A Little Mouth to Feed: MACGREGOR, BARRY GREEN, JIMERSON, HUDSON & JDS

Hey Michele. Our midwife we knew nothing of before we got pregnant with the first baby. We just knew we didn't want a doctor. We live in a relatively small town. She is the only midwife and is well known throughout the town. I'm not a great and noble dad or anything, but I was there for every prenatal check up for both babies :) She was fantastic though, and the only reason we went to that hospital again after what they did to my wife the last time (long, long story) was b/c we wanted her.

Concerning the midwife in this piece. I guess the point I am trying to make is... (as best I can.... I am not a writer, reviewer, critique, etc, etc either. Just an untrained actor-ish) Because of the choice to play her from that same mold as Clovis and Hubby, she seems tied to that family within the context of this piece (for me).

That's what makes me want to know more to be able to accept that character/directorial choice (at least how I perceive it). I guess the question (for me) is how deeply connected to that same little world of Clovis is she? It appears as though she is from the same box. So much so, that she may be more than a midwife to that family. Perhaps even a live in maid of sorts, and her mother and grandmother and on down the line were the same.

That's why I either wish there was a (bit of a) distinction between her and the others in terms of portrayal, or something to let me know the history.

There's the side of the line that your character is on, and there is the side of the line that the pregnancy test, etc is on. The midwife (to me) is plainly on your side of that line. But, if she is just some local woman... well, then this becomes much more like an episode of Carnival or something... Meaning the whole town is like Clovis and Hubby. Maybe that is the point. But, the bulb, pregnancy test, exterior of house, would suggest otherwise, and I never get the impression that I am supposed to believe that as the story is told in that house. It's an internal thing. Unless the midwife is supposed to be my clue to tell me that this is just the reality of this world, or town, or whatever within the context of the film.

It's great to have an actor from one of the fest films join up on the board and become an active participant. Thanks for that, by the way.

Ltaer,
Jason
 
Jason Ramsey said:
Meaning the whole town is like Clovis and Hubby. Maybe that is the point. But, the bulb, pregnancy test, exterior of house, would suggest otherwise, and I never get the impression that I am supposed to believe that as the story is told in that house. It's an internal thing. Unless the midwife is supposed to be my clue to tell me that this is just the reality of this world, or town, or whatever within the context of the film.

It's great to have an actor from one of the fest films join up on the board and become an active participant. Thanks for that, by the way.

Later,
Jason
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Interestingly enough I always had the impression not only were Flora and Clovis backwood rural types but I also felt the whole town was kind of odd even though we never see the town. The Carnival reference made sense to me when you used it. I guess it was just something I felt when reading it and thinking about the character. Sort of like the meanness of Clovis...even at the end another poster mentions how he softens and all I can think, as the Flora character..."my bastard of a husband is thinking now he is going to be nice after all these years, after all the mean words and all the beatings...it is just too late"...again in her voice/head

It is fun to be the talent watching all these chats and being one of the few here. I am getting a serious kick out of the discussions. It is fun throwing in the way I break down a script in comparison...but then I do look at it for a different reason and in a different manner. I did not think so until I started watching these threads!

ciao

Michele
 
I thought this was excellent.

I loved the style of it. The retro look, the dirtiness of it all. I felt like I could almost smell the foulness in the air.

Really everything from the acting, to the cinematography, to the direction was great and as usual, Herman's score was off the charts good.

Simply wonderful.
 
So I just watched this film and read through the 200 posts in this thread. We really do have a nice little film community here (or as I tell people, "my filmmaking group"). Anyway, first off let me say that this is a great little film. So much has been said already and it appears that you are re-editing some stuff. I'll try and touch on a few things and try not to repeat too much of what's already been discussed.

Firstly, I really got the TV vibe you were going for. Somewhere between Night Gallery and X-Files. Speaking of X-Files, that's kind of why the whole people out of time/out of place thing worked for me. I can't remember if that was your intention, but I didn't mind it a bit and gave it a really interesting atmosphere.

Loved the pull back on the crosses, didn't see it coming.

The craft in this is A-1. Kudos to your team, and I know that having a good team is going to only help you in directing.

Acting was superb.

Ok, so speaking of timing, so, it SEEMED like the woman was recovering from her 2nd trimester miscarriage in bed when the husband shows up and pretty much demands sex from her. Was that your intention? Because I took it that way and that's pretty poo pooing disturbing and brilliant at the same time. If not, well, who cares, I'm going to read it that way.

I can see where there might be a problem in the story structure. The character arcs work out fine, but it seems to be missing something. With the end, what I'm feeling is that, going with the TV show vibe, we just went to commercial and I'm waiting for the rest of the show. She's a mother with a baby now. We've seen what she'll do to feed it. How about to protect it? I think her new found happiness needs to be threatened somehow, whether it's the threat of losing her baby or? Oooh.. HEY!

WHAT IF...

Her baby is hungry. She can't obtain any "food" for him, so she winds up feeding herself to him. The ultimate mother's sacrifice. Also plays to the religious angle in that maybe the devil is collecting his payment for her prayer. And now this baby is alone in this house, eyes in the dark corner of the room, waiting...

