Arabella

Very nice work, Matthew! I want to say more later but let me just say I can't wait to throw this on the projector and watch this with my kids before bedtime tonight! :)
 
Good Job! I enjoyed it! It was nice, simple and spooky. My kid has a bunch of stuffed animals too and literally just today got a doll... I'll have to keep my eye on it now! Good performance from the young actress and nice voice effect for the doll singing! Nice work. Really liked the shot in the first scene where the little girl comes back in and the Doll has butchered all of the other toys!

Thanks,
Andy
 
Ok, this is one of my favorite's. I thought your story was excellent, the acting was believable and the set design worked great. It was a super creepy film and those that have a thing for dolls eyes (me) will definitely get creeped out. Ironically, my wife and I just watched The Conjuring last night and the beginning talked about this story of Arabella. I loved everything throughout and thought you did a great job!
 
This movie just goes to show how a short film does not need to be complicated to be good. The plot was very focused and easy to follow, and the camera work was superb. You need to get down to Sydney and start making features! Australia needs more talented film makers such as yourself.
 
SPOILERS FOLLOW. READ THE FOLLOWING POST AT YOUR OWN RISK.

What I liked: This, to me, felt like a Horror film. Some of the others in the fray had some scare moments, but didn't feel very horror-y. This one did. Really creepy feel to it. Very well done. On top of that, I really like the way this was shot. We didn't have see anything gory or over the top because, let's be real here, dolls are super creepy. Really strong lead character. She delivers well. I really like that you guys had her and the doll wearing the same thing toward the end. Good build of suspense, too, with the eerie singing and music. The eyes of the girl at the end was good.

What I didn't like as much: To be honest the few things here would be minor semantics and preferences. I would have liked to have had more of a scare. Make it even creepier if you can.

Really solid entry. I'm surprised more people aren't commenting on this, but it IS at the bottom of the youtube playlist. Hopefully people are just working their way down.
 
Andy Olson said:
Good Job! I enjoyed it! It was nice, simple and spooky. My kid has a bunch of stuffed animals too and literally just today got a doll... I'll have to keep my eye on it now! Good performance from the young actress and nice voice effect for the doll singing! Nice work. Really liked the shot in the first scene where the little girl comes back in and the Doll has butchered all of the other toys!

Thanks,
Andy
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Thanks Andy. Yeah that doll definitely had the creep factor going. We ended up leaving it on the stairs when we went upstairs to shoot some more and kept forgetting it was there. A couple of us kept jumping every time we'd go up and down the stairs.
 
NICK ASH said:
Ok, this is one of my favorite's. I thought your story was excellent, the acting was believable and the set design worked great. It was a super creepy film and those that have a thing for dolls eyes (me) will definitely get creeped out. Ironically, my wife and I just watched The Conjuring last night and the beginning talked about this story of Arabella. I loved everything throughout and thought you did a great job!
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Thanks for your comments Nick.
 
Jared Brownlow said:
This movie just goes to show how a short film does not need to be complicated to be good. The plot was very focused and easy to follow, and the camera work was superb. You need to get down to Sydney and start making features! Australia needs more talented film makers such as yourself.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the huge compliment Jared, definitely put a smile on my face.
 
Hawk Teflon said:
SPOILERS FOLLOW. READ THE FOLLOWING POST AT YOUR OWN RISK.

What I liked: This, to me, felt like a Horror film. Some of the others in the fray had some scare moments, but didn't feel very horror-y. This one did. Really creepy feel to it. Very well done. On top of that, I really like the way this was shot. We didn't have see anything gory or over the top because, let's be real here, dolls are super creepy. Really strong lead character. She delivers well. I really like that you guys had her and the doll wearing the same thing toward the end. Good build of suspense, too, with the eerie singing and music. The eyes of the girl at the end was good.

What I didn't like as much: To be honest the few things here would be minor semantics and preferences. I would have liked to have had more of a scare. Make it even creepier if you can.

Really solid entry. I'm surprised more people aren't commenting on this, but it IS at the bottom of the youtube playlist. Hopefully people are just working their way down.
Click to expand...

Thanks for you feedback as always Hawk. I really appreciate that you are one of the few who actually comment on every thread.

Glad you picked up on the costume choice in the final scene.

Angie (lead girl) did a great job and was surprisingly mature for her age, I had to keep reminding myself that she's only a kid and not push her too hard, but she had a great attitude and was very patient.
 
Matthew.... GREAT job on this film. I really have no place critiquing your work as you are a professional & it shows.
Everything about this worked for me, could you have made it 'scarier'...probably, but would it have added to the film?
I think not. Scary is different to all people and as I discover with each fest, different strokes for different folks.

So, that said, I'm going to throw in my 2-cents. :beer:

The same way you thought I should cut my film, I felt that there were a few places that you could have held a shot longer on the doll and let people
creep-out on it. When the girl is first introduced to the doll, the shots at the table...and the 'twisty-push-in' were just too quick, there was no time
to really see the doll, let the music build and realize just how creepy that thing is. (IMHO) The film's just a little over 5 minutes...tons of time... let it breathe,
maybe have the girl try to destroy (rip it's head off, bury it, burn it, etc.) the doll and yet, each evening, it returns untarnished. Build a better sense of fear & panic.
But like I said, I'm just talking here, one man's observations & thoughts.

Loved the film. Your cinematography is top-notch and every other aspect fell right into place. Kudos to the crew & all involved, I think you have a winner here. :thumbsup:
 
ZazaCast said:
The same way you thought I should cut my film, I felt that there were a few places that you could have held a shot longer on the doll and let people
creep-out on it. When the girl is first introduced to the doll, the shots at the table...and the 'twisty-push-in' were just too quick, there was no time
to really see the doll, let the music build and realize just how creepy that thing is.
Click to expand...

