BONE HAND by Jack Daniel Stanley

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

update: two new bulletins added to the threads originating post

 

[Brandon Rice]

Screenplay: Great! Loved how the story wrapped together with him having the power to save the girl.

Acting: The girl felt a little forced at times, but she’s a kid. All the supporting cast (thugs, etc.) were great too.

Cinematography: Some shots seemed a bit washed out, but I liked the look overall and the grittiness of the film. Good usage of adapters here as well.

Score: Not this piece’s strength, felt some of the rock riff’s were out of place, but most of it worked.

Overall: Great film, most tight piece I’ve seen so far.

 

[Aaron Marshall]

and don't forget the Professional ... oh wait .. you said "Leon" ... right

Whoops, sorry that was a typo I made. That's what I meant.

Anyway -- I'm not explaining myself too well, but its kind of like in Remington Steel or Moonlighting - the series is over if the relationship is ever truly consimated despite how much these people care for each other. Consumation for these charaters would be admitting that they care about each other and need each other.

No, no I think you explained yourself perfectly. I liked reading your in-depth reasons why you did what you did. Very nice. Disregard my comment.

Outstanding film!!!!

 

[Beat Takeshi]

This is the first time seeing this and there is some good and some bad.
I really liked the way the story came together and felt complete but the style and edits though were just like CPU from the last contest so it kind of felt ...i guess not so new. The color correction seemed to have taken out of the detail we manually put in in the living room scenes but thats a style choice. The transitions were cool and the post camera moves worked well also. I liked the editing and control of the audio bites. Some of the edits felt a bit rushed, especially in the beginning. The opening shot was nice and smooth and looking great but then it got all music videoish with the super fast cuts. It kind of disorientated me for a sec and I felt like I missed some of the shots.
You did a good job acting in the hallway scenes and I liked that he was all blurry eyed and couldnt see that it was you he killed. The edit on that was cool.
I liked when the mother called him a freak and he turns, the music cue there was cool. Good job and glad you made it in.

 

[Matt Sconce]

I look forward to seeing it -- is the zip file up? A hunting I go ... Thanks man.

Thanks for wanting to watch it! It is on the mirror site.

I hope you like it.

Your movie has definitely inspired me for future projects, but I knew it would be good before I ever saw it. As I was saving for my DVX100b, I watched The Shed, and The Odd Squad. You had big shoes to fill (left by yourself ironically), and I believe you succeeded triumphantly. rogar-BigGrin(DBG)

 

[Edgen]

yea. I have to say I liked this one.

Most people hit the points and looks like i chimed in on the tail and glad to get some explanations.

My Thoughts:
I agree. The story came full circle. I wanted to stop and rewind a few times to see what was going on but I forced myself to watch all the way through first.
Was that a rat? (one of things I wanted to stop rewind)
I think it was great he was just walking along, threw the rat and kept on going.
I like the 'asian' and his sensless beating/revenge.
THugs had the comedic element.
The girl was pretty dang good. i was impressed. THere's probably a few things that could have been better.
Cinematography.. I felt... squeezed. There were a LOT of really tight shots and after watching I wanted to release my breath. That happened at the cemetary. The transition into the girl was perfect.. Until she stopped to turn her head and look. That was kinda over the top. Plus some reflections in the glasses?
The Score: Ah yes.. the score. I have to disagree with Brice on this one. I thought Herman's job was absolutely brilliant! It was smooth flowing, had great sounds, great elements and took you on an up and down roller coaster of emotions. My hads off to him on this one. Maybe the electric guitar riffs were a little too much over the top, but hey. It added to the grungy'ness of the film.
I did not like seeing the same hand footage at the end. Something else could have been there instead.
The VFX were perfect for the film. Not too over the top. Not cheesy. The 'jump off' was great and executed nicely, but had no point. (unless its your reason for him "letting himself go")

All in all... I'm really glad you decided to stay with this to the end. I think it pays off and congrats on the submission.

cheers!
/j

 

[Matt Sconce]

The 'jump off' was great and executed nicely, but had no point. (unless its your reason for him "letting himself go")

I think this represented him falling into death so the little girl could live. A conscious inner suicide or release...? Maybe?

 

[Edgen]

I think this represented him falling into death so the little girl could live. A conscious inner suicide or release...? Maybe?

ah yes.. that's what I was thinking too. but if he's a super hero he'd probably live from the fall no?

still, i see and feel the symbolism.

/j

 

[Norm Sanders]

Jack, really enjoyed this one, but for me ODD SQUAD still holds the trump card over all your films. Just loved that one.

This one was a tad more difficult for me to follow with regards to the story. I thought the FX were GREAT, both tasteful and comp'd well into the shots.

