"Bits and Pieces" by: Justin R. Durban

What an emo monster haha he just wants a friend! But yea, the lighting and scenes were shot beautifully. I really liked the dolly zoom shot when she gets snatched. The monster costume was awesome, but my suggestion would have been to add more tension. Right away the monster just starts chatting with her, and then I wasn't scared of him. I suppose you weren't trying to make that kind of a movie, but with such a great monster costume I wanted to be scared by him!!

But ya great movie!
 
Two things I noticed when watching again.
At 5:28 - 5:33 you have a dolly shot moving then it stops for a moment then picks back up moving. Was that meant to happen?

And at 3:21 when the monster says, "You are very special" it made me chuckle because his voice almost reminded me of Yoda from Star Wars heh
 
This was beautifully filmed absolutely no question about it. The girl was very good as a little actor she did such a good believable job and it didn't feel recited.

I had a little trouble with the monster and his dialogue which I know was probably done on purpose but it sounded so story-book-prose. I would have liked to have heard something a little bit more original may be in how he put words together. I dunno, to be that was one of the drawbacks of story.

The cinematography was beautiful though, the music was beautiful, the thoughtfulness behind the monster was beautifully done, the friendship was adoring and while I knew how it was going to end, I did like that you used the shadow and not the actual person.

This is definitely a contender for the top spot.
 
Excellent short!

Your little actress was amazing! I love these innocent and honest performances that children can give.

Successfully creeped me out with your monster.

Something I can see Guillermo del Toro directing. Fabulous work.

You get high rating from me. Best luck!
 
That was a dark story...

I loved the color palette used on this and I liked where you took the story.

I was concerned in the beginning that with the use of the "child in jeopardy" you might be going for the low hanging fruit but you really handled it well. Aileen was quite a find as her acting seemed very natural. This had a weird "Beauty and the Beast" quality to it that was endearing and terrifying at the same time...a modern faerie tale...

Good job, Justin.

EDIT: Forgot to mention it, but this is easily the best thing I've seen from you!
 
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I just loved this film. It was the kind of dark I really enjoy. The story of simple, but deep. Does that make sense? Who cares I'm saying it anyway. This is easily in my top ten. Fantastic job!
 
Justin!

By far your best work ever, and my favorite of this fest so far. Good performances, and a scary monster to boot! Children in peril (especially when one doesn't expect it) is always a fright.

Great music of course :) you're a master. This is the first short you've done where I really had no cheesy moments for me. Seriously this was excellent work!

One question as I go... How did you do the monster face?

Great again Justin, thanks! :)
 
Justin, I've always admired your work, especially how you can do SO many things from directing/producing, to composing (your strongest & original forte), post visual FX, etc ... but, I've never given your film a 10 rating before, as I've always found weaknesses I felt could be improved in one area or another.

But, not this time, my friend. 10 stars. I've only started to watch the films, but the way I'm judging these is each on their own merit, not compared to another, and this film rocked me on so many levels.

When I first started watching it, I was immediately impressed with the child actor. Camera movements, the adult actress, setting, everything was pro. As the film continued to unfold, I was further intrigued by the monster, the voice, the speech patterns you chose for it, etc. GREAT mask when we finally see the reveal, and WOW was I caught off guard by the kill scene as well. A bitter sweet for the monster, I'm sure.

At first I questioned if there was too much music for the sake of music at the beginning, but it so quickly grew on me and really helped to drive the moments thereafter.

Lastly, nice touch with the Egyptian embalming jars in the end ... I immediately knew what the hook on the stick was for, lol.

This film SO perfectly fit the fest, and was executed incredibly well on SO many levels. Kudos to you on your best work ever! I would LOVE to get a HD copy of this one! Thanks for making such a wonderful piece. :)
 
Absolutely stunning to look at. And of course, it sounded great. A beautiful film to watch.

The large number of fade-ins/outs made it feel less cohesive, almost like I was watching parts of a bigger film. With the title of the film, that may have been your intent, no sure.

