Beginning Middle End Productions Presents...

Maximus said:
Great job! I really liked the ending. I didn't see it coming and it worked like a charm. One of my favorites! :beer:
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Awesome, glad you liked it. Thanks for commenting!

mjjason said:
I didn't quite get the ending. Was the girl real or imaginery in the end? Was she some ex-girlfriend that he still loved or was she someone he never met but somehow they had this connection that led them to drawing each other? I might have missed something but to me that wasn't clear at the end.

Also, I echo the comments about the sudden change in his demeanor from scared to happy. He changes to fast. Maybe if it was over several sessions with the doctor than I would buy it but if it was one session than it seems like a quick change. I think the 'Three weeks Later' part didn't help because it seemed like that part was after the doctor scene but you went back to the structure so I was confused about the overall time line.

I did like the look of the film. Very clean images and great framing. Especially loved the art pieces. They worked well.

Overall, strong film with good shot composition. I felt the story could be structured better to make it clearer though.
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I think you might be over analyzing it..
He's drawing her, she's drawing him, they meet at the end, love blossoms, everyone lives happily ever after... or Arthur's just out of his f*cking mind and needs some serious help that the doc seems incapable of providing. haha! In the end, I guess, it's up to you..

As for his changed in demeanor... I'm not sure if I agree that it's unmotivated or too quick. I mean, the last 3 minutes of the film are all dedicated to that transition - and also, wouldn't you be pretty happy if you literally met the woman of your dreams? I dunno, I see what you mean though.

Thanks for watching!

FDL film music composer said:
Great film ..very impressive quality and great score
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Yeah! thanks, Danny's the man! Check out his site... http://danielwaltermusic.com
 
Enjoyed this film a lot. Thought the characters were awesome. Nice lighting in the interview room. Very good work!
 
Mike,
I loved it man dead on with this one so artistic. I liked the animations and the story was great.
Well done.

I am hoping to make the art gallery showing but it is a school night and not sure we will make it. I may have to catch a ride with my brother and Lisa. See ya son I hope.
Pauly
 
Wow! What a great film (as stated several times prior). Perfect in almost every area. I would literally have to watch a couple more times to maybe find a flaw. As for the story... top of the line.

My hat is off to you.

:beer:
 
tykrusch said:
Enjoyed this film a lot. Thought the characters were awesome. Nice lighting in the interview room. Very good work!
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stinkpot said:
Wow! What a great film (as stated several times prior). Perfect in almost every area. I would literally have to watch a couple more times to maybe find a flaw. As for the story... top of the line.

My hat is off to you.

:beer:
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Thanks for the kind words, glad you liked it!

pauly_the_hitman said:
Mike,
I loved it man dead on with this one so artistic. I liked the animations and the story was great.
Well done.

I am hoping to make the art gallery showing but it is a school night and not sure we will make it. I may have to catch a ride with my brother and Lisa. See ya son I hope.
Pauly
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Glad you liked it Pauly! You're on the guest list regardless, I understand if you can't make it, but I hope you can!


Kyle Stebbins said:
Been meaning to come give you my final thoughts! Sorry it's taking so long!! =)
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Well out with it already!
 
That was one work of art.

Naah, didn't sound cool as I wanted. But anyway, I like this film, in pretty much every segment. Regards to music, it holds the whole story and is very carefully put into whole piece. Those bells kinda sounded odd, but that's just me, some critical hit WAS needed there.

Some lighting was overexposed (at least I think it was), audio is pretty good, acting in it's place (that part when Arthur falls and gets in fetus-lke position was kinda weird though), the story itself, hmmm...

I guess it could be judged in a couple od ways. First, both of them aren't real, but that is way too impossible in this case. Second, it's just love and everything around her. : )
In the end, I simply love this film-maybe there's just too little animation of the girl.
 
Mike,

Fantastic Story, excellent production work. My only disconnect was the doctor and his dialog. Thes rest was superbly written and executed. The animations were a nice touch with a haunting motion to them which fit the story perfectly.

