WHERE THE HEART LIES ... Johnson, Hyten, Golden & Bullis

Kdawg said:
How did you get the lettering on the emails on film? That was the only thing that seemed pixelated or something to me.
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The e-mails were shot on an LCD screen using the HVX and adapter. I've given some thought to how to better shoot those and I'm thinking that perhaps it would be best to compose them in PhotoShop at higher resolution so that you don't get that pixelated effect.

I originally thought about having the messages scrolling and panning as semi-transparent elements similar to the approach we used for our opening titles for In Extremis (the film suffered greatly from having no time to put it together BUT the title sequence was the one thing that people agreed was pretty cool. You can see it HERE.)

I do believe we'll revisit those e-mails for the next cut and I would be interested if anyone has suggestions or advice too.
 
I liked the emails, they are meant to look like they are on a computer, and I liked that you showed just a bit of the sentences to get the idea
 
bosindy said:
I liked the emails, they are meant to look like they are on a computer, and I liked that you showed just a bit of the sentences to get the idea
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I think it looks more like a person is looking at the screen the way it is now.

The text is actually only pixelated because we didn't have a macro to shoot it with. We actually had to zoom in on the text as much as it would possibly go on the computer itself because of something I've come to know as "hyper-focal distance."

Using the adapter we had to have the camera a certain distance away for anything to be in focus. So you can't just put the camera a foot from the screen we had to be back like 2 - 3 feet.

Also, we were forced to use the adapter because without it the screen looked a lot worse for some reason.
 
I like to take this opportunity to throw a huge thanks, Justin Durban's way. We were thrilled when we heard how perfectly his score worked with this cut.
 
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:)

ummm... "Durban"

Thank you blaine and everyone. I've noticed some comments say the music is a little 'too' much. Perhaps in the next cut, I can tone it down some?

cheers!
/j
 
Justin, I don't remember your music being "too much" for my taste. This film had "BIG BUDGET FEATURE" written all over it and I thought that your music complimented it perfectly. But what do I know? :)

Great job!
 
I disagree Justin. I really dig it and think it is great how it is.

If anyone is thinking about hiring this madman I would say he is worth every penny. The dude totally kicks ass.
 
Hey guys and Justin... just watched WTHL again (for like the 15th time!). The music is wonderful! I think it is totally apropos throughout the film. It kicks butt!

........

On a different note, I've been meaning to ask. How did you get this film up without the black bars? Is it an HVX thing?

I shot mine on the DVX100B in squeeze and then cropped to 2.35:1. But I couldn't find a way to export it in that aspect ratio without the black bars. And I know that I wasted a lot of my file size on those damn things!

Your compression is beautiful. I know that Blaine is likely responsible for this. And I am sure that it help to not have to be compressing with all of that unused exported real estate.

I would love to learn this.

Thanks guys. Amazing film to watch!

-Ted
 
Ted Arabian said:
Your compression is beautiful. I know that Blaine is likely responsible for this. And I am sure that it help to not have to be compressing with all of that unused exported real estate.

I would love to learn this.
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I'd like to take full credit for it. I was ready to do it on my computer but it is so slow compared to the MacBook Pro. It would have taken 90 minutes on mine...I think it was 35-40 minutes on the MBP. We started Compressor on the MBP and I wasn't familiar with the new interface and got lost. Zak, got us back on the right track. We still had to do some experimenting to get the size under 50 MB and we were bumping up against the deadline...so what else is new...
 
Ted Arabian said:
On a different note, I've been meaning to ask. How did you get this film up without the black bars? Is it an HVX thing?
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Ted,

You simply use the CROP function either when you are making a QuickTime movie inside FCP or when you are using Compressor. Just be sure you are CROPPING and not RESIZING!
 
Blaine said:
.... and we were bumping up against the deadline...so what else is new...
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LMAO!

I'll tell you what else is new... You have a winner! That's what's new. Whether the votes confirm it or not, the film put forth by this team is extremely impressive and is leaps and bounds above anything I've seen from Johnson, Hyten and Golden!

Congrats again, boys. I know that you are all sitting back with snifters of scotch and stogies burning celebrating your efforts!
 
Mark Johnson said:
Ted,

You simply use the CROP function either when you are making a QuickTime movie inside FCP or when you are using Compressor. Just be sure you are CROPPING and not RESIZING!
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Thanks Mark! Blaine has enlightened me to this as well.

I am sure that I will be calling on you two when I attempt to do this myself!
 
I agree with HorseFilms, the music was perfect.

I'd like you to score one of my films as well... I love it.

Hey Fat Monster team, I'm sitting here in my basement after just finishing up a mock of a Doritos ad and decided to take a break and send you guys a little message.

I hope all is well out on the Rancho homestead. I miss you guys. -- You did some seriously great work and we're all proud to know you out here. I can't tell you how much it means to be able to show my friends that "I know the guys that made this film".

You've got my vote ;) Great work, again.

kyle
 
Great show Mr. Jhonson, great drama, good shots, good acting, hot actress and very good looking bad guy.

top 3

gv.
 
Well, in my book, one of the best films, if not the best, I have seen in a dvxuser fest ever. Congratulations to all involved.

I just read Edgens note on the music. I never even noticed the music once, seriously. To me, that means along with the top notch dialogue and suspense, the music was like a glove, a perfect fit.
 
Hey guys, I don't have time to post much, but I finally got a chance to start watching films last night, and yours was the first on my list. WOW, such a stand out over your previous works. Worlds apart! You guys worked hard, and meticulously thought it all out, and it shows.

The ONLY disappointing thing for me was that I read ahead about a week ago, and accidentally saw that 'the guy gets shot', so I kept expecting, and when someone did (our main character), it didn't shock me as much as it would have had I used some self restraint and not read what others thought. DAMNIT! Lol. My own fault.

Regardless, great twist, solid performances, editing, score, camera work, etc..... all top notch, IMO.
 
Noel Evans said:
Well, in my book, one of the best films, if not the best, I have seen in a dvxuser fest ever. Congratulations to all involved.

I just read Edgens note on the music. I never even noticed the music once, seriously. To me, that means along with the top notch dialogue and suspense, the music was like a glove, a perfect fit.
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Wow, Noah that's a great compliment. We couldn't have done it w/o our amazing crew and actors. Everybody really stepped it up this time.

I can't wait to hear what the next fest will be. I hope it's something we're able to participate in as we've collaborated with so many talented people on this one and would love to do it again.
 
HorseFilms said:
No. I think your work on this was perfect. I'd kill to have someone with your talent score one of my flicks.:beer:
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No need to kill anyone for a score.. all you've gots to do is ax. :) (depending what other work i've got brewing)

Kyle Stebbins said:
I agree with HorseFilms, the music was perfect.

I'd like you to score one of my films as well... I love it.
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Thank you Kyle. :) Let's do it. Make a film and I'll jump in and score it.


Noel Evans said:
I just read Edgens note on the music. I never even noticed the music once, seriously. To me, that means along with the top notch dialogue and suspense, the music was like a glove, a perfect fit.
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Thank you Noel. I've heard that if the music doesn't overpower too much, it's done its job. Then again, we/us composers need a little glory.



Good luck WTHL crew! It was a fun ride :)

/j
 
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