"Abducted" - A film by Kurt Jewell

Snazzy Flapper said:
Why is her face fully lit like it is, compared to the rest of her body? Did you try it with shadows also?
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Good question. Actually, the whole photo shoot has a story behind it. Yes, I also took portrait shots where the lighting was more dramatic.

I was trying to find someone to help with the poster, but couldn't get hooked up with anyone. Finally chose this photo cause I liked the texture/stain of the wall. The others didn't catch much of that.
 
*Spoilers*


I loved the intro with the candle close up, beautiful. Posters on the wall with missing people, stellar. Problem? Once I saw the family, heard the conversation, I knew exactly the "twist" ending. Acting from grown-ups and kids not on par which downgraded the film. Had you stayed more toward the "mystery" with the posters - who dunn-it, I would have been more intrigued.

I love however the opening, set up was spot on.
 
Liked the opener. The acting wasn't totally perfect, but working with kids is tough, they probably were troopers. I'm no film detective, so I didn't figure it out any sooner than you had wanted me to. It was interesting seeing some special effects. Good job.
 
Yep I will follow on from Keaton's comments here. The film with its twilight zone element was completely unforeseen by me personally! However I was not totally convinced by the son (he was doing his best and he is awesome but) just not quite there with making the darker impact necessary to make his feel really threatened for the girl (which in turn makes her twist work a little better.) I also wonder if there is anything freakier that could have been employed as the secret 'girl power' that could have made the terror of her power really grab us?
 
I really enjoyed this - a very solid entry. I also thought the little girl's performance was pretty good: maybe she was a little stilted in the car driving scene, but for the rest I think she came over very well. I think my biggest criticism would be of the scene with the mother at the end. She didn't react very quickly when her daughter came into the room and she didn't seem worried where her son was at all. The policeman was also rather wooden and the scene lacked the emotional charge it needed. Nonetheless this was one of the better entries for me.
 
I really loved the film, but that should probably not surprise anyone in the know. The music added a lot to the experience, and seeing it with and without was a real eye-opener. I liked the quiet mood of sadness that was pervasive throughout. I am astounded that so much information could be communicated about a family in an implicit way in so short a period of time.
 
What a intrigues and wicked little story. The acting of the girl was exceptional - I loved her smile at the end of scene with her brother. I very much enjoyed the kitschy special effects in the parking lot. They were a bit over the top, but here exactly it works very well and gives the film an amusing and ironical side. The brother's acting felt not natural and a bit rigid. I also have to say that I always get bored, when there is a conversation between two actors and the camera shows both together instead of making more editing and switch from one to the other. I refer here on the scene when the mother is speaking with the other lady, who wanted convince her to go out of the house and visit a psychologist. These are miner details. All over I enjoyed this one very much, found it very entertaining and it feels very good that there was no gun or knife in it :). Many compliments and good luck.

Susanne
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I'm pleased with the way things worked out. Very close to my original vision.

I was personally very happy with the acting of my two mains. Neither had a chance to read for me. And I was shocked at how well the young girl rolled with the punches. It's not easy being yelled at over and over by a stranger, let alone for a youngster. But she was laughing between takes. Amazing!

I wanted to do something with no weapons:kali: and no blood. That set some of my limits as well as having to work within the limits of my sfx skills. Actually, the FX shots that were the most enjoyable were the second to last shot in the house as the boy steeled himself and car scene. The first because we ran late and it was completely dark outside as the girl opened the door. And the car scene because it turned out pretty slick. Here's a BTS:

CarGS.jpg
 
Wow, Kurt! Really nice job here. Nice improvement all around actually.
The acting was pretty good, the girl was great and the framing of some of the shots was really nice to look at. Really nice.

I also had no idea where this was going to go so that was a pleasant surprise. You've come a long way. You should be really proud of this one.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Interesting. Bad seed stories are always a lot of fun. If I had any particular critique, it might be that I would have liked to see the girl be a little more malevolent. Maybe the brother gets a little closer to really doing something ... tries to bully himself to get rid of her to win his mother's affections. But can't go through with it because it's just not him. And his sister just sits through it, watching him, studying him. Maybe not even an "Alex, you're scaring me." Then, we he can't go through with it, she turns on him. Belittles him, all of it. And when she pushes him to the point where he IS going to do it - the lightning strikes. I know - not my story. :) I guess what I'm saying by playing in your sandbox is that I'd like to have seen some deeper conflict between the characters.
 
Hey Kurt, I was about to come to your thread and ask if the car was greenscreen (not because it looked it, but because it was wicked). And there it is. Great work.

Clearly you have a good handle on effects (I did that video co-pilot disintegration for my Doritos ad too ;-)).... but the story was nicely told also and came full circle too.

For me I didn't really buy the acting from the main leads, but I see others did, and you were happy, so I'll shut up :-) Other than that this is a good short.

I'd love to see a vfx breadown of the car at some point.
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Wow, Kurt! Really nice job here. Nice improvement all around actually.
The acting was pretty good, the girl was great and the framing of some of the shots was really nice to look at. Really nice.

I also had no idea where this was going to go so that was a pleasant surprise. You've come a long way. You should be really proud of this one.

Cheers,

Mike
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Thanks Mike!

tomten3000 said:
Maybe the brother gets a little closer to really doing something ... tries to bully himself to get rid of her to win his mother's affections. But can't go through with it because it's just not him. And his sister just sits through it, watching him, studying him. Maybe not even an "Alex, you're scaring me." Then, we he can't go through with it, she turns on him. Belittles him, all of it. And when she pushes him to the point where he IS going to do it - the lightning strikes. I guess what I'm saying by playing in your sandbox is that I'd like to have seen some deeper conflict between the characters.
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Thanks Tomten for the constructive comments! Your comments hit home because they're issues I struggled with all along. I really like your twist on the interaction. Feel free to play in my sandbox anytime!

Darkline said:
Hey Kurt, I was about to come to your thread and ask if the car was greenscreen (not because it looked it, but because it was wicked). And there it is. Great work.

Clearly you have a good handle on effects (I did that video co-pilot disintegration for my Doritos ad too ;-)).... but the story was nicely told also and came full circle too.

For me I didn't really buy the acting from the main leads, but I see others did, and you were happy, so I'll shut up :-) Other than that this is a good short.

I'd love to see a vfx breadown of the car at some point.
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Glad you like the vfx. I'll try to pop together a short breakdown for the car scene. Thanks for watching and commenting!
 
Hi Kurt

Well done with the twist. It's been done before but you sold it very well. I bought into Alex the whole time until the reveal. Well done.

My main issue with this film is the bulk of it is just a long monologue by Alex in the parking garage. Not helping this is his acting can be somewhat flat at points. I know it’s tough finding younger actors that can really pull these roles off, but it still shows up on screen. The adults seemed to do much better, I quite liked the mother in this.



Kudos to you for taking a potentially very challenging and sensitive subject and running with it.
 
I thought the opening was off the mark. I believed the kid wearing the ac/dc shirt and the girl were ghosts the way the other actresses did not respond or even look at them. I am really impressed with your green screening ability. That shot looked very good and very real. While I applaud anyone who tries to use child actors, their inability to act hurt the film overall. The ending was unexpected which is always nice, didn't think of a Sci-Fi Thriller. The kid talking to himself was long, monotone, and unnecessary. You should have shown all this at the beginning rather than having a 30secondish monologue entirely made up of exposition. Look forward to seeing more of your work.
 
A good story marred by some below-average acting. Outside of the little girl, she was exceptional but everyone older just felt rigid, like they were reading from a script. Good green screen and I did not see alien lights coming into play so kudos on the surprise. Nice work!
 
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