"The Encounter" - Bryan

[Bryan]

Greetings folks.

Hope you enjoyed our little short for what it is. My co-worker Mike and I shot and edited this over 4 days so we could squeeze in before the deadline. We had a lot of fun making it. I'll post some technical info and credits for anyone who's curious.

Credits:
Mike Counts as Mike
Tom Brand as ...you'll see

Produced, Written, Directed, Shot and Edited by Bryan Harley and Mike Counts
Music by Mark D'Errico and Chris Bouchard
Sound and F/X by Bryan Harley and Mike Counts

Edited on Final Cut Pro 4 HD.
Shot in 24p with the DVX100A.
Homemade dolly, Glide-Cam stedicam.
Studio Lighting: a couple 1K Fresnels.
Location Lighting: Lowel kit, 2 pro lights, 1 v-light.


That's all I can think of right now. Any questions or comments are welcome!

[Norm Sanders]

Just watched it. Hmmm, what to say.

First, great job on seeing this through, especailly cranking it out in four days. Was the music original? Sounded familiar.

Though I think it would have been better to stick with the same theme/feel through-out (if it's comedy, start with comedy, scary - keep it scary, etc.), I will say that my favorite shot ... which I felt was FREAKING AMAZING, was when he first enters the music room & we're pulling above the rafters and expanding out as he enters the room. Very cool. After that, however, the cuts got mundane & didn't have reason to them, I felt, especially the close ups on his face, all the various angles, etc.

Just noticed the lead resembles Billy Zane.

[mikkowilson]

That shot of of the door of the still dark studio as he enters was brilliant! it screamed sci-fi. And that exit sign just rocked. AWSOME lighting there.

It was fun to have soem cmoedy in there too. I was just about in stiches at the end!



- Mikko

[penfever]

Yo, why is no one reacting to this film? This is a great film. This was, by far, the most entertaining film I've seen so far. No contest. It is, at many points, slow, draggy, and (feeling like a broken record here) should have been 1-1.5 mins shorter. At times (mostly the dance at the end) I was screaming, GO FASTER!
But seriously. When the steam comes out and he's got a chicken mask on underneath? That is freakin genius, right there. I laughed so hard at that. This was really funny, and it was funny because the build-up worked so well. You weren't expecting it to be a doofy-looking guy with a hat.
Well, this is still a camera forum, and I think the reception of this film kinda proves it. Because as fun as it was, the filming quailty was mediocre only. So next time, if you want to win this fest, get a better SFX and CGI guy. And tighten the editing a bit.
Also, I liked your lead a lot. He's got a good face for mugging, which = a good face for young comedy. I'd tap that again. In an acting way. Of course.

[penfever]

Oh, and another thing I forgot. The score is great. Solid use of stingers, which gets major big ups.

[Bryan]

Envision - Didn't have time to have an original score composed, so I asked some composer friends if I could borrow music from their demo reels. About the comedy, well...it's supposed to be kind of a "twist" at the end, after making the audience think this was all serious. I like comedy. Oh, and I'm glad you liked that shot. We did it several times, and I'm still not fully happy with it. ;) The cuts after that were just meant to build tension and such. Billy Zane, eh? I'll let him know, hehe.

Mikko - Thanks man. Yeah, I like that shot too. Glad you enjoyed that ending! Haha.

penfever - Thanks for the kind words. I'm happy you were entertained!

[angrynerdrock07]

Though I think it would have been better to stick with the same theme/feel through-out (if it's comedy, start with comedy, scary - keep it scary, etc.)

I get what envision is trying to say but I feel the best part was that I was not expecting a comedic ending at all. I was cracking up when that chicken mask came out.

I have to say that the piece could have been cut down in length a bit. About a minute shorter with tighter edits and this piece would be a lot better. Also I didn't like when you cut to the close ups on the main character's eye as the camera was spinning around him. The spinning shot was really nice for building the tension and each time you cut away from it I felt like the tension immediately was lost.

All in all for 4 days of work though I would say that you did great! Keep it up.

[Bryan]

Thanks for the comments, angrynerdrock07.

[Z B Brox]

I'm wiht Penfever and Angrynerdrock here, I just about busted up when that chicken head came into view. In fact, I *did* bust up shortly after, 'cause I said aloud precisely what the character mouthed afterward.

I'm gonna concur, the shot of the exit sign in the darkness and the door opening was frickin' sweet, and the through-the-rafters shot nearly made me gasp. The beginning of that shot made me go "wow, this guy's doing some nice camera work", and it just kept getting better.

I think you displayed a real talent for conveying mood, and the first few minutes do really seem like a well-done version of the classic "there's a killer somewhere in the building" scene in every slasher flick. The swift tone change is a great gag.

I think the color could have popped a bit more in the beginning, that nice violet light seemed a bit washed out, and I agree that some of it could've used a little more editing. On the whole though, I enjoyed watching this one, and I love having my expectations subverted.

[EditPhish]

Okay, chicken-man made me laugh. It ended in a way I certainly didn't expect it to and the "twist" made me laugh out loud, so there's something to be said for that. Of course, this is yet another movie with a chicken, so I'm wondering what joke I'm missing ;) -- I also laughed when the guy smiled behind that leather mask -- LOL -- It was silly!

The music was excellent and it paced along with the story very well.

I really liked the dolly shot at the beginning... in the hallway, camera turns towards the door.

What could be improved? Maybe the pacing of the editing seemed a little slow at times... especially when the guy is looking nervously around for the alien/chicken/bondage-man.

As silly as it was, I found it entertaining! I can't rate it as one of the top films, but I enjoyed it none-the-less.