no one said anything -- and she looked like such a street urchin in those clothes... We were at that self-checkout terminal for at least 10 minutes, shooting away, with a store manager (probably an assistant-assistant manager...) watching us the whole time, and he just couldn't give a rip. And we shot at those sliding doors by the Dunkin Donuts for at least 20 minutes -- we would have to wait between takes until no one was coming in or going out, then shoot the scene, then wait again, then reshoot from a different angle. I think we did that about 10 times to make sure we had something that would read the way it was written in the script...

So, lesson learned: Sometimes it doesn't pay to take the high road and get permission...

Although, if we wanted to enter this in any festivals, we would definitely have a problem with some of the store logos that show...

[capitalP]

All that hard-work and headache I'd say was well worth it, look what you guys have now.

I had a similar issue with a chain grocery store around my area, I wanted to shoot a scene in a cereal aisle, so I went to the big dog, and explain.. blah blah blah.. he said no, so what I did was, I rewrote the script and had my character coming out of the Supermarket, it really wasn't vital to have him in there so that worked out.. but in RF EYE-D it was vital to shoot inside the supermarket.. so rewriting the script probably wasn't an option...

Great Guerilla work! Let me ask you guys a question, that scene when she's running out and we see the big Lowes sign in the back, did you guys pourposely set the camera at that angle so we wouldn't see the "S" or was it by accident?

Eventhough everybody recognizes that was a Lowes, technically it didn't say "Lowes" it said "Lowe" LOL

[MsManhattan]

Great Guerilla work! Let me ask you guys a question, that scene when she's running out and we see the big Lowes sign in the back, did you guys pourposely set the camera at that angle so we wouldn't see the "S" or was it by accident?

Eventhough everybody recognizes that was a Lowes, technically it didn't say "Lowes" it said "Lowe" LOL

That was intentional -- Aram's creative framing to avoid the brandname/trademark issue, but like you said, it's still recognizeable, basically, so whether we could get away with it is a fuzzy issue...

[Beat Takeshi]

Plus i can change it out if i had to. I did that to hide the "s" and give perspective to the shot. if you notice a lot of the shots have this in it. There are a lot of horizon lines sweeping the frame.

[TimurCivan]

cheeky monkey you are aram. sneaking in corporate symbolism....

I started drawing again. horror fest may be part animation.....

[Beat Takeshi]

:) shweeet.
At the end of the day its all about screwing the "man" .
This is our version of "School of Rock" ;)

[jpbankesmercer]

Boy you guys put some time into this. Great job. When I first watched it the fx blew me away. The wide shot forcing into the beam was...well you know...I'm gonna nick that in a few years when all the fuss has died down :)
Well done. You know the only thing I didn't like was the Mother in the church scene...looked fantastic though...not the mother...I think I've been watching too many of these films now...
Guys A1.
Jp

[Kaz]

Just wanted to throw in my .02 and say that I enjoyed the hell out of this. The wide "beam" shot was killer-cool. I haven't voted yet, but this film will be somewhere in my top 3 for sure.

Great work!

[MsManhattan]

Thanks, guys -- we really appreciate it! JP, please, nick away -- we're flattered. And Kaz, it means a lot to hear you say that because your SciFest film was one of our top picks as well. Good to see you on the board, BTW.

[MsManhattan]

i was just watching the short again and i realized how it could make more sense, for me atleast. if you started with the lady talking to the one and then proceeded to the shot where the girl sees the tatoo , it would have worked better i think. Then you could have gone on to the fight scene and the audience would realize the one was fighting to free this society.

What do you think? i don't mean to be too critical.

alex

Alex, I just realized I never replied to your post. I think this is a totally valid suggestion and something I'll definitely think about when we expand the story. You are in no way too critical -- thanks for the idea!

[Kaz]

Good to see you on the board, BTW.

Thanks, Ms. It's been crazy in Kazland lately, but I couldn't resist the fest.

Can't wait to show this one to my bro. He and I LOVE anything with a big brother theme. Oh, and just want to add that the final shot of your boy launching toward the camera made me giddy as a schoolgirl. THAT is how you end a superhero flick!

All the best.

