"Cristo" by: justin r. durban

This was really well done, Edgen. I liked the restrained use of special effects. They were more effective because of it.

The one critique I had was that both of the main actors seemed to be playing one note throughout. They both seemed like pros, but it might have been nice to let them find more variation in their actions from beat to beat. I think it would have given it more of a sense that they were just there, and not sort of preaching the lines at each other.

I saw something similar in a play recently. I saw the play with one actor, and he did pretty much what you would expect in the role. he was the overbearing father and played the whole role on basically that note. Then he had to leave and David Strathairn came in - one of my favorite actors ever (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/) - and he took the role into a completely different and unexpected direction. Same lines, but the choices he made took it up and down and quiet and loud and all over. It was amazing. I think these guys could have benefited from some more time and help to find more variation.
 
uhm.... bad script. alright acting, i guess. none of them were credible, but there weren't any cringe moments. sound was inconsistent, it kept pulling me out of the short. the soundtrack was cool at first and then annoying when it kept sounding the same. so so camerawork, some of it was very strange. like the decision to frame the guy as he's walking on the pool's edge - makes him look like he's walking on the dad's shoulders. that's odd. the best part of the whole thing was when the dad dies and you see her. that was a great shot, great lighting, great dof, great colors, and she delivered her line(s) convincingly.
 
I really appreciate the production value here and a lot of the visuals were very impactful.

I think the script and acting bordered on melodrama at times, but in the end when you know who showed up, you really got me with her last line / the last line of the movie. It was really moving. I really liked it and I think the ending was really strong. I loved the underwater shots, and the VFX were really nice as well.

Thanks very much for this strong entry. You have a great eye and imagination.
 
Hey Justin! I wanted to post some comments on Cristo...

In as objective of an opinion as I can have (is that an oxymoron?)

Nevertheless, here you go....

Some positives:

Loved the score! Dude, this is Your best score yet, hands down! Loved it... moved the piece along... You're one of the best composers I know... watch out Hans.... (Zimmer :))

Loved the performances! Both guys (Matt, and Dan) did a fantastic job! I am a little biased, since I am a big fan of Dan already, but Matt did an equally good job, and was very convincing!

Cinematography. Dude, you have a great eye for shots... though some of the shots didn't match lightwise, I felt your framing choices were very well done overall!

Some Negatives:

Script. I liked the premise a lot, but I felt that it was a lot of dialogue... try to do more show don't tell with your film next time... I did appreciate the storyline, and thought it was strong, but the means used to communicate might have been able to be even stronger.

Staging. Dan didn't move the whole time. I would have staged the conversation between Matt and Dan differently. I think this could have also made the pace feel a little faster.

Well, overall I enjoyed it, and I am glad you got it done! Keep on going bro! :) It's only up from here! Good luck!
 
I enjoyed this flick! At some points I saw fuzziness, but the story was good enough for me to over look that, I absolutely loved the score and the whole consept from story to special FX...Right on man!
 
Thank you again everyone for watching "Cristo" and I hope you enjoyed the show. I appreciate all the comments and feedback and I'll take it to heart on my next film. We learn from our mistakes and hopefully avoid them the next round. AGain, good luck to all you other filmmakers out there and keep rockin' it!

*********



ripupthehwy said:
Visually the best one I've viewed so far! I love the color correcting/effects and I thought your actors were slightly better than most of the others on here.

rich nation
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Thank you Rich! I'm honored you liked their performances and the film. :thumbup:




Aram Bauman said:
Hey Justin, yours was my first to watch pick. I loved the colors, shots and the use of cut-aways that a lot of films from these fests lack. The story was cool but the dialog went on a little too long between the two for a 6 minute short. The underwater shots were VERY nice and I really love the shot of her head sinking. That was great. You made one location look more than it was it seems too. I didn't feel cramped or stuck in one place except for the lengthy dialog.
The music of course rocked. I never really heard it but felt it.
They keep getting better and better. Keep on keepin on!
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Aram, Thank you for watching mine first and for the kind words. :) It's crazy because the script is 9 pages long and the first cut was nine minutes. You could only imagine what dialog I actually took out of the film. I probably should have switched up some of the shots to break the monotony of that scene but time was just running out and Max probably couldn't have kneeled down on his knees with the steady cam that long. Greg, on the other hand, could have just lowered the jib for his camera 2/cristo cam.

