ON THE THRESHOLD OF ETERNITY a film by DVXuser chstick
- Thread starter chstick
- Start date
The title comes from a Van Gogh painting about despair.
I had originally cut it without the "echoey" voice...but it didn't feel right to me. I wanted to try to create a little distance to the 'supposed' duality of the main character, who also gives VO in the very beginning. Which, BTW, was played by the same actor.....(if you couldn't tell).
Plus, like you mention here....
"When you finally show whose voice that is, the echo is fine"
I wanted to keep it slightly ambiguous (not giving away too much right away).
Thanks for the comments and glad you enjoyed it.
Aloha
Chris
Richard J. Johnson
Joystick Member
Why the hell do you only have 3 pages of comments. This flick looked fantastic. You pushed the HVX to the limit on some of those shots. I just got one and I hope I could get it to look as good as this. Good job man Great film. You should have waaay more comments on this.
Thanks for the kind words Filthrich. You ever heard the expression, "No news is good news". lol
Yea, I was definitely feeling ambitious with this one.....reaching into the HVX's bag of tricks. It was fun. Glad you enjoyed it.
The sound in the condo was distant. That was the plan all along... to try to further illustrate the main character being distant, despondent. However, I was not able to get the mix where I wanted it....which was something I wanted to return to and sweeten/fix, but, quite simply, forgot.
Glad you liked it
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gabrielflorit
Well-known member
I loved the locations about halfway through - vast and expansive like a western. The beach shots were also very cool. Great use of time-lapse, I loved the clouds rolling along, the wife and realtor walking around, and he stays there the whole time.
I thought the acting was terrible, it really killed this short for me. Interesting idea, but the lines were so poorly delivered I never had a chance to allow the suspension of disbelief.
I thought the acting was terrible, it really killed this short for me. Interesting idea, but the lines were so poorly delivered I never had a chance to allow the suspension of disbelief.
The guy who played the main character, Travis, is from Alaska. So cut him a break.
I thought the acting was OK. Could it have been better, sure. But c'mon, terrible?
Not to make excuses (well, OK to make excuses...) I was never able to give my actors any time to rehearse. We were barely able to get together to shoot (with everyone's busy schedule). I would give them the script, set lights & camera (about 15-20 minutes) and then shoot. Travis is not a bad actor. If the acting was found to be terrible it simply means the director's (me) time management skills were terrible.
mea culpa
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
The cinematography in this was excellent for the most part. Some of the shots were quite good! Great really. Sound was a little rough in spots but definitely salvageable.
I loved the whole weight on his shoulders throughout the movie. The shots of "the cloaked one" were just great. Very nice story as well.
The pacing could be worked a little more with some editing.
Nice work.
Cheers,
Mike
I loved the whole weight on his shoulders throughout the movie. The shots of "the cloaked one" were just great. Very nice story as well.
The pacing could be worked a little more with some editing.
Nice work.
Cheers,
Mike
Brian Parker
Well-known member
Enjoyed this one. Really liked a lot of the shots, especially the first one, and the low angle shots of the balcony. Good composition. I also thought that the story concept was pretty cool. You had some good locations. Good job!
Thanks Mike.
Our film is by no means perfect, but it is a big step forward from our TimeFest entry. If we can improve each time out, then that is a victory in itself.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Chris
alex whitmer
Veteran
Hawaii, huh? That explains the great landscapes.
Really loved the ending, and loved the game of chess as a driver for the plot. Very good.
Few issues popped out ...
Only once could I really see the rich wine color of the phantom's cloak. Mostly it appeared black or charcol. Maybe it's my circa 1906 computer, but I feel a lot was lost by not seeing that color consistently.
The fall was a little cheesy, but I'm sure that can be fixed.
One scene was a little off. When they enter the condo with the realtor, the woman says 'look at the view', but we don't see that view until they round a corner or two. Struck me as odd.
Liked the film and its concept. I think your female was the strongest actor, and helped carry the bulk of the story.
Good film. Great, great ending.
aw
Really loved the ending, and loved the game of chess as a driver for the plot. Very good.
Few issues popped out ...
Only once could I really see the rich wine color of the phantom's cloak. Mostly it appeared black or charcol. Maybe it's my circa 1906 computer, but I feel a lot was lost by not seeing that color consistently.
The fall was a little cheesy, but I'm sure that can be fixed.
One scene was a little off. When they enter the condo with the realtor, the woman says 'look at the view', but we don't see that view until they round a corner or two. Struck me as odd.
Liked the film and its concept. I think your female was the strongest actor, and helped carry the bulk of the story.