The camera angles & editing were great, as well as the lighting. I didn't care for the lighting quite as much on the roof top, but that's probably my only lighting gripe.

Didn't really notice the score all that much (that can be a good thing) until the end ... then I thought, gee, that sounds familiar!

So here's my REAL question ... where's my "Special Thanks" credit for introducing you to Herman?! That last part where it jams fits perfectly, and has always been one of my favorites from the composers I've heard.

Great job, Jack. Really enjoyed the film.

 

[Steve_Arm]

I haven't read the whole thread yet so my opinion is kind of independent.

Great movie, a bit fast but really good, gongrats Jack & your team.
Very amped intro, everything is showing clearly, how he takes his power, music has the right mood and with the fast editing and motion effects you show the hero's super powers.

What I didn't like was the girl been shot.... I almost cry dude... (yes I'm a father!), but you made up with the Hero giving his life. But again I find it very hard.

Great work again.

 

[RDragonFilms]

Really great film, I got a chance to sit and watch it last night.. when I saw the little girl for some reason I thought " Curly Sue!!!! " Do you remember that film?

She ( Jessie ) was a cutie, and she did a wonderful job!! The ending was great as well, very Crow-ish

 

[DarrenRyan]

Great Work. It's all been said already so I wont re-state anything. Amazing utilization of the time limit in terms of story. Really nice.

 

[MojoTrancer]

This is the first one I watched cuz I knew I could start off with a good one. And i wasn't disappointed. The story has a lot of influences, but they're all good ones. And I liked the gun-POV when they're shooting through the door. I think I remember that from the beginning of Leon. It was cool as hell then and it's still cool in this.

Wasn't too keen on the girl, but maybe that's just me being too hard on child actors.

I think all the post work in the image was a bit much though. I just didn't feel like it fit the film.

The effects were top-notch. Very good work.

All things said, a great film, Dude. Thumbs and big toes up!

 

[Palace Films]

Great work! I predict you to win this contest from what I have seen so far.

 

[eyespy]

Well-done, JDStanley. I appreciate the fact that your film started, told, and completed an entire storyline in the time allotment.

Your child lead was good, especially since it can be such a struggle to work with child actors. Always room for improvement, but I would be proud of what she was able to produce. Especially when she coughed up blood. YUCK!

I was a little lost when it came to the "death transfer" flashes. I wasn't sure what was going on until image of your lead character's lifeless bone hand.

When I saw the image of the older girl walking back from the grave, I couldn't help but wonder if she, too, would have the same bone hand from the transfer. She was pale, cold, almost lifeless looking - enough for her very own bone hand.

Impressive work.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Very nice work Jack!

I loved the lighting, especially in the cemetary. Also like the peep-hole effects with the two goons on the other side; dunno why, just thought it looked great!

As said before, the young actress' acting was right on as well.

Nicely done my friend!!

thanks alot
as for the cymetary - amazing what a bounce board can do - and can't sometimes

Maybe you guys are going to hate me or think I'm an idiot — but I need to say how I feel:

I don't get what all the hype is about.

It just didn't do it for me.

first let me say thanks for your honest criticism

There were some good points, yes:
1. I think the story was interesting, with the idea of a scarifice and all.
2. I liked the little girl's acting for the most part.
3. Color was nice
4. Good locations.
5. I liked knowing at the end that the girl was still visiting the grave when she was older.

But there are just some things I can't get past:

1. I don't like those stuttery camera movements as transitions. It's hard to even explain. It's just too choppy and distracting.
2. Did the little girl smile before she spit the blood out of her mouth?

Sort of. Its a bitters sweet kind of complex moment. She's just made a joke on her death bead. "I should have gone home" for his benefit. She doesn't know she's gonna spit up blood then and the camera isn't on her until mid spit - so I assume that's the moment you mean because its not on her "right" before she spits.

3. The white face. SciFest it was a blue face. It just seems too contrived. I know it's bone hand and all, so maybe he's dead, but it still seemed out of place.

Kind of funny that I get dinged for having extreme imaginative characters and images in GENRE contests such as Sci Fi and Hero ... I did think in ODD Squad the Blue Mutant and Red Mutans might have been too cartoony and thusly undercut the stakes of the piece - but still a very pale dude that's parly dead and just wears normal clothes -- that's harder to take than spandex? Why the hell would anyone wear spandex :cheesy:

4. The beginning didn't fit in with the rest of the story for me. It could have started with the girl on the rooftop and had the same storyline.

This is the one thing I would heartily disagree with you about (especially from a guy who starts is his short in nearly structurally identical manner) In your piece you show us the hero in action and then tell us what he does.

