Clean Slate Productions Presents: JOHN ABBOTT MITCHELL

ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. What a great performance from everyone! The acting is so strong, the images so striking, the voice-over well done and convincing, not a single gratuitous shot... definitely in my top 5.

Off to watch it again. And also, where can I find "In Pieces"? Nevermind, I'll google it.
 
Great acting, even the ones without dialogue. Solid all the way through.

Nice, dark piece. Has a somewhat creepy message on how obsession can manifest into both good and evil.

Love the lighting reveal of the bad boy at the end.

I was lost for just a second when you switched from what I assume to be the MC talking to the younger man on the bench as if he were the girl (??)

That actor reminded me a lot of an old 70s thriller called The Crawlspace.

Excellent job. I'll watch this one a number of times.

Alex
 
gabrielflorit said:
ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. What a great performance from everyone! The acting is so strong, the images so striking, the voice-over well done and convincing, not a single gratuitous shot... definitely in my top 5.

Off to watch it again. And also, where can I find "In Pieces"? Nevermind, I'll google it.
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gabriel, apprecaite the kind words, yes, as mike said, it's on the front page.

Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
No need. They linked to it in their first post. HERE

They are both excellent.

Cheers,

Mike
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Mike, thanks for keeping tabs on my thread while i was asleep!

alex whitmer said:
Great acting, even the ones without dialogue. Solid all the way through.

Nice, dark piece. Has a somewhat creepy message on how obsession can manifest into both good and evil.

Love the lighting reveal of the bad boy at the end.

I was lost for just a second when you switched from what I assume to be the MC talking to the younger man on the bench as if he were the girl (??)

That actor reminded me a lot of an old 70s thriller called The Crawlspace.

Excellent job. I'll watch this one a number of times.

Alex
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Alex, Yes, John has been watching this woman for so long that his mind has taken over. This is how he imagines their first meeting would go. I mean, would YOU walk over and intentionally go say hi to John? ack!:eek:

Thanks for watching!
 
Ben Sliker said:
Thanks for the insight, it makes us better filmmakers being able to receive commentary, and then then being able to go back and make our film better.
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Hey,

I think the better the film is, the more specifically we can point out our perceived "flaws" and give constructive criticism. :thumbsup: So it's compliment really!

Here's hoping for a John Abbott Mitchell Trilogy!
 
FINALLY got to see this disturbing opus. Sunuvabeech. Davis Osborne is so effective I do NOT want to ever meet this guy in the real world. He must harbor demons to be able to be this character so convincingly.

I'm giving you a 10. What great filmmaking. You know, I watched "The Watchman" this morning and I'm thinking that it would be so great to see both of these shorts on the same bill. Frankly, I'd pay money to see another installment of both characters' lives. In a lot of ways these two films compliment each other well because of the technical achievements that are evident in both.

John Abbott Mitchell is a brilliant character that is elevated by the acting and cinematography. I have to say that this little film shows just how high you can go when you hit on all cylinders. Unbelievably good, guys. I'm going to go watch this again.
 
Mark, I think one of the best compliments a filmmaker can receive is "I'm going to go watch this again", trust me, i had to watch 02 twice just to take it all in. I hope that you pick up even more in the film in subsequent viewings.

Don't know if you caught the BTS interviews, but Davis Osborne in real life couldn't be more the opposite of the character he plays. I've seen him reach down and grab some disturbing stuff out of his brain, and it plays so well on screen. It drains him emotionally and physically, and is something special to see that sort of commitment to a character.

Thanks again for your kind words Mark, we didn't do an AIM session for 02, but we may just have to now. :)
 
This was just superb. The pacing is perfect, and the acting top notch.

I agree that the concept, character and acting is so good here, you could look into making this into a feature. Though I understand that would be a lot of time with your butt to the chair to do it all justice.
 
I liked how his 1st VO was kinda singing- kinda talking with the music.

The opening shots combined with the music set the tone perfectly. Going to B&W was a nice touch too. Well done all around.

The lighting was great on his reveal at the end, but I would've had her turn on the lights when she came into the house, then you could've seen the garage light coming through the cracks. Taking it one step further, she could've turned the light on and the bulb blows out, leaving her in the dark and fumbling around while he is revealed by the passing car.

It's amazing the effect even small dolly moves have, and this film really used those effectively.