Good film. Great, great ending.
aw
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pauly_the_hitman
Veteran
I really liked the story. The whole falling from the building didn't work for me but other then a little pacing issues great job. I would have to agree your female lead carried the film acting wise.
Pauly
Pauly
John LaBonney
Well-known member
Some shots really excited me, especially those from the condo looking out through the balcony to the cloudy sky. Outstanding.
The guy falling didn't work for me either. The music when the guy walked out of the building felt like stock music and the transition into it was jarring.
Great shots of him walking in the hills and the view of the ocean.
Nice job.
The guy falling didn't work for me either. The music when the guy walked out of the building felt like stock music and the transition into it was jarring.
Great shots of him walking in the hills and the view of the ocean.
Nice job.
Thanks for the comments.
This is what I like the best about DVXuser. The simple fact that some of the comments point to things so simple, you wonder how you missed it.
For Example.....the scene where the female character says "look at the view"....yet you don't see the view for a few more clips. Yes, I violated a basic tenet of filmmaking 101.....'see what the protagonist sees'. Yes I missed this.
I have a personal list of my own mistakes with this film, and actually it is oddly refreshing to see one I missed.
The fall is cheesy, I will admit. It was so cheesy that my two friends who did the AfterEffects work on it (Jon Hall & Tobey Arturi) actually put Loony Toons sound effects to it (at first). I wanted it in there as an immediate attention grabber. I thought B&W would be good for this.....but yet I liked the overly vibrant colors.....which, in the end, just made it look even more 'cartoony'.
Your monitor is probably fine, the cloak has 'color' in it in just that one 8 second clip. Quite simply, I didn't give myself enough time to fix this OR to properly mix the sound in the condo showing scene.
Funny really, right now I would have all the time in the world to work on the editing/post....but I had little to no time to devote to it during Oct. Murphy's Law strikes again.
Our female actress, Cynthia, is very good, I concur.......and currently, very pregnant.
Despite the flaws, I'm glad you liked it
Aloha
Chris
When we submitted our Timefest entry (Wellsday) there were some serious pacing issues. I went back and re-cut that vastly improving the pacing....however, that brought it to around 6:45.
I will probably do the same with this one and also expect it to land in the 6:30-6:50 area.
So, I think I'm doing some decent 7 minute or less films...just got to pare the stories a little (for next Fest).
Thanks for the comments
Aloha
Chris
It was jarring, I agree. I never loved that transition and unfortunately didn't devote more time to making it work.
Despite that, I'm glad you liked it.
Aloha
Chris
Geoff_R
Veteran
You've got some great shots and locations in this piece. The empty high apartment room/condo room with the sunset is great. Those exterior locations are awesome... I wish I could shoot something in that kind of an environment.
The fall at the beginning really through me off. I just didn't buy it at all. My thoughts on VFX are this... if it's not working, then take it out. I would really consider doing that in some other way; perhaps shooting something with a closeup on his face, have a fan blowing his hair and have a blurred out BG of a building... I don't know but everytime I saw that shot, it took me out of the piece...
Also, there seems to be a lot going on in this piece. Lots of talking, lots of little things we have to keep up with. I say this only because I've written so many unproduced shorts which I'll never shoot because there's just too much going on as well... It's hard with short films because we often try to tell too much. We're cramming as much information/moments/beats into the short as we can but often, the more simple the idea/concept, the better.
This really boils down to how you feel about your work. I'm using my own work and experience as an example. I have a tendency to pack to much into the story... These days I'm trying to concentrate on getting more play from less dialogue. I'm trying to work on ideas that can be universally understood in simple terms that allow strong visual flexibility and beat potential... (hope that makes sense)
The fall at the beginning really through me off. I just didn't buy it at all. My thoughts on VFX are this... if it's not working, then take it out. I would really consider doing that in some other way; perhaps shooting something with a closeup on his face, have a fan blowing his hair and have a blurred out BG of a building... I don't know but everytime I saw that shot, it took me out of the piece...
Also, there seems to be a lot going on in this piece. Lots of talking, lots of little things we have to keep up with. I say this only because I've written so many unproduced shorts which I'll never shoot because there's just too much going on as well... It's hard with short films because we often try to tell too much. We're cramming as much information/moments/beats into the short as we can but often, the more simple the idea/concept, the better.
This really boils down to how you feel about your work. I'm using my own work and experience as an example. I have a tendency to pack to much into the story... These days I'm trying to concentrate on getting more play from less dialogue. I'm trying to work on ideas that can be universally understood in simple terms that allow strong visual flexibility and beat potential... (hope that makes sense)