"a beautiful day" - Short Film Shot On DVX100B

Technically it was very well done. I didn't particular care for the narrative as I was just confused most of the time watching it. I could see a scene like that working better in a longer film where I cared about the main character enough to try and read into it more. There's a big leap from watching the film to being pulled into it.

Camera moves and music where pretty cool though, and it looked pretty.
 
Nice job.

I liked the camera moves, crane and dolly shots, and the opening shot was a great angle.

I understood the story as - Mom loses her daughter and commits suicide?
If that is the case, I would've had more physical interaction between the mom and the girl. Maybe the girl is playing with mom's hair and running around being happy. It was a little stiff in the middle when they are sitting at tea. Also, I would've put that table over closer to the fireplace. That's a cool prop, and the BG over mom's shoulder was a little flat and boring.

If this is really all in mom's head I would've had more of the 2-shot where you see them interacting, rather than cut between for their lines.

It had a very nice feel to it. Very relaxed and a stillness that kept my attention most of the time.

I thought the makeup was a little heavy.

Overall, very good work, I just felt the need for a little more connection between the girl and the mom.

Tim
 
That's funny that you guys had trouble getting the story. I had another filmmaker friend tell me the same thing. We showed at least a dozen other people without telling them anything about it and they all got it, I mean completely figured it out. I even showed a potential employer a one minute clip of it and even he figured it out.

So I don't know what to think. Fellow filmmakers say they're confused about it, but other people seem to get it right away. Just a coincidence? Are filmmakers too used to force-feeding the story to their audience and therefore more inclined to expect that? Don't take that the wrong way, I'm really curious.


Before I say anything else I want to give someone else a chance to say what they think it's about... to get another take on it. Is it confusing or does what's happening make sense to you?

So if you have the time please let me know. This is valuable input. :)

Thanks!
 
I thought this was very well done! Nice job. Good edit, loved the camera moves, dollies, crane (I just got a Kessler...and love it!), acting (how cute is that little girl?), nice score too. Please give the whole crew kudos on a job well done.

I might be wrong, but here's my take; I thought the little girl WAS the woman. It was herself forcing herself to see what she had become in life. It's a classic story of how we are born innocent, yet have to become jaded if we want to survive in this life. Some of us find a path...others don't and make the choice to end it.

Again, nice job... I'm going to go watch it again now.
Cheers,
-Zaza
 
ZazaCast said:
I might be wrong, but here's my take; I thought the little girl WAS the woman. It was herself forcing herself to see what she had become in life. It's a classic story of how we are born innocent, yet have to become jaded if we want to survive in this life. Some of us find a path...others don't and make the choice to end it.
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Click to expand...

This was my interpretation as well. I liked the acting. Too many short films these days have awful acting (mine especially haha).

How long did this take from conceptual stages to the final cut?
 
very nice, i got it also and im a rookie
initially i wasnt interested but i was drawn into it, i wanted to know where the girl came from and that kept me watching. Again great job (but who am i to comment) lol
 
Zazacast you got it exactly right! (and i'll pass along the compliment to the actors and composer)

Thanks everyone for the compliments on the camera work and technical stuff. That was my end (i didn't write or direct). While I'm thinking about it, the director was only 17. So if you guys know of any festivals out there that are for young directors please let me know.

Yeehaanow - You're so right, there were a few things I could have done to make the woman's background more interesting. And I had planned to get more interesting shots to help move the dialogue bit but they got scratched for time. Paying the price for that. :)

Yommytacoe - From concept to final cut his took about six months, it could have been done in two. We lagged quite a bit in post. The total budget was about $500. The principal shooting was done in three days.
 
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