SHORT: EDGE OF 290 - (we need your feedback!!!)

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C.J. Olson

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Edge Poster JPG.jpg
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1855185/

This is the first of two short films that I have directed/produced-
Although friends and family reviews are positive, we're having a problem getting any kind of forward momentum going-
Please give us your opinion on the film and any suggestions you may have to move this project forward, thank you-

A petty thief acts strangely, driving his girlfriend to question the wisdom of their relationship. A familiar sounding disc jockey's radio show gives him the prodding to change his circumstance with dire consequences.
Filmed in Austin, Texas, directed by Chris Olson, written by James Lambert and featuring a soundtrack written and performed by Anne McCue. © 2009







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there are certainly some good things in it. Like around 01:21 with the mirror.

1:37 her line is not sync, move the sound 2 frames to the left. And was the water running on that shot ? It's always best to turn everything else of that doesn't need to be on if it' s not in the frame.
She also sounds quite "off" here.. Was the mic close ? I think her voice was to low in volume also. You can't keep "gaining up" if a voice is to low.
And don't worry, trained actors know how to speak with a large volume voice and still sound like if they're speaking softly, but that's training...

The door is right indeed, but soundly I think it's a little bit to much "right side"....

More then 2 minutes without music, that's good. If you would have had music there it would have "broken" everything.

I think the music starts at the right point. And it's just an "accent", it's not "laying big on the sound" but it's "waved in", that's good.

The sound of the machines go low a little bit to fast. It's sounds like it's 2 different moments. I would start lower from the start, so it's somewhere in between

French fries, ha !!!, French fries are belgian :-p

89.3... I thought that was another radiostation around texas.... :-p

The scene around 6:25, was in some shots the car running and in some shots not ?
 
Thanks for the input, Dre--

about 80% of the sound in this film was reconstructed in post-
ALL of the bathroom scene was-- I didn't realize till too late that EVERY take had him turning the water off and on-
when edited together, there was no way to separate it from her voice--everything had to be re-recorded and layered in-

your points are all spot on-
except not sure what you're hearing at 6:25- the car is off until he starts it and pulls into reverse-

would also like your opinion on the film as whole--content, characterization-- etc.

thanks again for your time
 
Well I liked it! Good weird stuff. But at the same time I can't honstly say I felt like I quite understood what was going on towards the end. What's the thiefs goal? It might be my moodset, so I'll have to check it out again later.

Anyway, the casting seemed spot on, and the use of music and sound was also very well coordinated. The cinematography was also good, although I think you could've cut the film a bit shorter since we dwell quite a lot on the car and mundane things that don't seem to really have any significance for the story. If this is where you've started I feel like you're in for some great things.

" Please give us your opinion on the film and any suggestions you may have to move this project forward, thank you"

What do you mean by this and not getting forward momentum? Can you make your question a bit more specific?
 
Although I tried to keep the details open to interpretation, I had to have a fixed narrative in mind to ground the character's intentions-
Given that, what we have at the end, is the revelation that not only is he crazy enough to hear voices, but that he's also crazy enough to kill his girlfriend, steal her car, stuff her in the trunk and drive off to bury her somewhere in the New Mexico desert--

I suppose what I'm asking regarding forward momentum is:
I understand that there is very little to no commercial opportunities for a short film, but, beyond family and friends, where do you find viewers? I've had EDGE OF 290 posted for over a year and its just shy of 1000 hits-
Are there people actually looking for short films to watch, or are those 1000 hits all the people that I've personally given links to?-- Cause thats what it seems like--

My second film, ONE EVERY MINUTE, is now finished and I see the same pattern developing--
I'm going to start its own thread, but here's the link:



 
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The unfortunate reality is there's just not a lot of people out there willing to watch a short film that isn't comedy, sci-fi, or action, especially if it's 10 minutes long.
 
Good point--

These first two films we've made are more along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock Presents than Twilight Zone--
Personally, I like a good story no matter the genre, but maybe need to consider more popular subject matter--
 
C.J. Olson said:
Good point--

These first two films we've made are more along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock Presents than Twilight Zone--
Personally, I like a good story no matter the genre, but maybe need to consider more popular subject matter--
Click to expand...


Well that really depends on what you want. If you want millions of views on youtube, then yes you would probably be best served picking a more popular genre. However if what you want is to have a career, then I say you need to do what inspires you, and submit to film festivals when you get good enough.
 
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