A Tear For You - A Frank Glencairn Film

Postmaster said:
I hear you Michael, I regret it so much that I did not thinking of geting some wider shots to establish the room and get some more motivated editing alternatives.

Having a wider one when he opens the window would helped a lot, to connect the next two scenes.

We shot everyting in one Sunday afternoon, and now I pull my hair, cause I knew that I need shots like that - just didn´t do them in the heat of the moment. (yeah tell me about shot lists, I know, I know).

Oh well, it´s live and learn.

Frank
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Still a very strong piece, Frank. Very compelling story. :beer:
Very topical as well. Overall this is a strong entry.

MAH
 
Frank, I tip my hat to you for taking on such an interesting and unfortunate current topic. The cinematography was simply lovely and I think the story works quite well.

I must say that I didn't really buy the lead male's performance. I think the entire story would have had a greater impact if he was a bit more human to me - this is partly his performance, and also the use of so many cliches in his dialogue.

I wonder - why not shoot in German and use English subtitles? I'm not suggesting that this would necessarily be better, but I am just curious as to why you choose to shoot in English (based on this and your TimeFest entries).
 
This was the first time Chris was in front of a camera, so I did not expect award winning performance. But I agree, a more experianced talent or even profesional actor would made a difference.

Talking about cliches in his dialogue, well I grew up with american movies and TV shows, so what did you expect :D

The main reason why I shoot in english is, I aim for international festivals.
I feel that subtitles are always distracting me. No problem if you can watch the film 2 or more times, but for international festivals I think english is easyer for everyone.

Having said that, I shoot my next short film in German and my first feature film is also in German.

Thanks for your thoughts Will.

Frank
 
It just looked amazing. The set design was perfect. The entire package just worked for me. The lead actor was a little rigid for me but no where near enough to ruin anything. Hell my actors are still learning the trade as well. great film. Sad as hell But a great film. I simply do not understand how to light scenes like you did.
 
Cinematography and Production Design very impressive.

My critique would be the opening scene as already mentioned. A wide shot to establish the geography between the man and woman would have helped orient the space. Helpful, but not essential for the scene to work.

As is, the main problem is with crossing the axis. If the man looks screen left to face the woman, she should really be facing screen right if she is looking back at him. The fact they both look left to speak to each other is confusing. Flopping the woman's scenes is an option to resolve the eye direction issue.

My two cents.
 
I really liked this a lot.

The tone throughout was perfect. There was a sadness, a sense of loss, in the air that you could feel in every scene. The music was lovely and I especially liked the way you book-ended the short with the little music box.

Very well done.
 
Frank, this was fantastic. Really tight and solid. You did a nice job of maintaining the tension between them.

The only technical thing I saw was the sound mix needed some work. It was easy to hear when you were taking the levels down between people speaking. And I thought I heard a tad too much noise reduction at times, but that might have been compression.

Otherwise I think it's incredibly solid and moving. Performances were simple and unaffected. Compositions and lighting beautiful. Nice use of the push in to build tense moments.
 
Thanks guys.

Yes Chris, Jimmy Gelhaar`s music was a great inspiration for me.
I listened to it all the time over and over while fleshing out the screenplay.


And yeah Mark, sound was a challange. I learned that a shotgun on a boom is doing a different job than a hyper cardioid.
I got more foot stomping/rubbing on the floor and squeeking parquet than dialog.
That, in combination with a cheap home theater wanabe system instead of 2 good speakers did the rest.

Time to raise some funds for better audio equipment.

Anyway, lesson learned - glad you like it.

Frank
 
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Jesus Christ, Frank, what a gorgeous film.

The acting didn't bother me at all. I like the drollness of the character, and felt it fit perfectly someone about to jump out the window - an almost zombie-like state. Any more personality would have been a distraction to the woman's more colorful role, and to the subtleness of the music box.

Excellent!!

Didn't bother me we didn't see the whole apartment. Not sure what would be there to reinforce the story. Costume/make up and a few props set the film firmly in it's period.

And man do I love that music. Hope I can find it on youtube!!

I'm a nimrod when it comes to tech critique, so I'll skip that. Boom? Shotgun? yeah, whatever.

For me the lighting, the framing, and most important, the rhythm of the piece was fricken outstanding.

A most superb film!

aw
 
Frank,

I love that you're tackling a period piece of sorts! Your cinematography is very strong throughout and I really enjoy the strong sense of grounding that your film gives itself.

