"Bits and Pieces" by: Justin R. Durban

Stunningly well produced. Beautfully shot. Terrific script and what a nice performance you got from that little sweetheart.

.... and the score doesn't suck either :)

Bravo.
 
The production value was top notch for this one. The characters were believable and the little girl was spot on. The VFX were also quite good. I really got into your monster.

The music was great and seemed to fit this piece well, I'm not surprised. :)
The ending left me wanting a tad more but I like endings like that.

Seems like there was a lot of different people involved in this one. It really shows. Great improvement all around.

Cheers,

Mike
 
The monster was great. I wish the fest would allow for a longer film, so that the characters could be explored more.

Score was awesome, as usual :)
 
Yours was one of the first ones we got to see... We must have hit "refresh" on the monsterfest page early on because we were downloading before anyone else, and yours was one of those we got before the admin/mods slapped up a "coming soon" page... (sorry mods/admins... we thought you were live!)...

You film looked REALLY good... the ambience and lighting were done really well, and the whole look of the film was simply amazing.

I liked the story for the first half, though the dreamy "lets play together" sequences seem to come off more campy than you wanted for the whole feel of the film.

I'm not sure I understood where it ended up going (until JTyner explained to me that the monster was a mummy and he mummified the girl at the end - if that's what you truly were saying). I think I liked the story better when you were going along the line of the little girl making HIM feel accepted... and I thought that's where it would go... but the story took a horrifying turn. Unexpected? Yes. Maybe that was good for some viewers, but I had hopes it would go somewhere else (call me sappy).

Something about it reminded me of "The Maxx" (for you comic book geeks out there)... that's not a criticism.

Music was excellent and the sound was really well done. The whole thing was just pulled together very professionally. My personal issues aside, it's one of the best in the batch. Big thumbs up for you!
 
Dude Justin! That was just awesome!! I loved it! Everything was right on! The whole thing about taking place back then and how you got it all set up was really great. The acting was great! Specially with the young girl. I loved it all, the sets, costumes, camera work... Your sound fx, vfx, and the monster's voice was awesome! Awesome job man! Wish I could have helped out! Oh and of course... I loved the music too! There were some good cues at some cool points of the film I enjoyed. I especially liked the Monster's face. Very cool! His costume kind of reminded me of the monster's from "The Village".

But again.. over all I really enjoyed it!
 
I was very impressed with the lighting and camera work on this film. I was pulled in right to the end but the final scene lost its grip as the music was IMO too uplifting and not sinsiter enough for what the mummy was doing.

Very well done.
 
Amazing. The shots, lighting and score were expertly crafted to deliver the feel of your film.

wicked awesome.
 
Crazy good production value. The middle seemed a little cheesy with the two playing and a little of the mummy's dialog. Also didn't really care for the woman in the beginning. Seemed too movie typical. Oh, one more super-tiny thing that kinda bugged me: the shots from about 5:10 on, I felt should have been more drastic cuts when they quickly faded back in. A lot of the time they just looked like a continuation of the same tracking shot. Maybe more close-ups on what was around her and what was going on. I feel like I have to be overly-critical on the films I think are the best.
 
Man, what a beautifully shot and composed film. Music and sound were effective, and that little girl's acting worked great for me most of the time. You did an excellent job with the color. Cold dark orphanage set-up mixed with the warmth of the monster's layer did well for the subtext of the film. Reminded me of the look of a Devil's Backbone or Pan's Labyrinth.

My qualms: some of the dialogue wasn't effective for me. "No one is going to adopt you with a scar on your face," scene could've ended just with her saying don't talk about monsters. That line is so harsh, it feels unbelievable and unmotivated. "All the other children laugh and play, you do not, why is that?" or "You are a very special little girl," monster man's delivery on the lines is so stilted. I wanted there to be more tension in that scene, starting with the girl's resistance, moving to her acceptance of him. The montage also didn't work for me. Thought it would be cool if she stayed there awhile, the orphanage people can't find her, nights turn to days, etc. as opposed to the other material in the montage, which come across as heavy-handed to me.

