'Aetas' - an Epic Medieval Tale

ConspiracyPenguin said:
I think if everyone just says "Okay, I understand" and puts away the pitchforks, everything will be okay.
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No pitchforks, but I suppose I can quench my 'Aetas'(c) torch :-).

You hit the nail on the head, it's really not a deal at all, oh well. I guess all this banter because it seems we got our few dozen comments and the new ones seem to have stopped.
 
Ken K said:
Whew... you're lucky you said something! I was halfway to Coursegold with my dual-sided pitchfork sabre (Mark, I'll need a Photoshop of this, stat!). :)
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You were coming after me? But I have been nothing but cordial to all of you! :engel017:

shawneous said:
No pitchforks, but I suppose I can quench my 'Aetas'(c) torch :-).

You hit the nail on the head, it's really not a deal at all, oh well. I guess all this banter because it seems we got our few dozen comments and the new ones seem to have stopped.
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Well, it is hard to get these things under control when so many people take things so many different ways and run with it. I thought I would try to nip it in the bud for once and for all.

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Mark, took another look at the picture and again couldn't control my laughter. Wow. :grin:
 
So much drama. Did I mention a bug flew into my eye on this shoot?

I may never be the same man again.
 
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re: a couple of the criticisms that others posted above.

the scary dude's voice was spot-on for me. "scarier" could have turned into cornier. as it is, the voice is resonant, it has gravitas, it's haunting, and it's good acting.

regarding the call for "dirtier" medieval clothes, I think you're falling into a trap of cliche. guess what, some people had new clothes in medieval times too!

i would fear that ken's medieval film would be all darth vader voices with faces covered in chimney-sweep soot. in other words, i'd barf. just too cliche.

Where Aetas succeeds so well for me is in its captivating tone. It's a poem in moving pictures. And it sets the period in Medieval times without getting corny. I don't think many DVXusers could accomplish that at all!

The story criticisms are pretty fair, but frankly I haven't seen a flawless story told in this fest yet, or any other fest. RPDM and From the Future A Musical are the only two that delivered fully on their writing and story for me this round. And it is way easier to critique a story than write one. Very few people can do it, no matter how good they get at pointing out other people's story flaws.
 
They say good movies don't make you think. Good movies make you feel. I think you accomplished this in spades.

I had issues with the opening shot, until I resized it up and saw it was a gorgeous perfectly framed cinematic shot. What confuses me is why at the end you went so close in as though you were shooting for television. It was just an odd transition in style in the back of my mind. Maybe it accomplishes emotionally exactly what you are going for.

I disliked the two scenes of the travelling time guy AFTER the first 'OTS' reveal of them. The jumping in time there was a bit disorienting in a bad way. I also disliked the abruptness of the of the cut from... my cloak to him walking down the road with the cloak. Seemed appropriate for a more subtle cross fade. Maybe thats just my taste.

I dont know if it's been touched on but the reflective nature of the awesome mask had us looking at the camera rig ;)

One element I really enjoyed was the fact that time walked from right to left, and in his journey you walked the main character from left to right.

There was that gorgeous storm you used as transition going right to left.

If you could have kept, or flipped the image so he continued til he found the sundial so he was facing right it would have tied that up so epically tight that I would gotten shivers.

Honestly the only other things I could see that would improve an already badass piece would be to add some cinematic camera movement during some of the scenes to punctuate the story. But this is even optional.

Honestly a top 3 piece. Fantastic storytelling. Incredible production design, and cinematography. The directing was wonderful as well.

Personal suggestions or wishlist-
I would have loved to seen a scene where he pours over a book in a monastary in his quest to find her, after the cave painting wall. That would have filled the search aspect for me.

I would have LOVED to have seen an old man in the armor after the cloak fell away... like he instantly died of old age. And then to have him restored to enternal youth by the seaside when the sundial turned to dust (not dirt ;) ).
 
Hey Shawneous,

Took me this long to get this one to down load. Oh man, what a great film!

Music, shots, lighting, overall ambiance, and actors that really worked well together. Great, great stuff.

My only nit-pik is the close on the gloves. Up to that point everything has me in some distant past, but then all of a sudden I see gloves that look like they were made yesterday. From there I noticed other costume issues, like the scarf. Too fine a weave for 'olden times'. I could be wrong on this, I'm no period costume expert.

Next question ... where did you find snow in June? is it that cold over yonder?

