Metal Storm - Echo Productions [Archive] - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

Dahopafilms

06-05-2006, 12:01 PM

Nicely done.

Here's the stuff I really liked:

The lighting was great all round. Very, very nice.
Great camerawork on the car chase scenes. Do I smell Stickypod?
Fine editing. The quick cuts and scene transitions really worked for me.
The sets/locations worked very well. Good job.

Here's the other stuff the struck me (not criticisms per se):

There was something about the acting. Mainly the villian's lines I suppose. Not too sure and I want to review - it could be just me.
The music didn't work for me - too much. To me, frenetic is fine, but needs to be used sparingly. Just my humble pov.
Not totally sold on the story. Maybe I was looking for a twist or surprise that wasn't there (although the yellow/gold glow on the bullet-stop was nice).

But in the end, the one thing that stands out for me was the lighting. Very nicely shot.

Nice job. Thanks for making this.

Mark Dog

06-05-2006, 02:38 PM

did usue the dvx or hvx on this mjm ??

peace n luv

Mark Dog

CineMark

06-05-2006, 05:07 PM

I finally just got a chance to watch this — GREAT JOB.

Honestly, I thought it was very well done and it kept my interest the entire time.

Beautiful lighting on most of the shots, even the daytime exteriors (especially the car chase) were very nice - not too bright or boring. There were a couple shots where I thought the lighting was super —*but for I can't post attachments or I would show you. Maybe I'll figure it out...

I thought the story was good and I like's when the main character realized he had magnetic powers. I totally believed it, and I didn't immediately think the fork was glued to his hand (or whatever).

And I thought you did a fantastic job on the bullet stop. Beautiful.

Again, overall very well done.

Mike McNeese

06-05-2006, 08:37 PM

Thanks, all.

The car chase stuff was actually done with a filmtools.com mount - MrPunch can chime in more about that...piece of cake to use.

I gotta give props to the VFX guy, infiniteloop, wherever he might be. I asked the dude for just ONE shot at the end, and he starts offering to do all of these muzzle flashes and wavepool refraction...the dude's talented.

Brandon Rice

06-05-2006, 09:54 PM

Screenplay: Great simple story.

Acting: Really good all around, the only weak performance I felt was the larger doctor. He wasn’t a main character, so it didn’t bother me.

Cinematography: Real simple, real effective, noticed a little dirt on the lens in some of the car shots. Other than that I loved it.

Score: Effective, some of it seemed too synth.

Overall: Great film, in my top 5, really loved the simple story and effective editing. The car chase was really well done.

Edgen

06-05-2006, 11:27 PM

yee haw! I got it! Good cliffhanger.

My Thoughts:
Music stuck out the most to me. Need more cowbell.err.. timpani. I think it was effective in some instances, but the chase scenes were perhaps a bit synth, but it had almost (forgive me composer) a 70's cheese vibe. I liked the dark moments and the piano parts were ok. Very frenetic. I could go in depth some more, but congrats. it was a very up and down film in terms of pacing so they did a good job with the various feelings.
Ya.. the big doctor didn't appeal and his lines were cliched. Even the bald guy. He did a good job performing, but the end. eh. It needed something.
I liked the girls's performance.
I felt the connection between the two. they should hook up now after this movie.
The lead role wasn't too bad either. However, lying on the floor and trying to eat from the tray? That just didn't work for me. On the flipside, I wanted to help him up so i felt some pitty.
The car/chase sequences were nicely done. Best part of the movie.
I dig the bullet effects and the ending leaves us on a cliffhanger to find out more.
Lighting was really good imo too. I really enjoyed the camera work.
I take it the girl is a DancKat? ;) Nice car.
I really liked the VFX on the computer screen.
The story line of his powers fit in perfectly within the chase scene. Bravo there.

lastly.. the chase scene just... ended. Why? Its like the bad guy said. Ok, i'm going to pull over now and get out of the car and say we can make lots of cash. I would have liked to see the reasoning why he just stopped.

Great work overall and looking forward to seeing your next films and past for that matter.

cheers on the submit and finishing.
/j

Mike McNeese

06-06-2006, 05:32 AM

Overall: Great film, in my top 5Thanks b, means a lot. Hey, why didn't you submit this fest!? I was looking forward to giving you straight 10s.

Music stuck out the most to me.Hmmm...music must be love it or hate it. I knew there wouldn't be anything else like it in the fest.

I liked the girls's performance.
I felt the connection between the two. they should hook up now after this movie.Yeah, that's not such a great idea. She's his HS drama teacher. Good to hear that someone is catching on to the 'attraction' between them...haha...get it!? Nevermind...