[arielman]

WOW!!!!! what can I say ..sure wish I had talent like this !!!

Ian

[Norm Sanders]

Aram & MsManhattan, great job. My only question: what happened to all the poor folks on the street when that massive statue fell down off the top of the building? :)

I liked the story, and loved the FX of the sword coming out of the hero's arm & then back in again. Great job on that. Also nice work on the particle blast (same wide shot that's in the banner).

I also liked a lot how you guys established the ID thing in the beginning in the mall ... nice throughout.

[Edgen]

Aram & MsManhattan, great job. My only question: what happened to all the poor folks on the street when that massive statue fell down off the top of the building? :)

HA!! Man, I was wondering the same thing! They are pretty much funct eh? Unless he uses his super poop stance to save them from all the debris too?

Regardless, the scenes is so powerful that you try to look beyond the potential tradegy.

/j

[MsManhattan]

Hey guys, thanks for your comments. Good point you have made... I think that arose from a difference between how the screenwriter saw the scene in her head and how the SFX artist implemented it... When I wrote it I had seen the monolith being a towering thing on the edge of town. I think Aram saw it as being part of the skyline and when he implemented it that way, I didn't think it all the way through. Since he had let me have script control, I pretty much gave him free range on the fX; moving forward on this project we see that that there needs to be as much collaboration in post as in in production and have already talked about changing the workflow... Anyway, thanks for pointing that out. Serves as a good reminder.

[Beat Takeshi]

super poop stance...LOL
yeah what happened is that his pants split right before he was going to save them. Thats why he flys off so fast at the end to get the hell out of there before anyone finds out it was him. ;)

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

Loved this. I thought it was a great idea, especially since there are those that are trying to actually implement this type of devices. Very nice VFX also. I was very impressed.

[mediamogul]

Impressive! Way to go!

[Beat Takeshi]

Loved this. I thought it was a great idea, especially since there are those that are trying to actually implement this type of devices. Very nice VFX also. I was very impressed.

Yes, there is a lot of this going around and this may not be so far fetched. We have a few interesting links on RFID tags in people that inspired the idea of a totalitarian state. "Drive right through the tolls, never loose your children".
They get us to implement these devices by cloaking them in convenience or safety.

[MsManhattan]

"Drive right through the tolls, never loose your children".
They get us to implement these devices by cloaking them in convenience or safety.

And just this morning one of the top local new stories was about how NYC will not be able to put surveillance cameras in the financial district because of Homeland Security budget cuts. The way the city is framing the story -- "Oh, that terrible Homeland Security department is forsaking our great metropolis" -- is designed (IMO) to get people to feel deprived and unsafe so then they will lobby for the funds to actually get the surveillance cameras put in. And for good measure, City Hall points out that one of these comprehensive surveillance systems was implemented in London after the subway bombings there... Well, to me, even in the age of terrorism you have to remember the constitution, which says, basicaly, that you don't subject the masses to unnecessary government interference with privacy based on the bad actions of the minority. But, just wait and see -- those cameras will be everywhere...

BTW, Aram, great use of the word "cloaking." :love4:

[Larry R]

I just realized I hadn't commented on this film yet...sorry about that, it was a fantastic piece and I really enjoyed it.

I won't point out the "gaffes" since everything I spotted has already been addressed at least once.

The story was really good and would have made a great sci-fi entry also. I love big brother, future prophecy type stories....and this one was really good.

As everyone has said, the FX really stand out...great job. In particular I like the statue crumbling into a pile at the end of the film, it looked just like when you watch those building be flattened right in the middle of town. You know, they set all the charges in strategic locations and it collapses on itself. Anyway, looked great.

The "drive right through the tolls" comment is interesting because here in California, at least in the central region surrounding San Francisco all the toll bridges have a "FasTrak" lane. The FasTrak is a small box you rent from the state and you pre-load it with money. Then you just "drive through" the FasTrak lane and not stop to give cash to the toll taker. The "arfid" can't be that far behind :)

My favorite shot of the whole film was the "church" scene with the light streaming in the windows...when I saw your before/after in an earlier post I was blown away....WOW! I can't even fathom how to do that, and it was so well executed.

