Dirt

Cool, great job KOHR. I really liked it. it was over the top and creepy and fun and really gripping. I particularly liked the very very end. Good ending. This was fun because you went all greenscreen (I assume) and the younger actor was over-acting (but not in a bad way) so this had a surrealistic theatrical feel, like a play. I like the calmness of the older cowboy, he was great. This was a unique story and I enjoyed it!
 
Defcon said:
Cool, great job KOHR. I really liked it. it was over the top and creepy and fun and really gripping. I particularly liked the very very end. Good ending. This was fun because you went all greenscreen (I assume) and the younger actor was over-acting (but not in a bad way) so this had a surrealistic theatrical feel, like a play. I like the calmness of the older cowboy, he was great. This was a unique story and I enjoyed it!
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Thanks Defcon-- It sounds like you pretty much nailed everything I was going for. As we were making it, I was constantly telling everyone from acting, to scoring, to color that I wanted it to be big. Big, archetypal performances... big cinematic score...big epic frame compositions and palettes, and yet still all basically in one location. I'm glad you enjoyed it! :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
What I like is that, many people complained they couldnt pull off a western, but you showed us that via grrenscreen and great costumes, that anybody could.
 
Haha. Yeah well, my first major issue for the film was ... I really want to participate (i've had other obligations for each other fest recently, so I haven't been able to participate since TwilightFest) but I'm nowhere near the real west...in fact, the first stretch of land that could pass for west is over an hour away from me and my crew. Then on top of that, I decided that the script worked best if it all took place right before sunset. That of course, adds the issue that we can only shoot for an hour each day...so drive up an hour and a half, shoot for an hour, and drive back down... it would take us about 2 weeks to shoot the film haha. So I decided that I could handle the green screen work and we shot it in my backyard (which is only a couple hundred square feet.) Anyway, thanks for the kind words man, the 6 minute version doesn't hold a candle to the 12 minute version, so as soon as I can post that, please watch that version-- its so much better. :D
 
Richard J. Johnson said:
That looked great. It was mesmerizing to me. I just can't put my finger on it. I need to watch it again. The score was perfect.
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Wow, thanks! I've never had the word "mesmerizing" used on one of my movies before so I'm REALLY thankful for that review. As a director, those sort of words really make me proud. Thank you, seriously.
 
Dirt

Nice visuals. Not sure what to think of them right off, but they are unique. I think the visuals add to the creepiness of the film, which in this case is good. Good story overall and pretty decent performances. Wish we could have seen a little more of the backstory, but the way you used the effects was great. Some of the ADR was distracting. Good film though. Wouldn't watch it for entertainment but it was gut wrenching.
 
This had a cool look to it and it set the piece very well. The story was also a very good one. I really enjoyed the way it unraveled. My main gripe would be the actor in the hole. While he was fine for most of it there were parts that came off a little over the top for me.

Overall though this is a really nice piece.
Good luck.

MAH
 
I'm guessing this was all set in hell or some sort of purgatory. It had an other worldly feel to it. I think the best spot on overacting was his memories. Real cool piece. Great Job!
 
Neat premise, and very unique styling. I really liked the old guy - he brought a real anchor to the film, which was needed as like MAH, I felt the young guy went a little overboard at times. Thanks for putting this in!
 
Thanks everyone for the constructive criticism and compliments! I can definitely see why some of you feel that his overacting stood out from the rest of the film. Its definitely an effect of my directing however, because I told him to make it big (like I posted earlier). Its also probably a sign of this being my first real "dialogue" piece. Usually I've made films much heavier on plot and less on character and dialogue, so thats why this was a real challenge/treat for me to make, because I got to work the side of directing my scripts don't generally always require. So perhaps a bit too big on bits, but I'm glad you're all liking it in general.
 
Nice work here KOHR! This was one of the films that kept me very interested and engaged for the full runtime, thanks to an interesting story and unique style. You paced out the reveals quite well, always keeping the answers just out of reach (you must watch Lost). While some of the VFX and technical details were a little rough around the edges, it didn't distract me. The look and sound all tied together and felt deliberate, instead of happy accidents, and that's a big achievement. There was clearly a singular vision driving things forward.

The heightened acting style didn't bother me at all, it fit with the tone.
 
Kasey, I'm Anthony. This was stylized in a cool way. I love the idea of playing with 'belief' in the story. Also the mystery of where it's all taking place is very intriguing. Like some kind of Sartre hell. My only gripe was the ADR was mixed pretty high so it was a bit distracting. The look had a believable and non cheesy surreal vibe, which can easily become a run away train. Very cool film.
 
Curugon said:
Nice work here KOHR! This was one of the films that kept me very interested and engaged for the full runtime, thanks to an interesting story and unique style. You paced out the reveals quite well, always keeping the answers just out of reach (you must watch Lost). While some of the VFX and technical details were a little rough around the edges, it didn't distract me. The look and sound all tied together and felt deliberate, instead of happy accidents, and that's a big achievement. There was clearly a singular vision driving things forward.

The heightened acting style didn't bother me at all, it fit with the tone.
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Hey thanks man-- coming from the filmmaker on what's easily been my favorite of the fest so far, that means a lot to me. I'm glad that you (and a couple others) found that the acting style fit with the piece...because while shooting it I had to brace myself, knowing that I was purposely making the performance big, hoping that the piece would follow through because of all the other elements. I guess for some it has fit, for others it hasn't.

Its hilarious that you mention LOST because I'm a giant fan (I even dig the ending, despite its faults), so I'm glad the things that impress me are coming through on my work.

Again, thank you for your kind words!
 
Anthony Todaro said:
Kasey, I'm Anthony. This was stylized in a cool way. I love the idea of playing with 'belief' in the story. Also the mystery of where it's all taking place is very intriguing. Like some kind of Sartre hell. My only gripe was the ADR was mixed pretty high so it was a bit distracting. The look had a believable and non cheesy surreal vibe, which can easily become a run away train. Very cool film.
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Thank you too! haha, I'm glad that I'm actually getting generally positive reviews on this because by the time I finish my films I generally dislike them quite a bit (especially when I have to cut out 50% of it to fit a running time requirement). And I'm also glad that you were picking up on the philosophical messages I was trying to place under the dialogue-- I'm very much into Sartre, Nietzsche, and Camus (in fact, right before I wrote this script I had just read a couple chapters of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra." ). Again, thank you for all the compliments! I will keep in mind the comments about the loudness of the ADR when I put up the 1080p 12 minute director's cut.
 
Hey KOHR. Pretty crazy film! The unique setting and visuals worked well and there were some great shots in here. The virtual settings and the transitions to the past and back, were done well. The older guy's performance was spot on but the younger guy's was a little bit over the top. Overall, good job!
 
This is a cool stylized flick. At the beginning, the young guy's dumbness seemed a little hard to buy. And while I'm not fundamentally against the larger than life overacting of the young guy, the old guy is so realistic, that they're too disparate. If they both were big, or both small, either would have worked.

But the reveal of the killed daughter was epically awesome. Brilliant filmmaking there. Made the movie for me.

And I'm glad you didn't let him kill himself. So many short films end in suicide, it gets tiring.
 
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