Brandon Rice - "Welcome To The Party"

I've noticed several films have been adding BTS. I have a little gag reel, but I won't be able to get it online for several more days, since I'm pretty busy for the next few days... thanks and enjoy the film!
 
Here's a little BTS... Some closer shots of the makeup... rockin' work by Stephanie Navarro!

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Hey Brandon, this thing looked great. Geoff had some really nice shot setups in this and it looks like you guys worked well together as a team. I like how he "dirtied" the frame in some of the shots, like the coffee cup in the one shot.

Like others have said, I didn't like the color change. I'm wondering, was that Geoff's decision or yours? I can see what your motivation was for it, but I don't think it gave the effect that you were going for. It was a bit jarring and took me out of the story.

As far as plot, I found it to be confusing. I'm not sure why the woman would be working so hard, but take pills to kill herself. If she was going to kill herself, would she honestly bother working till 12am and on Halloween? That didn't really make sense to me. Also, I had no idea that the guy had died in a car accident. Perhaps a reaction from her character when she hears the news? Maybe I missed it? And who was the girl at the end? Did the main actress know her? Was there any relationship between the ghost and the other actors? If so, what was it? If not, why was she in the story? You could say to show that she was dead, but what would be much stronger is if she was the main actress' sister, for example. She could see her sister and start to freak out, knowing that she was dead. Just a thought...
 
tommyinla said:
Hey Brandon, this thing looked great. Geoff had some really nice shot setups in this and it looks like you guys worked well together as a team. I like how he "dirtied" the frame in some of the shots, like the coffee cup in the one shot.

Like others have said, I didn't like the color change. I'm wondering, was that Geoff's decision or yours? I can see what your motivation was for it, but I don't think it gave the effect that you were going for. It was a bit jarring and took me out of the story.
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Well, originally the only cue I saw visually for the time changing was the clock, but Geoff brought the idea to me about changing the lighting scheme, and I loved it. I think it works wonderfully to convey the difference in tone, and in time. I've had more positive comments about it, then negative, so I think we made the right call... sorry it jarred you though...

tommyinla said:
As far as plot, I found it to be confusing. I'm not sure why the woman would be working so hard, but take pills to kill herself. If she was going to kill herself, would she honestly bother working till 12am and on Halloween? That didn't really make sense to me. Also, I had no idea that the guy had died in a car accident. Perhaps a reaction from her character when she hears the news? Maybe I missed it? And who was the girl at the end? Did the main actress know her? Was there any relationship between the ghost and the other actors? If so, what was it? If not, why was she in the story? You could say to show that she was dead, but what would be much stronger is if she was the main actress' sister, for example. She could see her sister and start to freak out, knowing that she was dead. Just a thought...
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Well Tommy, I'll be straight with you, this was a very evolutionary script... by that I mean, it just kind of evolved as we went along...

Originally the girl in the office was just going to be haunted by a ghost, and the guy was going to come back, and be the hero and save her...

I always thought that was kind of a lame story... (not much of one) so... I decided to make the guy be a ghost also... but then I thought, that's weird... how would she be talking to him normally, then he's a ghost? So I thought... the girl dies somehow, and now they're all ghosts... and that idea worked for me... so I had to figure out a way for the girl to die, that the audience wouldn't see... so at first it was going to be that the building was on fire at the very end... but I thought, some people might think that was in hell or something... so then I talked with a buddy, and he suggested that she OD. I thought it was perfect! She OD's on ACCIDENT and dies, and she never knows it... her heart just stops, but she keeps functioning in the "ghost realm" without knowing it... When the lights go out is when she dies...

Anyway, that's a long history of where this script, and story came from, to what it is...
 
Great production value at the beginning: beautiful intro credit shots. But over a minute for just credits? It felt like someone was infatuated with slow pans and shallow DOF. Acting could have been better. Audio was excellent, no complaints there. Nice lighting, there were no scenes that felt out of place. I think this could have really benefitted from stronger actors and a better makeup artist... the zombie girl looked like someone at my friends Halloween party.

