Broken Circle

desperatecomfort said:
Yeah, Joe, look at the quote of mine Matt uses in his signature - Mark Harris. It's no joke.
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You had to go one better and have an animated sig didn't you. Your soooooo special :)

Do one for me :)
 
msconce said:
this was an amazing movie for me. I liked the no cut method, the make-up, the actors, the room, everything. Rock on!
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After watching your film, this means 100x more. Thanks a million. :thumbup:
 
Overall, I thought brocken circle was top notch. For me, the single circling shot was completely appropriate and acted as an engine to drive the story while reinforcing the theme. It was a bit unsettling, but that's what I'm looking for in a six minute film--constant motion. Give me an occasional rest in a feature, but at 6 minutes, I expect a horror film to be running balls out. BC takes about 15 seconds to come up to speed and plays like a nice coherent scene.

The acting was very solid and I give the cast big kudos for making the dialogue believable and hitting their lines like pros. As some others felt, I thought the Wormwood's dialogue was a bit weak and I think his audio still needs some work. The lighting also needed some beefing up in the center of the table as DV footage really starts to fall apart at low light levels. Better to light a little brighter and take things down in post. I didn't miss a musical score, as many of the scores I'm hearing are very generic suspense music that don't add much.

When the camera movement and dialogue were in sync, I could hardly believe it--godamn that was nice. At one point everything goes out of sync for a bit and that did bug me, but it's a minor gripe.

Nice film.
 
Excellent work. This is creative filmmaking at its best. I can only imagine the time spent for blocking. Lighting was perfect. Art direction was great. Actors were excellent. I can only agree with the positive comments that I have read here.... so I won't bore you by repeating them.

I was so into what was happening, if there were any mistakes or negatives, I missed them. The only thing that pulled me out for a bit was the sound clipping during the screams... and every once in a while the demon voice/noises sounded a bit like a lion, but still had my heart racing.

I feel like I was cut off before the climax, and although I would have like to have seen the the ultimate outcome of the broken circle, I didn't consider it a negative in this 6 minute setting.

Anyway, great and impressive work. High scores!
 
:crybaby:
desperatecomfort said:
I liked the one take because the story kept moving, in my eyes. But what was soo brilliant about this short, was first off, it was a subject matter that could be done in 6 min. Single place. Single event. Did not detract from the drama of that event for me. I've read some people complaining about story and endings and such, but I feel about short movies, the way I feel about short stories. I think forms can be more varied..
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I agree, cheers mate.

desperatecomfort said:
And the actors carried the whole thing. That's what's so powerful to me. Timur was right, when they start to feel something under the table, that CREEPED ME OUT...
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To be honest the Actors made this film, me throwing in the 1 shot idea was a bit of bling. I loved working with Paul, Hazel, Greg, Lawrence and Nadia (My wife), I couldn't have asked for a better cast. Thanks guys your amazing.

desperatecomfort said:
This is similar to my thoughts on The Seeing. You demonstrated a confidence in your storytelling I don't think I have yet. You used real horror techniques to build expectations and ENGAGE the viewer's imagination, rather than a lot of effects/make-up/etc/. This is the most powerful kind of filmmaking to me.
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Dude thanks a million. I'm really concentrating on my directing/ storytelling chops at the moment. :beer:

desperatecomfort said:
The thing about the one shot to me is, YOU TRIED IT. Perfect or not, this is a festival I see as a chance to push yourself. I did that by showing the community here something besides my comedy series. You guys did it with this thing. So I can imagine there was a TON learned by pushing yourselves. And that's why the DVX fests are great in my eyes.
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I agree, we ALL learnt tons from doing this. In the future I can see me working on more 1 shot projects. I got a real buzz from it. :)

Without this festival "Broken Circle" would have never been made, I'm always thinking of the next project but Jarred @ Co. gave me a deadline! :thumbup:
 
Blaine said:
JP, I'm really impressed in what you were able to do without a cut. Pretty amazing. The actors carried this piece..
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They made it I agree, cheers for you kind remarks :beer:

Blaine said:
I also loved the way the horns kept growing on each pass. How'd you do that so quickly?..
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Her name is Jeanette, she is a real professional. We all love her and her clay horns! :)

Blaine said:
I'd have liked a little more lighting on the actors faces using the candles to motivate the lighting. I don't know how you'd have accomplished that, given the location and constant circling, though...
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We had a 2k Arri behind the clock to lift the room. We should have got hold of some double-wick candles to lift their faces even more. My fault :crybaby:

Thanks for your kind comments, glad you liked it. Took an age to work out. :thumbup:
J.P.
 
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Barry_S said:
Overall, I thought brocken circle was top notch. For me, the single circling shot was completely appropriate and acted as an engine to drive the story while reinforcing the theme. It was a bit unsettling, but that's what I'm looking for in a six minute film--constant motion. Give me an occasional rest in a feature, but at 6 minutes, I expect a horror film to be running balls out. BC takes about 15 seconds to come up to speed and plays like a nice coherent scene. .
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Couldn't agree more, in-late out early was my maxim on this project.

