"Mary's Travel Brochure" by Drew Ott

How did I miss this????

Really looking forward to it.

Too bad as a young director though you couldn't get someone really good to shoot your movie. We all have to pay our dues I guess. :)
 
Wow. Great work guys. Really great work. Easily one of the best films I've seen so far.

I'm very impressed with your confidence to just let a scene play. Lot of static shots, which I am a fan of, and use of moving camera in small doses, when appropriate. I felt like those choices were all right on.

I think the only real suggestions I have are regarding the acting.

I felt like the mother could have been a lot simpler. She was fine, but seemed to me working a little too hard. Whereas given the closeness of the camera, she never needed to move anything but her eyes. I wouldn't call what she did overacting, so much as seeming a little uncomfortable in the moment. And in that case, I always try to get an actor to do NOTHING. To me, her performance is the difference between this being a great film, and this being a film that blows your doors off.

There was one thing about the son. I think he had one tooth that was discolored or something? But he was very self conscious about it. Which you can say a character would develop that behavior over time. But when in a moment like this one with the mother, it's imperative to get the actors to behave as if no one is watching. It's one of the biggest things I've been working on lately and it's critical to really good film acting. Sometimes backing the camera off can help this, but if that's not an option, I often find it necessary to take a moment and really underline that for them before I call action.

One thing about the script that took me a little out, was when her moment came, the son just leaned over to her. If I were in that situation, I think I would call for a nurse before declaring my mothers TOD. :) Just took me out as unrealistic behavior in that moment.

But overall, it's intimidating that one of the youngest directors on this board made what is easily one of the most mature and confident films of the fest. Not out to impress, just telling the story and believing that's enough.

Wonderful work. This is one I will show my Girlfriend and say: "F*cking high school kid made this! What have I been doing with my life?"
 
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Thanks a lot for that review Mark.

I agree with pretty much everything. We didn't get the chance to do any rehearsals (my greatest "What I learned from this fest" is that I need to rehearse with actors), so it was a little hard for myself and the actors on set.

Your mention of the thing in the script was my fault, not Alex's. It is in the script that a nurse runs in, jots down some numbers on a clipboard (because the mother had asked not to be kept alive), and then we cut. The reason that didn't happen was a mixture between a no-show extra and my lacking abilities as a producer.
 
Drew,

Great job. I think this had the opposite problem of Eustace's film "Analog". Mary's Travel Brochure had a great script with a broader sense of a higher power or afterlife, but the acting wasn't very good. To me, this is the better film. MTB gets its message across without being preachy, or cutting its own audience down to people that might only believe one way. It hints at what could be but leaves something open for interpretation.

The sound could be mixed better. Some of the key story points like the heart monitor were mixed so low they were barely audible. Yet some of the bg noise was too up front and made it seem a bit unrealistic. Also, the gurney sound design would have been better mixed lower in the soundscape. It would have added to the scene if it were more subtle.

The acting wasn't bad, it just seemed too forced. These are minor complaints.

Pros: script, cinematography

Cons: acting, sound design (very minor)
 
Well written, good lighting. The opening feels a little choppy, dialogue doesn't match lip movement and also it seems they freeze for a second or two, maybe just my computer playing it back but still thought I should point it out, its really subtle.

The acting is a little stiff or unconvincing.

Overall great job.
 
Thanks Drew, and I mean that. Why? For tackling a dialogue heavy, tender piece that was very nice to watch.

His acting wasnt up to the level required IMO. The elderly woman had a tenderness to her I liked. The prop use was good.

Visually, shots and light suited the piece very nicely.

Sound, I would have liked the heart monitor louder. There was also plenty of noise coming through the boom, I wont blame your boom op as I dont know the set up he had to use.

I thought the opening could have been dramatised a bit more, a bit more of a lead in could have served as a starting block to kick it off.

Nice work, Drew and Luis.

Scored well with me.
 
