The Enchanted Notes of a..............Piano
- Thread starter Tim Joy
- Start date
pauly_the_hitman
Veteran
This kid is an amazing piano player and a pretty good actor. Nice job funny quirky little short.
Susanne G.
Well-known member
To use the piano music for the time travel subject was a refreshing idea - I loved it. Your actor was not only a good looking young man, also a pretty good actor. I found also the puppy-love subject was very charming. Nice work!
Susanne
Susanne
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
Yup. The actor sold it.
Some nice framing as well. I'm not sure if I liked the ending but you definitely had my attention.
Cheers,
Mike
Some nice framing as well. I'm not sure if I liked the ending but you definitely had my attention.
Cheers,
Mike
EduardoMiguel
Active member
For me it was all about the music. I absolutely love piano music, so his playing was refreshing. His acting was also good. It's a lot to ask of a young man to carry the whole thing on his own without speaking - but he pulled it off.
The technical issues didn't take away from this piece. Good job.
Looking forward to your next entry.
The technical issues didn't take away from this piece. Good job.
Looking forward to your next entry.
Tim Joy
Veteran
Wow, thanks for all the positive feedback everyone. I had a great time making this, and went out on a limb in many ways, so it's good to hear that people enjoyed it.
Eduardo: I love the music too, and due to time contraints had to edit Beethoven. (I'm sure he's rolling in his grave) But, the directors cut will have the unedited versions.
Michael: The ending was always a tough spot for me. (SPOILERS) Originally, I had it end when he woke up at 11:50 and went out to play piano and Mom ends it with, "It's too late". Then, I had one where he woke up and called the girl but she didn't know who he was. I shot his side of this, but in my tiredness I forgot to get the girls lines. Any of these endings don't do it for me though. It needs a clever twist, and I didn't leave enough time to come up with one.
I have several other ideas in mind to make this short better, and as soon as I've rested a bit, I will work on the directors cut. I only gave myself 2 days for post, and it shows. The final version should be a lot more polished, but....
any ideas for the ending? Have I written myself into a corner, especially now that my lead actor has gone back home to Turkey?
Eduardo: I love the music too, and due to time contraints had to edit Beethoven. (I'm sure he's rolling in his grave) But, the directors cut will have the unedited versions.
Michael: The ending was always a tough spot for me. (SPOILERS) Originally, I had it end when he woke up at 11:50 and went out to play piano and Mom ends it with, "It's too late". Then, I had one where he woke up and called the girl but she didn't know who he was. I shot his side of this, but in my tiredness I forgot to get the girls lines. Any of these endings don't do it for me though. It needs a clever twist, and I didn't leave enough time to come up with one.
I have several other ideas in mind to make this short better, and as soon as I've rested a bit, I will work on the directors cut. I only gave myself 2 days for post, and it shows. The final version should be a lot more polished, but....
any ideas for the ending? Have I written myself into a corner, especially now that my lead actor has gone back home to Turkey?
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
I would have to watch it again but how about having it end with his Mom telling him that it's too late and showing a shot of the time reflecting just that. 
That way the last call never gets made.
Just a thought.
Mike
That way the last call never gets made.
Just a thought.
Mike
Matt Sconce
Veteran
I thought this was well filmed and I enjoyed the piano music. The time traveling needed to be more tied to the music on the piano for me. I didn't understand why different songs made time move differently. Nice short and congrats on making it!
Tim Joy
Veteran
I agree, and for the real version I plan on putting some CU time-lapse shots of the watch moving while he's playing, along with some sound design elements that should make it all clearer. My thinking was that the first piece, the Beethoven, make time go forward because it is fast and high energy, and the second piece, the Debussey, is slow and makes time go backwards...
sfoster
Well-known member
It would have been awesome to write out the music backwards and have it played backwards to go back in time! I love the fact that it was hit and miss. He couldn't control how far he went. I think if you had him call and the dad answer the phone would have been good. Then he could hang up frustrated!
Duff
Well-known member
I agree completely. Not to downplay your film, but any plot you could have come up with that involved him playing piano would have been fine by me
In all seriousness, I liked it, though I wasn't exactly sure of the effects of different songs. I gathered the high-energy pieces would move time forward and backward for the converse, but I wasn't sure why sometimes he was teleported. That said, if the whole thing was his dream, it doesn't really have to be logical, just maybe make it more dream-like.
The technical side of things was pretty solid. I like the smooth camera movements when he's playing. Yes, I think the ending needs more of a bang. I was thinking he was going to call her, still delirious from his dream and thinking they were dating, and she wouldn't know who he was. Would have liked something more, though, simply because that's the expected ending and it would have been funny to be surprised.