I take it the girl is a DancKat? ;) Nice car.Yeah, that's a sweet ride...actually owned and operated by the villian guy. We were really worried about what other car we were gonna get for the chase, but then MrPunch walks me out to take a look at his car mount, 'Oh, yeah, that's my [SWEET] XJ6...wanna use it in the chase scenes?

Great work overall and looking forward to seeing your next films and past for that matter.Thanks! Looking forward to making some more - this is my first.

mrpunch

06-06-2006, 06:09 AM

DANZCAT - too funny. That's my license plate. Thought it would be straight forward - Dan's Cat (Jag) - but everyone always thinks it means 'Dance Cat'. My wife even asked on our first date about it. Wanted to make sure she was on the 'right side of the fence'.

Thanks for all the comments so far!

Brandon Rice

06-06-2006, 06:16 AM

Thanks b, means a lot. Hey, why didn't you submit this fest!? I was looking forward to giving you straight 10s.

got too many other projects I had to gear up for this summer.

oneinfiniteloop

06-06-2006, 07:23 AM

And I thought you did a fantastic job on the bullet stop. Beautiful.

Thanks! If anyone is interested in seeing a making of I could put one together for that shot. It was done in Maya, mental ray, and Shake, so for anyone wanting to see how they work together I could throw something together.

Mike McNeese

06-06-2006, 07:26 AM

Uh, I would like to see the making of!

Ian Slessor

06-06-2006, 08:02 AM

mjm,

You're my fifth film and number one so far, but not without flaws.

Lighting - Excellent job. Atmospheric. Nice job in the jag with Stone.
SFX - Again. Good job. I liked the "wooble" effect as he employs his magnetic personality...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!....sorry.
Cinematography - You really shone there. Good cuts, nice action and good composition. Loved the chase scene with the shots of the pursuit and the pursued.
Sound - Nice and clear. I didn't have to strain to hear dialogue over sound fx or score.
Score - Speaking of which. Naw. It does need more cowbell. j/k. I liked the score. Lots of action beats and it pushed the story ahead.
Screenplay - For me this was more X-files then Hero but that's me. The dialogue clunked in places but it still pulled through for the most part.
Acting - Pretty good. Stone rocked. Magnet boy was....high school, no offence. The doctor not much better in his delivery.

Still, an excellent job.

As of this moment, "you're my number one...guy." Jack Palance - Batman

sincerely,

ian

eyespy

06-06-2006, 09:45 AM

Metal Storm was one of the films that actually used the entire five minutes to tell a story, rather than just collect a plethora of fancy shots, camerawork, and special effects. The use of flashback technique was an added touch that also creatively served as a flashforward, teasing the viewer with stills of future images. This was a unique effect that worked to advance the story, while at the same time keeping the viewer engaged the entire time.

The musical score was edgy and different! Most of the other scores in the competition were orchestrations working to achieve a more dramatic effect. Additionally, the score was right on cue with the quick editing cuts. Together the score and editing really made this movie tense and full of action up until the last "punch."

Congratulations on producing such a fresh film!

mrpunch

06-06-2006, 10:11 AM

For the car chase, we used a universal car mount from filmtools.com. Consists of a 6" suction cup and two 4" ones, making it amazingly stable. We even ran a cable through the back window so mjm could sit back there and watch from another screen. That was a fun day. Talkies in each car and at the camera point for the outside, low shots, let everyone communicate with each other. Driving down a 2 lane country road, with your director's DVX attached to the outside of your driver side door? That means oncoming traffic is coming right at the camera? And btw, we realized afterward that it was a great thing we put the UV filter on the camera, just in case anything flew up from the road - it would protect the lens. mjm probably has some jpegs of the mount attached to the car he can post.

Mike McNeese

06-06-2006, 10:23 AM

Here are a few

Car Mount1 (http://www.echopro.net/msgallery/images/P1020001.jpg)
Car Mount2 (http://www.echopro.net/msgallery/images/P1020006.jpg)
Car Mount3 (http://www.echopro.net/msgallery/images/P1020009.jpg)
Car Mount4 (http://www.echopro.net/msgallery/images/P1020010.jpg)
Car Mount5 (http://www.echopro.net/msgallery/images/P1020012.jpg)
Car Mount6 (http://www.echopro.net/msgallery/images/P1020014.jpg)

DarrenRyan

06-06-2006, 11:58 AM

Very slick camera and editing. Brought to mind the BMW spots from a few years back. Really great shots. I enjoy a non-linear story, but felt that the performances fell short on pulling it off. Technically however this is up there.

beastlyevo

06-06-2006, 07:22 PM

Film turned out very well Mike. Great job guys! This is the first time I have actually been involved in filming. I have always enjoyed films (in theaters of course) but now I have a better appreciation for the attention to detail and the amount of time involved. I give props to everyone involved in this film. I had a blast and hope to be involved in another.

