briceman "A Price Too High"

I can see that a lot of you guys are beginning to say some of the same things I'm thinking and comments I'm hearing from some of my students... many of these clips could be more original.

Brice..I like the clip and acting in your short, but maybe the sci-fi element(?) could've been more apparent. But, it is amazingly...and I did like the girl's acting.

Think I agree with most of Fabio's comments in post#40.

Originality?
 
Thanks again so much for all of your comments. Like I said before, we had a great time shooting this, and it was a huge learning experience. Our film is far from perfect, but I hope it's a fun ride! Thanks again for all the comments, and constructive critisicm.
 
One more thing I have to ask. Nobody has really mentioned the score. Did you like it? I for one love the score. Anyway, just wondering what you thought of that element. Thanks.
 
Score was great...sort of wondering what you might've thought of some of our films too. Haven't seen your posts on many of those...just wondering. Hopefully when you have some time, and can view them, maybe you will share your thoughts on ours as well.
 
I've seen your film twice now and I just can't get into it. I will try not to repeat what has already been said but, for me, the acting/script ultimately hurt the film the most. Yes, the concept is interesting but the execution doesn't live up to it.

I know how hard it is to find good actors and work with actors, so I hope you take this as a learning experience. In my experience, you have to be willing to adapt the script to your actors' abilities. Unfortunately, the majority of your dialogue comes off very whiny (female lead), corny (the assassin), and completely unnatural (the doctor). It all seemed very stiff and that hindered me from getting into the film--especially since the film is structured around the worst acted scene in the movie, the doctor's office.

In terms of the cinemtography, I didn't necessarily find it boring but just generally uninteresting. The angles you chose (especially in the doctor's office) were very awkward--the side angles were just two extreme and the female lead was framed poorly in the shot-reverse-shot towards the end. With that said, the lighting was workable and your SFX shots worked for me.

Overall, good job.
 
ProfD said:
Score was great...sort of wondering what you might've thought of some of our films too. Haven't seen your posts on many of those...just wondering. Hopefully when you have some time, and can view them, maybe you will share your thoughts on ours as well.
Click to expand...

I have tried to comment on most of the films I've seen so far. I am on vacation in VA right now, and don't have internet access all the time. Sorry, hope to get around to more of the films.
 
Loved the gunman and I really liked the way the scenes were shot in the warehouse. I could have used even more of a chase in there - it was that good. And the opening was a great image and well shot as well - I was pulled in right away. Unfortunately, the office scene after that really ruined things for me - I just didn't think either of them were strong enough to pull off the acting. Nice concept, though.
 
Hey Briceman. Just like everyone here I really liked your short. The hand healing effects was great, but I wanted to see more. Yeah I would've expected her to save her friend as well, but maybe that would have added way to many more pages of dialouge. The premis sounds like it would make a pretty cool feature. Kind a like "FireStarter" You could get Drew Barrymoore to play the girl. WOOHOO! :)
 
Wow...what a difference a second viewing makes.

The intro scene is nice..with the girl healing her brother...although the The doctor was weak and uninteresting and almost ruined it for me....but the talented girl actress manages to compensate though and pulls it out...the next scene is the guy shooting the girl's friend in the back. To me, this was a major inconsistency in the whole concept though...she heals her brother, but not her friend..? Seems that would not be consistent for her character. I found myself really stuck on that for the rest of the clip.

The gunman's line about 'The girl possessing the power of life and death, etc...' and the girl's response..just doesn't mesh with the fact that she did not heal her friend...doesn't make sense. She then goes on to heal the gunman...?

The DOF shots in the warehouse were nice...very nice..I hope to get better at setting those up myself...But, the lighting was very dim in a few scenes, especially when the girl kneals down to heal the gunman....maybe that's the look you wanted. It was not bad.

Then in the end, there is a conspiratorial aspect with the doctor and the gunman. The doctor hands him the girl's psychology records...and then he throws them in the trash. Hmmm...so...what happened next? The girl could've been let out revealing the gunman's change of attitude because she saved him...or was he trying to erase the girl's existence and follow the doctor's suggestion to admit her...ie...he's a cold hearted dude even in the end.

