New York City DVXUSER Crew Presents: Katrina

[TimurCivan]

Timur, I hope I have half your skill someday.

-steven

Just get a crew like i had, and hit record. ITs that easy. :) ( thanks me NYDVXUSER BOYEES and LAYDEES)

[Blaine]

You did a great job on the cinematography on this piece. I think there are only about 4 true cinematographers in this fest and you are one of them.

[Mark Harris]

You did a great job on the cinematography on this piece. I think there are only about 4 true cinematographers in this fest and you are one of them.

Dude, do you have any idea how fat you just made that kid's head?

[TimurCivan]

aww shucks....

Actually, i think Macgregor, Norm li, Patryk Reibz and whom ever shot "Illegal", are the real cinematographers here. im just trying my hardest to get something close to what they can put out.


(nono i know im not very good..... i have a ways to go)

[Blaine]

Dude, do you have any idea how fat you just made that kid's head?Let me add to it then. His work speaks for itself. Having worked for awhile with Kevin, I can really see the difference between a cameraman and a cinematographer. Too many are pointing the camera and calling themselves cinematographers. It's really nice to see someone who knows what he's doing.

[TimurCivan]

Not to be ingrateful, Thank you Blaine. IT means alot. :)

[Mark Harris]

Let me add to it then. His work speaks for itself. Having worked for awhile with Kevin, I can really see the difference between a cameraman and a cinematographer. Too many are pointing the camera and calling themselves cinematographers. It's really nice to see someone who knows what he's doing.

Curse you, Blaine, we'll never keep that boy on the farm now!

[TimurCivan]

(Hey the cage door is unlocked.....) "Aram Lets make a break for it!"

jk

[Mark Harris]

Actually, Timur does get a ton of credit. He and the lighting ninja Aram, gave me a very nice approximation of a 40's or 50's Hollywood feel - filtered through their eyes. But I wanted that kind of really rich and creamy look that films of that time had, and they did it on like no budget.

If only I had coughed up for the 4K to light up the bridge, huh?

[TimurCivan]

yea we used everyone, and i mean EVERYONE's equptjemnt. between us all we have a 1ton grip truck. and that was just enough. :)

[TimurCivan]

am off to a superbowl party. will be back in a few hours. :) enjoy all the films everyone!

[TimurCivan]

mark take it away!!!!!! or someother showbiz slang......

[Mark Harris]

And you know that's what I like to hear. A year in outline form, 2 months for thirteen minutes? Sounds like you actually GAVE A DAMN about what you were going to be putting on screen.

I applaud j00.

Well let me clarify, I wasn't working on it for a year straight. Basically, the story goes like this:

About a year and a half ago, I wrote a feature with my writing partner. It got shelved because it needed a lot of work, etc. But there was one central scene where a woman seduces a man into a hotel room and then a guy bursts in. So I took that central scene and started writing a short around it.

The original scene had the cowboy guy getting killed and then the short would play out much like "Woman in the Window" where the two characters have to decide if they can trust each other not to rat the other out. But that is a longer story, I thought, so I asked: "What would happen if they don't kill the guy?" That's what lead to this short.

But it was making it's way in outline form throughout the year, working on it off and on, while shooting other things, and then toward the end of the year, I hunkered down and did about two solid months of full time writing on it to get it where it is now.

[Mark Harris]

I'm off to a super bowl party soon too...

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

we watched the Puppy Bowl III on animal planet.
http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/puppybowl/puppybowl.html
Does that count?

[TimurCivan]

ok so iam on my treo and as no surprise i hate football. yea mark has been tempting me with this noir short since august. ive been wanting to light and shoot this for a while........

[Mark Harris]

we watched the Puppy Bowl III on animal planet.
http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/puppybowl/puppybowl.html
Does that count?

Dude, there's a puppybowl? That is the SHIZZLE!!!

[Noel Evans]

I agree this is not a drama in the way I think a lot of them are, sort of like "Lifetime" dramas. But it's one reason we are non-comp. This is the movie I wanted to make next anyway, so we just used the contest as the deadline for making it.

Ah with that in mind - EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mark Harris]

Ah with that in mind - EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!

[Geoff_R]

I hope I don't kill your servers... I emailed an HD link of Katrina to like 15 or so film friends of mine. :)

I'm like, "see!! this is why we need a 35 adapter"

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

This flick was really fun to watch! Your lead actor is incredibly good, reminds me a lot of a young Samuel L Jackson. The look of the movie is superb. The story hooks you and doesn't let go, really witty too. On a tech note, the dialogue at the beginning in the bar was really distracting how the room tone kept disappearing between lines causing this jarring effect. Oh, and after that much Vodka I expected him to be on the ground.

[D_and_G]

Chandler meets blues/jazz. Modern noir with a hillbilly twist.

The best opening titles of any film in the competition bar none.

Cinematography was accomplished, for the most part. Some of it strayed into cartoon territory, but overall matched the script like a glove.

Score sounded/felt a little porno, with the bass and the horns. Again, I would have liked to see a new take on the familiar tropes instead of xeroxing them

The script was obviously a specific Raymond Chandler/ Walter Mosley vibe, but was pretty shallow and lacked the wit. Although you don’t have to redefine a genre, I didn’t see anything other than a treading over territory covered many times before. It was a enjoyable ride, though. In other words, the cinematography and the assured direction make this one entertaining, but the flick doesn’t elevate itself above the material or genre, IMHO.

Yeah, i'm analyzing you guys, but with the amount of talent on your team
, i expect you to bring back the champions trophy, homies (it's like when we used to expect the Chicago Bulls to win)

Still, I’d put this in the top ten for pure pulp coolness alone. Wawchickawahickawowowow.



:beer:

[Christopher Barry]

This entry was a lot of fun guys, in my top few to distill a final vote. Timur, great cinematography, the SGPro proved great in your hands.

[MojoTrancer]

This was a fun one to watch. Great cinematography. Great acting. Definitely in my top five. For some reason I especially liked the opening newscast. It sounded very authentic.

[Mark Harris]

This flick was really fun to watch! Your lead actor is incredibly good, reminds me a lot of a young Samuel L Jackson. The look of the movie is superb. The story hooks you and doesn't let go, really witty too. On a tech note, the dialogue at the beginning in the bar was really distracting how the room tone kept disappearing between lines causing this jarring effect.

Yeah, I need to ADR that scene, really. There was a nasty refrig on the same breaker as the lights - I think the only breaker.



Oh, and after that much Vodka I expected him to be on the ground.


not if you're a man. :)

[Mark Harris]

Chandler meets blues/jazz. Modern noir with a hillbilly twist.

The best opening titles of any film in the competition bar none.

Cinematography was accomplished, for the most part. Some of it strayed into cartoon territory, but overall matched the script like a glove.

Score sounded/felt a little porno, with the bass and the horns. Again, I would have liked to see a new take on the familiar tropes instead of xeroxing them

The script was obviously a specific Raymond Chandler/ Walter Mosley vibe, but was pretty shallow and lacked the wit. Although you don’t have to redefine a genre, I didn’t see anything other than a treading over territory covered many times before. It was a enjoyable ride, though. In other words, the cinematography and the assured direction make this one entertaining, but the flick doesn’t elevate itself above the material or genre, IMHO.

Yeah, i'm analyzing you guys, but with the amount of talent on your team
, i expect you to bring back the champions trophy, homies (it's like when we used to expect the Chicago Bulls to win)

Still, I’d put this in the top ten for pure pulp coolness alone. Wawchickawahickawowowow.



:beer:

Thanks, you are 100% right about the depth. Which is one thing I hope to correct with a feature version, both going over the stuff written here and expanding on it to feature length. But it was a fun exercise to start digging into this genre.

What you brought up kind of separates the standard noir fare from the amazing noir fare. I think my writing here is about as good as like 90% of the noirs cranked out of the studio system, but not nearly at the level of the greats that stand above the rest.

Mainly, enjoyable ride was the most I could hope to get out of this iteration of the project, as it's the first one of it's kind I've ever written.

Another thing I want to do too is keep developing my own twists on the language so that I am not as dependent on existing tropes of a previous time.

Anyway, all things considered, I am considering this experiment a success and encouragement to keep with it.

[Mark Harris]

This was a fun one to watch. Great cinematography. Great acting. Definitely in my top five. For some reason I especially liked the opening newscast. It sounded very authentic.

that's all conrad_johnson, DVXUser member. I wrote it, but he cast it and 100% produced it in Minn. It was a last minute addition, because what I really will want there is an actual scene showing Casey robbing the bank. but for the purposes of this cut, I really dig the newscast.

[dvpixl]

let me just say - WOW!

[Mark Harris]

let me just say - WOW!

Well, considering how great your short was, that means a lot. Thanks for coming to check us out!

[preston]

Mark, thank you for your review of my film, To Kill a Rock Star. I'm glad you enjoyed it (at least someone did!). but hey, it was my first film ever, so I didn't expect many good reviews.

your film is very ambitious, and you all really nailed it. it's clear that you are serious about style, and every aspect of your filmmaking reflected this.

the range of talent and experience on these dramafest films is so great that it's difficult to compare them fairly; it's like apples and oranges. that being said, I can't think of anything that stood out in your film that could have been improved on. nothing destracted from the story - the acting was great, it was shot very well, the lighting was gorgeous, and the edit was smooth.

I loved it. :)

and yeah, our cowboys should get together and do some damage . . .

[TimurCivan]

Oh, and after that much Vodka I expected him to be on the ground.
LMFAO

Thats funny. Yea he was pretty hammered after a few takes. ;)

(no not really, it was Zima.)

[TimurCivan]

that's all conrad_johnson, DVXUser member. I wrote it, but he cast it and 100% produced it in Minn. It was a last minute addition, because what I really will want there is an actual scene showing Casey robbing the bank. but for the purposes of this cut, I really dig the newscast.


Ive got some Ideas for that news cast sequence.... we shall discuss. maybe that will be the next "1 weekend project".... :)

[Mark Harris]

Ive got some Ideas for that news cast sequence.... we shall discuss. maybe that will be the next "1 weekend project".... :)

I just got to convince a bank to let me run around shooting people with those two hand-cannons, and we got ourselves a scene!

PM me your idea.

[Mark Harris]

Mark, thank you for your review of my film, To Kill a Rock Star. I'm glad you enjoyed it (at least someone did!). but hey, it was my first film ever, so I didn't expect many good reviews.

your film is very ambitious, and you all really nailed it. it's clear that you are serious about style, and every aspect of your filmmaking reflected this.

the range of talent and experience on these dramafest films is so great that it's difficult to compare them fairly; it's like apples and oranges. that being said, I can't think of anything that stood out in your film that could have been improved on. nothing destracted from the story - the acting was great, it was shot very well, the lighting was gorgeous, and the edit was smooth.

I loved it. :)

and yeah, our cowboys should get together and do some damage . . .

Thanks man. I don't know why people wouldn't like your film. I'm sure I could nit-pick it and find stuff to improve on - esp if it's your first film, but the simple fact is, I just got into it and didn't think too much about those things. And ultimately that's what you want, I think.

P.S. - Dude, I was in Seattle at that time. That's exactly how it went down...

[TimurCivan]

I just got to convince a bank to let me run around shooting people with those two hand-cannons, and we got ourselves a scene!

PM me your idea.


WEll we may not need a bank for what ive got planned. :)

[Blaine]

WEll we may not need a bank for what ive got planned. :)GO TIMUR!!! Do it on the cheap...cheat it...be INDIE!!! :evil:

[Mark Harris]

You saying I should rob your parents, Timur and shoot it all at their place?

