Metal Storm - Echo Productions

mjmcneese

mjmcneese

Veteran
Metal Storm

Just gotta tell my cast and crew how much I appreciate their hard work and their commitment to the cause. Enjoy!

Directed, Produced, and Edited by
Mike McNeese

Written by
Brandon Hetzler

Associate Producers
Dan Welsh
Rebecca McNeese
Brandon Hetzler

Cast
Dan Welsh
Erin Burchwell
Danny Martin
Brandon Hetzler

Director of Photography
Mike McNeese

Music Composed by
Richard and James Kelly

Visual Effects by
Andrew Fallon

Lighting
Dan Welsh
Mike McNeese

Makeup Artists
Erin Burchwell
Rebecca McNeese

Stunt Driving
Jason McNeese

Special Thanks to
Parsons Animal Clinic
 
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Nicely done.

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

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

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

Nice job. Thanks for making this.
 
I finally just got a chance to watch this — GREAT JOB.

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

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

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

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

Again, overall very well done.
 
Thanks, all.

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

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

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

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

Score: Effective, some of it seemed too synth.

Overall: Great film, in my top 5, really loved the simple story and effective editing. The car chase was really well done.
 
yee haw! I got it! Good cliffhanger.

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

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

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

cheers on the submit and finishing.
/j
 
briceman said:
Overall: Great film, in my top 5
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Thanks b, means a lot. Hey, why didn't you submit this fest!? I was looking forward to giving you straight 10s.

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

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

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

Edgen said:
Great work overall and looking forward to seeing your next films and past for that matter.
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Thanks! Looking forward to making some more - this is my first.
 
DANZCAT - too funny. That's my license plate. Thought it would be straight forward - Dan's Cat (Jag) - but everyone always thinks it means 'Dance Cat'. My wife even asked on our first date about it. Wanted to make sure she was on the 'right side of the fence'.

Thanks for all the comments so far!
 
mjmcneese2 said:
Thanks b, means a lot. Hey, why didn't you submit this fest!? I was looking forward to giving you straight 10s.
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got too many other projects I had to gear up for this summer.
 
CineMark said:
And I thought you did a fantastic job on the bullet stop. Beautiful.
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Thanks! If anyone is interested in seeing a making of I could put one together for that shot. It was done in Maya, mental ray, and Shake, so for anyone wanting to see how they work together I could throw something together.
 
mjm,

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

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


Still, an excellent job.

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

sincerely,



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

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

Congratulations on producing such a fresh film!
 
For the car chase, we used a universal car mount from filmtools.com. Consists of a 6" suction cup and two 4" ones, making it amazingly stable. We even ran a cable through the back window so mjm could sit back there and watch from another screen. That was a fun day. Talkies in each car and at the camera point for the outside, low shots, let everyone communicate with each other. Driving down a 2 lane country road, with your director's DVX attached to the outside of your driver side door? That means oncoming traffic is coming right at the camera? And btw, we realized afterward that it was a great thing we put the UV filter on the camera, just in case anything flew up from the road - it would protect the lens. mjm probably has some jpegs of the mount attached to the car he can post.
 
Very slick camera and editing. Brought to mind the BMW spots from a few years back. Really great shots. I enjoy a non-linear story, but felt that the performances fell short on pulling it off. Technically however this is up there.
 
Film turned out very well Mike. Great job guys! This is the first time I have actually been involved in filming. I have always enjoyed films (in theaters of course) but now I have a better appreciation for the attention to detail and the amount of time involved. I give props to everyone involved in this film. I had a blast and hope to be involved in another.
 
Darren, thanks for the comments. I refuse to say that my talent weren't up to snuff...they're all very good. I'd put the blame on the director (me) for not bringing out the character enough, or blame the co-writer (me) for changing the dialogue to something too simple and cheesy.

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

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

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

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

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