Mike McNeese

06-06-2006, 07:50 PM

Darren, thanks for the comments. I refuse to say that my talent weren't up to snuff...they're all very good. I'd put the blame on the director (me) for not bringing out the character enough, or blame the co-writer (me) for changing the dialogue to something too simple and cheesy.

Evo, Glad to see you found the site!

MiataFilmSomething

06-07-2006, 07:22 AM

OK, I finally got to read this thread, I've been away for a day or two:( I'm not going to say anything in my defense, just give reasons and excuses because I'm self conscious and lack self esteem:)

I know the doctor lines sucked. We had originally inteded many of the doctor's lines to be voice overs to be added in later, so the lines were delieverd pretty normal becuase I thought they would be changed later.

A few people called me the "larger" doctor. Please vote for this film so I may take my share of the winnings and apply them to a Jenny Craig program;)

I really appricitate the comments on the story line. I'm glad it was still able to be easily understood. I started writing and just kept going, in fact by the time I was done, I had an idea for a whole television series based on this, and this was the pilot epiosde. Of course we had to cut a TON of stuff, and if we had more time to explain the origins and circumstances of how the character came to be, it would have been a lot more solid.

Thanks for taking me half-way seriously! :) The films are all great so far, it's so much fun to see the diversity.

Mike McNeese

06-07-2006, 07:26 AM

A few people called me the "larger" doctor. Please vote for this film so I may take my share of the winnings and apply them to a Jenny Craig program;)

Those camera angles on you were SO not flattering. But, hey, they're saying the camerawork was good...

:)

MiataFilmSomething

06-07-2006, 08:50 AM

Those camera angles on you were SO not flattering. But, hey, they're saying the camerawork was good...

:)

YEAH! I did shoot a few of those scenes. Whoo hoo! I can take part in some of the positive comments now:) Score!

Brandon Rice

06-07-2006, 09:03 AM

MiataFilmSomething

06-07-2006, 09:25 AM

Man... after watching the films again... I've gotta say this film was just the funnest film for me to watch... Loved the pacing, the story, the acting (overall) and just was very entertained... your film is sure to be in my top 3!

Coming from you, Briceman, that really means a lot! Thank you. I am happy now:dankk2:

I guess I'm still going to have to prove my acting skills, but the comments have been accurate, and it's good to learn so we can take the advice and comments to our next film.

This is our first film, so any feedback of any kind is welcome. I know that myself and the other people involved have a pretty thick skin, so please don't hold back and be honest. We're not going to be able to improve if people just say "It was OK." If you don't like it, please tell us why. Any comments and feedback is welcome. There are no dumb comments and any question will be answered.

Thanks for all the feedback so far!

mrpunch

06-07-2006, 12:50 PM

thick skinned? speak for yourself, man. look what happened to my head just from filming with those low hanging ceilings!
http://danwelsh.info/headwoundsm.JPG

MiataFilmSomething

06-07-2006, 01:35 PM

Just a flesh wound...

MiataFilmSomething

06-08-2006, 06:23 AM

Thanks for all the comments so far! Good or bad, they are all appriciated.

Beat Takeshi

06-08-2006, 06:55 AM

Hey this was a cool flick and a real car chase to boot. I was thinking that if he had those powers he would be able to do something to the car instead of him driving away..but then there wouldnt have been a chase scene. A little give and take. I liked the fork sticking, nice touch and good acting there. There was something a little off at the end with the acting of the guy in the Jag but I watched this a few days ago and dont remember what it was. Cool cars too.

mrpunch

06-08-2006, 07:20 AM

There was something a little off at the end with the acting of the guy in the Jag but I watched this a few days ago and dont remember what it was. Cool cars too.

Thanks for the feedback, Aram. I've watched that footage a lot and I think that part of it might be that Agent Stone has the girl at gunpoint yet seems to be 'pleading' with Martin. Yet, we never established a real transfer of control of the situation from Stone (who appears to have been controlling everything) to Martin. The other part could be just a lack of consistency between the acting from the other scenes to that one, on my part!

Mike McNeese

06-08-2006, 07:26 AM

If there was one thing that I could change in this flick, it'd be the shot where the Agent gets back up after getting rocked in the stones...it was an awkward cut...lots of action of him getting up, then he's perfectly still as he takes the shot.

