The Watchman: 8 minute Director's Cut.

Those are good points. I did like the fact that the fall guy was introduced more formally. He wasn't just someone that we saw taking the dog out. We got a slightly more personal meeting with him which makes it more interesting. My point was just that the scene was fine, but maybe the dialog content could have been a little different to:

1) Further the story by giving new information, and
2) Illustrate a reason for all of this madness.

I had forgotten about the fact that he had taken note of the times, etc at that point. That was a very important plot point. Keep up the good work!
 
Just passing by, I kinda cringe at the words Director's Cut but gave it a look. It works. A fun watch. Not a short feature but a genuine short film. I like that. The lead was good, he created a genuine character and even looked familiar. Now that's acting.
 
elmerlang said:
Just passing by, I kinda cringe at the words Director's Cut but gave it a look. It works. A fun watch. Not a short feature but a genuine short film. I like that. The lead was good, he created a genuine character and even looked familiar. Now that's acting.
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WOW! Elmer drops by! I usually comment on your work but I rarely see you comment so I thought I was in for it. :D

Thanks, man! Glad you enjoyed it.
Ian Quick played the lead, he's quite talented and takes Direction extremely well.
He has also been in some of my other stuff.

From one HV20 brother to another. :beer:

PS- I'll be checking out your latest piece sometime today.

Cheers,

Mike
 
What's up, Mike? Okay, I finally was able to check out the DC. Again, I have to say that this was a really good film and good films you can watch over and over again, because some of the shots are so good.

I like both versions, but if I absolutely had to choose, I would have to go with the original. The reason I say that is because the boyfriend having the conversation with the guy in the car, although strongly acted, seemed unnecessary only because I feel like if the weird guy is sitting outside the house at night after what happened with the trash can that day: 1. He would have kicked the guy's a** or 2. He would have already called the police. Maybe. The other thing is that without that scene I thought it was way more compelling at the end when you flashback and we see that the guy had been doing surveillance outside the house and was logging times (the audience infers alot from that). That's like an "Oh, wow!" kind of revelation that totally catches you off guard.

Either way, regular version or DC, it's a great film that you need to get out to festivals with the quickness. That's just my two cents. Again, can't wait to see what you come up with next, because you got mad talent.
 
Thanks, man! Interesting stuff. So far the only people who have issues with this cut have seen the original. And even they are about 50/50 split.
I'll have to think it over. I do want to enter this in a few festivals so I better decide soon. :)

leenewton said:
Either way, regular version or DC, it's a great film that you need to get out to festivals with the quickness. That's just my two cents. Again, can't wait to see what you come up with next, because you got mad talent.
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Thanks for that, means a lot.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Hey Mike! Finally checked out the 8 min version, and I really enjoyed it. I was afraid that I would like it less than the original, but I'm happy to say that I liked it more. I agree with you that the added scene helps the pacing a lot.

I thought that the music of Justin's worked well in the first one, but I think Herman's score is definitely an upgrade.

I noticed some improved audio mixing, although I still have trouble hearing the "f-ing c" lines. I still find the ending slightly confusing with the jacket in the trash can shot.

You definitely should enter this in festivals.

Best of luck with Calls From the Fuhrerbunker! I'm excited to see it.
 
jasonthewho said:
Hey Mike! Finally checked out the 8 min version, and I really enjoyed it. I was afraid that I would like it less than the original, but I'm happy to say that I liked it more. I agree with you that the added scene helps the pacing a lot.

I thought that the music of Justin's worked well in the first one, but I think Herman's score is definitely an upgrade.

I noticed some improved audio mixing, although I still have trouble hearing the "f-ing c" lines. I still find the ending slightly confusing with the jacket in the trash can shot.

You definitely should enter this in festivals.

Best of luck with Calls From the Fuhrerbunker! I'm excited to see it.
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Thanks, man. I'm really happy that you dug the new cut. :)

Justin's score was great. To be fair to him he didn't actually score the movie. It was canned music that I borrowed and edited to fit with his permission.
You can't beat an original score. Herman rocked the hell out of the hallway scene! :)


SPOILER:

As for the jacket... Sam (The Watchman) finds it in their trash can. Maybe I should get a shot of her boyfriend throwing it out.

