"Found and Lost" by Orchids of Wrath

Thanks zak and killamill for watching and thankyou extra for leaving helpful, kind feedback.

Sprocketboy said:
You have a nice film here and I like the score. Its only problem is the length. Shorten it here and there, and you will have a great film on your hands. Also check your black levels they can be taken up a little to remove the crush. You have a great technical aptitude and look forward to seeing your next endeavor.
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Thankyou so much sprocket. I very well could have tightened it up but it was already down to 4 minutes so I figured it'd be ok. I think your right though I should have tightened it further. I will also pay closer attention to the histogram next short. Hopefully with all this great advice you guys are giving me my next short will be bounds better.
 
i enjoyed your film. great woodsy location.

score was very well suited. one thing, did you loop that bird over and over again? too me it was a little distracting. dunno, probably just me!

like the opening, but you know what i'm gonna say there ;)

nice addition to LOSSfest!
 
That opening is just WAY too long for a short. almost a minute.
You have some good shots that could be trimmed here and there to tighten up the film.

Great music, I'd like to see more, like where there adventure goes to next.
 
Your opening credits were about 20% of you movie. I loved the music in the opening credits, along with the key. I felt like I was going to see some kind of mystical story, but alas, I was wrong.

When we got into the story they were searching for something that was buried by their grandfather's grandfather. That's four generations earlier...a long time. They seemed to stumble onto the exact spot rather easily...without the use of a map of any sort. Considering the length of the story, I wouldn't have minded if you had taken a minute to set up some sort of montage of them digging in several spots in the area before the found their "treasure." The box they found looked very contemporary. You'd have gotten much more production value if you could have used something that looked older, more like an antique.

It was kind of a let down that the key had been forgotten but I wondered why they just didn't take the box back with them and open it at home.

And while I liked the music on the opening credits, it didn't work for me in the film itself. It drew attention to itself and competed with the story on the screen.

I didn't mind the over-saturation at all. It made the forest look a bit magical.
 
Thnks guys.
Blaine said:
They seemed to stumble onto the exact spot rather easily...without the use of a map of any sort. Considering the length of the story, I wouldn't have minded if you had taken a minute to set up some sort of montage of them digging in several spots in the area before the found their "treasure." The box they found looked very contemporary. You'd have gotten much more production value if you could have used something that looked older, more like an antique.

It was kind of a let down that the key had been forgotten but I wondered why they just didn't take the box back with them and open it at home.
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Well the key was long lost. Thus it sinking into the deep sea in the beginning.

Now I see that props make a big difference in immersing you into the story, and that box clearly popped people out. I will definetally pay attention next fest to having more realistic/better suited props. Thnks for the feedback.
 
Orchid, some strong & positive notes here, and some things that left me in want (i.e. not so positive.

On the positive note, you really had room to add more to this story & you would have held the viewer's attention because you've got SOLID production value all over the place there! Opening credits, end credit/placement of title, etc COMPLETELY pro!

Visually, whatever was on the ground glass was annoying, especially as I think there were some shots where I didn't see it (some grit, or whatever that was ... a couple of spots on the screen, actually). Other than that, however, good focus, nice framing, movement, etc.

Audio was really good & clean on this as well! Although, I didn't care for the guy in the plaid shirt as much ... voice, everything just felt unnatural. But, the dude with the Young Life shirt on?? WOW! I felt he had a great look/screen presence, and his humble factor that he portrayed on screen was SO real. I really enjoyed him.

BTW, before I forget, your poster is amazing. However, it speaks to an entirely different story .... as well as the opening with the key. So it was a bit of a rope-a-dope, but in the wrong way, because we didn't get some twist....instead, we expected something else that wasn't really delivered. So, while you want to market & make your film look bigger than it is to a degree, you also don't want to leave your audience feeling misinformed, because even if they would have loved the movie, if they were expecting something different, it could impact their overall feeling of what they experienced, which you don't want.

In the end, this felt like half a story....like we cut out before we could see what was inside the box, or anything else. They're looking for a box, they find it, but now no key. The end. Even if we had faded out with the guy in the plaid shirt yelling at the other, as he frantically starts to break the box open with the shovel, etc. ... giving us reason to think there's some backstory, something desperately important inside, etc. It would have given us more.

I hope this doesn't come across too badly, as I truly do feel you've got a lot of merit as a filmmaker .... just give us MORE next time! :)
 
I don't think there was a story to this one. At all.

Other than that, I really enjyoed the look fo this. Probably one of my favorites in the fest.

Acting was meh, could do better, but the sound was really good which added a lot to this.

Location was good, and so was the prop.

Just the story didn't do much for me!

Robbie
 
Norm Sanders said:
In the end, this felt like half a story....like we cut out before we could see what was inside the box, or anything else. They're looking for a box, they find it, but now no key. The end. Even if we had faded out with the guy in the plaid shirt yelling at the other, as he frantically starts to break the box open with the shovel, etc. ... giving us reason to think there's some backstory, something desperately important inside, etc. It would have given us more.