I'm asking here. Would a scrim outside the Gallery window just in front of the palm enhanced shots on girl and Authur as they entered the building?

This was an excellent film and I would put it in the finalist list.

Side bar: As I get older romance films seem to make me feel good. This one did too even if it did have the Twilight twist to it..

Wayne Beck
 
Mile Bozicevic said:
That was one work of art.

Naah, didn't sound cool as I wanted.
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Valiant effort! Haha... I'm glad you liked it!

WayneB said:
I'm asking here. Would a scrim outside the Gallery window just in front of the palm enhanced shots on girl and Authur as they entered the building?
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The short answer is yes... but there are a number of issues with that... the main one being that the scrim would have been in the shot for it to be useful.
Lighting a shot like that is particularly difficult... our focus is the actor, and she needs to stay bright enough outside and inside in the same shot..without stopping down in the middle of the shot. The only real option is pounding enough light on her inside so she stays lit through the whole shot. Check out the setup below...
day_4_bts_4.jpg
 
Very well conceived and shot.

Loved the opening sequence, I was drawn (no pun intended) in right away.

One thing I thought was really great was the sequence in which the story was told. Masterful reveal all the way through. And I'm still not sure of a couple of things regarding the sequence of events in the story, but I do follow the whole story (I think).

Great cinematography. Great music. Great casting. Sign me up for a DVD of this one.

Masterful!
 
Short answer - Sort of . . .

Lighting shots like this with even the biggest lighting packages is tricky, especially to make them look good.

A scrim would not have worked because you would see the net pattern as we look through the window. You can sometimes get away with that when the window is just a background element that is out of focus.

The better tool would have been to put ND gel over all the windows, but given the time, budget and crew size would not have been really practical.

Another option is to light up the interior brighter so you are balancing the to the outside more. I did something like that in the office scene and the shot of our hero leaving his house. That said, you need a lot of light to balance the two, and those shots were fairly tight, so we had a fighting chance at pulling it off. If we were wider (for example, like the the gallery, I could not have done it with the tools I had). On my meter, the outside was somewhere around a 22 and inside I think we were shooting around a 4/ 5.6, so 4 or 5 stops difference - quite a bit for a camera like the HVX with limited dynamic range.

So, factoring it all in, I knew it was more important for us to just get the shots than have me spend a lot more time trying to get it only a little better. The old phrase "not every shot makes your reel" is important, especially on projects like this. We got the coverage we needed, on time, and that's what really matters.

Kevin Zanit
 
...What he said.

Here's the pic again..
day_4_bts_4.jpg


John LaBonney said:
Very well conceived and shot.

Loved the opening sequence, I was drawn (no pun intended) in right away.

One thing I thought was really great was the sequence in which the story was told. Masterful reveal all the way through. And I'm still not sure of a couple of things regarding the sequence of events in the story, but I do follow the whole story (I think).

Great cinematography. Great music. Great casting. Sign me up for a DVD of this one.

Masterful!
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John! Really glad you liked it... thanks for commenting!
 
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good film!

loved the art! really cool idea, loved the animated art too, really well done, looked seamless to me! nice touch and idea.

acting- the guy was fine, the doctor was not that great, he was way too forced, i'd almost rather prefer not to even see him all that much, i'd rather see the guy react and think to what the doctor is asking, i think this would make that part of the story so much stronger and more interesting, i think this story is all about what is in the guy's mind, so show me reacting to what he is thinking about. to me this simple change would make this story a huge winner.

as it is i really liked your film. the music was good too. well done! :thumbup:
 
AIM SESSION. A Work of Art.

AIM SESSION. A Work of Art.

Carrying on the tradition from Timefest, the AIM sessions have returned, a live stream of whatever may come out of our heads as we watch your films. Here are Ben Sliker, Brad Mate, and Justin Kuhn's thoughts on "A Work of Art."

