Chad_from_Chad
Active member
Hi all,
I have just been involved in two shorts that we're very proud of. They are both entered in the ABC's of Death: 26th Director competition hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse. If you're unfamiliar with the competition follow the links to check it out.
Now, there are a handful of really great shorts scattered across the 171 entries, we aren't really expecting either of ours to necessarily take the win, but we have high hopes for the top ten. The thing is, we're not getting the views that a lot of the other shorts are, some of them are well beyond being considered viral, and without trying to come off as snobby, I think they have more to do with preset fan bases than the actual quality of the video. That's not to say that there's not a few up there that are definitely fantastic and well deserving of their popularity, I'll give links to those as well.
T is for Tabanid
Written and Directed by Brian E. Dutton
Produced by Broke Films
Shot on Canon 5DmkII and 7D with Zeiss Prime Lenses. Also a GoPro-Hero.
We're very happy with this one, it's a lot of fun and the performances are great. You may recognize Karissa Like from the MonsterFest entry "Burst".
T is for Toxin
Written and Directed by Joseph Begos
Produced by Reluctant Productions
You may remember their TimeFest and MonsterFest entries, as well as Josh Ethier from both. This one was shot on a Canon 7D with a Tokina 11mm-16mm lens on a PVC pipe Point-Of-View rig. The whole thing is pretty slick and if you can count the number of cuts... Only one is most peoples guess, you should have yourself a cookie. I play the corpse.
Like I said, we are really proud of these and wish more people were getting a chance to view them, but with 171 entries, trust me, it's hard to give them all a fair chance.
Here are some others that I feel I've really liked, in no particular order except for Toilet, I always save toilet for last because it's my favorite and sure to win.
T is for Twin
Written and Directed by Benjamin Martin
Honestly I was a little confused at times, some moments I realized later seemed to be intentional, and some of them seemed to be due to errors in shots and edits. But this one has stuck with me, I think I liked it after the fact, I think for the most part it's really clever and fun, and a really gross approach to this contest. It was also the last short accepted into the competition.
T is for Time
Written and Directed by Carl Ball
This one, I don't know what it is about it, but I've watched it a few times. It is very well executed, and there is some gorgeous underwater photography. It's kind of addicting, but I wish he would have been more creative with the title due to the fact that this is one of what seems like fifty T is for Time(s) submitted. These guys are on their way to big things. The Director had a clear vision of what he wanted and it seems as though he achieved it.
T is for Trap
Written and Directed by Alberto Lopez
Another entry that suffers from a duplicated title, this one is sharp though. Really great looking from the choice of the characters to the location, to the concept. Really dark and fun. I have been superbly disappointed in the foreign entries into the competition, this is one that strives far beyond. I wish it was getting more attention. It could done with a bit of a "less is more" approach as far as the ending. I'm also not sure why the shots of the gore on the ground are in color.
T is for Toothbrush
Directed by Brett Pausina
Okay, so picture quality is what I would say is the big negative for this one, it's shot and cut very well, but it looks more like a Youtube video than something that is going to be added to a feature film. It's clever and fun, I definitely have done everything I can to not have my girlfriend watch this one! They did a great job with it, it's outside the box for this competition which I wish more people had done.
T is for Turbo
Directed by RKSS - François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell
Did someone say outside the box? Maybe it's because I am an eighties kid, and I remember the ridiculously fun post-apocalyptic genre when it was at it's best... and worst. No one remembers Solarbabies, few remember Class of 1999, and there are so many others. T is for Turbo flashed me back to when I was a kid, sneaking out to the living room in the middle of the night to watch these crazy movies on late night broadcasts. There are a lot of entries that found ways around things they couldn't do perfectly, not Turbo, Turbo shoves them right in your face for a nostalgic laugh. The only part I really don't care for is the lackluster, unnecessary end, everything else is solid 80's fun.
T is for Tuesday
Directed and Produced by Ronald Short and Kyle Cates
This is another one that I didn't like at first, but found myself coming back to a few more times. Frankly, the performance of the boss is very weak, and the candy bar disappears. There is a charm to it. If it was a little bit better acted, and little less contrived, this would be deserving of a high ranking, perhaps not top ten, but close. I'm sure everyone can relate to Guy.
T is for Tickles
Directed by Dan Riesser
It has a clown in it. There may or may not be other shorts entered in the competition that have clowns in them, for some reason the jury is out on this one. I think it was much better than the other shorts that may or may not have clowns in them.
T is for Tracking
Directed by Matt O'Mahoney
Now this one has got a lot more attention recently than I expected it to. It's shot composition is fine, it's edited well, it's performances are what really brings it down. It's just lackluster, but other than that it is perfectly executed from concept to screen, just needing stronger actors for the dad and kid. Really fun and clever.