Tim Joy
Veteran
I thought about playing the music backwards, and I'm going to try it, and it's not that hard because of how I did the piano playing:
The first thing I did was have Jon record the piano pieces into my sequencer. This let me choose which sections I would use and time them out, it also lets me fix any wrong notes, but he didn't have any wrong notes, so i didn't have to do that, but it also let me use the great sounding (and in-tune) piano samples that I have with the flexibility of mixing it anyway I want, including adding the orchestra along with it.
During shooting, I just had him play the pieces and then sync it up with the recorded and orchestrated version during editing.
So-.. I could reverse the music in the sequencer, record it, then play the audio backwards, the music would then play forwards, but sound reversed. Brilliant! Theres a musical term for "played in reverse" , its called retrograde, which also seems like a cool movie title.
I will try the Dad answering too.
Thanks for all the great ideas sfoster. I'm looking forward to posting, and seeing others' updated versions after the fest.
The first thing I did was have Jon record the piano pieces into my sequencer. This let me choose which sections I would use and time them out, it also lets me fix any wrong notes, but he didn't have any wrong notes, so i didn't have to do that, but it also let me use the great sounding (and in-tune) piano samples that I have with the flexibility of mixing it anyway I want, including adding the orchestra along with it.
During shooting, I just had him play the pieces and then sync it up with the recorded and orchestrated version during editing.
So-.. I could reverse the music in the sequencer, record it, then play the audio backwards, the music would then play forwards, but sound reversed. Brilliant! Theres a musical term for "played in reverse" , its called retrograde, which also seems like a cool movie title.
I will try the Dad answering too.
Thanks for all the great ideas sfoster. I'm looking forward to posting, and seeing others' updated versions after the fest.
Tim Joy
Veteran
Duff- Yes, it needs a surprise ending. I've got a few ideas, and maybe one will work.
Also, I was debating till the last moment whether or not to make it clear he's in a dream. I chose the middle ground, I guess. When did you know it was a dream?
You also bring up a good point about what effect the pieces have. My grandfather said, "why?". For me, the whole point with this film is that time is diffferent in a dream than it is in "reality", and that during his 5 minute nap, he experiences about 5 hours worth of "Time" . So with that in mind, I plan to build the intensity at the end of each piece with the music, maybe some more VFX, sound design.. etc, so that the dream is kinda destabilized enough and it teleports/ sucks him into a different place, different time. Maybe then the teleporting will be more motivated.
As soon as my wrist heals from that 30 hour editing marathon I'll be back on it.
Thanks!!
Also, I was debating till the last moment whether or not to make it clear he's in a dream. I chose the middle ground, I guess. When did you know it was a dream?
You also bring up a good point about what effect the pieces have. My grandfather said, "why?". For me, the whole point with this film is that time is diffferent in a dream than it is in "reality", and that during his 5 minute nap, he experiences about 5 hours worth of "Time" . So with that in mind, I plan to build the intensity at the end of each piece with the music, maybe some more VFX, sound design.. etc, so that the dream is kinda destabilized enough and it teleports/ sucks him into a different place, different time. Maybe then the teleporting will be more motivated.
As soon as my wrist heals from that 30 hour editing marathon I'll be back on it.
Thanks!!
Horncastle
Well-known member
I loved this, although it was a little of an uncut diamond. I see, however, that this is an "unfinished" project
I liked the story, the acting was great and of course I loved the piano playing. The cinematography, on the whole, was also very nice. I did think the audio when he wasn't playing the piano needed a little cleaning up. It's not bad, but I think where music is such a central part of the film you are going to need exceptional audio quality throughout the film. I didn't really like the whispered voice over right at the end of the film - I didn't think it needed it, since everything seemed pretty clear to me anyhow - but I read that maybe you will change the ending anyhow.
One other thing: I think that "The Enchanted Notes of a Puppy-Love Piano" is the by far the best title in the fest, so I hope this is the most recent and final title. If you are thinking of changing that to a Time Travelling Piano, please, please don't: it's so flat in comparison.
Congratulations, I already like the film as it is, but if you do make a final version I hope to have the chance to see it: done well you could have a very poetic film on your hands.
Cheers
Jason
I liked the story, the acting was great and of course I loved the piano playing. The cinematography, on the whole, was also very nice. I did think the audio when he wasn't playing the piano needed a little cleaning up. It's not bad, but I think where music is such a central part of the film you are going to need exceptional audio quality throughout the film. I didn't really like the whispered voice over right at the end of the film - I didn't think it needed it, since everything seemed pretty clear to me anyhow - but I read that maybe you will change the ending anyhow.
One other thing: I think that "The Enchanted Notes of a Puppy-Love Piano" is the by far the best title in the fest, so I hope this is the most recent and final title. If you are thinking of changing that to a Time Travelling Piano, please, please don't: it's so flat in comparison.
