"VOICES" - Feature Film - HD/Letus35 - Comedy

[Martay]

Are you volunteering?

If anyone wants to volunteer to do a poster for me, let me know. I'd love to delegate this reponsibility onto someone else. Don't have much money, but I'll be starting on a new project soon, so you get to join a "completing" team.

You and everyone else is welcome to come down to Atlanta to the premiere. After that hopefully I get some film fests. Maybe Martin can hook me up with the Atlanta Film Festival.... hint. hint.

Ha!

I wish I had that kind of pull.

Truthfully, I have no undue influence on the line-up of the festival. We partner with the Atlanta Film Festival 365 organization but that doesn't really translate to having much say in terms of content of their festival.

Definitely wish I did...I've been rejected from AFF as many times as one of my films has been selected for the festival. So, that's not too bad a batting average but certainly not what I'd hoped for over the years

My last film that travelled very well to several film festivals and won awards didn't even get into AFF.

However, I do hope you can Premiere at an Atlanta Festival as that would be great.

-M

 

[jls4]

I wish I had that kind of pull.

Truthfully, I have no undue influence on the line-up of the festival. We partner with the Atlanta Film Festival 365 organization but that doesn't really translate to having much say in terms of content of their festival.

Definitely wish I did...I've been rejected from AFF as many times as one of my films has been selected for the festival. So, that's not too bad a batting average but certainly not what I'd hoped for over the years
...

However, I do hope you can Premiere at an Atlanta Festival as that would be great.

I believe in you Martin. I believe that if you go to the AFF folks for me, I'll get in! LOL Let me know if you have some pull at Spaghetti junction. I heard their doors just closed for entries. But I won then in 2004 and I think I've got something good for them this year. I couldn't get them a rough cut because we still have 4 new scenes that we're shooting this weekend. But everything else is pretty much done.

BTW how's the producing life? I got a great idea and would love to have a fresh hungry young producer with the initials MK. If you know of anybody that fits that bill let me know! ;-)

Right now my biggest desires are a good Producer and Line Producer

 

[DCP]

jls4,

Really enjoyed the clips. Everything looked great (the V1U holds it's own). I did notice a few audio sync issues (not sure if it was Vimeo or not but this was the only issue I could see).

I liked the actors and I think the comedy will play well and seemed very down to earth. Very nice job!

Todd

 

[jls4]

jls4,

Really enjoyed the clips. Everything looked great (the V1U holds it's own). I did notice a few audio sync issues (not sure if it was Vimeo or not but this was the only issue I could see).

I liked the actors and I think the comedy will play well and seemed very down to earth. Very nice job!

Todd

Thanks Todd. I'm finish up some color correction now. Did you get a chance to see the poster. Would love some critique. - What you saw on line the clips, are my rough cuts. I'll be uploading color corrected, better audio mixed clips soon.

 

[DCP]

Thanks Todd. I'm finish up some color correction now. Did you get a chance to see the poster. Would love some critique. - What you saw on line the clips, are my rough cuts. I'll be uploading color corrected, better audio mixed clips soon.

I like the poster (as well as the new title). If the stills indicate the personality of the characters (ie, smiling, smoking, serious, etc.) then it works very well. If you captured the essence of each one, then the viewer is given a glimpse of what to expect (if that makes sense....). The poster is very professional. I personally was never a fan of the still image collage type covers (I've always wanted something more), but I think your cover conveys the ensemble piece well (of course I haven't seen the film, but again, I think you get what I'm talking about).

Covers, like trailers, are a difficult thing for us. We lack name power and we are competing against so much. If they cover/trailer can grab them, they might forget Brad Pitt isn't starring in the film and give it a chance. I've been told over and over to put a picture of my leading lady on my poster (she's beautiful) unfortunately it doesn't work for the mood of the image. I will redesign a cover for International DVD's etc. Again, I'm no Brad Pitt and I have to hope that someone walking down the isle of Blockbuster sees something intriguing in the cover art and give it a chance.

For your cover, sit back and look at it and see if it would be something you'd take off the shelf and read the back. You are fortunate that you have very attractive actors on the cover and that alone could intrigue some people plus it's very professional looking. I look forward to seeing more.

Todd

 

[jls4]

I like the poster (as well as the new title). If the stills indicate the personality of the characters (ie, smiling, smoking, serious, etc.) then it works very well. ...

For your cover, sit back and look at it and see if it would be something you'd take off the shelf and read the back. You are fortunate that you have very attractive actors on the cover and that alone could intrigue some people plus it's very professional looking. I look forward to seeing more.