[TimurCivan]

lol, no. its an idea i origionally had as a story segment connector between, the bar, hotel and bar again. but it never made it into reality. kind of a... like..... Idunno i can only explain it in person, or with an example. which i will provide. we'll mull it over. If you dont like it, i'll deep six it.

[Mark Harris]

can't you just write it down and PM it?

[TimurCivan]

pmed

[insanityfw]

No, you are way right about the tone change. It may throw some people off, but it's intentional. Him being a cowboy is another sort of icon of Americana in here.

Tony, the credit dude, is all about one aspect of America, the whole thing about living beyond your means with credit cards, and how credit card companies will bleed you dry like the mob, if they have their way.

Jack is you and me, just trying to get by and there is no way we can afford the American dream without debt.

Katrina is the easy way to money, the crooked way, which is mighty seductive, but also might get you killed.

The Cowboy sort off represents the American attitude of "poo poo you, I'm doing it my way."

So even though the choices might hit some people oddly, at least you know there is some intent behind them and the themes I want to keep playing with in the story...

M


LMAO. Mark, if you ever decide to give up on film (which I would doubt) you could always go into politics. :) You always have a great way of saying, "thanks man, I understand what you're saying", but what you're really saying is, "shut the fuck up, it's my vision...thank you". Love it and I can't wait for the next project.

You guys have a great team and I can only hope that places like Phoenix can find a bit of what you guys are doing.

Put the word out when you're doing funding for the feature. I'm sure there are a few around that can help out, if only in a small way.

Best,

Jason

PS-You guys (and gals) really are a great team to watch and listen to. Thanks for always sharing so openly.

[Blaine]

You guys have a great team and I can only hope that places like Phoenix can find a bit of what you guys are doing..When you get that RED, Jason, I have a feeling that you're going to have a lot of new best friend filmmakers.

[Mark Harris]

LMAO. Mark, if you ever decide to give up on film (which I would doubt) you could always go into politics. :) You always have a great way of saying, "thanks man, I understand what you're saying", but what you're really saying is, "shut the poo poo up, it's my vision...thank you". Love it and I can't wait for the next project.

You guys have a great team and I can only hope that places like Phoenix can find a bit of what you guys are doing.

Put the word out when you're doing funding for the feature. I'm sure there are a few around that can help out, if only in a small way.

Best,

Jason

PS-You guys (and gals) really are a great team to watch and listen to. Thanks for always sharing so openly.

It's funny you say Phoenix, because the guy who played tony lives there and flew here for the part. But he has been involved in the film scene there and I've now got him scouting the lay of the land for possibly doing the feature there. The original concept was to set this in a desert motel like you find all over Calif where i grew up, so I have him checking out what it's like there, what it's like to film there, etc.

You have any dirt on that scene?

And I was NOT saying that at all. Just trying to expand on WHY some choices were made. :)

[TimurCivan]

When you get that RED, Jason, I have a feeling that you're going to have a lot of new best friend filmmakers.


Like me :)

[Mark Harris]

When you get that RED, Jason, I have a feeling that you're going to have a lot of new best friend filmmakers.

Yes Jason, welcome to the team. Timur just had a bad accident...

[TimurCivan]

*Owww....... my head...... I cAnt see!!!! my EYES!!!!! (Thud)..................................

[Blaine]

*Owww....... my head...... I cAnt see!!!! my EYES!!!!! (Thud)..................................You're not fooling anyone...that was JDS.

[TimurCivan]

EDIT: Im an idiot and i didnt understant Blains comment.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

uhh hey dude, that's kinda like funny or something, whatever that means, so ... you know.

[insanityfw]

You guys are great.

Believe me, I'm getting a RED, but I'm only a director. (no worries Mark, I'm also a producer and don't always have to direct :) Timur's still the talented DP, in my mind.

I think Blaine might have said it in jest (yes, I said jest), but if I can't entice talented people like you guys to want to play then it's just not worth it for me to buy RED. I really don't have any designs on being a DP, but I am a very intrigued by the craft.

For me, as a director, I want to know as much about all aspects as possible, just so I know what the hell I'm asking for when I'm doing a project. Having equipment is just a control issue with me.

that said, I have never met Tony before, that I know of. I have been involved in casting a couple of times here, but it's a weird disjointed industry. I am now becoming a judge and sponsor of a festival here that is trying to unify the local scene...we'll see how people respond. NOTE: Tony, if you're listening send me a PM and get in touch. I'd like to talk about other projects.

If you guys are thinking about coming out this way, i will definitely put in the time and effort to get thing together for you. I can think of a few places that might work for the theme of your movie and moreover what I can't think of I can probably find.

Let me know. I would think I can put a few people up out here for some location, pre-production work... and then if the RED comes through...well, I'm in. :)....but only if Timur shoots. (we'll have to rent Cooke lenses, because he said Nikons suck. :) )

In any case, you guys keep kicking ass.

Jason

[Mark Harris]

yeah, I'm not following that line of thought, either, JDan.

[Mark Harris]

You guys are great.

Believe me, I'm getting a RED, but I'm only a director. (no worries Mark, I'm also a producer and don't always have to direct :) Timur's still the talented DP, in my mind.

I think Blaine might have said it in jest (yes, I said jest), but if I can't entice talented people like you guys to want to play then it's just not worth it for me to buy RED. I really don't have any designs on being a DP, but I am a very intrigued by the craft.

For me, as a director, I want to know as much about all aspects as possible, just so I know what the hell I'm asking for when I'm doing a project. Having equipment is just a control issue with me.

that said, I have never met Tony before, that I know of. I have been involved in casting a couple of times here, but it's a weird disjointed industry. I am now becoming a judge and sponsor of a festival here that is trying to unify the local scene...we'll see how people respond. NOTE: Tony, if you're listening send me a PM and get in touch. I'd like to talk about other projects.

If you guys are thinking about coming out this way, i will definitely put in the time and effort to get thing together for you. I can think of a few places that might work for the theme of your movie and moreover what I can't think of I can probably find.

Let me know. I would think I can put a few people up out here for some location, pre-production work... and then if the RED comes through...well, I'm in. :)....but only if Timur shoots. (we'll have to rent Cooke lenses, because he said Nikons suck. :) )

In any case, you guys keep kicking ass.

Jason

Cool, Tony is the character, his real name is Brandon Ladd Burkey. I'll give you a shout if things start to gel. I have to kick out a script first and as D&G noted, there is a lot of it I want to make more my own, as well as really fleshing out a good feature length story.

[TimurCivan]

Let me know. I would think I can put a few people up out here for some location, pre-production work... and then if the RED comes through...well, I'm in. :)....but only if Timur shoots. (we'll have to rent Cooke lenses, because he said Nikons suck. :) )

In any case, you guys keep kicking ass.

Jason


They suck for high level filmmaking. But for high end ametuers they will pass. but like if i were working for an Ad ajency or lowbudget feature, i would rent the cookes. I contemplated renting Cookes for KAtrina, but the PL mount for the Sgpro wasnt available just yet.

[Mark Harris]

They suck for high level filmmaking. But for high end ametuers they will pass. but like if i were working for an Ad ajency or lowbudget feature, i would rent the cookes. I contemplated renting Cookes for KAtrina, but the PL mount for the Sgpro wasnt available just yet.

Not to mention you're a broke-assed mother-fucker.

[insanityfw]

OK, after almost a thousand posts I still don't know how to put multiple quotes in my response, so here we go.

Thanks Mark, I'll look around for Brandon as I'm casting, etc. Also, I completely understand the need to flesh things out. I was just putting my overzealous thoughts out there, so that they're....uhhh...out there. I can't take them back now. Not that i'd want to. The only desperation in my life is the need to continue to find passionate and talented people to communicate with.

Timur, I'm completely with you on the RED/Cooke, etc. issue. I've said in posts on the REDuser forum that for my "smaller" projects I would use the Nikons that I have and for "larger" projects, i would rent higher caliber lenses. i firmly believe that the glass won't make the film, but the glass helps make the film :) also, I won't tell anybody you're broke because if my wife kicks me out of the house for buying the RED, I'll be one "broke-assed mother-poo pooer" too ;)

PS-I guess NY never does sleep.

[TimurCivan]

Not to mention you're a broke-assed mother-poo pooer.


Yup WAY in debt last i checked....... PooPooing NYU

[concannon]

Mark,
I loved your film. Watched it three times. Great style, great story. Your lead was amazing and I really dug the dept collection guy. I think he stole the show.

[jeremytuttle]

Well, I'm sure there isn't much to say about this one that you guys haven't heard but I thought it was brilliant. The story was there, beginning middle and end. Okay maybe the "I need money" idea has been done, but you did with such style and skill that it worked and worked well. The dialogue in this was for me the best part. These lines could have been death for inexperienced actors but they pulled it off (I'm sure with the help of Mark) and they should great, witty, clever, and just bad a$$.

The shots were beautiful, my hat is off to you Timur and Aram. This was some of the best (if not the best) lighting I've seen in the Fest if not the other fest. There was only maybe two shots that made we stop and remember I was watching DV.

The sound design was great. Good job Conrad. The bed vibrating and stopping was great. It was the little things that made this really enjoyable.


Now for the questionable:
I'm not sure (and sorry if any of these were brought up before) about why there was two separate bags of money or was one empty or did she just have two bags of money or she had one the cowboy had one?
I'm not sure what I think about her living through the "situation"? I like the dialogue and connection they have at the end, but I wonder if maybe we saw how she got out that might fix the problem I had. I just felt it was strange to suddenly bring her back. You have this amazing scene in the hotel, this show down, and then it kinda becomes not as "powerful" when she is just back and okay.
I think the news cast was a little long without some kind of visual, maybe adding some smoke would help (slowly building up until the title (amazing titles by the way)).
I also think (and this is getting nic-picky) you stay on Katrina's face a little too long on the end. The eyebrow raise is nice but I think we see it too much.


Anyway, these are all minor critiques and I'm glad you didn't sacrifice the cut by making it 6 minutes. All I can say, though, is I'm glad you are non-compete:Drogar-Evil(DBG): :beer: .

[RomanJaquez]

Wow! nice job. A period piece? ...respect like AliG will say it.

Can I say anything that haven't being touched on yet? My comment is simple... think of like like a cherry on top of all the good stuff being said so far.

I loved it. Great job guys.

[Beat Takeshi]

Thanks all for the lighting kudos.
Mark, I think you did a great job on this and I'm proud to be a part of it. I love to see the rough and then see it come together in the end with all the tweaks.

[RomanJaquez]

Aram, I am jealous I wasn't part of it. :)

[insanityfw]

The sound design was great. Good job Conrad. The bed vibrating and stopping was great. It was the little things that made this really enjoyable.

[/COLOR]

Joe Johnson did the sound work. No wonder it sounded so good. He helped me out on my short that never made the Horrorfest....he's very talented. Another expert at being clean and understated.

You guys have one hell of a team. Need to have a DVXuser sponsored feature film. :)

[jeremytuttle]

Joe Johnson did the sound work. No wonder it sounded so good. He helped me out on my short that never made the Horrorfest....he's very talented. Another expert at being clean and understated.

You guys have one hell of a team. Need to have a DVXuser sponsored feature film. :)

Oh, I saw Conrad Johnson on his User Name, but yeah he does some good work.

[RebeccaD]

I was bowled over by this film! So much so that I compared every other film thereafter to it. You have set the bar high and should be very pleased with your efforts.

