Joystick Films Presents.....The Puppeteer

This film was INTENSE! You had a very nice way of building tension that I loved. The acting from the main cop was a bit dull but other than that I liked this one more than hangman. You had some better framing and your shots flowed well together, the kid is creepy with his never-changing-stare so congrats. Well done.

Left on a cliffhanger, so is there more to this?
 
Thanks! The only way I could go is back story. I'm not even nice enough to film a kickass fight scene between the puppeteer and the conductor. : )

I'm glad you liked it. We spent waaaaay more time with this. Hangman was shot in 6 hours.

MrKilloran said:
This film was INTENSE! You had a very nice way of building tension that I loved. The acting from the main cop was a bit dull but other than that I liked this one more than hangman. You had some better framing and your shots flowed well together, the kid is creepy with his never-changing-stare so congrats. Well done.

Left on a cliffhanger, so is there more to this?
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Intense movie with some really nice shots. The kid does a great job in the role. The scene where he's walking towards camera, the look on his face is just chilling. I'd like to see you take this character further. As it stands it feels like a scene from a longer piece. There's not a lot of story here but the visuals and music are great.
 
Intense is right. The kid's look was determined and awesome.

This movie also had a great sense of style. I love the color palette used. For example, the way we move back and forth between the greens of one room and the white of the other. The cinematography was great and very effective throughout.

About the only complaint I have, is that this left me wanting more - as if this was the setup for a big action packed movie to follow (and that is not a bad thing).

Very well done.
 
This was a pretty ambitious film. Not sure if it hit all the marks but it hit quite a few of them. I think it needs more polishing.

I didn't really care for the opening and the whole Number Three thing...I think you could do better. I also had a problem with the SWAT in ski masks. And the surly women at the hospital? It felt forced.

As far as the story goes, there were a lot of things to like in this but there are some others that needed to be more thought out. This is a huge story for six minutes. Maybe too much story.

That said, I'm glad you took a shot with an ambitious project. It shows you have the moxie to take it on.
 
Thank you for the great input! I truly need it. I'm still a rookie at narrative, but every fest I'm gaining more and more knowledge from the feedback and watching the other films.
 
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Dude this has cool potential all over it. The lead (the kid) has a GREAT screen presence, and I loved watching him! GREAT little FX you were doing too with his powers, etc. In some respects, this felt like a trailer because of the way it ended ... I wanted to see the standoff!

Acting was the weakest part of this for me, and perhaps a tiny bit of the writing (just in the dialogue, as far as some of the cliche' things that may be said by every 'boss' in a lower budget film of this nature (i.e. direct to DVD stuff), but those would be my only negatives.

My absolute FAVORITE shot was when he rounds the corner, slow motion, towards us ... incredible framing & feel! :)

This was a pretty fun one to watch!
 
Thanks for the comments and critiques! They are very helpful. I thought Darnell did a great job for never having been in front of a camera before.

I wanted to shoot a cool fight scene at the end. But I could not figure out how to do it.

Norm Sanders said:
Dude this has cool potential all over it. The lead (the kid) has a GREAT screen presence, and I loved watching him! GREAT little FX you were doing too with his powers, etc. In some respects, this felt like a trailer because of the way it ended ... I wanted to see the standoff!

Acting was the weakest part of this for me, and perhaps a tiny bit of the writing (just in the dialogue, as far as some of the cliche' things that may be said by every 'boss' in a lower budget film of this nature (i.e. direct to DVD stuff), but those would be my only negatives.

My absolute FAVORITE shot was when he rounds the corner, slow motion, towards us ... incredible framing & feel! :)

This was a pretty fun one to watch!
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darkrequiem1134 said:
just saw your flick very awesome one of my favorites in the fest Hope you make it further into the contest
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Thank you! that is an awesome comment. There is some pretty competition here though. I just want to fair better than I did in Twilightfest, which was 37th out of 70 or so films. If I can beat that I will be happy.
 
I really liked this one. Great acting and an interesting plot.

Some of the framings were a little off, and something keeps telling me that this one would look way better in cinemascope. At 00:48, it seems like if you just left the camera there, which was quite distracting to me. At 04:14, the flick went from being nice and quite filmish, to cold and videoish. Those outdoor/car shots definitely need more color correction. The gunshot sounds were quite a disappointment too.

Well, now I just seemed very negative about the whole film, bu that's not the case. This flick impressed me, and I would love to see more from you in the future, keep up the great work! :)
 
Thanks for the comments. I need the critiques so I can improve on them. I have no idea what cinemascope is though.

You should see how the original outdoor shots looked. yuck.

I thank you for checking it out and I am glad you enjoyed it.

MiniMan said:
I really liked this one. Great acting and an interesting plot.

Some of the framings were a little off, and something keeps telling me that this one would look way better in cinemascope. At 00:48, it seems like if you just left the camera there, which was quite distracting to me. At 04:14, the flick went from being nice and quite filmish, to cold and videoish. Those outdoor/car shots definitely need more color correction. The gunshot sounds were quite a disappointment too.

Well, now I just seemed very negative about the whole film, bu that's not the case. This flick impressed me, and I would love to see more from you in the future, keep up the great work! :)
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Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you enjoyed it. coming from you it means a lot.

Chris Messineo said:
Intense is right. The kid's look was determined and awesome.

This movie also had a great sense of style. I love the color palette used. For example, the way we move back and forth between the greens of one room and the white of the other. The cinematography was great and very effective throughout.

About the only complaint I have, is that this left me wanting more - as if this was the setup for a big action packed movie to follow (and that is not a bad thing).

Very well done.
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filthrich said:
Thanks for the comments and critiques! They are very helpful. I thought Darnell did a great job for never having been in front of a camera before.
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Just to clarify, I think Darnell did a fabulous job. My reference was more for anytime there was any lengthy dialogue delivery from one or two of the others.
 
This was a great film...you had me on the edge of my seat! Loved the shots you came up with, creative and kept the film moving. I liked the pace of this too, althought I think the first scene was a little drawn out. VFX could have used a little tweaking, but other than that I just want to see this one again!

Best of luck...and keep them coming!
 
I thought I had posted on your film but I can't find a comment from me anywhere...so if I'm repeating myself I apologize! :smile:

After hearing about all the problems you had getting this made I thought it would be on the verge of unwatchable! But you have a great little film here! I'm very partial to this type of genre so I quite enjoyed it.

As others have said your shot compositions were very creative and helped drive the story. I actually thought the acting was surprisingly good considering the challenges you overcame there. And the editing REALLY made a big difference here and added to the intensity.

The only piece I think I didn't like was when the guy and the nurse are facing off at her desk...it feels too long before the other nurse comes around the corner. I understand what you were going for there but it was uncomfortable for me.

That is the only nitpick I really have with this. Overall you did a great job and I admire you for persevering and finishing the film even though it was not "exactly" what you set out to shoot.

Congrats!

Daniel
 
thanks for checking it out! I really appreciate the compliments and especially the critiques. I still have a lot to learn and the input is insanely helpful.
 
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