"Up Against the Wall" - New Short shot on XHA1/RedRock

DammitJanet

DammitJanet

Well-known member
You can watch the film in HD at http://vimeo.com/2940826

I tried to embed the video here in the post, but it didn't like Vimeo's code. :( I recommend letting it load completely before pressing play.

This is my second student film. It was shot in October 2008. The film premiered at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, TN in Decemeber at the Winter screenings for the Watkins Film School and took home two awards, for Best Editing and Best Actress (Sarah Sellari).

I wrote, directed, shot, produced, and edited this film myself. The story is based on an experience I went through (though it happened over the course of an excruciating year, rather than one night). I always strive for a high level of realism in my work, and I wanted to tell the story as honestly as possible. You might have noticed the dedication at the end of the credits. I sent drafts of the script to the women I had been involved with to make sure I was capturing their nuances and telling the story honestly. After fourteen drafts, I arrived at a script I was happy with and production started just a couple weeks later.

The film school I attend encourages us to use local actors but I have a hard time getting realistic performances from people trained to act, so I went with relative amateurs for this project. Julian and Katie are a real life couple (and fellow film students), and I wanted to cast them together in hopes that I might somehow capture their dynamic as a couple as well as their angst toward each other. I think this was a gamble that paid off and shows most in their scene in the bedroom.

I cast Sarah after hearing her read for another student's film and interviewing her. I talked to all the actors about their relationship pasts to make sure they could identify with the characters and the situation. Looking back I feel like I ended up with an amazing cast and crew. Most people who have met Julian freak out when they see this film because he's really a very high-energy in your face kind of guy and a total prankster. In fact I had originally intended to play the role of Abe myself, but I wanted to sink as deeply into the role of director as possible, and I wanted to DP as well, but I didn't think I could do all three very well simultaneously. For what it's worth, I think he did a great job playing me.

I used a Canon XHA1/RedRock M2 with a Nikon 50mm F1.8 for those curious about the tech. Edited in FCP6.

For any other questions consult the credits or make a comment. Feedback welcome.

Thanks for watching!
 
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Nice cinematography, just found the shots were a bit flat. Fixable in post, but maybe a bit tough seeing as there were a lot of dark shots.

I didn't mind the inside shots at the store...

Nice audio, what mic? Senheisser?

Good acting, and editing!

Thanks for sharing,

Robbie
 
Robbie Comeau said:
Nice cinematography, just found the shots were a bit flat. Fixable in post, but maybe a bit tough seeing as there were a lot of dark shots.

I didn't mind the inside shots at the store...

Nice audio, what mic? Senheisser?

Good acting, and editing!

Thanks for sharing,

Robbie
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I don't remember off hand what mic we used but I'll find out. There's still some post work being done on picture and sound before festival season starts up again, and I'm not sure if Vimeo's compression has ruined the darker stuff but I'll check and see.

Thanks for weighing in!
 
Who wrote this? I like the dialogue, it's really good. When they're having their little spat and she kisses him and he says "That's not fair, we're in the middle of an argument." I just think that's a great line. I'll admit I always find it annoying when characters say things like "I don't want to hurt anyone" right before they do an action they know is wrong and hurtful. I always feel like saying don't tell me simply don't do it. Since you're doing it you obviously don't care as much as you say you do. One day I'm going to write a line like:

"I don't want to hurt anyone." and then the other character goes
"Something tells me you don't care as much as you pretend to". Then they do their thing. I think that would be more honest. LOL.

The acting was really good. How old was the young guy playing the part and the woman playing his girlfriend? They were really good (all of them were actually). I think the guy was a little young for the role but then again it could certainly explain his decision. Did you direct this? I think it was very good, very emotional. You should keep those actors around for other projects.

-Nate
 
Nathyn said:
Who wrote this? I like the dialogue, it's really good. When they're having their little spat and she kisses him and he says "That's not fair, we're in the middle of an argument." I just think that's a great line. I'll admit I always find it annoying when characters say things like "I don't want to hurt anyone" right before they do an action they know is wrong and hurtful. I always feel like saying don't tell me simply don't do it. Since you're doing it you obviously don't care as much as you say you do. One day I'm going to write a line like:

"I don't want to hurt anyone." and then the other character goes
"Something tells me you don't care as much as you pretend to". Then they do their thing. I think that would be more honest. LOL.

