Ossian - a Nelson Entertainment Production

I enjoyed your film and absorbed it into my subconscious. I think it works on many levels. I like it when a film let's you form your own story of what it is about. The bleakness of the landscape, the other holes behind her and in front. The disturbing image of the baby in the chest and an older version of the child (my interpretation) coming to his mother to tell her he lives on in another place.

Very Bergman, I thought that Max von Sydow might come out and play chess with Death...

Great entry...
 
nice!

nice!

watched it twice.....music only? no atmosphere? I like the "no dialogue" .
very well filmed, nice pictures! The story is easy to understand....well done!
 
Wow, beautiful camera work. I didn't get the story 100%, but I'm a bit daft, so maybe another view and it will make sense.

Nice costume and mood. It's amazing what you can do with no dialogue, and this takes it up a notch.

Maybe one day DVX will do a silent fest. If we get even a few like this, it will be worth watching all the damn leaders.

Good job.

aw


www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
I really like that one Shawn. It´s in the tradition of your Timefest entry - looks like you have great sense for epic dramas. But then lovley simplicity. 2 actors one prop and nothing else than a wide open plane and wonderfull music. No need for dialog.

Frank
 
I also was a fan of the film's simplicity. I enjoyed the setting used, the lead was good, and the story was certainly intriguing.

This is of course very open to interpretation, and I feel as if I have a strong grasp on what actually happened. It's always odd breaking metaphysical and sensory boundaries in order to transmit abstract thoughts or surrealist notions. I really commend you for doing so. I always look for films that can be as laconic as possible, and this one certainly is.

There were a few things that did indeed bug me, though, and it's mostly aesthetic discrepancies, but there were a few film language quirks to me.

I feel as if a wider vantage point on some shots would have helped to isolate the woman even more. I liked the shot of the boy approaching her VERY much, but toward the end, it seemed as if he was walking away from her for good. He looks back on her to make sure she's pressing on, but the view was just too close in my opinion. Perhaps because it was on a hill, having him at the bottom looking up wouldn't have worked. But I felt like he should have been somewhere fairly distant. Because the shot was so intimate, I felt a connection among the two (which I'm willing to bet was intentional), but I also felt that it cheated the perspective. He appears to be a watcher; a protector of sorts. Perhaps even a guide now? And I feel as if he should have been portrayed with a little more breadth.

But, after blowing all of this smoke, I return to the old saying, "Hindsight is 20/20." So great job on a very strong film. I loved the atmosphere and the music, though a little melodramatic (as lawriejaffa mentioned earlier), was a very good fit.

Thanks for the viewing pleasure! :beer:
 
Eric Meisner said:
I enjoyed your film and absorbed it into my subconscious. I think it works on many levels. I like it when a film let's you form your own story of what it is about. The bleakness of the landscape, the other holes behind her and in front. The disturbing image of the baby in the chest and an older version of the child (my interpretation) coming to his mother to tell her he lives on in another place.

Very Bergman, I thought that Max von Sydow might come out and play chess with Death...

Great entry...
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Dang Eric, thanks for that! Btw, I really like your work and have enjoyed seeing it this fest
 
Postmaster said:
I really like that one Shawn. It´s in the tradition of your Timefest entry - looks like you have great sense for epic dramas. But then lovley simplicity. 2 actors one prop and nothing else than a wide open plane and wonderfull music. No need for dialog.

Frank
Click to expand...

Thanks Frank! I was indeed going for simplicity, I'm glad you enjoyed it
 
Hey Shawn, I'm going to give you very specific notes, hope you don't mind.

The opening shot is great, until it stops, then starts moving again.

The dead baby looks very convincing. That shot where she opens the case is beautiful, although it is on the wrong side of the line.

At about 1 min 18 sec, it looks like you adjust the focus. That took me out of it for a second. It's during the sequence, where she's digging. I'd love to see a close up of her hands digging during that moment. Just to break it up and keep visual interest. Plus you could have covered up the focus issue.

Her performance is very good.

I love the shot where he's walking towards her, out of focus, but it takes forever.

In the side angle of the boy whispering to her, I'd love it if it had been framed where we could have seen his face, even if just a sliver.

There's one too many looks over her shoulder at the end.

I really like the last two shots.

Credits are weird, I think this had been mentioned before.

