A Safe Place to Be

Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I remember my first film. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, so do the rest of us!! (kidding) :beer:

I do think a few opportunities could have been better exploited to draw out the emotions. I'm not wholly convinced with Grandpa's overly-sweet, overly-cautious manner with 'Camille', but there are some really great beats that work.

Sure would love to see what you can do directing Brooklyn. Maybe we can get her and Zack up to Ottawa someday. Toss in Ian, and you got yourself a real fine film!

Yes, actors matter, as evidenced by your prize fighter Ian.

Thanks for watching, Mike.
 
orchidsofwrath said:
I think the script was strong and had a lot of potential. There was some solid acting in there. Technical imperfections aside, the shot comp, continuity etc. just weren't living up to the story imo. Don't get me wrong though! I was still moved at moments.
Alex I think your a great writer, I must confess though, I've thought you were a girl all this time! lol. You offered me a script you wrote with exclusively girl characters (it was a kick ass script) combined with your avatar I just got the wrong impression without stopping to think if you were a guy!
Click to expand...

Who let the cat out of the bag?!

Which script? Marsupial?

Thanks for the kind words!

Agree, some solid acting in this film. I hear there is an 8 and a half minute director's cut being finished up as well. I'll be sure and post it on my Vimeo page. I'm really curious which scenes will play out better with a full third more time to do it.

Thanks for watching!

alex

www.brooklyngarrison.wordpress.com
 
krestofre said:
Hey guys. Congrats on getting the film finished. I think Michael's comment about drawing more out of the actors is a great one. Brooklyn had a few beats that absolutely gave me chills, and I think she would have done more with this material with a touch of gentle prompting.

Alex, please write something for Brooklyn where no one dies. Let's call it Happy Bunnies or something, ok? :)
Click to expand...

This is one of those beats ...

sp-19.jpg


www.brooklyngarrison.wordpress.com


With you having directed her on "My Soul to Keep" I really appreciate your thoughts. And yes, I promise, the next film will have some bunnies!! (shh - little does he know these bunnies are about to die!!).

I know squat about the tech side of film, so not sure what you mean with 24p. I really need to figure all this out.

Thank you, Chris, for watching, and for helping us with the location. It's a perfect backdrop (little do the viewers know it had no heat). It works especially well in the exterior shots. Real nice.

alex




​
 
Last edited:
Chris Messineo said:
Wow, this was so dark.

The girl is lovely and I really felt for her. Her relationship with her grandfather is beautiful and I felt so bad when he died.

Her going to the orphanage with the photos and the bear was a perfect ending. I wonder though if you need that last line from her.

Best of luck in the fest.
Click to expand...

I feel the closing line is important, but I think it would have worked better if delivered while Camille was walking up the steps. Then, just enter and the door slams shut. It does feel a little staged as done, and I take the rap for that in the script.

Thanks for watching, Chris. Your feedback is always welcome!

aw


www.brooklyngarrison.wordpress.com
 
alex whitmer said:
It's a perfect backdrop (little do the viewers know it had no heat). It works especially well in the exterior shots. Real nice.



alex​
Click to expand...

At least it had a roof, which is more than we had for My Soul to Keep. Just look at it as upgrading. Next film we'll have a place with running water. :laugh:
 
The back portion of the film with the montage of the girl walking I think is the strongest part of the film. Although I do think that it could be cut a bit better, that was the part I enjoyed the most.

Sound issues were a real distraction, and the first half of the film didn't really draw me in. I liked the idea of burying the teddy bear but thought it dragged on a bit.

I'm glad they allowed filmmakers to overlay sound underneath the trailer, I think that works pretty well in your film.
 
I can't believe this was shot with an HVX. Was is shot @ 60i by any chance? It has a very SD standard video look to it.
 
Very nice! Certainly there were things that could be improved here and there with the acting or editing, but this was a good story and a good film.

The biggest issue for me was the lighting, which I think is also reflected in Ryanrjack's comment. The indoors often looked like a soap opera set, over lit and omni-directional, while the outdoors needed reflectors to balance the dark characters against the bright sky.

However, these are easy to fix next time, and if this really is a first film, it's a marvelous result! :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the comments and critiques. This was sot on the HVX at 720/30p. I'm kind of at a loss for just why this came out so flat. Besides lack of color correcting, which I'm doing right now for the longer version at its helping a lot in my opinion, I am not sure as to why it has that soap opera sheen. I will be sure to be taking more time to be going over lighting set ups for my next film to try to get a better feel for that particular movie.
 
A good effort here -- but I don't think it quite hits the mark.

The grandfather's performance was a lil' over the top.
This young girl looked anywhere from 7 - 11 years old, and he treats her like she's much younger.
Her maturity shines through in her performance -- which I thought was much subtler and better than the grandfather -- but it still didn't have me buying this.

One suggestion I had was: give us something to pay off. Like, perhaps you could show us that he's sick in some way? Maybe not -- just an idea.

Thanks! Good work, and keep shootin.
 
abraham said:
The grandfather's performance was a lil' over the top.
This young girl looked anywhere from 7 - 11 years old, and he treats her like she's much younger.
Click to expand...

I have been waiting for someone to mention this. I agree. It comes across as condescending, even if she were much younger. The actress is a petite 11.

We toyed with giving up some clues that Grandpa is sick, but then settled on the 'sudden shock' of death, as it so often is in real life anyways. The pill bottle was all we used. In hindsight, maybe him taking a pill or 5 while sipping cocoa could have been a subtle hint.

Very much appreciate your comments and taking the time to watch.


aw

 
Last edited:
This was another heartfelt Whitmer film...and I like them all! Great job for a first effort. Yes, there were little things; audio, picture, editing...but show me a film that doesn't need anything tweaked in someone's opinion...never going to happen.

Brooklyn and Lou did a great job especially if it was shot over a weekend (I shot one in a day with only one other person to help, so I know how crazy it can be).

I would like to see brooklyn in something lighter some day... but lets just thank God Alex didn't write a spanking into this script!:(

Enjoyed the film & I look forward to more from you.
 
I thought this was a sad movie :( But, though it was, it didn't quite have that emotional POW that I was hoping for... part of it was the technical quality, and some of the sketchy performances (IMO) But this is a nice script and sweet story... well done on that aspect!
 
ZazaCast said:
I would like to see brooklyn in something lighter some day.
Click to expand...

I'm getting that a lot!

I promise, next film will celebrate life - with some heart-wrenching conflict of course!

Love to see her work under another writer's work as well.

Thanks for watching, Joe.

a
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top