The acting was really good. How old was the young guy playing the part and the woman playing his girlfriend? They were really good (all of them were actually). I think the guy was a little young for the role but then again it could certainly explain his decision. Did you direct this? I think it was very good, very emotional. You should keep those actors around for other projects.

-Nate
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Thanks so much for the kind words. I put a lot of emphasis on dialogue, so I worked on the script for a solid three months before pre-production started.

Julian and Katie are 19 and Sarah is 26. Again, thank you for your kind words. I edited the first post with more info that might answer your questions.
 
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it was compelling. I watched all of it without wanting to stop. I didn't have to force myself to watch just so I can write a comment.

The story was unsettling. I didn't like what was happening. It made me uncomfortable. I don't like situations like that in life, although I know they happen. In movies I like characters that know what they want and they pursue it with full commitment. It makes better drama.

But this was a student film and I shouldn't be hard ... commercially hard. I'm a European filmmaker at heart, but I was brought up on Westerns.LOL So there is this dichotomy in what I think and what I like in movies.

I think you show promise as a filmmaker. You will choose what types of stories you will do, but I think you have the potential to do greater works, works that can handle a lot of heavy drama. I'm trying to encourage you to bite a little more next time.
 
filmman said:
The story was unsettling. I didn't like what was happening. It made me uncomfortable.
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Awesome! Thank you so much!

I see what you mean about characters and full commitment in their pursuits, but I didn't want Abe to jump headlong into his choice. The choice between the two women (and therefore two possible futures) is the biggest decision he's ever had to make thus far in his life, and I've never met anyone who took such a decision lightly, especially with so many people's feelings at stake. I've also read a lot about taking moments of indecision and drawing them out in length to increase the intensity of the drama, so I wanted to experiment with that a bit. Writing Short Films by Linda Cowgill is an immensely helpful book in this regard. In reality it took me months to make up my mind about what I was going to do, but again, I had to condense things a bit to fit into the required time limit. I'd love to do a feature and cover all the little twists in the story.

Thanks again. You've given me something to think about.
 
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Very well done. I like the acting and the camera work.

The ONLY very small knick I found was that some of the scenes seemed to be a little blurry when the speaking character (or only character on screen) was there. Fair dues if it was intended but I'd maybe invest in a better monitor for the camera's just for that extra fine focus.

Otherwise beautiful cinematography.
 
Hey,

Good film! A very solid film. Not often do you see this. I liked the cinematography and I liked your actors. You are lucky to have them, I agree with the others you should definitely keep them on for other projects. All three of them have a good look about them and come across well on the screen. This is pretty rare for student films, and it can only get better from here.

The script was pretty good I liked most of the dialogue, it was quite real, and had a good flow to it. Good voices! I liked the actors voices as well.

Good sound, dialogue was nice and clear, didn't feel like "audio", which is nice. Music tracks were good, I liked them.

I liked the fact you held shots to get reactions, for example Sarah on the bed before Julian leaves, that's another thing way too many people seem to leave out, letting things sink in like that.

If I'm going to be picky there's one cut I didn't like so much, and that is one of the shots when they are in the bedroom getting ready to go, directly after Julian says "One question leads to many questions" at 3:55 ish. But maybe that's just me. :)

The build up was good and I liked the fact that you brought the music back in at the end when you did, that was good. I really liked the biking sequence as well.

Good job, I look forward to seeing more films from you!
 
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GregPorter said:
Very well done. I like the acting and the camera work.

The ONLY very small knick I found was that some of the scenes seemed to be a little blurry when the speaking character (or only character on screen) was there. Fair dues if it was intended but I'd maybe invest in a better monitor for the camera's just for that extra fine focus.

