FAT MONSTER FILMS presents "O2" ... Every. Breath. Counts.

Last night we had a screening party at Luis Sinibaldi's place in L.A. and it was great to be able to see all the films on a projector! A huge thank you to everyone who has come by and left their comments about the film. As everybody knows we have spent a lot of time on this and it involved A LOT of key people to make happen. There is a credits list posted somewhere on this thread and I can honestly say that there is no way in hell that we could have gotten anything close to this had every single person not been there.

This whole experience has taught me probably six thousand good lessons, but it's also shown me that it is totally possible to make a movie on a bigger scale with friends in an environment where everyone is working hard because they care.

We can't thank everyone enough for helping us out and being a part of this awesome experience.
 
macgregor said:
I´m speechless. I´m in love with this script and how it turned at the end.
I really really enjoyed this, it brings me back to the comic magazines i read back on the 80s, when the cool sci-fi was made.

The only issues i could find is that some of the acting was not of my taste at some moments (others were good),

But this really made my day. COngratulations. (now i will read the whole thread).
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I must say that this comment has really made me feel good. I've been a HUGE Macgregor fan for a couple years now. Hopefully we can do something together Mac. You rock dude.
 
I echo Tim's comments. When we started Fat Monster Films less than a year ago we made a commitment to not only open our doors to the DVXUSER membership, but to work hard at making the experience of shooting with us a true shared experience. Luis, Matty G., Bullis and Blaine quickly became a core monster family that allowed us to start building a foundation to work from. When Arrik, Bosindy, JDS, Stebbs, Hudson, Dudley, DJ, Gettemeier, the Popaditches and Ted all came from out of town to help us I felt that our vision of making a truly cooperative film was proven to be a worthwhile pursuit. These guys wouldn't have come if they didn't feel strongly that they would be true partners who would be appreciated. Guys, we owe you big time and we hope to return the favor for every one of you in time. When you add the tireless efforts of Raptor 365 and Nate "RotoNinja" as well as the local boys (Brad, Justin, Zak, Matty G., Luis, Tom, Geoff, Kholi etc.) then it becomes so very clear that this is a group effort that shows just how much spirit, talent and unselfish love is available in this community.

We can't ever be perfect and we will, no doubt, always fall short in many ways. However, I can honestly say that our hearts are in the right place and that neither Tim nor I will ever forget that making a successful film requires much more than we can ever bring to the table by ourselves.

And, of course, I have to give my very highest respect, regard and appreciation to Barry Green who has provided more guidance than we could ever hope for, and who has been more patient than we deserved. Time and again Barry has shown that he cares so much about this community and that he wants us all to rise to levels of professional work that can become a basis to help those who are coming up from the ranks below. We have watched the wonderful work he's done with the Dream Team and we often hoped to have the chance to work with him. It was such an honor to have him assist us and to be able to get to know him as more than the DVX/HVX Maven Dude.
 
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Slimothy said:
Last night we had a screening party at Luis Sinibaldi's place in L.A. and it was great to be able to see all the films on a projector!
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Okay, that's it: time to marshall the troops here in Toronto and get a viewing/party underway. I watched some of the movies again this morning on the projector and man do they look fabulous. O2 rocks the house on a big screen I gotta say...

now where are those darn Toronto DVX'ers?
 
puckthemad said:
Okay, that's it: time to marshall the troops here in Toronto and get a viewing/party underway. I watched some of the movies again this morning on the projector and man do they look fabulous. O2 rocks the house on a big screen I gotta say...

now where are those darn Toronto DVX'ers?
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Ottawa here.
Maybe we can meet halfway. :laugh:
 
miamivideo said:
Mark what was the budget for your movie?
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I don't have the figures because Bullis and Blaine were keeping the books. I've mentioned before on the thread that we got the location for the cost of the stage manager and power (stage manager was $300/day and I'm guessing the power was probably about the same from what we projected). We got a very good rate on the RED rental because we've done some favors and have pledged to help Sam Druckerman and Matty with promoting the rig down the road. In fairness I can't reveal the rate but it was definitely a good deal and one we won't expect to get again. We had very little grip rental because of all the donated gear but we did have to rent a Premiere dolly, some track and an electronic viewfinder for the RED (the one it came with was on the fritz).

The way we really leveraged our micro budget was by working out trades. As mentioned earlier, we were blessed to have Levie Isaacks ASC lens our film because we provided location, lights and crew for him to use on a 3rd party project. We got the set/location basically donated because we've agreed to help crew a production for them down the road. Similarly, Dragon Dronet and Renegade Effects Group gave us all the costumes and props in exchange for our agreeing to help them on a future project. It looks like it will be a Samurai short complete with period costumes and shot on 35mm that is being done as a feature pitch. Obviously, we'd be down to crew that without anything in return because of the opportunities it presents. However, by doing this on a "trade-out" basis we are now considered peers and compatriots by a number of pros. This has already resulted in our being included in various social gatherings, industry meetings and simple grab-a-beer-after-work invites. Truly, the benefits we are seeing make the whole O2 short seem a small matter in comparison with the big picture of what we've received.

