The Fallen: our entry to DramaFest

Wow! What a film! Beautiful work. I am very impressed with the cinematography and camera work. Loved the crane and dolly shots. So well done.

The story had me a bit confused. It seems simple enough and I understood what was happening and maybe I should just leave it at that, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to know why. Regardless, in a 6 minute cut, you don't always get the answers and as I said, I should just leave it alone.

Curious if you have ambitions for a feature here. It sure seems like you have a great premise.

I loved the sound design of this film. The v.o. work was really well done as well.

The "doctor" character was very robotic. Was this intentional? I understand that he didn't enjoy his "job" anymore but I didn't get into his "performance."

Visually, a stunning film. Great fx, too.

There was another thing that I wanted to comment on but it escapes me at the minute. I'll have to come back.

But overall, really well done! Congrats!

Oh! The make-up. (I remembered!) The make-up looked great on the victim.

Great job, Neil! Do you have other films that I can view? I would love to see more of your work.
 
There's some great work here.

Can anyone tell me which of the entries originated on the HVX?

I'm trying to convince my producer that the HVX is a good option for our film, so I'm looking for good examples of what it can do with drama.

Not to disparage the dvx films. I'm gonna try to watch them all.
 
I don't know all of which were which, but I'm pretty sure that Eighteen Seconds, Katrina, and The Fallen were all HVX. I know Dissonance and Violet were DVX.
 
I don't really have much to say. It was a very nice piece, Neil.

I thought your camera work, was pro-grade. Some great camera movement, etc. in there. Visually pretty dang stunning. Nice visual fx. Nice sound editing. Just all in all, a tightly framed, package.

Some x's for me: Acting was the big one. It wasn't bad. It was just a little too "obvious" in its delivery. Across the board. The lead did have a great look on camera though.

The scene around the 4:20'ish mark. It stood out from the others. Everything had this great cinematic feel, with smooth motion. This scene took a turn towards a bit of a "home video" look (too harsh of a term) compared to the others. The sound in particular in this scene. Was the guy with the mask being mic'd from the on camera mic here?
The last one, is that the first few minutes had a bit of a "i'm watching a trailer" feel to it. Still very engaging, but I felt like I was watching a trailer (for the first part), more than I felt like I was watching a story unfold. I wanna say it might have had something to do with the narration and the visuals not complimenting each other. They kinda both stood by themselves well, but didn't add to each other. In the first part.

Anyways. After all that. I just wanna say, I really enjoyed this. It was engaging, and visually I just loved it.

Thanks for sharing.
Jason
 
I've got a few more of them on the viewing and responding thread. The one's that people provided me the info on. Mostly dvx, but a nice chunk of hvx.

Jason
 
Sorry I got bored by the voiceover, thought the graphics were good, and I'm sure the storyline was good, but the voiceover just didn't do it for me, too common at cinemas. Maybe I''ll watch it again, but...........
 
there seems to be a love it or hate it thing going on with the voiceover. i'm just glad i decided not to throw some weird accent on it :)

..i have to thank everyone for the feedback, ill take the both negative and the positive as its all great to really learn from others. im going to try and apply all the feedback towards my next endeavor for sure.

ill try to answer a few earlier ?s ive recieved real quick.

main equipment: plain ol HVX, sticks, azden smg1x mic, little LCD monitor, 2 650s (one softbox, one openface), one 250, 2 4' two bank cheapo electronic ballast flouros with high grade 56 or 32k balanced bulbs. reflector. cobra crane, and of course a full cine dolly by rowe cine played a big part..lol .. and of course some other standard fare stuff as well as some weird little motion rigs i made up for doing the SFX stuff.

..yes, the part with the weirdo contract killer in the boiler room was recorded from the on camera mic. i was planning on doing ADR for it becasue we had these really loud boiler/heat things, and some generator hum the whole time. i could have cleaned it up more to bring up the volume but i ran out of time and decided to leave it and work on more important things at the last minute. maybe ill clean it a little for the DVD version. i dont know. i try to just leave things alone because otherwise id be fixing them forever with all the stuff i see wrong.

..the opening scene with the gaurd in the ally was shot day for night. we were losing light so fast in there that it was rediculous, so that why it came out a bit grainy.

thanks agin for the feedback guys and gals. i havent had a chance to view and comment on most of the other films yet but what ive seen so far from all of you has been just great.
 