Otherwise beautiful cinematography.
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Great point, Greg. While I'm no stranger to shooting with the RedRock, I couldn't afford a monitor for the shoot. Looking back, there are a few soft spots here and there and I wish I'd had that extra focusing power. The zoom and peaking can only do so much. I would also like to have shot with a lens that allowed more than an inch and a half of in-focus range. I'll have to ask the folks down in the 35 adapter forum which lens would be good for getting three to five inches of range.

Thanks so much for the feedback!
 
I have the Redrock also and struggle w/ the oftentimes too shallow DOF. What stop were you shooting at? I think for a "normal" level of DOF one should stay in F4-5.6. I believe that's the stop most DPs on mainstream films use. This of course requires more light.
 
HerzogisGod said:
You mentioned a Lucas and never followed up. Who's Lucas?
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Lucas is one of Abe's best friends, and Sofia's previous boyfriend. The idea is that it's been about a year since Abe and Sofia realized they had an attraction for each other and when they told their significant others about it, Abe and Charlotte's relationship survived. Sofia and Lucas' didn't, nor did Lucas' friendship with Abe. In the fallout, Sofia chose to leave town.

There was more dialogue that went into detail on this stuff, but I had to cut it due to time and also because I felt it was just a little too much. I always feel like less is more. I figured it was something that if the audience caught and could piece together for themselves, great. If not, it wouldn't hurt the rest of the story.

Good ears, mate. I'm glad you brought it up.
 
I disagree with everyone.

I thought the first two scenes could have used some more work. The way that it's cut, it doesn't flow. If you look at it again you can see that it's not naturally done. People would never engage each other like that. Turn body, take three steps forward, ask question... It seemed very un natural to me. But I mean you can cut it tighter and that aspect will go away.

Also it's a busy street wouldn't he yell, "HEY!" He's almost whispering.

And the ADR'ed dialogue kills the first scene.

But I'm sure you had problems getting good sound out there by the street.

It did get better as it went along though.

Oh one last comment. When the chick goes, "Are you ready to go?" then adds as she's still putting on makeup, "We wouldn't be running late if you were home when you said you'd be."

That line made me want to stab somebody. I guess it hits too close to home when a female accuses you of making her late when she's still putting her make up on. Yah, she's not ready either. Bi&*%$! I cringed so bad at that line.

hey good job.
 
ChrisHurn said:
Hey,

Good film! A very solid film. Not often do you see this. I liked the cinematography and I liked your actors. You are lucky to have them, I agree with the others you should definitely keep them on for other projects. All three of them have a good look about them and come across well on the screen. This is pretty rare for student films, and it can only get better from here.

The script was pretty good I liked most of the dialogue, it was quite real, and had a good flow to it. Good voices! I liked the actors voices as well.

Good sound, dialogue was nice and clear, didn't feel like "audio", which is nice. Music tracks were good, I liked them.

I liked the fact you held shots to get reactions, for example Sarah on the bed before Julian leaves, that's another thing way too many people seem to leave out, letting things sink in like that.

If I'm going to be picky there's one cut I didn't like so much, and that is one of the shots when they are in the bedroom getting ready to go, directly after Julian says "One question leads to many questions" at 3:55 ish. But maybe that's just me. :)

The build up was good and I liked the fact that you brought the music back in at the end when you did, that was good. I really liked the biking sequence as well.

Good job, I look forward to seeing more films from you!
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Thanks for watching, man. I'll take another look at that cut you mentioned.
 
mentatDUKE said:
I have the Redrock also and struggle w/ the oftentimes too shallow DOF. What stop were you shooting at? I think for a "normal" level of DOF one should stay in F4-5.6. I believe that's the stop most DPs on mainstream films use. This of course requires more light.
Click to expand...

You know, it's hard to say. Since the equipment was donated just before the shoot I didn't get a lot of time to experiment with apertures so I would typically find an aperture on the lens that worked (usually open on interiors) and then fine tune a bit with the camera's iris control. Not sure if that's what you're asking for but that's the most I can remember. :) Thanks for the interest.
 
Yes. That's exactly what I was asking. Shooting wide open indoors is practical, but not usually the best move. Gotta stop down that lens for the improved image quality and sharpness. Easier said than done, I know. :)
 
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