'Aetas' - an Epic Medieval Tale

Shawn, sir, let me start out by saying this: your locations were the shizit! Absolutely gorgeous. Coupled with the fantastic cinematography and wide shots...just amazing. I have been nothing less than amazed by what some have been able to do in just six minutes, great work! The story was mystical, the acting was superb, the shots were truly fantastic, the score complemented the film so well and, may I say, your actress was simply beautiful. I actually thought this was filmmed in some magical faraway land, and you can quote that for the...well...whatever you would need to quote it for. :grin:

A great short, 10/10 from me. Keep up the great work, man. Good job and good luck!
 
Everytime I watch this, i love it more. The scenes are beautiful and story is deeper than I thought. Did the girl kill herself because she thought he was dead (Slit Wrists)? If so, it explains why her sould will be lost, and why he has to become immortal and track her to the valley of gehenna to find that link to her. The ending cliff scenes with her dress blowing and the bird flying!!!! THEY ARE AMAZING! Also when she is looking at him when he wakes up she looks freakin amazing! her eyes are stunning. I LOVE this film. Definitely in my top 5 favs.
 
Simply amazing. The locations are as good as anything on the big screen, and the acting was subtle and real. The costumes, voice work, cinematography...just wow!
 
Well done you really did some exceptional work here. The actors , the costumes, the locations, the composition. Let me know if your ever planning a trip up to Vancouver it would be good to talk about collaborating on some future projects.
 
Ups,

false alarm. I saw that you made comments on the other threads yet, after I wrote the last message. Sorry - I have to be more attentive before I write this kind of messages.

Susanne
 
Epic and heartfelt... the locations, costumes and the acting were pretty amazing. The film carries with it an air of mystery and fantasy that I'm a sucker for...!

Very nice work!
 
Alright, Blane had a good point, it doesn't help anybody to sugar coat things so be forewarned: I'm going to say what I feel and you can take it or leave it, but it's how I feel at the moment and I'm working really hard to help people, not hurt feelings...

So here we go...

Opening shot is nice although milky. (not a lot of contrast)

Love the bugs flying around…

Montage shots, again milky and not a lot of color contrast I think you could up this in post.

The Latin dialogue I can’t hear at all. Music covers up everything.

Framing at 1:47 is too forehead heavy bring it down then follow the actor up, instead of locking down the shot.

Very nice framing at 2:14, adds the weight to the main guy while still including the female lead. Nice use of DOF too.

Nice shot at 2:58, but again washed out color and blacks. CC is key with the RED.

Lovely torch shots!!!

At 4:29 the dudes skin is ablaze. Watch the exposure. I know it’s sunlight, but his skin tones are going to total white and no skin color is left.

Why at 4:46 is the shot so soft? It looks like a soap opera. And again with the milkyness.

Score is great, very appropriate and nice sound choices.

I had a hard time with the story and wished it was as epic as the shooting was.

Good work though, it looked professional. And damn you and your awesome locations!

-Joe
 
I would agree with others that the balance of landscapes to story was a little heavy on the former.

But I actually liked the story. I thought the actors were good and subtle and true.

I think what I missed in the story, would be some kind of payment for what he got. The masked man gives him the cloak, and whoever wears that knows no time. But man, why would that dude give up such a powerful instrument? If he was a God and this was Greek mythology, the wearer would live forever but his penis would fall off. Or if it was the Twilight Zone, he would always win at poker, but get bored because there is no thrill to the game.

I think this needs something similar. He needs to pay to get her back. And it doesn't have to be an ironic twist, but it's got to be expensive.

Does that make sense? Right now, it;s like: My girl is dead. Oh go here and she will be saved.

When I think it needs to be: My girl is dead. Oh go here and she will be saved. But you will never get to touch her again...

Anyway, I think all of the filmmaking elements are there, so I'm kind of brainstorming and nitpicking on the story points.
 
I'll now break my self-imposed silence to responses.

I deeply appreciate everyone who commented. If you have seen 'Aetas' and haven't commented, please do so!

