A Brief Case by TheMacB and abraham
- Thread starter TheMacB
- Start date
penfever
Well-known member
I liked this one just fine. It was a charming, solid effort all around. High points would be the music, which was really quite good, and the framing and editing, which ranged from slightly dull to very, very clever. Several sequences were splendid, especially the end. Don't know how 'sci-fi' it was though.
Nice work, and keep shooting.
Nice work, and keep shooting.
Shaun Patrick
Well-known member
Geez guys, this was awesome. The best executed comedy I've seen so far. It was well acted and the visuals were really imaginative. It's also one of the few entries that didn't lose momentum in the ending, which is just a credit to your storytelling and directing abilities. Awesome job all around.
I guess I have to kind of echo the 'sci-fi'-ness of the piece but a Pandora's Briefcase definitely is enough to win me over. Others might not be as convinced.
Maybe, when you have a chance, you can talk a little about the production design--primarily how your approached destroying the office. It was a great shot to end the piece on.
Awesome job all around.
I guess I have to kind of echo the 'sci-fi'-ness of the piece but a Pandora's Briefcase definitely is enough to win me over. Others might not be as convinced.
Maybe, when you have a chance, you can talk a little about the production design--primarily how your approached destroying the office. It was a great shot to end the piece on.
Awesome job all around.
Blaine
Mr. Hollywood
EXCELLENT!
I love this piece. A real treat. I REALLY wanted a look inside that briefcase. You kept me hooked all the way to the end. I thought the acting was carried off well, too. That music reminded me of something I'd see in a comedy located on the French or Italian Riviera...cool stuff. Did I say how much I like this?
Last edited:
angrynerdrock07
Well-known member
Wow. I'm surprised there is more comments on this film. I thought it was definately one of the best. It's in my top 3 out of the twenty or so I've watched so far. I have to say it had the best pace out of all the entries I have seen. Never dragged for me at any point. Keep up the good work!
In my opinion this movie had NO flaws compared to other movies that people are saying were "great".
Ive seen other movies stretching even FARTHER into being called a "sci fi flick" that didnt even come CLOSE in quality to this one.
Anyways....Im suprised this movie has so little comments so far....but I must say that you have done a FANTASTIC job that SHOULD be a hell of alot more reckognised than it has been thus far.
I hope that post counts dont equal votes in the long run......And that "sci-fest" is more than just "let me pat my friend on the back".
Ive seen other movies stretching even FARTHER into being called a "sci fi flick" that didnt even come CLOSE in quality to this one.
Anyways....Im suprised this movie has so little comments so far....but I must say that you have done a FANTASTIC job that SHOULD be a hell of alot more reckognised than it has been thus far.
I hope that post counts dont equal votes in the long run......And that "sci-fest" is more than just "let me pat my friend on the back".
Kaz
Well-known member
This is by far my favorite sci-comedy of the bunch. You guys should be proud. The comic timing was close to perfect and there were enough little looks and gestures from the main players to keep you into it. And I agree with others who dug the music.
My one negative is somewhat insignificant as it involves the pinkness of the blood. You should darken that in post. Unless you wanted this piece to be a "lite" dark-comedy that is...
My one negative is somewhat insignificant as it involves the pinkness of the blood. You should darken that in post. Unless you wanted this piece to be a "lite" dark-comedy that is...
Shawn Murphy
Well-known member
Easily in my top three so far (along side of 'We Are Not Alone' and 'Similo'). Although lacking in the realm of "Sci-fi", it made up for it with great camera/editing/production values! Excellent work, I really enjoyed watching this!
Hi Marks All Around
Hi Marks All Around
Truly some of the best camera work of any entry.
Nothing overused...dollys or cranes...smooth. The camera had the weight and feel of a nice heavy 35mm like we're all used to seeing. Great Operator on this show!
It's obvious the amount of planning and care went into the preproduction.
THe Post it notes we're a great touch as well.
I enjoyed all of it!
Kip Kubin
Hi Marks All Around
Truly some of the best camera work of any entry.
Nothing overused...dollys or cranes...smooth. The camera had the weight and feel of a nice heavy 35mm like we're all used to seeing. Great Operator on this show!
It's obvious the amount of planning and care went into the preproduction.
THe Post it notes we're a great touch as well.
I enjoyed all of it!
Kip Kubin
EditPhish
Well-known member
TheMacB,
Your film is our resident "sleeper" I think -- certainly not getting the attention it deserves, at least in replies/comments... I find that a bit of a shame really.
OUTstanding is what I can say about this. Let me tell you, you KNOW you've arrived when the teens in the family go around quoting your film like it's Napolean Dynamite. I heard my daughter say twice today "Let Ted play with Guinea Pig!" ... LOL
Your cinematography and lighting were superb, and the editing was flawless.... so natural, so professional that it goes unnoticed like it should. Your set/location was amazing (and man, I would not have wanted to clean up after the end scene! LOL).