Good job guys!!

[Beat Takeshi]

Thanks Larry.
We have EZpass here that works the same way. Just drive right through and when it doesnt go off you get a ticket in the mail for not paying.
Of course they can see exactly where you are going if they wanted to. Im not sure but I think in Jersey you can get speeding tickets if you make it to the next toll before a certain amount of time.
Here is a bunch of rough cuts without some of the effects. I have a cameo in them too. :)

http://puffinfilms.com/HeroFest/roughcut%2001Med_Prog.mov

http://puffinfilms.com/HeroFest/RoughCut2Med_Prog.mov

[Larry R]

Yea, if we roll through without the device it is $29 (the regular toll is $3)....the worst part is, if you are just an occasional driver (don't have the quick pay device) and you roll up and say you don't have any money, they make you go through which triggers the "no pay" and you get a ticket for $29.

Cool, I'll check out the clips....just checked them out, pretty cool. There were a lot of creases/wrinkles in your green screen. Didn't that make it harder to pull a key?

[Beat Takeshi]

Yeah, the new thing too is now you cant use them in any other cars and they have to be stuck to the window. I used to just hold it up but last time I did that the guy yelled at me to stick it to the glass, it cant move. I used to have just one but now i have to have a few for each car. WTF!!!

[MsManhattan]

The "drive right through the tolls" comment is interesting because here in California, at least in the central region surrounding San Francisco all the toll bridges have a "Fast Pass" lane. The Fast Pass is a small box you rent from the state and you pre-load it with money. Then you just "drive through" the fast pass lane and not stop to give cash to the toll taker. The "arfid" can't be that far behind :)

I'm so glad you made the connection between the mother's line and the Fast Pass lane. I don't know about the California system, but the EZPass system on the East Coast does, in fact, use radio-frequency technology to capture the signal from the EZPass device in your car. All the major retailers are implementing RFID tags in retail items; shipping companies are using them to a limited degree; and pharmaceuticals manufacturers are using them now to track shipments of the most often counterfeited prescription drugs (eg, Viagra and others). And the last numbers I saw on human implantation were around 1,500 people implanted. Voluntarily. The most devastating news I've read -- this was after I finished the script -- was that a security company in Ohio was going to require its employees to be implanted "for security reasons." They'll have to have the chip for building access...

So, Larry, it's here -- but don't get used to it!

I wanted the story to be about a technology that was already in place, but taken to the extreme -- like in RoboCop. The tech in that movie looks like child's play now, but when that movie came out (85 or 86???), it was pretty wild. But what was cool was that each piece of the tech was already in existence -- the filmmaker just put it all together in a way that wasn't being done in the everyday-world yet because the tech at that time was WAY too expensive. Of course, now popping a 3.5-inch DVD into a player is nothing -- but in RoboCop, that was the sh!ts.

Anyway, thanks for your comments!

[TimurCivan]

Leslie..... some day can i have my very own 25' tall robotic combat droid that will have my spine and brain implanted into it....... with rotating barrel machine guns....


Yea ..... and a DVX on each arm.........

[MsManhattan]

Leslie..... some day can i have my very own 25' tall robotic combat droid that will have my spine and brain implanted into it....... with rotating barrel machine guns....


Yea ..... and a DVX on each arm.........

:)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg

and: http://headlesschicken.ca/cyborgblog/

[TimurCivan]

Noice!!!

[conrad_johnson]

Hi - Nice work, it's obvious you put a lot of time and attention into this.

I'll have to echo earlier comments by the guy with the bucket head that I don't dig the style, though. I was distracted from the story by all the heavily stylized effects. I kind of wish you would have kept all that to a minimum, and focused on more of the pure, live action shots. But we all have different opinions and preferences.

I kept noticing that your framing seemed a little off (or very unconventional) - you may want to pay more attention to that. For example, in the church scene, the close ups allowed their faces to fall up to halfway out of the frame.

Loved the location of the church and the look you achieved there.

[Mark Harris]

Hey guys, I have been so behind on commenting on these things. I saw this at the NYC meeting, and the downloaded and watched it several more times.