'Aetas' is an act of love for me on many levels. I gave no explanations because I wanted to see how it was received without prep. I am curious how this translates to votes. Part of me thinks I'll be high and part of me, based on all these comments, thinks I'll disappear completely from even the top ten due to people being upset about eyelashes, flies and contrast ratios.

Everyone's critique is honest and worthwhile from their own point of review, I 'refute' none of them. If 'Aetas' didn't work for you, that's fine. Who am to tell otherwise? Instead I offer a simply explanation of what I set out to do.

On the wonderful comments on cinematography and music (which seem to be the majority of positive comments), thank you. I am continually amazed at what Herman did for us. Alejandra added such depth to the music with her vocals. On the cinematography, it was a joint effort between Ken and I. For instance, the opening shot and the sky timelapse were both Ken. We evenly split on most of the scenic scenes and I operated for most of the Tristan-Serapis-Elisiya scenes with Jerry Turner doing an amazingly organic job of pulling focus. It was a collaboration I shall long remember.

I set out to make an experimental film that was keyed emotionally and not intellectually, that played to love and feeling and floated about, buoyed by beauty and sadness, vastness and intimacy.

A key influence was 'The Fountain', which flows emotionally. As Ken and I tossed about the story we outright anticipated that people would not understand it the first time through. We hoped that it would be of such surpassing beauty that people would watch it several times and come to an appreciation of where we were going. The comments of msconce and krestofre were especially meaningful to me because they completely got it. I'd of made the entire film just for those two.

'Aetas' was indeed meant to be like a poem, without setting, fully in the moment. I am a huge fan of the poetry of antiquity and of medieval rennasaince, who's poems speak of deeds of love, loss and courage beyond measure. Often you don't know who the knight was, or why he loved his lady so, all you know is that he was willing to go beyond the world to find her.
 
Last edited:
Shawn,

Thanks for finally popping in. I will sya again I really loved your film. I watched it and I didn't care that it was vague, because it was so beautiful for that short time, that nothing else mattered. All that mattered to me was that love prevailed. I think that's what you said you were trying to accomplish, and it worked for me too.
 
Looks great visually, but the story was so vague it seemed almost like a preview as opposed to a movie itself. Girl dies; hero must go on quest to attain some rare item to bring her back, hero succeeds in end? I think the problem with a lot of epics is that they become too focused on the grandiose and ignore details that make films human and relatable. If you look at successful fantasies/epics like Lord of the Rings, the protagonists are very real despite their fantastic setting. We're able to identify with them and root for them in their quest. I feel this film was lacking that -- the characters don't feel human, they feel like abstractions.

Maybe that's what you were aiming for, but the story just doesn't draw me. Actually, what I think this would be awesome for (and this is intended as a compliment, since I love these things) is one of those history-channel programs where they have a narrator telling a story overtop footage of a reenactment. The footage looks great, but I need some sort of overbearing narrative structure to capture my interest.
 
If you look at successful fantasies/epics like Lord of the Rings, the protagonists are very real despite their fantastic setting.

Yeah but LOTR was over 9 hours long! Considering the time restrictions, I think that this film did a good job. I don't see how anyone could have lots of character development while still having a moving story in only six minutes. If you watch Fellowship of the Ring, it must take at least 20 minutes before we even get to the story of Frodo taking the ring away. Up to that point, we're mainly introducing the world that the Hobbit's live in.
 
Yeah but LOTR was over 9 hours long! Considering the time restrictions, I think that this film did a good job. I don't see how anyone could have lots of character development while still having a moving story in only six minutes. If you watch Fellowship of the Ring, it must take at least 20 minutes before we even get to the story of Frodo taking the ring away. Up to that point, we're mainly introducing the world that the Hobbit's live in.


Precisely :-).

To everyone who said "more backstory" "show us why", etc...I agree, but I couldnt show you any more than I did within 6 min. It had to be high level and abstract to encompass a story of such scope.

To truly do such a story justice would have been 6 min just for the 'finding the sundial' scene.
 
Well yes and no. I don't think more backstory or explanation was an issue. Character IS action. So I think more immediate dramatic action would have added greatly and told us more about the characters in the process without weighing anything down.
 