Thanks and great job to everyone involved!
 
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Thanks you guys sooooo much.

snowleopard, i'm seeking for inspiration before I dive back into the character again, cause it's a weird dark place to be. Not saying I'm done with him, but it's going to have to be one hell of a story for me to make a feature. Ok, fine, I'll work on it. :) Thanks for the watch and your kind words!

yeehawnow, we figured we could get away with her not turning on the lights when she came in cause, let's face it, I know I leave my lights on all the time. We also didn't want to deal with the HVX's noisiness in a low light situation like that. Although ... a bulb exploding shot ... would be sweet. Thanks for the watch and review!

oh and WE LOVE THE DOLLY :)
 
Very, very good. Davis Osborne is a phenomenal actor who comes straight through the screen and his voice is made for this stuff. The scene where he's talking/thinks he's talking to the girl on the bench and then the girl is there is great. That garage door flashes instantly back from "In Pieces". Then there is the final dolly shot. And I love the peaceful piano music score - such a great counterpoint.

As a prequel it works really well. As a stand-alone short it's very good, but I'm afraid that for me it doesn't stand up to "In Pieces". In six minutes, I think it would have been difficult if not impossible for narrative to equal the sheer raw power of the black & white interview format with all those close-ups.

It must have taken a lot of courage to come back to this character, so I take my hat off to you all. I've read here that there was a project to develop this into a longer film and that you wanted to explore the character further. From this point of view I think you've pulled off this short very well. I'm sure Davis Osborne as John Abbot Mitchell would make a very good feature.

Sorry - only just saw your comments above about making a feature.
 
Horncastle said:
Very, very good. Davis Osborne is a phenomenal actor who comes straight through the screen and his voice is made for this stuff. The scene where he's talking/thinks he's talking to the girl on the bench and then the girl is there is great. That garage door flashes instantly back from "In Pieces". Then there is the final dolly shot. And I love the peaceful piano music score - such a great counterpoint.

As a prequel it works really well. As a stand-alone short it's very good, but I'm afraid that for me it doesn't stand up to "In Pieces". In six minutes, I think it would have been difficult if not impossible for narrative to equal the sheer raw power of the black & white interview format with all those close-ups.

It must have taken a lot of courage to come back to this character, so I take my hat off to you all. I've read here that there was a project to develop this into a longer film and that you wanted to explore the character further. From this point of view I think you've pulled off this short very well. I'm sure Davis Osborne as John Abbot Mitchell would make a very good feature.

Sorry - only just saw your comments above about making a feature.
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We appreciate all the kind words! When I originally sat down and considered doing a second film based on the same characters, it was inevitable that we were going to run into comparisons between this and the first film, but we decided to embrace them together instead of trying to distance ourself from the first. I appreciate the fact that everyone has seemed to get that these are very similar, yet completely different films.

If I could equate it for you, John Abbott Mitchell would happen somewhere in the first act of a film, whereas In Pieces would be the climactic ending. It's like telling someone the end of a story and then expecting them to be surprised at the end. There's no way we could duplicate that kind of impact. You all have made me think longer and harder about my filmmaking and the many ways it can be analyzed, a huge thank you for that.

If it's there, I'll do my best to write a feature based on John. This character deserves one hell of a script.

Cheers people, I gotta get back to work. (Damn you DVXuser for sucking me back in constantly!!!!)
 
Wow!......thank you)........I have to give Great Props to Everyone in this project).....I am Only as Good as my Team..........Everyone put So Much in to this.....in hopes that it would take you to another place......My Gratitude goes out to those involved....and to all of the viewers....Many Thanks)))....all my best to you and yours......davis.....P.S. I may KIll You in your sleep)
 
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Wow. the tone.. the setting... the cinematography... the music... the bad, bad man... fricking wow. Great movie guys. Thanks for this and keep pulling them off. Seriously explore a feature based on this dude. I had to go watch the first one cuz I liked this movie so much and it's one of my favorites.

thank you for this great piece of cinema.

now go get the feature going and make us proud.
 
Great end reveal!!!!! I thought the cinematography worked well in this movie. Character was great. Creepy elements were achieved, and a good sequel/prequel was made. I like this better than In Pieces.
 
I want to shoot something for you.

I don't care if you don't want to work with me.

You have no choice in the matter.

HA!
-Joe
 
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