Barry_S said:
The acting was very solid and I give the cast big kudos for making the dialogue believable and hitting their lines like pros. .
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Having trained as an actor, I really wanted to pull something from the guys. Everyone was fantastic on the day, I couldn't have wished for more.:crybaby:

Barry_S said:
The lighting also needed some beefing up in the center of the table as DV footage really starts to fall apart at low light levels. Better to light a little brighter and take things down in post. .
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No arguments there. Should have got hold of those double wick candles to lift them a little better.

Barry_S said:
When the camera movement and dialogue were in sync, I could hardly believe it--godamn that was nice.
Nice film.
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Wow, coming from you that is a MASSIVE compliment, thanks for taking the time to watch our little film. Your kind words mean everything to me and the cast/ crew. Cheers Barry your a legend :thumbup: :thumbup:

J.P.
 
snodart said:
Excellent work. This is creative filmmaking at its best. I can only imagine the time spent for blocking. Lighting was perfect. Art direction was great. Actors were excellent. I can only agree with the positive comments that I have read here.... so I won't bore you by repeating them.
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Thanks for your kinds word. Waldo the Art Director spent two days sorting the room out. All the paintings in the room are his own work. So he will be pleased.

snodart said:
I was so into what was happening, if there were any mistakes or negatives, I missed them. The only thing that pulled me out for a bit was the sound clipping during the screams... and every once in a while the demon voice/noises sounded a bit like a lion, but still had my heart racing. .
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Cheers geeza :thumbup:

snodart said:
I feel like I was cut off before the climax, and although I would have like to have seen the the ultimate outcome of the broken circle, I didn't consider it a negative in this 6 minute setting.
Anyway, great and impressive work. High scores!
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Thanks a million, I'm getting round to all the films. Not seen yours yet but I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again for your amazing comments.

J.P.
 
Broken Circle had a Polanski feel to it. I was impressed. I loved how you moved the camera around the table getting all the different reaction. The voice was so creepy! There was no pretense in this film, just balls to the walls fright.

great job!
 
The voice was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. This is some scary stuff, jpbankesmercer, you should be proud. -- hooowweevvver, there were a couple moments when i had trouble believing the situation. -- for one it was hard to believe he was possessed when it was just his own voice... i don't know, it was unnerving, but not that scary to just hear him saying "i am the controller" --> but once your scary voice came in i about **** myself!!!!

the only other reserve i have about it is the end when you put your credit. Man, talk about ending abruptly. As soon as that came on the screen I immediately lost all concern, all trembling... the only thing I could think of was how i wish the title hadn't popped up.

Negatives aside, you have yourself a really fantastic movie here and you will score high on my ballot. -- Great concept, stellar camerawork... brilliant actors/actresses. To be able to do this in one take is incredible. I loved it!!!!
-Kyle Stebbins
 
Noct said:
Broken Circle had a Polanski feel to it. I was impressed. I loved how you moved the camera around the table getting all the different reaction. The voice was so creepy! There was no pretense in this film, just balls to the walls fright.

great job!
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Wow Polanski :)

Good to have a film with a fews balls in it :)

Thanks a million
 
thekyleman71 said:
The voice was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. This is some scary stuff, jpbankesmercer, you should be proud. -- hooowweevvver, there were a couple moments when i had trouble believing the situation. -- for one it was hard to believe he was possessed when it was just his own voice... i don't know, it was unnerving, but not that scary to just hear him saying "i am the controller" --> but once your scary voice came in i about shi* myself!!!!
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I had an original score with the voice constant but I thought it was too over-the-top maybe I was wrong, wanted to create the impression he was wrestling with the the demon from the inside.

thekyleman71 said:
you have yourself a really fantastic movie here and you will score high on my ballot. -- Great concept, stellar camerawork... brilliant actors/actresses. To be able to do this in one take is incredible. I loved it!!!!
-Kyle Stebbins
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Man that's kind of you to say :thumbup: , have I reviewd yours yet? Getting around to it. My Eyes :(

Thanks again.

Hey everyone keep the comments coming please!

J.P.
 
i'll chime in a little bit, although i don't think i can say much more!

This film had a true mezmorizing feel to it for me, with each pass around the table, i was left wanting more and more to happen. And about 3 min through, i realized, holy **** ... this is going to be one take.

The acting was solid, especially in a "don't f-up" situation. All around quality, two thumbs up.

How much room did you have to move around in there?
 
hybridtheory said:
i'll chime in a little bit, although i don't think i can say much more!

This film had a true mezmorizing feel to it for me, with each pass around the table, i was left wanting more and more to happen. And about 3 min through, i realized, holy shi* ... this is going to be one take.

The acting was solid, especially in a "don't f-up" situation. All around quality, two thumbs up.

How much room did you have to move around in there?
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Not much at all, with four of use around the camera! :)

to be honest it's the hardest thing I've ever had to block, technically and Actor wise. We all worked are arses off to get something usable.

Thanks for your kind comments. :thumbup: :beer: :thumbup:

J.P.
 
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