As for the girl.. yes. Slow Motion + Girl in pool = Coolness. :)




Ralph Oshiro said:
/////////////////////////////////SPOILER ALERT!/////////////////////////////////

BEST SINGLE SHOT OF THE FEST: Girl falling into the pool. Game over, man!
SECOND-BEST SINGLE SHOT OF THE FEST: Second shot of girl in the pool.
THIRD-BEST SINGLE SHOT OF THE FEST: Girls' CU with splatter on her face.
WHAT I LOVED MOST ABOUT YOUR FILM: I love that "Blade Runner," "A.I.," synthetic human vibe. That's one of my most favorite sci-fi themes. Really loved the end shot of the girl. Stunning cinematography! Excellent use of focus pulls!

And last, but certainly not least . . .

BEST SCREEN KISS AWARD: "Cristo."

My only misgiving is that the score seemed a little weak . . .

[just kidding!]
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Thank you Ralph!!! Best screen kiss? :) It was a 'one taker' so I just hoped it would have turned out OK... Of course I would have loved to do another for safety but wiping all that stage blood away would have been uber time consuming. But thank you again for kind words. I'm glad you liked the story and I'm looking forward to making more! Just got find myself an angel that likes my work enough to dump lots of money for it.





Mark Harris said:
This was really well done, Edgen. I liked the restrained use of special effects. They were more effective because of it.

The one critique I had was that both of the main actors seemed to be playing one note throughout. They both seemed like pros, but it might have been nice to let them find more variation in their actions from beat to beat. I think it would have given it more of a sense that they were just there, and not sort of preaching the lines at each other.

I saw something similar in a play recently. I saw the play with one actor, and he did pretty much what you would expect in the role. he was the overbearing father and played the whole role on basically that note. Then he had to leave and David Strathairn came in - one of my favorite actors ever (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/) - and he took the role into a completely different and unexpected direction. Same lines, but the choices he made took it up and down and quiet and loud and all over. It was amazing. I think these guys could have benefited from some more time and help to find more variation.
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to reply Mark. I really value and honor your opinion. I'm pretty sure that the edit made the film. The 9 minute cut has the entire dialog along with those important beats and thought processes to vary their emotions. I had to chop em out as much as possible for the rules of this fest. Then again, it's definitely something to consider on my next film too and I'll be more concious of their direction.




gabrielflorit said:
uhm.... bad script. alright acting, i guess. none of them were credible, but there weren't any cringe moments. sound was inconsistent, it kept pulling me out of the short. the soundtrack was cool at first and then annoying when it kept sounding the same. so so camerawork, some of it was very strange. like the decision to frame the guy as he's walking on the pool's edge - makes him look like he's walking on the dad's shoulders. that's odd. the best part of the whole thing was when the dad dies and you see her. that was a great shot, great lighting, great dof, great colors, and she delivered her line(s) convincingly.
Click to expand...
Thank you gabrielflorit for taking the time to write. The poolside walk was merely a way of crossing the axis. Looking back, I wish I shot that with the letus 35 and the jib along with proper mic'age. That entire scene had to be ADR'ddddddd. bleh. Thank you again.




Keystoned said:
I really appreciate the production value here and a lot of the visuals were very impactful.

I think the script and acting bordered on melodrama at times, but in the end when you know who showed up, you really got me with her last line / the last line of the movie. It was really moving. I really liked it and I think the ending was really strong. I loved the underwater shots, and the VFX were really nice as well.

Thanks very much for this strong entry. You have a great eye and imagination.
Click to expand...

Keystoned... Thank you for the kind words and I appreciate you taking the time to reply. melodrama... heheeheh ya... it's a cross of sci-fi, drama. I had a few takes of her last line that I thought were better but none of them were the close up. There's something about the heart and soul of an actor/actress's eye that can really bring you in. Cheers!