Thanks Todd. Overall I think the poster does convey much about the movie, but I've also noticed that marketing sometimes pushes buttons to get someone to pick up a movie. I pick up lots of boxes from posters that are creative, to seductive, to gross, to boring. Depends on my mood. I think the hard part is picking something a distributor wants to see.

I'm pretty proud of "Comin' Correct" overall. A few (very few) have seen early rough cuts and all of those people have stated that they liked what they saw. As this is my third feature, I'm a little more skiddish on my personal opinion. I want the movie to be the best it can be, and that includes the poster, website, and trailer. So I've been slow showing anything as it has to get past me and my wife first. And she especially gives the green light to very little. If we can get more people in Atlanta who want to "join our team" because of the feature and raise money for the next. as far as I'm concerned these 15 months of work would have been well worth it.

One of the great things about this movie is that anyone can watch it and have a good time. There's nothing about the movie that really keeps anyone from enjoying it, besides a little seductive-humor and a few curse words.

We'll be shooting again this weekend. The reason the name changed was because the direction of the feature changed. We recut a "new movie" from the old one. (It's funny how you can do that) So now we need 4 to 5 new scenes to complete the "new" movie.

 

[mentatDUKE]

Interesting info, jls. Is the movie still based on that play? If not, is that why you felt it necessary to change the name?

 

[jls4]

Interesting info, jls. Is the movie still based on that play? If not, is that why you felt it necessary to change the name?

Hey mentaDUKE. The original idea for "Voices" was a simple one. A young couple after having their first child start to have marriage problems. Infidelity soon creeps in on them and they are at odds to leave or to hold onto love.

The catch was, they had these "Voices" basically an angel and devil that would pop up from time to time and make witty remarks based on the current situation. You'd watch the leads decide what to do based on the "Voices" arguments. (This was the Play Version and the first concept for the movie.)

The "voices" were played by actors other than the leads. And by the time we got half way through the shoot time conflicts and other problems killed off about 30% of the "voices'" scenes because they were more complex (special effects and such).

In editing, my editor (also my DP) noticed that he didn't like the way the "voices" were introduced and also felt a long time went by between seeing the voices for the second time and seeing them for the 3rd time. (about 15 minutes went by). He also felt the movie was strongest starting from around 20 minutes in.

I felt that the integrity of the movie was the most important thing. So we made a decision to edit out the voices, and to restructure the movie around the male lead, because it was originally about both the male and female leads. We've now cut into the female lead's scenes. And we will cut them back about 15 to 25% making her scenes more of a subplot. And we're beefing up the male lead's scenes. He got the nod, because he has more time to shoot. We also added a few new characters and are working to "open up" the movie with more locations, and extras.

After the fact, we'll be cutting out almost 30% of the movie, and backfilling it with a new 30%. So the movie no longer follows the concept of "voices". We thought about the fact that the lead's friends advise him and maybe "they" could be the voices. But the more I thought about it, the more that didn't make since.

So now the movie is basically about a guy who is in love with his wife, but wants to work hard to give her everything she wants but life keeps dealing him a bad hand. As he moves up, he keeps getting slapped back down. This causes a rift between him and his wife and they start to fall apart. The funny parts now are more concentrated on the friends and family. There maybe some storyline confusion, but we're doing our best to keep that from happening with the new scenes. And my goal has been to shoot things that only expand more on the storyline that we already have - otherwise you run the risk that the movie could shift plots in the middle. (I've seen this happen, and it's something we have to avoid)

So now it's "Comin' Correct" - because the lead needs to deal with his problems and "come correct" in order to save his marriage.

This conversation does make me want to relook at my plotting again, to make sure these new scenes stay in line. So thanks for that - getting my mind thinking again.

 

[El Gato Negro]

awesome production value through out the whole scenes. Amazing lighting & acting was on point. Look forward to seeing the whole production.

 

[jls4]

awesome production value through out the whole scenes. Amazing lighting & acting was on point. Look forward to seeing the whole production.

Well Thanks Black Cat! ;-) I appreciate it. We've been working hard to get production value up. Like I said we will be uploading fully color corrected scenes that have a slight boost in audio mix very soon.

 

[mentatDUKE]

Glad I can be of some help jls. Thanks for saying so.

