Brandon Rice - "Welcome To The Party"

Luis Caffesse said:
First off - the pill thing wasn't a problem for me... the thing moved so fast I didn't really have time to stop and think whether or not it was 'believable.' That said - it never occurred to me that the flashback was showing me she took more than one... it seemed like it was just flashing back and repeating the action.... showing me that the pill was the culprit. So if you wanted me to get from that that she had taken many pills, then personally I don't think it was effective in the way you wanted it to be.

But again - it didn't hurt my enjoyment of the piece overall.
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Thanks Luis.

If you'll notice, there are three cuts in the flashback... one of her getting a pill... and two of her taking a pill...

But hey, whatever works... :thumbsup:
 
Nice production quality. Great score.

The ring on her wedding finger stood out. Would the male coworker be hitting up a married woman for a date? A call home would have added a little backstory, perhaps made us care a little about the character. Maybe a pic on the desk. Why was she working so late? These little details don't need to be fleshed out at all, just present.

The movie lost any hint of scary the moment zombies showed up. Why would they care about her? Why would the female zombie care why she was there? Why would they make the lights go out? Are they electrician zombies? What is their motivation? Do they hate her? Why? Why should anyone care about this lady including them.

What would have been scary is the guy showing up and her being alone. He was creepy/stalky to begin with. No supernatural element at all. Maybe he's drunk and wearing some freakish mask. Way more scary. He's got motive and you established his awareness of the opportunity in the beginning.

Great work on the technical aspects. I'm just getting started watching, but the effort on production is obvious.
 
Ming said:
Nice production quality. Great score.

The ring on her wedding finger stood out. Would the male coworker be hitting up a married woman for a date? A call home would have added a little backstory, perhaps made us care a little about the character. Maybe a pic on the desk. Why was she working so late? These little details don't need to be fleshed out at all, just present.

The movie lost any hint of scary the moment zombies showed up. Why would they care about her? Why would the female zombie care why she was there? Why would they make the lights go out? Are they electrician zombies? What is their motivation? Do they hate her? Why? Why should anyone care about this lady including them.

What would have been scary is the guy showing up and her being alone. He was creepy/stalky to begin with. No supernatural element at all. Maybe he's drunk and wearing some freakish mask. Way more scary. He's got motive and you established his awareness of the opportunity in the beginning.

Great work on the technical aspects. I'm just getting started watching, but the effort on production is obvious.
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People work late all the time, I do also... married women are hit on sometimes... it's common... so I didn't feel I had to explain any of that.

Again, maybe it wasn't clear enough motivation for you...

Regarding the lights... this does have a little deeper meaning... this is the moment of her death...

Regarding the zombies (technically ghosts)... they don't hate her... they are just welcoming her to their party... the guy is a little more devious because he's thinking "now finally she's forced to be here"

Anyway, hope that answers your concerns...

Thanks for watching!
 
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Brandon, I think this is the best-looking thing you've done to date. There was some real artistry to the lighting and some pretty nifty camera work going on.

Nice work on the edit, too -- you kept it pretty creepy and frenetic, at the right times.

Some real growth here.
 
I didn't think much of this piece at first just by what I saw of the screenshots but I was scary wrong! I have to say the cinematography felt solid- great lighting-atmosphere. What I'm saying is that it felt like a real movie- not like alot of times when some of these short films dont deliver image wise-or am I expecting too much?
oh and it was actually scary too. great work Brandon and Geoff!
 
Ming said:
What would have been scary is the guy showing up and her being alone. He was creepy/stalky to begin with. No supernatural element at all. Maybe he's drunk and wearing some freakish mask.
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This comment made me laugh.

Good job to all involved. Geoff's work as a DP is getting better every time I see something from him. Brandon, looks like you may have a top place this fest.

No Jynx, though.
 
David Jimerson said:
Brandon, I think this is the best-looking thing you've done to date. There was some real artistry to the lighting and some pretty nifty camera work going on.

Nice work on the edit, too -- you kept it pretty creepy and frenetic, at the right times.

Some real growth here.
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Thanks David! :thumbsup:

That's what it's all about, growing!

Glad you enjoyed it!

dvpixl said:
I didn't think much of this piece at first just by what I saw of the screenshots but I was scary wrong! I have to say the cinematography felt solid- great lighting-atmosphere. What I'm saying is that it felt like a real movie- not like alot of times when some of these short films dont deliver image wise-or am I expecting too much?
oh and it was actually scary too. great work Brandon and Geoff!
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Hey thanks for checking it out... glad you enjoyed it, and that it was scary :)

I am glad it felt like a "real movie"! :)

Kholi said:
Good job to all involved. Geoff's work as a DP is getting better every time I see something from him. Brandon, looks like you may have a top place this fest.

No Jynx, though.
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Geoff is phenomenal! I agree!

And thanks for the kind words Kholi... fingers crossed :)
 
thought it was quite well made, the shots chosen all worked and the pacing was tight.

the only problem i had was the story, it just didn't work for me on any level. but still think you guys did a great job. good luck!
 
Hey, liked the piece. Very atmospheric and, unfortunately, the only one I've seen as of now so I can't compare yours to others but for what it's worth I really liked it. And man, you got Geoff to DP. That's awesome. Music was great. Lighting and acting were great.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there suppossed to be a wine glass in here somewhere? Did I miss it or did I miss read that in the directions.

Regardless, very nice work. Really enjoyed it.
 
Danielleus said:
Hey, liked the piece. Very atmospheric and, unfortunately, the only one I've seen as of now so I can't compare yours to others but for what it's worth I really liked it. And man, you got Geoff to DP. That's awesome. Music was great. Lighting and acting were great.
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Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed it! :)

Kyser said:
The wine glass shot is in a photo taped to her monitor.