JOE BLO said:
I enjoyed your film. The special effects were cool. Congrats!
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Thank you! Glad you dug the effects. AE is our friend.






Brandon Rice said:
Hey Justin! I wanted to post some comments on Cristo...

In as objective of an opinion as I can have (is that an oxymoron?)

Nevertheless, here you go....

Some positives:

Loved the score! Dude, this is Your best score yet, hands down! Loved it... moved the piece along... You're one of the best composers I know... watch out Hans.... (Zimmer )

Loved the performances! Both guys (Matt, and Dan) did a fantastic job! I am a little biased, since I am a big fan of Dan already, but Matt did an equally good job, and was very convincing!

Cinematography. Dude, you have a great eye for shots... though some of the shots didn't match lightwise, I felt your framing choices were very well done overall!

Some Negatives:

Script. I liked the premise a lot, but I felt that it was a lot of dialogue... try to do more show don't tell with your film next time... I did appreciate the storyline, and thought it was strong, but the means used to communicate might have been able to be even stronger.

Staging. Dan didn't move the whole time. I would have staged the conversation between Matt and Dan differently. I think this could have also made the pace feel a little faster.

Well, overall I enjoyed it, and I am glad you got it done! Keep on going bro! It's only up from here! Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you Brandon for the kind words and of course for bringing me Dan Payne. He did a wonderful job in Smuggler's Ransom and I'm glad he was able to come out and play. Staging.. There was a point to Cristo staying put. He's a man of power and most of his life people come to him and respect his integrity. (of course till the shi*e hits the fan and his 'android/humans' go amuck.) I would have loved to shot other angles but I was just running out of time. Perhaps if I got a little extra seed $$ I'll go back and reshoot that scene and 'do it right'. Lighting.. ya. Just ran out of time. PLUS.. we were using two DVX cameras for the bantering back and forth. I think that had something to do with it too?

Thank you again for the kind words on the music. It means a lot to me and I"ll continue to write more musics.




Dustin R. Rogan said:
I enjoyed this flick! At some points I saw fuzziness, but the story was good enough for me to over look that, I absolutely loved the score and the whole consept from story to special FX...Right on man!
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Thank you Dustin for writing and thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you liked the film and score. :) Makes me happy! Fuzziness.. ya, I'm thinking some of that is maybe from the interlacing? Some shots were OK, others were jacked up.


***
Cheers!! :beer:
/j
 
The thing that you went away from in that scene was the cut aways. I think if you kept them coming in that dialog scene it would have not felt as long. You still kicked ass on this.

Aram, Thank you for watching mine first and for the kind words. :) It's crazy because the script is 9 pages long and the first cut was nine minutes. You could only imagine what dialog I actually took out of the film. I probably should have switched up some of the shots to break the monotony of that scene but time was just running out and Max probably couldn't have kneeled down on his knees with the steady cam that long. Greg, on the other hand, could have just lowered the jib for his camera 2/cristo cam.

As for the girl.. yes. Slow Motion + Girl in pool = Coolness. :)


Cheers!! :beer:
/j
Click to expand...
 
Justin, I think the best scene in this film is the sequence with the boy and girl near the pool, their kiss...her death... Visually, it transcends the rest of the film. I think the scenes between the father and son were bogged down by dialogue.

The score is great! Powerful music!

I can't get that sequence out of my head... 'girl in the water'....'the shot and blood hit on the face'....'the kiss'... awesome :)

Thanks for sharing the film!
 
Geoff_R said:
Justin, I think the best scene in this film is the sequence with the boy and girl near the pool, their kiss...her death... Visually, it transcends the rest of the film. I think the scenes between the father and son were bogged down by dialogue.

The score is great! Powerful music!

I can't get that sequence out of my head... 'girl in the water'....'the shot and blood hit on the face'....'the kiss'... awesome :)

Thanks for sharing the film!
Click to expand...

Thank you Geoff! Ya, I wish I could have shot the entire film just around that scene. Sooo much more to do. I'm glad it put a lasting impression. Perhaps it was the sudden jolt of the gunshot. I tried in the sound design to bring it in an awkward moment with the Ocean Wave crashing in the distance. If you listen closely, you'd expect to hear it settle in but.. ya. BOOOM. in your face. Err.. her face.