Interesting concept...a few holes here and there in the story...I think if the girl had healed her friend...would've maintained the belief.

Cool effort, I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future as you progress.
 
Comments

Comments

Hi Briceman,

Some of the best directing with respect to the actors...female lead and assasin I've seen in the shorts. The Dr. should have been recast though.

Enough has been said about the story. All of which I agree....heal the friend...please heal the friend.

The camera work could have been more interesting. Framing, movement etc. Did you study other films for ideas? If so which ones? That might help me understand visually what you were going for.

Kip
 
I've only watched about ten of them so far, but I thought the overall LOOK was among the best for evoking a filmic feel.

The story was cool, but I was still a little confused -- why was it necessary to KILL the girl just because she could heal people?

I, too, dug the assassin guy. Sort of a Robert Beltran/Lou Diamond Phillips mix.
 
David Jimerson said:
I've only watched about ten of them so far, but I thought the overall LOOK was among the best for evoking a filmic feel.

The story was cool, but I was still a little confused -- why was it necessary to KILL the girl just because she could heal people?

I, too, dug the assassin guy. Sort of a Robert Beltran/Lou Diamond Phillips mix.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the whole backstory to why the assasin is after her was cut due to time constraints :( Thanks for the comments... a lot of the story is more developed in the DVD cut.
 
THX-1138 said:
Enough has been said about the story. All of which I agree....heal the friend...please heal the friend.


Kip
Click to expand...

The friend is healed... I know it's unclear. I am sorry. The reason I think being we had to literally cut the healing in half... anyway, the friend is healed. Thanks for the comment.
 
Has anyone else mentioned the similarity to Green Mile? I know the source of the girls powers are diffrent, but the end result (of being able to heal someone) is the same. I really liked the use of practical CG. And the scope stuff is great. Reminds of of a videogame.
 
Really did like your piece. I loved the concept. Nice to see a different approach to the whole sci-fi thing. My only criticism against it would have to be the acting of the psychiatrist. He seemed really unconfortable in the part. Other than that you kept my interest peaked through the whole film. Can't wait to see the DVD version. Great job!
 
This reminded me of a joint effort between the Lifetime and the Sci-Fi networks. I don't mean this as an insult, more as a compliment. A compliment on this budget level anyway. The acting was over acted (The girl, and assassin - not as bad), and under acted (the shrink) at times. I can handle one or the other if there's a consistency. The lighting was good, but the overall visual aesthetic was kind of boring.

I liked the story. As far as originality goes compared to some of the others in the fest, it had very high marks IMO. I really liked the blood effect. Good job. It's in my personal top 10.
 
angrynerdrock07 said:
Really did like your piece. I loved the concept. Nice to see a different approach to the whole sci-fi thing. My only criticism against it would have to be the acting of the psychiatrist. He seemed really unconfortable in the part. Other than that you kept my interest peaked through the whole film. Can't wait to see the DVD version. Great job!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comment! Yeah, we wanted to do a little different sci-fi script. More on the human level you know. A lot of people have been having problems with the psychiatrist, and I think a large part is due to the shortened version. That being said, you must judge our film solely on this cut, so unfortunantly, I am sure our end vote will suffer for it. What can you do? Anyway, thanks for the comment!
 
"the overall visual aesthetic was kind of boring"

I said that earlier, and after watching it again I'd like to say I appreciate your color scheme approach more. It's more "purist". I'd like to see the longer cut.
 
Noct said:
"the overall visual aesthetic was kind of boring"

I said that earlier, and after watching it again I'd like to say I appreciate your color scheme approach more. It's more "purist". I'd like to see the longer cut.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I went for a softer tone on this film. I like lighting with soft lights, where I've noticed a lot of people have lit with harder lights. I really liked Hiro's lighting, nice and soft... gives a more filmic feel IMO... glad you liked our color scheme, and I really am excited to show the DVD version to you all! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top