Thanks for making this! I enjoyed it.
 
I didn't have any problem with the story and got it right away. She died by accident, he died by accident now they were together as ghosts. Seems simple. Anyway not a bad story meant for a 5m format--wouldn't work of course in a longer movie and your instincts were right about changing it to the way it came out. Good cinematography and love the pans--that's just the style today.
 
Michael_Petro said:
nice brandon ... you sure know how to make a great film. i am so jeleous :)
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Glad you liked it man! Was sad you missed this fest... since you've had a film in every fest since last year's horrorfest, right?

gabrielflorit said:
Great production value at the beginning: beautiful intro credit shots. But over a minute for just credits? It felt like someone was infatuated with slow pans and shallow DOF.
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Hey, thanks for checking the short out.

I think I explained my reasons behind the credit sequence earlier in the thread... but in case you missed it, basically I was trying to establish the space here, the big space of this office, and I also felt the opening credits were a nice intro to the film. I think if I would have made the opening shorter, people would have complained about it feeling rushed.

gabrielflorit said:
I think this could have really benefitted .... a better makeup artist... the zombie girl looked like someone at my friends Halloween party.
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Wow... lol. I really have nothing at all to say to that except that I have gotten an enormous amount of exact opposite comments to that, saying the makeup is fabulous, which I would agree with...

Cool Lights said:
I didn't have any problem with the story and got it right away. She died by accident, he died by accident now they were together as ghosts. Seems simple. Anyway not a bad story meant for a 5m format--wouldn't work of course in a longer movie and your instincts were right about changing it to the way it came out. Good cinematography and love the pans--that's just the style today.
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Thanks for your comments! Yeah, the story is simple, and written for a 5 min. stage. In the past I've written too long and detailed a story for the time limit, and people complained it felt rushed, so for this one, I wanted to go simple. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
 
Brandon Rice said:
Glad you liked it man! Was sad you missed this fest... since you've had a film in every fest since last year's horrorfest, right?

yup i was suppose to be helping someone else this fest but it fell through... then i tried to my own but time ran out... but im in the next one already hunting people down.
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Michael_Petro said:
yup i was suppose to be helping someone else this fest but it fell through... then i tried to my own but time ran out... but im in the next one already hunting people down.
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Yeah, thought so... bummer...

But I am sure you're looking forward to whatever the next fest will be! :beer:
 
I thought that your credits were great. You set it up like I was about to watch a complete and polished product from the beginning and it didn't feel rushed at all.

I have more than that to say of course :) I'm just dropping in as I'm just getting around to seeing most of the films.

Later,
jason
 
Jason Ramsey said:
I thought that your credits were great. You set it up like I was about to watch a complete and polished product from the beginning and it didn't feel rushed at all.

I have more than that to say of course :) I'm just dropping in as I'm just getting around to seeing most of the films.

Later,
jason
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Great to hear from you Jason, and great to hear the credits worked for you... have had a few comments on them seeming long... but I felt if shortened it might have been rushed... glad they worked for you! :)

Looking forward to your more "in depth" comments :beer::beer: :dankk2:
 
Briceman! You know I was pumped to see you cross the finish line this time, this is a neat piece you put together.

Simple story with very solid execution. I think I mirror the comments of others when I say that it was unfortunate that this piece had a 5-minute time limit on it because the beginning intro and credit sequence really feels like a setup for something bigger.

The first conversation between Amy and Josh: I’ve watched this piece many times and I think I finally am now able to put my finger on how I think it might play out better. It’s not a bad sequence because it sets the viewer up for the ending, the final payoff. The problem is, the viewer is left wanting more from this conversation. The whos, whats, whys, and hows. But consider this, you got me, I’m already interested in these characters from the start because the opening sequence pumped me up for something big, so hit me with more!

Writing wise, a have a small issue with the end of the end of the convo, it felt like they said the same thing about four times “Bye”, “Ok, Bye”, “Ok, bye”, I think both of her lines at the end could have been eliminated and it would have had a greater impact of denial of his offer.