I loved that shot at the beginning after he's playing with the fish... when he's walking down the hallway and the camera is on the other side of the wall... perfect!
Obviously, the guinea pig line cracked me up (and the rest of my family), and the post-it notes were hilarious. I also loved the guy looking over the cubicle at the beginning.
Music was excellent... perfect fit for the story. Sounds was good (though the dialogue seems just a bit low when the "boss" is giving him xeroxing orders)... loved the ambiant offices sounts. Great attention to details.
I'd love to see this on a bigger screen... I'm wondering if there are even more details I'm missing... like I wonder, what are the letters circled in each person's cubicle? Maybe an obscure question, but you paid so much attention to detail I want to absorb it all
SUPER professional all around.
The story was fantastic. Very clear from beginning to end, very well told, and had me emersed and interested. Incredibly clever without being over people's heads, and FUNNY.
Only nit-pick is the color of the blood...unless you intended a "fake" look to it to keep it light... it just stood out to me as TOO fake.
Otherwise, thumbs up across all rating points and across the board! You are absolutely one of the tops films!
and ps. I think a "supernatural briefcase" is certainly a sci-fi theme -- as much as any other film in this fest!
Your film is our resident "sleeper" I think -- certainly not getting the attention it deserves, at least in replies/comments... I find that a bit of a shame really.
OUTstanding is what I can say about this. Let me tell you, you KNOW you've arrived when the teens in the family go around quoting your film like it's Napolean Dynamite. I heard my daughter say twice today "Let Ted play with Guinea Pig!" ... LOL
Your cinematography and lighting were superb, and the editing was flawless.... so natural, so professional that it goes unnoticed like it should. Your set/location was amazing (and man, I would not have wanted to clean up after the end scene! LOL).
I loved that shot at the beginning after he's playing with the fish... when he's walking down the hallway and the camera is on the other side of the wall... perfect!
Obviously, the guinea pig line cracked me up (and the rest of my family), and the post-it notes were hilarious. I also loved the guy looking over the cubicle at the beginning.
Music was excellent... perfect fit for the story. Sounds was good (though the dialogue seems just a bit low when the "boss" is giving him xeroxing orders)... loved the ambiant offices sounts. Great attention to details.
I'd love to see this on a bigger screen... I'm wondering if there are even more details I'm missing... like I wonder, what are the letters circled in each person's cubicle? Maybe an obscure question, but you paid so much attention to detail I want to absorb it all
SUPER professional all around.
The story was fantastic. Very clear from beginning to end, very well told, and had me emersed and interested. Incredibly clever without being over people's heads, and FUNNY.
Only nit-pick is the color of the blood...unless you intended a "fake" look to it to keep it light... it just stood out to me as TOO fake.
Otherwise, thumbs up across all rating points and across the board! You are absolutely one of the tops films!
and ps. I think a "supernatural briefcase" is certainly a sci-fi theme -- as much as any other film in this fest!
Last edited:
TheMacB
Veteran
hey guys, i can't tell you how awesome it is to read these comments. especially coming from the people who made my favorite films in the fest. i was going to try to stick it out until voting without commenting because i wanted the film to speak for itself. i didn't want what i said about this film (or other people's films) to affect the voting. but after what Kaz said i don't want to lose out by appearing to ignore everybody.
gotta be honest, we're borderline sci-fi. it all depends on what you put in the briefcase. and that's up to the viewer. for us it was an alien. but what could be in that briefcase that would keep the movie from being sci-fi? a monster? a supernatural power? a guinea pig? are those things not sci-fi? if you ask me, a guinea pig capable of doing that stuff is a wonder of science and has got to be fictional. and if my fx skills were anything close to those of some of the other entrants', that blood would have been beautiful. so i'm going to have to say, yeah we made it pink to keep the film light (will you believe that?).
gotta be honest, we're borderline sci-fi. it all depends on what you put in the briefcase. and that's up to the viewer. for us it was an alien. but what could be in that briefcase that would keep the movie from being sci-fi? a monster? a supernatural power? a guinea pig? are those things not sci-fi? if you ask me, a guinea pig capable of doing that stuff is a wonder of science and has got to be fictional. and if my fx skills were anything close to those of some of the other entrants', that blood would have been beautiful. so i'm going to have to say, yeah we made it pink to keep the film light (will you believe that?).
Last edited:
abraham
Well-known member
Adam's right, this has been really fantastic reading what you guys write. All of the criticisms are dead on -- and god damn that blood. I've been gone a day, but adam and I were about not really wanting to stifle people's comments by jumping in and explaining everything while the comments were just trickling in.
Ah EditPhish, I'm really glad you mentioned those numbers! We found all of these sheets scattered around the office, and no, there's not really much more to it than random numbers on a page, and each cubicle has a different one circled in red. There were also some golden messages written on those post-its by the crew.
