COLD CALLS by John Whalen featuring Blanchard Ryan (OpenWater) & Ben Bailey (CashCab)

[Danielleus]

Hey man,

Just caught the flick. Top notch stuff. LOVE the production value and I really wouldn't expect anything less. And of course, you didn't disappoint.
Acting was superb but with the talent you got and your abilities, you figure it wouldn't have been any different, right? Very very nice work there.
This story was efficiently and effectively told. AND I thought you hit the mark on the mix of styles. I thought it was creepy, dramatic and funny all at the same time.
My only gripe about this piece is that I think it loses steam at the tale end of the narrative. I think when they actually start to rationalize why he's in her closet it feels a little bit realistic, like the telemarketer is using actual reason to explain what he's doing there. The other issue I have with that is that he doesn't really play up the fact that he's in her closet. He looks like he's surprised that she CAUGHT him in her closet, but not that he's in a closet, which I think is fine. But for my taste, it seems like if he was more surprised that it was HER closet then it would have worked a bit better. And to be honest, I'm not sure why that strikes me as a better fit for this story, but it does to me. Not sure how that helps, but my two sense.

Anyway, really enjoyed this piece. I think there might be a little foley timing issue at the beginning when she clicks off the phone. I think the beep comes a little bit early but otherwise, a great piece. Throughly enjoyed this one. Thanks again, and always, for sharing.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Hey man, thanks very much for the comments and the thoughts!

Looking forward to Panic when I get a few minutes here hopefully soon
:beer:

 

[Dustin R. Rogan]

Jack, Jack, Jack.

Amazing work. Gratz to your team for yet another awesome entry.

Now quit submitting films so we can stand a chance to win! (jk)

Rogan

ps you give us young film makers the motivation to strive to be better, and I thank you for that!

 

[gabrielflorit]

Hahaha. I love the dog walking past the kitchen. And the detective responding to that "flatulent bastard". And the ball on the head moment. Actually, my favorite actor of the entire fest is the call guy, he was perfect, so natural, so funny without trying to be.

Another through-the-roof production value JDS entry, as per usual. I must say there are lots of things here and there that I think you could have done better, but it won't prevent me from putting this in my top ten. Really enjoyed it Jack - congrats!

 

[joeloud]

Wow, I mean, this was great. It was definitely the funniest entry. And I hadn't looked at any of the threads about the films, so (spoiler alert) when I saw Ben Bailey in the closet I was really surprised. My dad loves Cash Cab, and when I was home over the summer, I watched it with him all the time. When I go home for the holidays, I'll show this to him. Good job.

 

[Gohanto]

Nice work. Really loved the opening shot and overall it was very well put together. I liked the idea over switching into "thriller mode" at the end (the dolly across was great) but her realizing where the voice was coming from didn't really work for me. I think if she would've started to turn her head before running out of frame when running past the door lingering the camera on the door would've made more sense. Just my opinion though.

Lighting looked excellent and the editing of the different phone calls worked very well.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

I really enjoyed this one, You went a comedic route with the whole twilight theme and i loved that. Very solid acting from your two leads!

:beer:

Jack,

This was one of my favorites. I thought each character was very strong and unique. The framing and composition was beautiful. The sound design was spot on. Everyone in my family enjoyed this and loved the ending. Great use of pauses and no dialog. Just great!

I think I like the scene that starts at about 2:18 the best. I love the texture of the walls, the lighting and the composition of the shot. I especially like the camera movement. Did you use a dolly, slider or subtle crane movement there?

Hey thanks, that is the indie slider there.

I've tried not to read through your thread yet and you may have already answered these questions, but how many days of shooting did it take for this? What I have seen are your production notes in this thread and your insight and am looking forward to reading it all.

Three days. Could have been quicker for something like this, but like everyone else, here working with a very small crew. Very good but very small.

It goes without saying, that this was a wonderful piece. Congratulations to you and your producers, cast and crew!

:beer:

Hey man,

Just caught the flick. Top notch stuff. LOVE the production value and I really wouldn't expect anything less. And of course, you didn't disappoint.
Acting was superb but with the talent you got and your abilities, you figure it wouldn't have been any different, right? Very very nice work there.
This story was efficiently and effectively told. AND I thought you hit the mark on the mix of styles. I thought it was creepy, dramatic and funny all at the same time.
My only gripe about this piece is that I think it loses steam at the tale end of the narrative. I think when they actually start to rationalize why he's in her closet it feels a little bit realistic, like the telemarketer is using actual reason to explain what he's doing there. The other issue I have with that is that he doesn't really play up the fact that he's in her closet. He looks like he's surprised that she CAUGHT him in her closet, but not that he's in a closet, which I think is fine. But for my taste, it seems like if he was more surprised that it was HER closet then it would have worked a bit better. And to be honest, I'm not sure why that strikes me as a better fit for this story, but it does to me. Not sure how that helps, but my two sense.