Congratulations, I already like the film as it is, but if you do make a final version I hope to have the chance to see it: done well you could have a very poetic film on your hands.
Cheers
Jason
Shawn Philip Nelson
Veteran
Okay, hmmm, technically I thought you did a good job, but your story confused me dearly. What is going on?? The actor did a fine job and should be congratulated. Please do a simple plot next time.
Tim Joy
Veteran
Thanks for the reveiws!
Shawneous- Here's what I intended the story to be, and you and others can tell me which parts you understood. (WATCH BEFORE READING THIS) Jon is a shy guy with a puppy-love crush on Christina. He programs her number into all his speed-dials, but doesn't really have the guts to talk to her. While he's thinking about her, he falls asleep. The real time is 8:09. From the point where he's reading the note until the last wakup at 8:15 is all a dream. He's worried about calling her and dreams up this note telling him what time to call, but he can never quite get to that time. The first piano playing is speeding up time, but then it goes too far. The second piano is reversing time but somehow it goes forward even more. The third piano piece doesn't move time because his mom stops it, but when she slams the door, (one of those things where you hear a sound that enters into your dream) it wakes him up to Real-time. In his daze, he forgets that he dreamt the note and calls her at 8:15. He's still too shy to talk to her, and perhaps he remebers that the note was a dream anyway.
I intended to "say" two things with this movie: 1. That time is relative and you can have 6 hours worth of events in a dream happen in 6 minutes real-time. 2. That we play out our fears in our dreams.
I didn't quite GET there, but I would like to know how much of this people understood.
Horncastle: Thanks for the praise. I will have to think about the title some more. I was thinking of sticking with ...time-traveling piano, but mmmm. The whispered voices at the end are my over-directing bleeding through and not meant to be there.
Shawneous- Here's what I intended the story to be, and you and others can tell me which parts you understood. (WATCH BEFORE READING THIS) Jon is a shy guy with a puppy-love crush on Christina. He programs her number into all his speed-dials, but doesn't really have the guts to talk to her. While he's thinking about her, he falls asleep. The real time is 8:09. From the point where he's reading the note until the last wakup at 8:15 is all a dream. He's worried about calling her and dreams up this note telling him what time to call, but he can never quite get to that time. The first piano playing is speeding up time, but then it goes too far. The second piano is reversing time but somehow it goes forward even more. The third piano piece doesn't move time because his mom stops it, but when she slams the door, (one of those things where you hear a sound that enters into your dream) it wakes him up to Real-time. In his daze, he forgets that he dreamt the note and calls her at 8:15. He's still too shy to talk to her, and perhaps he remebers that the note was a dream anyway.
I intended to "say" two things with this movie: 1. That time is relative and you can have 6 hours worth of events in a dream happen in 6 minutes real-time. 2. That we play out our fears in our dreams.
I didn't quite GET there, but I would like to know how much of this people understood.
Horncastle: Thanks for the praise. I will have to think about the title some more. I was thinking of sticking with ...time-traveling piano, but mmmm. The whispered voices at the end are my over-directing bleeding through and not meant to be there.
Danielleus
Well-known member
Hey,
Just caught the flick. I really enjoyed this piece. I thought the camera movements, acting and story were really really nice. Kudos to the actor who can make a practically one person piece work. And, of course, kudos to the director who could direct him so well/edit the right shots together.
For my taste I thought the pacing was a bit slow. I would have liked to see something else happen besides him investigating the time changing piano playing. Maybe something that actually had to do with her. I liked how you worked in the overall idea of his piano playing. But I think his anxiety about talking to her is essential here. I like that it comes out as "oh no, I need to call her at this specific time" but I would have liked something else that either directly or symbolcally represented that anxiety. Especailly in a dream.
Otherwise I thought this was quite a nice little film, handle well with an interesting idea. Keep it up and I can't wait to see your other pieces.
Just caught the flick. I really enjoyed this piece. I thought the camera movements, acting and story were really really nice. Kudos to the actor who can make a practically one person piece work. And, of course, kudos to the director who could direct him so well/edit the right shots together.
For my taste I thought the pacing was a bit slow. I would have liked to see something else happen besides him investigating the time changing piano playing. Maybe something that actually had to do with her. I liked how you worked in the overall idea of his piano playing. But I think his anxiety about talking to her is essential here. I like that it comes out as "oh no, I need to call her at this specific time" but I would have liked something else that either directly or symbolcally represented that anxiety. Especailly in a dream.
Otherwise I thought this was quite a nice little film, handle well with an interesting idea. Keep it up and I can't wait to see your other pieces.