Since for some reason, since we couldn't get Adium, AIM and iChat to all agree with each in one chat room, we had to go to an online chat room for the 3-person chats. After almost being molested by a forty year old man in a chat room for "privates" (ben read private chat), we managed to hop on to the chatzy client, which worked well. Note: Never search "free chat" in google and expect what you are looking for.

Ben: A WORK OF ART
Kuhn: I've got "twisted" up.
Ben: yeah ... that's nice ...
Ben: we are going in order
Kuhn: ready
Jebus: hold on
Ben: okie dokie
Kuhn: agreed
Ben: ok
Ben: new color
Jebus: rdy
Ben: now i can tell when it's me and when it's justin
Ben: not that i needed help before
Jebus: i didnt have a problem differentiating. when smart stuff was being said i knew it was you
Ben: ZING!
Ben: 3
Ben: 2
Ben: 1
Ben: go
Ben: wait ... what website is this for again? i forgot ...
Ben: ooo
Ben: art nudity. bonus stars for mike manning.
Kuhn: Those are my "private" pictures
Ben: apparently this insane asylum has 50s female closeup lights installed.
Ben: i hated drawing humans in college
Jebus: what time on the film are you at
Jebus: im off
Ben: worst part of DRAWING I and II
Ben: 2:00
Kuhn: two oh seven
Ben: cyborg assassin
Ben: i'd buy that.
Jebus: WHAT DO I WANT? STOP DRAWING NAKED PICTURES OF ME FREAKSHOW!
Ben: yeah ... i hate it when the police come when i draw my neighbor naked constantly for 3 months
Kuhn: awesome animation
Ben: subway shots
Ben: nice
Ben: that had to be a pain to get
Ben: DONT MIND ME
Ben: JUST LOOKING AT YOUR ART
Ben: i wonder ... did she draw him naked?
Ben: not that i want to see ...
Jebus: you would
Ben: TOTAL CHEESE ENDING.
Jebus: yeah that relationship is gonna work out. she has all these cute drawings of him. all his are of her naked
Kuhn: I'm confused as to whether she was in fact real or not.
Ben: you see, that's the difference between other filmmakers and me ... that ending would have been creepy and someone might have died
Ben: screw this "im insane but happy stuff"
Jebus: keke
Kuhn: he gets laid...IN HIS MIND
Ben: Justin, you obviously take everything you see on screen as real
Kuhn: I do my best
Kuhn: "Falling" is hilarious by the way.
Ben: YEAH WE HAVEN'T WATCHED THAT YET ASSCLOWN
Kuhn: I don't see shi* really coming together in anyway, or apart really...no real conflict.
Kuhn: if that makes sense.
Jebus: i like mindpoo poos as much as the next person. but this one made no sense to me. is she real or isnt she? the doctor says she isnt, but he see's her, and not only see's her but see's her interacting with others which would make her real, but if shes real then he wouldnt be committed, but why would he walk into an art studio and see drawings of himself. its purposely confusing and i dont think its good writing
Kuhn: yeah
Kuhn: bit muddled innit
Ben: alrighty.

Mike, if you read the Barn Dance AIM session, you would know that you barely lost the feelgood movie of the fest award. Partly cause your guy was a little creepy and John's was a handicapped kid. Production value was solid throughout this piece even tho sometimes it felt unmotivated, i think it would have capped off your piece to have dark lighting in the asylum room and then have the blurry bright lights turn on at the end when he says he's in love with her. The animation and drawings were awesome. Cheers. :beer:
 
Ben Sliker said:
Ben: i wonder ... did she draw him naked?
Ben: not that i want to see ...
Jebus: you would
Ben: TOTAL CHEESE ENDING.
Jebus: yeah that relationship is gonna work out. she has all these cute drawings of him. all his are of her naked
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Haha that made me laugh out loud! Thanks for the review Ben, it was awesome!
 
Nice job with the film, blindbuzta. And thanks for taking the time to provide detailed production notes in the thread.

Regards,
Russell
 
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