Wow Neil

You have many many many things going on in this picture but oen thing that stands out for me is how much you have grown in your shot style and comps. Whether it was dolly or crane (jib) or static, this looks so professionally done.

Some amazing looking shots !

I had issues with the audio; I do nto think it was just me ? Can anyone confirm ? It came across not very well executed IMO

The story was solid but I tend to frown on too much Prose and Narration. I want to watch the story, not be told the story. That is a subjective take.

-

Overall; wow

You really have come far. Your shots are inspiring. Your directing skill is evident.
 
..yeah, the audio is definitely lacking. alot of the shots/scenes were intended for ADR later so we edidnt mic with the shotgun/boom, but i ended up using the original location sound.. whether on camera mic, or from a seperate field recorder that wasnt really close enough to mic accurately. oh well. some better planning is in order next time :)
 
Dude.. Wow.. finally started my second viewing i'm so impressed with this.. I know I said earlier about it being weird for drama fest, but hey, I got a 2.5 minute voice over :) The only weak spot is some of the acting.. but DUDE nice piece of work!
 
Overall i think its one of my favorite . The cinematograpy and the story are EXCELLENT, WONDERFUL, although honestly I didn't care for the special effects. I think the executions of the effects were not as good as they should be, but i also understand how difficult and time consuming animation/composting is. I thought the guy at the table (with beard & white shirt) demanding/giving the orders could have done a better job at acting. Overall good piece!!
 
thanks guys, a couple of the actors are brand new to the film scene and I thought they did a great job all things considered. I really like working with people who have a bigger heart than head, and i hope to work with these guys again in the future. I think that with me learning to give a more solid grasp of the storyline and a better sense of flow for them we could really see what they can do.
 
Neil .... WOW!!! I see this as more of a Sci-Fest entry, because it's dealing with something that many folks feel may be science fiction (angels, spiritual warfare, etc.) than they would drama. In fact, I'd say for Sci-Fest, this would have done extremely well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think of it as Sci-Fi, per say, but I know others may.

I loved the story idea, and your opening shots just about knocked me out of my chair. Talk about HUGE, MASSIVE, CINEMATIC PRODUCTION VALUE!!!

Of the VFX, the only thing that bugged me was the bullet ... might have been better sold if we saw more of the Matrix style air waves pulsating away from it, etc. A tad better compositing as well could be used, perhaps.

The acting seemed fine for me, and I loved the VO.

Overall, this film also reminds me of a story idea I had once, called ANGEL EYES (before that J-Lo movie by the same name came out with James Caviezel in it). Anyway, should PM me sometime ... I'd love to see where else you may be wanting to take this, your motivation behind it, etc.

Thanks for this awesome entry, that I'll be watching more than once, guaranteed.
 
Envision said:
... might have been better sold if we saw more of the Matrix style air waves pulsating away from it, etc. A tad better compositing as well could be used, perhaps.
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..first thanks for watching and im glad you enjoyed it. then ..yeah i actually thought about doing the whole air disruption sort of displacement behind/around the bullet, but i ended up just doing that little whisp of a smoke trail. i just decided that i didnt want people to say "oh look, he did the matrix thing.. how original.." or something similar. i just wanted it to be a subtle effect that worked. the thing that bothers me the most is that in the web versions you cant make out all the detail of the bullet. the bullet was shot almost filling the entire frame at 720p , so in the full 480p avi you can make out alot more of the detail and rotation, and see the smoke trail better. it really helps draw the attemtion there instead of exploring the rest of the frame. at least for me, the rotation of the bullet is somewhat mesmerizing. as well as in the beginning, the passing clouds are much much more defined and you can tell what the heck it is better.. that part really bothers me. the web copy just kind of screws everything up as far as sharpness, definition, contrast, and colorization. .. but, same likely goes for everyones entry. and yeah, im not a complete stranger to compositng but im definitely not any sort of compositing master by any means. im just one of those guys that sees something he wants to do.. does everything he can to learn or figure out how to do it, and then learns how to do it well by further trial and error. ill leave it up to others as to whether this one was either trial or error, but i definitely learned from it. :)

i have no plans to take this film any further, but there are other similar concepts as far as exploration into the themes introduced here that im mulling over for a possible feature. feel free to PM me anytime.
 
