Maybe a HINT about what the ending means to you? Even if you told us outright, I still might have my own interpretation of the ending. Sort of like the film In Bruges, where you don't know what really happens after the final frame. Even if the filmmaker told me his take on it, I still have my opinion. After all, once a film is finished, it sort of belongs to the audience.
Darkline Entertainment Presents 'Broadcast'
- Thread starter Darkline
- Start date
I really dug this one, I just wish you'd given us a stronger hint of resolution in the end to take it in a different direction than to just leave the audience on a note of heightened suspense. Even if it was just him running to the door and seeing a glimpse of a body of someone dashing away, it would have been just a small glimmer of hope. Definitely has that Iamlegend feel. Great work.
Wow. Fantastic. Production values are obvious, but you really established a great sense of desperation and solitude. So that's 2 for 2. Great job in creating your world and making us believe in it. The sheer fact that so many wanted more resolution with the ending (myself included) is testament to how many people you hooked!
The shots of destruction were really well done. I'm very impressed with what was done there -- I especially liked the cafe shot. Simple, yet effective.
I think Isaac mentioned an I Am Legend feel and I definitely second that. It's actually what immediately jumped to mind as I watched this one. That's not a bad thing, though, not in the slightest.
Great work -- it's landed in my top 10!
The shots of destruction were really well done. I'm very impressed with what was done there -- I especially liked the cafe shot. Simple, yet effective.
I think Isaac mentioned an I Am Legend feel and I definitely second that. It's actually what immediately jumped to mind as I watched this one. That's not a bad thing, though, not in the slightest.
Great work -- it's landed in my top 10!
pauly_the_hitman
Veteran
This is one of my top films in the fest it kicked me right in the chest. Great cinematography, great acting cool story all the makings of a top fest entry. Nice equipment. I sure wish i could shot something with some of the other users equipment. But a lass I am cursed to use an actual DVX100b until we make some money at this.
Pauly
Pauly
Pauly, you guys do gorgeous stuff with your DVX. Is that what you shot Survival and Borders with? If so--kudos to you! You guys have a seriously amazing eye.
And I agree, Broadcast looks awesome too. The choice of shots is actually on such a professional, artistic level for me here. The shots feels so seemless and organic. Effortless and creative. One of those subtle things that's hard to put a finger on--but Darkline has an incredible eye too.
And I agree, Broadcast looks awesome too. The choice of shots is actually on such a professional, artistic level for me here. The shots feels so seemless and organic. Effortless and creative. One of those subtle things that's hard to put a finger on--but Darkline has an incredible eye too.
Danielleus
Well-known member
Hey,
Just caught the flick. Really enjoyed it. The production value, in pretty much all respects, is outstanding. I love the use of a radio personality being the "survivor." Love his use of the radio station to project out his desperation, as well as trying to keep sane. Give another meaning to the phrase "desperate pleas for help," huh?
Your actor was outstanding. Loved his subtly and his presence. Hats off to you as the acting director.
The narrative on this piece is what hurts it for me. I'm not sure if you have a longer cut or what happens at the end, but it didn't work for me. The cross cutting between the alive and "normal" world and the destroyed world worked for me the first few times but because it happens so much I was hoping for something more with it. Unless I missed something I felt that the first series did it's trick and didn't need more. Did I miss something?
Otherwise the ending just comes off as unfinished or unintentional. I think some people like this kind of ending and like to leave it "up to the audience" but I don't. I think it carries the possibility of coming off as the director/writer not knowing what they actually want the ending to be.
But then, a lot of the constructive feedback I've giving has it's heart set in being very disappointed because the rest of this piece is amazing. I was actually terrified when he realizes there is still someone/thing there. Love the way it's presented. The rest of the film really really hooked me and it's just a phenomenal piece. Very nice work.
And again, just my 2 sense, take it as you will. Still, a top film for me.
Thanks for making it and thanks for sharing.
Just caught the flick. Really enjoyed it. The production value, in pretty much all respects, is outstanding. I love the use of a radio personality being the "survivor." Love his use of the radio station to project out his desperation, as well as trying to keep sane. Give another meaning to the phrase "desperate pleas for help," huh?
Your actor was outstanding. Loved his subtly and his presence. Hats off to you as the acting director.
The narrative on this piece is what hurts it for me. I'm not sure if you have a longer cut or what happens at the end, but it didn't work for me. The cross cutting between the alive and "normal" world and the destroyed world worked for me the first few times but because it happens so much I was hoping for something more with it. Unless I missed something I felt that the first series did it's trick and didn't need more. Did I miss something?
Otherwise the ending just comes off as unfinished or unintentional. I think some people like this kind of ending and like to leave it "up to the audience" but I don't. I think it carries the possibility of coming off as the director/writer not knowing what they actually want the ending to be.