I loved the story, but I think it needed some tweaking for it to become fully realized. And it's one of those ideas that probably needs a LOT more than 5 or 6 minutes to pull off. Hard to connect to the girl and the monster in that time, and I think you really need to have that audience connection with these two characters in order to get the impact you were going for.

You definitely have the craft, brother. And it's very hard for an artist to create art when he is shackled to a canvas, if you know what I mean.

Nice work. Thanks for sharing and keep on rockin'!
 
Thank you so much everybody for the kind words and crits.

I'm glad most of you got the fact that the mummy does what a "Monster Does" and was only thinking for himself when he killed her. Mummification for eternal life. It's bitter sweet ya know?

Our production designer out did himself with the sets and canopic jars. John Hafner (who was actually one of my Lead actors in my last QuestFest film, "Mahlen" did a wonderful job with the look and keeping it consistent throughout. we didn't have to CC much at all in post. And of course Leah Weinberger has an odd and twisted mind which I love in her writing. The simple idea of ... "Who's the monster in this film? Is it the girl with the mangled face? The Orphange lady who's mean and cold? (my wife who was also in my last film, "Mahlen") or was it actually the Mummy?

I'm hoping the "Festival Cut" will have more of the character arcs as I had to cut 1.5 minutes of the film. the cut elements helped to establish the relationship between the girl and mummy but we as a team are overall very happy with the end product. I'm so glad you guys took the time to watch our film.

All the best and keep the critiques coming!
/j
 
Justin... what can I say, it was the first movie I watched and right from the start I was blown away! ( now I'm really glad I didn't get my film done for this one)

The look, the sound (of course), the feel, everything just clicked for me from the first frame to the last. It was great to see a 7D film. I thought the lighting was just beautiful and, to me, it felt like a Disney-type production...VERY professional all around.

All the acting worked for me and if I had anything to say at all, there was just one line that bugged me...."you break my heart" from the monster. At first I thought this one DID have a heart but realized he didn't once he was going at her with the brain hook!

Really, Really great job to all involved (both the Movie & Poster). This gets the highest rating.
 
Awesome work Justin. That monster was sweet and I'm glad you showed his face. Did you do that in AE? I'd like to know more about how you did that effect.

I echo a lot of what others have said: looked great, sweet prod design, great music (of course!) and nice direction. The little girl rocked and the ending was a total surprise. I will say that I wasn't sure how I felt about the ending but I think it might be growing on me. the patty cake thing was a slight issue but not a sticking point. Overall nice job man. This should do very well in this fest.
 
NOBELO said:
. Overall nice job man. This should do very well in this fest.
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Hell this will do well in ANY fest. It's a freaking gorgeous film and effective through and through. There is a longer version as well and I'm sure we'll all love to see that version, so hook us up at some point Justin.
 
great film. great look and sound you really, really have talent great job.
if their is a longer version as well and I'm sure we'll all love to see that version, so hook us up at some point Justin.
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same here
 
I was impressed by the fact that you found and used canopic jars, nice touch. A depressing ending, just like I like 'em.
 
Justin that was great! I don't know how you do it, your score like 5 or 6 films in this fest, and still do your own movie, that is some hard work and dedication. I love the use of color in your film, the score was spot on as expected. The little girl was fantastic and the location was great as well. The sad ending took me by surprise but I love it. Most of my films everyone dies, I don't know why I just like it that way. :) Great job man, defiantly one of my top 5. Also thanks again for doing a great score for me.
 
Justin,
Great film. Beautifully shot. I loved the warm golden tones in the mummy's house. And the little girl was absolutely adorable. (I'm a bit miffed I no longer have the market cornered on cute kids - j/k). Wonderful attention to detail in the costumes, set dressing, props. Your films just keep getting better. I'm sure this one will go on to round two! :)
 
Beautiful looking short film and the story is awesome to boot. The little girl gave a hell of a performance. Talented children are hard to come by. I am truly impressed. I only had one problem, it is the voice of the Mummy. It sounds like a muppet or Yoda on Valium. Its a personal thing. It didn't hurt the message or the story. The art direction is top-notch.
 
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