The Last Fisherman

I like how you kept your distance from the boy for the most part, and we never got a good look at him. Felt a bit like a documentary, as the camera followed the boy around. Great atmosphere. Good job!
 
punkkid said:
The choice for cutting off the head was intentional. Myself and the DOP felt that the action was the most important part of those scenes and felt that there was no need to have his head in the shot.
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Interesting. Alright, I have no issues when certain things are intentional. Just comes down to personal preference after that.

Nice job.

Cheers,

Mike
 
A more powerful story than I had first thought when I started watching the movie. Enjoyed the ending quite a bit.

The lighting was too dark for my tastes and I think that I would have enjoyed the imagery much more had it been brighter.

But this is all about story for me, and I think you told it well. Good job.
 
Hey punkkid! I had stated in another post that I am quite partial to "last man on earth" type stories (must be wishful thinking or something). Regardless of any technical issues such as lighting, I though your movie was really cool. The way you used the audio of the kid leaving voicemail/answering machine messages was really great! Also, the rotary phone is nothing but cool. Additionaly, your longer takes actually worked for me in this film.

Keep it up man.

:beer:
 
Enjoyable film even if I lost the attention sometimes. I like the detail when he went into the shop and the audience can see the money on the check-out counter not only from the first boy's visit - the audience could understand here very clear what is going on! Thank you! :thumbup:

Susanne
 
Writer

Writer

I really appreciate all the feedback. I have to say I wouldn't have been able to make it without the great script that Matt Phillips let me use and the input from my DOP and 1st AD/whatever else I needed him to be.
 
This was a nice story, but I thought it would have been a bit more compelling with some slow dolly shots to and around the boy. Besides a few audio issues, this was a nice piece and very interesting story.
 
Liked this one quite a bit. I can understand wanting to keep the distance from the little boy in your shots, but I have to disagree. I think you should have gotten up close and personal, really let us into this little boy's life. I think that would have made it all the more powerful. But that's just my opinion. Great job.

cheers,

Jon
 
Hi Punkkid.

I'll get the 'not so good' out of the way first (it's only my opinion so take it wth a pinch of salt!)... I thought the sound was a bit dogdy in places, you could have used some fill lights in some shots too. But mainly it was really begining to get to me that we didn't see the kid up until the end. I was wondering why you chose to not show him and even now I can't figure out what motivated you to keep the audience at such a distance. I wanted to really connect with this child being the 'last fisherman'. Maybe you've explained your reasons in the thread. I assume you have your reasons as it was obviously intentional. He was the only thing left in your world and you chose not to show him - interesting, but odd decision I think.

Ok, that aside.... the good is, I loved this. Loved the pacing. I was absorbed.

The decision not to use music was spot on. It added to the quiet and desolate world and I thought that was great. By the end of the film I was really digging the vibe you set up. It might sound a contradiction but I loved all the wide shots and all the shots from behind the kid, and keeping him quite small in the frame. You obviously attacked this idea with a clear vision and it shone through.

I thought this was quite brave in the way you executed it. Really liked it. It had resonance which is hard to do in a short piece. It did not feel rushed, felt complete, and was even under the 6 min running time. Well done.
 
I loved the opening shots.
The establishing shot of the store just grabbed me.
I commend you for working with a young actor. He did a great job.

When I watched it the first time you had me fooled until the end, so great story, and I should've known- "Last Fisherman" Duh...

Aside from the issues people have mentioned about showing your actor in some CU's and some of the darks being too dark, I have a slight problem with these "last man on earth" scenarios. The electricity is always on. I feel quite confident in saying that, if nobody is there to run the power plants, no power would be produced. I realize this is a movie, and for dramatic effect of the reveal, it's helpful, but I think there's a clever way around it, and still be realistic. Same goes with the phones, unless they come on and off sporadically, which gives him more of a reason to make as many calls as he can while it's on.

Anyway, lots of nice stuff in there. Looking forward to see more from you.
 
Good short punkkid. I'm probably echoing what others have said but I like the calm stillness that played throughout the piece. My only problem was that it was dark in a lot of places and that you don't show his face until the end. It makes it harder to connect and empathize with him. I do like the concept of him trying to reach people on the phone. Overall, there are a lot of things to like about the short. Good job!
 
Not with a bang, but a whimper.... Unique take on the last man scenario. Very original.

You created a sense of quiet Americana. I’m big on mood and I liked what was created here. Slow pans, coca-cola signs and change on the counter. By showing it from the Mike's point of view, you give it a quiet/eerie/sad/innocent tone. It reaches a level of reserved emotional tension watching the child's innocent optimism. Seeing him go about his world doing the things boys do, but as a way of surviving... whew. Brilliant! The pic really gave me a sense of hope against despair. Rarely do people succeed or even attempt this in the apocalypse genre. The film is about a child, but it reaches a level of maturity untouched in this fest.

There are some technical issues others have touched on which I agree with. But all in all, this rates very high on my favorites list. Top five for sure.
 
This one, although good, didn't jump out at me and seemed slow. It was hard for me to watch until the end.
 
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