But then, a lot of the constructive feedback I've giving has it's heart set in being very disappointed because the rest of this piece is amazing. I was actually terrified when he realizes there is still someone/thing there. Love the way it's presented. The rest of the film really really hooked me and it's just a phenomenal piece. Very nice work.
And again, just my 2 sense, take it as you will. Still, a top film for me.
Thanks for making it and thanks for sharing.
Darkline
Veteran
Thanks Danielleus.
All constructive criticism is appreciated. We make these films for audiences and this forum uniquely gives opportunity for comment and feedback.
sorry the ending didn't work for you, but I assure you it was meant to contain more meaning than just confounding the audience. I will post up my intentions shortly, but thanks a lot for commenting on the things you did like about the short too.
Funny I have shown the short to a few people now, a couple said 'Ahh this is what is happening' and some others just drew a blank.
As far as the repeat of sequence of shots, do you mean at the end of the film? They take on a different meaning at the end I think.
thanks again for commenting and for all the analysis, I like to hear what people are getting from the ending, even if it is nada..lol
All constructive criticism is appreciated. We make these films for audiences and this forum uniquely gives opportunity for comment and feedback.
sorry the ending didn't work for you, but I assure you it was meant to contain more meaning than just confounding the audience. I will post up my intentions shortly, but thanks a lot for commenting on the things you did like about the short too.
Funny I have shown the short to a few people now, a couple said 'Ahh this is what is happening' and some others just drew a blank.
As far as the repeat of sequence of shots, do you mean at the end of the film? They take on a different meaning at the end I think.
thanks again for commenting and for all the analysis, I like to hear what people are getting from the ending, even if it is nada..lol
Darkline
Veteran
so, the ending...
so, the ending...
Thanks for all the praise, but I thought it was time to explain what I was going for here.
To answer why so many contrast shots? I did try to put an escalation in there. There are meant to be two beats to this opening sequence.
At the start the shots are mainly deserted. At first you're meant to think 'when he pushes that button people dissapear'. But as they progress it becomes clear something major has happened. The final few shots of this sequence, (the cafe and church) ram it home a bit more that things have gone horribly wrong. Also that what happened here literally happened minutes after the healthy shots, cups are still in the same place, laundry, the kitchen with the half eaten pie she has been cooking. Perhaps I should have held back the destrcution shots a little more to prolonge the confused state of the audience. But it needed the amount of shots to tell that little story.
I'll try to elaborate on the ending. My aim was to make a short that felt resolved on one level but left many unanswered questions on another. That isn't to say I deliberately wanted to confuse the audience. Quite the opposite. I certianly did not want people to think it just 'ended'.
Spoilers :
The end; was it just his memory of how the world used to be that haunted him? - or is this unaffected physical world a place which really exists? Well, I think I reveal that in the final scene, where the lady in the kitchen hears the scratching being broadcast over the airwaves and turns the volume up. There are also clues that allude to this in the pre-recorded radio announcers VO. 'Yesterdays sounds, today, Velvet FM'. So the final reveal is he could be broadcasting to the past where the events have not yet occured, but are picking up his signal.
Twilight zones are often ironic. Here, the mid-point revelation that the 'Broadcast' is not a radio show but actually a call for help, an SOS, has the ironic ending of attracting the very thing that he is trying to escape from - or at least that's a possibility. Agan I didnt want to be too literal about that.
The shots in the earlier sequence, the empy shots are very much 'downtools' or aftermath of activity broken. This becomes all that is left of his existence too at the end (the record deck scratching, the car door open, the empty sutdio still 'on air' broadcasting nothing), So I think there is a sense of full circle visually, he becomes victim to whatever everyone else became a victim to. He becomes part of that pattern which we saw earlier.
Finally the end of the record sound scratching over the reprise of the healthy world is an imminent portent/omen of things to come. Their world will soon come to an abrupt end. The scratching sounds over shots of love or people laughing.
Very much this is a short about one way communication, one man convincing himself that people are still listening, that his voice is being heard. That he isnt alone. Perhaps they were hearing his broadcast all along, just not in his world/time zone. But it could also be the overactive state of a lonely mind, looking for companionship, but also fearing it in a world with nothing to offer.
The line between what you want to be absolutely clear and what you want to be mere thoughts or possibilites is a subjective and tricky one to place; clearly one which everyone has a personal take on. I drew the line in one place, I think many others would have had more information on the opposite side; but it would have been a very different kind of short too. I wanted as much as possible to tell this story visually and leave the audience asking more questions about what happened.
so, the ending...
Thanks for all the praise, but I thought it was time to explain what I was going for here.
To answer why so many contrast shots? I did try to put an escalation in there. There are meant to be two beats to this opening sequence.
