Dissonance - a j.r. hudson reel

Hey John, watched the flick, and I really enjoyed the opening with the father & son playing baseball. I felt for you, as a filmmaker with his own son, that this was something special to you & I appreciated that very much.

I was a bit taken back by some of the shots in the baseball field as I would SWEAR that they were greenscreen, although that wouldn't make any sense, so I'm guessing it was just some wierd in-camera setting, something to do with an adapter perhaps, too sharp ... I dont know. But it was odd.

The performance by the dying father, as well as the interaction between he & his son, just felt somewhat off ... like there really wasn't much of a connection between the two. That said, however, MASSIVE KUDOS on the set/location. Instant credibility & production value anytime I see a hospital scene. Love it.

Someone above already stated the fact that we see him fall flat on his face in the field, but then we cut to him on his back ... threw me for a second. Although I did understand by that point what you were trying to say ... but yes, it could perhaps be said a little more clearly.

Lastly, while I understand trying to do as little setups as possible, I would have LOVED to at least seen a two shot of the father/son in the hospital and not just the constant cutting back & forth between the 1-shots. However, that may have been more of a creative/artistic choice, being the story you were telling.

All of this said, John, it's a much better film than I could have made if I tried to be a film team of 1. I just couldn't do it. You, however, pulled it off fairly well. While there are things to critique, you did an extremely impressive job of doing it all yourself, and that's no small thing.

Great job, and I'm extremely pleased to see you back in the fests. I want to see you in the next one as well, this time working with an actual crew to direct! :thumbsup:
 
John - This is the first flick I watched and I enjoyed it immensely...

Very professional shots and the ominous tone of the music help set a nice dark, brooding, atmosphere where you just knew something not good was going to happen.

There was a mismatch of color between the shots in the opening baseball scene that was rather disorienting, but the rest of the film was pretty good, shot wise. I especially liked the colors of the hospital scene and the last wide shot on the baseball field with the sunsetting was fantastic.

Story-wise I "got it" and thought with more time to develop the story, you definitely would have a winner. I understand how some people found it confusing, but it was held together nicely with some great acting from everyone and a very consistent tone throughout.

I post more after I watch it again.

Well Done, John.
 
Envision said:
I was a bit taken back by some of the shots in the baseball field as I would SWEAR that they were greenscreen, although that wouldn't make any sense,
Click to expand...
There was no greenscreen at all in this pic. Maybe it's just the "Hudson" color styllization that's making you guys think it is?

Also, understand that John's trying to convey a bridge between reality and in-the-son's mind, so perhaps the stylization is an attempt to convey to us that this particular shot isn't happening in "reality"? There's a cognitive dissonance throughout the picture, and maybe he tried to enhance those shots to bring that out. He had the actor wear a gray baseball shirt so that it was neither black nor white; in the hospital scene we tried to light the guy so that his face was lit on both sides, with a dark line in the middle, to get across some idea of him existing in two worlds at the same time... I hadn't seen this cut so I don't know exactly what he was heading for with the "greenscreen" :) but that'd be my guess; that it was a way to get us to cross over from the "real world" to the stroke-induced "imaginary world" that the son spends his last few moments in.

Lastly, while I understand trying to do as little setups as possible, I would have LOVED to at least seen a two shot of the father/son in the hospital and not just the constant cutting back & forth between the 1-shots.
Click to expand...
That wasn't part of John's vision though. You can't see them both in the same shot because that scene doesn't actually happen. It's the son in the bed, convincing himself that he was a good father. So if you saw them both, that would destroy that story element. Whether you as an audience member think that the framing decision worked is another issue, but I'm just relaying how John explained that he wanted it to be.
 
I really enjoyed this film, John and Barry. God, the hospital scene was wonderful and really emotion-packed. As a father who wrestles with these issues often I could really relate to the core of this story.
 
John, you put together a nice story. This was miles ahead of Pestilence. Having lost my father back in 2000, I was able to identify with your story. You had some nice shots but I felt that the focus was a little soft on the Young Man several times. The acting between the Old Man and the Young Man felt a little detached but it also felt right for just that reason. It seems as if these two were never very close which explains the Young Man's desire to connect with his own son in a way he never connected with his father. I'm just guessing here but I think you're probably happy with this short, as you should be. It's going to definitely give you a foundation to build upon this year.

