A new short film by Michael Anthony Horrigan

Now available for viewing.


http://vimeo.com/4166205

Vimeo darkened it a bit and the compression shows when viewing full screen. I would keep it small for now.
I can make a high res quicktime available later.



Written by Melissa Mitchell

Directed/Shot/Cut by Michael Anthony Horrigan

Starring: John Collins & Ian Quick

Boom Operator: Tyler Krusch

Lighting: Haitham BouZeineddine

DA: Jennifer Barnes
 
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Hey Mike! Checked it out. Really strong short. It's not my favorite thing you've done, but it's clean, simple, and precise. It's also predictable, for me at least. Perhaps because it's so clearly a one location, two actor short, no other ending seems possible.

I like how you keep Ian obscured for much of the beginning. It would have been cool if you could have kept him more mysterious throughout.

The two reactions John has, first to the "half" comment, and the second to the "1.2" comment, seemed too similar. I wonder if there was a different take where they are not so similar.

I always enjoy your work Mike, and this is no exception. Good job, and I look forward to your next film!
 
Cool short. I liked the lighting to, and then I saw that you had someone do it for ya.

Nice twist, I was waiting for it and it made it better.

Just seeing that same guy in your films made it a little low for me, but that's only cause I've seen him 3-4 times. For someone who hasn't seen any of your films, it'd work a lot better for them.

The new guy you have in this short did a great job as well.

Was this for lossfest?

Robbie
 
Thanks, guys. Nope. Not for LossFest, just for kicks.

Jason, I think the ending works better when you don't know how long the movie is and are not watching the bar get near the end. If you thought this was a ten minute film going in maybe you would have been surprised. :)

I thought John (the other actor) was amazing. I'll look at extra takes for the lines that you mentioned. Maybe I have something better.

It's funny. I almost edited it as to not show Ian's character at all but decided against it.

Mike
 
As always... very well done! I haven't read any other comments yet so I'm not jaded. Here's what caught my eye (and ears).

I didn't like seeing 3 pull-back dolly shots right in the beginning, a little variety (push-in, crane, slide) would have gone a long way for me. All the pull backs actually started to take me out of the story right off the bat.

The 'machine' sound bugs me because I never see what's making the sound? If I was that guy, it would make me crazy!

Maybe I'm missing something, but John's fingers in the shot (1:42)?? Was there a reason?

Hearing the complete account number did nothing for me...he could have just said, "make the transfer" or something. I'd like to see the phone in John's hand when he's confirming the transfer...to see what he's looking at.

Once I get my hearing back and clean the blood from my ears...I'll say the gun shot was WAY TOO LOUD! (Ouch! That hurt as much as the bullet I think. LOL)

Somehow, I knew that was coming...so it was pretty predictable. (just really, really loud!)

Both actors did a good job, but I feel like I've seen too much of Ian, he wasn't as believable in this part as others I've seen.

There's my 2-cents (worth about 1 penny)! Please don't get me wrong, I quite enjoyed the film overall.
 
Mike,

Got some thoughts. First, the look was cool, I thought. I would like to see the other guy (not the interviewer) sooner, like a CU sooner. I also liked the twist but... kind of felt a little ripped off, I was hoping for something a little bigger.

Technically the film is quite proficient. I actually liked the sounds in the background, it added an edge to the scene.

I think at the end of the day this felt like a scene from a much longer and larger film. Maybe not a bad thing :)

Thanks for the watch!
 
Brandon Rice said:
Mike,

Got some thoughts. First, the look was cool, I thought. I would like to see the other guy (not the interviewer) sooner, like a CU sooner. I also liked the twist but... kind of felt a little ripped off, I was hoping for something a little bigger.

Technically the film is quite proficient. I actually liked the sounds in the background, it added an edge to the scene.

I think at the end of the day this felt like a scene from a much longer and larger film. Maybe not a bad thing :)

Thanks for the watch!
Click to expand...
Cool. I love the warehouse sound as well, and that last bit of your quote is bang on. This was a bit of a test for me. I'm slowly working my way towards a Feature and this was like a test for a small scene within a larger project. I wanted to try my best to make two guys just sitting at a desk come off as interesting.

I need to work on the opening though.

Thanks,

MAH
 
It's about time! I specifically checked here today to see if you were finished. . .and I had to find out like this? Jeeez! LOL. I'm at work, but will check it out when I get to the house. Glad you got it finished!
 
Marlon Ladd said:
It's about time! I specifically checked here today to see if you were finished. . .and I had to find out like this? Jeeez! LOL. I'm at work, but will check it out when I get to the house. Glad you got it finished!
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LOL! Thanks. It's not quite finished yet though. This is still a bit of a rough cut.

Looking forward to your feedback. :)

MAH
 
Okay, Mike, I checked it out and I liked it. I like the opening shot to establish kind of where they are and I think you should definately keep that noise in the background, because it adds to the scene.

The cinematography was stellar as always. Sound was on-point, but I don't remember hearing any music. Did you do that on purpose ("No Country For Old Men")? If so, there's definately nothing wrong with it. The gun-shot sound seemed fine to me, but there's something about that part that's off. I kept looking at it over and over again to see what it was and it's nothing that really stands out or that's too obvious, but I think that shot is just a milisec too long. I could see the guy lean forward before the shot sent him back and it also seemed like a milisec too long between the gun being pulled and the shot going off. I think it looks fine and you could definately get away with it, but if you wanted to change it, you could take a frame or two off the end of that and cut out a frame like right before he fires. I think that kind of shot needs to be so quick that the audience is kind of like, "WTF just happened??"

I also agree with what one fo the other guy's said that it does seem to be a scene from a feature. It's like you want to see the story play out.

Anyway, good job as always!
 
Marlon Ladd said:
Okay, Mike, I checked it out and I liked it. I like the opening shot to establish kind of where they are and I think you should definately keep that noise in the background, because it adds to the scene.

The cinematography was stellar as always. Sound was on-point, but I don't remember hearing any music. Did you do that on purpose ("No Country For Old Men")?
Click to expand...
Yes. The no music thing was intentional. I wanted to use the noise as the "music" this go around. I felt that it added to the tension between them a little.

Marlon Ladd said:
I also agree with what one of the other guy's said that it does seem to be a scene from a feature. It's like you want to see the story play out.

Anyway, good job as always!
Click to expand...
I'll take that as a huge compliment! :beer:

Thanks,

MAH
 
Hey Mike just checked it out. Overall its really good. I really liked the colors and the way you cut things. The acting was also good. The interviewer especially had a great performance.

There where only a few things that i thought maybe could have been better and i will pretty much just reiterate others here. The opening with the dolly shots kind of lost it for me as well. I also agree with Zaza that the account number didn't really need to be said in full. Finally, and maybe i'm just paranoid about people with trench coats (too much Matrix and Hot Fuzz), but it seemed obvious that the interviewer was going to get shot from the start to me.

Even so, it was still excellent. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to your next project and seeing how this one might translate into a feature.

Reed
 
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