The Watchman a Michael Anthony Horrigan Film

Well Mike there's nothing but positive comments and reviews about The Watchman in this thread so far, but I suppose I can add a few.

First of all, I think it's time for Ian to pack up and head to Hollywood. He stole the show in Robin The Spy and again displays his abilities in this film. He played it just right--he's a natural. So start looking for a new actor for your shorts.

Script-wise, I think this film has surpassed your other entries. A key element to get across was the neurotic nature of the Watchman. I think that this was done well. If anything, I would have liked to see even more shots of his schedule as he constantly referred back to it, getting upset if anything was a minute off. This characterization I think was even a little more important than the murder to the film.

The hallway shot is great, I think everyone loved it.

All-in-all, a great entry!

John
 
johnlabonney said:
Well Mike there's nothing but positive comments and reviews about The Watchman in this thread so far, but I suppose I can add a few.

First of all, I think it's time for Ian to pack up and head to Hollywood. He stole the show in Robin The Spy and again displays his abilities in this film. He played it just right--he's a natural. So start looking for a new actor for your shorts.

Script-wise, I think this film has surpassed your other entries. A key element to get across was the neurotic nature of the Watchman. I think that this was done well. If anything, I would have liked to see even more shots of his schedule as he constantly referred back to it, getting upset if anything was a minute off. This characterization I think was even a little more important than the murder to the film.

The hallway shot is great, I think everyone loved it.

All-in-all, a great entry!

John
Click to expand...
Thanks!

The Director's Cut will show his disorder in a little more detail. I have some things planned. :)

Ian is a great actor. I think we have both come a long way since Robin the Spy. I'm glad that he continues to want to work with me considering that I do this with a little camera and no crew. That and he doesn't get paid, just fed. When I sent him the script he replied immediately and said that he was in. He didn't even read it. He's committed to making movies and getting his face out there.

Great attitude!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Mike:

Most shorts are designed from the beginning to be just that---shorts. And in most cases, they shouldn't be made into longer films, they're better off left alone. But I wonder if in this case there's the potential for something longer (feature length) here? Just an idea...

John
 
Yes, but a lot of shorts are 10 minutes long. My Director's Cut will be about 7.5 minutes in length.

I agree though, this could be developed further. That's how I like to write. People said the same thing about Joel 3:15. I like to leave the audience pondering on things. I'm not a fan of wrapping things up in a neat little package. This could just be the beginning for him. :D

I'm still not talented enough to make a feature and I haven't been doing this sort of thing for nearly long enough.

Thanks again for watching and commenting.

Keep them coming gang!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Hey Mike! Your entry was really great! i liked it from the beginning.

The overall production is very professional. The sound design is really good and the mood of your films really get you into the story.

Very well done! Looking forward to more films from you :)
 
this one grabbed me from the start. every shot chosen works very well and the pacing was perfect. love the hallway shot as well :D

good job and good luck in the fest
 
Simon Höfer said:
Hey Mike! Your entry was really great! i liked it from the beginning.

The overall production is very professional. The sound design is really good and the mood of your films really get you into the story.

Very well done! Looking forward to more films from you :)
Click to expand...
Simon, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the professional comment very much. I'm still learning but I really love this hobby. Maybe one day I can turn it into something more, who knows?

Glad that you like the mood of my films, that also meant a lot.

Cheers!

Mike
 
Holy Crap! This film is close to flawless in my book. Sound track was incredible. The story was absolute perfection with great details. I was absolutely blown away with how you put this together Michael.

You handled the upstairs hallway scene totally pro. Could have been in any feature and not been any better.

In my opinion the strongest factor is the camera work. The POV shots from inside his car are to die for and the framing of the garbage truck etc. left me speechless. I don't rave about camera work very often, but will in this case. I hope others study this as I think it shows how much you can do with the right choices for handheld and focus. Stuff like the upstairs window shot with her being out of focus really made it for me.

About the only critique I can offer is that I found some of the barrel distortion on your super wides pulled me out of it and there were a couple shots with some chromatic aberration that made me think of the lens instead of the film. However, the editing and grading were terrific and both principal actors were marvelous.

Definitely a work to be proud of and an accomplishment. This is a seriously well crafted film.
 
