HELEN a short drama shot on hvx/M2
- Thread starter pdsage10
- Start date
TheHarshCritic
New member
Your short movie had its ups and downs. Though, in my opinion, it was mostly downs. You seem to have a knack for handling a camera. The actress was not at her peak, which is understandable because I dont think she's a professional actor; she did well for a non thespian, right? But it's great that you get to abuse her as a director and put tons of gel in her hair for the caveman video. You sound like a super husband!
I liked some of the plot. Like the random introduction of the faith motif. Oh, and her immediate acceptance of a glowing and rather demanding blond woman was great. What did the little girl say after being released from the fat man's fridge? You know, the slow motion sequence with the girl's mother and great music? Did she give a quick shout out to "playa!" or whisper a lame expletive to the ghost woman who saved her? ("Bleh!") Whatever she said, it wasn't "thanks"'
Speaking of the music, it was artistic. Good stuff. Especially in the last slow motion "bleh" scene with the girl's mother. James Newton-Howard would have been proud of having his music in this film. I watched the credits, I like to see the people who worked hard to make the film. Funny, I don't believe Michael Maina wrote James Newton-Howard's music. You know who did? James Newton-Howard.
5 thumbs down
Don't be discouraged. Keep working.
-TheHarshCritic - Ill be nicer next time.
I liked some of the plot. Like the random introduction of the faith motif. Oh, and her immediate acceptance of a glowing and rather demanding blond woman was great. What did the little girl say after being released from the fat man's fridge? You know, the slow motion sequence with the girl's mother and great music? Did she give a quick shout out to "playa!" or whisper a lame expletive to the ghost woman who saved her? ("Bleh!") Whatever she said, it wasn't "thanks"'
Speaking of the music, it was artistic. Good stuff. Especially in the last slow motion "bleh" scene with the girl's mother. James Newton-Howard would have been proud of having his music in this film. I watched the credits, I like to see the people who worked hard to make the film. Funny, I don't believe Michael Maina wrote James Newton-Howard's music. You know who did? James Newton-Howard.
5 thumbs down
Don't be discouraged. Keep working.
-TheHarshCritic - Ill be nicer next time.
TheHarshCritic said:
Thanks for watching my film and as for the music at the end, you are right, that is a temp track by James Howard(lady in the water). Mike Maina has been working on a final song for me but has not finished yet, but I didnt want to wait to show people my work.
As for the actress, you are correct, she is far from being a professional actress. She is my wife who would do anything to help me with a project. So as for her acting skills, I think she did pretty well for have no prior experience.
As for the little girl, at the end she mouths the words "thank you" and then the "angel" nods to her. Is it really that lame?
Well once agian, thanks for watching and taking the time to write a post.
P.S. How do you type when you have 5 thumbs?
TheHarshCritic
New member
pdsage10 said:
I wasn't addressing the lame-ness of that scene. Though it does seem a bit cliched, it wasn't clear what she was saying.
Best,
Brandon Rice
Distributed Producer
pdsage10 said:
Check your PM's.:laugh:
Northainan
Active member
The sound in the office was nice. Do you remember what levels you recorded the dialogue in the office? Nice short,I was really into it, forgot I was watching it on DVXUSER.com (lol) Again the sound was great.
I used an Alesis mixer for alot of the dialogue sequences, because it has a built in compressor. So I dont really remeber the settings on the mixer, but on the camera I usually had the dials at around 12 oclock high. I usually try to record at higher levels, but still leave a small amount of head room. The only issue that I had with the office was that it had alot of echo. So I had to have the shotgun placed really close to my actors.
The nightmare about doing the sound for this film was that I only liked the dialogue that I had captured and nothing else. So everything, including keys clinking, footsteps, doors closing, background noise, cars starting and driving etc. etc. is foley sound. This is the part that took for ever.
Thank you for your comments and thanks for taking the time to watch it.
The nightmare about doing the sound for this film was that I only liked the dialogue that I had captured and nothing else. So everything, including keys clinking, footsteps, doors closing, background noise, cars starting and driving etc. etc. is foley sound. This is the part that took for ever.
Thank you for your comments and thanks for taking the time to watch it.
i think your wifes acting was good when looking at the production as a whole. Parts of it were better than others (the story that is). Nice concept too.
In my opinion, somehow the first half was more engaging than the 2nd half.
the music was really OVERkill in some spots (particularly when she opens the fridge to free the little girl).
looks like you have "skills" though
good luck with your endeavors.
In my opinion, somehow the first half was more engaging than the 2nd half.
the music was really OVERkill in some spots (particularly when she opens the fridge to free the little girl).
looks like you have "skills" though
good luck with your endeavors.
Look 1st said:i think your wifes acting was good when looking at the production as a whole. Parts of it were better than others (the story that is). Nice concept too.
In my opinion, somehow the first half was more engaging than the 2nd half.
the music was really OVERkill in some spots (particularly when she opens the fridge to free the little girl).
looks like you have "skills" though
good luck with your endeavors.
Hey man, thanks for the input (comments will help me improve on my next project) and thanks for watching.
SignalPix
Active member
So I just took down the full version and put up a trailer in its place. I got DQ'd from a festival because of there being a full version up on my site.
Hi, pdsage. Sorry to hear about being disqualified. How did the festival become aware of the full version on your site? I have a short on my website I would like to submit to festivals.
I submitted through "withoutabox" and entered the address to my site as part of the online press package. At the time I wasnt aware that it would be an issue, so I guess it's my own fault. So I took it down and am hoping that the other festivals that I have submitted to havent seen it.
SignalPix
Active member
Thanks for your reply, pdsage. Good to know. Sounds like the prudent thing to do would be remove the film from my website during the submission process. It's funny, we're trying to get into festivals where we'll have a fraction of the viewers we'd have online. :undecided
My sentiments exactly. So, needless to say I was a little annoyed when I heard why I was DQ’d.
Well guys, finally getting to do what I had envisioned when I wrote the script. I am making a full length version of this into a feature with SAG actors and a small budget.
I had originally written the script as a feature, but then chopped it up and shot it as a short with friends and family as actors, just to see what it would look like and also to work out the SFX stuff that I had in mind. But now for the real thing.
I had originally written the script as a feature, but then chopped it up and shot it as a short with friends and family as actors, just to see what it would look like and also to work out the SFX stuff that I had in mind. But now for the real thing.
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