And thanks for sharing such informative behind the scenes info. That's why I love this site. Most people would never talk about production problems but people here always give up the info. What a great film school. <Cheezy mode off>

The way you guys are rolling with the punches is impressive. The politics must be a bit interesting also. I wonder how some of my actors would react to getting their parts cut. Ha.

But really, your ability to "kill your babies" should be commended. Especially after spending days of shooting on scenes. The fact that you can step back and look at things objectively is a nice talent to have.

Looking forward to the new clips.

When are you guys looking at wrapping production?

 

[brdplya1]

I like what I see...I'm having an issue with my lead actor...we've shot about 4 scenes so far, but weve been having scheduling conflicts galore and im starting to think that I made a mistake in casting the lead...he's good, but he's slowing down the movie...Should I re-cast or try to work around his schedule?..We've only shot 2 weekends so far..i'm wondering Am i asking too much since i'm not paying him?.If I can get this movie finished by june Id be happy....any comments or suggestions would be appreciated

 

[mentatDUKE]

brdplya1, sorry to hear about the production difficulties. Regarding recasting the actor, I think it'll boil down to a cost/benefit analysis. What's the value proposition?

How long will it take to recast the role (you'll have to shut down the film while recasting)?

How difficult will it be to find an actor of similar/greater talent and screen presence?

How expensive will the new actor be?

How long will it take to reshoot the scenes with the old actor?

If all these factors outweigh the benefit that the current actor is providing the production, then you should stick with the current actor and tough it out.

Also, I'd suggest having a heartfelt discussion with the actor, communicating your concerns. Perhaps a solution can be found once this is done.

Good luck.

 

[jls4]

Glad I can be of some help jls. Thanks for saying so.

Hey I give credit where credit it due. I have a more "it takes a villiage" type of mentality anyway.

And thanks for sharing such informative behind the scenes info. That's why I love this site. Most people would never talk about production problems but people here always give up the info. What a great film school. <Cheezy mode off>

The way you guys are rolling with the punches is impressive. The politics must be a bit interesting also. I wonder how some of my actors would react to getting their parts cut. Ha.

Like I told them. I'm doing everything to have the best product so we can all get paid. They'll be okay.

But really, your ability to "kill your babies" should be commended. Especially after spending days of shooting on scenes. The fact that you can step back and look at things objectively is a nice talent to have.

I was talking to somebody about this on another thread. I don't think I have "babies" i.e. scenes I "can't" live without. I'm a director but I'm very much a producer. I want the strongest most powerful scenes. My editor fights with ME. He wants to keep scenes, I say loose 'em. LOL but he even admits the more we cut, and then ADD the stronger the movie becomes.

It's like I told my wife last night. Because we've started and stoped 4 times. Each time we go back to shooting, the new product (shots) are better than previous. So it's like we shot 4 movies instead of one. This is also why I advocate making features and not a lot fo shorts. Because SO MUCH is on the line - time, money, resources - we all WANT something to show. So we work harder. In shorts, people are quick to just throw out something because it's no big deal, its' just a short. but on a feature - you do all you can to salvage the movie. You work harder.

Looking forward to the new clips.

When are you guys looking at wrapping production?

I plan to remove one, the one with the girls talking. People don't seem to like that one as much. And I'd like to show off Kaira Akita, since she did have a TV show for one season.

We're going to shoot again this weekend for the 4th time. A full weekend too. 4 scenes, plus pickup shots. then next week for two days we'll be shooting 6PM til 10PM finishing up some shots with the lead actress. I think this will finally do it.

My editor has been coming over for the last few days making as much of the movie perfect before we shoot this weekend, so we can make sure the movie works.

 

[jls4]

I like what I see...I'm having an issue with my lead actor...we've shot about 4 scenes so far, but weve been having scheduling conflicts galore and im starting to think that I made a mistake in casting the lead...he's good, but he's slowing down the movie...Should I re-cast or try to work around his schedule?..We've only shot 2 weekends so far..i'm wondering Am i asking too much since i'm not paying him?.If I can get this movie finished by june Id be happy....any comments or suggestions would be appreciated

I think mentaDUKE said it perfectly. I say either get rid of him (if you haven't shot a lot) OR wait it out. OR you can do what I did and "rewrite" a subplot into a main plot. you'll have a different movie, but at least you'll get finished.

And thanks for the complement.

 

[Martay]

Happy V-Day!

Looking for a few critiques. Finally got a poster together - we're also looking to change the title from "Voices" to "Comin' Correct" because of production issues.