Ooph! Lots of ideas flowing (you got me thinking), but obviously unless you're going to re-open production, you have to make do with the footage you have.

Anyway, thanks for the nice comments you made about me in some previous posts. You know the respect is mutual.:beer:

I'll watch it again and post it... my mind is a churning. :thumbsup:
 
cinealma said:
Ok, so speaking of timing, so, it SEEMED like the woman was recovering from her 2nd trimester miscarriage in bed when the husband shows up and pretty much demands sex from her. Was that your intention? Because I took it that way and that's pretty poo pooing disturbing and brilliant at the same time. If not, well, who cares, I'm going to read it that way.
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Wow! I took this the other way... SHE lured HIM to bed. She puts down her hair and calls out to him... she wanted to conceive the child from hell.

Maybe it was just me? :)

Mike
 
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Kyser said:
Wow! I took this the other way... SHE lured HIM to bed. She puts down her hair and calls out to him... she wanted to conceive the child from hell.

Maybe it was just me? :)

Mike
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YOU ARE RIGHT! I am rewatching as I post this. You are absolutely right!
 
I just wanted to bring everybody's attention to something. JDS gets a lot of attention here. Some people like him, some don't. Sometime, success breeds contempt, as they say.

Whether you love him or hate him, he is a filmmaker you should pay attention to, especially if you really want to learn something.

Do you all know how much of a visual artist Mr. Stanley is? We watch his stuff and know it's pretty good, but we don't really realize why. Maybe the writing bit isn't his stongest point, although he does have his moments, but he is a very fine filmmaker.

As much as I hate taking things apart, I just want to point out some reasons why you should pay attention to this man, especially all those who want to improve their craft:

(Now, some of this may be intended, some not, but I know that Jack will appreciate it)

***********************************

A Little Mouth to Feed (sorry if the times are not exactly spot on):

:06 The opening dissolves from the shot of the door, to the shot of the cross (matching shapes, one on top of the other), and then to the shot of the pregancy test going positive (matching "plus" shapes and the fade in of the positive sign, again strengthening the religious tone of the film).

:22 On the door is a small wreath. The cross on the wall (wife) and the circle (husband emerges from behind it), opposites, the ying and the yang, once in union, here they are seperated.

1:20 The husband bangs on the wall, the upside down cross, the rejection of Jesus, the husband's polarity

1:28 The nail on the floor, more religious imagery

1:40 She puts the nail back in, her faith is still strong

1:50 Nice time cut focused on the woman

2:00 She ends her prayer as in a letter, with her full name, as if she feels God might not know who she is

2:12 Overhead shot in bathroom, very nice setting her up in the triangle, the very skewed angle door (the husband) dominates the left side of the screen as if he could come through any minute just to tell her "I told you so!"

2:26 The lighting: the bright light over her left shoulder, the eye of God, the red-tinged lights in the window, the eyes of Satan

3:32 The bright light (eye of God) is now obscured by the trees while the lights in the window (eyes of Satan) glow bright. Her faith is now aligned to the darkness.

3:50 Another nice dissolve from the crosses in the ground lower half of screen to the bathroom with the cross on the top half of the screen

3:52 The wife enters the bathroom through the door with the wreath, as she now shares the same negative polarity with her husband

4:00 By her own hand, the wife turns the cross upside down, her "transformation" now complete

4:15 The wine, blood of Jesus, however she is drinking the wine in preparation of having sex with her husband, wine/sex, Satanic ritual, Dionysus

4:42 The shot of the window: again the cross, rain drops of the glass, tears of God?

4:54 She gives birth. The two lamps in the upper left of the screen. Are these the same lights that glow in the scene where she buries her stillborn child? The eyes of Satan watching over?

Other good stuff:

The bookend shots: camera pushes in to the house in the 1st shot of the film, last shot, same as first, camera pulling out, entering and then exiting the film's world (dare I say you used the same shot and just reversed one of them? :))

For the first half of the film before her switch in faith, she is always on/facing off from the right side of the screen, for most of the second half after, she is on/facing off from the left side of the screen

***********************************

I could go on and on, but I don't want to over-analyze. Go back and watch Rekindled, Bone Hand, et. al, and really take a look at what Jack is SHOWING you. It's pretty great stuff!

:beer::beer::beer:
 
great job guys. loved how the hvx200 did on this one. I would have voted for you BUT.... you're not in....(evil laugh) I should have done something for this festival though
DAMN IT!!
 
As long as we're talking about how awesome JDS's movies are, I think Odd Squad is my favorite. Post apocalyptic blade runners for mutants from the 70s...how awesome is that? I mean, good job with all of 'em and whatnot, but that's just cool. Blast from the past right UP in yer face!

Watch Jack get on here and say it's his least favorite.
 
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cinealma, wow, i feel like a idiot because i missed ALL THAT. but now that you pointed it out... new rule: jack must be exhibition only. kidding of course.
 
Chris Messineo said:
I thought this was excellent.

