CallaghanFilms Presents "The Gaussian Project"

[CallaghanFilms]

Thank you for screening “The Gaussian Project”. This little short was written & directed by myself, and was produced by Michael Craven (dvxuser name: fuboy)...who also served as DP. It was my pleasure to work with such an incredible cast, headed by dvxuser’s own Kimko. We were also fortunate enough to get veteran screen actor Brett Rice on board (http://brettrice.com). The cast was rounded out by Ed Donovan. What an unbelievable honor (and personal treat) to get to direct these true professionals.

Also, I would just like to say about the crew...they absolutely worked their respective arses off for the two day shoot.

The final pieces of the Gaussian puzzle were Chris Hurn’s moving score, and Michael Murphy’s 3D effect shot for the finale.

Anyway...Please fire your comments at will.

 

[Blaine]

I like the look you were able to achieve with this. It had a good feel. Your acting was good across the board. I was nice to see Kimko in action.

I can't believe no one's given you any feedback yet. They need to get off their butts and watch it. I'll be watching everything again in a day or two so each one can get the time it deserves. On the first viewing, though, I liked what you did.

 

[Brandon Rice]

Yeah, good job Callaghan! I saw it this morning, and need to watch again to give you a fuller review, but for now I will say I liked the film very much. My one complaint is that the first scene where they're talking in the "conference room" seemed very long to me. Just a first impression. The acting was excellent as Blaine already said, and I liked the western costumes! Good job bro!

 

[CallaghanFilms]

I like the look you were able to achieve with this. It had a good feel. Your acting was good across the board. I was nice to see Kimko in action.

I can't believe no one's given you any feedback yet. They need to get off their butts and watch it. I'll be watching everything again in a day or two so each one can get the time it deserves. On the first viewing, though, I liked what you did.

Thank you, my man. Mighty kind. Like I said before...
Actually having the opportunity to direct such a high caliber of actors was an experience in itself, and one not easily forgotten. I learned sooo much from them.

I am very pleased that you dug the look that I was going for.

I would toast you, but you high-jacked all the "beer smilies."
:beer:Cheers anyway.

 

[CallaghanFilms]

Yeah, good job Callaghan! I saw it this morning, and need to watch again to give you a fuller review, but for now I will say I liked the film very much. My one complaint is that the first scene where they're talking in the "conference room" seemed very long to me. Just a first impression. The acting was excellent as Blaine already said, and I liked the western costumes! Good job bro!

Thanks, Brandon.

First off, I'm honored that you took the time to post while in transit to VA.

As for the actors, maybe I should take out a "For Your Consideration" Ad for Kimko and Brett Rice (like the ones that frequent Variety this time of year.) I'm kidding by the way...I am quite familiar with the fest rules.

Speaking of Kimko, he contributed a great deal of those costumes that you mentioned, including the whole of his own get-up and parts of the others. I pieced together the rest. I said it when I first saw him in Rikki Rockett's "The Last Supper", and I'll say it again...
"This cat has major acting chops."

Thanks again, briceman.

 

[Brandon Rice]

Thanks, Brandon.

First off, I'm honored that you took the time to post while in transit to VA.

As for the actors, maybe I should take out a "For Your Consideration" Ad for Kimko and Brett Rice (like the ones that frequent Variety this time of year.) I'm kidding by the way...I am quite familiar with the fest rules.

Speaking of Kimko, he contributed a great deal of those costumes that you mentioned, including his the whole of his own get-up and parts of the others. I pieced together the rest. I said it when I first saw him in Rikki Rockett's "The Last Supper", and I'll say it again...
"This cat has major acting chops."

Thanks again, briceman.

You got it man! Yep, Kimko is pretty awesome! Great casting decision!

 

[krestofre]

I absolutely love the dialog. It's very well written, esspecially in the boardroom scene at the beginning. Everything is so calculated and carefully chosen. It reminds me of storries from the 40s and 50s. The kind of stuff that no one does anymore. Great.

I've only watched it once so far, but I think I'm not smart enough to understand it. Kudos for telling a story that isn't obvious.

My one complaint is with the sound. Esspecially the scene when the mercinary is contacting the old guys on the little screen device thingy. Audio seemed really uneven there.

As far as Kimko goes ... he's got that look ... you know, that one. I can't describe it, but it's very effective for an actor.

 

[CallaghanFilms]

krestofre,

You know me well enough to know that your comparing my writing to that of the 40's and 50's is among the highest of compliments I could possibly receive. Thanks so much for that.

