KEEPER OF THE LOST - Flyin' Monkey Films & MattSpat Films

I really liked this one. The color throughout was just beautiful, really worked for me. Fascinating story really held my attention.
 
I think you have a very good Lossfest film here. Great idea and the acting was good too.
The only real problem I had was she seemed to old to have a doggy and a blanket.
 
Hey Puckster,

Much to like here.

Really enjoyed Jessica's performance. Nice authentic character. Nice balance with Robert. Didn't see enough of Matt to make a judgment call.

No issues on your camera artistry. None of that 'paint-by-camera' feel.

Story-wise this has some holes. Maybe I missed it. Insomnia plays tricks on the mind.

First up is motivation. Not enough info on why this guy does what he does, and if indeed he reconnects people with lost items, and he has a warehouse full of them, he's not doing a very good job.

Didn't really buy the mugger (who is also a friend??) going for the 'shiny trinket' like an infant might. He's a mugger, or worse. Violence against women has very different psychoses and motivations than material greed. That didn't work for me.

Also, by seeing her jacket, she suddenly remembers who she is? Way too clean of a wrap up.

There were some really great teasers with the poster that never paid off, and I felt let down that a damn cell phone solved the mystery. For a guy who finds things, how was he not aware of the poster?

Maybe I missed some clues here with the muddled dialogue?

Was he an angel of sorts? What's with the coin? Business card?

Cinematic-wise, this is a strong piece. You know what you're doing with a camera. Story-wise it needed a little more 'devil's advocate' before locking it.

Overall, a vary enjoyable watch.

alex
 
Hey Alex,

Yes. Anthony in the film is actually Saint Anthony, the individual who reunites people with their lost stuff. And as for mugger leaving the girl he was beating up, this was because that pocket watch was his! and Anthony reunited me with it (it was a valuable thing that he lost and it attracted his attention right away)

alex whitmer said:
Hey Puckster,

Much to like here.

Really enjoyed Jessica's performance. Nice authentic character. Nice balance with Robert. Didn't see enough of Matt to make a judgment call.

No issues on your camera artistry. None of that 'paint-by-camera' feel.

Story-wise this has some holes. Maybe I missed it. Insomnia plays tricks on the mind.

First up is motivation. Not enough info on why this guy does what he does, and if indeed he reconnects people with lost items, and he has a warehouse full of them, he's not doing a very good job.

Didn't really buy the mugger (who is also a friend??) going for the 'shiny trinket' like an infant might. He's a mugger, or worse. Violence against women has very different psychoses and motivations than material greed. That didn't work for me.

Also, by seeing her jacket, she suddenly remembers who she is? Way too clean of a wrap up.

There were some really great teasers with the poster that never paid off, and I felt let down that a damn cell phone solved the mystery. For a guy who finds things, how was he not aware of the poster?

Maybe I missed some clues here with the muddled dialogue?

Was he an angel of sorts? What's with the coin? Business card?

Cinematic-wise, this is a strong piece. You know what you're doing with a camera. Story-wise it needed a little more 'devil's advocate' before locking it.

Overall, a vary enjoyable watch.

alex
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mattspat said:
Hey Alex,

Yes. Anthony in the film is actually Saint Anthony, the individual who reunites people with their lost stuff. And as for mugger leaving the girl he was beating up, this was because that pocket watch was his! and Anthony reunited me with it (it was a valuable thing that he lost and it attracted his attention right away)
Click to expand...
Yes, I actually thought you sold that scene quite well. You could tell that he had some sort of connection with the watch.
 
mattspat said:
Hey Alex,

Yes. Anthony in the film is actually Saint Anthony, the individual who reunites people with their lost stuff. And as for mugger leaving the girl he was beating up, this was because that pocket watch was his! and Anthony reunited me with it (it was a valuable thing that he lost and it attracted his attention right away)
Click to expand...

Being Zen, I'm not really up on what Saint does what. Guess I missed that. Why was the mugger, who was also a friend, beating up the girl in the first place?

I'm going to watch this again, see if I can see the watch deal.

Then, back to my vow of silence!

aw

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
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We actually worked a long long time on the back story of that one. We really researched into how pseudo families (pimps and hookers) function. Well actually I already knew as I am in criminology at university. But anyways, what it was, was that I was the man (or pimp in this case) and she was one of the girls i had been trying to get to come in to join the pseudo family.

It is long to explain how the pimp goes about recruiting women to join his family. But in short: the pimp starts out by making the women fall in love with him, through being genuine, loving, paying for their house bills, etc... However, he is not genuine. Once these women have fallen in love with the pimp the guy tries to play on that to force her to join the family.