Starting a piece in this genre by verbally explaining what the character does just seems like and awful idea. The axiom with film is SHOW not tell. This type of opening is called a TEASER -- you know like in Indiana Jones and about billion other movies. Also very common in James Bond. The Opening Scene of Indiana Jones has nothiing to do with the rest of the movie in terms of what his objective is in that scene. The scene is there to establish the character IN ACTION and SHOW what they can do in a brief and exciting fashion which hooks you promises more of the same only better and more intense etc.

But to start a HERO film with just talking about what he does ... that's not a movie, that's a play ... and a bad one.

But seriously this is very common and like Indiana Jones - one of the bad guys is also established.

SPOILER ALERT

In fact you could say it has everything to do with the story -- because that's how she gets killed.

Would the story make sense without the first scene? Yes. And so would Indiana Jones, and every James bond movie. But I was not about to withhold some good action from the guys on this site :thumbsup: and lame out with a dialogue discriptionm of what he does ....

you might rethink this and get back to me and let me know if you REALLY think that it would have been better to not show him getting the death from the rat and how he used it etc.

When we get to the dialogue scene where things are explained - its more interesting because the first scene sets up the questions that are answered in the second scene.

If I start with the roof scene, then I'm just telling the audience stuff for the sake of telling them and hopefully they will file it away and find it interesting.

If I show them something interesting that raises questions, then they are more hooked and enjoy / are invested in the expositional scene that follows.

I don't mean to be harsh, but I wanted to be honest in how I felt.

Not at all man ... I hope you take my rebuttal on one or two points as spirited debate -- you're comments were entirely approriate. The stuttery transitions is something new I'm trying. I think I went too far in a couple of areas and I'm gonna tone down slightly for the DVD.

I guess I just don't see what everybody is so amazed about. I think the filming is good, the camerawork and directing are good, and overall you put together a good piece.

which somehow totally sucks evidently, LOL, :laugh: but thanks for the DP nod especially, as your film is lit great. I think it has my highest score in lighting and I think maybe camera too at this point.

But when I read these posts BEFORE I watched the film, and then watched the film, I was honestly let down.

Sorry for the criticism, I hope it's taken the right way.

Again, thanks for taking the time.

Seriously JDS, I've seen it three times now, and each time I promise myself I'm going to watch for the FX work, but I get too wrapped up in the story and I forget all about it.

I'm going to go curl up in my sock drawer and sleep for days.

LOL rogar-BigGrin(DBG)

i'm really glad you decided to stay in ! this film was as great as your previous ones. the visual style (costumes, actors, fx) all worked very well together and suceeded in creating a great feeling and atmosphere!

Alex

Thanks, I'm glad it worked for you. We made this with no money and did our best to improvise and come up with consistent art direction and a unified piece even as the aesthetic evolved daily based on our resources.

thanks for the comments, one and all,

- Jack

 

[Blaine]

Jack, as usual a fine movie. Personally, I liked The ODD Squad better, but I think a lot of that has to do with the lead actor and the hard boilded VO.

On this one, I was particularly pleased that you told the story without having to resort to VO to get your idea across. It was totally appropriate in The ODD Squad and it was great that you didn't use it here.

Technically, I thought you did a very good job. Loved the cinematography. You had an engaging story that was complete and had a payoff. The acting was good. Jessie Artemis Baum did a good job overall. A couple of times I "felt" her acting but damn, I shouldn't be nitpicking that. Considering her age and the difficulty of working with children, then requiring her to have to carry such a large portion of the movie...you done good, pilgram rogar-BigGrin(DBG)

The symbolism of him "falling" to his death to save her was excellent. Man, did Joel Isreal remind me of Tim Matheson.

The payoff scene in the cemetary was well executed. I have to disagree with an earlier post concerning the use of the white makeup. I think it was spot on for a character balanced somewhere between life and death.

The only negative thing I have to say about this movie are the shots right after Bone Hand saves Easter. When she "wakes up" the cutting is disorienting and actually pulled me out of the story. At the 4:33 mark the jump cut feels like a mistake or continuity error. Personally, I'd have liked to seen that scene pulled off smoother. It would have made for a more emotionally touching scene. I've gone back and rewatched the movie twice and still feel the same way about this scene. It's just my opinion, you are the filmmaker and as such the decision on how to tell your story is your prerogative. Jeesh, everyone's a critic.

 

[J.R. Hudson]

The level of competition this fest is pretty slim which leaves only a couple serious challengers for my vote. This being one of them ...

One surprise is seeing films with no obvious SUPERHERO but instead with Ninja's and dude's with Gun's, gay guy's wrastlin' in an apartment, gangster's, private eye's -- What the **** ?

Prop's to those who actually made an attempt to create a comicbook hero.

