"Brunnen" by Soullen Ten

Very well done. I enjoyed the originality of you story and not knowing where it was going. Nudity is always a sensitive issue, particularly in a short film where it can come across as gratuitous. In your film, it obviously wasn't, it was integral to your story.

The issue then becomes how to film the nudity, how much to show.

When a director tries to find creative ways to hide the "naughty bits" it inadvertently becomes either a "peak-a-boo" strip tease or a comedy (Naked Autin Powers walking around the hotel lobby).

Your actress appeared to very comfortable undressing in front of the camera, but the filmmaker seemed very uncomfortable showing it. This self-consciousness hurt the film somewhat. The nudity would have been better treated matter of factly, as the theme of this film seems to suggest.

The ending would have been much better if we saw her fully nude walking away from camera into the sunset, even in a LONG SHOT. I don't think a brief shot of a small distant bum would arouse or offend most people.

Look forward to your next film.
 
Maximus said:
When a director tries to find creative ways to hide the "naughty bits" it inadvertently becomes either a "peak-a-boo" strip tease or a comedy (Naked Autin Powers walking around the hotel lobby).
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I agree with this and was actually reminded of that scene in Austin Powers as well.

I almost made the comment that "the editing here would make Austin Powers proud" but didn't think anyone would get it...
 
Love this film. The sin-dialogue really polished it. I think the nudity was handled well by Actress, DOP and Director. Nothing about it read sexual. If I got the metaphor right, it's about shedding one's identity, and with it security (??) That's the false wealth we dress ourselves in. Am I reading too much into it?

For me, it was more a reverse Faust. Nothing I saw was making a deal with the devil. Maybe more of an exorcism, a chance to fix past wrongs. But then, we don't know how she got the gold.

Everything worked for me. Maybe a few too many 'running-the-fingers-through-the hair' moments, and not sure why she tossed the hat so soon. Out there, it would be essential - especially with black hair.

Loved the props. Well done film. It makes one think, and will let the audience arrive at different interpretations.

a
 
Beautiful score in this one. Very powerful. Same goes for the actress. The look on her face near the end when she smiled after refreshing herself looked genuine. Tossing the hat and such was an odd choice but then she did leave naked after all. Better break out the sunblock. :)

Nicely done. Beautifully shot.

MAH
 
Extremely unique and beautifully simple. I didn't need any more story that what was here, although I think a minute could've easily been cut out to improve the pace. The scenery and production design was nicely done. The actress was by far the strongest part, and emoted quite a lot just through her expressions and actions. I liked the plot device of the well, and the conclusion was perfect. A very high score here.
 
Why'd she disrobe entirely. The sun will kill her in the desert as fast as lack of water. Ah, who am I to nitpick. Nice Film!
 
Really enjoyed this one. It had great cinematography throughout but the shots from her getting the water through the end of the film really shone. My minor issues echo everybody elses in that I didn't feel like she was really dehydrating. Silent film was a nice touch. Very good film!
 
alex whitmer said:
Love this film. The sin-dialogue really polished it. I think the nudity was handled well by Actress, DOP and Director. Nothing about it read sexual. If I got the metaphor right, it's about shedding one's identity, and with it security (??) That's the false wealth we dress ourselves in. Am I reading too much into it?
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Thanks Alex!

Originally I had planned the ending to have the tone of a heist / "thief beating the system", but when it came to the performance and pouring the water at magic hour, the theme of redemption came through strong so we didn't fight it and went with appropriate music and tone in the edit.
 
Chris_Keaton said:
Why'd she disrobe entirely. The sun will kill her in the desert as fast as lack of water. Ah, who am I to nitpick. Nice Film!
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The idea was that the sun was going down (magic hour), but she'd had been through the whole day so she still needed water, so once the pump worked she could make it to a town traveling at night.

Probably could have shot a bit more of the sun setting to sell that point.

Thanks for the comments.
 
Maximus said:
The issue then becomes how to film the nudity, how much to show.

When a director tries to find creative ways to hide the "naughty bits" it inadvertently becomes either a "peak-a-boo" strip tease or a comedy (Naked Autin Powers walking around the hotel lobby).

Your actress appeared to very comfortable undressing in front of the camera, but the filmmaker seemed very uncomfortable showing it. This self-consciousness hurt the film somewhat. The nudity would have been better treated matter of factly, as the theme of this film seems to suggest.

