Feedback wanted for my short documentary "Eriswil",

M

MartinF

Active member
Dear all,

I made a short documentary, maybe it is more of a portrait film.
It is called "Eriswil" and is about a family in a small village in Switzerland and their commitment to refugees.

https://vimeo.com/192439154

This film was also a test for me. I was curious to see what I can pull off shooting all by myself, how the family would react to me and my camera being around them the most part of the day and so it was a learning project for me, as I am fairly new to documentary work.
I spent three days with the family, shot everything on FS7 and the PS Technik (sigma) 18-35 zoom. Post was done in Premiere, Resolve and Audition.

Your feedback is really appreciated!

Thanks,
Martin
 
martin-

congrats on a nice film.
fs7 looked lovely.
some great images.
what color profile did you choose?
thanks for the effort and the sharing.

be well.

rob
smalltalk.productions
 
Rob,
thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
I shot everything in Cine EI mode, slog3 cine. Since getting the FS7 almost two years ago I never touched any of the other modes :)
 
Hi Martin,

Technique: Nice shots, beautiful images.
Story: Story starts slow, 1.36 seconds to see a car drive away is too much for me. I am afraid modern viewers will leave after 30 seconds.
Music: difficult; saw a lot of docu's with cello music, I'd try some more genres music is now dominating to much.

be well, go on
Peter
 
Fantastic work, Martin. I thought the pacing up front was just a touch on the slow side, but once things got moving I was completely absorbed.
 
Thank you both!

I first edited a sequence of different morning activities leading to the driving away, but I did like the one long take better. But I do know that that might have been a bold decision on my side and I am asking a lot from the viewers. Rethinking it right now :)
Music is such a tough choice to make, I decided for cellos because of the son playing cello himself later. And I like Cellos.
 
Publimix said:
Start with the son playing cello :-)
Click to expand...

Would also fit the music to the video.

Nothing to do with technique, but I would hate to be in that families political position. I once knew someone who made a political mistake far less than that one, 30 years later no one in their neighborhood had ever spoken to them. And, that was not in a small town.
 
I felt the opening sequence was very strong. To open with a longer shot always makes me feel like I have time to enter the film on my own terms. Also the words you picked for that intro are strong in themselves.

Great work, nice images.
 
I really liked the opening shot as well. I probably have more patience than your average viewer, but to sort of echo what Edvard said, the length of that shot created a thoughtful way to "enter" the film for me, too. Everything is very beautifully shot. You don't need any tips regarding your cinematography.

As far as content goes, it's a great effort having been done by one person, so any suggestions are hard to make for that reason alone. I guess the one note I'd give you is that the piece could probably benefit from a little more footage of the refugees (maybe in their own setting?) in order to give a little more weight and range to their emotions. I know the story is more about the host family, so it's not a big critique.

Well done! It's inspiring to see work like this.
 
Thank you Barry!
I am actually hoping to do a Eriswil pt II which will focus on the stories of the refugees we met in this film. Their lives changed in many ways in the meantime, sometimes for the better, mostly for the worse. But another project got in the way which I am editing like a maniac right now. But I really hope to visit Eriswil again and give the refugees a voice in their own film, which I know is absolutely missing from this film.
 
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