"Blind Date" by TheComo, Kegan Sant & John Labonney

Ok everyone,

What I said about John wasn't really what I was trying to say.

All I was trying to say was that the criticism is good for us all.

Like Blaine says, it IS a team effort, and I entirely understand.

All I meant to say was that the critiquing I'm getting, is great. And it's good for ALL of us. By all, I mean Kegan, John, Phil, and ESPECIALLY me. I shot this thing, edited it and color corrected it. I WANT the criticism. I made so many mistakes, and I'm learning from them.

Please guys, I don't want a bad rep just 'cause of the words I said, 'cause I didn't mean them in a bad way whatsoever.

John man, you did great, all I was saying is that it's good to read around, and read what people are saying. Hey, it's what Kegan and I are doing. Do you get my drift man? Honestly, I'm not saying anything negative about you. I'm not saying anything negative about the script either. God, the script was fantastic, and the story was also. Obviously it was if it touched some of the people here.

So please, don't take it the wrong way. I didn't mean to put anything hard on ANYONE. I definitely couldn't of done this by my self. I can't write a story for crap? I can't compose music? And Kegan, being the director was a huge part of this as well, and he deserves as much credit as I.

So once again, for the thousandth time, and I will continue to say it, I am sorry, and I didn't mean what I said. I guess I was just trying to help John out?

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Robbie
 
I think you just got a little misunderstood a few posts ago, but at least I totally understand what you are saying now and know you have good intentions. Its definitely a team effort and it sounds like everyone on your team is able to learn from all the criticism and thats what counts. Heck even I'm learning from your criticism and all I did was watch it :)
 
Whew! Finally got to you, Robbie. Man, I woulda' pissed if my boy set me up on a date and didn't tell me anything about the girl. You explained that part of it really well in the story though. I thought it was a good film, with a good story and message. The camera work and lighting was really good and I didn't see any problems with the audio. The only concern I had was that when the main guy was supposed to get ready for his date at 8, he seemed to just get off the phone, cook and she was there. There didn't seem to be any lapse in time. Maybe it's because he didn't change or get ready or anything and that seems a little unlikely for a guy that's meeting a girl for the very first time. He was still dressed in the clothes he was just lounging around the house in. Other than that minor detail, it was a really nice film.
 
Thanks Marion.

Keep in mind that it is a 6 minute film, so we had to cram everything in.

Thanks for the post though man,

Robbie
 
wow, wow, wow. Very, very interesting. You have quite the guts to attempt something like this!

The tone felt very off-balance to me. The guys bantering was sort of a tv-version of Superbad and then suddenly it got REALLY heavy. I liked the heavy stuff, but there was no setup to it. Put differently: I love the idea of a shallow guy learning to love a disabled girl, but it wasn't set up.

I think you bit off too much when you went for a blind and deaf girl. Something like that is very difficult to understand. If she had been only blind or only deaf it would have been easier to digest and work with in 6 min. Heck, I'd need 6 min just say 'hi' to a blind and deaf girl.

Keep up the efforts, I'm very glad to see you trying something like this. Oh, and good use of the lighting gear.
 
Thanks shawneous. I am actually in the makign of a new CC for the film, so that could help the mood and tone it is in!
 
Wow Como. Don't quite know what to say here. That was quite a heavy topic to dive into and that takes some guts. Most people I know would either make a ham-fisted mess of it all, or just run away screaming (me).

While there was some of the "after-school special" feel about it it may have been more due to the subject matter. The initial first shots with the guys on the phone... those shots were all screaming comedy, that there is something hugely funny coming our way. When it turned serious, that was a bit of a switcheroo and personally I spent the rest of the movie catching up. Consider how you set the tone of the movie. It's precisely the same way you decide on the colors and the overall look cinematically. That way you can alwasy follow through.

I read some of the earlier posts of your ginormous thread here and understand some of your issues with the lines and having to cut some of them. Safest thing to do is at least get the entire scene down on the master and at least her closeups, and then you can make the cut in post. Cutting lines on the spur of the moment usually leaves you hanging in post when you reconsider.. but there's nothing to splice in cuz you never shot it.

Just remember that the movie is written three times: script, production and post.

Overall it was a good effort and I did enjoy it the first, secodn and third time I watched it. Sorry I took so long to review.
 