T is for Table
Directed by Shane Free
This one had me about thirty seconds in. It's well shot, even though it's composition and lighting contrasts seem remenicant of a chip commercial than a suspense short. The performances could be dialed down, just a notch, they were just a little over the top for me. The sound design is perfect, probably the best of the competition. A good solid story from begining to end, great suspensful build up without being ridiculous. This one is in my top two!
T is for Tobacco
Directed by Michael Jones, Paddy Jessop, Joseph Potter
This one I always feel like giving love to. They obviously weren't in it to win it, they just wanted to show off what they can do. I still like it, I laugh everytime I watch it. And they damn near fullfil every requirement short of tracking out of red at the head and tracking in to red at the tail. The competition wouldn't miss this short, but I'm glad it's there.
T is for Tresspass
Directed by Larry DuBose
This one is shot extremely well, especially considering the fact that most of their lighting was from flashlights. I know how hard it is to shoot in true dark and actually make it look like true dark. These guys pulled that off in spades. What they didn't pull off is giving us any sort of connection to anything going on in the short. Why is the guy breaking in to the house. Who are these weirdo freaks. A little exposition at the top would have gone a long way for this one.
T is for Toilet
Directed by Lee Hardcastle
There has been a lot of garbage remarks directed at this entry from the beginning. It entered with a hefty amount of votes and has stayed number one since it's arrival... it was the tenth of 171 entries. People have been calling it a "popularity contest", "Youtube following", all of that negative garbage that goes along with a competition where one strives so far beyond the rest in votes, now a couple shorts have caught up to Lee's heels. The fact of the matter is, well, it's the best entry. It really is. Everything about it works and fits with what you'd want. The only real criticism I have towards it is the lacking diversity in the father's exploitive dialogue. I don't have any issue with F-bombs, but I would think he'd use more than just F-bombs in the scenario layed before us. It's great, well done, and I can't wait to see it in the feature.
Now, that's not to say that these are the only shorts I liked. There is plenty of hard work shown in this competition. These are just a handful of entries that came to mind while I was whipping up this post, I didn't actually intend on doing more than throwing an extra link or two in. I guess I'm the jerk for wanting to draw some attention to other videos in the competition other than the ones I had a hand in.
Thank/Love You
CFC
I have just been involved in two shorts that we're very proud of. They are both entered in the ABC's of Death: 26th Director competition hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse. If you're unfamiliar with the competition follow the links to check it out.
Now, there are a handful of really great shorts scattered across the 171 entries, we aren't really expecting either of ours to necessarily take the win, but we have high hopes for the top ten. The thing is, we're not getting the views that a lot of the other shorts are, some of them are well beyond being considered viral, and without trying to come off as snobby, I think they have more to do with preset fan bases than the actual quality of the video. That's not to say that there's not a few up there that are definitely fantastic and well deserving of their popularity, I'll give links to those as well.
T is for Tabanid
Written and Directed by Brian E. Dutton
Produced by Broke Films
Shot on Canon 5DmkII and 7D with Zeiss Prime Lenses. Also a GoPro-Hero.
We're very happy with this one, it's a lot of fun and the performances are great. You may recognize Karissa Like from the MonsterFest entry "Burst".
T is for Toxin
Written and Directed by Joseph Begos
Produced by Reluctant Productions
You may remember their TimeFest and MonsterFest entries, as well as Josh Ethier from both. This one was shot on a Canon 7D with a Tokina 11mm-16mm lens on a PVC pipe Point-Of-View rig. The whole thing is pretty slick and if you can count the number of cuts... Only one is most peoples guess, you should have yourself a cookie. I play the corpse.
Like I said, we are really proud of these and wish more people were getting a chance to view them, but with 171 entries, trust me, it's hard to give them all a fair chance.
Here are some others that I feel I've really liked, in no particular order except for Toilet, I always save toilet for last because it's my favorite and sure to win.
T is for Twin
Written and Directed by Benjamin Martin
Honestly I was a little confused at times, some moments I realized later seemed to be intentional, and some of them seemed to be due to errors in shots and edits. But this one has stuck with me, I think I liked it after the fact, I think for the most part it's really clever and fun, and a really gross approach to this contest. It was also the last short accepted into the competition.
T is for Time
Written and Directed by Carl Ball
This one, I don't know what it is about it, but I've watched it a few times. It is very well executed, and there is some gorgeous underwater photography. It's kind of addicting, but I wish he would have been more creative with the title due to the fact that this is one of what seems like fifty T is for Time(s) submitted. These guys are on their way to big things. The Director had a clear vision of what he wanted and it seems as though he achieved it.
