Death March - Envision

Thanks arielman! Yep, depending on screen settings, the ending and several other shots are hard to see, which ultimately comes down to me not accurately putting this out there for the average monitor I suppose, though it's difficult to tell what the average viewing is going to look like, especially when you throw in the mix of CTR vs. LCD's, Mac vs. PC, etc.

Actually, the 2nd zombie rec'd a couple less than stellar comments, but I personally loved that interview as well. I was really wanting the guy to have this overly paranoid high strung aspect to him, but he had a vision in his head and couldn't really pull away from it ... so we ended up with a medicated Ozzy Ozborne feel for him. :)
 
I have great appreciation for the obvious time & energy you put into this. You have a keen eye for details (ie the best in show newscast footage).

I simply loved your Guy Ritchie-type cutting.

As stated above, there was room for technical improvement...
but this was really a tight little concept that (IMHO) you should consider throwing a larger budget at and shopping around.
 
Norm, I finally got to watch your short tonight. Overall I really liked it. I scanned a couple of previous posts so I don't think I can add too much that hasn't already been said but the things I didn't like, before the things I did like:
-the zombie dialogue sound. If they weren't in a band I wouldn't have had as much of a problem with it, but I found it hard to imagine how they'd sound as a band with those distorted voices! If that makes any sense to you! Maybe a bit too much on the voice work?
-the mask/lighting on the reporter during the interview. I too didn't like the way this looked, but it seems neither did you so let's drop it!
-the weirdest thing I had a problem with and its probably only me is the reporter and the girl in the beginning look similar and wearing similar colors. At first I was like, are they twins? I would have changed up the color of the tees at least for variety.

Anyway, I really liked the camera work, the blood with the cell at the end, the music and graphics during the interviews, and was really impressed with your news footage! NICE!!! Really nice job on that. And I liked the make up work.

Being a huge rock and metal fan I found myself wishing Ozzy or Gene Simmons would attack some of their interviewers...

Really nice job!

Robert
 
FUNNY! It WAS the same girl. The opening news cast was to simply establish that Zombies were an everyday part of life, AND that our lead actress was also an established news anchor! :)
 
Envision,
A lot has been said previously in this thread, but I'll chime in anyway. I thought it was great. It was genuinely funny and it genuinely creeped me out. That's pretty difficult in 5 minutes. I liked the rack focus on the smoke. Was it supposed to be in-and-out like that or were you just trying to find your focus? Either way, I thought it was cool and added to the feel of the character.
If I could change anything (besides the interview lighting...but you've kicked yourself enough already) I wouldn't have gone hand held in the beginning scene...just a stylistic choice. It kinda cheapened it a little bit, because to me it didn't seem like there was a reason for the particular shots you chose. It looked a little like a home movie and didn't fit in with the rest of the well selected, well shot scenes. My $.02.

BTW, Where can we see this band? I don't know about their music, but they look to be in better shape than the Rolling Stones. Great job.
 
Ought2bCommitted said:
No no, I knew she was on the TV too but the girl she was talking to with the baby... they weren't the same were they?

-R
Click to expand...

Ah, I see! The woman (I'll have to tell her you said "girl", she'll love it) with the baby was my wife ... turning 35 next year! :)

belarussian2001 said:
I liked the rack focus on the smoke. Was it supposed to be in-and-out like that or were you just trying to find your focus?
Click to expand...

Thanks for noticing that ... I was hoping someone would. I actually couldn't get the smoke that thick in there without fear of choking everyone else out. So, there's actually NO smoke in the original clip, AND I keep steady focus on him the entire time. What I did to achieve that shot was use an Art Beats Clip (one of their Alien Atmospheres), turned it on it's side so the smoke was moving in the direction I wanted, then put is on a track as "screen" (I use Sony's Vegas). Then, I just used Gaussian Blur on both, and key framed them in & out of slight blurs, opposite of each other to look like I was doing a rack focus.

belarussian2001 said:
I wouldn't have gone hand held in the beginning scene...just a stylistic choice. It kinda cheapened it a little bit, because to me it didn't seem like there was a reason for the particular shots you chose. It looked a little like a home movie and didn't fit in with the rest of the well selected, well shot scenes. My $.02.
Click to expand...

