The Company of Memories

[Wild Imagination Films]

The hardest part of all of this has been naming the darn thing.
The story got a major overhaul and the reviews from my crew are all very much thumbs up. We are casting this week and shooting next weekend.
I love the creative process. There were all of these crazy shots I was going to do and the more I worked on the story, the more I realized I needed to work on really telling the story, not getting the craziest shots I could come up with. Now I have a really tight, clean, understandable dramatic story.
I am very excited about filming, but I think editing is going to be even more fun.
Well, I have to go story board.
-Will

Check out the website. new video arriving daily.

[Larry Rutledge]

I'm intrigued....looking forward to more info :)

[Brandon Rice]

I like your title a lot.

[Wild Imagination Films]

We're working on a way of going into memories "never seen before in film." (ever notice in the special features and making ofs how they are all doing something never seen before?)
Our character is tortured by memories. Not bad memories, good ones. This is worse in a way. So I think we've come up with some interesting ways to differentiate the real from the remembered.
We're getting lots of submissions for our lead actress, but I'm amazed at what people are sending us for "headshots." Anyone else have this issue?
Anyway, two days of auditions getting scheduled right now and scripts to go out on Wed of next week. Rehearsal on Friday night and film Saturday/ Sunday. Pick ups the next weekend if needed.
With one exception, the entire film will be shot in one location.

[Jason Ramsey]

Cool. Looks interesting. Best of luck to you,
Jason

[235 Studios]

Interesting title. Good luck!


Check out the website. new video arriving daily.

I don't want to rain on your parade- but I would be careful about putting out a public website for your entry- it could be seen as outsdie advertising and get you disqualified. Although if you are not shooting on the DVX/HVX, then it is a non-issue.

[Kholi]

Eternal Sunshine, even. Sounds challenging. Well Wishing.

[Wild Imagination Films]

The website mentions nothing about this film aside from the title and it being in production. Hardly what one would call "promotion."

I choose to go with the torture of good memories because I have found them to be the harder to live with. Bad memories can usually be turned around and blamed on the other person and serve to make you glad you're no longer in the situation.
However, good memories are what you want to go back to and relive. If the person you made them with is no longer there, then you live in the company of memories......
I also wanted to really challenge the actors to bring the feelings of happiness and of loss to the screen without camp or melodrama. It has challenged me to write dialogue and not let it sound written. It also pushes me to think outside the box on shot composition, framing and action.
Lighting on this is going to be fun. All of it is going to be fun.
One of my friends described the pacing of the edits as letting the story breathe. I like this metaphor.

[griffin]

The movie sounds interesting. I agree with the good memories being harder sometimes. Good luck with everything

[Wild Imagination Films]

Just finished the auditions. Man, this was difficult. The right look but not the right voice, the right emotion but the wrong body, the right body but no acting ability..... Beggars can't be chosers, but we stayed choosy and found what we were looking for. Filming begins on Saturday.

[Wild Imagination Films]

Today we start filming. The weather is cooperating beautifully. I'm very excited today and somehow very calm.....

[Ted Arabian]

Hey WIF, man... this sounds great! I love the process that you have shared. Would love to hear more if you have time to share. (I just dig the creative process!)

I love, love, love what you did with After Life and CANNOT wait to see what you bring to the table here.

Good luck to you! Sounds like a wonderful premise.

-Ted

[jeremytuttle]

How's this coming? How'd the shooting go?

[Wild Imagination Films]

One weekend of shooting became two and we wrapped the voice overs for the two actors last night.
Our female lead is nothing less than stellar. In the first five minutes of shooting she had our crew on the verge of tears.
We really pushed the lighting on this. Some of it I'm thrilled with, some not as much.
I found out what it is like to be a real director on this project. After Life was very much an actors film. They did their own lines and got very little direction from me. (Mianly 'cause I was clueless how to direct and not comfortable telling people what to do?)
In the Company of Memories is a writer/ director's film. It's very intimate and I tried to bring this out in the framing and closeness of many of the shots.
Now for the big suprise...... This is the prequel to After Life.

[Ted Arabian]

Ooh! I am so excited! A prequel!!!

I can't wait to see that. (I loved After Life!)

Looking forward to it!!!

-Ted

[Wild Imagination Films]

First edit of In The Company of Memories is done and I am looking it over on the tele right now. Just at 5 minutes currently. Sound is next and some touch up shots here and there. Ted, if you liked After Life then you are gonna love this one. I threw out the book on "how to edit" and went a little nutty. Hope you all like it.

[Wild Imagination Films]

Edits and more edits. Test viewing with cast and crew going well. Couple of close friends have seen it and were left sitting open mouthed.
Not certain if it was the amazing technical work or the rather in your face scene. I pulled no punches, this is reality, this is what people think, feel, dream, want.

