"Given" by Dustin R. Rogan

Jack Daniel Stanley said:
Woo hoo!
CENTRAL TEXAS in the HEEZY.!
Looking forward to your film. The bearded guy has a great look.

Whereabouts in Central Texas?
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Ahh the great Jack! You sir are an inspiration. When I came around to DVXuser.com I watched your submission Rekindle. I absolutily loved/feared your work! I thought to myself one day I'll be that good and one day I'll be better than that.

Anywyas I'm from the Big crap hole of Waco lol

I've had perfect strangers ask me if I know I look like "that Silent Bob guy" and I say yes all the time lol. but according to his life time line i'm a bit behind schedule he was 24 when he made Clerks....lol.

All i can say is that I absolutley love the whole process of creating a film. From writting this one, directing, running cameras, then putting the story together in post, I know this is what I want to do with my life, and not remain a button monkey (tv technical director) the rest of my days
 
Dustin,
You're not just a "button monkey." You're THE button monkey.

Hey, when are you coming to Austin? We've got some really great projects waiting to be turned into really great films. I think it's high time several of us "central Texans" got together and really showed the guys in Brooklyn what for.

On a side note, I will be watching your film in the same group as Ted's and Jason's. In other words, first.
 
Wild Imagination Films said:
Dustin,
You're not just a "button monkey." You're THE button monkey.

Hey, when are you coming to Austin? We've got some really great projects waiting to be turned into really great films. I think it's high time several of us "central Texans" got together and really showed the guys in Brooklyn what for.

On a side note, I will be watching your film in the same group as Ted's and Jason's. In other words, first.
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I think we need to make a commitment to work on the next fest together. or at least get together in person to maybe work on a future project
 
Dustin R. Rogan said:
Ahh the great Jack! You sir are an inspiration. When I came around to DVXuser.com I watched your submission Rekindle. I absolutily loved/feared your work! I thought to myself one day I'll be that good and one day I'll be better than that.
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Heheh I don't know that they're that good, but awesome attitude. Too many people see someone do well and get resentful rather than feel challenged.

Dustin R. Rogan said:
Anywyas I'm from the Big crap hole of Waco lol
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David Karesh, Steve Martin, Robert Wilson, and now Dustin Rogan. There must be something in the Dr. Pepper in wacko Waco.

I used to drive through there all the time on the way back and forth to UT Austin from Frisco (my hometown near Dallas) and would stop in West for perrogis. Mmmm. This is 90 - 95 we're talking.


Dustin R. Rogan said:
I've had perfect strangers ask me if I know I look like "that Silent Bob guy" and I say yes all the time lol. but according to his life time line i'm a bit behind schedule he was 24 when he made Clerks....lol.
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I get that too sometimes.

Dustin R. Rogan said:
All i can say is that I absolutley love the whole process of creating a film. From writting this one, directing, running cameras, then putting the story together in post, I know this is what I want to do with my life, and not remain a button monkey (tv technical director) the rest of my days
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heheh cool, looking forward to seeing your work again :beer:
 
Jack Daniel Stanley said:
David Karesh, Steve Martin, Robert Wilson, and now Dustin Rogan. There must be something in the Dr. Pepper in wacko Waco.

I used to drive through there all the time on the way back and forth to UT Austin from Frisco (my hometown near Dallas) and would stop in West for perrogis. Mmmm. This is 90 - 95 we're talking.
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My goal so far is to make at least 1 film that people will pay for before I'm 30.
As i type i'm downing another tasty DP. Ahh west!! I love the Kolachies!!!
 
we shot part of the film in Hillsboro (don't know if you know where that is, just north of West) and I made a stop and bought a shiz load of em for cast and crew
 
Only problem I had was with the originality of the story. From the moment the death of the baby was introduced, the ending was immediately predictable. Otherwise well shot, nothing bothered me technically.
 
GIVEN -- SPOILERISH TYPEISH!!!

Some gooood lookin' images here. Very nice. Lots of great blocking, framing and camera action. When the story/pacing comes into play I have a hard time following the short. This might just be me, but I'll state my case.