Kirk Gillock

06-08-2006, 07:35 AM

Nicely done. It has some faults here and there, but overall I could see where the story was going and it wasn't a bad place. It's the start of a superhero, when he first learns he has powers. A young Magneto. Some of the lines weren't delivered well (already mentioned) but otehr than that it's an entertaining flick. Good luck!

Mike McNeese

06-08-2006, 07:51 AM

Thanks, PK. I'm glad y'all aren't having a hard time picking up on the story. We took a weird approach at making it non-linear storyline and we were worried that people wouldn't figure it out.

I'm still not letting the talent take the blame for any lack of performance...it's my direction, or lack thereof.

MiataFilmSomething

06-08-2006, 07:51 AM

I've seen a few comments on this, and wanted to respond. Someone mentioned before that they were not sure why the agent just stopped to plead, and this is a very good point. It's a flaw in the story that I can remember us dealing with before, and our solution was to have Martin get closer to the car and stick his hand out the window, and actually use his magnent powers slow down the Jag to a stop, which would force the car to stop and put the agent on the defensive to start pleading with him. We just couldn't find a good and safe way to pull that shot off.

I REALLY appriciate all the feedback, I'm almost liking the critiques better than the praises, because this is how we learn! I'd rather learn from my mistakes than have someone be all fluffy and say it was fine. Thanks!

david jerome

06-08-2006, 11:48 AM

Really good actin scenes with the cars. I thought the bald guy was pretty convincing. You definitely put some effort into making this. I enjoyed it.

David

MiataFilmSomething

06-08-2006, 11:53 AM

Really good actin scenes with the cars. I thought the bald guy was pretty convincing. You definitely put some effort into making this. I enjoyed it.

David

Thanks! We were very lucky to find our evil agent. He does good work! Gotta love the car too, it saved us from having to go begging for something nice to work with. We had one sweet car to use, and just couldn't find a second good one. But he was 100 times more valuable than his car! It was a lot of fun to do the chase shots.

Thanks for watching!

Jack Daniel Stanley

06-08-2006, 12:36 PM

I enjoyed this.

I liked the lightingm particualryly on the gurney
and I liked the camera work -- partucularly the zoom out when he breaks out that keeps him a consistently composed in the frame, gave a serveilence feel and looked cool.

i also liked how teh story was broek up but still followable

a cool short!

mrpunch

06-08-2006, 12:50 PM

Thanks JD! The lighting in the gurney was a single 650 hung from the ceiling. Another light was hung from the ceiling in the entranceway to pick up the exit of Rachel and the entrance of the Doc.

mjm will really appreciate someone noticing the other exterior shot as well!

And today is mjm's birthday - so he just got a present from JD!

Mike McNeese

06-08-2006, 01:10 PM

I thought the bald guy was pretty convincing.

Thanks for the comments, David. BTW, he prefers the term 'shaved.' Yeah, it was a lot of work and effort...this was our first real movie and it ended up taking a lot more effort and time than I first thought...thank goodness my cast and crew didn't run off.

Jack Daniel Stanley

06-08-2006, 01:22 PM

I just re read my post ... I'm neither dyslexic nor retarded ... just a bad typer that's trying to get caught up with folks today.

...and happy birthday MJM,

JDS

Mike McNeese

06-08-2006, 02:02 PM

...and happy birthday MJM

Thanks, JDan.

The lighting in the basement gurney scene was a real challenge...we were dealing with 6'10" ceilings, rotten ceiling tiles, water all over the floor, and asbestos....shh...don't tell the crew! Anyway, MrP 'gaffed' that 650 into the ceiling using a shim stick and a couple feet of gaffers tape. It was hairy, but I'm super happy with how it turned out.

All the other interiors were one 650 bounced, and a 250/300 to fill in the background.

Aaron Marshall

06-08-2006, 04:00 PM

Whoa I can't believe I haven't commented on this thread so far. I thought I'd gotten to pretty much all of them. The last few days have been a blur.

This movie had many tight elements. I think my favorite was the lighting. The car chase scene was great, but I have a dislike surrounding Suburu Imprezas. I just can't stand those cars. That's not you, that's me.

I loved the scene in which the bad guy shoots, the the other guy falls away leaving the camera focused on the woman. Her reaction was nice. I also like the flashback scenes. I enjoyed the performance by the bad guy, but I kept thinking "Everybody Loves Raymond". He reminded me so much of Brad Garrett. None the less, it was a groovy performance. I liked the doctor. He seemed authentic to me. Some of the lines were cliche, but sometimes cliche fits.

The one I couldn't handle was the main actor. He might be really nice and cool in real life. I just didn't buy his performance in this heroic tale. It seemed a little heavy handed at times.

Overall this movie was pretty cool. I didn't get bored and it was fun to watch.