I thought the filmmaking was good, as I expected it would be from seeing Aram's previous shooting. I really liked the use of guirilla techniques to get all of the shots of people at the malls, the scanner, etc. To me, that is the epitome of great low-budget filmmaking, to grab images as you can and them make them mean something else entirely within the context of the story.

Honestly, I liked the non-CG stuff better than the CG stufff. I think because it just felt simpler and more to the point story-wise.

My only issue is I did not fully understand the story. I wasn't sure how the bad guy was connected to the ARFID. I didn't know exactly what the hero's power was, and what activated it. And I was not exactly clear on whether the good guy getting his ass kicked in the beginning was the same as the guy the little girl (This time it really IS Aram's daughter!!!!!) finds in the forest.

Maybe I'm being dense on this one. I know Leslie told us a bunch of stuff about Horus and such, but that didn't really help me get it.

Looking forward to working with the lighting-ninja, Aram!!!!! And Leslie, be careful about offering to AD. Last time Shawn volunteered on one of my movies, he was stuffed into a closet for two hours. :)

[Beat Takeshi]

Hey Mark,
We come into the fight near the end. Its the old "get into the scene late" idea. The good guy has just gotten his a$$ kicked and is about to meet his maker when he has 2 flash backs, the one where he is discovered by the little girl (she was supposed to mention something about the prophecy being true and all. Had to get cut.) and the flash back of his mother telling him his destiny and he can do it. This enables him to summon the last bit of strength to break free of Arphid. Both flash backs are colored to visually show they are not of the time of the fight or present. I could have done the dreamy look but I wanted to make it more color orientated. The super saturated colors in the first flash back were supposed to provoke uneasiness of the events that were soon to happen. I lost the faces doing this though since I didnt have time to tweak.

Arphid steals these powers from Horus's father after he kills him. You have to imagine some kind of super natural transfer of power and imagine how and why it was transfered. The powers were supposed to be for good but Arphid has used them to control everyone and make himself the absolute ruler. We wanted to show he could also hurt people through the implant if they got out of line.

Horus was born from super natural powers also. How? Who knows. You have to imagine it. But he was created to renew the balance of the power. Even though this story needs much more time to complete the right way I kind of like the idea that each person would have their own idea on how things happened that we didnt see.
I wonder if the same exact story line without CG would seem to read better. People were distracted by the VFX it seems and for the longer version we will take a close look at why that is. Maybe its because the movie is so short that people get taken out of the story too easy because they have no time to get invested in a charactor. Many things to think about.

The cutting off of the heads doesnt really bother me for some reason plus it just doesnt seem close enough when you have the full head in. That might just be because its a small frame we are working with on the LCD or monitor. To me its like I want to get up really close. I want to see that booger hanging off the nose hair. I want to see that pimple on the nose. :) The fight scene I wanted to have it very intimate. I wanted him to either lick or kiss his head too but that got lost plus it was a little hot in there and I dont think Arphid wanted to lick a sweaty head. The other shots I was working and experimenting with perspectives. Some worked and others didnt I guess but it was all fun anyways.

We just watched underworld: evolution and the behind the scenes. I want to do wire work for the next version and Kate Beckinsale has to be in it some where! She has a great look and accent. We need accents in the next version too. :)

[Mark Harris]

We just watched underworld: evolution and the behind the scenes. I want to do wire work for the next version and Kate Beckensale has to be in it some where! She has a great look and accent. We need accents in the next version too. :)

I will watch it again tonight. Maybe I am just dense.

Yeah, Kate Beckinsdale does have a great look, if by look you mean "ass in leather jumpsuit." Honestly, I have no idea what happens in Underworld, but I will pay $10 to watch her in tha suit for two hours any day of the week.

:)

M

[Beat Takeshi]

LOL Its her face thats just... amazing. She has that look that can melt steel and be soft at the same time. I havnt seen her in any other movies but these kind so it might just be the style Im digging. I have seen Laurel Canyon but dont remember who she was. She may just be a great looking vampire.

[TimurCivan]

She looks like that in everything. i think she has facial paralysis.