At the start the shots are mainly deserted. At first you're meant to think 'when he pushes that button people dissapear'. But as they progress it becomes clear something major has happened. The final few shots of this sequence, (the cafe and church) ram it home a bit more that things have gone horribly wrong. Also that what happened here literally happened minutes after the healthy shots, cups are still in the same place, laundry, the kitchen with the half eaten pie she has been cooking. Perhaps I should have held back the destrcution shots a little more to prolonge the confused state of the audience. But it needed the amount of shots to tell that little story.
I'll try to elaborate on the ending. My aim was to make a short that felt resolved on one level but left many unanswered questions on another. That isn't to say I deliberately wanted to confuse the audience. Quite the opposite. I certianly did not want people to think it just 'ended'.
Spoilers :
The end; was it just his memory of how the world used to be that haunted him? - or is this unaffected physical world a place which really exists? Well, I think I reveal that in the final scene, where the lady in the kitchen hears the scratching being broadcast over the airwaves and turns the volume up. There are also clues that allude to this in the pre-recorded radio announcers VO. 'Yesterdays sounds, today, Velvet FM'. So the final reveal is he could be broadcasting to the past where the events have not yet occured, but are picking up his signal.
Twilight zones are often ironic. Here, the mid-point revelation that the 'Broadcast' is not a radio show but actually a call for help, an SOS, has the ironic ending of attracting the very thing that he is trying to escape from - or at least that's a possibility. Agan I didnt want to be too literal about that.
The shots in the earlier sequence, the empy shots are very much 'downtools' or aftermath of activity broken. This becomes all that is left of his existence too at the end (the record deck scratching, the car door open, the empty sutdio still 'on air' broadcasting nothing), So I think there is a sense of full circle visually, he becomes victim to whatever everyone else became a victim to. He becomes part of that pattern which we saw earlier.
Finally the end of the record sound scratching over the reprise of the healthy world is an imminent portent/omen of things to come. Their world will soon come to an abrupt end. The scratching sounds over shots of love or people laughing.
Very much this is a short about one way communication, one man convincing himself that people are still listening, that his voice is being heard. That he isnt alone. Perhaps they were hearing his broadcast all along, just not in his world/time zone. But it could also be the overactive state of a lonely mind, looking for companionship, but also fearing it in a world with nothing to offer.
The line between what you want to be absolutely clear and what you want to be mere thoughts or possibilites is a subjective and tricky one to place; clearly one which everyone has a personal take on. I drew the line in one place, I think many others would have had more information on the opposite side; but it would have been a very different kind of short too. I wanted as much as possible to tell this story visually and leave the audience asking more questions about what happened.
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Dick Campbell
Veteran
Loved watching this -great production values. couple of audio breaks distracting. didn't quite get the ending.
That makes me enjoy this one even further. I've got to go back and watch again, but I absolutely love that concept. There's actually a Tales From the Darkside episode that your concept is reminiscent of... and it's one of my favorite (although the Darkside ep is much more overt).
Thanks for the explanation. More thoughts after another view...
Mark Johnson
The Dude Abides
Could you give me some insight on what occurs when the phone rings and nobody is there but we see the receiver hanging. Was this a call from the past to his present or what?
this was really really interesting to watch, and entertaining throughout, had a very ominous feeling to it, and i really enjoyed it. ..and while i have my guesses but im not sure i unserstood the ending or what was really going on, i have to say that i dont really much care because it was still an entertaining, spooky, and well done peice.
Darkline
Veteran
Kudos for the shot of "Pro Tools" on the computer monitor, even though it really isn't used for broadcasting purposes per say.
But I really liked the film.
edit: Oh yeah and very nice VFX BTW, top notch top notch
LOL I cant beleive you noticed that. the studio we were in was actually a VO recording studio and they use pro-tools all the time. It has windows on the back wall which we covered up with the fake boards to try and sell it as a radio station.
Keen eye....
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Darkline
Veteran
All the shots from the current devastated world have the de-saturated greeny hue and have the howling wind on them (including the phone box). I was toying with putting an empty car in that shot but I wanted the focus to remain on the closing booth. The shots routed in the past contain normal sound and a more rich warm tone.
So this is potentially the thing that caused the devastation phoning into the studio - signalled by showing only the aftermath of it's call just like we only ever see the aftermath of destruction and not how or why it happened. Its a sign that something in this world has heard his broadcast and is responding to it. He doesnt know at this point if it's someone, or something.
The thing invades his studio, he goes missing, and again becomes a victim to the 'aftermath' shots of earlier. He joins the same fate, it comes full circle and he joins the pattern. Finally the record left scratching on the deck is noticed by the woman in the past and this sound continues to scratch over and over, indicating this worlds imminent destruction. It's all about to kick off. The way I see it there is no communication from the past to the present; his show is going out into the past, but he never realises that this potential warning is reaching them and neither do the audience until the final moments.
Hope that helps a little - oh and thanks for dropping in Mark, always good to see you.
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