I'm not trying to be evasive here by not stating a budget number because I truly don't know what it is. However, its going to be close to what we spent on prior shorts even though the production values are much higher because of all the good will and donated services/gear we got this time.

More importantly, while we got goods and services for a couple of days, we got HUGE connections, relationships and true friendships in this town that are going to be big assets for Fat Monster for years to come.
 
I stood up on my chair and clapped at the end of this film. Amazing work. Visually it was a treat, but more importantly--in the short time of the film, character was revealed and we liked these people, which is essential to making this story work.

Bravo!
 
Mark Johnson said:
...by doing this on a "trade-out" basis we are now considered peers and compatriots by a number of pros. This has already resulted in our being included in various social gatherings, industry meetings and simple grab-a-beer-after-work invites. Truly, the benefits we are seeing make the whole O2 short seem a small matter in comparison with the big picture of what we've received.

More importantly, while we got goods and services for a couple of days, we got HUGE connections, relationships and true friendships in this town that are going to be big assets for Fat Monster for years to come.
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It CANNOT be overstated; the doors that O2 is opening FAR OUTWEIGH any budget consideration when it comes to producing the movie. Considering the contacts made and future project involvement, the budget for O2 becomes more of an investment in Fat Monster's future than it actually does in making what we feel is a pretty nice little flick. :thumbsup:
 
Mark Johnson said:
... but we did have to rent a Premiere dolly, some track....
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.....that track you show us in the last scene comming into the frame :evil:

Sorry Mark but I could not resist to mention that again. :laugh:

Otherwise - as I said - exorbitant work.

It was the first one I downloaded and in the first minute I was blown away. When they put the girl on the table and bring her back to life that´s such a incredible scene.

Actually reminds my at "The Mumie" when Anchsenamun comes back to life with the same breath.

Was that a homage or did it just happen?
I was surprised when I found a "Angel Heart" homage in UNZEIT while editing.

Frank
 
I really wanted this film to be great and it was, the red is really an awesome camera, and it flexes it's muscles in this short. The production value of this is really great stuff, and you can see that it took the work of many talented people to pull it off. Congrats guys, this film hands down rocks.

Alright, i think i've proven that I loved this film, now here's what i want to see, my critique, cause i really think you guys can take this to another level. excuse me if i reiterate someone else's comments, it's a little hard to keep up with this thread.

0:00:14 - the welding shot was a little goofy for me. it does seem like the welder is the diagetic light source, but her entire back is lit up. I think it also suffers from the "everything is in perfectly clean focus" effects look, i remember seeing Raptor's depth maps (before they were taken down), did you guys not get a chance to put them in?

0:00:22 - 0:00:37 - the screen replacements absolutely take me out of it. You have this dirty and grungy space ship with perfectly clean comp-ed in monitors, i needed some like dirty of smudges over the screen, they don't match the rest of the environment as they are. And the last screen with the red dot and the little spaceship just makes me giggle.

The "bringing her back to life" scene. Just awesome.

1:42 - spaceship inserts. why? just because? was there not another scene transition planned? Rather than a full spaceship render, i would have like to have seen an outside tank was slowly leaking, which would have lead me to the next scene better.

The second scene with all three of them is the weakest part of the film. I downright don't like his first line " get me out of the way" I think it would work better if it just started with his 2nd line "What's on the monitor?" The whole scene is just odd and doesn't carry as much emotional weight as it should.

3:10 - another space ship shot, it's cool, but it doesn't carry any meaning to me, then all the sudden, even though he shuts the door on them the previous scene, she's right behind him the next. Didn't he just threaten to to hit them with a flashlight?

There's no way if I were him that I'd get anywhere close to either of them, i'd take all the weapons and lock myself in a corner room. It's not like they want to tie him up, he thinks they are going to KILL him. Which is why I really felt the explanation of why he "lets her in" is another weak thread, the "cause you two have a history" line, i needed a little more right there, what history? what would possibly make him want to be near her? No amount of love is going to overcome "I'm going to kill you for your oxygen". I really think there was an opportunity for a tense and emotional scene there that was missed, instead he just sorta gives in for the sake of moving the story along.

The last two mintues rock, Neato twist, I expected something, but didn't think of this. Is that a bluescreen in the back of their "message" shot?

I would like to see a project from you guys that involves very little CGI. It feels like your crutch right now cause it never feels finished. And that's only cause I expect the best.

There are parts of this movie that are perfection, which i am infinitely jealous of, and parts that I want to be better. Regardless, you rocked my socks off.:thumbsup:
 
Damn, Ben, thanks for that truly thoughtful critique. I just truly love you guys when you are candid with observations and suggestions.

I'm overwhelmed by the appreciation and encouragement the board has given us. We want so much to keep working and developing our chops. A big part of that process is receiving critiques and assessments. You guys have made us better film makers by caring enough to comment honestly. (Now, if only M. Night Shaymalan would listen to my comments and critiques after the past four films he's made :)
 
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