Geoff Reisner - Project 47: Chaos

ggr.. I hate being late in the game. Ok, I'm just going to say my peace.

One of the better films I've seen. VFX were just enough and not too much. The interweaving of stories was good.

I loved how the credits rolled and you could still hear the action. I would argue that that was just a cop out not to shoot extra footage. Interweaving it in really helped. I really felt for those characters at the end. Score was really great at times, a lil jarring, but effective. The only thing that really got me was the constant edits. It was almost too much. as if you knew you were chopping this movie down to get it under the big 6. I would LOVE to see this film in its entirety without those fast cuts and dissolves. Otherwise it started to give me a headache much like watching traffic. (almost puked while watching(only movie ever to do so beside amistad))

Kudos man. Visually stunning. The dude in the superman shirt with the tie made me bust out laughing. Its the small humor man. the small humor.

good luck!
/j
 
I've only watched a handful of films so far, and haven't viewed many of the most anticipated films yet, but, so far yours is . . .

BEST in cinematography.
BEST in editing.
BEST in acting.
BEST in real-sounding dialogue writing.
BEST in lower-third TV graphics.
BEST in sound design.
BEST in art direction.
BEST in hot chick lead.
BEST in male lead/male supporting.
BEST in computer screen graphics/ancillary visuals.
BEST in "big movie" cinematic feel (i.e., most "movie-ish").

Simply put, this short f'n rocks, and I'm sure you may have feature-length plans. I think you could easily get a meeting at Artisan or Lion's Gate or New Line with the right treatment. Congratulations, man. You really pulled it off.
 
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P.S.

I LIKE lots of edits and quick cuts. I LIKED your pacing. Your cast was PERFECT! A cool, tough male lead. A hot female lead that can act, and look interesting with nothing going on in the rest of the frame but her. A great "smart guy" character (the one with the Superman shirt). I thought they were all "just right," and that everyone's acting was excellent, and entirely credible. It really felt like they were just "talking" and NOT just "saying lines." I can't really think of anything I DIDN'T like. Again, this short had the BEST lighting, camera operation, composition, and editing I've seen so far.
 
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Oh yeah, there was ONE thing I didn't like . . .

Your shower scene kicked ass on my shower scene, damnit! You had really cool drops of water on your shower curtain. You could still see the folds in my shower curtain, plus I hated the lighting in my shower (didn't want to electrocute the actress, so I only lit with the real bathroom light).
 
Ralph,

Thanks for all the great compliments and feedback!! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoyed the film! I had the good fortune of working with a very talented group of people who were dedicated beyond belief.

I still need to comment on your film (which I loved BTW! I know you're NC but so far you're holding top spot on my film ballot heh, your cinematography rocks but more on that later when I get to posting on your thread!!)
 
Hi geoff,

First let me say well done on one of the more atmospheric shorts I've seen here.

I really liked the aliens analogy (the barracaded door, schematics etc). Cross cutting between scenes worked well and on top of it you used audio to convey what was going on in the outside world, instead of showing it. The radio, the banging.... very nice. I thought the corridor shot was nicely handled too - just a glmipse of what was out there. I like the films that show something epic from a very specific point of view. claustrophibic..

I did however find the skull guy completely out of place here. For me anyway it brought it down. Especially the way he was waving his arms around almost like a singer in an 80's band. He made me laugh as opposed to be scared. Sorry, but thats the first thing I thought of.

But it's a minor thing, I enjoyed everything else and you accomplished a lot with minimal locations. Very nice work and atmos. Technically I couldnt fault it.
 
Hey Geoff - I am sorry that I didn't get back to your thread yesterday... I am feeling like a kid in a candy store!

First of all, I LOVED your film! There are so many great things about it. The Directing, cinematography, lighting, editing, VFX, sound. This film has it all. I loved the use of the monitors, maps, and the plastic-covered set walls! What a blessing in disguise! As I was watching it, I noticed the plastic walls and thought, wow! What a cheap and easy solution to cover up a set that may not be suitable. Plastic! We're in a freakin' war zone, what else do you expect???