Sam wears it when he kills her. It gets bloody and he leaves it behind in their clothes hamper. More evidence to screw him over for his girlfriends murder.
That and his fingerprints on the hammer should seal the deal. :)

PS- The F'ing C* lines: The first one is meant to be barely audible. He didn't have the guts to say it to her face, just under his breath but she caught it. The second one sounds fine to me.

Thanks for watching and commenting!


Mike
 
Michael

I just watched this...very scary because it really happens. I got the chills...solid script, strong acting and 'almost' did not see it coming. I was chalking the lead character off as person with OCD. I have met people with it and they are a lot like he starts out.

Well done.
 
I am way late to this discussion, but I just randomly stumbled over your film and wanted to add my own thoughts to the discussion.

First, the color seemed a bit too desaturated, but I figured that as an artistic decision. Otherwise, the image looked great. In fact, I was expecting that you shot it on an HVX or EX or something along those lines and was blown away when you said HV20. Having one myself, that definitely gets me excited. Did you edit the M2T files directly or did you capture with an intermediate codec, like Cineform?

The sound was great for the most part, and that probably had a lot to do with making the presentation seem so high quality. Some of the footstep Foley effects were a little too loud and that dropped the overall sound down a notch, but still very well done. What did you use to capture sound?

I think your Director's Cut is perfectly fine and I wasn't confused about what was going on. I think your opening nicely identified who The Watchman was and that he was just crazy enough that the ending made sense. I didn't get that the jacket was the boyfriend's, but I just suspected that he left it there to further frame him, so I don't know if an additional shot of the boyfriend throwing it away is necessary.

The ONLY change I would make is to shorten the shot when the girlfriend is in the bathroom getting ready for bed. We need to enter that shot later and just get enough information of what she's doing before the watch alarm goes off. Otherwise, it stands out amongst the rest of the pacing.
 
Thanks for commenting!

The desaturated look is definitely by choice. I created it by putting a duplicate B&W clip in the time-line and adjusting the opacity until the colour from the other clips leaked through. I capture directly from the HV20 to CS3. I think it makes a QT clip, not 100% though. Any better tips on capturing? I'm always looking to improve that area.

The sound was mostly foley. The dialogue was captured via the shoe with a Canon DM-50 mic. Not the best method. I captured a bit with a separate Zoom recorder as well.

Glad you liked it! Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Seems like you looked at it closely. I appreciate that.

There may be some news on the horizon concerning this project. :beer:

Thanks again,

Mike
 
An Independent review of The Watchman!
ROGUE CINEMA WATCHMAN REVIEW

Luckily for me, he loved it. He'll also be doing an interview we me that will follow later.

BTW, for those who are not familiar. He ends every review with "remember that the best movies are bad movies".
What he means by this is "The best movies are independent movies". He ends every review that way.
Someone once claimed that all Independent movies are "Bad". So it's a bit of a slap in the face towards that generalization.

Cheers,

Mike
 
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Great job on the article!

Like I've mentioned in PMs, I love this film. Honestly, not a thing wrong with it that I could see. Just a very solid and simple story that gives you chills.
 
Thanks, Jon.

I remember you commenting on my first short that I posted here. I really appreciated all the comments and critiques that you gave me at that time. You were very helpful.

Cheers,

Mike
 
I just found this and waited on pins and needles while it downloaded...since I really enjoyed the original verison so much. I love the director's cut. Even better than the first one. The story is solid and the main character is so well played. I loved Ian in everything I have seen him in. I would love to spend 15 minutes with him over a cup of coffee just talking acting. I am very excited about your Twilightfest entry as well. I have read most of your thread and really am looking forward to it.

Good luck Mike and keep up the great work!!
 
Michelle J. LaBonney said:
I just found this and waited on pins and needles while it downloaded...since I really enjoyed the original verison so much. I love the director's cut. Even better than the first one. The story is solid and the main character is so well played. I loved Ian in everything I have seen him in. I would love to spend 15 minutes with him over a cup of coffee just talking acting. I am very excited about your Twilightfest entry as well. I have read most of your thread and really am looking forward to it.

Good luck Mike and keep up the great work!!
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Thanks you so much! I appreciate that. You'll be seeing more of Ian in Calls. Although I think you'll find that it is definitely a bit of a new direction for me. :)

Looking forward to your entry as well. :thumbup:

Give John my best.

Cheers,

Mike
 
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