I wished for another scene earlier where she sees the monster first to get her reaction. I'd like to see something develop more over time. More scenes and shorter scenes, which I know based on shooting schedules is difficult to incorporate more set-ups, but the character development has to be spelled out so much more since there are only two set-ups.

Maybe what I'm asking for is not accomplishable in 6 minutes. Maybe it is. It was great watching the film. I liked where it went, the ideas it incorporated, just wanted more variety, shown more things than told them. Thank you for submitting. Excellent, impressive work in an f-ton of aspects.
 
This was an excellent looking film. The lighting in the house/shack was great. You got a really good look out of that. I also liked the shots you chose and I thought your monster was great. I did however think and hope that this was going to be a different take on the monster genre. I thought it would've been great if the ending was the other outcome. That's just a personal opinion though. The girl did a great job and that was a great dolly pan on her in the attack. The acting early on was okay and I thought the pacing of the monster could have been slower, but other than that, good work - again!
 
What an amazing actress you had for that little girl. I was floored by her honesty in the role. I love finding great child actors. The lighting and shots were great I loved second half of the film contrasted the first half by being warm representing the love, whether it was morbid or not! This is my favorite of those I've downloaded so far!
 
Possible spoilers.

Excellent. I thought the ending was going somewhere else than where it did. That was a surprise. I had to go back and view it a few more times. I found your DP's (John Hafner's) color choices interesting in that he began cold and warmed it up with the monster. Generally I'd expect it to be the other way around. In this case it really worked and I'm sure that's why I didn't see the ending coming so hat's off to John. And a great look by the way.

Everything else rocked as well. Great sound track also. Very nice.

I'm curious as to why you chose to have the first scene/act play out in a hallway, a tight space, and end in the bedroom, an open space? Was that purposefull?
Maybe it was more convenient but maybe there was a purpose to create more tension in the hallway?
That would have been hard to direct the camera I think, ideally, in such a tight space but it seemed to work out. Was that a conscious directing choice or 'other' choice?
 
Good film dude. You always do such a great job on the setup, your shot choices and especially the story. Different ending from what I expected, but I think what I get most from the ending is that
****SPOILER ALERT***** she's going to be with him forever and it was a macabre kind of love***END SPOILER*****.

I hate to do this with such a good film, but one thing did stick out to me and I'm going back to the same thing I always come to: Dialog. The script was tight, but the dialog was too BIG, too arch. I understand for a monster as old as he is, his dialog would be more formal, but the stilted dialog can only come from someone who makes it really work. Not everyone can pull of "high speech". As it is it's not natural and flowing especially when it extends to other characters.

Good job with the movie. Enjoyable and well shot. NICE dolly moves by the way. :grin: As always I love your work.
 
Your film was beautiful. I loved how you chose to give the orphanage a cold tone while giving the monster's home warm tones. I was very surprised when the film took such a dark tone towards the end. Even though I was hoping that it wouldn't go that route, I did feel that you handled the transition well. Also, your monster was really well done. Good job!
 
The poster was so good for this, I think my expectations were a little high. As it is, there is still a lot to like in this. The monster is just fantastic, especially his costume. The lighting is great. And as previously mentioned, the little girl is quite good. And the score - duh, of course it's great.

I agree with some previous criticisms: such as the montage in the middle seeming cheesy (the patty-cake shot is probably the worst offender), and the end being a little confusing. The only thing I'll add is that the opening lower third title is misspelled "The Solider's Orphange For Girls" which I assume is supposed to say "The Soldier's Orphanage For Girls."

Great atmosphere though, and I really liked this take on a monster. Good job!
 
Very beautiful picture. There are a few good child actors in this fest, and the little girl here is certainly one of them. I enjoyed how the short was setup where one might predict the ending, and instead, you went with a less conventional direction...I enjoy surprises, so kudos for that.

Overall, I enjoyed it very much.
 
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