Shaun Patrick

06-08-2006, 04:13 PM

dude, imprezas are hot but I think they're using a Lancer....

Aaron Marshall

06-08-2006, 04:21 PM

Oh well, it's still a rice rocket. If it was enough to get me confused - I'm not really into those types of cars. That's just my personal preference. It didn't influence my opinion of the film or how I voted. I took my preexisting dislike and set it apart from the car chase scene and saw it for what it was.

It was a great scene. I liked the car mount type stuff you used. Although I would be a bit wary of attaching my DVX to a suction cup device. That seems scary if it were to fall off.

Shaun Patrick

06-08-2006, 05:32 PM

I had a camera falll off a car once (a Panasonic DV952) and the footage is great. The camera is rocketed off the car and falls maybe 15 feet in front of it with the lens facing towards the car. Then you see me quickly jump out of the car and run towards the camera--all the while you can hear me saying "No, no" over and over again in full panic mode. It's hilarious now.

Brandon Rice

06-08-2006, 05:53 PM

LOL! Did it break? I've always been scared to attach my camera to a car too.

Shaun Patrick

06-08-2006, 06:23 PM

It didn't break but it was never the same camera again...

Kirk Gillock

06-08-2006, 06:39 PM

Shaun you could use that video footage for a film. Just create a scene in which the driver hits something (maybe a squirrel) and then show the POV of the squirrel as it gets hit and tossed to the road. Then the driver runs over to it saying, "No.. no.. no...". Next cut to a craneshot above the driver and squirrel. The driver looks into the sky and shouts "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" :)

Shaun Patrick

06-08-2006, 06:58 PM

Brilliant!!!

WilderWorks

06-08-2006, 07:27 PM

That's the camera you sold me!!!

Shaun Patrick

06-08-2006, 07:30 PM

That's the camera you sold me!!!

Uh...Awkward....

mrpunch

06-08-2006, 08:24 PM

dude, imprezas are hot but I think they're using a Lancer....

It's a Mitsubishi Evo. I'd never seen one before - but that car was insane in person! Looked like it was out of a car show floor.

Thanks for all the comments!

Noct - I love that scene w/ the doctor falling away as well!

And , yeah - everyone thinks I'm Brad Garrett's little brother. Anyone know his agent? :-)

Of course there's the time I told a couple of girls at the bar that I was him after they sent someone over to ask - but I had forgot his name and made up a different one. They said, "Oh, yeah - nice to meet you".

mrpunch

06-08-2006, 08:28 PM

I had a camera falll off a car once (a Panasonic DV952) and the footage is great.

mjm's greatest fear! But seriously, we had bungie cords coming out of our ears in case we thought we needed them. We never even attached one. Of course, there was the time that the oncoming horse trailer (which seems to take up more than half a two lane road) was coming at us, and I rolled down the window and just held on to it! That's surely an out-take!

Mike McNeese

06-08-2006, 08:45 PM

Of course, there was the time that the oncoming horse trailer (which seems to take up more than half a two lane road) was coming at us, and I rolled down the window and just held on to it! That's surely an out-take!

I wish we had our audio of that take, though, when we were all in the car screaming. It wouldn't have been too bad since I took that ins policy out two days before.

Thanks for the comments, all. Danny Martin (the lead) wasn't our first choice, or second, but he sincerely exceeded my expectations. He took direction very well, and he gave a lot of effort to the role. He's only a HS senior, so I'm very proud of his performance.

The car is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution....it's been modded a little. I got to drive it a few times during production...what a blast. 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. Yum.

Thanks for the comments on the doctor's dying scene. Brandon, who played that role, said his wife told him, 'Honey, you die well.' I had fun shooting that shot where we rack to the girl after he collapses...just wish I didn't have to change iris to make it look right.

Mike McNeese

06-08-2006, 09:04 PM

One more thing, I would NEVER hesitate to put my camera back up on a that car mount...as long as the surface is smooth and clean. It was good and steady. I hope MrP is prepared to do a car chase in all future movies.

conrad_johnson

06-08-2006, 09:11 PM

Hello -

Very good job! Story was very coherent, but I would've liked some sort of twist at the end, or something else to make me go hmmmm....

great lighting and color correction.
acting was good and consistent, esp. from the woman and the villian.
Music was kind of video-gamey (I expected a voiceover to come on and say "FINISH HIM!!!") but it was appropriate and accented the story well in all parts.
Good intensity. Montages near the end (during the car ride) were used effectively.
Your car stuff worked out very well. I always cringe when I see car chases coming up because they're hardly ever done well - but not the case here. good job.
The gun trick was neat, and so was the last shot.

Nice work!