Somewhere up above you mentioned that lighting and sound are troublesome for you. I won't delve into sound to far, that's really a field that's all too commonly "weak" (said in the lightest way possible) for all of us. Sound suffers because you can only do SO much by yourself, you know? Especially on a time limit. But, your sound is of no issue. In most places it's clear. In the church/cathedral there's "volume" and "echo" which matches the location. I honestly think this is a stronger point of your short. Above that, I want to say that the cinematography is the strongest part of your short. I had no qualms about lighting, more so troubles with certain frames and static camera position. However, there's a heap of VERY nice shots going on here. They're great visuals.

One of my favorite shots in this is actually the shot where your "guide" is sitting in the front row pew and it's a low dirty frame, the main character being the "dirt". It's great! Such a small shot, but I love it.

Was there a specific reason behind long lasting static shots? A lot of the times, when a static shot lasts a certain amount of time in a scene it stands to leave me feeling like the scene is being dragged out. Could moving the camera a bit more for wides, tights, OTS' in the kitchen have worked just as well? Could doing so throughout the entire short have ruined what you've created or perhaps added a new dynamic to your image? Just questions. I said it in another thread, if it's preference that's different but it's totally fine to move the camera. I'm sure ya know! Just thinkin' in the thread here. It looked great, nevertheless!

What made this hard for me to watch was the structure and a lot of confusing dialog. Take for instance the kitchen scene where this guy has yet to realize he's deceased. There's a line there: "I'm gonna be a father!". This line is right after the female gets off of the phone and she's crying. On a first watch I was completely confused and wondered "okay did she just get the call that her husband is dead? Or did she get a call about being pregnant? And, did he infer her pregnancy simply from her hand being over her stomach? That could've passed as being sick from losing a loved one. This is where it begins to get confusing.

Also, there's on the nose dialog which works in some cases and others feels pressed. Take the dialog when the baby is being still born. It feels a little plastic, over dramatic and what you "think" someone would say. But, not necessarily what someone would say. WHAT I have no idea, but to my ears it sounded a slight off.

That's not the only thing that kind of troubles me. The pacing itself is here and there. It's either THAT or maybe it's just a tad too slow for me. There's a fading montage sequence where the main character watches the female along in her daily life. Now it probably works and this is, i'm sure, just preference... I'm almost thinking that it's the point that made me feel it was just a little too long for the payoff. The character hasn't been established as a selfish man that needs to give his life for a child, which means he doesn't have an arc, which means he was going to give his life for the child to begin with. He doesn't seem to be having any problems in purgatory, just wandering about and hangin' out. So there's no real plight aside from a mental one. "What is my test?". That's fine, a more visual plight (presented at the end) could stand to re-immerse the viewer in the tale.

Could this all have happened in the same moment? Does subtracting any of the scenes present make the story any worse? Again, questions.

That said, again, the Cine and Sound are strong. Your team's got enough to create a solid looking and sounding entry. Next up is a compelling story. And, that isn't exactly easy to do no matter WHAT the time length. We're all learning!

Thanks for exhibiting!
 
I liked the idea of it a lot and many parts turned out great, but some specifics of it bothered me a bit though. The crossfading montage of them in different positions in the living room was nice, but why did you fade to an empty room between each shot of them? Just seemed odd for me. The transition into the church felt odd to me, but every other shot in the church was great. During his scene on his knees at the end, him falling in and out of frame just looked odd to me.
Performances were pretty good, and the writing was good. I really liked the elevator at the end, so simple and if I had heard about it before seeing it I wouldn't have thought it would work. But here, it actually works great.

Nice job.
 
As far as composition, lighting, all those sorts of things. Oh man, you were killing it. All of that was superb. CC also went well with the story and definitely enhanced it. All things technical you really excelled in.

I too got a bit confused though with the whole "I'm going to be a father" line in the kitchen. But, you already know about that. The main thing I think you needed to focus on for this film was establishing that this guy was a selfish one. Now that I hear it, I realize it and the whole story comes together just a bit more, but I think more time should have went towards that. Maybe something happens while he's trying to talk to his wife, or with the "death" character. The line at the beginning wasn't enough to cement that in my brain.