The ending would have been much better if we saw her fully nude walking away from camera into the sunset, even in a LONG SHOT. I don't think a brief shot of a small distant bum would arouse or offend most people.

Look forward to your next film.
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I agree. We debated (more I than her) on this point quite a bit. I knew that if I had filmed the shot of her walking away naked, I would have HAD to use it (because it would have been the best choice), so I never even shot that version.

I made the decision to keep it clean, as a mixture of my fear of it being inappropriate for the film and because I have always had a back and forth feeling about nudity in my films. The whole "would I be okay if my mother saw this film?" scenario.

Honestly, seeing the finished work now, I think it would have been perfectly fitting and appropriate to her bare bum as she walked away and I feel it would have been earned and not gratuitous.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!
 
Good job guys, I was presently surprised by this story, I liked your actress, but a little confusing why her clothes where more valuable then gold? The score was good, and I liked a lot of the shots, but I do agree with Maximus, he put in to great words, "but the filmmaker seemed very uncomfortable showing it. This self-consciousness hurt the film somewhat. The nudity would have been better treated matter of factly, as the theme of this film seems to suggest." Over all guys great job. I enjoyed it.
 
Troy Ruff said:
Good job guys, I was presently surprised by this story, I liked your actress, but a little confusing why her clothes where more valuable then gold?
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Thanks Troy!

Clothes were a metaphor, definitely left open for interpretation but they represent her old shell, former self, an idenity that she was holding on to.

The scale didn't work on weight, as we see when she places a heavy rock and on it and it doesn't move. It only weighs "treasure", as in what is valuable to her. The gold was valuable, as was her previous persona.

Thanks for the feedback!
 
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Beautifully shot...beautiful actress, all good things to have. Not being a fan of silent movies, this fell short for me. I still don't know if I understand the story.
I'll have to go back and read the thread to catch up. I just don't understand how her clothes where her treasure? Something's not clicking.

For me, this could have used a complete original score and not used various music tracks...I used that Kevin MacLeod piece in the trunk scene about two years
ago for a demo of the ZazaSlider, so it didn't work for me. I also think you could have cut this down a bit more, seemed longer than it should be.

There were a few other things, make-up, etc... but I'm sure they've been mentioned.

Congratulations on getting a beautiful looking film together & I'll be looking forward to seeing your next! :thumbsup:
 
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I think the location lost points w/ me...like use barren place that needs water...not have lush green trees and grass around...w/ a magic well there...

but yeah i was watching this at work and quickily went to the other tabs in my IE....lol but it was almost NSFW :D THANKS FOR THE WARNING! lol jk

Good job...just a few minor details that i look for in movies...

Roagn
 
ZazaCast said:
For me, this could have used a complete original score and not used various music tracks.
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Yes, I definitely agree the film would benefit from an original score.

We shot this Saturday (after a failed attempt Friday) and then I had to edit and find music last minute on Sunday night.

I'd love to do a version half as long and with a customer score and some sound design.

Dustin R. Rogan said:
I think the location lost points w/ me...like use barren place that needs water...not have lush green trees and grass around...w/ a magic well there...

but yeah i was watching this at work and quickily went to the other tabs in my IE....lol but it was almost NSFW :D THANKS FOR THE WARNING! lol jk

Good job...just a few minor details that i look for in movies...

Roagn
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Yes, absolutely agree. We drove around for a while trying to find a place that would work. After the failed attempt Friday, we found a spot that we thought worked on Saturday.

Sorry about the no-warning. I should include a "Warning: Possible Asian Booty Ahead!" :)
 
I mis some sounds of wind etc...

When she shows the coin.. I liked to see it in close...and with a "shining effect thing"

I don't get it 100%....
 
I think it's an interesting message that she'd rather have gold than her clothes... Typically, in a film like this, you would think she would have to sacrifice her money for her health. I'm not sure how safe it would be for her to walk into a town naked carrying a bag of gold...

Well shot, and I really liked the concept of the water pump, the box, and the scale. A very nice dilemna, and I like the mysticism of it.

I would have liked for her to have played it a lot more thirsty, that would have helped the urgency of the film.
 
This was throughout a high quality film with especially esthetical views and a great sence of ironical humour. But I really expected on a certain point, she would put out the shower gel and at the end walk away smoking a marlborow cigarette. However - I enjoyed it very much.

Susanne
 
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