MiataFilmSomething

06-09-2006, 05:54 AM

Thanks for all the comments, this was a blast to make. I didn't realize how hard it would be to play a doctor. There wasn't much for that character to do, and I just didn't want him going through the motions. The lines were cliche and cheesy, but I've already explained that previously. I'm still sticking by my looks of guilt. And I think I die good, as mentioned before and by my wife:)

It would have been cool to have some kind of twist or shock at the end, but we really couldn't think of something to do because of time restraints. By the time the they announced the one minute extension, we were already done shooting. The original script had the agent figuring out what the power was, and at the ending conflict, picking up a 2X4 and beating the tar out of the main character. He's just about to deliever the final strike when a shot rings out and the agent falls over. The girl had picked up the gun and saved the day, and the two of them decide to run and hide together.

As I was writing, more and more stuff just kept flying into my head, and by the time I was done, I had a pilot, a few episodes, a season finale, and a season 2 premiere show all in my head. It was hard to narrow it down to 5 min, and boy it took some effort and a little frustration (sorry mjmcneese!) But I'm really happy with the way it turned out. There were a few things I would change, but no one's film is perfect and I don't want to start George Lucasing the thing to death...

Thanks!

mrpunch

06-09-2006, 07:29 AM

I still liked the lines in the first draft that I read.

Ending shot. Rachel and Martin are driving away.
Rachel: Where are we going?
Martin: North
Rachel: How do you know?
Martin: Trust me, I know.

MsManhattan

06-09-2006, 03:36 PM

I liked the car chase scenes and the music went with them well. Congrats!

Mike McNeese

06-09-2006, 04:27 PM

The gun trick was neat

Thanks...that was fun. Just used some fishing like that I 'roto'd' out to pull it out of the villians hand. And then we just had the hero act like he caught it...came out pretty smooth, but it maybe could have been better.

Now, I love...LOVE our score. It's not at all what I 'wanted' before our composers took over, but as they started to piece some of it together, I fell in love. I realize that it's not a typical movie score, and I'm fine with that...love it or hate it, I'm glad people are noticing. The composers worked their tails off on that...they'd never done anything like that before.

Thanks for the comments...keep it coming!!!

beastlyevo

06-09-2006, 08:09 PM

the car chase scenes would have been impossible without mrpunch (i was the stunt driver with the 'subaru impreza'). he came through big time with the camera mount. i had never seen one in person but it worked out very well and mrp made me very comfortable about attatching it to the car. just as mrp stated before, mjm could just watch through the lcd what shot was taken. it was sweet. the chase scenes definately helped the film, but i believe the story with some great acting that was done so well with the lighting, shots, and editing. the cast was awesome, producer was 'ok'. just kidding mjm, you did a sweet job.

arielman

06-10-2006, 05:55 PM

Loved it ..loved ...loved it !!!!!!!!!!!!.

What more can I say ...just Loved it .
Ian

Mike McNeese

06-10-2006, 07:23 PM

Loved it ..loved ...loved it !!!!!!!!!!!!.

What more can I say ...just Loved it .

You're making me blush...thanks!

Norm Sanders

06-11-2006, 12:57 AM

Just watched it. Love the title & opening shots. I didn't quite follow the story as well as I maybe should have.

I think the strongest parts of this were the camera & lighting, camera being the better of the two. This felt like it had SO much potential, and with some further polish could really be improved, but right now still feels a tad naked .. perhaps even just further filling in with SFX/audio could do the trick a little bit, or rework some of the cuts.

Did you shoot this in a 120/250 shutter speed?

This reminded me a lot of the Bourne Identity, which is a compliment. :)

MiataFilmSomething

06-11-2006, 06:12 PM

I fiddled around with some extra sound effects, and nothing really came out the way I wanted, so we decided to use the things we really thought would work in there and cut the sounds that may only sound so-so. Many of the sound effects I created still had a kind of British sci-fi series on PBS kinda feel, and it didn't work for the sort of the colder industrial feel. I'm still not 100% with the magnet power sound, but the sound I really wanted to use we just couldn't get to fit right.

Maybe if this gets picked up as a pilot we'll have a chance to add some goodies to it:) Thanks for the comments, we love getting reviews!

mrpunch

06-12-2006, 05:11 PM

Envision - I know the car chase was shot with a fast shutter speed - but I think that's all. mjm can fill you in further. He's in Montana fishing right now, though!

MiataFilmSomething

06-12-2006, 07:57 PM

I don't wanna speak for mjm, but I know he wanted a faster shutter speed for a more "Gladiator" action choppiness feel. We tired it out, and I don't remember if we decided to stick with that or not.

MJM, get that trout off the hook and let us know!