Thanks for watching!

/j
 
Your best entry yet Justin,

Locations, wardrobe, effects all incredible!!!

Every entry has been an exponential improvement from the last, by next year I expect to see you at the local cineplex.

Its nice to see some of the comments of other dvxers above. Seems you've turned alot of heads and everybody is offering helpful comments to help propel your talent.

Good luck!

Erik
 
Edgen said:
ha!!! THe day we shot it was the *ONE* day it decided to rain in L.A. So, there was this massive overcast all friggin' day that made it a nightmare not to mention an hour or so of rain pushing the shoot times till like 6:30-7:00 pm. (hence... ubber grain)

Underwater stuff was cool to shoot. Matt did a great job on the underwater stuff adn couldn't have shot it without Robert Eldon's Underwater Housing Unit.. (UWH) :) I'd highly recommend playing around with one.

/j
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Dude, that rain sucked. I guess I had blocked it out or something because I'm looking at it wishing we hadn't lost so much light, but I was totally forgetting that it wasn't just light we had lost due to time, we had lost the sun because of the damn rain and overcast.

It was nice to not have to worry about that on day 2.

By the way, speaking of the underwater unit... were's my battery?
 
Great work. Overall, it is a very beautiful looking film, with some rather exquisite moments as have been mentioned before. The actor playing the father is great, I love his voice. I understand your decision to have him stand his ground, but I also wonder if this actor was left up to his own devices if he could come up with a powerful way to move around a bit? The dialogue slows this piece down for me, too. It's mostly exposition, which I feel should be limited in a short film. Find ways to show the information, or just accept that the audience isn't going to know 100%, but just the important facts. Of course, if/when you turn this into a feature, you can spread all this out and let the audience learn everything at your leisure. I love the premise of the story, and I hope you are able to turn it into something larger. Good luck.
 
I was just watching this film again, and I think my biggest complaint is that the bulk of the film the two main characters are standing in the same spot. It was like the blocking for an intense standoff, only there wasn't the intense standoff feel...you know where you thought the kid would pull the trigger ANY SECOND, but we never feel that tension....if that makes any sense.
 
I liked this film. The story was good, although I don't see the spy part of it anywhere. The story also made me think this is part of something much bigger, which is always good in my book. However, it did make me question what was really happening with all the fighting and explosions and never really got answered. The cinematography was good and some of the shots looked amazing. I liked the effects. The acting was decent, but turned bland when the story slowed down... perhaps too much dialogue.
 
Texture said:
Your best entry yet Justin,

Locations, wardrobe, effects all incredible!!!

Every entry has been an exponential improvement from the last, by next year I expect to see you at the local cineplex.

Its nice to see some of the comments of other dvxers above. Seems you've turned alot of heads and everybody is offering helpful comments to help propel your talent.

Good luck!

Erik
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Thank you Eric. Very kind words indeed. Hopefully I turn a few heads outside of DVX looking in as well. I busted my tail all this last month to pull the film together. Specially in post production. (score, edit, vfx, sound, etc) Cheers!





StormFactory said:
Dude, that rain sucked. I guess I had blocked it out or something because I'm looking at it wishing we hadn't lost so much light, but I was totally forgetting that it wasn't just light we had lost due to time, we had lost the sun because of the damn rain and overcast.

It was nice to not have to worry about that on day 2.

By the way, speaking of the underwater unit... were's my battery?
Click to expand...
Gregory, Yes. Good thing the rain arrived around Lunch. If those clouds would have gone away we would have had a good 2 hours extra. Yup! Your battery is still sitting on my desk next to the tape stock. Let's get together this week and brainstorm our next project! :) (btw, thank you for the help on the film. couldn't have done it without ya!) And... If you have some cool BTS photos, feel free to post them here or send some to me. I know Tommy was paparazzi there for a long time with your camera.







Mike Insane said:
I loved everything about this peice...

