Simon Höfer
Veteran
Congrats! 
"The Contract" - A film by Neal Buconjic
- Thread starter Neal Buconjic
- Start date
Neal Buconjic
Well-known member
Thanks guys.
Exporting from Premiere is complete. Now I have to compress with QuickTime Pro.
This'll take a while...
The important thing is, it's DONE. Looking forward to the upload.
Exporting from Premiere is complete. Now I have to compress with QuickTime Pro.
This'll take a while...
The important thing is, it's DONE. Looking forward to the upload.
Jason Miller
Veteran
I can't wait to see it, maybe I can get a sneak peak? I have to say you guys are going to be blown away by this film, not the vfx just the film itself, very well make, nice story tight cuts, attractive motivated lighting, way to go Neal.
Neal Buconjic
Well-known member
Thank you, Jason.
This has been an incredible journey, with many twists and turns (some times wrong ones!), but it's always great to get to the destination.
I've mentioned this a few times, but I just wanted to say that I sincerely thank each and every person who has assisted me with this production.
In sequential order:
Alex Whitmer. A great writer and collaborator. I was drawing a blank very early on for ideas, so I asked to read some of Alex's offerings. Great stuff, but I thought them too ambitious (little did I know how ambitious my project would turn out). I then came up with a story and collaborated with Alex on it. He's great for providing feedback, whether it be on writing or editing. Thanks for helping to cleanly remove more than three minutes from the running time, Alex. You were instrumental to accomplishing this.
Mike Manning. I have very little experience with Photoshop. Practically none. Enter Mike Manning. Mike was kind enough to offer to create a poster for The Contract. Once I realized he obviously knew his way around PS, I asked if he would be interested in creating a few necessary pieces of artwork required for the production. Mike readily accepted and I've always been pleased with his quality work. Thanks, Mike.
Jason Miller. I knew very early on that the VFX could make or break this film. Having no VFX experience, I put out the call for someone to take the VFX reins. Jason thought he would have a few days worth of work in order to complete the required visual effects. LOL. Little did he realize the challenges that lay ahead! I can honestly say that he worked tirelessly (oh, who am I kidding - of course he was tired!) many days and all nighters just to get the film ready for upload. Of course we could have used much more time to clean up and refine, but as it stands, the film is complete. We were down to the wire, weren't we Jason? Thank you for ALL of your efforts.
Brian Ramage. The captured image from the camera is only a fraction of what the final image could look like. Many of us have heard of color correction or color grading - but personally, I have NO experience doing it. Again, it was necessary for me to tap into the talent pool. While using the search function (go figure) to find out HOW to do CC, I noticed Brian often contributed to the various threads. I contacted him and sent him a still from the film. I just wanted to get some direction on what could be done with it. After seeing a cut of the film, he offered to perform the CC work. He's contributed MUCH more than that along the way. What a wealth of knowledge he has been. He even SAVED MY BACON yesterday. The film would not be seen as intended (and possibly NOT AT ALL) had Brian not helped me through a last minute crisis. Thank you, Brian!
Sid Barnhoorn. Composer extraodinaire. Sid signed on early, but as the fest deadline fast approached, he was having difficulty finding time for the project. Paying projects get first dibs in my books too! Just as the final days were dwindling away, Sid said he would be able to whip something up. I just needed some simple synthesizer music under a few moments in the film. I was blown away by what he provided. WOW, on so many levels. He nailed the tone of the film and wove so many layers of sound throughout. The score FAR exceeded anything I was expecting. Thank you for adding an extra dimension to the film.
My production crew. There are certainly some one-man bands who participate in these fests, but I know that I wouldn't want to do it alone. Fortunately, I had a small group of three who were able to find the time to help me. Adriana Cull put her film school learnings to work as my DP. I've read countless books on lighting, but have little PRACTICAL experience. It was in my best interest to ask for assistance (notice a theme yet?). I've worked with Justin Colautti (a new member here - that corpse!) on a few projects over the years (mostly his). He's most comfortable operating the camera, though I shared much of these duties for this project. Jamie Pyette. Jamie has been designated sound man on almost EVERY project. I haven't heard him complain. I'll tell you something though - Buying Barry's Sound for TV and Film was worth every penny. In a nutshell it preaches to get the microphone as close to the talent as possible - but there is SO much more than that. I made sure Jamie watched this DVD.