R.L. Scott

06-12-2006, 09:49 PM

nice car chases, well shot.

Mike McNeese

06-13-2006, 09:40 AM

Hey all...yeah, I'm up in MT waiting on my ride to the trout stream so I thought I'd check in.

Thanks for the continued comments. Yep, everything that was shot outside was done at a high shutter speed...for two reasons. 1. I wanted to have a more stuttered look. 2. To increase the shallowness of the DoF. The shutter speed changed quite a bit, but you can't tell. I used anything from 1/100 to 1/1000, depending on how bright it was outside. I'd do whatever I could to keep the iris around f2.8. This might be arguable, but I noticed that I get less grain and slightly more vibrant and accurant colors when the iris is open and the shot is lit properly.

Every shot in the movie had a 1/8 or 1/64 ND....even the dark basement shots.

ENVISION, I would love to hear what you think could be done to further 'polish' the movie. I'm not at all disagreeing with you, but I felt that I had this sucker polished up as much as I could, especially the sound effects. Spent a lot of time searching for and acquiring foley sounds just to make it 'feel' right. Like I said, I'm not disagreeing...this is my first movie and I'd love to know what more I could possibly do to polish it even more.

Thanks!

Cryogenic Filmworks

06-13-2006, 11:22 PM

mrpunch

06-14-2006, 06:29 AM

Very nice. Loved the doc getting shot and falling away to reveal the girl. Music was fine, different but I sortof liked it. It seemed a bit awkward when Stone gets out of the car and casually opens the rear door to pull out the girl. Seeing as the hero was right there he should have had more urgency about getting the girl out and in a position of danger. Overall thought I really enjoyed it. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the feedback! mjm was bummed that he had to put the camera on auto-iris because he was trying to rack focus and change the iris at the same time for that shot with the doc / rachel! Who would know? I liked the way that one came out! As for the awkward moment of getting out of the car - I agree - good observation.

MiataFilmSomething

06-14-2006, 07:39 AM

I still think we need to have a category for "Best Death" There were a lot of people who were happy to see me get shot in the head...

penfever

06-15-2006, 06:27 AM

This was another favorite film of mine this fest. High points (there are many) include the intention (not execution) of the music, the excellent lead actor, the SUPER POWER (I mean, this is herofest and this guy is maybe the 2nd or 3rd to have an interesting, well-defined power and effect), and the visual look of the cast and cinematography.
This film was kinetic, fast-moving and exciting - shooting the car-chase and intercutting with flashback kept the film from dragging, a good choice for pacing.
Weaknesses? A lot of sound. Like many visual directors, I think you neglect sound and its potential to help your film. FX sounded stock, actors vocal performance was lacking. The doctor was probably the worst offender in this regard. Remember, if you make a good-looking film with poorly recorded sound, you've made half a film.
Wondeful effort, see you next fest.
-Ben

MiataFilmSomething

06-15-2006, 06:45 AM

Thanks for the honest critique, Pen. Actually, super THANK YOU! The biggest thing we wanted to take away from this fest since it was our first was to get as much feedback and reviews as possible. We really need it to help shape our future projects.

I agree with you, the potential for cool sounds in this film would have really enhanced it. We played and played with all kinds of different stuff, we just didnt' have the best tools to use.

Please, for the love of all that is metallic and stormy, keep these reviews and crituques coming. I've been told I was the worst actor in many of these reviews I've read, and I still love them, becuase we want the feedback.

I agree with my line delivery, I'm hiding behind my previous post about the VO issue still, but if it needs improvement, it needs improvement.

We originally had an idea to use rapid and echoing voice overs during the flashback scenes instead of dialog, but in the end we stuck with the dialog. Do you think the VOs would have worked better?

Thanks again!

Texture

06-16-2006, 03:23 AM

Loved this flick.

My only main complaint, it was so powerfully driven... I think I needed more of a payoff in the end. Maybe our hero and villan squareo ff in another parking lot next to a huge metal structer like a storage warehouse or something. Instead of stealing the gun from the villian, he uses his magnetic personality to pull down the entire warehouse crushing our villian. To expensive to pull off I guess. But I think I needed something big like that.

Some major hum or background noise in some dialogue...

Texture

06-16-2006, 05:16 AM

OK, After a bus ride to work and thinking a while about this I know what I want from this film.

I want to believe that there could be some chemistry between the female doctor and the magnoman... I want to see that relationship be developed better. Almost like the story of a female attorney, who helps spring her client from jail after loosing the trial and now they are both on the run from the law.

