paulstamat
Member
I loved this. I thought that it was a very interesting piece with the visuals alone.
No Presents For Paul - Short Film
- Thread starter Darkline
- Start date
Darkline
Veteran
scharky..... you may be right. Just watched your awake trailer (which was great - love that still of him in the cube on the sand too!) The opening shot of him on the bed with the fan is almost identical to an opening shot for a music video I made a year or so ago.... doh.
oh well, I'll put it up and you can laugh at it. The vibe is very different to this one anyway so dont worry
good luck with your film, it looks very promising.
oh well, I'll put it up and you can laugh at it. The vibe is very different to this one anyway so dont worry
good luck with your film, it looks very promising.
xilixfilms
Well-known member
Goodness! I couln't finish watching it ... too weird~
Paul Coleman
Veteran
"The beautiful vision that kills." Loved it.:love4:
jackal2513
Active member
Being honest i feel that it was quite unremarkable in most areas. With the white environment (e.g. see the opening of Bermans Persona) much more could have been made of the visuals with better framing and grading etc... Editing was so so and same for shot choice. The colours on the character's face and his clothes were pretty awful in my opinion and the exposure was quite ugly in places. But i think that it had a few things going for it:
1. it makes you want to watch it
2. it makes you feel uneasy
3. kudos to yourself for being bold and doing exactly what you wanted to do
for me from the very beginning it had a very horrible nightmarish feel to it, thats not something i normally go for but it was powerful nonetheless. The offset between the xmas music and the ambient sounds was key to that along with the breathing apparatus etc.. I think you could have cast someone better as well, the actor you have didn't seem like a proper actor or didn't seem properly cast to help the gist of the film. The last thing I want to say about it is the fact that teh things that took place were very particular so it almost feels like it DOES have a definite meaning that you sort of feel compelled to work out. This is pretty dangerous ground IMO... its far easier to create a narrative-lacking film if whats going on is something more generic and applicable so people can more eaisly take something personal away from it. But the christmas presents, his reaction etc.. it was all very specific which makes it all teh more obtuse and intangible.
i am personally a big fan of non-linear film and film that lacks narrative and just washes you with emotional states but you need amazing visuals for this kind of thing and very very powerful ambience. Also, be aware that MOST people dont like this type of film and they can get frustrated with it, always looking for a meaning and unable to apply their own meanings. Most people expect film to give you everything and cannot even begin to grasp the concept of film as a painting or a piece of music where everything is more open and subjective.
having said all that, you probably dont care too much about audience reaction and just made it because you wanted to and enjoyed making it regardless.
1. it makes you want to watch it
2. it makes you feel uneasy
3. kudos to yourself for being bold and doing exactly what you wanted to do
for me from the very beginning it had a very horrible nightmarish feel to it, thats not something i normally go for but it was powerful nonetheless. The offset between the xmas music and the ambient sounds was key to that along with the breathing apparatus etc.. I think you could have cast someone better as well, the actor you have didn't seem like a proper actor or didn't seem properly cast to help the gist of the film. The last thing I want to say about it is the fact that teh things that took place were very particular so it almost feels like it DOES have a definite meaning that you sort of feel compelled to work out. This is pretty dangerous ground IMO... its far easier to create a narrative-lacking film if whats going on is something more generic and applicable so people can more eaisly take something personal away from it. But the christmas presents, his reaction etc.. it was all very specific which makes it all teh more obtuse and intangible.
i am personally a big fan of non-linear film and film that lacks narrative and just washes you with emotional states but you need amazing visuals for this kind of thing and very very powerful ambience. Also, be aware that MOST people dont like this type of film and they can get frustrated with it, always looking for a meaning and unable to apply their own meanings. Most people expect film to give you everything and cannot even begin to grasp the concept of film as a painting or a piece of music where everything is more open and subjective.
having said all that, you probably dont care too much about audience reaction and just made it because you wanted to and enjoyed making it regardless.
Last edited:
Darkline
Veteran
What's nice about this site is that people can still be viewing and commenting on something months after it has been posted. Thanks again for all the feedback.
Jackal, I appreciate all the comments I get from my shorts, good or bad. So its nice that someone takes the time to write such an elaborate criticism. Like you say you can't take every piece of criticism onboard as you're making a piece not to everyones taste. That's a given from the start.
Some things we will just have to disagree on but you have to bear in mind that if you see my earlier posts and production stills; it was shot in a very restricted environment (a shed about 2m x 2m) and with very limited equipment. I'm not making excuses here but I'm very sure that if I had a budget of more than £40 or whatever to spend on it perhaps the visuals would have been more striking. However, I'm quite happy with what I achieved with the limitations. If you've made anything yourself you'll know that what you have in your mind is a mile away from what you can achieve on screen.
True about the actor, but he's just my mate and I thought he did a decent enough job; the film was shot with just two of us. The overexposure was necessary so I could hide most of the curtain creases and as for clothes... well I just filmed him in whatever he turned up wearing. Not very professional I know but this was more of a personal project than something I was going to unleash on the world.
You're right - some of it is very specific. It's not really something I want to do to explain what's going on behind the narrative, ; but different people pull out different feelings from it. I remember once I used to love this song and I drew my own meaning from the lyrics. Later I found out it was about homeless people and that kinda ruined it for me as I could now see how it was meant to be read. My film isnt as specific as that but I like the idea of it just floating around and people either hating it or buying into it.
It's all a learning experience tho no matter how many films you make; and I'd be a fool not to listen to what people thought worked and didn't. If you take it all on board tho you end up making a mess and losing your own take on something. It's a difficult line.
Jackal, I appreciate all the comments I get from my shorts, good or bad. So its nice that someone takes the time to write such an elaborate criticism. Like you say you can't take every piece of criticism onboard as you're making a piece not to everyones taste. That's a given from the start.
Some things we will just have to disagree on but you have to bear in mind that if you see my earlier posts and production stills; it was shot in a very restricted environment (a shed about 2m x 2m) and with very limited equipment. I'm not making excuses here but I'm very sure that if I had a budget of more than £40 or whatever to spend on it perhaps the visuals would have been more striking. However, I'm quite happy with what I achieved with the limitations. If you've made anything yourself you'll know that what you have in your mind is a mile away from what you can achieve on screen.
True about the actor, but he's just my mate and I thought he did a decent enough job; the film was shot with just two of us. The overexposure was necessary so I could hide most of the curtain creases and as for clothes... well I just filmed him in whatever he turned up wearing. Not very professional I know but this was more of a personal project than something I was going to unleash on the world.
You're right - some of it is very specific. It's not really something I want to do to explain what's going on behind the narrative, ; but different people pull out different feelings from it. I remember once I used to love this song and I drew my own meaning from the lyrics. Later I found out it was about homeless people and that kinda ruined it for me as I could now see how it was meant to be read. My film isnt as specific as that but I like the idea of it just floating around and people either hating it or buying into it.
It's all a learning experience tho no matter how many films you make; and I'd be a fool not to listen to what people thought worked and didn't. If you take it all on board tho you end up making a mess and losing your own take on something. It's a difficult line.
kept me guessing to the end but also frustrated because i couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, nor apply any meaning to it ahh
but it WORKED
and i didn't even spot anything "wrong" with it (watching it the first time and getting sucked into the clip) until you posted the screen grabs and how you made the film
Awesome piece considering the limitations..nicely done
but it WORKED
and i didn't even spot anything "wrong" with it (watching it the first time and getting sucked into the clip) until you posted the screen grabs and how you made the film
Awesome piece considering the limitations..nicely done