Very nice work. Great dialogue, very well written.
I believed the conversation. Mostly due to her but they were both decent.
This was also shot extremely well, no issues there.

Sound was a little rough in spots but considering how you threw this together it came out surprisingly well. I think some makeup to have her appear more ill could have helped quite a bit.

Great work, man.

Mike
 
Thanks for all of the reviews so far.

In response to those who have commented negatively on the acting, it's my own fault for two reasons.

Since I didn't didn't give myself much time to edit, I spent almost no time looking for the best take for acting. I unfortunately just had to piece it together by what made sense and what wouldn't be a jump cut. I'm no editor, and I think I've finally learned that.

Also, the actors gave me exactly what I was looking for. Whatever 'unbelievability' there is comes from my flawed vision, as opposed to bad acting. They were both wonderful.
 
Drew, I actually thought the acting was pretty good, especially her part. She was really quite convincing. The male lead was fine. Not great, but not bad either.

Just my additional 2 cents.

Mike
 
Noel Evans said:
I thought the opening could have been dramatised a bit more, a bit more of a lead in could have served as a starting block to kick it off.
Click to expand...

So true.

I was under prepared showing up to the hallway location and only had a vague idea of what I was going for. It definitely shows. The location that I picked made it impossible to light the way I wanted to, and Luis and I realized this on the day of the shoot (I had told Luis that a location scout for him was unnecessary). Because of this, we had to scrap the lighting idea and totally change the mood.
 
i like your story. and i really liked your message. thanks for sharing this.

i don't think the acting was bad, i think it was fine. people react all sorts of ways to losing a loved one, so anything is pretty much believable to me. it is such a difficult thing to portray for the very reason that i think people are going to want the actor to act in the very way they handle grief. too little emotion and it is too distant. too much and it is too over the top. i liked the look he gave at one point where he looked at her and then away from her. my two cents anyways...

spoiler...

the ball was great. loved the shot of him sitting alone too before the gurney rolled on by. i almost wanted him to stand up and follow it, as if he might be following his mom along to her trip.

the beginning was good too, i got that something wasn't going to be right. and that was enough for me.

maybe the only thing i'd say is that she might've been better if she looked a bit sicker. maybe add in some head prespiration or something. something small like that to help better hone in on the end.

great work with the shots and the location. nice job!!!!
 
For the record, I never said this was the worst experience I've ever had on a film.
:)

I just finished watching this for the first time.
My wife and I hooked her laptop up to the TV so we're able to finally watch these fest entries the way they should be seen - sitting in the living room on a 47" screen instead of huddled around a computer.

I have to say, Drew, I think you did a fantastic job.
Most of the concerns we had on the shoot you did a great job with - I thought the hallway stuff worked great, you did a great job saving the audio there as well as tying it in with the room.

But overall - I have the same reaction that Mark said his girlfriend had...
I have to say what impresses me the most about our work is the subject matter you choose to tackle. This was not an easy piece to do, and the same could be said of 'Late.'
Yet on both films I think you show a good level of restraint with material that could otherwise easily delve into melodrama.

I agree with some of the comments that the acting may have come off a little wooden - though I thought both actors had some really good moments. But there was definitely an issue with the consistency there. But the overall mood of the piece is great - I like what you did with the sound, the music, and the pacing of the edit.

For the record - while I helped to shoot this, this is really Drew's work you're all seeing.
He had very definite ideas on what angles he wanted, what kind of lighting, etc.... I just did what I could to help him get what he was seeing in the script.

I think you should be proud of yourself on this one, Drew.
Nadia and I were both really impressed with how it turned out.
Your work definitely shows a maturity beyond your years.
I can't wait to see what you do next.

Good work.
 
Great flick! The look was right on and I loved the story. The woman didn't look very sick to me...but hey, I could drop dead right nooowwwww.....ugh! (just kiddin', I'm fine.). my favorite shot was the guy sitting in the hall after she passed. Realy good job.

One last thing... it played really choppy for me??? (I have a very fast comupter too)
 
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