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

He changed his title for you - com'n como get with the picture!

I totally expect to see credits in a theatrical release someday that say:
Director of Comotography - Robbie Comeau

and then people will be like - who DC'd that flick man? and then they'll be like Oh it was Robbie Comeau! I loved what he did in Dead Beautiful 13 on Ice the movie!
 
Hey Robbie,

Just watched your film (my first one!). I'm going to echo a lot of what's been posted, so bare with me...

There is a sort of an "after school special" quality to it, and the look of the piece didn't quite work for me. I think the soft focus/glow/dreamy effect just wasn't right for this. I'm all for giving it a warm look, esp contrasted against the cold environment, but the haziness lent more to melodrama than anything.

I think you maybe could have benefited from a bit more coverage -- the cut to the spaghetti really helped during the kitchen scene and the sequence where he's learning sign language works well (Granted, coverage isn't always a great thing... but I think overall the piece felt a little static)

Like others, I would've liked to see more of a struggle between the two to communicate and just to develop that relationship further, but then again there's only so much you can do with 6 minutes right?

Lastly, the end cards were a little too much. I would've much rather preferred ending on an image and drawing my own conclusions as to what would happen to these two, rather than being told what and how to think by the film's end.

Well, that's me. Great effort overall! I look forward to seeing more from ya!

J
 
*Spoilers*

I'm sorry I didn't like it. Story, look, feel, and sonically. That end sequence just seemed like you ran out of time.

But, I'm just an audio guy who knows nothing about film. I know I'll seem like an @$$ just for posting this but, it seems like you need alot more to learn, or just plain need better equipment.

Then again, I'm just an audio guy who knows nothing about film.
 
No, as mentioned before, critiques are welcome. The only reason your critique doesn't sound very good, is because the only scene you pointed out was the end. There weren't any spoilers either.

Tell us, technically - what was wrong? I mean equipment wise we used a HD camera (Canon XH-A1). Sound may be what you're referring to and if it is, yes we need some more experience in terms of audio. We only used a Rode NTG-1 on a boom for sound. As for editing, it was all done in FCS2, so equipment wise (minus audio), we were working with good stuff.

If you could just let us know what exactly you thought was wrong with it - I mean pick a couple scenes and critique it, that'd be great. I'm not being defensive here as I know we had flaws, but having them pointed out would be a great way to improve.

Thanks for your post,

Kegan
 
I understand this is a leap for you having read some of the comments. congrats on that. I like the film a lot, it definitely had heart. You were able to get some good performances out of your actors and how can you not like a story like this. I thought your lead did very well.

I would suggest you can improve the pacing and character development by cutting the spaghetti cooking by using either a few quick jump cuts or cross dissolves. From when he gets off the phone until when the date arrives you use about 50 seconds, an eternity in these fests.

With that extra time, you could show more of his learning the sign language. It seemed the first conversation came a bit too easy for him. I would be panic stricken, at least at first. Maybe you could have had the sign language books strewn across the table and have him struggle a bit until she calms him.

All and all though I liked what you did here and I look forward to seeing more from you.

Jim
 
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KenV said:
*Spoilers*

I'm sorry I didn't like it. Story, look, feel, and sonically. That end sequence just seemed like you ran out of time.

But, I'm just an audio guy who knows nothing about film. I know I'll seem like an @$$ just for posting this but, it seems like you need alot more to learn, or just plain need better equipment.
Click to expand...
i know Robbie and Kegan are being polite so I will speak up for them, this is a sh*tty critique. not only is there no substance to your perceived problems, you also dismissed it by saying you don't know what the hell you're talking about. "better equipment"?!?!?!? did you put an ounce of thought into this? or are you just interested in getting some exposure for the banner in your sig? 'cause really, it's like you just carelessly walked by to take a huge dump on the discussion here. thanks.


KenV said:
I know I'll seem like an @$$ just for posting this
Click to expand...
mission accomplished, brother.
 
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Zak Forsman said:
i know Robbie is being polite so I will speak up for him, this is a sh*tty critique. not only is there no substance to your perceived problems, you also dismissed it by saying you don't know what the hell you're talking about. "better equipment"?!?!?!? did you put an ounce of thought into this? or are you just interested in getting some exposure for the banner in your sig? 'cause really, it's like you just carelessly walked by to take a huge dump on the discussion here. thanks.



mission accomplished, brother.
Click to expand...

Took the words out of my mouth Zak. Sure there are things that need work, but lets be helpful and encouraging. Nice critique critique Zak!

- and good for you Robbie and Kegan for being nice and wanting to understand more.
 
Thanks a lot Zak. I wrote a much more colorful post originally, but I didn't want to start an argument so I wrote a more sensible one. It's just a fest and Robbie and I both have taken a lot out of all the comments and critiques already - enough so that we've figured out exactly where we went wrong and what we could improve on next time.

-Kegan
 
kegan, you guys rock hard. when I was your age I was going into the woods with my friends to make Vietnam flicks (Platoon and Full Metal Jacket had just come out). I was also making Indiana Jones and James Bond spoofs. but you guys are well ahead of the curve, already tackling very real, human issues. and as you learn more about things, you will find ways to go deeper with the material. we're all very proud of your work together.
 
Thanks a ton here guys.

I think I have a right to change around Zaks custom title...

TO:

The Komophobe

(The k resembles the "K" in Kegan's name, seeing as Zak loves us both now :))

Or even, The Keganophobe.
 
I'll just echo the comments here guys. I think plenty has been said that you can take info away from. You have grown a lot in your film language thats for sure.
 
Well done guys...nothing to say that hasn't been said but you guys put a film together with very strong key elements. Writing, directing, cinematography. Good stuff.
 
Just watched this one but I don't have time to read through the thread, so forgive me if I'm repeating comments that have already been made.

Well, this was really nice work Kegan, Robbie, and John. I'm thoroughly impressed. The story was sweet and the actors really brought the warm fuzzies home for me. The choices of shots and editing were simple and worked well. I was never really distracted by what I thought was bad framing or a weird camera move.

There were a few rough spots here and there with the sound, but it wasn't that bad at all.

My only critique is in regards to the intense desaturation/sepia tone look. It just didn't work and, honestly, it's the only thing that took away from my enjoyment of the film. Which is great, because it's relatively minor in that it's so easy to fix :) This just begs for a natural look, bright colors. It should look more like "Carry-on," actually. :) Think about changing that and I say go enter this into some student festivals.

Great work for your first dvxfest. Can't wait to see more.
 
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