The acting was pretty decent and I'm thinking with some ruthless cutting to speed up the pace a bit, you could get this thing down and working pretty well. Good job though, and man...I am so jealous of kholi's ability to give monster good critiques for so many films. I'm fading quick here!
 
I really like this kind of movie.

I have to say, I saw the ending coming a mile away but that still didn't hurt my enjoyment of the film. I would suggest moving the camera around a bit more, especially when he was on his knees in the hospital.

The movie had a few moments for me that worked well.

Nice work. Very well crafted and told.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Dustin! Great Job!!!

My first complaint is that the image is too damn small! 5 mbs???? Come on, they gave you 50 mbs! Open that up so I can see the pretty images.

I really enjoyed your film. A very nice story that kept it's pace. A just ending that left you feeling good inside.

I did want to eventually hear the newborn crack a cry when the deal was accepted. That would have been rewarding. Or maybe that is too Hollywood... none-the-less, I was wishing that it was there.

Some really nice camera work. Framing and lighting looked great. Editing was smooth to my eye. Everything made sense.

The actors did a fine job. All looked comfortable in this presence and delivered.

A bit confused with the line, "I am going to be a father?!" I don't know what would give him that idea in that scene. Obviously it was there to throw us but I like to have a little foundation when I get thrown. Makes for a harder fall! (LOL!)

Really nice work here.

Congrats to you and your crew!!!

-Ted
 
Dustin,
I have spoken with you about this story since you pitched it to me way back when. It was exactly what you described to me on the phone so for this alone I give you a thumbs up. Knowing it is your freshman directorial debut garners you a lot of slack. We'll discuss the time passage montage at a later time in person, but for the record, it was one of the two weakest moments of the film. The other is the scene in the delivery room. Your actress didn't at all seem to be in labor and since I work in the medical field.... I don't understand Ted's confusion though. She clearly says, "What are we going to do?" While rubbing her belly when she finds out he died. Pretty clear to me what's going on.
In summary, good job sticking to your vision. Now start learning how to get the most out of your camera picture wise and keep working on your chops.
Give me a shout.
 
Ill agree with Ted... too small. I was actually off the lighting in general. I think you really came up with a solid story.... the first series of shots was seriously great! Then it became a little predictable, and as I said the shots lacked light, exposure etc.

You were really onto something I think you should flesh out.
 
Hey, man. I haven't read the other comments in this thread yet, so forgive for repeats.

From the first scene I really liked your CC. It was a nice image. I just wish the compression was better, so I could have seen a larger frame size of the image.

That aside, it looked nice.

I didn't dig the music too much in this.

Had some pretty good acting for a dvxfest. The lead male was solid, and the "reaper" was believable as well for the most part.

Interesting premise. I could kinda see it coming a mile away as far as the ending was concerned, but that didn't bother me too bad. It was a nice little story, and quite a sacrifice.

The idea behind the scene in the hospital was nice, but the dramatic impact in the execution of it I think could have been stronger. I don't have specific suggestions as to how or what, it was just my initial gut reaction in watching it.

This is another film that worked pretty well in the given timeframe, not too rushed. Though, it might have been good to have shaved a touch off the front end and devoted it to the hospital scene to allow the character to really kinda struggle with the decision, and the circumstances, and to really delve into the idea behind the sacrifice that he was about to make. But, this like many of the entries I've watched showed good use of the time by not trying to cram too much stuff into too short of a time.

Good work. Thanks for sharing.

later,
Jason
 
The pacing seemed spot on to me. Color Grading looked crisp and I really liked it (Was this HVX?) The lead actors did a good job, but the guy who gets hit kept reminding me of a mix between Jared Leto and Jake Gyllenhal. He did a good job. I liked the device at the end w/ the elevator, thought that was clever.

The music was 50/50. Sometimes I really liked it and sometimes not as much.
 
I enjoyed this.

I particularly liked the look of it and I thought the edit was great.

The story was interesting and I really liked the last shot. However at times the dialogue, the acting, and the music were all a little too on the nose for my taste. I wish there was a bit more subtext.

Still, this was very sweet and entertaining.
 
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