The Well

[NICK ASH]

did i read right that this is your first short? i'll tell you I really liked that I could feel how much fun you must have had making it, and the short was at it's best when you let it be playful. it makes any technical issues much more forgivable. well done.

Yeah, this is my very first short or movie of any kind. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

[ZazaCast]

Great job Nick! I think this came together nicely considering how tough that location must have been to get gear in and out of. Feels like a complete film to me, good story, actors, shots (some a little on the dark side, but those were in a cave!), editing and sound. All involved should be congratulated! Really good first film and an enjoyable watch.

[Hawk Teflon]

SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THIS SHORT YET, PLEASE DON'T CONTINUE READING.

What I liked: Good concept, good story, good location. "DVX?" "Roman numerals?" I've never even thought of that. Very nice. Your audio sounded pretty clear throughout, too. Well done on that. The ending pulled it together well, too.

What I didn't like as much (take with a grain of salt): Most of this felt a little soft, and it seemed like the motion blur was a little too much on it. Were you controlling your shutter manually? There were parts were it felt like it might have been 1/10. The fog was a little distracting, too. Instead of duplicating and flipping the fog layer only (as seen around 4:32 and on), make sure to shift one of them in time. Even by a second. Without it, it has a strong sense of it being mirrored and really pulls the viewer out of the believability.

[NICK ASH]

Thanks Zaza and Hawk for the criticism. Yes, the location was probably the most challenging environment that I had to work in. I am pretty much used to working in studio/inside stuff but this really made each shot a longer process to figure out how to film. With motion blur...I agree. It is something I noticed late in the game as silly is this may sound. I don't recall earlier renders looking like this until my last one or two. I thought it may be something I was doing in post because I shot everything 1/50th. I don't know what happened...??? Fog, thanks, next time when playing with effects I will make sure to slow it down and concentrate more on what's going on.

Again, thank you both. Your criticism is invaluable as its the sure way to improve.

[NICK ASH]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the great films and I really remain to be impressed about the comrade here. I do have a greater sense of the difficulties of making a film. Each and every little detail seems to be noticed and my next film I feel even more prepared to step it up. Thanks to everyone who gave some criticism as I value every word.

[Matthew B]

Congrats on your first ever short.

I liked the location and the concept. It did all feel a little soft/motion blurry. The acting and the dialogue did feel a little on the nose and felt like this could have been better with the less is more concept. It also felt as though the characters were just going from point A to B, just to fill in plot points as opposed to generally wanting to do or get something.

I did love the 80's style action catch line "I'm making a wish" as he tossed the dynamite down the well. Classic.

[Chris_Keaton]

Congrats on finishing a film. The location was cool, but didn't seem like a well, especially when well's have to go underground, so you don't drill them into hills. It had a home camera kinda vibe which isn't good. The DVX thing made me laugh. Well actually I laughed quite a few times. Overall a good time, keep at it.

Best line tie, 'Find something to throw at it!' and 'I'm making a wish.'

[JaceDaniel]

The three biggest things that bothered:
1. I felt the acting was very weak on the kid’s parts, but I know how hard it is to find some good young actors who havnt been snatched up by expensive agencies… so I can understand. Although when the kid looks at someone behind the camera when he comes into the rescue to say “hey fishstick, eat this”, I did crack a chuckle.
2. The cinematography was wonky. The extreme motion blur made it almost hard to watch. What camera were you using, was this youtube's fault?
3. I felt a little too much of a goonies rip-off vibe from it. Kids in a cave, searching for lost treasure, fight enemies. Idk, might just be a nitpicky thing.
But when I saw it was your first film, I can understand all the problems from above, we all made awkward movies in the beginning (arguably I’m STILL in that stage lol)
So I appreciate your effort to present your project to the world, best of luck on your next film!

[NICK ASH]

Thanks Jace and Chris for watching and the feedback. Pretty much yeah, everything you said is spot on. The blurry crap is beyond me. It wasn't like that in post but I obviously did something messed up. I shoot with the Mark II and filmed at 50fps.

As far as Goonies and cheesy lines, hell yeah...that was totally taken from that film and we put as much effort in to 80's cheese as possible. If you watch our outtakes, I loose my bearing when they are blowing up the well because the line was all cheese.

We used some imagination and left the rest of the imagination to audience...so yeah maybe a well wouldn't go there but after getting a quote of nearly 1k for a fake well, I saw this location and went for it.

My goal was to start and finish a project and we accomplished that goal. I took a lot of lessons from that and I am excited to get back in the saddle again and crank out another project.

Again thanks for watching/feedback.

[Chris_Keaton]

You succeeded in getting a film in and I assume you had a good time doing it. That's more than most.