Overall good work. It took a second view for me to notice the other dug up areas of earth. I guess the first time I just thought it was the way the ground was. Very nice detail.
 
jasonthewho said:
At about 1 min 18 sec, it looks like you adjust the focus. That took me out of it for a second. It's during the sequence, where she's digging.
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I recall that as well. It wasn't a noticeable adjustment at the time due to the subject becoming more or less clear, but it was like the whole frame breathed or shifted from some sort of rack/focus.
 
Shame on your for making your baby hold it's breath that long!

I'll admit, I didn't really understand what happened in this film. I thought one thing, but then my GF thought something else. And don't get me wrong, I dig me some films that make me wonder.

But I really liked the simplicity of it. It feels like you learned from Aetus. In that film, I think I said the people were more compelling than the landscapes. In this one, it seems like you learned to let the landscapes be a stage for the people to shine. Which is a HUGE thing to learn, I think.

Maybe I'm off, but it's nice to see growth and application in fellow filmmakers.

I now see why you were asking that advice on horizons from the DP on the RED board. :)

I think the only thing about it that didn't work for me, was that kid's walk. He walks for a LONG time. A LONG time. I think you get as much impact out of shortening that, or cutting away from it, I dunno what footy you have to work with. Right now, my GF and I were both sitting there going: "All right, kid, shake a leg! Get the lead out. STEP ON IT!"
 
Hey Shawn,

This is one of the best looking shorts I have ever seen in one of these fests. Your actress was great (your sister?) and I loved the simplicity of it. I felt that it ran a little too long though - I might be alone in that notion based on reading comments by some others. I also though that the music was a tad on the melodramatic side, and that if it were toned down a bit, the rest of the film would not seem as melodramatic.

Nice work - looking forward to your next piece.
 
Mark Harris said:
Shame on your for making your baby hold it's breath that long!

I'll admit, I didn't really understand what happened in this film. I thought one thing, but then my GF thought something else. And don't get me wrong, I dig me some films that make me wonder.
Click to expand...

There is a meaning behind it, the clue is in the costuming, everything is intentional.

Mark Harris said:
But I really liked the simplicity of it. It feels like you learned from Aetus. In that film, I think I said the people were more compelling than the landscapes. In this one, it seems like you learned to let the landscapes be a stage for the people to shine. Which is a HUGE thing to learn, I think.

Maybe I'm off, but it's nice to see growth and application in fellow filmmakers.

I now see why you were asking that advice on horizons from the DP on the RED board. :)
Click to expand...
thanks man!

Mark Harris said:
I think the only thing about it that didn't work for me, was that kid's walk. He walks for a LONG time. A LONG time. I think you get as much impact out of shortening that, or cutting away from it, I dunno what footy you have to work with. Right now, my GF and I were both sitting there going: "All right, kid, shake a leg! Get the lead out. STEP ON IT!"
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I intentionally wanted it to last that long, to make it deliberate, as a way of building a certain amount of tension. If that didn't work for you, it's good for me to know that.
 
everything about this was perfect other than my not understanding what was going on with the child. was he supposed to be the baby?
 
It slams in with emotion, played very well. The music really sets the tone nicely. The images, of course, are beautiful, and shot on the perfect overcast day. (Do you get many of those there? :))

I was compelled to say the same thing in my head at one point as I did during Zak's movie. "DAmn you B@stards for the whispering-in-the-ear-and-not-letting-us-listen-thing!"

Luckily I was able to read his lips by taking it into AE and slowing down the lips while motion tracking them and then speeding it back up while assigning a tone to every nuanced motion and.... well that part is pretty boring, but if my transcription is correct he said:
" Hey lady, I think one of your petty coats has some toilet paper in it, and I could probably get it out but I'm not old enough yet and that would probably been seen as uncooth.. Ooops I stole your baby! Bye!"

Is it right?

Great film no matter what he said. :)
 
Shawn, as always, a visual feast. I like how you translate landscapes so well and I'm constantly inspired by your visual language. You took it up another notch this time by using absolutely no words, and it wasn't that it was a silent movie... it was a film that needed no words. Even if they were whispered in her ear and we're all straining to hear... damn you for that! Damn you!

I got the story, and the intent and I loved every moment of it. Thanks for reminding us of the beauty of the visual medium.
 
wow puck, I'm floored!

ironically, i also get upset when we don't hear what's whispered (Lost in Translation really pissed me off).

BUT, I felt I visually showed the essence of what he said. that is, what he said didn't matter because of what happened after it.

In all, it's an experimental piece. I'm greatly pleased to hear that you, and the others who have commented likewise, got something from it.
 
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