HERITAGE - Geoff Reisner

Geoff,

Great job. First time I watched it I was a little distracted and found my mind wandering a bit, but that's not you're fault. Second time was the charm. This short has a great atmosphere, and is more cohesive then most I've watched. I think the concept is incredible, have you considered developing this into something longer? You've got a great hook, and that is what was said? That alone, among other things, will keep me thinking about this short.

I loved the shots of him riding on the train, some of the best I've seen so far.

Overall, excellent, haunting, moody, intelligent short.

Ben

p.s. Best score I've heard so far. Congrats to your composer.
 
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Geoff,
I can only say I really felt like I was watching a "movie" while viewing yours. The composition and the calm pace, the easy way you moved through your story worked the way visual storytelling is supposed to. There are those who can and those who cannot. You are of the former.
 
Unfortunately, I have only had time to see a handful of films, trying to finish up some last minute work on another project... As soon as it's done, I'll be watching all the other films and commenting.

But thank you to all whom have commented on the film. I really appreciate the time and effort both in the response and the viewing itself. Whether it's good or bad, the critique is always insightful and helpful. I'm satisfied just with the mere fact that people are watching my work, to be given feedback is an invaluable bonus.

Thank you all.
 
Geoff notice your thraed view count like quadrupled. (some body's movie is kicking ass) :)
 
Geoff, this was head and shoulders better than your SciFest entry. I loved the compositional choices you made. Interesting story, well told...but. For all the good of this I feel you missed the boat by just a bit. You started off with some VO and I thought, "here we go again," then you came to the scenes where he's telling the girl these things. I thought, "finally, someone's taking a different spin on VO" but you didn't keep that up. You already set us up that he was telling her these things, why not keep it up? But the dialogue turned into "written dialogue" rather than "spoken dialogue" and the spell was broken.

It just felt like I was listening to a book on tape at that point. It felt that the character's "voice" had changed on me. If you could have kept him "in character" and maybe a word or two thrown in from her, it would have blown me away. As it was, it was quite good, and just missed the mark by a hair. I guess what I'm saying is the VO pulled me out of the story, the way it was done, rather than drawing me in the way you had me set up.

I liked the twist at the end, too!
 
:)
Blaine said:
...I thought, "finally, someone's taking a different spin on VO" but you didn't keep that up. You already set us up that he was telling her these things, why not keep it up? But the dialogue turned into "written dialogue" rather than "spoken dialogue" and the spell was broken.
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Blaine, thanks for the feedback! I think I understand what you mean, but I want to clarify. Are you saying it would have been nice if he continued talking to the girl as a voiceover throughout the film (without ever showing that scene), touching on the other actual VO parts as well?

I hadn't thought of that, but I like the idea and can visualize what effect that change might have had on the film.

Also, did you mean my horrorfest entry? I didn't enter into Scifest. :)
 
Geoff_R said:
:)
Blaine, thanks for the feedback! I think I understand what you mean, but I want to clarify. Are you saying it would have been nice if he continued talking to the girl as a voiceover throughout the film (without ever showing that scene), touching on the other actual VO parts as well?
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You started out the VO and carried it into the where he's talking to the girl and I thought, "Wow, he's not telling us [the audience] the story, he's telling it to her," and that made it feel special. I think as you went on and the dialogue became more "written" than spoken we lost that dynamic. By "written" I mean it didn't sound like natural spoken dialogue, rather it sounded like something you'd read in a book...just the choice of words and manner in which you put them together. You absolutely needed the scene of him talking to her to set up what I'm talking about. But once having set it up, you could have carried the illusion forward through the story and I think it would have felt more intimate.

I guess this comes from my feeling that a screenwriter should try to find a better way to feed information than through straight VO. VO is great in a film noir situation but it generally feels lazy in most narative situations [kind of how unmotivated handheld shots by a DP just feel lazy]. No, I'm not calling you lazy, it's just a general writing philosophy I hold. A writer constantly needs to challenge himself against conventional thinking to come up with fresh ideas in storytelling. I use it as a last resort along with dream sequences and uninspired flashbacks.

Geoff_R said:
Also, did you mean my horrorfest entry? I didn't enter into Scifest. :)
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My bad...of course I meant your HorrorFest entry. It was the "alien creature" kind of thing that threw my memory off.

Please don't take my criticsm the wrong way as I really did enjoy your entry. I'll probably have to watch it several more times before deciding on my Best of Show...:thumbsup:
 
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Blaine, thanks so much for taking the time to clarify that point. I like your philosophy regarding the voiceover; it's a good idea, one I hadn't thought of and I kind of wish I had while writing this.

Don't worry, I'm not taking it the wrong way. I appreciate your criticism and deeply value it. :) That's why I love these fests, I can get feedback from many different perspectives whom aren't guarded on their thoughts or critiscm. It's difficult with friends and family, no one wants to risk upsetting the other. So thanks for watching but more importantly, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. :thumbup:
 
The sound and score for this picture are fantastic! The images are cool, as is the lighting. The editing is great, and I really like the shot of the guy in his white shirt standing at the bar(?). The final sequence is great, kinda saw the devil coming, but overall, this short was like a compressed setup for a much bigger story, which was dissatisfying in the end. I can't help but feel that the story is "told, rather than shown" and the dialogue is kind of a verbal treatment for a feature film. Good package, though, I'd definitely watch your future work.
 
Wow, I really enjoyed your work on this, particularly the look of it. The pacing was subtle and it built tension well. The stuff in the park is just flat out beautiful and I loved your choices composition wise. If I had one small criticism, I would say the interiors were a little warm (when he takes the journal out) given the mood, just my opinion, all and all I thought it was great!!!
 
Hey Geoff,

I think you had a great story there. I really enjoyed it. I also liked the editing. I thought the closeup of the burning paper really added to the moment.

Nice images too. I'm not a cinemagraphic guy, I'm an actor, but I thought it looked very professional.

The only thing that I wasn't too impressed with is the girls acting. Not very believable, but that's no reflection on you or the story.

The only shot I would change would be when there's standing at the kitchen sink and he's facing away from her. I might have had him turn around which would have strengthened the relationship between the man and woman.

I really enjoyed this and it's top 5 for sure. :beer:
 
Geoff_R said:
That's an interesting way to look at it, I never thought about it in that manner but upon hearing it, I could see it. That would have been a cool direction for the story.

BTW, you did an excellent job in both 'Where Silence Falls' and 'Semele'!
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Thanks Geoff! Yeah, that would have been a cool direction, but the Devil theory works well too. :)
 
Geoff,

I was very intrigued by this film. I like how one life was totally absorbed by what was insidiously an "apparent goodness" when actually it was quit the opposite. The son was smart enough to realize this for he had doubted even the existence of such forces throughout his life. Until the whispering omen emerged that is.

Bravo!
 
Geoff,
The film pieced together very well. This was definitely one of our fun shoots. I'm so glad that we decided to continue the shots with the "through the doorway" theme. It is a subtle theme that really speaks to the fact that he is being watched. And the voice-over worked really well. Good Job Geoff!
On to the next project! :)
 
This was definitely one of the better films in the fest for me. Not only great imagery but you actually tell a story. Very nice job. And your lead has the look and sound of a hollywood star.
 
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