M D Productions presents: 'Violet'

khmuse said:
The very truncated version of this project that we have posted is far from being able to tell a story at all. I did explain this in an earlier part of this thread but I will go over it quickly again as I can't expect everyone to search for the specific post.

Violet is a 10 minute feature development project. It is in the non compete category for a number of reasons including that it is being shot under a SAG contract which would preclude its inclusion on any DVD of the fest entries. Due to a number of issues, we have less than 40% of our scenes shot for the development project, and a number of key ones are not present (super 8mm footage and SDX900 footage) so we put together a quick bit of DVX footage just to have something to put in this fest.

I would be surprised if you could extract too much about the nature of either the feature development short or the eventual feature, there just isn't enough information present. What we had hopped to accomplish is to peak the interest of a few to continue to follow our project as it develops over the next few months. Glad you liked the visuals, that is really all were are showing right now.
Click to expand...
Why show a truncated version without a sense of story to show if it's not going to intice the viewer to beg for more? It's cool for a DP reel and to show how great the camera can be, but as the (non-DVXUser) viewer, I want story.

Other filmmakers, especially here on DVXUser will support you and your project and continue to follow the progress, but my suggestions are for the agents, managers, studio execs, producers, or investors who are not as forgiving or understanding when it comes to rough or temp cuts. With what you have you should (or at least could) be able to get an idea of the story if you wrote a voice over for the trailer. Or maybe even put in some title cards. With a little creative words here and there your truncated version could tease the makings of a great story.
 
Thanks for the observations. I had originally planned not to show anything but at the urging of many I cut together a really quick trailer which is what we "entered" into the fest.

At the same point (a few posts later) I promised to show one or two full scenes to give a hint at the story (again at the urging of others). I realize that not many will find the single link hidden in the multitude of others, so here it is again:

I have prepared both a .mov and a .wmv version:

http://www.museelectronics.com/production/scene_11.mov

http://www.museelectronics.com/production/scene_11.wmv

Time allowing, I will post a few other scenes.

We are fully experienced in getting from a feature development project to a fully funded feature having gone down that path before, so I do understand your comments and absolutely agree. Again, what is here is simply to support the thread, not for our larger commercial purposes.

Thanks again for taking the time to watch and if you have the interest would be very interested to get your comments on the complete scene.
 
Kevin, tell Courtney I thought her 1-2 lines were absolutely amazing! :grin: I have to admit I was a little thrown off at first, but quickly realized that it was a trailer I was watching ... to which I'm now interested in seeing the actual film for a number of reasons.

What you DID show was visually stunning. I would suggest, however, to pump up the dialogue more, and perhaps bring back the music a tad ... otherwise I was struggilng at times to hear what was being said.
 
Thanks Norm, Courtney will be so pleased that you thought that she was able to pull off this complex dialog!

Actually up until a day ago I wasn't going to show anything at all as we have such a small percentage of the shots completed (this is actually a 10 min feature development short that will be used to assist Courtney's literary agent to sell the feature script). I was convinced by a few fellow dvxers that I should do something given the interest that we developed. So at the last moment we did a really quick assembly of a few scenes for no other purpose than this fest.

I fully agree with your comments on the dialog vs. music levels. I didn't have time to do any sound design and these segments will be looped in the actual project. I would be curious to learn if you had the opportunity to watch the actual scene that I provided a link to?

Scene 11 at least shows a bit of the tone of the project and the minimalist dialog approach that we wanted for the actual project. As you have an interest in the performance in this project, I will be happy to share some footage where you can see a bit more "performance".

I just finished watching "Where Silence Falls". I don't want to reveal much of my impressions in this thread as this isn't the place for me to do so, but I feel compelled to at least offer my congratulations. I was moved, you should be proud on so many levels. I will be posting a full set of comments within your thread later.

Thanks again for watching and commenting.
 
Just got home with my kids (doing the Mr. Mom thing this weekend), and still have to order dinner (yeah, sure I could make it, but they expect Pizza from Dad ... at 8:30pm!) ... anyway, I'll check out the link soon & get back to you on it, Kevin.
 
Kevin, love it for what it is..... cant wait to see it. Your daughter.. Im a fan (of the cinema going type).
 
It was beautiful, and I really mean that. The girl had an awesome look that seemed perfect for the part, your daughter? I may have to commission her for some work of my own!

The music was great, but there was definitely some issues with audio quality with some of the dialog.

Cinematography matched the mood, the light colors played very well.

I can't wait to see the whole thing!

:beer:
 
Thanks everyone, I am glad that people are enjoying (if at a minimum, its really short, so even if you don't like it, its over pretty quickly!). I do realize that there isn't any of our story revealed here, but we just felt that we should support the fest and show a bit of what we have been working on. Yeah the sound sucks, it isn't representative of how it will be when the development project is finished. The one full scene that we posted is a bit closer to the feel of the finished project.

I will certainly address the sound issues when we release the full length cut in a few months. This will be used by our literary agent to help with the funding of the feature length version.

Thanks again for all your kind comments.
 
Hey Kevin, got to watch the clip you linked above. Nice. What camera are you using there, BTW? SDX900? Again, the sound/dialogue is way too low, but you did say you'll be addressing it.

I liked both of the girls here (Courtney & the other actress). The only thing that was sticking at me for that short scene is to cut to Courtney a few frames earlier (perhaps an entire second?) before she says 'Thomas' ... just would feel better. Otherwise, I like seeing this clip, as I now know the story is likely about her running away with another guy no where near her own age ... so much so that she's even embarrassed to tell her friends his age.
 
Hey Norm,

Thanks for watching and thanks even more for the feedback. As for camera, no I shot this scene with the DVX. I am using the SDX and Super 8mm on this project but only in a few places where I need great low light performance or when I want the special look of Super 8mm.

I am going to look at your specific suggestions for the cut on that scene and see how they work out. As for interpreting the story, you nailed it. Not bad for only seeing a 24 second scene!

Thanks again, great input.
 
Hey Norm,

Wow, I am honored that you though it looked good. I shoot with the DVX a lot like I shoot with film, I try to get my look entirely in camera (filters and setup). I am humbled by your statement, with the high standards that you have exhibited in your recent work, I am really honored that you even liked it.

I took a look at your suggestions on the cut and found that they partially work for me. I did move the first punchin to Violet (Courtney's character) by 5 frames, but at the second point, I really wanted to see her struggle with the question a bit before responding so I didn't cut as close to her dialog as I did earlier in the scene. I do think that this works a bit better, thanks!

Here is a link to the scene with these changes incorporated:

http://www.museelectronics.com/production/scene_11_B.wmv

It should be up by about 1PM PST.

Thanks again!

Kevin
 
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You’ve got to be kidding me- that’s all we get for the trailer! I want to see more! I like the trailer, it looks like it will be a great film, and you’ve got my interest. Well shot & composed I look forward to seeing more when it is done. Great work!
 
Is this a trailer? Sorry I haven't read the rest of the thread...

These two girls in this film have real-deal star potential. They have mesmorizing faces. Maybe I'll read the rest of the thread now to find out exactly who they are.

I liked the photography in this clip quite a bit, very relaxed and I never had to struggle to understand what was going on in the frame.

Nice!!
 
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