The lighting was beautiful and the acting superb. I especially liked the lead and Katrina. I for one did not question how she got out of the "situation" she was in at the hotel. That girl has skills!! :) I also noticed the makeup and wardrobe; very nicely done! Overall, this is such a great short and I am so thankful you kept it at 13 minutes and didn't destroy it by trying to compete. I have a few other reasons I'm glad you didn't compete....hee hee.:beer:

[TimurCivan]

Mark,
I loved your film. Watched it three times. Great style, great story. Your lead was amazing and I really dug the dept collection guy. I think he stole the show.

Thanks david, Mark worked awful hard on this. And its funny the Debt collection guy, either does for some, or leaves others lacking. i suppose its whether youre a fan of the Genre.




Well, I'm sure there isn't much to say about this one that you guys haven't heard but I thought it was brilliant. The story was there, beginning middle and end. Okay maybe the "I need money" idea has been done, but you did with such style and skill that it worked and worked well. The dialogue in this was for me the best part. These lines could have been death for inexperienced actors but they pulled it off (I'm sure with the help of Mark) and they should great, witty, clever, and just bad a$$.

The shots were beautiful, my hat is off to you Timur and Aram. This was some of the best (if not the best) lighting I've seen in the Fest if not the other fest. There was only maybe two shots that made we stop and remember I was watching DV.

The sound design was great. Good job Conrad. The bed vibrating and stopping was great. It was the little things that made this really enjoyable.


Now for the questionable:
I'm not sure (and sorry if any of these were brought up before) about why there was two separate bags of money or was one empty or did she just have two bags of money or she had one the cowboy had one?
I'm not sure what I think about her living through the "situation"? I like the dialogue and connection they have at the end, but I wonder if maybe we saw how she got out that might fix the problem I had. I just felt it was strange to suddenly bring her back. You have this amazing scene in the hotel, this show down, and then it kinda becomes not as "powerful" when she is just back and okay.
I think the news cast was a little long without some kind of visual, maybe adding some smoke would help (slowly building up until the title (amazing titles by the way)).
I also think (and this is getting nic-picky) you stay on Katrina's face a little too long on the end. The eyebrow raise is nice but I think we see it too much.


Anyway, these are all minor critiques and I'm glad you didn't sacrifice the cut by making it 6 minutes. All I can say, though, is I'm glad you are non-compete:Drogar-Evil(DBG): :beer: .


Yea Joe Johnson did an amazing job with the sound cues. there are little touches like, the sound of cars hissing by the window, police sirens, and all these little detials that added an inumerabel amount of texture and detail. I peronsally loved the Vibrating bed stopping. But my FAV overall, was the police siren when jack "no Katrina, I stole it!" it some how fits, and adds a psycholigical twist to the line. i love it.



Wow! nice job. A period piece? ...respect like AliG will say it.

Can I say anything that haven't being touched on yet? My comment is simple... think of like like a cherry on top of all the good stuff being said so far.

I loved it. Great job guys.


Yea its not Quite Drama, its more like, a fun ride i think :) I love the whole Noir Genre. The clothes, the cars, the light, the alleys, the dark grungy city. It makes me long for NYC 20 years ago. the way it should be. broken down and Dirty.

IF anyone is interested, a really good movie, thats semi noir, is "Bullet" starring Mickey rourke, Ted Levine, and Tupac Shakur. If you can accept the dialogue, as noir, and as a genre piece, its an A+ movie. (plus the whole movie was shot across the street form my grandfathers house)

[TimurCivan]

I was bowled over by this film! So much so that I compared every other film thereafter to it. You have set the bar high and should be very pleased with your efforts.

The lighting was beautiful and the acting superb. I especially liked the lead and Katrina. I for one did not question how she got out of the "situation" she was in at the hotel. That girl has skills!! :) I also noticed the makeup and wardrobe; very nicely done! Overall, this is such a great short and I am so thankful you kept it at 13 minutes and didn't destroy it by trying to compete. I have a few other reasons I'm glad you didn't compete....hee hee.:beer:

THank you, and im sure Lindsey would love to hear that.

[TimurCivan]

UPDATE:

Mark Harris is on "Administrative Hiatus" and unfortuantly will not be joining us for the rest of the contest. Its not important what happned, but keep writing comments he can read them. you can Email him comments at mark@desperatecomfort.com I think he would like that. :)

[TimurCivan]

Aram, I am jealous I wasn't part of it. :)


Come work with Aram next time. :) im finally putting into action my Big masterpiece Video art instillation for my solo show. come help out on that.

[RomanJaquez]

I'd take you up on that...

Send me the details: romanjaquez@mac.com :)

[TimurCivan]

ok..... yo uasked for it... lol

[insanityfw]

Overall, this is such a great short and I am so thankful you kept it at 13 minutes and didn't destroy it by trying to compete. I have a few other reasons I'm glad you didn't compete....hee hee.:beer:

That's funny, I got so wrapped up in it that I never even noticed the length. Way to go.
We went way over on a 48 film challenge once, on purpose, so that every actor and the story got served properly... we lost a lot of points, but it still all worked out fine. We got the Audience Choice, which is what it's really all about and you guys seem to prove that.

Even if you don't get to compete there's an Audience Fav. here.

[TimurCivan]

Yous guys is too kind. ( in the nomanclature of my Neighborhood)

[Floyd Thursby]

Now for the questionable:
I'm not sure (and sorry if any of these were brought up before) about why there was two separate bags of money or was one empty or did she just have two bags of money or she had one the cowboy had one?


There was no money in the briefcase she had. Should have been explained better, and in fact, there was a bit of the scene which got cut from the script, showing him opening the briefcase to find it full of phone books. The idea was that she never had the money, but was planning on getting him to kill the COWBOY and get his (the COWBOY'S) money, the money he steals at the top off the piece, in the news broadcast.



I'm not sure what I think about her living through the "situation"? I like the dialogue and connection they have at the end, but I wonder if maybe we saw how she got out that might fix the problem I had. I just felt it was strange to suddenly bring her back. You have this amazing scene in the hotel, this show down, and then it kinda becomes not as "powerful" when she is just back and okay.


Well the intent here is that she comes off as a wascally wabbit, and much more capable than she let on.



I think the news cast was a little long without some kind of visual, maybe adding some smoke would help (slowly building up until the title (amazing titles by the way)).

Agreed. I think there are some posts earlier in the thread that address this.



I also think (and this is getting nic-picky) you stay on Katrina's face a little too long on the end. The eyebrow raise is nice but I think we see it too much.

Yes you are correct, I think Mark said this was the result of just a screw up at the end. The film should black out on her before the music stops. This will be addressed in the next cut.

[TimurCivan]

FYI i heard through the grapevine, that there will be a Screening of dramafest movies coming up in NYC. Detials coming as they unravel.

[spidey]

cool!!

[david jerome]

Want to touch the booty. You guys make some awesome shit. What else left is there to say. Next stop hollywood.

david jerome

[Norm Sanders]

Hey guys, I'm EMBARRASSED I hadn't watched the film until today. I even could have seen it before anyone else, because of hosting the HD files, but instead I knew I wanted to watch it when I would have ZERO interruptions ... which pretty much meant once I was on an 8 hour plane flight.

My first disappointment was that my laptop wouldn't play the HD version without little skip/glitches throughout (stupid laptop, it's not your film, believe me), so I had to watch it on the smaller SD screen.

That said, I'm still REAL glad that you guys didn't enter. The guy who played Eric was GREAT. I ESPECIAILLY loved when he was on a role in the hotel, cutting everyone off with "Third....!". Demanding his list, and doing it well.

While the female who played Katrina was EXTREMELY easy on the eyes and fit the role very nicely, I'd have to say she was perhaps outshined by the gentleman who played Eric. Not that she didn't do a good job, because she did ... but she was up against one really good performer in this role. Kind of like Rebecca & I in our film ... tough to compare against that.

Oh yea, and I loved the debt collector guy as well. And Mark, to see you in the Cameo of that crazy huge gun toting cowboy, was great!

The set design & costumes were absolute top notch, and I don't need to waste your time telling you how brilliant the camera & lighting was in this ... it was pure cinema!

My ONLY critique might be that I thought some of the dialogue in spots (if I remember correctly, in the hotel?) was a little harder to hear than others, and that some of the fade/jump cuts in the bed scene could use some work/polish ... something about a lot of them bugged me ... perhaps just that the frames were SO similar that it at times seemed more like a blur than fade to another moment.

Other than those nit-picks, Congrats guys on an incredibly well made film'! Completely enjoyable, and looking forward to watching it again in it's extreme HD glory once I'm back home.

[Michael_Petro]

Ummm welll heres my review "I SUCK"

Great short!!!!!!!!!!

I just burned my camera thanks :)

[Gord.T]

Hi Mark.H. Have not read anything here but here goes. I think you (and crew) nailed it in all depts except 1. The music. I think the score was incorrect for this short and serioulsly hope you spend more effort next go around in this area. You guys deserve the best man, go get it.

[MattinSTL]

In all fairness I almost didn't make it through the initial "blackout"... but boy am I glad I waited... this thing is on the very cusp of greatness... not "fest" greatness... but REAL greatness.

A couple of bumps to address... but wow... seriously... wow.

Eric rocked my brain.
Mark pulled in a respectable second.
The collector was a really close third.
The dame wasn't bad at all.

Seriously guys... I'm extremely impressed. I'd hang onto Eric for as long as you can... that guy was truly awesome. I'm going to show this flick to all my local actors and tell them "this is what will set you free".

[TimurCivan]

Want to touch the booty. You guys make some awesome shi*. What else left is there to say. Next stop hollywood.

david jerome

Are you refering to our lovely Lindsey? Lol, Thank you David.


Hey guys, I'm EMBARRASSED I hadn't watched the film until today. I even could have seen it before anyone else, because of hosting the HD files, but instead I knew I wanted to watch it when I would have ZERO interruptions ... which pretty much meant once I was on an 8 hour plane flight.

My first disappointment was that my laptop wouldn't play the HD version without little skip/glitches throughout (stupid laptop, it's not your film, believe me), so I had to watch it on the smaller SD screen.

That said, I'm still REAL glad that you guys didn't enter. The guy who played Eric was GREAT. I ESPECIAILLY loved when he was on a role in the hotel, cutting everyone off with "Third....!". Demanding his list, and doing it well.

While the female who played Katrina was EXTREMELY easy on the eyes and fit the role very nicely, I'd have to say she was perhaps outshined by the gentleman who played Eric. Not that she didn't do a good job, because she did ... but she was up against one really good performer in this role. Kind of like Rebecca & I in our film ... tough to compare against that.

Oh yea, and I loved the debt collector guy as well. And Mark, to see you in the Cameo of that crazy huge gun toting cowboy, was great!

The set design & costumes were absolute top notch, and I don't need to waste your time telling you how brilliant the camera & lighting was in this ... it was pure cinema!

My ONLY critique might be that I thought some of the dialogue in spots (if I remember correctly, in the hotel?) was a little harder to hear than others, and that some of the fade/jump cuts in the bed scene could use some work/polish ... something about a lot of them bugged me ... perhaps just that the frames were SO similar that it at times seemed more like a blur than fade to another moment.

Other than those nit-picks, Congrats guys on an incredibly well made film'! Completely enjoyable, and looking forward to watching it again in it's extreme HD glory once I'm back home.