I have to watch this again, (and again) but I want you to know before any more time passes, that this was flat out an exciting and fun film to watch. So professional. So polished.

The only complaint that I have is the sudden ending. And that is self-serving... BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END!!!!

GREAT JOB!!!! HUGE KUDOS!!!!!!!!

Ted
 
Very good. Great lighting, great camera work. Sound was a bit hard to hear at times, especially some of the dialogue. If I have to adjust my volume more than once through a short, I mark down sound points, so this brought down your score a bit.

Editing....Ok, I like jumpy editing (if you recall, mine had a bit of it) but I hate jumpy "fade" editing. Way way way way too many fades for my taste. One of my beefs about Boondock Saints is the amount of fades in it.

And I think you had about 200% more than they did. :D

I second the guy in the mask thing....didn't like that.

Otherwise, it was awesome.

Nice helicopter FX shot too.
 
Darkline said:
I really liked the aliens analogy (the barracaded door, schematics etc).
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What's funny is that I referenced that scene to my composer by telling him to think 'Aliens.'

Virum said:
Editing....Ok, I like jumpy editing (if you recall, mine had a bit of it) but I hate jumpy "fade" editing. Way way way way too many fades for my taste. One of my beefs about Boondock Saints is the amount of fades in it.
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I agree with you on this. I personally don't like this cut of the film. In fact, I haven't even emailed my actors a link to view the film here. I'm going to send them DVDs of the final version of the film in the future. In Final Cut Pro, I have about ten varied sequences of this film, each one a little shorter than the last. I had to cut the crap out of this film just to get it in under six minutes. I can't wait to re-cut this and add some of the beats/shots that are missing.

TheatreGuy said:
I have to watch this again, (and again) but I want you to know before any more time passes, that this was flat out an exciting and fun film to watch. So professional. So polished.
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Ted, I'm really glad you enjoyed watching the film and thanks for your support!
 
Review | POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT! I watch the movies first time around strictly for enjoyment, second and third for review.

Hi Geoff. Didn't catch your thread at all, I was only around in the beginning of the fest and the moment I knew I had to drop out I took myself away from the category so that I wouldn't be soured by too much hype. So, here's my review untainted by others reviews and pre-fest expectations.

Script - I can't call it Zombie Horror, cause I'm not sure if that was a Zombie I saw. I get the gyst of it, worlds on lock-down Romero style from an epidemic that has people eating other people. Conceptually fine, I think the written execution might've left things to be desired. It seems like this wasn't written within six minute constraints, and there's going to be a longer version. With that said, I think that's the main downfall of your short. If it wasn't written with a flashback in the center then the cutting-floor needs to be cleaned. I saw some light in your stern leading male. I also saw the downfalls of narcotic abuse in your female, I can't see why she'd been doing it during a time like that. But I'm no druggie so I can't relate. A good concept, could've used tweaking or maybe I should read the script before stating that as my last word. Dialogue seemed okay. I might have to get a third run-through for that.

Direction - Strong. Taking advantage of a lot of things that were pontential road-blocks on set. A core example was the use of the apartment kitchen "window". You went hand-held and circled around the entrance to the kitchen, landing on your actor as he finished packing up. Then he delivers. I liked that. I also like the dialogue and facial expression coverage going on in the "safe room", as I'll refer to it. I think your hallway constrictions during the bathroom drug scene might've hurt you. It seemed like you were fighting for a good angle and had to settle. It's understandable, of course. Straight-on the needle in the arm. Seeing it penetrate would've been grim, but it works as it is. Your newscaster scene was the best shot. It looked like a real newsast. I think the direction was a strong point in your short. So good job.