The running sequences with the pictures and through the desks are by far my favorite shots of this film, I could watch them over and over again.

I think that the flashbacks at the end could have been more effective. Showing more of the pill taking or even showing her pass out because of them would have nailed it for me.

The biggest drawback in this short was the whys, her pill taking seems unmotivated, some things need explanation and others don’t, I would have really liked to know why she was a popper. That sort of conflict within herself, her environment, or another could have been set up in the first spat of dialogue.

Nevertheless, this was a well executed and complete story. Even though you have like 392934320 more posts than I do (yikes i almost have a thousand) it's been a fun ride honing our crafts and growing as filmmakers. cheers! :thumbsup:
 
Brandon. Wanted to add a little more for you real quick.

Obviously the cinematic quality was very good, and technically this was the tightest of the competing entries I have seen.

Acting and story were the weak points for me, and perhaps those things stood out more b/c the film was so tight technically. The cinematic quality of the flick was of a pro feel, but the acting did not match that same level of quality. It was local university acting (for me). Not terrible, and not unwatchable, but I think it added a bit of a cheese factor that you didn't intend to be there.

I got the story, but perhaps the reveal of her Over dosing could have come sooner and we could have gotten into the after that a bit more. Her realization, something. Beyond just the reveal, the scream and the end. I think that would have been a good place to have fleshed out some more story, rather than leading up to it and ending, if that makes sense.

You get the award for best use of the wine glass. It was there. It had nothing to do with the story, but it wasn't an obligatory shot of a wine glass either. I had to go back and watch to see the wine glass. I love it when people incorporate the name or item guideline in a creative way like this, and you did it. Neil's entry where the name tag falling that said "Erik" was the last time I remember seeing a good use of this requirement.

Anyways. Great work all in all, man. You have grown a lot. Getting a capable crew really shows. You finished one and you didn't half-ass it to the finish line. Your's was a polished entry.
 
hybridtheory said:
Briceman! You know I was pumped to see you cross the finish line this time, this is a neat piece you put together.

Simple story with very solid execution. I think I mirror the comments of others when I say that it was unfortunate that this piece had a 5-minute time limit on it because the beginning intro and credit sequence really feels like a setup for something bigger.

The first conversation between Amy and Josh: I’ve watched this piece many times and I think I finally am now able to put my finger on how I think it might play out better. It’s not a bad sequence because it sets the viewer up for the ending, the final payoff. The problem is, the viewer is left wanting more from this conversation. The whos, whats, whys, and hows. But consider this, you got me, I’m already interested in these characters from the start because the opening sequence pumped me up for something big, so hit me with more!

Writing wise, a have a small issue with the end of the end of the convo, it felt like they said the same thing about four times “Bye”, “Ok, Bye”, “Ok, bye”, I think both of her lines at the end could have been eliminated and it would have had a greater impact of denial of his offer.

The running sequences with the pictures and through the desks are by far my favorite shots of this film, I could watch them over and over again.

I think that the flashbacks at the end could have been more effective. Showing more of the pill taking or even showing her pass out because of them would have nailed it for me.

The biggest drawback in this short was the whys, her pill taking seems unmotivated, some things need explanation and others don’t, I would have really liked to know why she was a popper. That sort of conflict within herself, her environment, or another could have been set up in the first spat of dialogue.

Nevertheless, this was a well executed and complete story. Even though you have like 392934320 more posts than I do (yikes i almost have a thousand) it's been a fun ride honing our crafts and growing as filmmakers. cheers! :thumbsup:
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Hey Ben! You made some good points here about telling more about the characters, obviously when I wrote this I specifically wrote it for a 5 min. short. I didn't want to tell more about the characters, or for the audience to need to know anything more about them, but to just go with the flow, and assume they work in the same place, that this guy has it for this girl, and that she's rejecting him (again) that's really all I wanted to communicate about the characters, because I felt if I tried to develop them anymore it'd feel rushed, or just not work for a 5 min. short. It's a choice I made, and maybe it wasn't the right one, but I'll stick by it for this piece.