I think I may have been a little rough on my actress. I wanted to get an emotional response for something she has to read.
I told her to think of this letter as everything her character had ever wanted to hear from the lead actor's character, all the thoughts and feelings he had kept hidden. Then I told her she had gotten the letter right after finding out he had died in an accident. She got halfway through the letter, stopped, I heard her say she couldn't do this and then she was out of the recording booth and sobbing on my shoulder. She cried for a minute and then went right back in and finished the take.
I am very pleased with the results of the last couple of weekends, and the last couple of nights in editing. Still have a ways to go, but it feels so nice to have most of the edit finished.
I am getting excited about the next project.

[Rich Poche]

This is a cliched thing to say on these boards but I'm truly looking forward to your film in particular. Definitely a thought-provoking premise you have there...I'm interested in seeing how you pull this off.

[Wild Imagination Films]

Three solid days, (72 hours) of editing. 15 Monster Chaos energy drinks. Several people saying, "hmm, there's just something I don't like there." An hour of wheelies, knee dragging, and rates of travel the likes of which will land you in jail....
My philosophy on film stuff is, since I really don't know what I'm am doing I really don't know what I'm incapable of. My career in Emergency Medicine taught me the art of improvisation. So, I just try to get the picture in my head on my monitor. I know a DP and when he starts in with all the jargon it makes my head hurt. I tell people what I want by saying things like "the little light with the flaps on it." I've never been handed the wrong one yet.
Mostly, this is supposed to be fun. If it isn't, then I should just be at work.

[jontuttle]

Looks very interesting. The premise sounds cool. Good luck and I look forward to seeing it.

[Wild Imagination Films]

My biggest concern turned out to be the least of my worries. I used my three wheel diy dolly to sweep across the room and my actor fades in and out several times. You see where I am going with this? Well, the 5 passes came out so close to exactly the same I had no trouble editing them together.
Now back to editing.

[jeremytuttle]

Nice! Sometimes those shoots can be a nightmare to match up.

[Wild Imagination Films]

I've done the disappearing thing before, but this time I moved the camera during the shot. Ups the difficulty level quite a bit.

[Wild Imagination Films]

Music was recorded today. More fun editing tonight. It's my way to celebrate the NY.

[Ted Arabian]

Nice. Editing? Are you wrapped with the shoot?

Happy New Year! I've been away for that last 2 weeks!

I hope all is well!

-Ted

[Wild Imagination Films]

This sucks!!!! My cylinder icon appeared two seconds after I started shooting this morning! I think I got the shots I was going for but I'm afraid I didn't. Now I have to find someone in the Austin area who will do work on my cam.
Wish my luck.

[Kyle Stebbins]

i absolutely adore your title.

best of luck with the cam!

[Ted Arabian]

Hey WIF, how is everything going?

I couldn't help but to think of you when we were shooting our ambulance scene.

I can't wait to see this "prequel" to AfterLife!

[Wild Imagination Films]

Really not a happy camper right now. I need a couple of shots, I think I may have gotten them but my camera won't play them back for me and I don't have a deck, to finish the edit. I have music done. I lucked out and got a great song and I'm really excited about having it in the film. Even got a laptop so I can edit while at work on the ambulance (while I'm not running calls) but I've nothing more to work with. Arrrgh!!!
So here are the details I have been carefully vague about.
It takes her leaving to wake him up to the reality of just how much she means to him. It takes her leaving for him to realize how much of a part she plays in his life. It takes her leaving for him to go after her and try to get her back.
The film is based on a letter written in 2002 at the request of a friend of mine who wanted me to write a "love letter." I had written several papers for a class and she had read them and really liked my writing style. So I wrote her the letter.
When the idea for a drama came up, I started thinking about different ideas. It occured to me how songs are really just little 4-5 minute dramas set to music. Then I remembered the letter I had written. I had to re-write it in more of a screenplay style and then we had to storyboard and everything else.
We brought Mike Sorrles from After Life back as our lead. Then I thought what the heck, let's just make it a prequel to After Life. The female actor in this is not the same as the girl in the car from A. L.
This film is much more intimate than A.L. I keep the camera much tighter and the location is almost entirely in one apartment. Several techniques are employed to convey a sense of the passage of time, a certain despair, loss of hope, recollection of passion, intimacy...everything in the film is intentional and has some meaning behind it.
I hope you will all enjoy my second effort. I am greatful to those who viewed and comented on After Life.

[Kholi]

Hey guys. I really liked how this started off. It felt like it was going to move into a complete narrative. It kind of fell flat for me when we went back into something like a love letter or a post card.