If mine is a film that enticed you to embark on a second viewing to totally grasp everything that is happining...again, a very well received compliment. I went out of my way to avoid clichés of the genre.

In the "control room" scene I changed the levels because the video feed was being sent through space and time. Yeah..that's the ticket. Seriously though, that's what I had in mind...some sort of amplification system to enhance Val's already fragile signal.

From one classic film disciple to another...Cheers

 

[krestofre]

In the "control room" scene I changed the levels because the video feed was being sent through space and time. Yeah..that's the ticket. Seriously though, that's what I had in mind...some sort of amplification system to enhance Val's already fragile signal.

I got that part, and I think you executed it well. But that seems to have bumped the other dialog too far down. I'll have to pay more attention on my next viewing.

But honestly I'm nip-picking here, so, forgive me.

You know me well enough to know that your comparing my writing to that of the 40's and 50's is among the highest of compliments I could possibly receive. Thanks so much for that.

Yep. I chose my words carefully.

 

[ExtremeSleuth]

hey callaghan, thought your film was great! the acting was very well done, and the writing was good as well. loved the way it was shot! 1 1/2 thumbs up.... couldnt give you the full 2 sorry











just kidding 2 thumbs up

 

[ExtremeSleuth]

i just rewatched the film... the guy who played hedgewell looked familiar. i looked at the link to the actors site. he was the coach in "Remember the Titans" that's awesome.

 

[spidey]

enjoyed it also loved the score. i used chris hurn as well

 

[CallaghanFilms]

hey callaghan, thought your film was great! the acting was very well done, and the writing was good as well. loved the way it was shot! 1 1/2 thumbs up.... couldnt give you the full 2 sorry











just kidding 2 thumbs up

Damn...what a welcome surprise, I was happy with the one and a half thumbs.

That was more than generous of you. I can't say enough about the actors, and I am grateful that the writing is being noticed. As far as how it was shot...
I can only take partial credit. Mike Craven (fuboy) was a phenomenal DP/Producer, and the film would have suffered greatly without him. He and I go way back...in fact it was himself that first introduced me to dvxuser.

Cheers :beer: <---hopefully all these beer smilies will eventually materialize

Edit:

i just rewatched the film... the guy who played hedgewell looked familiar. i looked at the link to the actors site. he was the coach in "Remember the Titans" that's awesome.

That's him...Brett is a seasoned pro. He was amazing to work with, and he had some great stories to share. He said that he admired the comradery/teamwork within our crew, & wants to work with us again. It would be an honor to do so.

 

[Blaine]

So the humidor and cigars made it into the movie...

 

[CallaghanFilms]

enjoyed it also loved the score. i used chris hurn as well

Chris did an amazing job, and brought so much to the table. He listened to what I was had in mind, and ran with it. When I asked him to add some new missing element to the score, he surprised me (and himself a little I think) by using a harp for a harmonics track. Now I am far from being musically inclined, and to be quite honest I have no idea what that means (apparently it is very rarely done)...but when I heard it, I nearly platzed. It was beautiful, and just what was needed to complete the score.

He was happy enough with "Val's Theme" that he is rerecording it for his own portfolio.

Dammit I hope he chimes in (pun intended) on this thread.

Chris...Where are you Chris?

Thanks, spidey
:beer:

 

[CallaghanFilms]

So the humidor and cigars made it into the movie...

You know me...where I go, so goeth the stogies.

In the film, Kimko's character was supposed to grab a second cigar, but Brett improvised his reaction (his slamming the humidor shut.) Great stuff.

 

[Norm Sanders]

Chad, I'm glad I got to see your film, as I was really looking forward to it. I hope you don't mind, and take this as a compliment, that I'm going to go straight for the jugular & hit the critiques first, then I'll end on the happy notes:

First, with some of the compression issues people have been dealing with, I don't know how much is your film in particular, or how much is the encoding from MPEG to WMV, etc. .... but:
The whole thing feels stretched wide ... like an improper ratio
The text was blurry/out of focus, which was ironic with Gaussian in the title (on purpose?).

For sound, this was the weakest part of the project. The levels seemed to jump around, and the static, while appropriate was too loud & drowned out the dialogue. There were many parts throughout where I just couldn't make out what was being said either (i.e. the very ending VO, or at 3:10 when he says looking in ... sounds like it was turned WAY down in post vs. the actor delivering it under breath or comprehending, etc.). Also at points it seemed the volume was just too hot ... nearly distorting in points when voices were raised.