Precisely :-).

To everyone who said "more backstory" "show us why", etc...I agree, but I couldnt show you any more than I did within 6 min. It had to be high level and abstract to encompass a story of such scope.

To truly do such a story justice would have been 6 min just for the 'finding the sundial' scene.

Shawn, I have to disagree with the folks who say you need more backstory. I don't really care who the hell these people are, where they are from or what they had for breakfast yesterday morning. All that matters to me is that they participate in a clever and good story, and that they did. You don't need to tell me why! I don't need to know why!

Your main character was in love and the only way he could save her was to travel and find the sundial. He did it and they lived happily ever after. I watched it and was touched because it truly was a gorgeous story. If anything, more bacstory would probably bog it down and make it cliche.

The way you did it was fantastic, it took on a sort of metaphorical feel to it. It isn't clear what happened to put these two people in this situation, but all that matters is they are there and now they have to get out of it; and they do. It is a true talent to be able to take ambiguity and make it beautiful, and that is a talent you certainly have, sir.

I know that there are a lot of people who crave backstory, who would kill for it. But what they need to do is focus on what happens, not what happened or what is going to happen or what time it is in Corpus Christie. Just what happens. Because once you say "To hell with the questions." you find yourself watching a very heartwarming piece about love and the lengths some will go for it. Not only was it inspirational, but it was encouraging. Thank you and good luck.

Keep up the good work!
 
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 "AETAS"

now, normally our AIM sessions happened upon FIRST viewing, but Justin and I had both seen AETAS a few times before we did this one, so we had some thoughts prepared beforehand. and for that matter, there's not a lot of praise in there, cause we mostly comment on what we wanted to see, instead of what was already there and looked awesome. I'll save my praise for after the chat log.

spesliker (12:22:38 AM): ready?
happygobo (12:22:45 AM): ready
spesliker (12:22:46 AM): 3
spesliker (12:22:48 AM): 2
spesliker (12:22:49 AM): 1
spesliker (12:22:50 AM): go
happygobo (12:23:01 AM): those fades are mad fast
spesliker (12:23:16 AM): for sure
spesliker (12:23:37 AM): lotsa walkin ...
happygobo (12:23:46 AM): i think he could work his transitions in a lot better
spesliker (12:24:28 AM): nice costumes ... these people need to be dirtier tho.
happygobo (12:24:32 AM): way dirtier
spesliker (12:24:42 AM): not to excited about that overlay. wouldn't she still be looking up at him?
happygobo (12:24:47 AM): and when we get to them I don't really feel them in the enviroment
happygobo (12:24:57 AM): he could have shot this bit in my backyard
spesliker (12:25:06 AM): yeah, they have these awesome locations and chose a pretty average looking forest to have the meat of their film....
spesliker (12:25:35 AM): scary dudes voice needs to be ... scarier?
happygobo (12:25:43 AM): yeah
spesliker (12:25:49 AM): just sounds like "i'm talking to you from behind a mask"
happygobo (12:25:55 AM): it's actually the bun seller from the market in the next town over
spesliker (12:25:57 AM): be scared ...
spesliker (12:26:00 AM): lol, those guys are always creepy. damn them and their bread.
happygobo (12:26:09 AM): what's up with the quilted hood?
spesliker (12:26:21 AM): this part's like they picked the coolest locations and went "okay ... walk", none of this really means anything to me.
spesliker (12:27:02 AM): it doesn't feel like there was enough planning going into these shots.
spesliker (12:27:17 AM): and they just kinda threw it together in the edit room.
happygobo (12:27:20 AM): agreed.
happygobo (12:27:23 AM): I'm almost angry because these locations are awesome
spesliker (12:27:28 AM): with lots of fades and flashes.
happygobo (12:28:09 AM): and with some more thought put into their shots they could have made much better use of their setting, wonder what their pre-pro was for these settings
spesliker (12:28:13 AM): i don't get the insert crashing of the waves
happygobo (12:28:25 AM): man it's a metaphor
spesliker (12:28:43 AM): it's like ... intimate shot ... then way back out, then intimate ... then out ... the editing takes me out of it
happygobo (12:28:43 AM): the waves of their love crash on the rocks of mortality.
spesliker (12:28:58 AM): that's deep bro. he needed to lift her up in the air in slow motion ...
spesliker (12:29:05 AM): and there needed to be a sunset silhouetting them
spesliker (12:29:10 AM): and a slow dolly back
happygobo (12:29:32 AM): they hiked in didn't they?
spesliker (12:29:32 AM): that would have blown my mind. that shot says "cool location" more than it does "feel happy for these people" ... i feel like they are a piece of the scenery.
spesliker (12:29:36 AM): i think so
happygobo (12:29:51 AM): yeah, so hiking in some kind of dolly rig would have really blown my mind
spesliker (12:29:53 AM): pvc pipe don't weigh that much.
spesliker (12:29:57 AM): lol
happygobo (12:29:57 AM): that's what I would have done
spesliker (12:30:22 AM): a lot of that felt like forced symbolism
happygobo (12:30:50 AM): I told you what the symbolism was.
happygobo (12:30:57 AM): the waves of their love crash on the rocks of mortality.
happygobo (12:31:01 AM): the rocks...of TIME
spesliker (12:32:22 AM): i really wasn't "caught up in the beauty of the red" either. maybe it's just the rez i'm watching this in. I'm sure it's cool in 4k.
spesliker (12:33:27 AM): i'm feeling a little LOTR in the score tho.
spesliker (12:34:00 AM): the overlays were killing me
spesliker (12:34:24 AM): they were disruptive
happygobo (12:34:28 AM): oh snap that does sound straight out of LOTR.
spesliker (12:34:59 AM): guess i'm just not a fan of multiple fades of the same frame.