I think there was a great story here. I especially likes the dialogue and the acting. I think the only thing that could have been imporved was the rockets in the beginning. I really really liked your promotional material. The pic of the watch was really nice!
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Thank you Mike! I was thinking of changing up the poster, but the watch is the tie between normal humans and cyborgs implemented with the Cristo Technologies.




AmyO said:
Great work. Overall, it is a very beautiful looking film, with some rather exquisite moments as have been mentioned before. The actor playing the father is great, I love his voice. I understand your decision to have him stand his ground, but I also wonder if this actor was left up to his own devices if he could come up with a powerful way to move around a bit? The dialogue slows this piece down for me, too. It's mostly exposition, which I feel should be limited in a short film. Find ways to show the information, or just accept that the audience isn't going to know 100%, but just the important facts. Of course, if/when you turn this into a feature, you can spread all this out and let the audience learn everything at your leisure. I love the premise of the story, and I hope you are able to turn it into something larger. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thank you Amy. Very kind words indeed and I"ll most definitely push it to a feature film. Then we can see it in all it's glory! :)




Larry R said:
I was just watching this film again, and I think my biggest complaint is that the bulk of the film the two main characters are standing in the same spot. It was like the blocking for an intense standoff, only there wasn't the intense standoff feel...you know where you thought the kid would pull the trigger ANY SECOND, but we never feel that tension....if that makes any sense.
Click to expand...
Larry... Ya, you are indeed right. Aram mentioned having a few cut aways, but I guess i haven't mastered that art. To me, that's kind of a coverup of editing. Which, i hacked the fire out of it so maybe I should have switched it up. I even toyed with the idea of overlaying some of the Cabana/Flashback scenes on top of that footage, but that would have re-directed the story in a direction I did not want you to think or feel while watching. So, it was a rather difficult toss up that I will most definitely work around better the next round.




flmmkr said:
I liked this film. The story was good, although I don't see the spy part of it anywhere. The story also made me think this is part of something much bigger, which is always good in my book. However, it did make me question what was really happening with all the fighting and explosions and never really got answered. The cinematography was good and some of the shots looked amazing. I liked the effects. The acting was decent, but turned bland when the story slowed down... perhaps too much dialogue.
Click to expand...
Mike, Thank you for the kind words on the cine. It's been mentioned about the whole missing spy element, but it's definitely a bigger picture. The whole 'men in black' concept of rivals taking out a key target it totally spy in my book. The explosions in the Background was meant to showcase all the hate and chaos in the world that "Cristo" had created unintentially. Hence, causing attempts on his life and ultimately his own death by Hanna.




Thank you again everyone for commenting and viewing. Keep em' coming.

/j
 
Edgen said:
Larry... Ya, you are indeed right. Aram mentioned having a few cut aways, but I guess i haven't mastered that art. To me, that's kind of a coverup of editing. Which, i hacked the fire out of it so maybe I should have switched it up. I even toyed with the idea of overlaying some of the Cabana/Flashback scenes on top of that footage, but that would have re-directed the story in a direction I did not want you to think or feel while watching. So, it was a rather difficult toss up that I will most definitely work around better the next round.
Click to expand...

I don't mean so much cutaways, as I think it would be good if the two main characters "moved around" at least a little. Maybe when he first confronts his dad he pulls the gun on him, it gets tense for a few moments as they go through their lines, then the dad knowing his son won't shoot him pushes his son aside and moves to the table, sets his paperwork/briefcase/whatever on the table and sits down. Maybe pours a glass of lemonade (or whatever is on the table) and takes a drink. All the while they are delivering their lines.

The son, still standing in his original spot, frustrated that he can't do it. Then he gathers his resolve, moves to the table and re-confronts his dad. Etc, etc, etc.

These are just ideas, obviously, but I think getting some movement from the actors would help keep the interest in the story. Otherwise we are watching two people stand and talk, I can go to the park and do that anytime I want :)

Anyway, I enjoyed the film, just an observation I had.

Peace,
Larry
 
ahh yes.. next time.

next time I'll have the script finished a week or two ahead of time instead of the night before to prepare. OH well. I think it worked and I'm very proud of the film and their performances 'standing'.

I guess it shows you can't please everyone ;)

cheers!
/j
 
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