Yea MArk had to crank out the editing in only three days to give herman the time he needed to score, and Joe Johnson the time he needed to do the sound. I agree there are one or two little editing Quirks, (one of which was my fault for not getting proper coverage), but i think for only three days for 13 minutes of final product, he did an increadible job. im sure mark will continue to tweak the edits in the near future. we are already ready planning to start shooting the pick ups we missed on the first go around.



Ummm welll heres my review "I SUCK"

Great short!!!!!!!!!!

I just burned my camera thanks :)

Oh dude... Dont say that. You too can produce good results. The secret is, get two bright lights, one hard, one soft put them across fro eachother ina room, and have theactor stand right inbetween them.



Hi Mark.H. Have not read anything here but here goes. I think you (and crew) nailed it in all depts except 1. The music. I think the score was incorrect for this short and serioulsly hope you spend more effort next go around in this area. You guys deserve the best man, go get it.

Hmmm. Raptor, what kind of music do you feel would have fit? mark and i conferred that we wanted a jazzy/1950/1960's feel. I actually am very curious, because i think different music that we may not have thought of , could very well change the whole mood of the piece. Please give me an example, i'll play it under the film and see how it changes it. :)

[TimurCivan]

In all fairness I almost didn't make it through the initial "blackout"... but boy am I glad I waited... this thing is on the very cusp of greatness... not "fest" greatness... but REAL greatness.

A couple of bumps to address... but wow... seriously... wow.

Eric rocked my brain.
Mark pulled in a respectable second.
The collector was a really close third.
The dame wasn't bad at all.

Seriously guys... I'm extremely impressed. I'd hang onto Eric for as long as you can... that guy was truly awesome. I'm going to show this flick to all my local actors and tell them "this is what will set you free".

Yea Godfrey is the BOMB. I love his face when the music drops down to the baseline, and he takes off his glasses. Gangsta.

We mentioned before, but the black out is a kind of place marker temporarily.

[Michael_Petro]

Oh dude... Dont say that. You too can produce good results. The secret is, get two bright lights, one hard, one soft put them across fro eachother ina room, and have theactor stand right inbetween them.


weird you should say that.. on "alone" I did that very thing.. I got some home depot shop lights .. the bought me some 3200k photobulbs and did just what you said.. I actually thought my lighting was tons better than "betrayed" where I just flooded the room with lights.

[TimurCivan]

i know i noticed. :)

[Mark Harris]

In all fairness I almost didn't make it through the initial "blackout"... but boy am I glad I waited... this thing is on the very cusp of greatness... not "fest" greatness... but REAL greatness.

A couple of bumps to address... but wow... seriously... wow.

Eric rocked my brain.
Mark pulled in a respectable second.
The collector was a really close third.
The dame wasn't bad at all.

Seriously guys... I'm extremely impressed. I'd hang onto Eric for as long as you can... that guy was truly awesome. I'm going to show this flick to all my local actors and tell them "this is what will set you free".


You are correct. The actor is named Godfrey L Simmons and he is a long time stage actor in NYC, and one of my oldest friends. It was last year that I started putting him in my films, beginning with Man-Hole IV (http://www.desperatecomfort.com/phpwcms/index.php?id=20,54,0,0,1,0), and I have settled on him as a leading man since. I wrote the MH IV role for him and am going to continue writing for him. He is a remarkable pro.

[Mark Harris]

Hey guys, I'm EMBARRASSED I hadn't watched the film until today. I even could have seen it before anyone else, because of hosting the HD files, but instead I knew I wanted to watch it when I would have ZERO interruptions ... which pretty much meant once I was on an 8 hour plane flight.

My first disappointment was that my laptop wouldn't play the HD version without little skip/glitches throughout (stupid laptop, it's not your film, believe me), so I had to watch it on the smaller SD screen.

That said, I'm still REAL glad that you guys didn't enter. The guy who played Eric was GREAT. I ESPECIAILLY loved when he was on a role in the hotel, cutting everyone off with "Third....!". Demanding his list, and doing it well.

While the female who played Katrina was EXTREMELY easy on the eyes and fit the role very nicely, I'd have to say she was perhaps outshined by the gentleman who played Eric. Not that she didn't do a good job, because she did ... but she was up against one really good performer in this role. Kind of like Rebecca & I in our film ... tough to compare against that.



I agree with you about Lindsey. I talked to her about it and I felt like we lost some of the specificity in her performance when we got on set. And Godfrey is so pro that he kind of never loses it. So I think he wound up stealing the show. During rehearsal with Lindsey I tried to emphasize the importance of preparing each beat, knowing what your action is in each beat, because we will shoot out of order, and she said afterward she didn't fully grasp that concept at the time, though she thought she did.

All that said, she did a very nice job for us and I will be excited to work with her again.

[Mark Harris]

Yeah, some people have gone one way on the music and some the other way. When I talked to Herman about it I only said "Mingus and Miles." And in my head I had Brick as a model. As the tension in that movie builds to the climax, it has this crazy, off the rails jazz riff going, until the gun goes off in the basement and what's his name is jumping out the window.

the music is pretty much exactly what I wanted. But I would also be curious what you would prefer.

P.S. - Why'd you shoot me?


Hi Mark.H. Have not read anything here but here goes. I think you (and crew) nailed it in all depts except 1. The music. I think the score was incorrect for this short and serioulsly hope you spend more effort next go around in this area. You guys deserve the best man, go get it.

[Kholi]

P.S. - Why'd you shoot me?

ROFLMFFFFFAAMMMFFAAAAOOO

[Alex DePew]

Mark, they let you out of your cell? How benevolent!

[TimurCivan]

ROFLMFFFFFAAMMMFFAAAAOOO


BWAHAHAHahaHaHaHaHahahahaha.....



Btw, MArk, When they let you out?

[TimurCivan]

And in my head I had Brick as a model. As the tension in that movie builds to the climax, it has this crazy, off the rails jazz riff going, until the gun goes off in the basement and what's his name is jumping out the window.




Funny you mention that, i Just watched Brick just now, and was like.... God, This movie is fucking amazing.... I dont care if 16 year olds talk like 50 year old gangsters.

Im jut happy we made one our selves....

And mark i got the SICKEST idea for the opening credits. SICKEST!

[Herman Witkam]

Hi Mark.H. Have not read anything here but here goes. I think you (and crew) nailed it in all depts except 1. The music. I think the score was incorrect for this short and serioulsly hope you spend more effort next go around in this area. You guys deserve the best man, go get it.

To be honest, I think there's no such thing as an incorrect score, or an incorrect piece of music. There's just interpretation and opinion :) But feel free to clarify...

[Michael_Petro]

To be honest, I think there's no such thing as an incorrect score, or an incorrect piece of music. There's just interpretation and opinion :) But feel free to clarify...

Well I for one agree with you Hermin. I remember a couple of post last fest, where they said work on your music. I'm like of all things to work on they said music. I picked chose and played the music I felt fit the flick.. Now if you said I don't like your music( I know I don't like some music) that would be different and ok because thats your interpretation-opinion. I think incorrect score would be bears 48 colts 6 :)

my 2 pennies

[TimurCivan]

yea music is SOOO subjective. But i feel it worked beautfully. Thanks herman.

[J.R. Hudson]

Why was this included in Dramafest ?

It clocks in at almost 15 minutes.

[Brandon Rice]

It's non-compete:)

[Charli]

LOL@she likes my 35mm adapter.

That's messed up. Incredibly funny. Yes, Timmy has helped me on my 35mm adapter issues. You told me, Timmy, you weren't good with words, ha ha ha.

[J.R. Hudson]

It's non-compete:)

Ya think ?

[Mark Harris]

It was stated as non-compete from the beginning.

[TimurCivan]

LOL@she likes my 35mm adapter.

That's messed up. Incredibly funny. Yes, Timmy has helped me on my 35mm adapter issues. You told me, Timmy, you weren't good with words, ha ha ha.


ta tum cha!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Why was this included in Dramafest ?

It clocks in at almost 15 minutes.
heheh

It's like Matt Sconce's Stricken for Horrorfest ... made within the theme but too long for competition.

I like that there are one or two films who enter for exhibition only.

Those films get more attention and feedback than they would have just posting elsewhere in the forum.

The festival benefits because it feels a little bigger, and Since there will only be a 1 or 2 per fest and not like 10 or 12 (because only DVXusers would consider it - strangers would see the contest req's and think their film would not be accepted), it's not a huge bandwidth issue. But these films are like Sliding Doors, or Affliction, or Big Lebowski at Sundance 98. Too big for competition, but help flesh out the festival, so they are exhibition only.

my 2¢

[Brandon Rice]

Hm. I should put Smuggler's Ransom in Spyfest :) hehe

[TimurCivan]

Also we hosted our own 720 versions. So theres not bandwidth problems for the Brass here. :)

[Christopher Barry]

720p footage looks amazing. Very sharp footage Timur.:thumbsup: Did you use the HVX B Press setting for the Katrina shoot?

[aFox]

Thought that was a great movie, enjouyed it very much. Cool Musik, great lightning, costumes, actors. That dialog when she asks him: "is it hard,... etc" is hillarious. Fun movie to watch, reminded me of oceans 11.

One thing i didnt like was the scene on the street, i think the lightning wasnt good because his face was in the dark. I also didnt like the backround wall behind her, that had no texture at all. looked boring.

and I could not see the ending because, there was a prpblem with the quicktime file.

Still, i had a good time watching it

[TimurCivan]

720p footage looks amazing. Very sharp footage Timur.:thumbsup: Did you use the HVX B Press setting for the Katrina shoot?


Bpress KRew.

[Christopher Barry]

kewl. I would like to see a contrast B&W version or a de-sat grade like Sky Captain (though SC look not created by de-sat), or even some experimenting with a version in B&W with secondary CC holding just red tone and elements, which are lush in many of the scenes.

Just some wacky ideas that came to mind, though I totally dig Katrina as is.:)

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

SC is chroma blur among other things

[TimurCivan]

Mmmmmm..... WE went through alot of trouble to get thoes colors to register on screen..... I dunn if i want ot take them away. i shot the outdoor stuff Wit hthe chroma at like -5, to desat and to keep Noise down. i think it really makes the air look colder.

[Mark Harris]

well, it might be an interesting exercise, but to be honest, since we were going so much for this old Hollywood look, one of the things I wanted here - and Timur really delivered on - was to achieve our look with the photography, rather than in post. I know Timur was reading up on the classic book "Painting with light" and studying up on some movies I gave him and others he found on his own.

I am considering having the movie professionally color corrected, but mainly to even out a couple of bumps in the lighting continuity and to get as much out of the existing image as possible.

There is a hair of cc in the hotel room scene now, in an attempt to bring the lighting down a little. But for the most part, I really love the images we got in the camera.

[TimurCivan]

Dude trust me, Pro CC will cost you more than the whole movie. 850$ an hour wit hthe colorist. And thats the night rate. Granted it will look like 1.000.000 $ after ward, but it will cost you like 5,000. UNLESS you know someone, then you can get it for cheap. I unfortunatly have connections that only extend so far. Maybe monica knows someone?

[Mark Harris]

Dude trust me, Pro CC will cost you more than the whole movie. 850$ an hour wit hthe colorist. And thats the night rate. Granted it will look like 1.000.000 $ after ward, but it will cost you like 5,000. UNLESS you know someone, then you can get it for cheap. I unfortunatly have connections that only extend so far. Maybe monica knows someone?