So, there you have it, that's what Justin and I wanted to see from your film. Regardless, congrats on one hell of a production, i didn't see really any "experimental" element in it, it seemed rather conventional for a epic tale as it was. Perhaps you can explain that a little more.

Framing and composition was at times, just awesome. And you know I love the timelapse. There was a lot in this film that flat out f-ing rocked, unfortunately the rest just seemed a little misguided for me.

I am jealous that you get to keep shooting on your red. infinitely jealous. please keep shooting at ridiculously awesome locations that deserve 4k. :thumbsup:
 
Shawn, I can tell you took a lot of time prepping this film and scouting locations. I like the attention to detail with the costumes/props. You found some really great locations to photograph and it shows you stepped way outside to find these parts of the world. I thought overall, the cinematography was good, but there were a few instances were I felt comp/framing didn't par well with the previous shots. Most notably for me would be the locked down shot on your main character and the reverse being hand held on the character with the mask. Is the only lens you had the 18-50 zoom? I didn't see any shots that felt like they'd been shot with a long lens. I think I wanted more variety 'lens wise' in your shots.

I love the concept of the cloak.. very cool :) As a story itself, I think it would be more suitable to a longer format. I get all the points of what you were trying to say, but it didn't grab me emotionally.. I'd say this is mostly due to the short amount of time in which I have to associate myself with your lead. I didn't get the scope of his journey.. How long was he out there? Months, years, decades? I wasn't sure..

Your actors and their performances were good. I liked your lead but I found the character with the mask the most interesting.. Powerful and also a little frightening, good creation there.

The score absolutely rocks... Herman really took things to another level with this piece. I'm very impressed with all he has been doing lately and this is another great piece from him. Rock on, Herman!
 
Part of me thinks I'll be high and part of me, based on all these comments, thinks I'll disappear completely from even the top ten due to people being upset about eyelashes, flies and contrast ratios.

Don't be insecure about the comments, they are here to help you, not bring you down.

I'll have you know this was one of the films I gave the highest ranking to despite contrast ratios and eyelashes. So quit sweating the small stuff. Learn from that shizzle and become a better filmmaker from it.:thumbsup:

And honestly, yours will receive more criticism because there is no overall wrongness to it that they can critique the stuff that comes to them, rather than not knowing where to start, ya know?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top