It's probabably just me, or the fact that I had a hard time hearing everything on my end, but I had a difficult time following the story, most specifically at the end ... not exactly sure what happened. And was that a sneeze I hear at the end that destroys the world?

Oh, and the text at the beginning, while SLIGHTLY blurred/out of focus is on/off the screen too quickly. I'm a fast read, but still had to pause to be able to take it in & read it. If it's important to the story, should have it on long enough for the average person to not only read, but absorb what's on screen & what it's saying ... however, I know time's precious with just 6 minutes.

Okay, enough of that, now on to the positives ...

I'm very impressed with the cast that you were able to pull together, and Kimko did a fine job, as did all. I LOVED, let me say that again ... LOVED the interaction between Kimko and the other guy when he slammed his hand on top of the humidor ... just perfect.

Editing/pacing felt nice to me, and I really enjoyed the lighting/DP. The opening location was also great, with good CC.

Yikes, in hindsight looks like I ragged more than I applauded ... didn't mean to, sorry. I truly did enjoy watching this one ... the sound issues being the biggest, which for all I know could be an encoding thing.

 

[Slimothy]

Chad - When I talked to Kimko when he got back he had such great things to say about you. Glad you guys had a good/productive time out there and congrats on getting a great cast/crew together.

I'll start out by saying that I don't totally get the story. There are certain parts that I'm clear on, and most that I'm not. I think this would benefit immensely from more time. The editing/pacing is clean and quick, but the conference room scene seems a bit long because I get lost. The acting is top notch. The writing is good, although I think the story is truley hampered at 6:00. The gunshot at the end was also a bit weak. I also think the old man (Donovan I think his name is) is slightly upstaged throuhout. I think this has alot of potential, just not in this timeframe, as most people won't get it.

 

[penfever]

Well, I definitely agree with those who complimented the writing. I can't tell you how relieved I was to actually see a dialogue film - most of these things are like going back to avant-garde cinema, you know?
I thought your older actors were a lot of fun and very talented. I wasn't crazy about sound across the board, particularly the hero's voice. I guess that's a funny thing to say, but somehow he didn't sound - heroic. I dunno.
The film was certainly shot in a competent and clean manner, although I felt it could be moving the story along a little more quickly/lucidly. I'll give my comment I feel about 90% of these films which is, you probably would have done better to cut a minute or possibly more. The first boardroom scene is quite long, and often hard to hear.
Cool concept, cool execution. Keep on filming.

 

[CallaghanFilms]

Thanks, Norm, for the feedback/constructive criticism.

...First, with some of the compression issues people have been dealing with, I don't know how much is your film in particular, or how much is the encoding from MPEG to WMV, etc. .... but:
The whole thing feels stretched wide...

I was one of those who shot in 24p letterbox (per the original rules.) Anyway, after learning that the ratio had to be converted...I went with the flow and began converting my 6 minute edit. To make a long story short (too late) something went amiss with the original cut, and the ratio got all distorted...so I had to start all over on it, no big whup. I personally didn't notice any stretching though on the final.

...There were many parts throughout where I just couldn't make out what was being said either (i.e. the very ending VO, or at 3:10 when he says looking in ... sounds like it was turned WAY down in post vs. the actor delivering it under breath or comprehending, etc.). Also at points it seemed the volume was just too hot ... nearly distorting in points when voices were raised.

That was how Brett delivered the line...starting out under his breath and increasing his pitch as the lines of dialog intensified. I liked his delivery enough to keep it in...Chris Hurn even cued the music levels around it. Damn...sorry it was hard to hear.

It's probabably just me, or the fact that I had a hard time hearing everything on my end, but I had a difficult time following the story, most specifically at the end ... not exactly sure what happened. And was that a sneeze I hear at the end that destroys the world?

It's probably just you. I'm kidding, and it was Brett's character Robert Hergewel holding his ears while screaming in unimaginable agony as the very fabric of time and space unravels around him and the multiverse violently explodes into nothingness that you heard...not a sneeze.

...however, I know time's precious with just 6 minutes...

You're tellin' me, pally. Truer words were never spoken.:thumbup:

...I'm very impressed with the cast that you were able to pull together, and Kimko did a fine job, as did all. I LOVED, let me say that again ... LOVED the interaction between Kimko and the other guy when he slammed his hand on top of the humidor ... just perfect.

Thanks, Norm.

...Editing/pacing felt nice to me, and I really enjoyed the lighting/DP. The opening location was also great, with good CC.

Again...thank you.
:beer: