"The Contract" - A film by Neal Buconjic

Neal Buconjic said:
One of my biggest weaknesses seems to be estimating the amount of time it'll take to get x - amount of shots. We were running out of time. The bar was set to open at noon and we were just finishing up the makeup on the magician. Fortunately the bar owner's were very accomodating and allowed us to continue working. We gathered the remainder of our shots (with some new bystanders observing) and finished up about an hour later.
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lol don't feel bad, this is the biggest weekness of every Filmmaker, little trick,

little rule I find works, for simple shots double the amout you think it will be, so it you think an hour, plan for 2, for hard shots go 1.5, so if you think 5 hours for this shot, go 7.5 hours.

congrats, and good luck with the fire, and be careful
 
Neal Buconjic said:
Zaza,

You know what? I was so focused on making the film that days went by before I realized that we had no production stills or BTS shots.
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I know... I did the same thing, of course my "crew" consisted of me and one other person! I managed to get 3 or 4 pictures...that's it.

Thanks for posting these, it's really helpful to see what other people are doing & how they handle different shots.:dankk2:
 
Some uncorrected screen grabs. Still looking for a CC guru... anyone interested?

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Thanks to blindbuzta for helping me get these grabs displayed in the proper aspect ratio.
 
Simon Höfer said:
Grabs are looking good man!
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Thanks Simon.

Been a busy week at work - haven't been able to accomplish as much as I would like on the project.

I've completed the edit and I'm pretty pleased with it. Well, as pleased as I can be considering it's 3 minutes, 11 seconds OVER the 6 minute time limit!

As stated before, I'm going to send a copy to Alex, my co-writer for his evaluation. There's not too much fat to trim from the story - so it'll be a challenge.

Today I had one of my actors stop by to do an ADR session. Fortunately, I just needed to get dialogue for 3 clips from a scene. He nailed it! I got about a dozen attempts for each clip and I was able to get matching dialogue for each of them. I just need to get the actor who played opposite him in that scene over for a session and that'll be all the necessary ADR completed. It serves me right for doing the scene so close to the street (traffic noise).
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Nice grabs! Looking good.

Cheers,

Mike
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Thanks Mike. Maybe I should make them B&W like yours?!

Jason Miller said:
you devil looks evil great casting, asuming he can act lol
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Hey Jason, it's hard to believe I almost didn't even consider Peter for the part. He's a very clean cut looking guy which contrasted with the look of the character as I wrote it. I requested he send me a heashot that had some "grit" or edge to it. What he sent me was the photo as seen on Post#2. He had a solid audition and the rest is history. A real pleasure working with Peter. Once we had our talks about the foundation of the character, Peter portrayed him the way I had intended - and he was very consistent.

ZazaCast said:
SWEET looking grabs! Rock on & finish this one...I can't wait to see it.
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Thanks Zaza. Still waiting on YOUR grabs - oh wait - you'd have to start shooting before that can happen.... October 11th is right around the corner. Good luck to you!
 
Neal Buconjic said:
Thanks Zaza. Still waiting on YOUR grabs - oh wait - you'd have to start shooting before that can happen.... October 11th is right around the corner. Good luck to you!
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Yeah... but remember, this is the SECOND film I'm shooting for the fest! You can see grabs from the first one that's in the can by clicking on the banner below. (Enchanting Twist)

Cheers!
 

As stated, I completed the first official cut of the film. It came in at 9:11. I had some work to do to trim it down. Of course being married to the material, I was having a difficult time distinguishing what would stay and what would go. I needed some outside opinions. I made the cut available to my co-writer, VFX supervisor, composer and the production crew. I got some great unbiased feedback from several of the group. Not surprising was the fact that there were many common elements that were pointed out by the group.

I implemented most of the suggestions and in doing so removed just over two minutes of material. I’m confident that we can continue to find additional places here and there to remove precious seconds from the project. Those seconds add up.

In my opinion, at the time I’m writing this, the shorter cut seems to barrel along like a freight train from start to finish. It feels rushed without the tidy footage that ends one scene and begins another. Of course, later I may feel that this shorter version (and even shorter to come!) is perfect and that having the additional three minutes bogs down the pace. That remains to be seen.

I mentioned this many posts ago, but would like to re-iterate it. Based on the scope of my film, to do everything on my own would have lessened the “polish” that it deserves. I’ve been fortunate enough to get the assistance of a dedicated production crew as well as key contributors from the dvxuser membership. Each of them possess a skill set that eclipse my own. I’m fortunate to have them onboard.

Even something as simple as providing feedback on the edit. Without their contribution and care I may not have objectively found the three minutes to remove from the film. Of course I say this with one minute still remaining to be cut! We’ll find it…

 
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hey Neal thats why I always lke my first rough cut to be done by another editor I trust. after watching both cuts, I think the second improved the flow of the story. it is all your footage, and you want it all in cause its all your baby. after a few more films it gets easy, cause even with real kids, parents just don't love al the little details about their 12th kid as they did their 1st lol, my Aunt Judy was the 1st, my Uncle Ronnie was the 12th, trust me its true lol.
 
Hi Neal,

I have been only a member in dvxuser from May 2008 and I have to admit that I am only writing messages in threads at the moment I know from the last fest or I find them very interesting. I didn't read the messages in the last pages of your thread, so I have a question and I don't know if there is already an answer before on the other pages!?
What means the star in the "O" of contract in your poster in your case?
BTW - best wishes for your entry. :)

Susanne
 
Jason Miller said:
hey Neal thats why I always lke my first rough cut to be done by another editor I trust. after watching both cuts, I think the second improved the flow of the story. it is all your footage, and you want it all in cause its all your baby. after a few more films it gets easy, cause even with real kids, parents just don't love al the little details about their 12th kid as they did their 1st lol, my Aunt Judy was the 1st, my Uncle Ronnie was the 12th, trust me its true lol.
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Yeah, I'm finding it easier to "let go".

The feedback from Alex has been ongoing and we're down to 06:27. We'll get there.:thumbsup:
 
Susanne G. said:
Hi Neal,

I have been only a member in dvxuser from May 2008 and I have to admit that I am only writing messages in threads at the moment I know from the last fest or I find them very interesting. I didn't read the messages in the last pages of your thread, so I have a question and I don't know if there is already an answer before on the other pages!?
What means the star in the "O" of contract in your poster in your case?
BTW - best wishes for your entry. :)

Susanne
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Hi Susanne,

Thanks for the "best wishes".

The "O" actually is a Pentagram - typically associated with Satanism. It's indicating that the contract actually represents a deal with the devil.

Thanks for your interest!
 
MOVIE MASTER said:
I am really looking forward to this one lost souls and stuff man this sounds awsome

i love buying souls on ebay!!!
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lol!

Especially when they have the "Buy it now" feature. You pay a little more, but you don't have to wait for the auction to close to know that you got it!
 
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