BRAINS! - Shaun Patrick and Stewbottum

That was funny. I also felt bad this was aiming so low, because it certainly achieved its goals.

Loved the timing of the cell phone gag, a slighlty more complicated script, would be fun, especially with the actors you had. Those guys did have a good chemistry, as was already said.

Good work on this one!
 
You followed the key rule for comedy: leave them wanting more. How many times has SNL taken a really funny concept and just killed it to death?

If people are begging for more and rewatching your clip again and again, then you have accomplished perfect comedy.

Great talent, nice technical and perfect pacing in the edit.

e
 
I have to take slight issue with "aiming so low" because from the get go we wanted to make something cohesive, short, technically sound, and funny. When it came down to budgetary/logistcal issues, we also wanted something that we wouldn't have to compromise on. A piece that we could spend a whole day getting the acting/timing/visuals down pat. In the end, practicality won out over scope but I'm very happy with the look (as the DP) and the overall pace (Stewbottum was the editor).

Also, it's great to hear that people want to see more--we'll be definitely adding outtakes and an alternate ending to the DVD version.

Overland, I have to agree with SNL just killing a dead horse. I believe you can set your watch to it while you're watching the show. 2 minutes into a sketch is usually when they start recycling the jokes.
 
Don't take an issue, Shaun, I mean, I'd like to see you guys putting toghether a movie script, better than a sketch script next time. Because a sketch is a visual joke, a short film can be a little more than that. That's all I'd like to see that good directing for comedy put to use in something larger. People are giving you guys 8's and honestly, I think that is the most you are going to get from most people using this sketch format, because of the level return it gives to the audience. It's like a small level of commitment and a small return - pretty much TV'esque in a sense.

I guess "aimimng low" sounded harsh, it's prejudice on my part, since I like TV less than films, band this IS pretty much a TV sketch (in format, not in looks, this looks very good, very filmlike). It is very well done though.
 
As taubkin indicated, this felt like a sketch to me, almost like something you'd see on SNL....it was funny but I didn't feel like a lot of effort went into it.

On the plus side, it did look good and I did laugh :)
 
Yeah... I'm gonna have to disagree with you guys on the sketch observations here.

Good filmed comedy should come across as effortless, light and leave the viewer wanting for more. So many directors have a hard time with the very unique techniques for comedy and it colors every decision they make throughout the process - from angles and compositions to lighting to beat time in delivery and into the cutting room.

This film was short and it handled the undead in a very different way than many, but please don't ding the guys for lack of effort. Are you faulting them for knowing what shots to get, staying on-script and technically nailing it from start to finish? Because it seemed effortless is a testament to their inherent understanding of the basics of the comedic filmmaking process.

I've seen a healthy number (read >50%) of submissions that rate at 1 or 2 for lack of creativity, writing, direction and technical apptitude.

The vast majority of the comedy subjects in this festival, many of which might have taken weeks to produce, don't hold a candle to the Brains! short. While I fought the urge to close several of these works halfway through viewing, I watched this little gem five times.

This one, whether you call it a sketch or a short, is a solid 8.

e
 
overlandfilms said:
but please don't ding the guys for lack of effort. Are you faulting them for knowing what shots to get, staying on-script and technically nailing it from start to finish? Because it seemed effortless is a testament to their inherent understanding of the basics of the comedic filmmaking process.
Click to expand...

You make a good point but I will not relinquish my "sketch" comment...it felt like a skit, not a film....nothing wrong with that, just an observation.
 
It's not an effort thing, it's a format thing.

Who is the main character in this? What does he want? What does he get? Did he change in any way? What actually happened during this?

Nothing happened, so why is it funny? Its an absurd situation around two regular guys (so as they communicate, we get to know how they feel - but it could be only one regular guy) and things are funny while we as an audience join the bits of the puzzle and find out about the absurd.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact that takes a good dose of intelligence and screencraft to accomplish.

But honestly, it is one joke, one situation and nothing more. There is no progression, or character development, and it lasts two minutes, precisely because only this joke could not last any longer.

Maybe nobody cares if this seems like a sketch or a film, or a fabule or a rhapsody... I'm perfeclty ok with that. To me it felt like a TV sketch, and that is all.
 
Taubkin,

You've got good points, although I think it is hilarious that we're trying to apply arch, central conflict and other by-the-book storytelling elements to a zombie flick!

Only at DVXUser would we debate the myriad themes explored using the undead and their consumption of the living as a tangible or metaphorical device. What comment does Brains! make from a real-world societal perspective? What is the resolution?

What does the golf club symbolize, and how should we weigh the obvious homoerotic suggestions made by the filmmaker?

We may have to wait for the bonus material to have these questions answered.

:cheesy:

e
 
I don't know if the sketch/short distinction is really productive. Short films are wonderful things because don't have to answer to traditional narrative expectations. They can set their own rules. It sounds like most people found "Brains!" to be a fun, funny little puzzle, leading from confusion to amused understanding, mislead to reveal, and clearly that's what it set out to be. If it did that well, it deserves full credit.

This is why the Academy Awards so often fail to recognize comedies: if it's not Lord of the Rings ambitious, or Million Dollar Baby deep, it's taken less seriously. But anyone who makes movies knows, comedy is just as hard, and perhaps, even harder.

And, of course, there's no higher compliment than saying, "It was too short!"
 
Ahw man, it's hard to argue with you! :)

This is going way out of hand! What I'm saying is that it is a very good, very well delivered joke, but I wanted to see this kind of humor in something that had a story. That is all I meant!

---

BTW, Wilderworks, I don't think this was too short at all, it was perfectly timed to what it proposes. I think more time would have made it boring. However, more story might have not.

BTW, Million Dollar baby was not all that deep... :) (Of course it was academy award deep, wich means deep enough for them, at least...)
 
Yeah, I couldn't think of a better word for movies of that sort. "Serious" just didn't cut it, but "deep" has those nice implications of being deep in a different department, and those implications felt right in regards to entertainment awards.

Plus. Forget about homoeroticism. Clearly, that Iraq tee-shirt shows this to be foreign-policy political propoganda! Now, if I could just reason out whether the message is hippie-liberal or right-wing-wacko, I'd know whether I like it or not. :laugh:
 
I love it! Nice throwback to RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, which is one of my favs. I liked every aspect of this short, and it left me wanting more. One question-How did the zombies get their cell phone #?...lol
 
nice closeup shots inside the phone booth and I dig the coloring/lighting in the booth as well. Outside was a little too ”bright” for me comparatively and didn’t match the feel inside the booth. Funny short little ditty.
 
Yeah, the web version washed the image out a little bit (which is to be expected). I just got back from recording audio commentary and it was my first chance to watch it full res on a studio monitor. The outside/inside lighting definitely matches a little more seamlessly.
 
Well, I've read a few of the posts in this before posting what I have to say here ... while I would have loved to have seen this go longer, because it was funny & I enjoyed it, how long do we want to see a prank phone calling gag drawn out?

I ranked this above average. Not much story, but funny & kind of cute (a zombie flick, cute??). Good ... possibly even great production value & camera. I laughed outloud and also loved when they hit their weapons of mass destruction together in a pseudo high five.
 
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