Acting - Ton o'cast members. Rounded some nifty looks up. The girl fit the needle addict to me. Maybe it was the costuming/prepping-- the attention to raggedy hair and all; I hope that doesn't offend her. Your leading male had a hard jaw, he looked like a firm jerk. Line deliveries weren't as spotty as you tend to see in shorts like these, which is good. Your zombie/monster was too flowy for me. I know it's a choice by the production on how he should move, but his make-up didn't match the feminine hand movements he had going on. I think your best Actor was your lead male. Good job on scoring him.

Cine/Lighting - Another fest entry on the border of breaking the traditional DVX look. Was this even DVX? The "Safe room" scenes looked really nice. They had a little washed out tone that said this could be the last place these people ever see. The plastic all around made it look guarded, though I'm not sure if it serves a purpose in the story other than a look. Did they put it up for bloods sake? Does it stop the demons from sniffing them out? Or is it just looks and nothing else? Your apartment lighting was nice. Got a lot of fifty-percent shadows where they should be. All around good lighting and compositions.

Editing - I don't know if this has been said yet, but the editing wasn't consistant. I found in the beginning that I was almost ready to start skipping through because of the constant cut to blacks. I know it was for intensity, I know it was for pacing, but I don't think you needed the blacks in between. It made me strain my senses to get what was going on. It happened again and it had the same effect on me. As far as the entire cut, I think that the middle should be the beginning and the beginning should be the middle. I immediately got lost when we went from the present to the past. If the middle were at the beginning, the story would flow a lot better, I think. You see something happen, did she get hit by a car? THen the guy answers that quetion for you. The recut should be sweetened. There's good footage to work with and should be knifed with care.


Sound - Another weak point, for me. I didn't like the constant soundtrack. On the second time around I garnered that it was for mood/tone, but I don't think you need that for this. You have really strong dialogue delivery, a Romero-esque concept, I don't see the need to fill it all up with background music. The background ambience was nice. I liked the deep bass, I'm a fan of those sorts of things. Was there any ADR on this? The voices really sounded clean to me, for the most part.

Special Effects - Your monster/zombie costume was on. I didn't like the t-shirt and pants combo, though. I know, it's a budget. Maybe there wasn't another choice of outfit lying around for him? It seemed the plain white t-shirt should've been on your leading male, and the logo one should've been on the demon at least. I liked the mutation portions, though. Looked nasty. The needle in the arm was fine by me. The part where we assume she gets hit by a car was enough to suggest. Overall special effects were decent.

Scariest Moments - Hearing the "whatever it is" coming down into their "safe room". I've got on DJ headphones, so I got to hear that dark groaning. Nice.

Overall consensus - I don't think I've ever seen your work before but you've got good camera work going on. I also think your concept is worth retooling for a more pristine product. Horror is the easiest thing to sell and make, and a concept like this could go far if you really want it too. I'd like to see the longer cut, so keep all of us updated. Thanks for exhbiting, Geoff and team.
 
This film was so clean looking! The images were awesome and the story was good and subtle, and haunting. A nice what if scenario. The one thing I really didn't like was the monster. I think the lighting should have been more moody or dark when he comes in to mask the fact he is not real. Other than that, I loved it! One of the best here for sure!
 
I dont know if you have seen 'BROKEN'...but this film in my opinion tops that! I am not saying it's the best in HorrorFest, it probably come in Top5 but I dont think it fits the genre, at least the 6' you delivered. I am saying however that this is a very professional job, it has good structure, lots of locations, nice cg and vfx, excellent acting, nice costumes and make up, seems to have been very well planned. Cinematography is great and I like the editing except for the parts where the mutant enters the flat and we have a lot of dip to black transitions that continue with her running in the street. Found this annoying...
But all in all....make a dvd, release it and talk about how you did all this...
 
nice work.

great production values - everything was so slick and polished - it's amazing that you did that with such a small budget.

i'd love to see what you could do with more time because you obviously have a lot of talent... this sort of feels like a scene from a longer movie.

i would definitely develop this further - this could easily turn into a 25-30 min movie that would be really good

if you do end up doing more with this piece, you might consider doing more with the monster/mutant guy - something about him didn't look quite right.
 
