DESIDERATUM - A Film By Ben Sliker

conrad_johnson said:
I just got an email from Ben with the subject: Picture lock?

Love it.
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And yet ... you still haven't responded ... I'M SITTING ON PINS AND NEEDLES HERE JOE.


puckthemad said:
now you guys are just showing off.
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normally I take a few days off ... i couldn't this time ... HAD to start digging into this footage.

On that note...

BECOME A FAN OF DESIDERATUM ON FACEBOOK. ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IT. OK ... THE NOT-COOL KIDS ARE TOO. DON'T GET LEFT OUT. BUT SERIOUSLY ... JUST CLICK ANYWHERE IN THE LAST 3-4 SENTENCES.
 
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Just blazed through about 100+ pages of the Apple Color Manual and still going.

I think a couple weeks of 4th grade have just leaked out my ear and have been replaced 3D color scopes, LUT, and histograms...

it's ok though, cause 4th grade wasn't that great for me anyway.
 
This looks like a very slick number you have here Ben - now im no betting man hehe but i reckon this is one to watch!

The cinematography from your grabs looks very pretty, and I remember Harold being a very pretty film too! How is the balance of style and substance going with this one Ben?
 
lawriejaffa said:
This looks like a very slick number you have here Ben - now im no betting man hehe but i reckon this is one to watch!

The cinematography from your grabs looks very pretty, and I remember Harold being a very pretty film too! How is the balance of style and substance going with this one Ben?
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Whew ... wow a response I'm going to have to put some serious thought into. Refeshing and challenging all at once. I guess I'll take you all the way back to the beginning and perhaps that will help answer the style vs. substance question.

Normally it takes me a full month to come up with solid "fest" based idea. Not so this time, within a day I has crammed as much as I could down on one single sheet in my Steno Notepad. Like most of my good ideas, I came up with this one whilst showering, probably somewhere between conditioning and rinsing off. I rushed out of the shower to grab my notepad. It's actually kind of cool to still have that sheet of paper, it's quite close to what we actually ended up shooting. The thing that kept running through my mind was that I thought I'd see 40-50 National Treasure, Indiana Jones, LOTR, boy gets girl's number-themed films for QuestFest, which was something I really didn't want to do.

So I decided to do a human-drama, (no animal drama here) something that would lend itself to "substance." At the risk of being cliche, I'll tell you right now that you'll just have to watch to see what the film is about. My hope is that the story that I've come up with does set us apart from the rest of the films, leaving the viewer with a "well, they were thinking outside the box" feeling. When I originally wrote the script, I didn't have one person or persons in mind, but when seeking advice about my writing, I found that it's a topic that has touched many people in my life (some who I didn't know about).

Also, I normally figure out a few "have to shoot these" shots while I'm writing and then write around those shots. Not so much this time. Script, then storyboards, constantly asking myself, how can these shots best serve the story? I usually also get to about 75%-80% storyboarded out, and just use a shot list to connect the dots. Not so this time, this was 100% storyboarded out, and Joe and I talked at length about a lot of the shots. This is where our Celtx project came in handy, we could both be looking at the storyboards 1000 miles away from each other.

The thing that was especially nice about this project was that we nailed the timing. My first rough cut was just 6:08. After going back, refining, and editing the story and the beats how I wanted them to be and how they best flowed together I was underneath the time limit already. I didn't have to let the time limit dictate my edit like it has in the past, I edited my film together the way I wanted it to be. No sacrifices, no quick edits to get the whole conversation in there, no artifcially truncating time in post to hack :15-:30 off my film.

That's not to say that this film doesn't have style. If I were to look back through my body of work, it's easy for me to make the connection between my films. So, if for instance, someone watched In Pieces and then Desideratum, it wouldn't seem foreign to them that the same person directed both films. So, with this film, you get Ben's style, interpreted, shot and lit by the guy who did R.P.D.M, with an added emphasis on dramatic impact in writing. So, to answer your question:

Style: 38%-42%
Substance: 58%-62%

With that being said, I really do hope you all enjoy this film. It's some of my best work.