I loved the style of it. The retro look, the dirtiness of it all. I felt like I could almost smell the foulness in the air.

Really everything from the acting, to the cinematography, to the direction was great and as usual, Herman's score was off the charts good.

Simply wonderful.
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Thank you Chris...for the comment on the actors...we all worked hard on this one and I think each of us feels pretty good about being part.

Herman Witkam said:
Looking forward to the 100 hour challenge in Dec. :)
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Hey Herman...

Just wanted to say hello and wow...thank you for the music on the project. It all works.

cinealma said:
Acting was superb.

Ok, so speaking of timing, so, it SEEMED like the woman was recovering from her 2nd trimester miscarriage in bed when the husband shows up and pretty much demands sex from her. Was that your intention?
WHAT IF...
Her baby is hungry. She can't obtain any "food" for him, so she winds up feeding herself to him. The ultimate mother's sacrifice.
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Cinealma

It is a lure after she makes her new pact with the fellow down below...as another person mentioned taking it.

As for feeding myself...dag nab it Jack gave me a part where I look like hell...I like the other idea Jack had about me tramping up to lure men back to feed my baby better...for goodness sake let a girl put her make up back on for at least one scene....tee hee...

Kyser said:
Wow! I took this the other way... SHE lured HIM to bed. She puts down her hair and calls out to him... she wanted to conceive the child from hell.

Maybe it was just me?

Mike
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Nope nope....not just you!
 
Defcon said:
cinealma, wow, i feel like a idiot because i missed ALL THAT. but now that you pointed it out... new rule: jack must be exhibition only. kidding of course.
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Don't feel like an idiot. Of course, I didn't catch all that the first time I watched it. I was tuned into a few things because it's just how I watch films, but a lot of the "finding" came from watching it a couple of times and specifically looking for and analyzing stuff.

You might not "see" it while you are watching, but your brain processes it... you sense it.

My point was to show you that Jack the filmmaker takes the time to THINK OUT AND PLAN every shot in his film. I'm of the "make films for myself first" school, and I'm pretty sure Jack is too. A lot of the little things I pointed out were there because Jack the artist put them there for himself. BUT, these essentially are the building blocks of his style. That's why there's "something about Jack's films" that people talk about. It's style, baby!

It's very easy to just set up a camera, put a couple of actors in front of it, and record what they do. There aren't very many good films that are shot that way.

But take a look at any of the biggies: Hitchcock, Spielberg, Scorsese, Fellini, Kubrick, etc., etc., etc.... man, they painstakenly plan their shots.

Ok, film school is out.

:beer:
 
Defcon said:
cinealma, wow, i feel like a idiot because i missed ALL THAT. but now that you pointed it out... new rule: jack must be exhibition only. kidding of course.
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heh heh, :D

Yeah, the idea is that the shots reinforce meaning in the piece and work ON you even, and perhaps preferably, if you are not noticing them.

Then later, as John did, hopefully you can derive a deeper even more satisfying experience by looking deeper into the images on a 2nd viewing.

John was about 90% on in his deconstruction of what we put in the pudding and why. Thanks for taking the time to look behind the pretty pictures. :beer:

Listen to the director commentary on / rewatch the original Die Hard. McTiernan really explains a lot of this type of work he did in the movie.

For example, John picked up on the fact that Flora predominantly occupies one side of the screen before her change of heart and then the other after it ...

In Die Hard, when McClane gets to Nakatomi Plaza, he is constantly framed small and on the lower left side of the frame, a weak area that causes tension in our eyeline because he is out of his element in this posh corporate environment. When the terrorists show up, the camera crosses him and puts him n the other side of the frame, the right (as I remember) where our eye naturally falls to rest ... now he is in his element - bombs, guns and badguys.

Im about 99% sure that the notion of switching screen direction for a character to underscore a change in their arc or situation got into my vocabulary from the BTS on Die Hard.

That's the kind of stuff that is fun for me as an audience member and filmmaker.
 
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Hey Jack Daniel Stanley and Michele,

Can't really say anything bad about this. It was shot very well. The acting was superb.

Creepiest looking zombie baby ever.

That part with the baby crosses and after your performance at that scene Michele, was terrifyingly awesome.

Location was great. I can't really give any constructive criticisms with it because, shucks, I didn't see any problems with it.

You all get paid to make movies, right? If not, you should be.

Laters,
Ando
 
andoguru said:
Hey Jack Daniel Stanley and Michele,

The acting was superb.

That part with the baby crosses and after your performance at that scene Michele, was terrifyingly awesome.

You all get paid to make movies, right?
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Ando

Thank you so much for those kind comments. The way Jack wrote that scene and directed it...it got a lot out of me. Then the fog just decided to be a diva and almost steal the scene. I admit...I love that scene too. I think most of us get a pay check now and then :cool:
 
Hi Michele... from one actor to another, I think you did an excellent job with this role. You had a very good grasp of the character and her mannerisms. It was slightly underplayed and I think that was a great choice on your part (and possibly Jack's). It was a pleasure to watch you in this short. :)
 
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