OH didn't I tell you, I'm letting you pay for that part. I have this whole plan worked out where you get a grant for grad school, and then we pull a fast one and spend it on the CC! :)

[TimurCivan]

Sweet i'd do it.... well maybe we should apply for a grant period? Perhaps the NEA, or some organization will give some money towards the project.... ( NEA wont dough to anyone anymore on second thought)

[Mark Harris]

Or you know that scene I want to do with Casey robbing the bank? maybe I just rob a bank. But man, you GOTTA get it in one shot in case I get killed by the police.

[TimurCivan]

but then who will edit?

[Mark Harris]

Dude, if you get footage of me getting iced by the NYPD, you won't NEED to edit it. It will just work

[Blaine]

With 26 more posts in this thread, you guys will have the 2nd largest Fest thread ever.:beer:

By the time you get the editing figured out, you should be there...:grin:

[TimurCivan]

lol... but wont that be a continuity error? you dead... then sudenly showing back up....

[TimurCivan]

we couldnt have beaten Rekindled? EDIT: O yea youre right..... Crazy. But noone will ever surpass TTN.

[Christopher Barry]

JDS, yes, lots of 'among other things' with SC. :beer:

Timur and Mark, I fully respect your choices and really like your final product, even if you do some more minor tweaks as Mark mentioned. I do not want to suggest you change it, just expressing some ideas that came to mind. I like to tinker in post, but the makers of a movie should express what they want.:thumbsup:

I had Katrina as one of my top four entries to choose from, then I realised it was NC, grrrr.

Edit: name correction

[Christopher Barry]

well, it might be an interesting exercise, but to be honest, since we were going so much for this old Hollywood look, one of the things I wanted here - and Timur really delivered on - was to achieve our look with the photography, rather than in post. I know Timur was reading up on the classic book "Painting with light" and studying up on some movies I gave him and others he found on his own.

Got it. I now understand the look you intended and were going for. You did it well. I must have missed where you said that in the previous, umm, 87 pages. :D

[Tom Marshall]

Hey guys, this kicks ass :)

[TimurCivan]

thanks Tommy. :)

[Brandon Rice]

Hey guys, this kicks ass :)

Understatement....

It's incredible :beer:

[TimurCivan]

Thanks Brandon. :)

[deedive]

definitely one of the best

[Mark Harris]

thanks for watching, Dale.

[Beat Takeshi]

Can't wait to get better from this killer couhg and burn a copy to play on the plasmas at work.

[TimurCivan]

Come by my house... i just got a 60" SOny XRD2 SCreen.... ITS RAD..... HiDEF IS MAZING... im addicted...

[TimurCivan]

definitely one of the best


Thank you dude!

[Mark Harris]

Did you watch the film on there?

[TimurCivan]

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yea..!!!!!!!!!\


ITs looks SEXY.

If you got time one of these days, swing by. we'll watch the 1 gig version.

[Mark Harris]

tonight?

[TimurCivan]

i will be at a production meeting for ashort im shootin till bout 10? after that feel free.

Or like 4:30? cause i got to meet up with Gary at 6:00 in queens.

[Mark Harris]

So Timur, you going to figure out how to mount that HD TV on your HVX upside down like this:
http://www.puffinfilms.com/Katrina%20Shoot%20Day2/DSC00432.JPG

[spidey]

nice lcd what is that???

[Mark Harris]

just some cheap-assed DVD player.

[spidey]

how you power it?

[TimurCivan]

its battery powered. but its crap. Im gonna have to rent a VArizoom.

[spidey]

hmmm

[Mark Harris]

Why don;t you just borrow jack's? Get it quick though before be breaks it.

[TimurCivan]

they didint win it yet.

[spidey]

how sad that sounds...

[Gord.T]

Hmmm. Raptor, what kind of music do you feel would have fit? mark and i conferred that we wanted a jazzy/1950/1960's feel. I actually am very curious, because i think different music that we may not have thought of , could very well change the whole mood of the piece. Please give me an example, i'll play it under the film and see how it changes it. :)

Hi Tim. Yeah, I hope I didn't sound too harsh there. It was a knee jerk response.
I don't know, maybe it's because I was knee deep in back-to-back Drama Fest videos that I was
'expecting' a different sound track. I wasn't actually dogging the music itself.
In fact I liked it. My first reaction was it was wrong score-wise and that it did not add to the shots or story.
Having had time to rewatch a few more times with a 'clearer' head I now see what your doing. In fact I
like it and it's really growing on me, lol, go figure. The score reminds me of Sin City (2005)
with Bruce Willis with the type of mood it sets. It definitly adds an artsy feel and is actually
very well done. As with all things that are different I've found to expect, well, almost a backlash
kind of effect, until it 'settles in' and I think that's what has happened to me in this case.
It was different and I reacted.
Before that, my response was going to be about the importance of a score in film. It can
make or break a film but is often overlooked or taken less seriously than other areas. With any film, it would be 'nice'
to have three different people score it and view the different interpretations and effects it has on mood.
That was where I was trying to point you earlier and still think it has some merit and is something you could explore in
the future. I'm stressing 'could' here.
That said, this moive is really 'coming to me' in a fast way and I'm falling in love with it AND the score.
I guess some things just take time. I like what you've done here and will be burning the hi-res version.
This is going to look and sound great on my bigger setup.
Great work guys.

[TimurCivan]

thanks dude. well make sure you give props to the music man herman!

[Mark Harris]

Hi Tim. Yeah, I hope I didn't sound too harsh there. It was a knee jerk response.
I don't know, maybe it's because I was knee deep in back-to-back Drama Fest videos that I was
'expecting' a different sound track. I wasn't actually dogging the music itself.
In fact I liked it. My first reaction was it was wrong score-wise and that it did not add to the shots or story.
Having had time to rewatch a few more times with a 'clearer' head I now see what your doing. In fact I
like it and it's really growing on me, lol, go figure. The score reminds me of Sin City (2005)
with Bruce Willis with the type of mood it sets. It definitly adds an artsy feel and is actually
very well done. As with all things that are different I've found to expect, well, almost a backlash
kind of effect, until it 'settles in' and I think that's what has happened to me in this case.
It was different and I reacted.
Before that, my response was going to be about the importance of a score in film. It can
make or break a film but is often overlooked or taken less seriously than other areas. With any film, it would be 'nice'
to have three different people score it and view the different interpretations and effects it has on mood.
That was where I was trying to point you earlier and still think it has some merit and is something you could explore in
the future. I'm stressing 'could' here.
That said, this moive is really 'coming to me' in a fast way and I'm falling in love with it AND the score.
I guess some things just take time. I like what you've done here and will be burning the hi-res version.
This is going to look and sound great on my bigger setup.
Great work guys.

I guess that $20 I mailed him worked...

[TimurCivan]

lol!

[Gord.T]

Herman? Great work, as always. It just took me a bit to 'see' it. Excuse me while I go hide under a rock.

[Mark Harris]

LOL! cool, thanks for giving it another shot. though i would not have been offended if you STILL did not like it. Was just genuinely curious what you would have expected there.

[TimurCivan]

Ditto!

[TimurCivan]

Whoa! cool we get our own Forum.....

[Mark Harris]

Hey, whoever created the Non-Compete section, good call!!!

You should move JimTheJib's film over here too.

[TimurCivan]

yea he can come hang with us.

[Jarred Land]

sorry guys.. just a little sidetrack.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

And we're back folks :)

You guys deserve your own subforum.

You are in a class by yourselves.

Sorry I haven't given a good review yet, I am behind the eightball on a project right now.

But suffice it to say for now that I was very impressed and not at all surprised.

Great job guys.

Jack

[TimurCivan]

Thanks Jack. :)

[TimurCivan]

sorry guys.. just a little sidetrack.
No prob man, we thought there was a fight brewing in the thread that none of us was aware of. lol

[snodart]

Excellent work! I loved the story. The man who played the lead rocked big time. I was totally into his character after the second shot... pulled me right and made me anxious to find out what was going to happen.

Title card with the smoke was perfect.

Kudos on art direction. I can only imagine all of the work that went into it.

I loved the score. I didn't find it at all distracting, yet at the same time, I caught myself tapping my foot to that funky bass line (win, win). Seemed very fitting to the story and the mood.

Did I mention that the lead rocked.

The bedroom scene unfolded well. The back and forth flow kept me locked in. The girl played the part very well.

I have to be honest, when I saw the screen cap of the cowboy character, I wasn't sure how well it was going to work. Not at all the case once I watched it though. Nice work Mark.

One thing that stuck out to me a little (for whatever reason)... The shot a 11:16 didn't feel right to me. I like where it was going, but I think the lighting made it feel a "lit" if you know what I mean.

Just a stand up job. I think the biggest thing that stands out as a plus about this flick is that it felt fresh, new, and original. Pleasure to watch.

All the hard work paid off!

[Jarred Land]

No prob man, we thought there was a fight brewing in the thread that none of us was aware of. lol


No.. I received a constant line of complaints about this thread being mixed in with each other so we decided that its best to just seperate you guys..

didnt delete the thread, just moved it.

[Tom Marshall]

Wow, you're own subforum... aren't you special... :beer:

[Mark Harris]

Excellent work! I loved the story. The man who played the lead rocked big time. I was totally into his character after the second shot... pulled me right and made me anxious to find out what was going to happen.

Title card with the smoke was perfect.

Kudos on art direction. I can only imagine all of the work that went into it.

I loved the score. I didn't find it at all distracting, yet at the same time, I caught myself tapping my foot to that funky bass line (win, win). Seemed very fitting to the story and the mood.

Did I mention that the lead rocked.

The bedroom scene unfolded well. The back and forth flow kept me locked in. The girl played the part very well.

I have to be honest, when I saw the screen cap of the cowboy character, I wasn't sure how well it was going to work. Not at all the case once I watched it though. Nice work Mark.

One thing that stuck out to me a little (for whatever reason)... The shot a 11:16 didn't feel right to me. I like where it was going, but I think the lighting made it feel a "lit" if you know what I mean.

Just a stand up job. I think the biggest thing that stands out as a plus about this flick is that it felt fresh, new, and original. Pleasure to watch.

All the hard work paid off!


thanks for checking us out Justin. You are definitely one of the heavyweights around here and it means a lot that you would stop in and take the time to comment. Thanks for the kind words too. I'm very happy you enjoyed it, but if anything else sticks out at you that can be tweaked, fixed, doesn't sit right, feel free. I respect your opinion a LOT. So anything else your eye catches can only benefit us.

About that shot. Yeah, I may just be too in love with it consider it objectively...I basically ripped it from a shot in "Raiders," so it's got to stay :) It's odd to me though that that shot seems more "lit" than many others. To a degree, that's cool, because in what we're doing - going for a very stylized look - everything looks "lit" when you stop and scrutinize it. I wonder if that shot sticks out for anyone else.

Anyway, thanks!

[Mark Harris]

No.. I received a constant line of complaints about this thread being mixed in with each other so we decided that its best to just seperate you guys..

didnt delete the thread, just moved it.

Sorry, we really did not think it was going to cause all this hubbub. We honestly though that it would be cool with everyone, because we didn't remember a lot of complaints about Sconce's film in the last fest. Everyone just left their comments on it and moved on.

But I think, if you guys keep going with some non-compete films in future fests, a subforum is a GREAT idea.

[TimurCivan]

One thing that stuck out to me a little (for whatever reason)... The shot a 11:16 didn't feel right to me. I like where it was going, but I think the lighting made it feel a "lit" if you know what I mean.



Thank you for a GREAT review. Honestly that was one of my favorite shots of the film. lol.