Anyway, really enjoyed this piece. I think there might be a little foley timing issue at the beginning when she clicks off the phone. I think the beep comes a little bit early but otherwise, a great piece. Throughly enjoyed this one. Thanks again, and always, for sharing.

Thanks very much, glad you think we got the mix of styles right. Will check out the foley beep issue

Jack, Jack, Jack.

Amazing work. Gratz to your team for yet another awesome entry.

Now quit submitting films so we can stand a chance to win! (jk)

Rogan

ps you give us young film makers the motivation to strive to be better, and I thank you for that!

thanks 2.0

Hahaha. I love the dog walking past the kitchen. And the detective responding to that "flatulent bastard". And the ball on the head moment. Actually, my favorite actor of the entire fest is the call guy, he was perfect, so natural, so funny without trying to be.

Another through-the-roof production value JDS entry, as per usual. I must say there are lots of things here and there that I think you could have done better, but it won't prevent me from putting this in my top ten. Really enjoyed it Jack - congrats!

Wow, I mean, this was great. It was definitely the funniest entry. And I hadn't looked at any of the threads about the films, so (spoiler alert) when I saw Ben Bailey in the closet I was really surprised. My dad loves Cash Cab, and when I was home over the summer, I watched it with him all the time. When I go home for the holidays, I'll show this to him. Good job.

Thanks guys

:beer:

Nice work. Really loved the opening shot and overall it was very well put together. I liked the idea over switching into "thriller mode" at the end (the dolly across was great) but her realizing where the voice was coming from didn't really work for me. I think if she would've started to turn her head before running out of frame when running past the door lingering the camera on the door would've made more sense. Just my opinion though.

We're working on that one, there's a visual cue that's a little too subtle at 1080, and even more so at 480 Good news is the visual cue as to why she stops is post VFX so we can make it do pretty much anything.

Lighting looked excellent and the editing of the different phone calls worked very well.

Thanks very much again guys,
:beer:

 

[BigChrisfilm]

Hey, cool flick! What were you using to keep the camera so steady? Was it a jib or something else?

 

[TimurCivan]

the blessing that is an O'connor 50 fluid head, a jib and a dolley. and once.... all three together.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

Hey, cool flick! What were you using to keep the camera so steady? Was it a jib or something else?

thanks very much.

We had one crane dolly shot (Bath tub)
___EZjib + Homemade dolly with Glidecam Wheels

One Crane Shot
___EZjib, click storyboard link in sig for more

3 indislider shots

3 dolly shots.

rest was just a nice tripod/tripod head

:beer

 

[TimurCivan]

Hey, cool flick! What were you using to keep the camera so steady? Was it a jib or something else?

the blessing that is an O'connor 50 fluid head, a jib and a dolley. and once.... all three together.

thanks very much.

We had one crane dolly shot (Bath tub)
___EZjib + Homemade dolly with Glidecam Wheels

One Crane Shot
___EZjib, click storyboard link in sig for more

3 indislider shots

3 dolly shots.

rest was just a nice tripod/tripod head

:beer

oh yea i forgot about the indie slider!

 

[Michelle J. LaBonney]

Mr. Stanley, I must say that I have been watching your thread since the beginning and I have been completely intrigued. I am so impressed by your work. The cold caller guy was great! A twist I had no idea was coming.

 

[Barry_Green]

Indie Slider made for some nice shots, especially in areas where we didn't want to or couldn't fit dolly track. But you really need a couple of light stands to get the best out of something like a slider; jam a light stand under each end to support it so it doesn't wobble as the weight of the camera shifts from one end to the other.

 

[Brian Parker]

Jack and Crew...wow...one of my favs this fest. Awesome awesome film. The cinematography, the lighting...it was beautiful. The acting was great as well. I laughed out loud at the ending. Unfortunately, I used to work in sales...medical supplies...and the guy in the cube next to me was just like your telemarketer. He got my cell number somehow and after I left the company, he started calling me daily about business opportunities. Needless to say, this one hit close to home.

There's nothing I could possibly complain or nitpick about with this film. Excellent job. Cheers! :beer:

 

[Brandon Rice]

oh yea i forgot about the indie slider!

How could you? Probably the single most awesome piece of gear ever...

 

[TimurCivan]

It has its uses. it needs a different support mechanism than its current incarnation. What would be awesome, is if it could mount on two baby Cstands... Then it would be perfect.

 

[Brandon Rice]

ah yeah, that would be awesome... we had a similar rig, a little dolly made from rollerblade wheels mounted on speed-rail.

 

[Susanne G.]

Congratulations! :thumbup:

Susanne

 

[pauly_the_hitman]

Congratulations on being in the top 7. I really enjoyed this film and it deserves recognition. Good luck in the finals.
Pauly

 

[Mike Manning]

Congrats JDS!
But really, was there ever a doubt? Im just glad to be up there with you...good luck!