Truly a beautiful film. And duly impressed.

alex
 
One of the first ones I watched just to hear Hermans’ score in action. I was lucky enough for him to send me a link and I was so anxious to see it to picture. Herman, buddy, you did not let me down. Wonderful work and very powerful and heartfelt.
Ok, so you have a very expensive camera, some badass locations, and beautiful scenery that keep you captivated throughout the short. And.. you have a guy doing a LOT of walking. I kept thinking to myself.. “Where’s this dude going to walk next?”

Ooh, and then he gets to a couple laying on the ground talking crazy languages. Then you see an absolutely beautiful woman saying strange things with long eyelashes. Maybe it was here super neato headpiece?

As for the story, after the second time watching I think I may have gotten the story. He never actually found the timepiece, but rather searched high and low and that bastard in the cloak tricked him? So he walked everywhere for nothing… eventually died, and met her again in the afterlife? If so. Cool. I got it. If not. Shite. Maybe it’s a choose your own adventure story.

Looking forward to your next entry and inspirations to do something with bad ass locations such as this. Road trip!

Congrats on entering the fest shawn!
 
Edgen said:
And.. you have a guy doing a LOT of walking. I kept thinking to myself.. “Where’s this dude going to walk next?”

Ooh, and then he gets to a couple laying on the ground talking crazy languages. Then you see an absolutely beautiful woman saying strange things with long eyelashes. Maybe it was here super neato headpiece?

As for the story, after the second time watching I think I may have gotten the story. He never actually found the timepiece, but rather searched high and low and that bastard in the cloak tricked him? So he walked everywhere for nothing… eventually died, and met her again in the afterlife? If so. Cool. I got it. If not. shi*e. Maybe it’s a choose your own adventure story.

Looking forward to your next entry and inspirations to do something with bad ass locations such as this. Road trip!

Congrats on entering the fest shawn!
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Justin dude... :-)

Btw, the language is Latin.
 
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This film was gorgeous. The woman in it... whoa! Smoking!

I'm not sure if they would have had mascara back then. Her eyelashes were a tad ridiculous. She had a case of tarantula eyes going on. Maybe it's Maybelline. Maybe not, lift and separate.

The music, Jesus Herman, outstanding job! I was moved.

The locations you picked to shoot were stunning. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Justin, if you road trip it up, pick me up. I'm on the way.
 
I find it amazing and quite illuminating that despite the high production values of your film; epic vistas, period costumes, great score, fine actors, the almighty RED, etc... , the most discussed element in this thread is a young lady's eyelashes! I believe there is a valuable lesson to be learned here.

As Shawn has made clear earlier in the thread, the actress was not wearing mascara, and very little if any makeup. Her beauty is all natural, including those dazzling, and distracting eyelashes.

Shawn, as a director, do you regret having chosen that particular angle given the unwanted attention it draws?
 
Maximus said:
Shawn, as a director, do you regret having chosen that particular angle given the unwanted attention it draws?
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No, I don't feel that the comments about her eyelashes are valid. She might have been wearing a small amount of mascara (I'd have to go back to my makeup artist and ask) but it was both a small amount and she was for sure not wearing fake eyelashes (what people were accusing her of).

I love that angle because it shows the strength of her performance. I too noticed her eyes in the edit room but it was more 'holy crap, you can get lost in those eyes'. :-)
 
I think the eyelash thing has been blown WAY out of proportion. Sadly, I was one of the first to mention it. :(

She is definitely wearing mascara (you can see it) but the eyelashes are real. Not really a big deal and it did not alter my rating of Aetas.
Hopefully nobody else slighted it over such a small detail either.

Cheers,

Mike
 
I am a huge fan of that shot and I love the look of both her eyes and eyelashes. I think she's gorgeous and especially in that shot.
 
The actress was a gorgeous woman, there's no doubt about that. She and Magda Ritz from Similo are the two most beautiful women I've seen in these fests. Hands down.

I think because of the high production value of this piece it makes every little thing more apparent.

I didn't read through any earlier posts in this thread. As a general rule, I don't. I feel disappointed from reading Maximus' post that everyone seems to keep mentioning the lashes. It's not that big of a deal. The fact that people do keep mentioning it -- in isolated cases -- makes it valid.

I loved the silver mask and the latin they were speaking. I could not believe this was shot in Oregon?! I still don't believe it. Great job!
 
This was by far my favorite entry. I loved every minute of it. I think if the worst criticism you get is for anachronistic eyelashes, that says a lot about the overall product. Amazing job.
 
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