GHOSTS FOR HEROES - Geoff Reisner

Geoff, this was a really great film. It was effective in its puzzle. You had me the right amount of frustrated as I watched, trying to figure out what was going on, then with the reveal, my brain was finally able to say "A-ha!" and breathe a sigh of relief.

Good work. Good storytelling, cinematography, acting, and especially production values. Not one muzzle flash, but you made the bullets "hurt". Well done.

Looking forward to your work with the Red.
 
Dang man. I might have to see if I can get rid of my bulk workload by wednesday so I can jump on for the rest of the week.

YARG
 
Thanks for checking it out. We'll see about those muzzle flashes, heh :) might add something for that later on when time suits it. I still haven't gotten around to seeing your films yet, but I will soon.
 
Geoff_R said:
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Right now just the 18-50 but I did some tests this afternoon, doing lots of 2k, 3k shooting...at 2k we can get the 'perceived impression' of a 100mm. We're trying to get an 85 prime by Tuesday if possible.
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AWHHH yeah!!
 
Hey, Geoff. I watched your film and I thought it was way cool! This is the kind of movie I'd like to act in. Loved the story and how you intercut it. You packed a mighty punch in these few minutes. There was action, drama and suspense from frame 1 and it switched from fast paced to slow and then back again keeping the audience continually on a quest to try and figure out what's going on. I wish I'd wrote it.

This is definately one of my favorites, because it seems to incorporate several genres at once. Excellent acting, story and camera work. There was just some inconsistent audio here and there, like when the guy gets out of the car with the backpack, the audio seemed to change abruptly. Then, when he was actually driving to get there, there was no audio at all. I don't know if that's what you intended or not (my audio meter was going up and down on bass, but I couldn't hear anything). So, excellent job and BTW your lead actress was FINE! I woulda' did that for her too. LOL.

Also, is Kholi a part of everybody's projects or what? LOL. He seems to be the DVXuser Inside Man with the plan.
 
leenewton said:
Also, is Kholi a part of everybody's projects or what? LOL. He seems to be the DVXuser Inside Man with the plan.
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Kholi is one of the reasons we live on the West Coast. The guy really is one of the sharper knives in the drawer out here and I only wish we'd see him put in some serious time to shoot an entry of his own. Maybe next fest ???? Lord knows he has enough favors to call in that he can assemble his own dream team crew. I can certainly promise that Fat Monster will be there if he ever needs us.

Same goes for Geoff, of course. Now, that suckah we REALLY owe big time. You just call, big boy, and we are at your service.
 
Very good production Geoff. Your cinematography always impresses me. It feels like a cinematic experience. You're able to shoot in some of the most mundane settings (apartments) and make it feel rich and exciting. The acting was of a good quality. If there is one thing I would have done differently, it would have been not having the girl wear makeup when she first wakes up in the morning. It really caught my attention, but it's no big deal at all.

I look forward to our future collaborations.
 
Wow. Geoff! I saved your film for last... I always save my dessert for last!

Really well done film. I loved the way you shot this with all of the visual and sound cuts. Very effective.

And you cinematography is incredible. Stunning man. I envy your talents.

Your framing and composition is always perfect. The edits were edgy and carefully executed.

I liked your use of handheld in this. It was always done so well.

The story was wonderful however I thought that the girl had died. I was even thinking as I watched, how wonderful she did of releasing all of the muscles in her face. She looked completely lifeless.

Maybe that is what you wanted us to feel. And maybe any other choice would project the ending for us. Because you certainly got me at the end.

I was sad that this guy died to save his love. It is really touching.

The score worked great. Sound design was nearly flawless. (One tiny glitch at 3:29) I only mention it because the rest was spot-on perfect!

I would like to have known what the girl had fallen ill from. Did I miss this? I had thought that the guy running in the beginning was some hoodlum who took her out... Of course, I later learned that not to be the case.

Geoff, you have some serious talents, man. Really.... outstanding entry. I feel like I am watching you develop before my eyes!

Great, great, great!

Best to you!

-Ted
 
Mark Johnson said:
Kholi is one of the reasons we live on the West Coast. The guy really is one of the sharper knives in the drawer out here and I only wish we'd see him put in some serious time to shoot an entry of his own. Maybe next fest ???? Lord knows he has enough favors to call in that he can assemble his own dream team crew. I can certainly promise that Fat Monster will be there if he ever needs us.

Same goes for Geoff, of course. Now, that suckah we REALLY owe big time. You just call, big boy, and we are at your service.
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That's cool that you guys got that west coast connect. I got nada out here, but it's all good. Will probably be moving soon anyway.

Also, I think it would be cool to see a Kholi entry.
 
Mark Johnson said:
Kholi is one of the reasons we live on the West Coast. The guy really is one of the sharper knives in the drawer out here and I only wish we'd see him put in some serious time to shoot an entry of his own. Maybe next fest ???? Lord knows he has enough favors to call in that he can assemble his own dream team crew. I can certainly promise that Fat Monster will be there if he ever needs us.

Same goes for Geoff, of course. Now, that suckah we REALLY owe big time. You just call, big boy, and we are at your service.
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I'm purposely quoting this so you can't delete it when it comes time.

LoL.

When the time's right, though.
 