I hope this helps clear some stuff up. Let me know if you want some more info on it.

alex whitmer said:
Being Zen, I'm not really up on what Saint does what. Guess I missed that. Why was the mugger, who was also a friend, beating up the girl in the first place?

I'm going to watch this again, see if I can see the watch deal.

aw

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
Click to expand...
 
I actually had concerns about some people not getting the fact that the character was an incarnation of Saint Anthony. Especially those non-catholics out there. Myself I'm not Catholic and actually had to go ask the name of the saint, but the idea of some force out there anthropomorphic or otherwise, being in charge of specific elements of human activity is one that resonates across a lot of cultures, if not all cultures. I definitely knew OF Saint Anthony and tried to imbue the story and characters with some sense of that, so just his action SHOWED us who he was and everyone could get that and connect it.

SPOILER
As for the coin, it was just a payoff from the scene where he found it where she says that "it's supposed to be lucky..." he answers the question of "For whom" by leaving it for her.
END SPOILER

Some people will read that. some people won't. Depends on what resonates with you and what experiences you've had I suppose.
 
I quite dug the mood of the piece. The music all worked very well, and the colors and lighting too, it all seemed to work together toward the same "vibe" if that makes any sense. Technical note, need a little work with following focus (unless it was intentional, then nevermind) and like Falling Up which I really enjoyed, I wish the dialogue audio could've been recorded live on set. Otherwise quite interesting and nicely done.
 
I like this, but really, the sound just ruined it.

ADR is drag, and it really never works out.

It's a shame, cause if you have a sound recordist on set, this film would almost be a ten.

The camera work and film look, 10! Great job on that.

Loved the crane shot in the garage.

Acting was cool as well. Matt's preformance was good, and so was Anothony's. But the lead actresss (Jessica?) I'm not to sure of her acting.

Overall, I want to say I really liked this, but the sound just brings it down for me. Really sucks that way though, having a big part in a film bring down the rest.

Thanks for sharing!

Robbie
 
Ya, I mean, I feel bad but I was honest with you.

Really, you did the job you do well, (Camera, and directing) Although Matt directed this right? Or were you both in on it?

After seeing this film, I'd hire you for my next shoot. Stunning images, and camera work.

No I'm not sucking up or being nice..It's all true :)

Robbie
 
I really dug it. I thought of all the stories thus far, this was he most touching piece Ive come across. At first the ADR ripped me straight out of it, but after awhile I was able to get back into. Would be much more potent without that - not only is it hard for actors to hit the words right, but also harder in a room sitting to recreate the right emotion in the words.

Now I am gong to be spectacularly picky with you, but I will restrict it to three. The opening shot - dirty lens. When they were coming over the in the long shot at 2.24 the constant erratic focus changes were distracting - auto focus here? At 3.52 major bump on the dolly/camera. Now the reason I picked these is theres some really nice shots in this piece, really nice composition and a lot of hard work put into those - these small things are so easy to fix.

Nice work.
 
punkthemad... i really liked the idea of the story(what he does for those who have lost, almost like he brings them back to that very piont in time where they in someway lost themselves) i did like your story telling++ but.... it was a little drawn out... i do like your still:thumbup:
 
What are the chances...I just watch LaBonney's "Saint Anthony", then this? Really beautiful shots & camera work. Nicely graded too. I didn't think the acting was as good in this one as in "Falling Up"...and the ADR just bugs me. I feel like I'm watching an old Bruce Lee film dubed in English.

Story, images, music....all well done! Thanks for another enjoyable flick from the Puck-Man!
 
Just out of curiosity...does anyone read the previous threads? I feel like we are constantly beating a dead horse here with the ADR critiques... Criticism is always welcomed, because how else are we supposed to grow as filmmakers? But after how many posts is it really necessary for everyone to comment about the exact same issue? Really?
 
jessicalsin said:
Just out of curiosity...does anyone read the previous threads? I feel like we are constantly beating a dead horse here with the ADR critiques... Criticism is always welcomed, because how else are we supposed to grow as filmmakers? But after how many posts is it really necessary for everyone to comment about the exact same issue? Really?
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if it's okay with you, i'm going to beat another dead horse.... jessica sinclair rocked this!
 
jessicalsin said:
Just out of curiosity...does anyone read the previous threads? I feel like we are constantly beating a dead horse here with the ADR critiques... Criticism is always welcomed, because how else are we supposed to grow as filmmakers? But after how many posts is it really necessary for everyone to comment about the exact same issue? Really?
Click to expand...

I rarely read the other comments. Maybe only the one above my post.
 
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