In the past few days, DVXusers Ben Sliker and Justin Kuhn sat down and chatted over AIM while simultaneously watching the same TIMEFEST films. We call them, "The AIM sessions". Here's their thoughts on "THE WATCHMAN"

happygobo (2:14:32 AM): the watchman?
spesliker (2:14:50 AM): let me find it
happygobo (2:14:52 AM): so you wanna...
happygobo (2:14:55 AM): watch it?
spesliker (2:15:02 AM): yeah
happygobo (2:15:04 AM): AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
spesliker (2:15:07 AM): wow ...
happygobo (2:15:22 AM): that's mad laughter in the text form see
spesliker (2:15:36 AM): i see that
happygobo (2:19:04 AM): got it
spesliker (2:19:07 AM): ok
spesliker (2:19:09 AM): 3
spesliker (2:19:10 AM): 2
spesliker (2:19:11 AM): 1
spesliker (2:19:12 AM): PLAY
spesliker (2:19:30 AM): ... more men in underwear ...
happygobo (2:19:40 AM): very wide there
happygobo (2:19:49 AM): in the doorway.
spesliker (2:20:11 AM): he's got some chops with the HV20
happygobo (2:20:25 AM): yeah it's not too shabby
spesliker (2:20:25 AM): same actor he always uses, he's good
happygobo (2:20:26 AM): lawls
happygobo (2:20:31 AM): oh yeah?
spesliker (2:20:34 AM): yeah
spesliker (2:20:56 AM): not that we can say anything ...
spesliker (2:21:02 AM): he sounds like milton ...
happygobo (2:21:05 AM): I was thinking that
happygobo (2:21:08 AM): yeah he does
spesliker (2:21:24 AM): lol
happygobo (2:21:26 AM): nice look
spesliker (2:21:33 AM): what a ***** ... ha
happygobo (2:21:37 AM): i think he was dancing to that weird noise
happygobo (2:22:04 AM): what's so great about the garbage?
spesliker (2:22:14 AM): he's like OCD i think ...
happygobo (2:22:54 AM): the WATCHman he wears a WATCH and he WATCHes...GET IT
spesliker (2:23:03 AM): it runs deep
happygobo (2:23:15 AM): ooh...
spesliker (2:23:15 AM): PUNCH HER, SHE'S A *****, yeah ... you in the mirror.
spesliker (2:23:36 AM): SCARY!!!!
spesliker (2:24:07 AM): we should post these transcripts.
spesliker (2:24:21 AM): HES BEHIND YOU *****!!
spesliker (2:24:40 AM): nice, bathroom shots, these need to be in slow mo ...
spesliker (2:25:20 AM): i don't think he was finished, he's got some work to do still.
happygobo (2:26:10 AM): you have logs right?
spesliker (2:26:17 AM): yeah
happygobo (2:26:29 AM): maybe you should post 'em.


Mike, liked the film man, make sure to keep us all up to date when you have a new cut. You push that little cam to it's limits, that's for sure.

Ben
 
Ben Sliker said:
Mike, liked the film man, make sure to keep us all up to date when you have a new cut. You push that little cam to it's limits, that's for sure.

Ben
Click to expand...
LOL! :grin:

Thanks. :laugh:
BTW, The shot of the hammer is sped up to about 300% until the drop of blood finally falls. Then I slowed it down to around 40% for just that part.

I can't imagine watching all these entries while chatting online.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Responses in bold.

Mark Johnson said:
Holy Crap! This film is close to flawless in my book. Sound track was incredible. The story was absolute perfection with great details. I was absolutely blown away with how you put this together Michael.
Thanks so much! I really tried to focus on the story.


You handled the upstairs hallway scene totally pro. Could have been in any feature and not been any better.
Quite the compliment, thanks again.

In my opinion the strongest factor is the camera work. The POV shots from inside his car are to die for and the framing of the garbage truck etc. left me speechless. I don't rave about camera work very often, but will in this case. I hope others study this as I think it shows how much you can do with the right choices for handheld and focus. Stuff like the upstairs window shot with her being out of focus really made it for me.
One of my favourite shots as well. Glad you liked it.

About the only critique I can offer is that I found some of the barrel distortion on your super wides pulled me out of it and there were a couple shots with some chromatic aberration that made me think of the lens instead of the film.
Totally agree. I actually thought about blowing those shots up a bit since it is only really noticed on the edges. I decided to leave it though.

However, the editing and grading were terrific and both principal actors were marvelous.
Thanks again, I'll pass some of that on to them.

Definitely a work to be proud of and an accomplishment. This is a seriously well crafted film.
Again, I really appreciate that coming from you.
Click to expand...

Cheers,

Mike
 
Ben Sliker said:
it was tough, yours was definitely one of the more extensive chats. but also pretty hilarious at times. as you can see, they went pretty late into the night, i'm surprised we could still type.
Click to expand...
No problem.

I found this portion particularly amusing.
spesliker (2:20:25 AM): same actor he always uses, he's good
happygobo (2:20:26 AM): lawls
happygobo (2:20:31 AM): oh yeah?
spesliker (2:20:34 AM): yeah
spesliker (2:20:56 AM): not that we can say anything ...
Click to expand...
:grin:
 
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