"RPDM" by Two Bears One Cup

Hey Mark, I am on the way out the door to a wedding, so will not be able to comment more till sunday night.

But Joe will post about getting song rights. It was much easier than we thought it would be and really opened my eyes to more popular music possibilities in the future.

Thanks all. Back on sunday night to hit all the threads I haven't gotten to yet!
 
Mark Johnson said:
Muthah!!!! I'm blown away guys. OMG this is a tight dark piece that completely rocks. Harris, this story was amazing and is the best use of 6 minutes I've seen so far. Are your slo-mo sequences twixtorized or warped? Really nicely done and very nicely acted by your total bitchin' lead actress. I'm gonna go back and search your thread regarding the sound track which is INCREDIBLE. Do you discuss getting the rights to the song anywhere? Damn that was Tarentinoesque in terms of the way "Spell on You" completely was magic in the context of the film. Harris, you are the man. Jayzus! Props all around for this one, which will definitely be contending for the top spot of the fest.
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Getting the rights is easy.

All you do is contact (for EMI artists anyway) miscellaneoussyncrequests@emi.com and they ask you some questions (name of production, what artist, how long it appears in the film, stuff like that). You whisk them the money ($350 in this case) then they whisk you a contract, you sign, they countersign. Done!
 
Granted this took 8hrs of internet research to figure out (I initially thought you had to go through a lawyer, not true, although the lawyers would have you believing differently).
 
conrad_johnson said:
Getting the rights is easy.

All you do is contact (for EMI artists anyway) miscellaneoussyncrequests@emi.com and they ask you some questions (name of production, what artist, how long it appears in the film, stuff like that). You whisk them the money ($350 in this case) then they whisk you a contract, you sign, they countersign. Done!
Click to expand...

But the thing is, it was that cheap because it was a less popular version of the song. I think that is the key thing for indie filmmakers to know. You can get some cool songs cheaper than you think if it's a cover, a not-so-famous version of the song.

See, technically, this short takes place in the future. About 50 yrs. NYC has been nuked and the gov has declared martial law. So soldiers have been forced to put down riots in their home towns. And it freaked them out to have to shoot their family and friends and people they grew up with. So the drug was invented so they would not have to feel it.

But I wanted to imagine in this future, there is also a huge counter-culture ala the 60s, so I wanted the music to have a 60s feel. So when Joe found that song, I was awestruck just how perfectly it fit and gave the feel I wanted.
 
Yeah, then all you need is the sync rights for the writing.

If we wanted the Jay Hawkins version, We would have had to also pay for the performance rights.
 
Dude, the Hammond B3 on that version of the song absolutely makes the soundtrack. Great choice and, in fact, I have to say that this is my favorite version of the song ever.
 
Great film. I loved the story. IMHO, slo-mo is so overused in indie film and it was wonderful to see it motivated and used to great effect. Very well done. An early favorite for me.
 
Nice! This will be in the top 3 for sure. Harris I think you've outdone yourself. Joe, you did an excellent job w/ the lighting dude. You've got some serious chops, yo. Loved the Slo-Mo effect.

As I said before...Nice!
 
Wow! The premise is very novel and engrossing. Very dark and authentic. So many people try to pull off crime drama but it can come off very weak. You really handled this material well.

I loved your casting choices and your actors should be applauded for their work. Amazing.

Your use of narration, sound and slow motion totally sold the story. The attention to detail - the terminator comic, the work the dead boyfriend. The plot , the ending... ya this is a masterpiece and you should be very proud of it.

You have a really unique voice. This piece has very strong emotional impact. I watched about 20 films last night and woke up this morning and still felt disturbed by this. Time to take it to the next level. Its feature time. I'd love to have a look at the feature length script that goes along with this story.
 
I have no complaints on your film guys! 10/10! I honestly had no idea what this movie was going to be about. I loved the hell outta it!

Rogan
 
Nice fllm guys. I think this is the most fully realized story you've done yet, Mark. You did a great job using speed changes to tell the story and maintain the pacing. I was glad to see you use the method you did for his drug delivery...worked perfectly with the feel of the story for me. :beer:

Oh, yeah, the use of I Put A Spell On You was inspired. I've got several versions of the song and that sounded like Alan Price's version.
 
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