DESIDERATUM - A Film By Ben Sliker

As a father of three sons, I have obviously never worried about fertility...but your lead actress and the way you shot this, mixed with the score, seriously drive home this feeling of hopelessness. Upon first viewing, I was thinking along the lines of hopelessness from addiction, but upon second (after knowing the reveal) it was still the same pain, in a different form.

Awesome job, Ben! Seriously good.
 
RodThompson said:
As a father of three sons, I have obviously never worried about fertility...
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It would be quite sad for you if it was the opposite, named Rod and shooting blanks, what kind of cruel joke would that be...

RodThompson said:
Upon first viewing, I was thinking along the lines of hopelessness from addiction, but upon second (after knowing the reveal) it was still the same pain, in a different form.

Awesome job, Ben! Seriously good.
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Rod, thanks for watching and for the compliments, I'm glad that you could have two different experiences with our film, although, I must say, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get a "OMG, commence pee-pee shrinkage" comment. Seems to be the ultimate validation of awesome-ness around here. :D
 
ok, justin durban inspired me:

STORYBOARD COMP SCENE 1:

Other than the fact that I couldn't for the life of me draw any other needle shots, I think we did pretty good. Joe did a phenomenal job of interpreting what I wanted and capturing my scribbles. :)

STORYBOARDCOMP_WEB.jpg
 
Good show, man, you really put attention to details and the acting was good.

this really stands out from the rest.

gv.
 
conrad_johnson said:
Well, my mom says I'm perfect, AND, I can sit cross-legged.:bath:
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your mother is an hamster and your father smells of elderberries!

conrad_johnson said:
I'm glad you replaced the raptor claw with the 45 degree angle foot shot I did.
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I thought it was a hoof-claw... and it's not my fault straight-on foot shots aren't "aesthetically pleasing."

abalex said:
Good show, man, you really put attention to details and the acting was good.

this really stands out from the rest.

gv.
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Thanks George! Really glad you liked it. When are you going to enter again?
 
Ben, other than story flow, I think this is your strongest work yet. Your lead actress was amazing ... just her subtle things in delivery, her facial expressions, etc. I loved her. She also looked familiar ... not sure if you've used her before, or if she's been in a film/TV show before. But great look. The male lead was solid as well, though this piece was clearly her platform to shine on.

I DUG the story you were doing her, and the ending. NICE! My only quip about the flow was that it felt (or at least how I talked myself through it as I was understanding it) staccato and jumpy in the flow ... meaning, one moment I think she's checking into a mental hospital, then I think she was in the shower committing suicide, then I realize she's trying to have a baby, then I see she may have lost the baby, then I see this was about adoption with the papers being signed, etc. I was all over the map. While the final execution of the ending was solid & pulled it all together, I still couldn't help but feel/think that I was just on a VERY bumpy ride on the way there ... so it left me still reeling a bit from the ride to try & catch my thoughts, vs. simply easing into the ending & feeling it's full impact (because I was still thinking about how I got there). That make sense?

Anyway, I'm rambling.

My strongest score yet, of the films I've rated!

Music was great, camera work was AWESOME (I saw you going for lots of artistic shots), and really nice editing (other than that flow I was talking about, which was a director/writing choice). Only other quip would be when they're talking in the dining room at the table ... dialogue/audio could have been better captured there, I felt, especially on the male when his back was turned to us.

Again, great job .... I really enjoyed this piece from you.
 
Norm Sanders said:
so it left me still reeling a bit from the ride to try & catch my thoughts, vs. simply easing into the ending & feeling it's full impact (because I was still thinking about how I got there). That make sense?
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Haha, I guess this is the pitfall of presenting your work to a forum of filmmakers. Makes total sense. Just watch it again. It'll make perfect sense. I just built in replay value. :) (<-that last sentence is bullshi*.)

Norm Sanders said:
My strongest score yet, of the films I've rated!

Music was great, camera work was AWESOME (I saw you going for lots of artistic shots), and really nice editing (other than that flow I was talking about, which was a director/writing choice). Only other quip would be when they're talking in the dining room at the table ... dialogue/audio could have been better captured there, I felt, especially on the male when his back was turned to us.

Again, great job .... I really enjoyed this piece from you.
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Thanks alot Norm!!! Any more dvxfest films in your future?
 
Ben Sliker said:
Thanks alot Norm!!! Any more dvxfest films in your future?
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Sure, when I can afford to make them. Even though all my past projects were pro-bono gigs for cast/crew, I still treated them very well with crafty & meals that would rival pro gigs ... but since I can't even afford to do that right now (still out of work), I feel I have no business trying to make anything. ALL this free time to tackle filmmaking, yet no money to put into it. Ironic, huh?