I thought the performances all felt right, just as Alex said. The man performed exactly as I'd expect someone in such a condition to do. The woman was also peculiar in her reaction, but why she had to compose herself so made some sense to me (or at least from my interpretation, anyway). This is a very strong piece, Frank, and I think you have a very adept way of blocking and lighting your scenes. It's very basic but in the best way. I guess I'd call it "crisp filmmaking."

Of course, people have already mentioned the sound foibles. It was strong throughout, but the cutting in of lots of the dialogue gave way for a lot of noise to sneak in and out each time. But we don't need to beat this point to death.

Very nice work, Frank. :beer:
 
This is a beautiful and poignant piece Frank and you have to be very proud of yourself. You did a solid job here, with great cinematography and a very simple but effective story. Well done all around man and I applaud you. Your hard work really shines through.

Good job on the period piece as well. Your actors did a good job and were well directed.
 
Hey Frank,

I've got SO many thoughts & things to say about this piece! First, let me say that I was LOVING the beginning! All the way up to where the needle was lifted off the record player was SOOO pro! Sound, music, art/set design, titles, everything. NICE!

I was brought down some by the performances, mostly the male's, because they seemed so droll, but in looking back quickly at just the comments on this page, as well as going through the entire film, I can see that's what you intended & was the style. In that, it worked perfectly then, because it was very consistent ... just didn't PULL me into the story is all.

My other hardship I had with this was the audio, specifically on the opening dialogue of the female. Sounded like a noise gate was cranked too high or something, so I'd hear the background/room noise cut in & out, which caused distraction.

Otherwise, your framing, the look (SO LOVED the set design, your attention to detail on makeup, wardrobe, setting, everything), etc was spot on!

This is the first film I watched, and really enjoyed so much about it, thank you. Hopefully the above critique helps some, if only about the audio issue.

Lastly, I saw that you not only directed, but SHOT this?! Amazing. I personally can't do both, and I don't know many that can, because of the level of detail & attention that needs to be paid to both, but you seemed to be able to grasp both quite well at the same time.

Oh, and question....I'm assuming that was his daughter ... did she hate the guy? Only person that seemed impacted at all was the wife, and even that wasn't much.
 
I don´t think Chris`acting was stiff (last scene aside - pun intended) as some say. I wrote his character to be traumatized by the loss. And that´s what he performed like - thou he is not an actor but the most dedicated and passionated suit salesman I know - he did a fine job. But of course a professional would have be able to add some extras.

For Jenny it was the second time in front of a camera (played the nurse in my Timefest entry).
And I really like her performance.

Even if the HVX200 is not known as the most crisp queen of the night and I was using a LEX with 1960s Zeiss Jena medium format primes, I was able to pull pretty crisp pictures.
Sometimes a bit to crisp and clear - now that I look at them again.

Some one even asked me if I was using a EX3.

I´m really happy to get so much good response.
After seeing that film a zillion times, I wasn´t sure anymore if some one would be able to connect with it at all. The usual editor syndrome.

Directing and shooting andwhatnot at the same time Norm, means that you miss some things that make you pull your hair while editing. Not an adorable situation. On the other hand, I like to have controll over the things. For me it´s easyer to also handle the camera than tell a DOP what I want.

And yeah, Lili hated her father cause he never had time for her and the relation with Jenny wasn´t the best for a view years - but that would be to much for 6 minutes. I writing this things when I develop the characters, but don´t mention them in the film.
I hope that they shimmer between the lines thou.

Frank
 
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Frank,

This looked nice and hit the sense of loss perfectly.

I thought your production design was outstanding.

Now, I am probably going to be in the minority but for me I thought the piece started to drag in the middle. I found myself becoming distracted and in danger of losing interest. You brought together at the end but I'd like to see you tighten it up in the middle.

Your acting was not too bad. Jenny (I hope that's right) was much better than Chris. But I'm willing to give him a lot of leeway since you were shooting in English.

I did find the clichés a bit distracting, though.

Overall, a good job.
 
Blaine said:
Jenny (I hope that's right) was much better than Chris. But I'm willing to give him a lot of leeway since you were shooting in English.
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LOL - Chris is from New Jersey. :beer: But I´m sure he will appreciate the leeway. :D

As I said, I grew up with american TV and movies - so you can expect some cliches.
Look at it as american folklore in the mirror of an "old europe" film maker wanabe.

Cheers, Frank
 
Postmaster said:
I don´t think Chris`acting was stiff (last scene aside - pun intended) as some say. I wrote his character to be traumatized by the loss. And that´s what he performed like -
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I also thought he did a great job. As I said, I thought his portrayal of the situation seemed very accurate. :thumbsup:
 
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