Thank you production crew. We had some late nights and early mornings, but you can be proud of what we captured. Thank you for your efforts.
The Cast. Given that I live in an area that is not bustling with industry folks (cast or crew), I intentionally wrote the script with few characters. Having acted on stage for a number of years, I was able to "hand pick" some actors I had worked with before. Casting for Oscar (the magician), Nick (the bar owner) and Eric was fairly straightforward, but I had some issues trying to find someone to play the character of Santana.
Jason Preece. This is a guy who takes "the craft" very seriously. Whether on stage or in front of the camera. Jason effortlessly made you understand WHY the magician was so desperate.
Chuck Holgate. Almost immediately after writing the character of Nick, I thought of Chuck. He really delivered the goods.
Peter Fleming. Given how worried i was about finding an actor who looked like the preconceived image I had for Santana - Peter was a very pleasant surprise. I didn't think he was gritty enough, but I'm more than pleased to say that I was wrong. He's plenty gritty!
Brendan Hennessey. Brendan had it easy on set. We shot his scene on time! He was done in about 45 minutes. He was prepared and delivered. Couldn't ask for more.
Lastly, I want to acknowledge the owner of the bar (The Nicolet Tavern) where much of the film was shot. Judy Gawant was extremely accomodating with us. Although the original plan was to shoot 7am - 11am, this quickly moved to 5am - 11am. Without her generosity and support, I wouldn't have been able to get this film made.
Thanks Judy.
And to those who have visited the thread and left comments of encouragement - THANK YOU!
This has been an incredible journey, with many twists and turns (some times wrong ones!), but it's always great to get to the destination.
I've mentioned this a few times, but I just wanted to say that I sincerely thank each and every person who has assisted me with this production.
In sequential order:
Alex Whitmer. A great writer and collaborator. I was drawing a blank very early on for ideas, so I asked to read some of Alex's offerings. Great stuff, but I thought them too ambitious (little did I know how ambitious my project would turn out). I then came up with a story and collaborated with Alex on it. He's great for providing feedback, whether it be on writing or editing. Thanks for helping to cleanly remove more than three minutes from the running time, Alex. You were instrumental to accomplishing this.
Mike Manning. I have very little experience with Photoshop. Practically none. Enter Mike Manning. Mike was kind enough to offer to create a poster for The Contract. Once I realized he obviously knew his way around PS, I asked if he would be interested in creating a few necessary pieces of artwork required for the production. Mike readily accepted and I've always been pleased with his quality work. Thanks, Mike.
Jason Miller. I knew very early on that the VFX could make or break this film. Having no VFX experience, I put out the call for someone to take the VFX reins. Jason thought he would have a few days worth of work in order to complete the required visual effects. LOL. Little did he realize the challenges that lay ahead! I can honestly say that he worked tirelessly (oh, who am I kidding - of course he was tired!) many days and all nighters just to get the film ready for upload. Of course we could have used much more time to clean up and refine, but as it stands, the film is complete. We were down to the wire, weren't we Jason? Thank you for ALL of your efforts.
Brian Ramage. The captured image from the camera is only a fraction of what the final image could look like. Many of us have heard of color correction or color grading - but personally, I have NO experience doing it. Again, it was necessary for me to tap into the talent pool. While using the search function (go figure) to find out HOW to do CC, I noticed Brian often contributed to the various threads. I contacted him and sent him a still from the film. I just wanted to get some direction on what could be done with it. After seeing a cut of the film, he offered to perform the CC work. He's contributed MUCH more than that along the way. What a wealth of knowledge he has been. He even SAVED MY BACON yesterday. The film would not be seen as intended (and possibly NOT AT ALL) had Brian not helped me through a last minute crisis. Thank you, Brian!
Sid Barnhoorn. Composer extraodinaire. Sid signed on early, but as the fest deadline fast approached, he was having difficulty finding time for the project. Paying projects get first dibs in my books too! Just as the final days were dwindling away, Sid said he would be able to whip something up. I just needed some simple synthesizer music under a few moments in the film. I was blown away by what he provided. WOW, on so many levels. He nailed the tone of the film and wove so many layers of sound throughout. The score FAR exceeded anything I was expecting. Thank you for adding an extra dimension to the film.
