BARN DANCE - John LaBonney

Hey John,

Sweet film dude.

At first I thought you chose young people to cast in your film, but then I realized it was just a teen dance.

It sounded like "The Black Button" (or something like that) on youtube. A man has a choice, but it will ruin someone else's life, and the man gets off free. I don't know if you know this film, but I thought it was going to be like that after the boy had a choice to get on his feet.

Where did you get the music?

Nice little short John, glad to see you direct something!

Robbie
 
Hey what's up John!
Great work on the film! You can tell a lot of hard work was put into it, I hope your happy with it, cuz you should be!
The only major note I really have is during the scene where the kid is reading the Bible.
First of all, it was kind of weird that the voice we here wasn't his... if he's reading it, we should hear him.
Now that I think about it more, I think that there was a better way to handle that scene.
In the following scene we see him throw the book down in anger, God hasn't answered his prayer. But when we see him reading the Bible, we don't get that he's praying for his legs. I think it would have been more effective to show him actually praying... and then maybe we see him struggle to get from his wheel chair into bed. That way, we see a little more of his desperation and then understand why he's so pissed the next morning. I hate using the cliched mantra of "Show don't tell," but it's good advice. I think showing that desperation is key in helping the audience identify with the character, more so then hearing about it the next morning.

ANyway, that's really my only critique of the film. Great job and congratulations!
 
Really enjoyed this film! You did a fabulous job all-around and my congratulations to you and your cast & crew. It's nice to see such a positive, uplifting story....and after seeing it, I can't imagine how you pulled this one off..the kids alone! KUDOS to you.

The only thing for me was the music. Great tunes, but I don't know if they really fit the film and seemed to overpower the mix whenever they kicked in.

The look of this film is just beautiful. I really liked the scene when he's talking to the devil...that guy just pops with the blue, blue sky in the background. The camera work through the whole movie was really well done. Good edit too...I liked the pace of the film... never felt bored or rushed. You should be really proud of this film!

Congratulations to the entire cast & crew on a job well done.
 
Last edited:
Great story.

Must say my favorite part was the dark shirt man. Great acting from him and he had the perfect look for that role.
 
great job man, it was amazing. loved the way the music was used. the compositing shot looked real cool. so happy to be a part of it.
 
Everything about this one is very good-sound, shots, montage, the story, and acting. (like the Mr. Devil:D)

One thing I didn't notice in the beggining is the fact that kid is in the wheelchair.(there's no shot that clearly shows that he is in the wheelchair)

But that is insignificant to the other parts of film. Really loved it, and the music and the end too. (a little too loud:D).

Great job!
 
Mile Bozicevic said:
Everything about this one is very good-sound, shots, montage, the story, and acting. (like the Mr. Devil:D)

One thing I didn't notice in the beggining is the fact that kid is in the wheelchair.(there's no shot that clearly shows that he is in the wheelchair)
Click to expand...

i think that was intentional. the fact that he was in a wheelchair was a "reveal".
 
I was totally into this film until you zoomed out. It went from feeling like I was there to realizing that it's a camera there. Other than that, I loved it!
 
blindbuzta said:
The only major note I really have is during the scene where the kid is reading the Bible.
Click to expand...

Hey Mike:

Thanks for watching, I sure do appreciate your comments. Of course, you honed in on what is probably the weakest scene in the film, one I probably would have left on the cutting room floor except that was where the ball was. Given the fact that I had a few extra seconds to spare, your idea might have worked out well. I agree 100% with "show, don't tell."
 
filthrich said:
My only problem is I don't like country music.
Click to expand...

ZazaCast said:
The only thing for me was the music. Great tunes, but I don't know if they really fit the film and seemed to overpower the mix whenever they kicked in.
Click to expand...

Robbie Comeau said:
Where did you get the music?
Click to expand...

chaconkevin said:
loved the way the music was used.
Click to expand...

Mile Bozicevic said:
Really loved it, and the music and the end too. (a little too loud:D).
Click to expand...


We're lucky to have both kinds of music in Barn Dance: country and western!

But seriously, music was a big part of this film, and I'm happy with the selections I made. I realize that country may not be everybody's cup of tea. But for a down-home "barn dance" setting, I think they're just right (although the sound mix may not be exactly perfect). But I can appreciate that there's room to disagree on this point. I feel that some will enjoy the music, and others maybe not so much.

To answer your question Robbie, I knew early on in preproduction that I needed "songs." Songs that you might hear out of the radio as you're driving along the road listening to a country station, as opposed to a "score." I needed a score as well of course (thanks Justin), but I wanted the opening dance music and the music at the end of the film to be singles. I remember mentioning this to Justin and he agreed that this would be the way to go, so I turned to Mark Johnson (who was a great help in providing guidance for me through all phases of production) for suggestions. My main issue was how to get professional quality songs and get the necessary permissions for using them, while avoiding costly licensing fees and enormous amounts of red tape. Aside from the festival rules prohibiting it, I don't ever want to use anyone's work without the proper permissions/clearance.

Mark of course knew the answer: there are many songwriters and musicians that make, or have made for them, demos of their songs so that they can pitch them to the music industry. Or they record them for self-publication/distribution. And the rights to those songs remain under their control (at least until they sell them to someone else). So I went to several websites where these artists post these songs for pitching (or individual download sales) and contacted the artists directly, indicating that I would like to use their song in my film. I wrote them explaining who I was, what the film was about and how the film would be used/shown (festivals, zero money potential), and I attached a copy of the script for their perusal. I was lucky enough to have both Aaron Cheney and Jenny Tate agree to let me use their music, and I'm eternally grateful.

A nice bonus is that I didn't have to succumb to a Creative Commons license (the part about how you have to offer any derivative work (like the movie) under a similar CC license always gives me the willies). Also, I didn't have to use royalty-free music or stock music that was available to everyone. Instead I got high-quality songs with a grain of exclusivity, and this added a lot of production value to the film.
 
sfoster said:
I was totally into this film until you zoomed out. It went from feeling like I was there to realizing that it's a camera there. Other than that, I loved it!
Click to expand...

That's an interesting observation. I planned this shot to come out exactly as it did, and I'm pretty happy with it, so I don't know what I would do differently. I do know that I wouldn't trade the expression on Jana's face in that shot for anything. Thanks for your comment, it is appreciated!
 
OK here we go... responses as i wrote them in my notes...

Copyright infringement? Coca-cola is all over the walls. Isn't that Chessny?
Predictable direction but that is okay
Really pretty images
Well frames shots.
Clean old school editing.
another copywritten song?
Sweet story.

All in all the story was very sweet and well shot. You might have copyright issues with this. Is this exhibition only? If you have rights to all of this stuff then who-ah, I need to study from you on how to clear copyrights. I really liked the short. I knew where it was going but I am a sucker for sweet stories so thank you for going there with it. Good job. I'm looking forward to your next DVXfest entry.
 
I just read your post on clearing the rights... and am now bowing at your feet. Very nice! Nothing like a little leg work to raise your production value. Kudos.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top