I agree, the shot didn't look as well as I would have liked, but wanted/needed to follow her & didn't have a dolly, etc. In hindsight, I might have done it differently.

Thanks for the feedback folks.
 
Ah, I see! The woman (I'll have to tell her you said "girl", she'll love it) with the baby was my wife ... turning 35 next year!

I thought "chick" might be unappropriate so I settled on "girl". Hope she enjoys the complement! She earned it. :)
 
envision,
thx for watching my flick, and writing a great review. It will help me alot. were you in the last contest? its been so long.. anyways, my review.

I think so far you got the most convincing news report out of everyone. It cool to see how everyone did the same thing in this contest, virus that turns people into zombie, new cast, slow moving, biting on the arm.. The interview with the zombie band was different. A different kind of humor for me, I still found it funny. Some of the shots look really good, nice lighting.Overall I enjoy it alot, no complaints.
 
I thought this was a good flick... better then most I'd say... upper-mid-pack. I'd say that if the competition wasn't so good this one would rank higher... I too enjoyed the opening news cast and the acting... plus the connection of the anchor woman in the real world. To be honest I also had a mental glitch with the two women... I definitely perceived them to be about the same age and with their similar dress I was at a loss as to their relationship. I thought maybe sisters or else this was an alternative lifestyle. I hope you can laugh with me on that one... 'cause the first time through that's what I really thought. I thought the acting between the anchor woman and cameraman could have been practiced a couple times and shortened up a bit. The "banter" there didn't flow as well as the dialog ahead of it and after it. I liked the flash editing to the action also... I've always thought that was an effective way to get someone's attention. You worked that in really well. I felt the zombies all did their parts well and the anchor was decent, but I agree that it was really dark (at least on my monitor) whereas the zombies seemed perfectly exposed. I understand the creative choice for darkness, but I mean it was REALLY dark.

All things considered I thought this one was executed fairly well and if I was going to offer any suggestion it would be a stronger light (perhaps through a cookie) on the girl during the interview... and I would have liked to see the zombies playing something or tuning up instruments... something to play with the rotting flesh or the musical tastes a zombie might have. A drummer could lose a hand or finger in a solo... or throngs of teenage girls clawing at the zombie and pulling an arm off. (picture the band struggling through a crowd where the crowd is like the encroaching zombies and they barely make it into the limousine as they notice that there's a girl outside the window jumping with joy at the arm-trophy that she just got)
 
MattinSTL said:
To be honest I also had a mental glitch with the two women... I definitely perceived them to be about the same age and with their similar dress I was at a loss as to their relationship. I thought maybe sisters or else this was an alternative lifestyle. I hope you can laugh with me on that one... 'cause the first time through that's what I really thought.
Click to expand...

Again, she's lovin' hearing that you thought they were about the same age ... the reporter JUST turned 26 last week, and my wife will turn 35 in just a few months ... a 9 year age gap. We both laughed about the alternative life style part ... funny.

MattinSTL said:
I thought the acting between the anchor woman and cameraman could have been practiced a couple times and shortened up a bit. The "banter" there didn't flow as well as the dialog ahead of it and after it.
Click to expand...

Agreed. With scheduling issues, like I'm sure MOST of the members here ran into, there were no opportunities for rehearsals ... basically walk through it once & shoot.

MattinSTL said:
I would have liked to see the zombies playing something or tuning up instruments... something to play with the rotting flesh or the musical tastes a zombie might have. A drummer could lose a hand or finger in a solo... or throngs of teenage girls clawing at the zombie and pulling an arm off. (picture the band struggling through a crowd where the crowd is like the encroaching zombies and they barely make it into the limousine as they notice that there's a girl outside the window jumping with joy at the arm-trophy that she just got)
Click to expand...

LOL!!!! I LOVE the last suggestion of the crowd, fan jumping for joy with the zombie's arm, etc. That could have had AWESOME production value & been a huge hit, if pulled off correctly. Our original thought was to have a hand fall off while playing, etc. (I was actually even going to cut a full music video to the ending song we had in the short and have it playing to the side on a LCD/plasma screen during the interviews, but just could get the actor's schedules to work out) ... in the end though, we couldn't even find any realistic looking hands, so I didn't want to do a gag just to have it look lame.