Oh, and I'll certainly watch it again ... it's one I want my wife to see. :)
 
Norm Sanders said:
Sure, when I can afford to make them. Even though all my past projects were pro-bono gigs for cast/crew, I still treated them very well with crafty & meals that would rival pro gigs ... but since I can't even afford to do that right now (still out of work), I feel I have no business trying to make anything. ALL this free time to tackle filmmaking, yet no money to put into it. Ironic, huh?

Oh, and I'll certainly watch it again ... it's one I want my wife to see. :)
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I completely understand that, I hate where I am right now, back down at the bottom of the mountain, writing script, no money to shoot. I was fortunate enough to flip some equipment right before this shoot that doubled my budget. Hate to hear that the job still hasn't worked out for you, we'll think good thoughts over here on the east coast for ya so you can get back to making films!
 
A lot of care and thought was put into the filming of Desideratum, from camera angles to lighting to camera movement, every shot was meticulously planned and discussed to get just the right feeling for a given scene.

I recently had an AIM chat with the director, Ben Sliker, and I thought I'd share some of the thoughts that we go back and fourth about as to give you some insight into our collaboration process.

Joe: is it just me, or do all girls like to be pushed around during sex?
Ben: define pushed around.
Joe: you know, pused around/dominated a bit
Joe: no mean stuff
Ben: i think they like to think that they are actually with a man.
Joe: PWNED
Ben: it's all part of the confidence thing.
Joe: totes
Ben: that's why women like assholes too sometimes.
Joe: You speak the truth
Ben: they'd rather deal with a confident a-hole than a pussy nice guy.
Ben: i try to be the confident nice guy.
Joe: me too

And there you have it.
 
Back on topic:

I'm going to tell y'all how and why I made the lighting choices I decided on during the filming of Desideratum.

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In this grab:
First, I put some netting from a fabric store ($1 a yard, can you say "steal") on the visible window to knock it down a couple of stops. The key light is a window on the right side of the frame, but I put that coat rack in front of it so the camera cant see it (it would be way overexposed). I have a four bank diva raking the table cloth (line on the edge of the table) and back lighting the chair in the foreground as well as the coats (this is to simulate the window we can see). Also, I placed a lamp in the background because light is pretty to look at, 20 (?) watt bulb and a full orange on it to warm it up. Wait too long for the sun to go away, and push record.

Tell me if this is helpful for you guys and if it is, I'll post more. Also, if you have any suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them, I've got a lot to learn.
 
conrad_johnson said:
Back on topic:





Tell me if this is helpful for you guys and if it is, I'll post more. Also, if you have any suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them, I've got a lot to learn.
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yeah! this is helpful to me. many thanks for posting it- i'll take any inside info on your work. btw your work is terrific! i wish i had your expertise for my short, i'd love to know how to have better lit the kitchen in my film.

so, post away already, will you?!!
 
conrad_johnson said:
this grab:
First, I put some netting from a fabric store ($1 a yard, can you say "steal") on the visible window to knock it down a couple of stops.
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Which I might add ... was BARELY enough to cover the window ... and highly susceptible to breezes. Needless to say, we had an entire gaff tape border around that thing (lesson: enough gaff tape fixes everything) ... also, that tree outside the window was not a friendly tree ... not a friendly tree in the least.
 
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liked the storyine on this one. really embraced the quest theme. liked the acting ect. great job throughout really. although i figured it out about 1/2 way through. im not sure i was supposed to at that point but i almost always guess endings/plot twists before they occur so nothing new there. ..im just an ending guessing kind of guy. :) problem with that is that it made the rest drag a bit for me because it lost tension. so in effect i screwed it up for myself. but hindsight 20/20 its was all good.
 
Neil Rowe said:
liked the storyine on this one. really embraced the quest theme. liked the acting ect. great job throughout really.
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Neil, you should really point out how smooth and fluid the dolly shots were ... is was purchased from a website we found on dvxuser, i think it was rowecine.com, ever heard of it?:D

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...you know i heard that with thier new dolly kits you wouldnt have even needed track on that floor ;) .

haha.. good to know man. its one of the few that stood out for production value and storyline for me, and im glad we could be a part of it in some way. again, great job on this one. now ill seriously have to go back and watch all the dolly shots again though. :)
 
Neil Rowe said:
...you know i heard that with their new dolly kits you wouldnt have even needed track on that floor ;) .
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haha, not on that floor, there's a reason we had to have the track up on sandbags. :)

Neil Rowe said:
good to know man. its one of the few that stood out for production value and storyline for me, and im glad we could be a part of it in some way. again, great job on this one. now ill seriously have to go back and watch all the dolly shots again though. :)
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We normally go crazy with the dolly shots, many we took this time were a lot more subtle or got cut, including what Joe calls the "allstate commerical" ending. I wonder if I can post that...
 
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