My production crew. There are certainly some one-man bands who participate in these fests, but I know that I wouldn't want to do it alone. Fortunately, I had a small group of three who were able to find the time to help me. Adriana Cull put her film school learnings to work as my DP. I've read countless books on lighting, but have little PRACTICAL experience. It was in my best interest to ask for assistance (notice a theme yet?). I've worked with Justin Colautti (a new member here - that corpse!) on a few projects over the years (mostly his). He's most comfortable operating the camera, though I shared much of these duties for this project. Jamie Pyette. Jamie has been designated sound man on almost EVERY project. I haven't heard him complain. I'll tell you something though - Buying Barry's Sound for TV and Film was worth every penny. In a nutshell it preaches to get the microphone as close to the talent as possible - but there is SO much more than that. I made sure Jamie watched this DVD.
Thank you production crew. We had some late nights and early mornings, but you can be proud of what we captured. Thank you for your efforts.
The Cast. Given that I live in an area that is not bustling with industry folks (cast or crew), I intentionally wrote the script with few characters. Having acted on stage for a number of years, I was able to "hand pick" some actors I had worked with before. Casting for Oscar (the magician), Nick (the bar owner) and Eric was fairly straightforward, but I had some issues trying to find someone to play the character of Santana.
Jason Preece. This is a guy who takes "the craft" very seriously. Whether on stage or in front of the camera. Jason effortlessly made you understand WHY the magician was so desperate.
Chuck Holgate. Almost immediately after writing the character of Nick, I thought of Chuck. He really delivered the goods.
Peter Fleming. Given how worried i was about finding an actor who looked like the preconceived image I had for Santana - Peter was a very pleasant surprise. I didn't think he was gritty enough, but I'm more than pleased to say that I was wrong. He's plenty gritty!
Brendan Hennessey. Brendan had it easy on set. We shot his scene on time! He was done in about 45 minutes. He was prepared and delivered. Couldn't ask for more.
Lastly, I want to acknowledge the owner of the bar (The Nicolet Tavern) where much of the film was shot. Judy Gawant was extremely accomodating with us. Although the original plan was to shoot 7am - 11am, this quickly moved to 5am - 11am. Without her generosity and support, I wouldn't have been able to get this film made.
Thanks Judy.
And to those who have visited the thread and left comments of encouragement - THANK YOU!
Last edited:
Mike Manning
Well-known member
You're very welcome Neal! I can't wait to see it!
MrKilloran
Well-known member
Can't wait to see this, it sounds fantastic.
Neal Buconjic
Well-known member
Thanks guys. It was alot of work. I hope you enjoy it.
alex whitmer
Veteran
Hey Neal,
It was a real pleasure to work with you on this project. Your focus and determination are admirable, and your running log of events should be turned into a pamphlet and used in every film school on the planet!!
a
It was a real pleasure to work with you on this project. Your focus and determination are admirable, and your running log of events should be turned into a pamphlet and used in every film school on the planet!!
a
Danielleus
Well-known member
Hey, nice poster. This looks like it's going to be really good fun. Good looking cast, good looking locations. Good luck. Can't wait to see it.
gabrielflorit
Well-known member
Nice job lighting, your grabs look really good. Very atmospheric.
Neal Buconjic
Well-known member
Thank you. Actually, Mike Manning (blindbuzta) turned my concept into a poster. I have zero Photoshop skills! Hope you enjoy the flick.
Thanks Gabriel. These are some of my favorites, due to the hard lighting and shadow. I'm glad to hear that the lighting choice created the intended look and atmosphere. :thumbsup:
BTW, I'm looking forward to YOUR film. Looks like you put in a lot of hard work.
Neal Buconjic
Well-known member
Just noticed that THE CONTRACT has gone from "Awaiting Approval" to "APPROVED"!
Woot!:thumbsup:
Woot!:thumbsup:
gabrielflorit
Well-known member
Congrats! :beer:
Brian Parker
Well-known member
Great BTS info. Looking forward to it. Good luck!
Jason Miller
Veteran
it got approved what a shock, um I mean yaaaaaay its a wonderful film, vote for it lol
congrats, you still have hair left I still have a little, to bad its just pulblic hair, (yes I know what I just said and I stand by it)
congrats, you still have hair left I still have a little, to bad its just pulblic hair, (yes I know what I just said and I stand by it)
Neal Buconjic
Well-known member
heccky,
I was born and raised in Canada.
I was born and raised in Canada.