BitterSweet - award winning movie online

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BitterSweet has been our submission to the Gershwin Showcase project of the Vail Film Festival 2004. This project allowed filmmakers to shoot and submit a short movie using one of the selected music compositions originally composed by George and Ira Gershwin. Our submission (shot on a DVX100 PAL) won the grand prize of the project, a very big surprise for us.

Synopsis of BitterSweet:
"An old man, suffering from a heart disease, decides to make his late wife’s wishes come true. During a tiresome ride on his bike on to the beach his memories keep coming back… two people and the one decision that changed their lives."

A new website for Orphic Film and BitterSweet will be created the coming months. But from today if you like you can watch a Quicktime version of the movie now at:
http://www.orphic.nl/odm/html/bs.html
(click at Media; length 7:51, size 34 MB, QT6 format)

Peter Sieben
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Great movie. The whole thing. Nice camera work, Lighting and Acting. And the best, no dialogue. The editing was great as well. You guys earned your award, congratulations.
Eco
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Wow... That was extremely powerful! very, very nice work. Your accolades are certainly well deserved.
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Amazing work. Best DP work I have seen with the DVX so far.
Was the anamorphic adapter used?

This really rasies the bar on this forum.

I guess the only parts I didn't like were the handheld shots. In the hospital and walking along the sidewalk, those disturbed me a little. Brung back the old "this was shot with a consumer video camera look". Other then that, this has to be one nicest looking shorts I have seen on video. Great ideas and very creative. You guys definitly deserved it.
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Thanks for your reply's.
We didn't use the anamorphic adapter, it's just the 16:9 letterbox mode of the PAL version. The format was changed to 1:1.85 with Vegas 4.
The shots next to the bed (in their own livingroom, not the hospital) were on purpose made handheld, to be able to get really close and to give it a bit of real-life documentary feeling. The other handheld shot was added to change away from all the static tripod shots.
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Very nice work, Peter (and Crew). Think I read somthing about BitterSweet in the German "Kameramann" -Magazine. BTW, where do you find the "big mountain" in the Netherlands (middle of the Movie)? ;)
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

No mountains in The Netherlands, only small hills near the coast, that look bigger on the screen then in reality.

We are not familiar with the Kameramann magazine. We would be very grateful if you could give us more info or a scan of the article, thanx.

Best regards,
Peter
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Congrats on your win. You made an excellent short and it's great you got to use a classic Gershwin tune.

Now, I'm no doctor, but I don't think an IV is critical for life support. In my unaward-winning opinion, the old man "euthanizing" his wife just complicates the death scene.
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Gabe, we are no doctors either, we wanted to suggest that the woman gets an important medicine via the IV.

The lyrics of the Gershwin song suggest a circle-like endless love. In the spirit of our story we also interpretated that as helping eachother in return. In his mind the old man dreams his wife helping him passing away on the beach after his final hart failure, like she's returning him a favour for him helping her passing away a couple of years ago after she gives the sign in her sickbed (the euthanizing). They help eachother in very difficult moments, using their heart and strong love. BitterSweet....

Peter
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Hi Peter,

think it was not a big story, only a mention in a festival report. In the last hour I'm looking for you in the last 2 issues of "Kameramann" without luck. Sorry. If I find something from BitterSweet here in Germany, I will send it to you. :)
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Hi Rwm,

Thanks so far. If it's a festival report i't's kinda special. At the Vail film festival in the USA we found out that we were on of the few non American visitors and filmmakers. Deep down in the Colorado mountains you'll only find cowboys and indians.

Best,
Peter
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Very nice work! Where did you find the old man? He was great!
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Thanx.
The old man is Jan Munter, who started with having small parts in movies after his retirement (everything between walking in the background of a scene up to small roles). He's doing that already for 20 years, having worked in most of the Dutch big movies and tv series. He's 83 years old now. About 2 years ago he won a price for his role in "Tussenland". Liza van den Dijssel did the production for BitterSweet and with her background in film academy she knows her way around casting agengy's. Just call them and say you don't have any budget. Jan Munter was somebody who was recommended by the agency and he did a very good job, I hardly had to give him any directions, he was almost playing his own life. We had to inform him before starting out that we were not professionals with a big crew. He didn't mind about that, in fact he enjoyed himself with our very small crew and with the just two shooting days we needed (pre-production took around 2 months, and editing/soundmixing 1 month).

Peter
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Great job again. I'm still thinking about it.

How many lights/what type and style did you set them up in? It looks really good.
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

All inside shots have been shot using the available light, no lamps were used. Filming next to the window with the "bed" shots made that possible. And the house has big windows so the whole front room was flooded with light when needed.
I slightly underexposure my shots with the DVX100, to get more "headroom" when needed. I use the LCD to monitor exposuring, but am always aware that you got to have the right angle between your eyes and the LCD to have a reasonable look at the LCD. I know this is not the best way to do it, but it works for me.

Looking at the shots of BitterSweet on a big tv, I find the colors of the dunes and beach very beautiful. Soft, no hard sunlight shades etc, the ccd's of the DVX100 have a nice way of processing them.

Peter
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Loved it. Very touching short story.

Congratulations!
 
Re: BitterSweet - award winning movie online

Regarding my comment on the handheld shots. Iether way it's still a great short and you did a wonderful job.  Just wanted to make sure you didn't take it with a grain of salt.

Looking forward to the next short.



p.s. If you ever think about selling it on DVD on your website I would definitly like to get it so I could see it blow up on my set at home.
 
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