BARN DANCE - John LaBonney

Ming said:
What we didn't see was the kid having his heart broken when she ignored his calls after that day.
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Ah, that's a cool idea.

puckthemad said:
You know I was thinking about it John and I've decided that my devil would make your devil lose his cool. My devil has that cool echo effect going on with his voice too.... we should have a devil off...
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I think that your devil would make anybody lose their cool. Sadly we have no echoed voice to challenge you with. He's a kinder, gentler devil, and we wouldn't trade him.

Marlon Ladd said:
I've been also reading some of the threads. I didn't even see this as a religious piece at all. It didn't seem like a Christian film. I mean it did, but no overtone there. It was just a film about faith to me.
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Marlon:

I agree, Barn Dance isn't a "Christian film," it's a love story. The Christian element is tangential.
 
King Cole said:
This was very enjoyable, though it did feel a bit heavy handed at times. Some of the elements like the VO'd verses and the green screen shots seemed unnecessary. Overall, the story arced nicely with some suspense regarding the protag's decision. The strongest scene, emotionally, for me was the ending. However, I feel like it would have been even more powerful for me if I'd engaged with the protagonist a little bit before his decision. Then I could've felt his struggle more than I did.JC
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Glad you liked it, as it's been mentioned this is one of the few films that could have used a little more development time.

lawriejaffa said:
For me it was not a twist that our clean cut hero would refuse the devil ;)

The genuine twist would be that he accepts and it ends with him and the girl happy (without any betrayal/irony.)

That would have a Brechte like effect, making audiences perhaps go wtf hehe.
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Well, that would certainly be another way to go with a twist. I'm not sure I would go that way at this stage of my filmmaking, as I do think only the more sophisticated viewer would really appreciate that ending. Probably someone with a lot more prestige than myself could pull it off and get away with it.

thetvirus513 said:
I liked the film, some of the dancing looked kinda akward but the scene dancing in the wheelchair was really great. Also you had a good message without overdoing it and really beating it into the viewer.
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I was wondering if the dancing in the opening scene would be a little awkward, but I figured if you went to a typical high school dance you'd see pretty much the same thing, so I decided to let the dancers do pretty much what they wanted. Thanks for watching!
 
John, sorry it took me so long to get around to this. My original plan had me writing extensive reviews for each piece but, because of time constraints, I am only able to comment on a few and briefly at that. This was a touching story. I agree that there could have been more character development, but in six minutes that can sometimes be difficult. The only other thing I would say would be that the green screen **** seemed a bit unnecessary.

Overall, I enjoyed it, and would like to comment that the musical pieces really added to the mood of the piece. Good job and good luck! :)
 
Hey John, really nice work here. This was a very nice feel-good flick that was a nice and welcome change of pace from a lot of the death, destruction and all around despair.

I really liked your lead actor -- my initial impressions were of worry... I for some reason didn't think the kid was going to work. But as soon as he got in it... he had me sold. Great job casting him. I think he's got some talent.

My problems with the flick have more to do with the tinge of melodrama that sorta courses through the film. Most of what happens during the actual barn dance and part of the temptation were where I had the issue, but overall those are easily forgivable. And I am glad, though, that he didn't get up and walk at the end.

Nice work with this one. Made me smile :)
 
I thought this was very well made - great location and costumes, good colours and imagery, the music fitted the theme. I share some of the other posters comments about story and the Christian theme, but that's been covered enough. I will add one small criticisms: when the devil is speaking about God he seems to give him a capital "H" as in "He" and "Him". I think the devil would either refer to God as a normal "he' or "him" or would have more a tone of contempt.
Anyway, well done on getting this made - there was good production quality, which with all those kids meant a hell of a lot of work and organization.
Jason
 
Thank you to everyone for your comments and critisisms. It is only through true unemotional inspection that we are able to grow and learn. Unfortunately, both John and I are more than emotionally attached to Barn Dance and that is why your honest opinion is so very valuable to us. Again, thank you!
 