Aaron Marshall said:
Very good production Geoff. Your cinematography always impresses me. It feels like a cinematic experience. You're able to shoot in some of the most mundane settings (apartments) and make it feel rich and exciting. The acting was of a good quality. If there is one thing I would have done differently, it would have been not having the girl wear makeup when she first wakes up in the morning. It really caught my attention, but it's no big deal at all.

I look forward to our future collaborations.
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Sounds like a good plan, Aaron :) Thanks for checking out the film!
 
Ted Arabian said:
Wow. Geoff! I saved your film for last... I always save my dessert for last!

Really well done film. I loved the way you shot this with all of the visual and sound cuts. Very effective.

And you cinematography is incredible. Stunning man. I envy your talents.

Your framing and composition is always perfect. The edits were edgy and carefully executed.

I liked your use of handheld in this. It was always done so well.

The story was wonderful however I thought that the girl had died. I was even thinking as I watched, how wonderful she did of releasing all of the muscles in her face. She looked completely lifeless.

Maybe that is what you wanted us to feel. And maybe any other choice would project the ending for us. Because you certainly got me at the end.

I was sad that this guy died to save his love. It is really touching.

The score worked great. Sound design was nearly flawless. (One tiny glitch at 3:29) I only mention it because the rest was spot-on perfect!

I would like to have known what the girl had fallen ill from. Did I miss this? I had thought that the guy running in the beginning was some hoodlum who took her out... Of course, I later learned that not to be the case.

Geoff, you have some serious talents, man. Really.... outstanding entry. I feel like I am watching you develop before my eyes!

Great, great, great!

Best to you!

-Ted
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Thanks for checking out the film, Ted! Glad you enjoyed it. As for the girl, I didn't want to expand on what she became ill with; I didn't think it was necessary for the story. I actually had a voice conversation with the male and a doctor on the phone where some more stuff is explained, but took it out last minute. I felt that all we needed to know was that something was wrong and she needed some kind of medical treatment.
 
Geoff_R said:
for the girl, I didn't want to expand on what she became ill with; I didn't think it was necessary for the story.
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No, you are right... it wasn't necessary. I was just curious. She just seem to take ill so unexpectedly and it was such an integral part of the story.

Again, WOW! Really enjoy your work!
 
Geoff, great work sir.

Of course this had a great look to it. Also a very nice feel. You captured and represented a lot of moments truthfully and I felt like I was really there. The cast was also great. Each of them had a great look. This is nice bit of run and gun, and like Jason Ramsey’s film, though in different way, should serve as an example to all the filmmakers out there who make more excuses than movies. You just went out and did a bit of a bigger story and pulled it off with nothing but ingenuity and talent.

So I enjoyed it very much. I’m not sure I 100% got the story the first time through, but pretty sure I got there the second time through.

Ok. Here’s my blow by blow while watching the second time.

Nice kinetic opening. I’ve been wanting to do / shoot a chase like this for a while too. Like the opening of Narc. Anyway nice feel to it.

Nice looking actors … not just attractive but interesting on camera. All the handheld stuff inside works pretty well and gives it an intimate feel and isn’t too over the top.
Scene’s played nicely an simply too.

Some CC to whiten the walls in the shot of her on the I.V. drip would be nice to say that it’s the hospital. The warm look suggests it’s there apartment. I’d try to cool that shot off a lot and match it to the hospital hallway.

Maybe if I wasn’t a filmmaker I wouldn’t be having this response but I could tell that if the world ended outside the frame … like the absence of an actor to play the doctor who says “Mr. Williams” … I think this was run and gun? And a very nice job at it, but even getting a crew member or random person walking by to don a lab coat and walk into frame, even if it’s just their shoulder in that frame, helps ground the world in the same reality of the intimate domestic scene in the bedroom.

On the other hand, the bank robbery was “STOLEN” quite nicely. Very effective to just jump past that especially since its not relevant to the story. I might do a bank thing and steal this idea as well. ☺

The black cop. Looks like another detective. But he’s taking notes like a beat cop who’d be securing the scene. So it pushed me out a bit … as in where are the rest of the police. I would not have had the other two plain clothes guys show up and would’ve had police sirens approaching instead. Not much else you can pull off without people cars and costumes.

One thing I’ve always wanted to do … you would have needed at least one police uniform and a couple of white painter suits with respirator masks … is to reposition the same CSI’s in the same shot and then composite the shot together to make a crime scene. Maybe park a dark colored car so it’s front bumper is in the foreground of the shot … dunno.

Again great looking film, great feel to it, and nicely played by the cast.
 
Jack, I see what you're saying about the black detective appearing as a beat cop...bad move on my part :) And I wish I had gotten a locked down shot of the final crime scene, it wouldn't have been that hard to move and recostume 2 or 3 actors and then composite them all together (along with one coplike car and using a similar process, make it look like 3 or 4 squads). Perhaps I'll use that technique for the next one.

Good idea about whitening those walls in the hospital scene; it is actually the same apartment; we just ran fish tank tubes with water to simulate an IV drip. A blue/whitish tint would definitely help.

Thanks for the in depth feedback. It's much appreciated!
 
Geoff_R said:
... And I wish I had gotten a locked down shot of the final crime scene, it wouldn't have been that hard to move and recostume 2 or 3 actors and then composite them all together (along with one coplike car and using a similar process, make it look like 3 or 4 squads). Perhaps I'll use that technique for the next one....
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...perhaps we can make a shot like that together one day :thumbsup:
 
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