We basically were handed the keys to this office for three days ("Ted's" stepdad had a good friend at an office building) and we just slept there and shot into the morning, and every employee was so enthusiastic at the office all day (except for this About Schmidt guy who hated us). They are a lot of the extras, and they loved preparing for the last shot.
Ah EditPhish, I'm really glad you mentioned those numbers! We found all of these sheets scattered around the office, and no, there's not really much more to it than random numbers on a page, and each cubicle has a different one circled in red. There were also some golden messages written on those post-its by the crew.
We basically were handed the keys to this office for three days ("Ted's" stepdad had a good friend at an office building) and we just slept there and shot into the morning, and every employee was so enthusiastic at the office all day (except for this About Schmidt guy who hated us). They are a lot of the extras, and they loved preparing for the last shot.
Last edited:
i have to say this has been my favourite short of all. the pacing, music, cinematogrphy and editing were all great quality. the story and actors were great as well. i just a have a couple questions:
how did you make the brief case move by itself?
and why was he holding the brief case at the end? did he manage to catch the alien after it had ravaged the office?
great job!
how did you make the brief case move by itself?
and why was he holding the brief case at the end? did he manage to catch the alien after it had ravaged the office?
great job!
Norm Sanders
Script Wrangler
You guys definately need to get in and respond more. Members want to know that you're getting their feedback, answering questions/comment they may have, etc. It also helps, when you respond, to keep the film more near the top of the heap so if someone hasn't watched your film yet, hopefully it'll help to remind them maybe they should ... though that's the least of the reasons to respond.
Anyhow ... this short. Ugh, is all I can say. Ugh, meaning, why couldn't WE have thought of such beautifully created shots? Don't get me wrong, Ryan (waltind) did a bang up job DP'ing for our project, but WOW, you guys take the cake.
Only two films so far have rec'd 10's from me for Cinematography ... yours and SIMILO, for different reasons. SIMILO was gorgeous in it's images it created, and the surreal world. Yours, however, is pure genius in some of the long tracking shots, the crane shots (nice seeing your DIY crane in action - huge props on that, BTW), etc.
The VFX, aside from the pinkish blood, were top notch with regards to beleiveability (paperwork blowing from the wind, the movement of the case, etc.).
My only gripe might be the sound mix at the beginning was too low. I really had to crank the speakers to hear the receptionist.
I didn't see this as straight up comedy, though it was humerous to me ... especially everytime I saw homages to OFFICE SPACE, which was nearly throughout the entire thing.
Was it Sci-Fi? Sure it was. Anything to fit in that case, short of C4, and to do THAT kind of havoc has to be Sci-Fi. I also felt REAL sorry for the poor guy who had to play freeze tag & balance on top of the cubicle walls like that ... dedication to the craft of being an "extra".
Music was good, acting paid off well, and aside from not having much of a story (still above average, but that's where it ranked lowest for me - screenplay), this film was pickin' excellent!
Really great work guy, you should be proud. It's in my top favorites of a small handful.
Anyhow ... this short. Ugh, is all I can say. Ugh, meaning, why couldn't WE have thought of such beautifully created shots? Don't get me wrong, Ryan (waltind) did a bang up job DP'ing for our project, but WOW, you guys take the cake.
Only two films so far have rec'd 10's from me for Cinematography ... yours and SIMILO, for different reasons. SIMILO was gorgeous in it's images it created, and the surreal world. Yours, however, is pure genius in some of the long tracking shots, the crane shots (nice seeing your DIY crane in action - huge props on that, BTW), etc.
The VFX, aside from the pinkish blood, were top notch with regards to beleiveability (paperwork blowing from the wind, the movement of the case, etc.).
My only gripe might be the sound mix at the beginning was too low. I really had to crank the speakers to hear the receptionist.
I didn't see this as straight up comedy, though it was humerous to me ... especially everytime I saw homages to OFFICE SPACE, which was nearly throughout the entire thing.
Was it Sci-Fi? Sure it was. Anything to fit in that case, short of C4, and to do THAT kind of havoc has to be Sci-Fi. I also felt REAL sorry for the poor guy who had to play freeze tag & balance on top of the cubicle walls like that ... dedication to the craft of being an "extra".
Music was good, acting paid off well, and aside from not having much of a story (still above average, but that's where it ranked lowest for me - screenplay), this film was pickin' excellent!
Really great work guy, you should be proud. It's in my top favorites of a small handful.
Blaine
Mr. Hollywood
Okay, I've watched this a couple more times and I really want to give you some constructive criticism that might make this better. I can't. This is a complete story. A true short. This isn't the type of story that needs longer or to be explained. Your pacing was perfect, music (as I said in an earlier post) great and fits the movie like a glove. Suddenly, things have become difficult. There are many good shorts in the fest and it has now become oranges "competing" against "apples". I have seen five movies here that could claim top honors based upon the different catagories. In fact, at this point, I don't see it as a competition. At the top level, how can you say, "this movie is better than this other one."
Guys, this was REALLY, REALLY good.
Guys, this was REALLY, REALLY good.