Kholi said:
...Was this even DVX? The "Safe room" scenes looked really nice. They had a little washed out tone that said this could be the last place these people ever see. The plastic all around made it look guarded, though I'm not sure if it serves a purpose in the story other than a look...
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I shot 720p with the HVX; this was my first real production experience with that camera and I'm happy to say it went very smooth even with one 4 gig card.

The set was pretty small and with the plastic sheeting (and lighting), we could make it look like there were other wings/rooms leading off to other areas. I didn't get a chance to include any of the wider shots because with the way this 'cut' of the film moves, they just weren't working.

Kholi said:
...The recut should be sweetened. There's good footage to work with and should be knifed with care...
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I really dislike this edited version of the film. It is way to much fading and jump cutting; black space, ect- but it was the only way to string all of this story together and get it in under six minutes. I realize now that I totally overshot this film. If I had shot this right, I could have done it in one day rather than two.

Kholi said:
...Was there any ADR on this? The voices really sounded clean to me, for the most part.
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All sound was straight into camera with an Oktava Mk012.

Kholi said:
...It seemed the plain white t-shirt should've been on your leading male, and the logo one should've been on the demon at least....
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The demon is actually wearing the tee with the red logo. That demon is actually supposed to be the drug dealer boyfriend returning...You can't tell because there's just so much blood on it. I tried highlighting it for a few frames and in the HD version of the film, it's a lot easier to spot but no one can pick it up with the h.264 version.

Kholi said:
....I don't think I've ever seen your work before but you've got good camera work going on.
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This is actually my first film. I've DP'd for a few films and worked on a ton of productions but in terms of writing/directing, this is my first piece.

Kholi,

Thanks for such an in-depth review. I'm glad you took the time to go into such detail and I really appreciate it. I'm learning a lot just from how people are responding to the film and seeing where I can improve.
 
geoff,
i thought your sound was really good, too. what was your oktava setup like? which mount, wind protection, etc. ? thanks.
 
Geoff_R said:
The demon is actually wearing the tee with the red logo. That demon is actually supposed to be the drug dealer boyfriend returning...You can't tell because there's just so much blood on it. I tried highlighting it for a few frames and in the HD version of the film, it's a lot easier to spot but no one can pick it up with the h.264 version.
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See, I did NOT know that. That needed to be heavily embelished on. Just knowing that makes this short a bit sweeter for me. I think because I didn't see any recognition in her eyes or her actions and that I couldn't see his wardrobe. If there was ANY way to reshoot that scene to make it stand out it would have so much more impact on the overall story.

And no problem on the review. It's the least I could do for everyone.
 
luster said:
geoff,
i thought your sound was really good, too. what was your oktava setup like? which mount, wind protection, etc. ? thanks.
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Oktava enclosed in a Rycote BBG with a KSSM mount + sub-quality boom ($150). All in all, I spent about 400-500 I believe on sound and this was included in my budget for this.
 
I really loved this movie. Obvious nods to 28 days, but that did not detract from my enjoyment at all.

Your shooting/acting/direction were all really, really fantastic, I thought. There was some cc in there, but it was just this side of too much. I think you showed some good taste and restraint in that department. It's easy to go overboard with that stuff and soon everything looks like a Mastercard ad.

I'm glad you said you didn't like the fades and jump cuts, cause they were EXTREMELY annoying.

What I liked also was that you created a very complete little world here.

And your use of sound effects was some of the best in the fest. I've said it several timnes in this fest, but I LOVE things that leave it to my imagination. It's just so much more powerful to me.

Only other glitch was the vocals often did not seem properly mixed with the rest of the audio.

The HVX looked amazing. Damn I wished we'd shot with one. Did you use any lenses, or stock? I want to say all stock.
 
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