I suspect Matthew wasn't so sure how well the VFX was going to work. All the doll shots were very tightly edited before they were sent to me to add the eyes. To be honest I was kind of scared to death I might ruin the film. Before the color grade (and without audio) the VFX eyes are not nearly as spooky looking, but I did the work counting on the grade and I think that came out great. It's always hard to judge a shot after you have watched those same few frames over and over and over.
 
msorrels said:
I suspect Matthew wasn't so sure how well the VFX was going to work. All the doll shots were very tightly edited before they were sent to me to add the eyes. To be honest I was kind of scared to death I might ruin the film. Before the color grade (and without audio) the VFX eyes are not nearly as spooky looking, but I did the work counting on the grade and I think that came out great. It's always hard to judge a shot after you have watched those same few frames over and over and over.
Click to expand...
Either way, you did an excellent job...and I hear you, thank goodness there were no VFX in my film!
 
ZazaCast said:
Matthew.... GREAT job on this film. I really have no place critiquing your work as you are a professional & it shows.
Everything about this worked for me, could you have made it 'scarier'...probably, but would it have added to the film?
I think not. Scary is different to all people and as I discover with each fest, different strokes for different folks.

So, that said, I'm going to throw in my 2-cents. :beer:

The same way you thought I should cut my film, I felt that there were a few places that you could have held a shot longer on the doll and let people
creep-out on it. When the girl is first introduced to the doll, the shots at the table...and the 'twisty-push-in' were just too quick, there was no time
to really see the doll, let the music build and realize just how creepy that thing is. (IMHO) The film's just a little over 5 minutes...tons of time... let it breathe,
maybe have the girl try to destroy (rip it's head off, bury it, burn it, etc.) the doll and yet, each evening, it returns untarnished. Build a better sense of fear & panic.
But like I said, I'm just talking here, one man's observations & thoughts.

Loved the film. Your cinematography is top-notch and every other aspect fell right into place. Kudos to the crew & all involved, I think you have a winner here. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

All very valid points, I can certainly appreciate where you're coming from.

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for taking the time to comment, the comments and critiques are the reason I love DVXfests - learn a lot.
 
I enjoyed this. Secretly I think I was comparing it to Annabelle from The Conjuring.

Annabelle_doll_the_conjuring.jpg

How could I not. Aside from the whole possessed doll theme, even the name is very similar.
Arabella had some good creepiness to it and the little girl was great. Cinematography was good too.

The doll moments worked but I never felt they reached the point of "horror movie" scary. Not bad, though.
As a short film I thought it was very good. Well constructed, good editing, and very polished.

The VFX were very good as well. Great job.
 
Really enjoyed this one. Your lead is a shoe-in for best actress.

I can't really comment on camera angles, and sound and lighting - not my area - but story-wise it's clean and coherent. Two issues, though: why would the great-grandmother give the evil doll to her? Not a good relationship? Wanted to pass it on to someone she trusted? From Jessica's reaction to the death, there didn't seem to be a feeling of loss. ?? Maybe a comment from Jessica could have made it clear - like, 'Why, I thought she didn't like me' or something to give a clue.

The other issue is that Jessica resorts to same/similar ways to try and get rid of the doll. It never escalates to real fear, or a real determination to lose it - chop it up, burn it, pull the legs off - something more than a closet toss.

Okay, maybe a third issue: I felt Angelika was a tad old to be playing tea party, especially with folks her age so wired on tech these days. However, in an Alice-In-Wonderland kinda way, it works, and may actually lend more to the creep factor. On the fence about it.

Nice film, fun to watch. Easily a 9/10

a
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I enjoyed this. Secretly I think I was comparing it to Annabelle from The Conjuring.

View attachment 78261

How could I not. Aside from the whole possessed doll theme, even the name is very similar.
Arabella had some good creepiness to it and the little girl was great. Cinematography was good too.

The doll moments worked but I never felt they reached the point of "horror movie" scary. Not bad, though.
As a short film I thought it was very good. Well constructed, good editing, and very polished.

The VFX were very good as well. Great job.
Click to expand...

Never seen 'The Conjuring' but will definitely have to check it out.

Thanks for the comments and criticisms Michael.
 
alex whitmer said:
Really enjoyed this one. Your lead is a shoe-in for best actress.

I can't really comment on camera angles, and sound and lighting - not my area - but story-wise it's clean and coherent. Two issues, though: why would the great-grandmother give the evil doll to her? Not a good relationship? Wanted to pass it on to someone she trusted? From Jessica's reaction to the death, there didn't seem to be a feeling of loss. ?? Maybe a comment from Jessica could have made it clear - like, 'Why, I thought she didn't like me' or something to give a clue.

The other issue is that Jessica resorts to same/similar ways to try and get rid of the doll. It never escalates to real fear, or a real determination to lose it - chop it up, burn it, pull the legs off - something more than a closet toss.

Okay, maybe a third issue: I felt Angelika was a tad old to be playing tea party, especially with folks her age so wired on tech these days. However, in an Alice-In-Wonderland kinda way, it works, and may actually lend more to the creep factor. On the fence about it.

Nice film, fun to watch. Easily a 9/10

a
Click to expand...

Thanks Alex. Some really good questions that have definitely got me thinking.
 
That is one damn creepy doll. Didn't she figure out that locking her in a room doesn't work. Maybe this was time for her to play with fire. And when that damned thing is singing was she the only one who could hear it. The acting by the girl was awesome. I wish it was a bit more scary and maybe if the doll moved on its own in just subtle movements it would've provided that extra fright. Okay, in my mind grandma possessed the doll so she could possess the girl and live on. Or she was just a mean old woman passing on a creepy doll to the kid. This was a very professional short and super sharp. If you ever need a script let me know. :) Great job!
 
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