[penfever]

Aram + MsManhattan -

You are a solid team and this is a solid effort. As was mentioned before, the SFX are a notable cut above the rest, especially the background design with the collapsing building. Really nice style.
I think you should be more selective in your casting - it feels as though you're giving good direction to mediocre actors. Either that or the other way around. You also shouldn't restrict yourself to copying great genre films so much. I like films that kick off in familiar territory but then wander into their own style over time - a soft introduction followed by a tough finish.
And that badguy really looks like agent smith only younger.
Thanks for the film, see you next fest.
-Ben

[Beat Takeshi]

Thank you Penfever. So far our films have been with minimal dialog so I see it as a stepping stone to including more. For the time allowed I think they did a decent job and we were definitly very laid back with accepting the performances. The church scene we shot in 3 hours including setting up and breaking down everything but I thought she did a great job. I admit there are parts in that scene I hate but I didnt want to do 8 takes for each cut since we had a very limited time to shoot in there. All the green screen stuff was shot in 6 hours including lunch and hanging out bullsh!tting. So i figure the shooting time was 3 hours.
With time limit of 3 weeks its hard to come up with pure original looks since there is no time to experiment and I went with what ever I got to first. I did want the blues and orange and green and orange colors though. I made sure that came through. This next go around with this movie I want to design everything from scratch and create something unique if thats possible. We had mad fun on this and the "solid team" :) is waiting to do it all again!!
Thanks for watching and taking the time to post.

[MsManhattan]

The church scene we shot in 3 hours including setting up and breaking down everything but I thought she did a great job. I admit there are parts in that scene I hate but I didnt want to do 8 takes for each cut since we had a very limited time to shoot in there.

Minor correction: We actually did that church scene -- which is really the mother/son flashback scene (we just happened to shoot in a church because the location felt right for their hide-a-way) -- in under three hours, including set-up. Then we took our two cast members, who got up early on a beautiful Saturday and did the shoot for free, to lunch... The mother, Irma Estel Laguerre, is a Julliard-trained actress and opera singer who has done a lot of stage work and has been an extra in The Sopranos and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, among other shows. We didn't give her a lot of time to prepare as we were tweaking the dialogue in that scene until two days before the shoot... She is affiliated with that church, a National Landmark, and got them to give us the location for free, but as Aram noted, we couldn't wear out our welcome...

Other than Irma, all of our actors were either amateur or non-actors (Arphid, played by Ken Kecevar, has had some previous acting experience) who just wanted to support our film. Well, Olivia (Aram's daughter -- the Rebel Girl) probably just wanted to support her Daddy. :) So, all-in-all, while we definitely could have benefitted from having more experienced cast members, we were fairly pleased with what we were able to get from friends and family. And, at the end of the day, we had a great time doing this. Thanks to everyone, again, for your comments and for taking the time to watch and think about the film. We really appreciate all the feedback.

[Texture]

The super powers of this dynamic production duo seem to be growing by leaps and bounds. Every new picture shows expontential improvement.

They may not have come in first, but this is a team watch!

Great job!!!

[Beat Takeshi]

Hey Texture, thanks for the props. The next one Im going to bring it back home to the Brooklyn roots. No real effects needed in the next one at all.

[Beat Takeshi]

RFeyeD played at the Galapogos theatre this weekend. They saw it on IFC channel and asked us to send it to them. Funny how things just keep going.

[Simon Höfer]

Hey Aram, do you have a download link to RFeyeD that is still working? Would be interested to watch it :)

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

RFeyeD played at the Galapogos theatre this weekend. They saw it on IFC channel and asked us to send it to them. Funny how things just keep going.

Kool.
:thumbsup:

[Beat Takeshi]

You can find it at www.puffinfilms.com

[Mark Harris]

Cool Aram. They want to show my Film CONSTANCE at galapagos in June too. they've shown several of my things over there. They usually get a pretty decent crowd too.

[Beat Takeshi]

Cool, I have never been inside yet. Leslie really wanted to make it to it but we got caught up with the people we were shooting for and they invited us for home made old school Italian dinner, an offer we couldn't refuse. Seriously though, the family is really nice and the lady were are documenting is 95 years old and still smart as a whip. Her accomplishments and her drive still today is very inspiring. You would never know she was anywhere near 95.