MIDDLE MAN - a film by Brian Thesing And Finnian Riley

Yes, I too had difficulty hearing some of the dialogue on a set of regular computer
speakers. I had to go back and replay parts of it over and over just to hear what was being said outside the cafe as well as at the dinner table inside.

I guess the point of the story and the end was that he finally had approval from somebody? I didn't get it the first 2 times I watched it. Call me dense.

Anyway it was great acting and nicely shot but I thought the story was a sleeper. Sorry.

Great job overall though!!
 
I thought the acting and the cinematography was great.

But, I don't thing that this works well as a short film. The mood, characters, and storyline (I'm a little foggy on that) are better suited for a longer piece. With a short film, I feel like there needs to be some edge to it, a new angle on the conventional methods applied in feature length films.

Thats just my opinion, but if you're trying to go for a character study as you said above, I think that you need to do it more creatively in the form of a short film.

Again, I feel like the pacing, acting, etc. would work will in the form of a feature, or even a long short (30-45 min.), but not within a 6 minute short.
 
This short looks good!

One of the few short I seen that feel and looks like a movie. I agree with the above comments about the cinematography... the lighting was also very good.

The screenplay is your weakest point for this movie... I did not get sense of direction as to were this story was going.... at first I thought he was gay because preferred to not pick up his woman and was brief in the conversation to talk to a friend. There was something about his facial expression that gave this away... When you showed the truck I thought it was his friend waiting not broken.

I don't mean to pick only on the negative things with my comments, like I said this is one of the most aesthetically pleasing shorts in the competition. The sets were great... good choice of location... I am glad you established the location with such brevity... I showed what needed to be seen to give people orientation about the setting.

In the future, watch for details such as the phone ringing there was no lights or any sort so it felt off with a sound effect embedded in it.

The scene is the restaurant was beautiful... lighting was nice. I love the way you shot it... but then they were drinking wine in glasses. Keep an eye on those things.

Other than that, I think the direction was good just limited to the story. I liked it.

Best regards,
 
How'd you get Clive Owen's brother? In all seriousness this was a pretty good one. The restaurant scene was superb. To find an actor who can say so much with his eyes and expression is very rare.
 
Wow! What a great looking film! It was so pro!!! I am very impressed. This had the look of a big budget feature! And your actor was amazing. AMAZING! I loved him.

Great directing in this film. I especially loved the dinner sequence. The segment during the music was incredible. I wanted to BE THERE!

I had trouble hearing some of the dialogue and had to go back a couple of times to hear what was being said. The "approval" letter lost me until I went back to the dinner sequence and focused on the words. I feel that with such an important element to the ending, the fact that he was waiting on a loan needed to come out clearer.

Other than that, fantastic! Great, great job!!! I loved your film.
 
The acting, cinematography and direction are among the best I've seen so far. I'm actually finding that these dramafest entries are far superior to previous fests...or maybe I haven't got to the crusty ones yet. But Middle Man shows a real filmmaker at work here. One big thing missing: a solid story. There's sort of the inklings of a story here. But it's not enough. The thing felt like a movie in quality of performance and direction. But it felt like more of an experiment in terms of story. If this filmmaker can put the two together, I bet this filmmaker will make movies for a living.
 
Finnian said:
Am I off base here, or would people want to see another "Episode" with these characters?
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Absolutely. There's an innate honsety to your film making. It reminded me a little of some of the film makers i like ... simple stories playing out gracefully.

Maybe that extra element your talking about would make it more complete. I don't know. Nevertheless, it works superbly, but it just needed more resonance if that makes sense. Add that extra element, or shoot some more footy - maybe even adding another story to it and making it a 20 minute short ?

Whatever you decide i would submit it to festivals. i liked this better than some of the Sundance shorts (2007) even without that other element.





Just me 3 pence.
 
Sorry I couldn't comment sooner, same work day as before. No fun, no internet.

I figured there would be some story related upheaval. I assume the lack of audio clairity on many of the lines is hurting the overall narative. This will be fixed (last time I'll mention that I swear).

Thank you all for the cinematography props. I very much enjoyed shooting this project, though it was hard to do the photography and pay attention to performances, we used our VTR gear to help when we could. Mostly, I really trusted Brian to pick up my slack, and boy did he ever. Thanks for working the lines with everybody bro (I know yer reading this you lurker, join!).
 
ManwithaPlan said:
How'd you get Clive Owen's brother?.
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Yay, I'm not the only one who thought that! He totally did resemble Clive Owen in a bunch of shots. He gave a great performance.
 
Geoff_R said:
Yay, I'm not the only one who thought that! He totally did resemble Clive Owen in a bunch of shots. He gave a great performance.
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Are you guys talking about the lead (Brian) or his friend at dinner (Stirling)? I'm assuming it's the latter, in which case I'm sure he will be quite flattered.