Regards,
Ben
 
Just wanted to thank Catherine Trail for the gift she sent me today.

During a break on day two, I was explaining to the actors how I keep myself and my thoughts organized. Basically this process consistent of writing all my notes and keeping lists in Steno Notepads (little 6"x9" flip notebooks). They usually also contain outlines and dialogue for the films I make.

So what's waiting on my desk for me when I get into work? A pack of 5 notepads from Catherine, with a note on the front "GET STARTED."

Thanks Catherine!!! I Will!!!
 
Hey there Ben,

Well I look forward to your film like I said (im sure i have - come on surely!)

Yes thank you for your earnest answer, and indeed I think that thought process will have aided enormously in contributing to what you feel is your best work.

I enjoyed your last film (the audio reviews - just wait this year its video reviews!) but i felt there was a bigger story bursting out (and by that i don't mean that your last film was superficial - it certainly wasn't ill make the clear now!)

That you feel you've learned I think from your last film and are experimenting in your approach is something I hope I too might achieve with Empire, which is a bit like an end result (I think) of other attempts!

So mon amie - the best of luck!
 
lawriejaffa said:
That you feel you've learned I think from your last film and are experimenting in your approach is something I hope I too might achieve with Empire, which is a bit like an end result (I think) of other attempts!
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Absolutely.

I think even the greats look back at their films and said "i wish i coulda ...", for ex. Stephen Spielberg: "I wish we coulda got some nice walkie-talkies for ET instead of these stupid guns ..." :) Now I'm just being facetious. In all seriousness, thanks for the comments and I can't wait to start my next project based on some of the new processes that I created for Desideratum.

Now I get to play the waiting game with sound and score. I HATE PLAYING THE WAITING GAME. Time to dive back into Color...
 
Okay.

Just got back into town and I'm downloading the omf files as I type this. I have a LOT of work to do...Woohoo!

Oh yeah, just came home to a new HPX-300. I'm ****ing excited.
 
conrad_johnson said:
Oh yeah, just came home to a new HPX-300. I'm poo pooing excited.
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which i'm sure we'll put to good use ... :beer:

I haven't watched my film for 4 days, and I'm loving the disconnect. Got to the point where I needed to step back and stop working on it for a while. 2 more days and I'll dive back in. Not to mention a day trip to the beach thrown in there... see y'all thursday.
 
grab5.png


a new grab to mark 2 weeks to go. :)
 
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ZazaCast said:
SWEEEEEET! (sometimes I wonder why I bother entering these fests....):cry:
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don't worry, you'll be fine... hell, I haven't even got a "commence pee-pee shrink" comment from RodThompson yet ... gotta step up my game I guess. :Drogar-Smoke(DBG):
 
Ben Sliker said:
don't worry, you'll be fine... hell, I haven't even got a "commence pee-pee shrink" comment from RodThompson yet ... gotta step up my game I guess. :Drogar-Smoke(DBG):
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True... I always did wonder about that comment coming from a man named ROD??:shocked:
 
conrad_johnson said:
Hey everyone, important announcement:

Ben can't sit cross-legged because he has fused hips or some shi*. Laugh at him.
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conrad_johnson said:
Criss-cross-applesauce is apparently the new pc term for "indian style"

-ricky rudd
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this is the unfortunate result when you bug your sound designer constantly for a finished product and he turns to alcoholic beverages for comfort.

pray for joe,
-the intimidator


... but seriously ... i can't sit cross-legged.
 
Don;t knock alcoholic beverages for comfort in these dar and desperate times before the deadline. Many a night has seen the bottom of many a bottle.. that's how you know it's time to quit editing and go to bed: when you;re out of alcohol.

On another note: there seems to be a strike in Toronto among Govt workers and gues what? the major liquor stores here are Govt run.

This is me envying Joe his alcohol.
 
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