[Darkline]

Hey you two!

I expected a well polished short and that's exactly what you delivered. Technically faultless. I really enjoyed the minute of black opening; and Mark's cameo as Yosemite Sam was pretty dam good.

While this kind of film isnt my favourite genre I still enjoyed it and I have to give you kudos in another major area... you handle the dialogue great.

So many times in short films you get blatant lines of 'come on man you havent been the same since your wife died in that shootout 4 years ago and without her you havent been able to connect to any other woman since and have a beastiality problem'. . . . But you handled the dialogue in the final scene with the dexterity it deserved. He opens the door a little and that's enough. I liked it.

Also I think you did the wise thing by it being NC. This was quite a heavy character dialogue piece and I dont think it would have worked well at 6 minutes.

minor points : The music seemed to be too loud in the mix when we watched it - actually no, I'll rephrase, it was distracting. The music is kinda bouncy and sax stabs come in and out of the piece during dialogue sequences; I found that to be offputting to the conversation as all of a sudden you're 'aware' of the music instead of it feeling integral to the piece. However that could be to do with us piping it out of a laptop onto a TV via the headphones socket! Also theres a bit where the main character speaks but no words come out (maybe that was my in-built chrisitan swear detector that I installed)

Overall a very nice piece and well done on the cinematography Timur. This looked like a film... I'll give you a bowl of milk for that.

Well done guys, this is definately in the top tier of this fest. I hope to see you both in the next fest.

[jpbankesmercer]

Guys,

Nice to see you working so hard on this. Lead was great. I got worried with the street scene as Katrina’s performance seemed a little choppy but her character gained better pace in the motel scene. Loved Mark’s cameo, nice to see more involvement from directors having a go a bit parts in this fest. Hated the funny money, why didn’t you tie a few bucks on the faces of those bundles? (unless they were real, I’m British don’t forget), length of the piece felt a little indulgent for me but overall flawless delivery, solid performances and beautiful shot choice/ lighting.

Well done.

J.P.

[Mark Harris]

hey guys, thanks! Really wish we would have seen you two putting in films, but next time, I guess. I love both of your work.

JP, you are spot on about her performance on the street. And in the second cut I'm doing, I've tightened that up significantly and brought a lot more urgency to her performance.

About the length, I can totally understand what you're saying, and I in addition to that street scene, I have tightened up some more areas, but in general it was hard for me to see it much shorter and still get what I wanted out of it - meaning, I did not want it to feel too short for the story.

And if you haven't been through the thread, this basically represents the first 15 minutes of a feature I'm writing. So i think some of the scenes play more like feature scenes than short scenes, if that makes sense.

But also, one thing I wanted to play with in this was an idea big in the studio era of Hollywood - and still very big, though in subtler ways, is the fetishizing of movie stars. So part of my goal with her was to fetishize her, let the audience look at her, take her in, lust for her, etc, the way JACK does.

Anyway, thanks for stoping by guys!

[wesley]

Just seen this and have to say i loved it. This one or 18 seconds would be my fav.

[Billy Pilgrim]

Good thing for everyone else that this isn't competing, because this would probably win first place. At least in my book.

[Matt Sconce]

Yep, it is pretty rockin.

[Herman Witkam]

The music seemed to be too loud in the mix when we watched it - actually no, I'll rephrase, it was distracting. The music is kinda bouncy and sax stabs come in and out of the piece during dialogue sequences; I found that to be offputting to the conversation as all of a sudden you're 'aware' of the music instead of it feeling integral to the piece. However that could be to do with us piping it out of a laptop onto a TV via the headphones socket!

yeah - could be. The saxes are mixed to the sides, so that there's room for the dialog in the middle. If it is output mono, I can see how it gets in the way.

[Gord.T]

I just sat down to burn Katrina_HD to disc and just realized Nero doesn't handle
qt files. I tired changing the extension to mov but it didn't read. I thought of putting it in vegas and rendering an
uncompressed avi but I don't get an audio track. Any plans in the future to put up an avi?
Or is there a way to do it? Just wanted to watch it on the TV.
Thanks ahead of time.

[Beat Takeshi]

Bring it into something like Canopus Procoder or Sorenson Squeeze and make the VOB files to burn from there.

[Mark Harris]

Yeah, vegas won't read the H264 QT. I can put an AVI up this weekend.

M

[TimurCivan]

Output the Audio from QT as a WAVE file. then drop that under the origional H264 in Vegas. you get perfect results.

[Elton]

Mark, Timur, Aram and the rest of the Katrina folks--that was some slick stuff! I am impressed on many different levels. And btw, thanks for posting an HD version of it. Very nice--you guys nailed the film look and it's nice that even using a 35 adapter held up well in an HD frame. It was quite beautiful, and just for kicks I watched it in black and white, which seemed to sell the noir feel a little better. (I know it's a cliche', but still)

Excellent work. :)

[Mark Harris]

thanks for coming to check us out, Elton.

I am finally going to get to see the 720 on a big 60" HD TV later on tonight. Timur's dad bought one. Can't wait.

[Elton]

I am finally going to get to see the 720 on a big 60" HD TV later on tonight. Timur's dad bought one. Can't wait.

Nice. I'm gonna plug it into my 720p projector tonight and watch it at 144". :)

[Mark Harris]

duuuuuude, you GOTTA give us a report on how it looks. We screen it in a movie theater on Mar 13th, but I would love to hear how it handles the blow-up for you.

M

[Elton]

The proper viewing distance is about 18 feet back, which is where the couch in my HT room is positioned. It's really big, but not too close.

I'm sure it'll look great because the encoding is pretty decent. I'm surprised by that actually because I checked the bit rate in QT player and it said 2108 Kbs, which is extremely low for a 720p clip...but it looks pretty good on my LCD monitor.

I'll give you a report tonight some time. :)

[TimurCivan]

hey mark. my flight lands at 1030 in laguardia. i should be home 1130 ish??? i will call you when i land. bring your laptop. mine isnt fast enought to play the 1.3 gig version. i will call you when im almost home.

[Kholi]

KATRINA - REVIEWED

G'day gang. So I FINALLY got to check out Katrina, twice in a rizzow, and I'm pretty impressed at the solidity of your production. If this was competing, I know exactly who the winner would be. Regardless, I think you've won yourself more than what the DVXfest prize could give: A great team and a great product to show.

Gotta start off by saying that I, personally, enjoyed the dialogue. At some points, it seemed as though longer sentences wanted to fit into smaller time frames, but were delivered well-enough to keep everything moving forward. Dialogues a tough deal for writers, man! Good job, Mark Harris. Keeping on the idea o'writing here, I'd like to know if what you invisioned translated to screen (of course given the budget restraints). At times, during the second watch, it felt like there were parts where we lingered a bit long.

For example: The hotel scene where Katrina and Eric/Jack are getting into it felt like it played on a bit long. I really got the tension between the two, and the backstory came out through the alleway interaction and the very beginning of the hotel room scene. I mean, I got to see them hate each other, flirt with each other, and then they lock lips. I got it, but I'm just wondering if it lingered on that long in the script. My second example was the final shot, where Katrina takes her seat next to Eric/Jack. I was expecting something to happen, but she just kept smiling. That's probably all an editing thing, though, now that I think about it.

Boy, did it look GREAT though. I liked your hotel room scene, and the night exterior, but the image really shined in the bar. There's probably plenty of good reason for that, or that might just be my opinion. Overall, I think the team pulled off some really fantastic looking HVX+Adapter footage. Very creative lighting, well framed shots. I think my favorites were always Eric/Jack and the "Debt Collector". They just looked awesome, to me.

I do have a quesiton about the hotel scene. I noticed that there's a healthy amount of yellow or "warm" tone. First, I thought that this might just be the aesthetic chosen. What threw me off is, during the kissing scene, the tones are even and a bit more pleasant. Well, less taxing on the eyes than the warm. I think if it had been consistant, I would've gotten beyond it with the thought that this was an aesthetic choice. The switch between threw me. Was that intentional?

Woooo sound quality was good, you guys! On a second watch, just for critiques, I wasn't exaclty feeling the score. I noticed it more the second go around because I opened my eyes to the production. But, aside from that, foley, etc... sweet.

And your actors, as always it seems, are pretty damned decent. Lucky to have them working for ya, man. I can't say that I have too many qualms about the acting, if any at all. Then again, I'm only called to attention in this aspect when something just doesn't "feel" right. By the way, Harris, good job!

I'd just like to know: Do you feel this could be a good two minutes shorter? Anything that you could slice out to make a extremely tight ten or eleven minute? I can't put my finger on it, but sometimes it feels like it drags a bit.

Do you think the black-space intro is necessary? I'm not saying that it isn't or that it is, I just want to know if you (Mark Harris) feels that it's totally necessary to get the point across?

All around an awesome short. You guys made me even happier to be an HVX owner... cause you know I'm always harping about a noisey-ass picture. (I've since learned that I should probably try using the settings. =P) I also can't wait to purchase me own SGproRev2. This is a great advertisement for Wayne Kinney!

Sorry for getting to this one so late! I still have to have a watch on my TV!

[TimurCivan]

Thanks for a proper indepth Kholi. :)

[Mark Harris]

Hey Kholi, thanks as always for the review. I will get on it in the morning and answer some of the stuff - you know, tell you what an ignorant buffoon, you are.

j/k - one thing this fest was sorely lacking in was more massive Kholi reviews...

[Kholi]

Hey Kholi, thanks as always for the review. I will get on it in the morning and answer some of the stuff - you know, tell you what an ignorant buffoon, you are.

j/k - one thing this fest was sorely lacking in was more massive Kholi reviews...

I so couldn't do it this time. I feel totally bad. I'm still pretty sick as it is, and while that's no excuse, just couldn't do it!!!

But I REALLY liked Katrina. Pretty much tells me that whatever I do, I have a seriously high bar to reach for.

[Norm Sanders]

I think of anyone's reviews I may look forward to the most, it's Kholi's. He just pours himself into them, and it's much appreciated.

He's right though, you guys are a ROCKIN' advertisement for Kinney's SGPro. I remember doing a test/shoot out with it a year ago, and it looks like he's made TONS of improvements, and you guys have maximized it big time. VERY little light loss, I'm assuming?

All I can say is THANKYOU for going over 6 minutes ... Or our film would have been 3rd, at best.

[TimurCivan]

the old Sg35 was kinda sucky cause it had a bad Acromat. The new parts are custom made, and are SICK.

the light loss was about a stop.

Its an amazing Adapter.

[Mark Harris]

yeah, very little light loss, because we never had less that 1000 watts in any one scene :)

[TimurCivan]

Do what you gotta do mang.

but we were also stopped down three stops to keep the lenses Sharp. and look how good it payed off...... :)

[Mark Harris]

i know, just breaking your balls.

[Erik Olson]

Katrina Crew,

I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the photography in your short. Top notch stuff. I was unaware that the film ran long - I guess I'll have to go back and watch it again to see how far it ran over.

It is too long. Now, this is coming from a shooter who has never been able to edit, so take that for what it's worth. Anyway, you could have lost 95% of the black introductory sequence and much of the fat. Certain scenes, like the one at the top with the collection agent and Erik were perfect. Again, great coverage and choice of shots all the way through that scene.

The bedroom stuff was agonizingly long. The standoff could have been a third shorter.

I think my reaction to the length is attributable to the fact that your film and Heritage were my two favorites across the board. I think that if you'd made some difficult (and not really difficult) edit decisions, a shorter version likely would have taken the contest based on your lead's performance and the aforementioned stellar tech. Music reminded me of Taxi Driver - loved it.