Awesome idea, though, and if I ever follow through on Callaghan's suggestion to expand the story, I'd love to work that scene into it.
 
envision, first of all thanks for your review on my movie.
i know many things have already been said,but i´ll tell you what i wrote first viewing it:

i liked the different approach,although you took a little bit too much away with the (detailed) logline

the next part may sound very negative,but i (hope) i can explain it so you don´t get me wrong:
since i´m shooting many interviews on my (daily) job, your movie started with a little disadvantage, simply because when i first watched it (after working on 5 interviews for our next show) i was like "noooo....more interviews...give me a movie" - then again, it had zombies in it...the reason i mentioned that,is that i watched it even more intense than the others (thinking how i would shoot the interview)
i often have to shoot with one camera (trying to get different angles and the action in one go and to avoid the average "news-cast-one-shot")
the fact that she arrived at the interview with one camera (and the setup) made me expect an on-the-go-we-only-have-15-minutes-with-those-creepy-zombie-dudes-kinda-situation (which would have worked with the ending), so i was distracted by the staged style and the different lighting (and the mask)...they are freakin UNDEAD rockstars, i don´t want them to sit there patiently giving an interview (again,thats just a personal note,because 2 days before watching the movie i shot an interview with the bloodhound gang and they are freaks,but not undead and didn´t eat the host...)

i really liked the editing and the scares in the interview

i watched it on a mac, don´t think it was too dark just fitting

my biggest complaint is,that, watching your love for the little details (the news-cast in the beginning, the cellphone, the GREAT make-up, the soundFX and the cool night shots in the dark alley) i would have loved to see you make a movie not "just" an interview...

overall, i enjoyed the whole thing, the "product" itself clearly is up there with the others and i can´t wait to see a more "cinematic" approach the next time
 
Uppon closer examination of the entries I'd say you should fit in 12-15... and that's about what I had in mind when I said upper-mid-pack.

I've always sucked at math. Still I hope you can respect my honesty... I really feel we had some strong entries this time around.

I've said this before, but my votes came down to several factors which included:

1) story
2) effort
3) cinematography
4) lighting
5) sound
6) make-up and effects
7) sound track
8) did it scare me in any way
9) overall entertainment value

Based on this set of criteria I think it's a compliment to be even in the top 20 of this contest. To be in the top 15 is an achievement. To be in the top 10 is really saying something. It would be an honor to be in the top 5... and obviously first and second place have raised the bar exponentially over past contests.

I hope you take my criticisms with a grain of salt... because believe me, I feel awkward offering criticisms to anybody else's flick... and I honestly think that's why so many flicks don't have long review threads.

My guess is that MOST of the members, like me, are somewhat in awe of the top contenders and we're quietly waiting for the next chance to prove ourselves. If this was a close race for all of us then the zombie frenzy wouldn't have ever cooled off... but the rest of us shut off our ignitions when the lamborghini and ferrari pulled up to the line.
 
well done envision!
first off, your concept with this short is really cool. nice alternate take on the zombie genre.
here are our notes in the order we made them....
the newscast is very tight and the actress did a good job here. liked the transition from newsroom to living room, but the close-up on the actresses mouth was confusing. loved the fact that she had put a shotgun in the bag without the cameraman knowing. the zombie rockers voices were difficult at times to understand, but not enough to detract. we did find the light bar mask distracting. some of the shots were too dark to tell what was going on (like when the first zombie touches her leg), but overall the dim lighting works (creepy). for us, the interview feeling was disrupted by the more cinematic shots (close-ups/flashbacks), but they are beautiful and edited well. the whole concept of them not eating their fans "for financial reasons" is hilarious. fantastic jump-scares! the costumes and makeup are both awesome. we love the safety pins holding the last zombie's (you!) cheek together (great teeth on this character as well). the last shot is great (the body twitching and coughing in the background rocks).
we really enjoy this piece and look forward to seeing more from you. :thumbsup:
 
janzie said:
i liked the different approach,although you took a little bit too much away with the (detailed) logline
Click to expand...

You're right about the log line in this case. I'm used to writing log lines for studio executives or agents that want to know as MUCH about the story/script in as few words as possible.


janzie said:
the fact that she arrived at the interview with one camera (and the setup) made me expect an on-the-go-we-only-have-15-minutes-with-those-creepy-zombie-dudes-kinda-situation (which would have worked with the ending), so i was distracted by the staged style and the different lighting (and the mask)
Click to expand...