Good point about the flashbacks, could have been a nice addition to add (seeing her pass out at her desk) where were you when I shot!

And yeah bro, it's been fun growing alongside you in this craft! I still remember we both started out submitting for Sci-fest... good times! :) Best of luck to you in hallowfest... I have a feeling your film will place first, or at the very least, in the top three! :thumbsup:

Jason Ramsey said:
Brandon. Wanted to add a little more for you real quick.

Obviously the cinematic quality was very good, and technically this was the tightest of the competing entries I have seen.

Acting and story were the weak points for me, and perhaps those things stood out more b/c the film was so tight technically. The cinematic quality of the flick was of a pro feel, but the acting did not match that same level of quality. It was local university acting (for me). Not terrible, and not unwatchable, but I think it added a bit of a cheese factor that you didn't intend to be there.

I got the story, but perhaps the reveal of her Over dosing could have come sooner and we could have gotten into the after that a bit more. Her realization, something. Beyond just the reveal, the scream and the end. I think that would have been a good place to have fleshed out some more story, rather than leading up to it and ending, if that makes sense.

You get the award for best use of the wine glass. It was there. It had nothing to do with the story, but it wasn't an obligatory shot of a wine glass either. I had to go back and watch to see the wine glass. I love it when people incorporate the name or item guideline in a creative way like this, and you did it. Neil's entry where the name tag falling that said "Erik" was the last time I remember seeing a good use of this requirement.

Anyways. Great work all in all, man. You have grown a lot. Getting a capable crew really shows. You finished one and you didn't half-ass it to the finish line. Your's was a polished entry.
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Hey Jason, thanks for the comments! Always appreciate your points.

I am so happy you appreciated the time and effort we (as a team) spent to make this short tight technically. I am sorry the acting didn't really work for you here. I felt it worked, and actually really love the performance Joy gave. She has a theatrical background, and I felt her over-the-top performance worked very well for this piece. I've seen Daniel's acting before, and knew he could pull off the small role he had... and then the ghost was the ghost... she just had to look scary with her eyes, hehe. Anyway, sorry that element fell short for you :( Hopefully next time it'll be better.

Interesting thing you bring up about the story... the only downside to revealing the OD early is because that is the "payoff" "twist" to the whole thing, and honestly the script evolved to get to that point. I never really had a good payoff until the element of her overdosing and joining the ranks of the underworld came into play did I have anything to payoff the film. Again, sorry that didn't work... hope you can see the reasons behind why I did what I did, and hope that the next time the story works better for you!

Thanks for the kudos to the wine glass usage :) I had to OK that one with Barry S first, but I always felt that shot/usage made sense... Having a wine glass in an office just didn't seem to work to me ha ha

Thanks again for checking the film out Jason!
 
Hey Brandon. I don't mean to suggest that the acting was terrible or anything. On the contrary, for a DVXfest it was quite good. I just thought it wasn't up to snuff with the quality of the rest of your picture. I actually enjoyed the Males performance more than the female.

About the story. I hear ya. I'm no authority on story. It makes sense that in a short that would be the twist, the climax, etc. I just had the one idea real quick and wanted to throw it out there. Suggesting that had that taken place a bit more in the beginning of the 3rd act, we could have spent time with her coming to terms with the whole idea, or the realization. Perhaps, the male character helped her to do so.... I don't know. Seems a dark thing to explore and could possibly have lent some more meat to it overall (coming to terms is totally not the right phrase I wanted to use). Rather than the traditional boom, bam, scream, and scene. Perhaps scream, freak the freak out about realizing it, maybe do the obligatory run to 'try to get away from the realization that she is dead'... and then something nice (that I don't have for you) to explore that idea and tie it all up.

Anyways, just my pence. Thanks again for sharing, and you definitely had the polished entry of the fest so far, and I really appreciate that.

Thanks,
Jason
 
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