Anyway, congrats on a great short. I hope it continues to open some doors for your team moving forward.

e

[Matt Sconce]

Anyway, congrats on a great short. I hope it continues to open some doors for your team moving forward.

e

I hope so too! I really think it will! Good luck guys and awesome stuff!:)

[Elton]

Btw guys, it looked great on my 12 ft HT screen. If the projector at your theatre is HD I'm sure it'll look great.

[Alex DePew]

Btw guys, it looked great on my 12 ft HT screen. If the projector at your theatre is HD I'm sure it'll look great.

What is HT? And 12ft????:huh:

[Kholi]

Btw guys, it looked great on my 12 ft HT screen. If the projector at your theatre is HD I'm sure it'll look great.

Me thinks they have yet to watch this on a great screen or projector. They're missing out on their own product!!

It looks sweet.

[TimurCivan]

oh i watched it...... Drool....

[Mark Harris]

I am going to Timur's tonight to watch it on the big screen.

Thanks Elton!!!!

[Kholi]

oh i watched it...... Drool....


Yeah man. Seriously. Even your 1gig HD version was extra sick. I'm very impressed.

[TimurCivan]

I am going to Timur's tonight to watch it on the big screen.

Thanks Elton!!!!

if you actually make it this time..... lol dont forget to bring your laptop

[Elton]

What is HT? And 12ft????:huh:

HT= Home Theater

12 ft diagonal 16x9 screen.

[Elton]

Yeah man. Seriously. Even your 1gig HD version was extra sick. I'm very impressed.

There's a 1 Gig version posted? Dang

[TimurCivan]

First page of the thread

[Elton]

D'Ling now. :) Hope you don't burn up your bandwidth too quickly! It's great to see this stuff in its full glory.

I plan to do the same thing with my SpyFest entry. I still think it would be cool to have a "Special Edition" data DVD of all the HD entries that would like to strut their stuff. :)

[TimurCivan]

oh my site is GONE. its Bandwidth excedded. :( too bad. now i can't show people my reel..... lol.

[Christopher Barry]

Do what you gotta do mang.

but we were also stopped down three stops to keep the lenses Sharp. and look how good it payed off...... :)

Timur, would you kindly expand on this please?

Also, you stopped down f-stop on your Nikon or used ND's in front of the Nikon fully open?

Thanks.

[Mark Harris]

[COLOR=Yellow]KATRINA - REVIEWED

[COLOR=White]

Gotta start off by saying that I, personally, enjoyed the dialogue. At some points, it seemed as though longer sentences wanted to fit into smaller time frames, but were delivered well-enough to keep everything moving forward. Dialogues a tough deal for writers, man! Good job, Mark Harris. Keeping on the idea o'writing here, I'd like to know if what you invisioned translated to screen (of course given the budget restraints). At times, during the second watch, it felt like there were parts where we lingered a bit long.

For example: The hotel scene where Katrina and Eric/Jack are getting into it felt like it played on a bit long. I really got the tension between the two, and the backstory came out through the alleway interaction and the very beginning of the hotel room scene. I mean, I got to see them hate each other, flirt with each other, and then they lock lips. I got it, but I'm just wondering if it lingered on that long in the script. My second example was the final shot, where Katrina takes her seat next to Eric/Jack. I was expecting something to happen, but she just kept smiling. That's probably all an editing thing, though, now that I think about it.


In the last shot, it was just a bad cut on my part. She is supposed to go black long before that. But in the hotel room, do you think the scene is overwritten? Meaning, do you think the solution is in cutting beats out of the script, or in the edit?



I do have a quesiton about the hotel scene. I noticed that there's a healthy amount of yellow or "warm" tone. First, I thought that this might just be the aesthetic chosen. What threw me off is, during the kissing scene, the tones are even and a bit more pleasant. Well, less taxing on the eyes than the warm. I think if it had been consistant, I would've gotten beyond it with the thought that this was an aesthetic choice. The switch between threw me. Was that intentional?


I got some CC to do throughout that scene to even things out. I would like it all to be more warm and darker like in the beginning of the scene.



I'd just like to know: Do you feel this could be a good two minutes shorter? Anything that you could slice out to make a extremely tight ten or eleven minute? I can't put my finger on it, but sometimes it feels like it drags a bit.


I am looking for some things. Since you and Erik below posted, I have been asking a lot of people this, and so far the majority do not thing it drags.



Do you think the black-space intro is necessary? I'm not saying that it isn't or that it is, I just want to know if you (Mark Harris) feels that it's totally necessary to get the point across?

I want a scene there like that that sort of kicks the movie off with more of a bang than the diner scene does(which WAS the first scene). And there will be visuals there, I just did not have time to get them done. It will be something of a title sequence that actually adds to the story there, over the radio broadcast. In my feature version, the bank robbery is an actual scene.

thanks for the comments!

[Mark Harris]

Erik, I really appreciate you taking the time to check us out.



The bedroom stuff was agonizingly long. The standoff could have been a third shorter.

Same thing I asked Kholi: Do you think we can actually lose beats (lines) out of the script, or just tighten up the edit? Are there script elements that seem redundant?

Also, out of curiosity, do you think the hotel room scene would see as long if it were in a feature? Part of that scene where she slowly kisses him several times is another thing I lifted from "Raiders." In that film, I had always loved the scene on board the ship, where she says" "Well, goddamn it, where doesn't it hurt?" the last part of those kisses are played largely in one shot. I was trying to allow the actors to carry my scene the same way. And to my view, that stuff works because they maintain the tension.

Anyway, do you think the fact that people are watching shorts would have any effect on their opinion of scene length?



Anyway, congrats on a great short. I hope it continues to open some doors for your team moving forward.
e

Thanks! I am very very happy with this film and what we were able to accomplish. Another cut is coming, which I will put in the User Films Section when it's ready.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

.... She is supposed to go black long before that...
EDIT: and now she'll never go back?

[jeremytuttle]

Same thing I asked Kholi: Do you think we can actually lose beats (lines) out of the script, or just tighten up the edit? Are there script elements that seem redundant?

Also, out of curiosity, do you think the hotel room scene would see as long if it were in a feature? Part of that scene where she slowly kisses him several times is another thing I lifted from "Raiders." In that film, I had always loved the scene on board the ship, where she says" "Well, goddamn it, where doesn't it hurt?" the last part of those kisses are played largely in one shot. I was trying to allow the actors to carry my scene the same way. And to my view, that stuff works because they maintain the tension.

Anyway, do you think the fact that people are watching shorts would have any effect on their opinion of scene length?


Mark, I think the pacing is good the way it is, and will be really good when transitioned this into a feature. The tension in the gun battle works because it is drawn out (in this case a good thing), but saying that I wonder if there is not enough time in between the cowboy's 1 and 2 and too much time between 2 and 3... I'm talking hairs of a second. Other then that I think it's pretty dang good. Any way, my two cents... but what do I know I make Saturday Dutch Specials.

[Elton]

oh my site is GONE. its Bandwidth excedded. :( too bad. now i can't show people my reel..... lol.

Glad I D'Ld in time! Seriously, I thought you'd burn up your bandwidth pretty quickly. It's a hot item.

One little technical question--There is a little bit of a choppy cadence in the majority of shots. It seems like it was incorrectly chopped out of 60p with the wrong frames. (repeat frames rather than the correct extraction of 24 fps) It isn't terribly distracting, but there are times when the motion doesn't look exactly right. Is this correctable?

Great job guys.

[Kholi]

Mark I JUST saw your response to my words. I'll cut out a response as soon as I get some food in my system. I'm fried!

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Kholi should get a best reviewer prize.

[TimurCivan]

he should.

[TimurCivan]

Timur, would you kindly expand on this please?

Also, you stopped down f-stop on your Nikon or used ND's in front of the Nikon fully open?

Thanks.

Stopped down the lenses. to F2.8 from F1.2

[TimurCivan]

Glad I D'Ld in time! Seriously, I thought you'd burn up your bandwidth pretty quickly. It's a hot item.

One little technical question--There is a little bit of a choppy cadence in the majority of shots. It seems like it was incorrectly chopped out of 60p with the wrong frames. (repeat frames rather than the correct extraction of 24 fps) It isn't terribly distracting, but there are times when the motion doesn't look exactly right. Is this correctable?

Great job guys.

Thats most likely Quicktime sucking as usual. it looks perfect straight from the Raw file.

[Mark Harris]

Glad I D'Ld in time! Seriously, I thought you'd burn up your bandwidth pretty quickly. It's a hot item.

One little technical question--There is a little bit of a choppy cadence in the majority of shots. It seems like it was incorrectly chopped out of 60p with the wrong frames. (repeat frames rather than the correct extraction of 24 fps) It isn't terribly distracting, but there are times when the motion doesn't look exactly right. Is this correctable?

Great job guys.


could be my bad encoding. I noticed it a little too.

[Mark Harris]

Mark, I think the pacing is good the way it is, and will be really good when transitioned this into a feature. The tension in the gun battle works because it is drawn out (in this case a good thing), but saying that I wonder if there is not enough time in between the cowboy's 1 and 2 and too much time between 2 and 3... I'm talking hairs of a second. Other then that I think it's pretty dang good. Any way, my two cents... but what do I know I make Saturday Dutch Specials.

Man, am I ever sorry I said that dutch thing!!!! I hope you aren't offended. I was just a way to say the voices sounded disembodied from the action. Not that there's anything wrong with Dutch TV specials. Herman's going to kick my ass any minute...

Anyway, yeah, between two and three, i was trying to elongate that moment, slow it down in time and stretch it out. But in the next cut I am taking out the counting altogether. the moment works the same, but the counting does smell a little too much of: "Oh no, time's running out! You know that because I'm COUNTING." If it feels a little long, it just means I blew it. Will take another look.

i will post another cut in the User Films section when Herman has some time to adjust the music and I play with a little with it. Be interesting to see what - if anything - people notice, what works better, etc.

Oh yeah, I just watched the movie on Timur's BIG-ASSED TV. Man, Lindsey's back is sexy...

[Elton]

Thats most likely Quicktime sucking as usual. it looks perfect straight from the Raw file.

I thought I'd read that you guys were capturing 24 over 60p with a laptop? It could be that the frame rate conversion wasn't quite correct. Playback is totally smooth on my computer, it's definitely not QT. There are some scenes where the cadence is correct, but others that aren't.

Seriously, I'm the only one that noticed it so I'm sure it's not really a problem at all.

Let us know how it looked at the theatre screening later on. :)

[Mark Harris]

I thought I'd read that you guys were capturing 24 over 60p with a laptop? It could be that the frame rate conversion wasn't quite correct. Playback is totally smooth on my computer, it's definitely not QT. There are some scenes where the cadence is correct, but others that aren't.

Seriously, I'm the only one that noticed it so I'm sure it's not really a problem at all.

Let us know how it looked at the theatre screening later on. :)

I will look at it. I have no doubt it has something - not to do with QT - but with some kinds of settings I used in the QT encoding.

Which scenes look wonky to you?

Man, what looks great on that BIG-ASSED TV is the nighttime outdoor stuff. You get a lot of detail there that you miss when viewing small.

[TimurCivan]

Nono the 24p over 60 is how you record 24p in a 60P stream, in a 2:3 cadence like 60i and 24P. its not 60P with 24 frames picked out. thats how SONY Cineframe works. and why its horrible.......