I honestly wanted to see a complete narrative out of this, and I understand your constraints and such. Good job on getting it done, either way!

Thanks for showing.

[AmbassadorTex]

Really liked the different lighting designs - gave you several different "looks" which really helped sell the many different chronological checkpoints you hit. Bringing the blue mug back into it as an echo was nice - though I was happy with just the sink echo.
I also think you did a great job of signaling the transition to Act II by losing the music - definitely communicates that we've passed through an intro of sorts.

I'm with the previous poster who didn't like what the film became once it went into the VO parts - I don't like to critique based on comparisons (felt too much like...reminds me of...), but the script was definitely way overdone for my tastes - even for a love letter (a few lines esp. jumped out at me - I can send details if you like).

Since you were trying to evoke the things we remember after someone leaves, I think you nailed the sensory nature of what comes into our minds. Love the shot of the boiling water, and of your actress just after the bell pepper cutting shot...knew exactly what you were going for.

The acting worked fairly well (though kind of bland from a male lead who was supposed to be so articulate, sentimental, and agonized) - but it was key that you didn't have either of them really delivering the lines from the letter.

Overall, the visual element was excellent - but some other key elements of storytelling missed the mark. Thanks.

[gabrielflorit]

"you always had my heart". talk about a cliche line.

great light setup on the outside shots of the girl.

the sex scene reminds me of desperado. great lighting.

i don't get the ending.

[Wild Imagination Films]

The whole thing is cliche.
She comes back in the end.

[Ted Arabian]

I don't usually read other critiques before I offer mine but as I type this I cannot but help to see your response above.... and that answers a big question that I had. "The whole thing is cliche and she comes back in the end."

I thought that the cinematography was the stand out feature of this film. The lighting and the camera moves were beautiful. I especially love the candle-lit bedroom scene. Wonderful.

As for the story, I kept saying to myself, "why are these two people not staying together?" There love for each other seems so prevalent. I hated that she was leaving him. I guess she didn't after all, huh!

Nice job with this film. The acting was real and wonderful. The VO work was nicely done. I did feel that there could have been a little bit of reverb on her track. (I don't know, just hit me when I was listening. I thought how nice it sounded and then I heard her voice and thought it was a little dead. But I am being picky here.)

I love the lacing of the story with the coffee cup. Well done.

One camera move that I didn't feel that you needed was the dolly in on the cup. I don't know, it hit me as unnecessary. It's just a choice.

Again, beautiful craftsmanship here. I really like your work.

Bravo!

[Geoff_R]

I feel the cinematography is the strongest element of the film. I like the dutch angles with the guy on the couch :) You've got a lot of nice, smooth dolly shots that make this feel like a big production. (How did you do the dolly shot at 2:17 behind the sink??)

[iSTy]

i liked the beginning the acting was good, although not too sure on the 'coming back' does that really happen in real life????? ahhh this is a movie, right! ;)

[D_and_G]

Purely subjectively, the score annoyed me.

Stand out shots – the candles and the wine. Nice cinematography.

V.O needs a rewrite? I think so. The sentiments and premise are good but the V.O was a little flowery.

Your actress did an admirable job.

Btw – love your dvx- user name.

:beer:

[jontuttle]

This was really well shot and lit. I particularly liked the pan of the couch and the various shots of him being restless and how the couch from fade to fade maintained its position. Perhaps too much camera movement. The zoom on the cup wasn't needed. I feel that just the reveal of his hands leaving would have worked better.

The acting was pretty good, especially the female lead. The guy was a bit cold but I guess that was his character. I felt he could have been a bit more remorseful during the voice over. I kind of liked the VO. I guess a lot of people didn't. I liked how it went from him writing it to her reding it. I think the fade between his audio and hers during that part could have been a bit longer. It seems kind of abrupt.

The bedroom scene was nice and touching.

The one thing that bugged me the most was the last shot. A real quick close up and a barely audible, "Eric." You made that pretty girl look horrible in that shot. Not the best way to end your otherwise touching short.

Good luck and keep up the good work.

[Wild Imagination Films]

Thank you all for your comments. There was supposed to be more for me to choose from in the editting, but the camera quit early on during filming on the last weekend of shooting. So the final scene of her was pretty much all I had. Wasn't my favorite shot of her.
Word of advice on candles, a room full of them gets hot in a hurry.
The shot over the back of the sink was done with my skater dolly on the counter top. The sink is in an island.
Audio continues to be my weakest point. I do feel the audio was more consistant in this than my last film entry.
The actual letter is actually too short for this story. Hence the long pauses during some of the scenes.
My personal favorite part is the couch. I used the skater, shot 5 takes and welded them together.