Well done.
 
REVIEW: DISSONANCE

I need to give my daddy a hug. Not. I cheated on this review, because I could feel that something was up that I wasn't quite seeing and so I decided to check out the few reviews on the very recent. I get it, now.

That does present sort of a problem with flow and pacing, though. I think I might be stupid, I just didn't get the internal struggle until I read Barry's breakdown. I think it's a great way to present the internal struggle, but it might not've made it to screen exactly how you pictured it.
All in all, it seemed more like an excerpt as opposed to a solid piece.

That said, I haven't a single issue with the visual creation. I don't mind the colors, I don't mind the grain, I don't mind anything that's been done here. It worked well for me, and I can totally respect the vision. I did see someone mentioned greenscreen... it never once crossed my mind. Unique. I think my favorite shots were of the gal behind the fence. I also think "the walk" was a great idea. Where Eric trudges on toward the camera, heading to his doom to take the phone call. Do you feel that you got exactly what you wanted there? Or would that be a shot you would love to do over?

I didn't see your first short, Pestilence, but I think I'll have to go and find it. Great to have seen a John_Hudson venture!
 
John, I was very impressed to see this one man effort. Wow. That is quite a task indeed. It was an good story, but I did find it a little hard to follow. The distance between the father and son was understandable, depicting that they did not have an emotionally close relationship. I loved the fact that you were able to have a hospital in your film too!! Kudos, John. Great effort, and I am really looking forward to seeing more from you this year.
 
I got it 100%. Sometimes its hard to tell though if it is just there in the film or if I just figured it out, because my story rubics cube is always working while watching these things. I knew that it wouldn't be just straight forward because you know that doesn't work so great in a short - leaves you with a "yes and?" feeling. But all the clues make sense to me ... "haven't seen you cry in 20 years" the guy falling when his father flatlined, the mirroring of his position with the fathers, the mirroring of the mother son position with his in the hospital.

I know you wanted to turn the visual volume down a notch, but we have to remember that's what this medium is and I think some of the previs you talk about could have helped clarify the story by developing a vocabulary that clarified that things were in his head by the end of the film. This is not just a simple "how the family handled this death" straightforward story - this story moves in and out of subjective realities and that will certainly call on your best visual chops to tell that story.

Also I think if we ever saw the main character as disoriented or confused by his reality, that would have clarified it as well.

Not sure what was up with the green screen shots - they were distracting - perhaps a necessity due to scheduling or weather?

Nice work John, and I admire how you consider yourself a student and all of this a learning process - and see screening your work as part of that process. There are filmmakers who are pretty far along who could benefit from that attitude.

hats off, will comeback with more that I liked later, this was just off the top of my head based on what's being discussed here right now.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks Jack

This means alot to me as I really admire your work and growth over the last couple of years.

I agree with your commentary on the use of the visuals. I really tried turning this down a bit, but can see afterwards where balance is needed, This was a good lesson for me on restriction. I am a total student. I think I'll always be.

But, guys like you and Mac and Rich (and others and now Norm!) are my influence and motivation these days.

-

Thank you Norm for the commentary. I really blew it on the young man dying scene. I had such grand vision for this part and really just dropped the ball on it. Also, you are not the first too mention the setups uses during the hospice scene; I can see now, that this would have been a much better appraoch. Although this was an excercise for me in NOT USING mutliple setups, it proves that minimilism is not an absolute.

Filmjunkie677 -

Edgen (Justin) really came to my resuce in the 10th inning on this one. The score really helps this piece along, the paino notes sell it !

=

NO Greenscreen at all. I am curious where it appears to be keyed ?

Barry is correct on his notes regarding lighting and the grey shirt; these were actually conribtutions I give Barry credit for !

ut yes; I did not want to see them in the same shot; but in hindsight, would have changed this approach for visual motivation.

=

Thank you Mark and Blaine; it means great to me to have you 'feel it'. This is very personal to me, my son being my motivation.

=

Where Eric trudges on toward the camera, heading to his doom to take the phone call. Do you feel that you got exactly what you wanted there? Or would that be a shot you would love to do over?
Click to expand...

Thank you Kholi !