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

he should.
mebbe I will see if he needs any of the gear I am about to sell.
Something small heheh :laugh"

[TimurCivan]

What are you selling?

[Norm Sanders]

Stopped down the lenses. to F2.8 from F1.2

Timur, you're the one with the camera/lens background, and I'm still a noob at this stuff ... you previously said you stopped the lenses down about 3 stops, but I would only guess the above as one stop ... or am I mistaken?

Also, I know Mark was joking about never using more than 1K in lights, but what would you say you used on average? I'm especially curious to know what you used in that 'under the bridge/overpass scene', as the lighting was just incredible.

I'll have to check your first, page, but I'm DYING to know your camera settings, etc. ... and may seriously have to consider getting onto the SGPro bandwagon. Then again, the M2 is supposed to be pretty great as well, and Ryan thinks it was the Cannon lenses that were the issue in ours ... so he's switching to all Nikon lenses.

[Mark Harris]

in that under the bridge scene, we had on 2K light from the back. If you look close at the wide shot, you can see a Jeep down there with a reflector on the windshield blocking the actual light from the shot. that 2K is lighting up the brick wall.

Then we had I believe one of the 650s and a 300, with a reflector.

We had a 3500W generator out there to power them. And that stuff was all shot stock lense. We needed all the stops we could get. Ideally and in the future, I will get a 5K out there to actually light up the bridge, giving it more definition. And prob 2 2Ks and Steve's Arri kit with the 650s and 300s if we want to go with the adaptor.

I'm not joking Norm - LOTS OF LIGHT gets you a real nice, rich, clean image with that SGPro. that thing performs like a MO-FO, but we used lots of light. On BLOODY MARY we learned, and to his credit, Timur jumped right on that thing and tested and tested and took what we learned from BM and made those images happen. Timur just about would not go into production until he was able to guarantee the performance of the adaptor. Damn, I really do need to lock that kid in a cage. And his mom and dad too. They make some yummy chow.

the hotel room window had a 1K and a 300 blasting through to give that neon sign look. They melted the blinds on that window. Plus 650s overhead and a chinaball everywhere, and Aram with another 250 prolight just out of frame putting some added red on the actors.

[Norm Sanders]

Was the generator very loud? If so, I'm assuming you had to ADR that?

[Mark Harris]

that whole scene is ADR and Joe Johnson built up the entire soundscape of that scene from scratch. You just have to suck it up and do that with the genny at our level of production.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

What are you selling?
many things. it will be up in the market soon.

[Barry_Green]

you previously said you stopped the lenses down about 3 stops, but I would only guess the above as one stop ... or am I mistaken?
1.2 to 1.4 = 1/2 stop
1.4 to 2.0 = 1 stop
2.0 to 2.8 = 1 stop

So going from 1.2 to 2.8 = 2.5 stops.

[Norm Sanders]

Thanks, Barry.

[Elton]

Nono the 24p over 60 is how you record 24p in a 60P stream, in a 2:3 cadence like 60i and 24P. its not 60P with 24 frames picked out. thats how SONY Cineframe works. and why its horrible.......

Dude, I understand that. I thought you guys recorded it basically VariCam style where you would need to capture as 24p from the 24 over 60 recordings. (I know, the same as pulldown)

Did you guys use P2?

To answer your question Mark, it seemed like the majority of scenes had that funky cadence, but I did notice some were fine like the bridge/alley scene.

Sorry to point out an extremely minor thing, because the production was basically flawless in most respects...I just wondered what may have caused it. You did edit on a 24p timeline, correct? Did anything look slightly off at that stage or was it simply after the encoding?

[Kholi]

In the last shot, it was just a bad cut on my part. She is supposed to go black long before that.

Figured. I'm not sure why I even mentioned that since this is a fest cut. I'm sure it will be tweaked out for further exposition. Duh, stupid I.



I got some CC to do throughout that scene to even things out. I would like it all to be more warm and darker like in the beginning of the scene.

Same deal, not a finished cut. Sorry for bustin' j00 baws on that.


I am looking for some things. Since you and Erik below posted, I have been asking a lot of people this, and so far the majority do not thing it drags.

It might just be Erik and I, you know? I'm thinking that it's long because it feels like that door needs to be kicked down sooner. That really might just be me. I wouldn't say that it's got something to do with the script, but maybe you'll find room to chop it? If not, it's still good regardless.


I want a scene there like that that sort of kicks the movie off with more of a bang than the diner scene does(which WAS the first scene). And there will be visuals there, I just did not have time to get them done. It will be something of a title sequence that actually adds to the story there, over the radio broadcast. In my feature version, the bank robbery is an actual scene.

That's what I imagined during the intro. A sort of Channel 5 news cam with all the crazy zooms and focus problems, with Jack running out of the bank slinging bullets at feds.

I would like to see you add that instead of the scene you PM'd me about.

[Kholi]

Kholi should get a best reviewer prize.

Aw. Thanks, Jack. Actually, your reviews (when you got to them) smacked my reviews in the mouth.

Kinda like my mom did me when I said bad words as a child.

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

haha not even close to your reviews this festl, I sucked.
Kholi for president (or mod).

[Brandon Rice]

Kholi rocks!

[TimurCivan]

Timur, you're the one with the camera/lens background, and I'm still a noob at this stuff ... you previously said you stopped the lenses down about 3 stops, but I would only guess the above as one stop ... or am I mistaken?

Also, I know Mark was joking about never using more than 1K in lights, but what would you say you used on average? I'm especially curious to know what you used in that 'under the bridge/overpass scene', as the lighting was just incredible.

I'll have to check your first, page, but I'm DYING to know your camera settings, etc. ... and may seriously have to consider getting onto the SGPro bandwagon. Then again, the M2 is supposed to be pretty great as well, and Ryan thinks it was the Cannon lenses that were the issue in ours ... so he's switching to all Nikon lenses.

Lenses:
it goes F1.2 > F1.4> F2.0> F2.8 At the bottom of the scale the numbers are much closer together its a parabolic increase. Thugh maybe depending on the lens it could be somethign like 2.5 stops. but im using 5 different lenses, so im just averaging by saying 3 stops. I used Canon Glass. I LOVE canon lenses. they are crisp, organic, and add a subtle greenish tint to the footage that i LOVE. Though Nikons are a Solid choice as well. I just happend to have a huge bag full of Canon FD lenses left over from my dad. I learned to shoot pictures on them, they feel like home. Most likely the M2 was at fault its really easy to knock it out of wack. I doubt the lenses were "broken". I love my Sgpro. Its the best thing i ever bought next to my Pelican case, HVX, and Spiderbrace. :)


Lighting:
As opposed to the days of the DVX when the 300 was your key and you used 150 peppers as hairlights, the 1k became the workhorse, and the 650's move in to the role of fill, and key. the 300's become subtantially less powerful especially though Diffusion. ( Diffusion Diffusion Diffusion)

The Street scene was a 2k backlight down the block, and that really wasnt powerful enough, should a got a 10k(equivalent to tungsten) HMI and gelled it to tungsten so it fit more in the 5k role without needing Massive generators. That whole sequence was shot RAw lens, no 35 adapters. With a 300 and a 650 as Fill. I really dont like keylights. im all about backlighting, and just a bit of fill. i like shadows obscuring faces. some people didint like the darkness of Jacks face in the sctreet scene, but i was practically jumping up and down for joy at the nearly black/white drawing look of the bright rimlight against inky black. you really have to watch it on a big HD tV to see teh subtlety in the lighting. the tiny 400x 200 version is a joke. and even watching the 720 version on a laptop screen isnt doing it any favors. Just ask mark how he felt about it on my 60" screen ..... lol you'll get an Earfull.

Camera:
My settings are a secret i take to the grave. I sat there for literally 8 hours and found 3 scenefiles that are Bullet proof. Sharp, noisefree, and rich. Its in there. but you have to finesse it a little.

[TimurCivan]

Damn, I really do need to lock that kid in a cage. And his mom and dad too. They make some yummy chow.

LMAO. Glad you liked it. My mom will be happy to hear it.

[TimurCivan]

1.2 to 1.4 = 1/2 stop
1.4 to 2.0 = 1 stop
2.0 to 2.8 = 1 stop

So going from 1.2 to 2.8 = 2.5 stops.

yea barry's right, 2.5 stops down on the F1.2 lens. I made a booboo.

[TimurCivan]

haha not even close to your reviews this festl, I sucked.
Kholi for president (or mod).


Kholi for at least a Cool Cutom Username.

[235 Studios]

I LOVE canon lenses. they are crisp, organic, and add a subtle greenish tint to the footage that i LOVE. Though Nikons are a Solid choice as well. I just happend to have a huge bag full of Canon FD lenses left over from my dad. I learned to shoot pictures on them, they feel like home. Most likely the M2 was at fault its really easy to knock it out of wack. I doubt the lenses were "broken". I love my Sgpro.

Canon does do a good job, and I was happy with a couple of the lenses I had. I switched to Nikon for two reasons - 1. Availability - I've had a hard time getting a hold of Canon FD mounts, and I can find new / used nikon's just about anywhere. & 2. the FD's I had we mostly non-FL, which meant I could not stop them down any and at fully open a couple of the lenses were to soft for my tastes. So while the lenses were not "broken" they did not fit my needs very well.

Now that I have the nikon lenses and I'm able to stop down, I can see a noticable improvement in preformance. Although I do notice that the M2 is easy to get out of alignment - which can be frustrating. The SGPro does seem interesting ....



Camera:
My settings are a secret i take to the grave. I sat there for literally 8 hours and found 3 scenefiles that are Bullet proof. Sharp, noisefree, and rich. Its in there. but you have to finesse it a little.

Bastard!!! ;) :) Although I have to admit that I do understand - since using the M2 on both mine and Norms project I have spent a lot of time testing out various settings, and trying to get the image as noise free as possible - I'm not there yet, but hopefully I will get there ...

[Elton]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to say that Katrina really grows on me each time I watch it. I liked it the first time, but the cool thing is it really holds up well with repeated viewings. It's quite exceptional and I am most impressed with how well you pulled off the noir feel. :)

Only criticism I have is the bedroom scene still feels drawn out, but I can tolerate it. Is it "deliberate pacing"?

Kudos once again. :)

[TimurCivan]

Thank you Elton... will you ever forgive me for not getting the H1?

[Elton]

Ha ha, only if you come out here and DP my SpyFest short with it. ;)

[TimurCivan]

welll.... funny you mention that...... im always looking travel.... especailly to cali.

[Kholi]

Elton is in Cali? LA area?

[TimurCivan]

i think so?

Where you at Kholi? in LA i mean.

[Kholi]

Los Angeles/Santa Monica. I live, and work, a shake away from Santa Monica airport. Ol' Greggl lives around this area as well.

[Elton]

I'm in the Salt Lake City, UT area, bros. I lived in SoCal (mostly OC) for 12 years but my wife is from here which meant sooner or later the family tractor beam would get me. ;) At least I can afford a decent home here. :)

Great locations in the state for lots of different looks and quite indie friendly too...but it ain't Tinseltown.

[TimurCivan]

ahhhh.... mormons....... s'all right. its a corner of the world ive not seen yet.....

[Elton]

There's a few here, yes. Beats the hell out of scientologists! JK!!!

[TimurCivan]

dude the Worls Scietologist headquarters is a stone throw from my workplace.... and there REALLY hot girls hang out in front trying to talk to guy t get them to come in to the palce..... its SOOOO creepy.

[TimurCivan]

i just wanted 1000 post... sorry