Cheers,

Mike
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You got it! :) nice! Thought it was a creative way to work it into the story, without it being out of place, or distracting.
 
This is definately your best work to date Brandon; props to you and your team; Geoff's cinematography really adds production value to this piece and Justin's score is perfectly complimentary, even at times if it sounds a bit 'over the top Hollywood'. It did have more or a thriller action vibe than a creepiness / horror score but the opening tracks were great.

You have some nice shots in here; very solid. I can't say I have seen a better short from you to date.

I started to get bored though and never got what I was looking for

I noticed at 2 minutes into the piece the woman is still typing. We started with typing, and are still typing. I think this entire sequence, as good as it looks, could have been tightended with some clock transitions or other passages of time other than to showcase creditlines...

I found the overall story to be the weakest element here; girl types, we get she is working late and will miss the party, lights go out, zombie girl is there whispering, man is back with 'welcome to the party' ....

With her seeing herself asleep at the desk, I can only assume she is dead ? She dies from the pills ?

"This place is haunted." had me laughing out loud, but not in a good way.

The piece visually kicks ass and that is the stand out of the short. I think sorrounding yourself with a solid crew and cast (Who did a fine job!) is in your benefit for future projects.

Inspiring and great to see you knock yet another project in the can. You know what RR says ....
 
J.R. Hudson said:
This is definately your best work to date Brandon; props to you and your team; Geoff's cinematography really adds production value to this piece and Justin's score is perfectly complimentary, even at times if it sounds a bit 'over the top Hollywood'. It did have more or a thriller action vibe than a creepiness / horror score but the opening tracks were great.

You have some nice shots in here; very solid. I can't say I have seen a better short from you to date.

I started to get bored though and never got what I was looking for

I noticed at 2 minutes into the piece the woman is still typing. We started with typing, and are still typing. I think this entire sequence, as good as it looks, could have been tightended with some clock transitions or other passages of time other than to showcase creditlines...

I found the overall story to be the weakest element here; girl types, we get she is working late and will miss the party, lights go out, zombie girl is there whispering, man is back with 'welcome to the party' ....

With her seeing herself asleep at the desk, I can only assume she is dead ? She dies from the pills ?

"This place is haunted." had me laughing out loud, but not in a good way.

The piece visually kicks ass and that is the stand out of the short. I think sorrounding yourself with a solid crew and cast (Who did a fine job!) is in your benefit for future projects.

Inspiring and great to see you knock yet another project in the can. You know what RR says ....
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Wow dude! Thanks for the extensive review! Appreciate it!

Yes, she is dead at the end... as is the man... (he dies in car wreck as heard on the radio) The idea is she dies when the lights turn out, hence the reason that's when she starts hearing the other dead woman's voice... she is now a part of the underworld... and yep... she OD'd on pills.

Glad you dug it overall, and appreciate the specific critiques you mentioned above! :)
 
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REVIEW:
Brandon, you've got a fine, polished film here. Photography looked fantastic. Music sounded fantastic. Lead actress was great. As many before have mentioned, you definitely keep raising the bar for yourself. Following this thread from the beginning, I tip my hat to you that you kept a good schedule for this project. So many of us, myself included, struggle to hit that deadline or put something together at the last minute. It's great to see you have the discipline and project management it takes. Good job! :thumbsup:

FILMMAKER-TO-FILMMAKER:
I like the score. Gave it a good atmosphere. I think the foley was mixed a little too loud, but that's just how I heard it. Good editing, paced nice. And you had some really nice shot selections in there. I felt there was a little too much shallow DOF stuff in there, you could have opened it up a bit. Caught the wine glass in the photo: nice. The ONLY thing that took me out of it for just a second was the scrolling computer monitor. I do think that this story could have been more realized with a longer running time. I won't nit-pick. Again, good job.
 
After watching all of the films today, I have to say that I thought this was certainly the best looking most pro-use of a camera in the whole competition. Well done to you for fully utilising all the equipment you must have had!! The look and feel of the whole piece is very very successful, truely impressive. Also a great edit and the acting is up there with the best this comp has had to offer (in my opinion). Well done Brandon, you have a great vision - well realized here.

Nip picks? Unfortunately for me the guy gave it away right at the start with his 'it would be great to have you....' line - not an easy one for an actor to get right I understand but I think if the performance was a little less here you would have got away with it.

Other than that though great stuff - well done.
 
Sweet :) I loved the cinematography and the sound was great too. The music was top notch and a great production in general, my top three pick :) I got pretty creeped out at the end and had to look around the empty dark room when I was watching this short :P Congrats on a good entry.
 
Good job Brandon. I saw the final cut and it looks great. The time change really works. I'm glad that we changed that color temp. Good job selling the lights going off also. This was a fun project to light up, and I'm glad that I was a part of it.
Geoff did a good job...of course. I had to mention something about my "partner in crime".
Good Luck!
 
Brandon, I'm glad to see you finally got another one off the table and onto the screen. I can see how you've grown as a filmmaker, learned a thing or two. I liked the opening, though, because of time constraints I would have done it in half the time. I liked your actress. Liked the Zombie. I would have loved to seen another master shot while she was running, but that's just me. Sound was good, good job Matt. Justin's score rocked solid.
 
Thanks to all the reviews above... and Wes... you rocked the lighting my friend! Great job! Hope we can work together on something much bigger in the future!

Thanks to everyone's reviews, and comments... I take all of them, positive, and negative to heart, and head. :)
 
brandon aka godfather of hallowfest, my boss made dvxuser illegal. i can't wait to see your joint.
 
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