BTW Geoff, I really enjoyed your film. When I have more time I'll say more on your thread. Thanks for watching!
 
Ok, this one bounced off my brain three or four times until I got it. Possibly because this style of filmmaking is opposite mine. I hate reality!:) This is very naturalistic, and well done.

Direction of the actors was subtle. Acting was great. Sound was a problem. Also, the handheld camera work was a little too shaky, and called attention to itself. Overall, this is assured and subtle filmmaking.
 
Paul Coleman said:
I hate reality!:)
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Yeah, this reality is especially a drag too!

We wrote this film in early December and it seemed to be becoming a very down-beat piece as it progressed. We didn't think much of it because it just seemed like an abstraction of harder times in both our lives. At the time, things were going really well for our business, so this seemed more like a look back in time. Then came January. We shot the first weekend and struggled to replace missing crew, not a big deal, but a sign of things to come. Then came a robbery, family illnesses for both of us, and a long list of financial strains that came out of nowhere to haunt us. Needless to say, we each faced some of the hardest times in our lives last month but we just channeled it into the film. I really think it helped to have something good to focus on to keep from going crazy. Also, Inga and Ellen & Leo disserve huge credit for putting up with us and supporting us too.

I think a comedy is in the future next time.

Thanks Paul!
 
really great filmmaking, all around. Though I have to admit to being one of those in the camp of not entirely getting the story...I'm going to watch it again, but all of the elements were top notch, the acting, the moment to moment writing, characters, shooting, locations, etc. just very professional. I feel like if the story were more apparent for dullards like me, it would have really sung. What am I missing?
 
I really dig this short. It's very well executed. The acting is top notch and it looks great overall. I agree, this would be better as a longer running film. There's just so much to work with plot-wise. You could develop the relationship with the lead and the girl that calls and take it in a "Swinger" type direction or mybe something different. Also develop the loan thing more so it resolves better.

Looking forward to seeing more from you guys in the future... :beer:
 
First of all, growing up in Silver Lake helped this one for me! I was praying the lead wouldn't go into the CIRCUS OF BOOKS.... looks like you filmed in front of Tantra/El Conquistador.... irrespective of the cool locale, it was really well done! I couldn't help but think to myself in certain shots that the lead looks like Clive Owen. The acting was top notch. I'd like to send you a short I recently completed, shot all throughout Echo Park and Silver Lake. Good luck with this -- it's one of the best of the lot, thus far!
 
Well I got to watch your film twice .. I get it:) First time around I was like nice looking stuff, good actor... then its over... hey what did I just watch..well let me watch it again.. A-HA I missed that little piece of paper at the end.. "middle Man" is a really good short it should be a really good longer short :)
 
I was very impressed by this short. The direction and cinematography was top notch. Brian Thesing was excellent in the role and fascinating to watch.

It can be argued that we've seen films like this millions of times but I really felt empathy for the main character and I found the story to be believeable and fresh in some ways.

The awkwardness at the dinner table in the restaurant was brilliantly done. I don't think a lot of people understand how deceptively simple that was to pull off.

You made great use of the Letus. Not overdone like I see on many shorts.

You have a lot of talent and it looks like you have a great team working with you.

Thanks for sharing your vision.
 
Michael_Petro said:
Well I got to watch your film twice .. I get it:)
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Yahoo! We have a "getter". Thanks for the praise again folks. It's funny how this seems to be such a targeted piece that people feel they have to completely understand to enjoy. Maybe we pushed the genre a bit far but to me I still say that you can not get it and still feel compelled by the people within it's looser-than-drama framework. That may sound like a cop-out though, oh well.

What's great to hear though is that most who didn't dig the story still gave it a chance with multiple viewings. That tells me quite a bit about my wonderful actors right there.

disjecta said:
You made great use of the Letus. Not overdone like I see on many shorts.

You have a lot of talent and it looks like you have a great team working with you.

Thanks for sharing your vision.
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disjecta, I'm especially happy you enjoyed this film. I've always respected your cinematic prowess on this board. It means a lot. Thanks again.
 
I've watched this a few times now...I think I 'get it' :) Beyond getting it though, I really like the film. I think it's better the second or third viewing because rather than trying to understand the story, I'm just letting the film wash over me.

The cinematography is very well done, not because of the way it grabs you but because it feels so natural. The way visual effects are supposed to work; they're good if you don't notice them. It was the same here with the cinematography, it was done well enough that I forgot about it and just concentrated on the story. Great use of the 35 adapter, almost felt like something shot on super16 (I think that has something to do with the saturation of the image...just a thought)

I also thought the editing was spot on. This was cut the way I like to cut films :) (the same place/different time cuts/dissolves)

You managed to have a lot of beats fit into a six minute story without them feeling rushed.
 
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