I am a big fan of JDS's work; starting with Shed and fast culminating with THE ODD SQUAD which was so fun and perfect. I was very eager to see what was offered up here with Herofest.

One thing I truly enjoy with the usual suspect's in these fest's is seeing growth from the DVXuser filmmakers; from Zombiefest to Scifest to Herofest and those who participated in all 3 the growth is mostly evident.

However, on this short I found it, not a step back from The Odd Squad, but more so a lateral move. Something tells me JACK's next short may just be a Quantam LEap forward in development and skill.

I love your style in the cutting room but at times feel it abused in this short. For ODD, the manic hyperreal cutting style worked with the 70's funk play but here it was a distraction. Just when I settled on a nice composition or moment in the piece, it changed on me. I kept saying 'Jeez Jack, slow down!'. It was as if there was a lacking confidence is staying with a shot more than a few seconds like today's music video's.

I really enjoyed the slower scenes; the man and woman talking in apartment doorway, the child and man on couch. This is when I felt we were let into your world. You do action nicely but at times it feels to rushed. Like 'Bam! Slap! Crunk!' and then it's over before it began.

I'm torn on the kid. The kid is not a bad actress, but unless one is Haley Joel Osment or Dakota Fanning, kid's just usually do not have the required range to pull off drama and that is the case here. Not horrible, but I would probably shy from putting any kid's in my film's if possible.

I love the use of many locations. You suceeded in creating a world for me from the wonderfully opening shot in the alley, to the apartment building, the rooftops and the cemetary. I love when the filmmaker 'Get's out of the apartment'

Not sure if you planned on rain but that served the atmosphere greatly; lucky you! Probably a pain in the arse that day of shooting but be grateful for the asthetic it created!

The score is not only great but it appears custom on top of that. The cue's are spot on and the mood serves unlike some of the other films where it sounds like a soundtrack score laid on top of the film where they just do not jive with what is on screen and way over the top.

In closing; this short is the best of the bunch. Usually I reserve my highest vote for the single film that entertains me the most; for Zombiefest I gave my 10 to The Laughing Dead, for SCIFEST I gave my 10 to We Are Not Alone . I personally found Dahopa Film's SIMILO parody to entertain me more than this one, but am going to reserve my 10 for this piece anyway's for technically being superior to the other films in terms of photography, score, sound design, set's, location's and talent.

Nice job Jack. I liked ODD SQUAD much better, but think the lack of challenger's this go around may give a Wild Card and there is nothing wrong with that. You have the real film chops. You bastard. You inspire me as well as challenge my own inner drive. Damn it.

In short; I'd like to see you slow down and have more confidence visually and in your pacing.

 

[Mark Harris]

Jack,

I thought the girl who is NOT ACTUALLY Aram's daughter was amazing. The best thing in the movie. Remember when we talked about actors vs. non-acotrs? To me, she had such a wonderful simplicity and directness to her performance. Like most kids. I disagree with hudson about kids like HJO and Dakota Fanning. To me, those kids overact soooo much that they don't come off as kids at all, but just as very short actors (ewwwww).

Anyway, if I had one criticism, it would be that I saw the end coming as soon as the girl came on screen. I had the same thing happen when I saw Odd Squad.

Maybe I've just seen too many movies.

I think it's part of your power as a filmmaker, that you have such a strong grasp of the basics of movie storytelling, that your work comes off as extremely professional. I just get the feeling that the situations, characters, etc. are a little stock. 5 min is not enough time to really get under their skins and make the JOURNEY of the story yours own. That make sense?

Again, that is SUPER nit-picky and it might just be me, and maybe I'm just pissed off that you didn't let me come work on it too.

However, I have spent pretty much all day cursing your name and swearing I will not release my next short until it's at least this good. Bastid.

P.S. - Nice roof, Shawn.

P.P. S. - Sorry, Aram.

 

[J.R. Hudson]

Jack,

I thought Aram's daughter was amazing. The best thing in the movie. Remember when we talked about actors vs. non-acotrs? To me, she had such a wonderful simplicity and directness to her performance. Like most kids. I disagree with hudson about kids like HJO and Dakota Fanning. To me, those kids overact soooo much that they don't come off as kids at all, but just as very short actors (ewwwww).

Respectfully disagreed. But ...

What ? Fanning overact's ? Do you even have kid's ? Are they like little Zombie children ? I have a 6 year old and this kid is not some simpleton in terms of emotion.

In fact, I just coached a season of T-Ball and these 5-6 year old's are not simplistic at all; direct maybe, but that's a whole nutha' trait.

When I see Dakota in action I see true talent

Anyway's. No disrespect was intended to Aram's daughter (Oppressor know's that) but my theory with actor's is either you can or you can't. 'Kind of' acting always comes up short.