John, this was a very good film. The story was simple in a good way and it was a good concept. You had some good shot composition and a nice crisp and warm shot quality. The actors did a good job, especially the guy playing the "dealmaker". There was some ghosting on the people on the outlines of people during the green screen shots but it wasn't a deal breaker, especially because I can see what you were going for with that shot. Oh and the songs added even more production value. Good job!
 
Exciting news! The Barn Dance DVDs arrived today! We'll be shipping out a copy to all the cast and crew right after the holidays.
 
I'm proud to announce that Barn Dance is an official selection at the 2009 Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City, NV!

The festival runs from February 11th through February 14th, 2009. Barn Dance will screen in Showcase D: Nevada Filmmakers. Full details available at: http://www.damshortfilm.org/index.html

Thanks again to all the people involved in making Barn Dance and to the dvxuser community!

John

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I had a great time at the Dam Short Film Festival. Meet some great filmmakers and enjoyed seeing a wide variety of short films, which was very inspirational. Thanks to cast and crew members Aaron David Johnson, John Hoffar, and Hayley Nolan for making an appearance.

The most nerve racking moment was watching Barn Dance on the big screen for the first time ever. It was eerie to see every little mistake magnified 100 times, but having the film screen in a theater with a good-sized crowd was also very gratifying.

I'm very proud to announce that Barn Dance has been accepted to The Las Vegas International Film Festival! We're looking forward to continuing our tour of the film festival circuit and welcome all to attend.

Barn Dance will screen in the Nevada Film Block on Thursday, April 9th, 2009, at 8:30 PM on Screen 2 at the Eastside Cannery (http://www.eastsidecannery.com). LVIFF is a 4-day event; I'll be there at least for our screening and hopefully some of the other events.

A full schedule of the festival screenings and events is available at: www.lvfilmfest.com.

Thanks again to everyone for their support of Barn Dance!




 
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I recently learned that Barn Dance is an Official Selection in the Reno Film Festival, which runs June 17th-21st, 2009, in Reno, NV!

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Details are very sketchy at this point. I've only found out about the acceptance through the WithoutABox site and as of now I haven't received a phone call or email from festival staff regarding the acceptance.

By examining the schedule on the festival's website (renofilmfestival.com), my best guess is that Barn Dance will probably screen on Saturday, June 20th, 2009, at 1:30 PM in Indie Shorts Program 6, at the KNPB Channel 5 Studio. Festival events are spread across numerous venues, and according to the site, the schedule is subject to change.

I do expect to attend the Barn Dance screening (providing I can confirm the details) and will probably make a long weekend out of the event, taking some time to do some touristy stuff in Virginia City and perhaps Lake Tahoe.

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Remember, you can dance if you want to!

:)
 
Time slot for Barn Dance's screening at the Reno Film Festival confirmed: Saturday, June 20th, 2009, at 1:30 PM at the KNPB Channel 5 Studio, 1670 N Virginia Stree, Reno, NV.

I will be in attendance at the screening, and at the festival from Friday, June 19th through Sunday, June 21.

 
I had no idea all this great stuff was happening for the film. Congratulations are certainly in order! :)
 
Barn Dance at 2009 Indie Fest USA - August 22nd-28th

Barn Dance at 2009 Indie Fest USA - August 22nd-28th

I've just received word that Barn Dance has been chosen as an Official Selection for 2009 Indie Fest USA!

The festival runs from August 22nd-28th, 2009, and will be held at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA.

Barn Dance will screen on Monday, August 24th, at 7:00 PM. John, Michelle, and Bridget will be in attendance at our screening and at various other festival events.

Indie Fest has worked numerous discount deals for festival attendees, including discount rates at five different hotels, discount airfare with JetBlue, the opportunity to purchase heavily discounted All-Access VIP passes, and maybe even a group rate on Disneyland park hopper passes (pending). For all cast and crew planning to attend, contact Michelle for details on any of these items.

Remember, you can dance if you want to!

"I'm going to Disneyland!" :)

John



 
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