I wanted to show the POV of the young man and the young woman as he moves to the next world; taking the call. The only regret I have is not using a shorter lens on the man, it is so long, we can barely see the movement in the frame of him walking :p

I expect to see you next fest !!!
 
John_Hudson said:
...
I agree with your commentary on the use of the visuals. I really tried turning this down a bit, but can see afterwards where balance is needed, This was a good lesson for me on restriction. I am a total student. I think I'll always be. ...
Click to expand...
This is what P. Jackson said of his own work. He could not have been successful making the LOTR without sucessfully making Heavenly Creatures (a chatracter driven story) and then not so successfully balancing FX and character driven story in terms of how he used the camera in the FRIGHTENERS. So by the time he got to LOTR he felt he had a handle on dancing with both.

So that example speaks to this specific incidence, but also that after having made Dead Alive, Heavenly Creatures, Meat the Feebles, etc. Jackson still considered himself a student of the craft and applied what he learned from both his successes and near misses to his next project.

that's what I like about being a filmmaker and why I find it more rewarding than say, acting - endless learning curve
 
the best part of art in general, whether it be Film, painting, writing etc.... You can only get better until the day you Die....

Most of us have a good 60 years to get better :)

Good work Hudson. I wanna see a better version, because i think the compression was killing the image, and making it look muddy. Theres alot of color there, andi wanna see it.
 
John,
This one was at the top of my list and I must admit I was a bit jarred by some of the Color grading as it seemed a bit inconsistent. After watching it a couple of times it seems much less of an issue. The hospital scene rocked. Totally pro man.

The acting was pretty good throughout. Alot of the movies in the fest were plagued with terrible acting, but not this one. Good job casting. Your kid rocks too.

Good job and welcome back to the fests!
 
John, first off I want to say, and I mean no condoscendence, but you are a a true film maker.

The first few shots with father and son I was thinking they dont match, but Im pretty sure I get what you were feeling. If you can spell that out a little more laymen your spot on.

Your actors didnt sell your lines to me, and they could have. you had the best line of dialogue i have seen in any film I have seen in awhile (pretty sure you know which one). John, sorry but the acting was average, shots were hot.
 
Hey JH, just piping back in.

I watched it again and not sure I have much to add beyond it being a nice, tight, solid little short. I found the acting good, the shots, the sound, the writing all well done.

One technical thing: It seems to me that the hospital stuff is underlit. It looks great here, but that it might have troubles blowing up. Have you had any issues with that? I know when we did Bloody Mary with the adapter, we just did not have enough light. So on Katrina, we blasted everything with WAY more light that you'd think, to get a clean image we're confident will remain clean even in a blow-up.

What's your experience been with that?
 
I´ve seen your film allready twice. I lke the light at the hospital very much.
Compresson seems to have lowered the quality of the film. A pity.
I love stories of dads dying and the relationship with sons.
May i ask why doesn´t the son grab his father´s hand when he dies? Why so cold reaction? Please tell me.

And most important. I dont get the end. It looks like Kubrik´s endings. Tell meeeee! ;)
 
I am not very good at compression and final versions ....

Thanks again every one and hi Mac

The idea was that he does not reach out to the dying older father is because it is his life he is imagining, this is why they never share the same frame.

In the end, he has died of (ambiguos reason). From the moment he get's the call, he is making the journey to death ...

(Maybe I should just make another zombie film) :p
 
Back again--

If there was a best shot category, I think I'd put Hudson's "walk of despair" in first place. Every time I see it, i'm like "DAAAAMN that's SO HOT".

And if Action fest is next fest, John_Hudson, I'll be joining you.
 
Well shot- I loved the colors, as well as the camera work. (I’m sure that it looks even better at full resolution.) While the story was decent, it just wasn’t my flavor / liking - I wanted to connect more with the son. Overall good job!
 
John_Hudson said:
The jist of the film, is that the younger man is the one who passes away but the hospice scene is actually in his own mind ....

I suppose with more time and planning, I could have gotten this point across better ?
Click to expand...

I got that it was in his mind, but I thought it was a flash back (i.e., he's wondering whether his son would say the same things to him that he said to his father). The colors really helped establish the unreality of everything involving the young man, so on that score I think you got the message across.

I don't know whether there is a good way to get a really specific plot element across without just making it explicit. I thought it was a very nice story the way I interpreted it, so maybe it doesn't matter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top