The fact that you watched it three times before you made your review is incredible! Shows that you really put effort into it before making a conclusion, which is very much appreciated. Your points are all valid and it is something we learned. It was a bad idea to cut lines spur of the moment and we regretted it during post.

Next time we'll make sure that mistake doesn't happen.

-Kegan
 
Well, right now there's a couple things in the works. We're working on a short called Silent Scream that Alex Whitmer (from this board, as well) and Robbie developed into a script. We're picking locations and finding our last actor and are thinking of shooting sometime next week.

I'm also working on a movie called Fragments of Gold, that I developed a long time ago. Alex also wrote it (it was our first and best collaboration in my opinion). I'm currently casting for that and scouting for locations. I'll post a thread about it in the User Films section.

Thanks for your interest!

-Kegan
 
Nice colours. I like the blurred edges. CCing was a bit overdone at the end.

Directing was good. There was some missed opportunities for humour in the story, but that probably wasn't what you were going for. I think more could have been done with production design. Sound was done well.

Nice job!
 
Como, great job! I really liked it a lot and I'm very impressed. It was well shot, well acted, and it told a nice sweet story. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it, and things will turn out great for you.

Other than using that ugly G**gle website it was flawless. ;) Keep up the good work and good luck with your next project.
 
Google.

Just wanted to see if it's the site that blocks it, or if you blocked it PK.

Lol.

Thanks for the kind words Mark and PK.

Robbie
 
Well it turns out that the daughter of the lady we used for Martha on Blind Date, read this thread and to say the least was more than a little offended.

After looking back on the comments that I made in regards to the woman's acting ability, I have to say that being "harsh" is an understatement. I was a complete ass and should not have complained because she helped us complete the film on time. If it was not for her, we would not have finished the shoot and gotten our entry in.

Needless to say, I've ruined the professional relationship with the daughter (Laura - the boom operator) due to my unnecessary complaints and unfounded claims. If she was an actress it would have been a different story, but she was not - she was someone who took the time out of her day to help a group of filmmakers and an ungrateful director.

Words cannot be taken back and apologies are not always accepted. This is a lesson learned the hard way in making movies and I urge others to think before they speak, especially because your words may have more significant impacts than you think.

From the bottom of my heart, I hope that Laura and her mother are able to accept my apology and if not; we live and learn.

-Kegan
 
Well, as I said in my mini-review.... I thought she was fine.
Hopefully she'll read some of the nice comments and understand that as filmmakers some of us can be tough. We're especially tough on our own work.

I'm sure she'll come to understand.

Still, never knock someone who helps you out in a jam.

Lesson learned.

PS- It was big of you to apologize to her publicly. I'm sure she'll appreciate that. :thumbup:

Mike
 
I thought the woman did a pretty good job - great if she just stepped in to help.

I think the flick this seemed a bit flat. I thought it was sweet the guy googled 'blinddeaf' but the restaurant scene didn't really make any sense - maybe lead's buddy calls and says "It's been a month, would you go apologise to her at least?". Like someone else said though, having a blind and deaf character was a tough assignment.

I think the tonal shift from comedy to drama didn't seem to gel and maybe a wardrobe changefor the lead and him setting the table entirely differently a couple times would have been good to show the time pass before he first meets his date.

Was wondering why we see the brail paper in the opening credits with the title blind date but then don't find out his date's blind until nearly a couple minutes in?

The directing was solid and everything was lit well.

Looking forward to your next video guys.
 
Thought I'd drop my two cents into this.

The concept for this film is really lovely.. and could have been very moving.

The whole thing felt like PSA. The acting was pretty terrible and generally poor. Although the girl was easily the best. Though that isn't saying much.

Two things that bothered me the most about this... the look of it made no sense at all to me. The soft diffused style made me think 'dream' and felt completely at odds with this. It felt more like a look that was used because it 'look neat'. It pulled me right out of it.

The other thing, was the ending; the text explaining how the 'story' continues was just.. plain bad.. with the music going over it is was so cheesy and unnecessary. It was completely extraneous; something a glance or an extra moment between them could have accomplished.

I am being fairly negative here, but this idea had a lot of potential for not only a good film about love, but a really good social commentary on prejudice and acceptance. A little more work with the actors would have helped a great deal as well. I don't know if they were friends or not, but it sure felt like it.

peas.
 
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great short story showing that there are prejudices around that are totally unnecessary, and can be overcome with understanding.
Thank you.
 
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