T is for Trap
Written and Directed by Alberto Lopez
Another entry that suffers from a duplicated title, this one is sharp though. Really great looking from the choice of the characters to the location, to the concept. Really dark and fun. I have been superbly disappointed in the foreign entries into the competition, this is one that strives far beyond. I wish it was getting more attention. It could done with a bit of a "less is more" approach as far as the ending. I'm also not sure why the shots of the gore on the ground are in color.
T is for Toothbrush
Directed by Brett Pausina
Okay, so picture quality is what I would say is the big negative for this one, it's shot and cut very well, but it looks more like a Youtube video than something that is going to be added to a feature film. It's clever and fun, I definitely have done everything I can to not have my girlfriend watch this one! They did a great job with it, it's outside the box for this competition which I wish more people had done.
T is for Turbo
Directed by RKSS - François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell
Did someone say outside the box? Maybe it's because I am an eighties kid, and I remember the ridiculously fun post-apocalyptic genre when it was at it's best... and worst. No one remembers Solarbabies, few remember Class of 1999, and there are so many others. T is for Turbo flashed me back to when I was a kid, sneaking out to the living room in the middle of the night to watch these crazy movies on late night broadcasts. There are a lot of entries that found ways around things they couldn't do perfectly, not Turbo, Turbo shoves them right in your face for a nostalgic laugh. The only part I really don't care for is the lackluster, unnecessary end, everything else is solid 80's fun.
T is for Tuesday
Directed and Produced by Ronald Short and Kyle Cates
This is another one that I didn't like at first, but found myself coming back to a few more times. Frankly, the performance of the boss is very weak, and the candy bar disappears. There is a charm to it. If it was a little bit better acted, and little less contrived, this would be deserving of a high ranking, perhaps not top ten, but close. I'm sure everyone can relate to Guy.
T is for Tickles
Directed by Dan Riesser
It has a clown in it. There may or may not be other shorts entered in the competition that have clowns in them, for some reason the jury is out on this one. I think it was much better than the other shorts that may or may not have clowns in them.
T is for Tracking
Directed by Matt O'Mahoney
Now this one has got a lot more attention recently than I expected it to. It's shot composition is fine, it's edited well, it's performances are what really brings it down. It's just lackluster, but other than that it is perfectly executed from concept to screen, just needing stronger actors for the dad and kid. Really fun and clever.
T is for Table
Directed by Shane Free
This one had me about thirty seconds in. It's well shot, even though it's composition and lighting contrasts seem remenicant of a chip commercial than a suspense short. The performances could be dialed down, just a notch, they were just a little over the top for me. The sound design is perfect, probably the best of the competition. A good solid story from begining to end, great suspensful build up without being ridiculous. This one is in my top two!
T is for Tobacco
Directed by Michael Jones, Paddy Jessop, Joseph Potter
This one I always feel like giving love to. They obviously weren't in it to win it, they just wanted to show off what they can do. I still like it, I laugh everytime I watch it. And they damn near fullfil every requirement short of tracking out of red at the head and tracking in to red at the tail. The competition wouldn't miss this short, but I'm glad it's there.
T is for Tresspass
Directed by Larry DuBose
This one is shot extremely well, especially considering the fact that most of their lighting was from flashlights. I know how hard it is to shoot in true dark and actually make it look like true dark. These guys pulled that off in spades. What they didn't pull off is giving us any sort of connection to anything going on in the short. Why is the guy breaking in to the house. Who are these weirdo freaks. A little exposition at the top would have gone a long way for this one.
T is for Toilet
Directed by Lee Hardcastle
There has been a lot of garbage remarks directed at this entry from the beginning. It entered with a hefty amount of votes and has stayed number one since it's arrival... it was the tenth of 171 entries. People have been calling it a "popularity contest", "Youtube following", all of that negative garbage that goes along with a competition where one strives so far beyond the rest in votes, now a couple shorts have caught up to Lee's heels. The fact of the matter is, well, it's the best entry. It really is. Everything about it works and fits with what you'd want. The only real criticism I have towards it is the lacking diversity in the father's exploitive dialogue. I don't have any issue with F-bombs, but I would think he'd use more than just F-bombs in the scenario layed before us. It's great, well done, and I can't wait to see it in the feature.
Now, that's not to say that these are the only shorts I liked. There is plenty of hard work shown in this competition. These are just a handful of entries that came to mind while I was whipping up this post, I didn't actually intend on doing more than throwing an extra link or two in. I guess I'm the jerk for wanting to draw some attention to other videos in the competition other than the ones I had a hand in.
Thank/Love You
CFC
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