I want the villian to have a boss, who's face we never see. This is who the villian is calling and reporting to all the time. In the end, though the villian is dispatched, his boss has some omnipresent kind of power or simply watches what has transpired from a distance. That Dr Evil type kind of boss who you never see, except for his hand stroking Mr Bigglesworth. OK, not the right example, but a serious version of this. At the end, the boss says something to the effect of, 'You can run all you want magnoman, but you're never going to find sanctuary. I won't stop, until I've made you mine.' That leaves us hanging and sets us up for future adventures.

And yes, I've decided how I'd like to see the villan die. The car chase takes the through an industrial complex. Perhaps there is a crash or something causes them to pull over. The villan gives his speech. The wind has picked up and is howling through the complex. Dust is kicked up. Things are blowing around. Behind the villan in all the trumoil we notice the rivets on the metal structure are coming undone. A Stop Sign has been shaking wildly and a closeup reveals the screws are slowly coming undone. Magnoman powers are in effect. He's slowly working his magic. Just as the villan is squeezing off his shot the stop sign breaks free, flies through the air and cuts his head off. Too late though, the woman is still shot. He dying words are run, magno, run.

Then the big boss delivers his closing line and we realize. This guy is gonna be running forever.

Suddenly there are dozens of men in suits and cars arriving. And the chase begins as the film closes. So the end, is really a beginning...

Then maybe hire Don Pardo from SNL with a closing VO "And so the adventures of magnoman begin! The story of how a little magnetism can get you into a lot of STICKY situations!" OK, well maybe that should left out.

Did you ever see the AWEFUL film 'Powder?' You should, just as a reference.

Oh, and I loved the music. I didn't mine the synthy stuff at all though I'd love to do a remix...

MiataFilmSomething

06-16-2006, 05:57 AM

Hee hee, Tex, I'd love to give you a copy of the original script and the idea I had for this as a series. Everything you've just said is all pretty much in my series concept for this film.

If this film had won first place or got a lot of buzz or interest from the fest, we were thinking of turning it into a short series possibly. Time is probably our biggest constraint from doing it though. But I'll reveal a *little* bit about the concept.

As far as the villian is concerned, you are right. The agent is just that, an agent. He's a pawn and a servant to a bigger entity. There is a large corporation that has tons of investment capital in all kinds of areas. Latley they've been delving into the medical sciences. The villan and the doctor both worked for this corporation (much to the doctor's guilt as I hope was conveyed) and they call the shots. No one knows how they got started, how they have so much money, and who runs the company.

The original script had a fight at the end between the agent and Martin, with the agent figuring out what Martin's power was. Martin was starting to walk towards the agent with that "It's on, I'm gonna make you cry to your momma" look, and the agent takes a few more shots with the gun, only to have the bullets deflected and have Martin hold up two fingers and stop one right at his forehead. The agent sees the magent power, so he takes a 2X4 and begins whomping on him, pins Martin down on the ground, does his evil speech before he delivers his final killing blow, and then a gun shot is heard. The agent falls and behind him is the female doctor, with gun in hand.

So now that he's got powers, and she's killed one of the agents, their bond forms quickly when they realize that they will now be on the run. I had a whole 30 second to 1 minute of dialog between them about them talking about running away together, what their plan was, and Martin telling her, "With all this power I have now, the thing I'm still attracted to the most is you." They hug and then hear some static over the dead agents phone that more men are coming to the scene, tons of agents. So they jump in the car and drive off. The doctor asks Martin "Where are we headed?" He replies "North." She asks "Are you sure?" He says, "Yes, trust me, I'm sure."

That's the pilot. The series would have each episode of them running, but with a purpose. Each show they track down someone else with a strange power that's been experimented on by this corporation. They help that person each episode, and find out a clue about the corporation each show. Then on the season finale they break into the corporation and discover something that changes the series totally (I can't tell you what it is, but it's good.) and the season finale ends with Marting being captured and the female doc being taken away for the "most important" experiment. The 2nd season premiere picks up right where we left off, with some even more cool stuff happening (again, can't tell you what)

This is my problem. I'm no good at writing shorts. My mind takes off too dang quick and I can't narrow it down. mjmcneese threw out the idea for "Magent Man" and within 48 hours we had a 15 page script that could have been turned into a pilot in another day.

Even with horror fest, a cool idea came to me, but by the time I was done, I had turned it into another television show. It would take more than 6 minutes just to set up the story.

The main reason we weren't able to do more with the ending was time. We stuck to the 5 minute rule, and by the time the extension to 6 minutes was announced, we were all done with shooting and had everything toned down to 5 min.

I really appriciate your input and feedback, it's so encouraging to know that someone else shared the same ideas and potential that we had for this concept, you have no idea. You totally made my week! Thanks so much, honestly.