[Jay Rodriguez]

Will,
Ok I watched it twice now. Your skills are waaaaaaaaaaay sharper now. You've grown on this film, I'm proud of you for that homie! Loved the couch scene where time overlaps, that sh!t was HOT SON! lol Every dolly shot that I saw I was like damn, that DIY dolly he made is paying off, they look great. Dude, you have to send me a link of that "her on top" scene uncut! LOL The bedroom scene was probably the best looking shot/scene out of the whole fest, it just looked amazing and sold me. The story wasn't doing it for me. I learned to dislike any VO from my last two shorts and whenever I hear VO I almost puke, lol. I think the worst thing about your film is that damn zoom in shot of the mug on the sink. haha

Anyway, Will, keep it up man! The films get a BIT easier as you go on and you're just growing like a weed dude, rapidly!

[Texture]

I'd love to find out more about the music. Nobody has used anything with music that is built from vocals like this. Beautiful.

Great camera and lighting as stated above.

The writing felt a little to sickly sentimental... But I don't think a room full of production geek guys is the place to test this film. I'd be curious to hear the reaction from women, 18 to 25 years of age... You may very well find an overwhelming admiration for your VO from this group.

E.P.

[Wild Imagination Films]

The music is from Fredo Viola (check him out at Fredo Viola.com) a friend of mine knows him and suggested the song after clearing it with Fredo. I instantly loved it and...
Female viewers have been all over the place in their reactions. The original letter caused quite a stir when read by zee weemen. The vo didn't do as much for them. Their responses to the film are typically guaged by what is going on in their lives.
I just cannot believe there hasn't been one comment about the "Catharsis Entertainment" credit.

[Michael_Petro]

What A beautifully shot film.. I put this in my learn how to move the camera folder:)
that couch shot with the camera moving was just awesome. That and the bedroom sceene.. for me the story was o.k. it didn't suck me in.. I was more like, hey nice shot..

[Michael Carter]

I'm crawling my way through all these films... to the point I'm "over it" with tech and quality issues... yes, technology + passion means a tremendous amount of people can get amazingly close to a hollywood look (and my guess is that will have a massive, massive impact on film in the next couple decades... my money is on a real "golden age" of filmmaking in the near future). (That said, your couch-dolly looked almost motion-control. Dang, you nailed it!)

My big lesson (and yes, I'll get back to THIS short in a sec) from this fest is performance is the hardest thing to nail; you can't find it next to the work lights at home depot. That's why this short stood with the very best in the fest IMHO. Drama fest for me has been when did I get a bit "sucked in" vs. when did a performance make me cringe? (Take the "masked villain" in "fallen"... yikes!) (And talk about ponderous voiceovers... I thought it was a parody at first...)

At the female lead's first appearance, I was pulled "out" a bit, simply because she didn't have that sort of "name" hollywood "look"; but damn, her performance seems real and natural to me - and even the best actor can't pull that out without good direction and a sense of safety on the set, and she had a compelling presence for me. Good work, man.

Yeah, yeah, the voiceover. Few people can really write "love letters" that florid... (chicks seem to value that though!) For me, it got to be a little much. Were I your script-reading buddy, I would have begged -- BEGGED - you to try giving a sense he was searching for words, stumbling, trying to find the right metaphors. That's how most people talk and think; even if we don't 'write' that way, an audience hears the VO as "voice", not text, and my guess is it would have made your male lead more real & sympathetic; even possibly pushed more of the reason she left.


So many of these films try to get all their plot twists and backstories in; I applaud you for saying "it's 6 minutes, folks, deal with it" and still filling in a lot of feeling. I tried to write a 6-minute spy fest script last week... 21 pages. Guilty.

I haven't seen 'em all, but about a dozen-plus in, this is certainly in my top two. Nice, nice work.

Now, anyone want me to write up a "Jade Egg" script? I'm too floored to put a whole gig together, but damn, that's an intrigueing project!

Thanks & good luck--MC

[Wild Imagination Films]

Thanks for your comments...
The couch was really a lot easier than I had anticipated it being. The trick was making the pass the same speed each time. I built a three wheeled dolly and I love it. it tracks pretty true and so I was able to get the same arc each time. Lined up the shots in Vegas and bang.
The initial scene of her crying in the bathroom left all of the people on set exhausted and her pretty worn out as well. She wasn't faking the tears. Turns out she was remembering some really horrible relationship stuff. Made it really hard to shoot, I felt like I was prying into her life.
The vo lines are from a pretty over the top letter I wrote for a friend who loved it.(chicks dig it man) I tried to modify it for the short, but I couldn't really get in the letter writing mode versus technical mode. Too many hats.
There will be no vo in my Spyfest entry.
About the Jade Egg... PM me and we'll discuss what all is involved in a JE script.