I understand what you mean. The reason I had her lit differently (well, let's just call it poorly) is because she's not on camera, so the lights weren't set up for her. However, I thought it would get too boring to just show the OTS of the zombie the whole time, so I wanted to mix it up with shots of her off camera, etc. Just didn't work the way I envisioned it in my head. :)


janzie said:
i really liked the editing and the scares in the interview

my biggest complaint is,that, watching your love for the little details (the news-cast in the beginning, the cellphone, the GREAT make-up, the soundFX and the cool night shots in the dark alley) i would have loved to see you make a movie not "just" an interview...

overall, i enjoyed the whole thing, the "product" itself clearly is up there with the others and i can´t wait to see a more "cinematic" approach the next time
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks janzie. Next time, I promise, no interviews. Hopefully I'll still have a unique take on whatever genre/competition is thrown at us, but I'll do the best cinamatic approach I can to it all the way. Again, I appreciate the kind words, as well as well placed critiques.

MattinSTL said:
I hope you take my criticisms with a grain of salt...

My guess is that MOST of the members, like me, are somewhat in awe of the top contenders and we're quietly waiting for the next chance to prove ourselves. If this was a close race for all of us then the zombie frenzy wouldn't have ever cooled off... but the rest of us shut off our ignitions when the lamborghini and ferrari pulled up to the line.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, Matt. I appreciate what you've had to say, and thanks for taking the time to say it. I think you're dead on about many of us being in awe of a few of the films, and can't wait for the next festival to push our limits even further for that bar that's been set so high. Also loved your analogy of the Ferrari & Lamborghini pulling up!

i_&_t said:
well done envision! ...your concept with this short is really cool. nice alternate take on the zombie genre.
Click to expand...

Thanks j & t for taking the time to comment, really appreciate it. Glad to see so much seemed to work for you two. Coming into this we at least knew we had a unique story & approach that we didn't believe anyone else would have.

Then again, I don't think anyone else had a clown in their zombie film either, so great job on that (for those reading this, they made "Laughing Blood"). Your clown's balloon popping moment is still one of my favorites in this fest!
 
hey I totally missed this and links are down now
I wanna see :)
EDIT: Oh hold on I have this downloaded. This was part if the last 30 I didn't get to for no other reason than time. I thought from the fisrt page of this thread that you hadn't gotten it entered even, even though I remember talking to you about it before the films were up because I have a zombie mocumentary also -- oh well now I have a good excuse to watch it -- will comment in a mo'.
 
Haha cool that was a lot of fun.
That voice effect was awesome.
It was pretty disturbing when the last band member kept growling at her.
The news stuff looked great too, way beyond what I could do at this point and I'm sure very time consuming.
My only nits to pick are
1) I didn't get the blinds or slatted lighting on her in the interview. Would have helped to see the two shot 1st because you can tell what it is more before we saw it in her close up, but I couldn't tell if she was behind a grid or if they had slatted glasses or...
2) The sound on the guys was great but I would have dug them more if their look and performances were a little more zombie like -- stiff etc. It just doesn't sell it as much for me to see fully intelligent eyes and full dexterity bodies -- the roadie in Wayne's World (if that's the right movie I'm thinking of) would have been someone good to emmulate in terms of getting brain dead (from drugs un his case) with a little Brit Rockstar going on.
But that was cool I'm glad you linked it in your sig-
Oh and nice transition with the cellphone from her talking inside at top of convo to outside at end.
Again -funny and cool, nice job man!
 
Hey, thanks for the feedback, Jack! Yep, learned a ton on this one ... now, in addition to teaming up with waltind, the Sci-Fi short should be even better. 'Course now I'm dealing with the writer's agent ... all for a stinkin' short script!
 
Combining all our gear together (he's got TWO DVX100a's), so we'll have up to 3 cam shoots, and a bunch of other equipment ... also co-direct to an extent, though he's wanting to put the main control of that in my hands. Poor lad, if only he knew! :)

He's also pretty good at pre-production planning, etc. It'll be interesting, and I'm really looking forward to it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top