Jason Ramsey said:
The scene around the 4:20'ish mark. It stood out from the others. Everything had this great cinematic feel, with smooth motion. This scene took a turn towards a bit of a "home video" look (too harsh of a term) compared to the others.
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..i litterally, and after plenty of saving FINALLY just bought an M2. it is my sincere hope and prayer that nobody ever says this to me again. :)
 
Neil,

I'm going to chime in here and tell the good and bad stuff.

Good.

Very nice visuals (color/angles)
Very nice locations (alley/building/basement)
Nice CGI use (lightining at beginning and bullet [although less so the bullet] and Angel.
Nice voice over.
Nice acting from Guard.

Bad.

Broke the 180 rule in the corridor between the two guards.
Very bad audio in the basement between bad guy and guard.
Dialogue of the bad guy was pretty awful.
Acting not so good from corrupt LT or Crime Lord.

Enjoyable, engaging and entertaining piece. Almost like a teaser to a TV series. Perhaps not quiet drama, but more horror/fantasy/thriller/mystery. Maybe like BRIMSTONE?

EJ
 
Neil:

WOW! Very slick! Haven't viewed all the films yet, but so far yours is . . .

• BEST IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
• BEST IN COOL LOCATIONS
• BEST IN "BIG MOVIE" FEEL
• BEST IN EXPERT USE OF DOLLY SHOTS
• BEST IN VFX [DUH!]
• BEST IN "SERIOUS, BIG-VOICE" VOICE-OVER
• BEST IN "ATMOSPHERICS"

This really felt like a "big" film with a capital f*****g 'F.' I felt like I was watching a "movie." Great f'n job Neil! Your finesse with your use of dolly shots and camera movement was among the most professional I've seen. It's no wonder you make those cool dolly wheels! You really know how to use the damn things too! Excellent locations! Your locations lend a "big movie" feel to your film. Just as in retail, for me, a cool film is all about, "location, location, location." Plus, you had some really, really, beautiful imagery in there. The feather thing . . . I f'n LOVED that! The opening sequence was epic! Great f'n job, man!
 
EJ Pennypacker said:
Neil,

I'm going to chime in here and tell the good and bad stuff.

Good.
Nice CGI use (lightining at beginning and bullet [although less so the bullet]

Bad.

Broke the 180 rule in the corridor between the two guards.
Click to expand...

..good feedback here. no CGI was used. i mentioned it earlier, but the bullet is actually a real 9mm bullet filmed very close up in slow mo 720p on the HVX. even still, the lighting on it could have been better to match it to the scene, and some better motion application would have made for a nicer comp. the lightning is just a combo of keyframing brightness and contrast values of the various layers with the advanced lightning effect from AE 7 pro that was comped into the scene.

the 180 rule break. yes. definitely broke it there. since his back was completely to the wall i couldnt shoot from behind his right shoulder. i tried framing the cheat shot and pushed him out a bit but it didnt really seem right as far as matching charachter positioning for the space. so i did a 180 flip. in other words, i shot from one angle, and then shot from 180 degrees opposite. its definitely breaking the 180 rule, but since its an over the shoulder reverse sequence the audience can easily identify who is who, and relative positioning within the scene. i consider it a marginally acceptable break of the rule since it generally doesnt get noticed or cause any jarring "what the heck.. did they just switch places?" reactions. although if it did for you, i digress. i was wondering when someone would notice/comment on this. :)
 
Rezfactor said:
This really felt like a "big" film with a capital f*****g 'F.' I felt like I was watching a "movie." Great f'n job Neil! Your finesse with your use of dolly shots and camera movement was among the most professional I've seen. It's no wonder you make those cool dolly wheels! You really know how to use the damn things too! Excellent locations! Your locations lend a "big movie" feel to your film. Just as in retail, for me, a cool film is all about, "location, location, location." Plus, you had some really, really, beautiful imagery in there. The feather thing . . . I f'n LOVED that! The opening sequence was epic! Great f'n job, man!
Click to expand...

wow thats alot of F's :) but thanks for the kind words man. its nice to know i may have actually given it the feel i wanted to considering the budget was food for the crew, and buying the gaurd outfits/couple other needed props. the locations were interesting to figure them all out and line them all up, but they are worth the trouble to really get what your envisioning to look like you want it to. im still somewhat amazed that i can go back to the storyboards and shot for shot it looks just like my little pencil sketches in the final film. but theres plenty more really good films in the fest, and im sure youll really enjoy alot more of them as you get a chance to watch them all. I still havent been able to watch them all, but the ones i have watched have been very well done. thanks again man and have fun watching the rest!
 
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