So love to hear what you think. I have thin skin, but it's better for me to hear it now than later. Also a few stills from the movie. This was our first time using the Letus. I think overall we did okay for people not used to Shallow Depth of Field, but we definately have a few soft shots.

Finally able to view it.

I like the left side and the pics making up the backgroup. However, the right side strip feels too prominent. I know you're trying to utilize the "Somebodies" connections but it kinda unbalances the poster in my opinion.

Sorry this is so late but just my take. I think some being used under or above might help symmetry.

-M

 

[jls4]

Finally able to view it.

I like the left side and the pics making up the backgroup. However, the right side strip feels too prominent. I know you're trying to utilize the "Somebodies" connections but it kinda unbalances the poster in my opinion.

Sorry this is so late but just my take. I think some being used under or above might help symmetry.

-M

Thanks Martin. I'm reworking the whole poster now. So I'll try to see what I can come up with.

Yeah, I'm trying to make sure my "somebodies hookup" pays out for me, but the characters are all side characters and I don't want to over do it!

What I'm leaning towards now is the basic lineup type of thing. I was also thinking about puzzle pieces. There the pizzle of the leads are falling apart. And you can see the other characters kinda floating on their own pieces.

The movie is about a guy keeping his life together so I think it'll work without over killing the amount of people. Cause I want to see 5 to 7 people on the over. Most posters have 3 to 4 if that.

 

[DavidNJ]

What lenses did you use? Did you use an HDMI to capture or did you save the HDV?

The clip I watched seemed well shot, cast, acted, edited, and directed.

Only thing I may have done differently is gone a little closer on some of the one shots, closer to the bottle extraction cutaway. It may have made the protagonist a bit more threatening.

 

[jls4]

What lenses did you use? Did you use an HDMI to capture or did you save the HDV?

The clip I watched seemed well shot, cast, acted, edited, and directed.

Only thing I may have done differently is gone a little closer on some of the one shots, closer to the bottle extraction cutaway. It may have made the protagonist a bit more threatening.

Hey David! Thanks for the comments! And welcome to the thread!

Unfortuntely we didn't go via HDMI but out through HDV. what we were able to do (which you guys haven't seen yet) was boost the signal during color correction. I'll put the color corrected scenes online soon.

I guess you saw Rachel giving over the bottle of green fluid! LOL We do a close up on him in a nother scene sniffing the bottle when he talks to "James" who the lady mentions in the clip. Since we're at feature length we show certain things at different times, but I think I see what you're saying.

We shot 2 new scenes last week and I walked away with 2 shots that I didnt' get that I wanted. I'm trying to see how my editor will make since of the scene without them. You kinda need them to make sure you know what's going on. Oh well, he's pulled a few rabbits out of his hat thus far! LOL

 

[jls4]

Boy I'm tired and just I guess weird. You know that weird feeling of anticipation mixed with fatigue but a little of distress (for those still in 9to5s) well that's what I've got. A whole lot of that.

We shot a few more scenes about 12 minutes worth. But it seems to be the best so far. We've also offically changed the name now to "Coming Correct". We were on the borderline for a while, but no one is complaining, and it's starting to become second nature to say it - so what the hay.

I've got to get some websites created soon and I emailed one of my friends out in LA today to ask her more info on the festivals in that area. She's waist deep into the art scene and would definately know who I need to talk to.

The whole movie is in overhaul and my editor - I guess he's offical now. I started editing the movie - over 60+ minutes, but now I've given it over to him. He cleaned up about 15 minutes of the old stuff, and is editing all the new stuff. Because of the change in plan, we have to drop about 12 minutes or so from the original movie - but I'm happy because many of the scenes we are loosing were some of the weaker ones. So it'll make the movie even stronger as we loose those. Before I felt like - 'eh about 80% of the movie was good, but now with the new 25 minutes (all of which is good) the shot fixes which should build up at least 7 to 10% and the drops. I think I'll be happier and have more of 90 to 95% where I'd like it to be.

I think for those who liked the 3 scenes online. They will love the new stuff. A lot more situational, a lot more overall comedic and a little slaptick thrown in just to have something to work with.

Now I just want to get the current main edit complete, so we can finish up the montage shots. AND I want to take the color-corrected, audio reworked scenes and upload them over the video I have on vimeo right now. I'll probably do that in a few days once I get caught up on some other work and have some time to let the computer render.

BTW for all the apple lovers, my editor hates my PC. It crashes on him at least once an hour! LOL I told him when I get 3x the money then maybe I'll upgrade.