I hope this doesn't come across too badly, as I truly do feel you've got a lot of merit as a filmmaker .... just give us MORE next time! :)
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Didn't come across as badly at all! I thought you were even being generous! Thanks so much for this great review. I shall tell you all how the story was originally going to play out:

after where the movie ends now, it cuts back to the one who lost the key's room at night and it turns out he did have the key, but he wanted what was in the box for himself. Then as hes opening the box the other guy walks in on him, and the blonde runs for the hills (as the big one is angry). The chase continues to a boardwalk at night and the bigger one finally catches up. In a sort of brawl the key is knocked to the water. Then I was going to show that same beginning scene of the key sinking and the end.

But time ran short. So I just made something out of what we had. But norm sander's your right I could have easily done one more shot with some more pizzaz to make for a more conclusive ending. Shoulda! Anyhow thanks alot you guys are really getting me pumped for next fest.

Robbie Comeau said:
I don't think there was a story to this one. At all.

Other than that, I really enjyoed the look fo this. Probably one of my favorites in the fest.
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Thnks Robbie one of your favs (even in terms of look) is really flattering! I know what you mean the story was a little light, but it did have a clear conflict and resolution!
 
the forest looked great, you got a good eye for location and i liked how you filmed it. didn't get the beginning credits though. they looked great but i was ready to see a boat or something, not a forest. maybe use credits with a key being buried in dirt? maybe also have the one guy nervous about not having the key, i mean, he knew he lost it already, so, he should've been real weird about going into the forest to uncover this box he knows he can't open. to me it would've been more believable if he was making it hard for his partner to find it or something. the other guy is ready to be a dad! " That's how things get lost." cool.

good film!
 
Dudes: you had my interest until they pulled out the box.

I can buy that box from Walmart! Same one. Come on guys! You have good cinematography, passable acting (pretty natural), great sound, and a story that looks like it's goign somewhere and you give us a box from Walmart? Couldn't you have at least have gotten an old rusty box or hell: MADE an old box and then beat the shi* out of it so that
A) it looks authentic for the time period and its aged over the decades, and
B) doesn;t look like breathing on it would cause it to open?
That's the point you lose all credibility, and shortly after that, the audience.

I gotta wonder how long you guys had been sittign on the script. Didn;t you at least have time to get the props made? Or did you and somebody forget them 50 miles away on the day of the shoot?

Sorry I sound so disgruntled, but i was really sitting back and enjoying the movie.
 
yikes i didn't think the box was that bad! No I usually dont 'get props made' unless I make them myself. I use props I find around the house and that was the best I could find. It was like the day before the shoot and i was like "oh god i need a box!". I found that because it looked extremely rugged and hard to open (to me) and it actually is an extremely sturdy box! But clearly it was bad! aye... Well I appreciate you guys telling me. I know for next time to put more time into props.
 
Hey pretty good film. You had nice shots and natural lighting. The audio was super crisp which is always commendable. Ehat kind of mic did you use? The story you had going was interesting. Oh, and I like the key sequence at the beginning. You've already got a good grasp on the cg stuff, especially the way you got the lighting. Yeah, the box is kind of modern looking. It doesn't ruin the short for me or anything. Is this your first short or your first dvxuser fest short? Either way, good job man!
 
Champloo said:
Hey pretty good film. You had nice shots and natural lighting. The audio was super crisp which is always commendable. Ehat kind of mic did you use? The story you had going was interesting. Oh, and I like the key sequence at the beginning. You've already got a good grasp on the cg stuff, especially the way you got the lighting. Yeah, the box is kind of modern looking. It doesn't ruin the short for me or anything. Is this your first short or your first dvxuser fest short? Either way, good job man!
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Hey champloo, thanks for the review. I used an azden sgm-1x (shotgun on a boom) for the audio. I think alot of the magic is in the mix and noise reduction though. This is indeed my first dvxfest.
 
I agree the box is an issue since it was supposed to be buried so long ago. Although they appeared to have a little difficulty finding the spot, I think that if there was some weird landmark shown that would have sold them finding where to dig, you know, like a very unique and old tree stump or something, I was wishing that he at least shared a hint of how he found the spot with the audience.

Writing-wise, I liked their chit-chat on the way, and I think the premise of the movie is cute, but I think it could have gone a lot father here if the imagination had been stretched. One thing that always annoyed me in films like Pulp Fiction and Ronin is that you never find out what's in the cases. I don't need it all handed to me on a silver platter but that always just bugged me. In this film, the mystery of what's inside the case is built up early on, so I really want to know (and expected to find out) what was inside.

I think you've got a really good start of a film here and by re-utilizing the nearly 40 seconds of opening credits, along with the remaining 2 minutes of time allotted, there is potential to go a lot further into a story.

Cinematography looked pretty sharp, the woods are a nice setting. I liked the music but found it slightly overpowering.

Best of luck in the fest!

John
 
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