"Medal of Merit" A Ramsaur Film

Some of the forest shots where really good and I liked the grading you used.

I like how you tried to build a relationship with the boys that one was always looking out for the other and when the accident took place that you already knew this guy had a reason to do everything he could to help.

TBH, I didnt think the opening scene added much to the overall story. I think this could have worked better without it. Just going straight in to that scene with the leader talking to them. I think your work is getting better every time you go out.
 
Noel Evans said:
Some of the forest shots where really good and I liked the grading you used.

I like how you tried to build a relationship with the boys that one was always looking out for the other and when the accident took place that you already knew this guy had a reason to do everything he could to help.

TBH, I didnt think the opening scene added much to the overall story. I think this could have worked better without it. Just going straight in to that scene with the leader talking to them.
Click to expand...

Yep... could of cut the opening scene and developed the relationship more. I liked a lot of the shots that happened around 2:37 onward. What camera did you use? I noticed some auto-exposure jumps in some places. The final scene could of used some more close-ups and been paced longer. The acting was rigid, but I know it can be hard to get good performances with friends/family. :)

Not really that relevant.. but I like the font you used for the "Medal of Merit" title
 
Solomon Chase said:
What camera did you use? I noticed some auto-exposure jumps in some places.

Not really that relevant.. but I like the font you used for the "Medal of Merit" title
Click to expand...

Jumps? Like when they were singing "I don't know what I've been told" and it swung to the left? We actually used 2 cameras. The first half before the fall is the Canon HV20 and the 2nd half after the fall is the Canon EOS Rebel T1i

The font - Puckthemad picked that out when he created the temp poster.
 
ramsaur said:
Jumps? Like when they were singing "I don't know what I've been told" and it swung to the left? We actually used 2 cameras. The first half before the fall is the Canon HV20 and the 2nd half after the fall is the Canon EOS Rebel T1i

The font - Puckthemad picked that out when he created the temp poster.
Click to expand...

Yeah, at that spot, and around 2:01. The Rebel T1i shots look great :). Some of the HV20 shots look good as well, but the compression seems to be kinder to the Rebel.
 
Yea we intended to shoot the whole thing with the T1i, but my charger died during the shoot and we were only able to finish some of the latter scenes before the battery lost all charge so we had to use the HV20.
 
Matt,

Congratulations! Great job with the edits, especially on the fall scene, as I know you could not do a re-shoot. The final cleaned up really well. I see Ben Hase did the score. His stuff is first rate. Nice job.
Stephen
 
I liked the scout leader that instructed the kids at the beginning, he came off really well.

Some more variety in your shot selection would really help. I also see that you tackled two entries, I believe you have done this before. I wonder if you put all your time and effort into one entry if you can achieve more? Either way you are working your craft and that's always a good thing.

A little more character development early on might have helped. Acting with friends and family is tough though, I feel your pain.

Keep at it.

MAH
 
I don't know which one I put more effort into the most but I know both had a lot me in there. Medal of merit I put more effort into with the Production and Post Production. Carpe Diem had more of me in the pre production. I had no help there, I did the entire pre production by myself (besides the music and lyrics), was tough but all went well. The production and post I think I had a lot in there so over all I had a lot with both films.
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I understand but just think what you might accomplish if you put all that effort into one production. I would be excited to see that.

Cheers,

MAH
Click to expand...

AS one who has been there and pulled off 2 entries (but with bad sound as a result of not being fully prepared) I'll have to agree with Mike completely on this one.

One of the things about entering the DVXFests multiple times is that your work will always be compared to what you did last. If you haven't showed a marked improvement we're actually all quite disappointed, especially if you've shown promise to do some good work.

You;ve got promise and so much potential but my first impression of this movie was that it felt lazy and you were just phoning it in. Now please bare in mind that I;ve seen your past work, so I was expeciting something really cool from you this time around. I know how much work you;ve put into this and I guess my reaction is one more of disppointment that all of that work really wasn't showing on screen. This came off immediately as an after-school special becasue of tone.

Let me try to focus on the positive here, just throwing away all prior knowledge of your work: You set up the story of the boy scouts fairly early. Chose a good location and I like that you were able to get real scouts out there with the gear and everything. Decent walking footage and (doh! dude just looked right at the camera), you kept advancing the story. Nice broken bone. Gruesome. The scout leader was actually decent. He seems like he's for real and not an actor.

You did well using the camera to move through the scenes. The glidecam can be a great addition to your arsenal especially when you know how to use it well. Blocking is a huge part of this and that's one thing you need to work on. Most of how everyone is set up in the walking sequence is more to reflect reality than to be cinematic. But remember this: you're not shooting a documentary! You can shape reality to be what you want it to be. Stagger your actors, or shoot from the side so you have depth to the scene. Putting the boys side by side only serves to flatten the imagery.

THe first establishing scene was not necessary. Spend some more time with your script and your dialog especially. Dialog needs to flow and yet tell a story and add character at the same time. We have our own personal rules as to what dialog to keep and what to throw out, but you can show caring and that somebody looks out for the other without saying it outloud. Show us. Don't tell us.

The music started. And then it never stopped. Ever. There are some GREAT composers who offer their services for free in these fests. Please take advantage of them. A good composer can add so much to a movie.

Your lead never showed any real urgency even in his running and his yelling... you gotta work with your actors more. Push them and push them until they give you an honest response. They may hate you for a bit, but that's fine. You'll get the shot and they'll feel great about the performance. Each actor is different though, but each one wants to excel. Its up to you to drag that out of them kicking and screaming.

Work on your shot compositions, get a more solid script and then rewrite the hell out of it until it screams brilliance. Until it scremas that this is a movie you REALLY MUST make., Then rehearse the actors especially when you;re going on location, and choose your shots carefully. Know when to use your tripod and when to use your glidecam. It doesn;t have to be used for every shot. Just the ones that are moving. And turn off the auto focus.

You put this whole thing together and you had so much people helping you out. Push yourself to be better and it doesnt matter what camera you have, with the right amoutn of time spent on the correct things in pre-production you'll have a much better looking film.

Remember, not all of us have budgets or fancy equipment. A lot of my own stuff is DIYed (dolly, jib) but they're what I need for the job and I use the hell out of them to get the best shots. But first i think of the shot and then how the actors will move through the scene. Each movement is deliberate and guides the next shot. It is all designed to go together. Granted you had some good shots in there, but those were spread out through the movie and needed to be more consistent.

I look forward to seeing your next film. It will kick some serious ass.
 
Thanks puck! Good review I needed to hear! I got a few ideas for the next fest depending on what the theme will be.
 
Just remember that 80% of production is pre-production and that involves shot set-ups, rehearsal, the whole bit. It's about designing the movie. Take a few notes from Armisiano and how he put together "Diner for Two". His prep work was meticulous and allowed him to get a good idea of what he woudl be shooting, so he wasted no time and got exactly those shots.

Ryan Walters on Tarts Fools and G-Men has a good blog that you should read as well. Remmeber we're are your resources and most of us will help whereever we can even if its only offering advice or feedback on a script. And the script is the best place to start. If you haven't done at least 6 rewrites (personal experience) you haven't picked it apart enough.

Focus on one film next fest and make it as perfect as you can.
 
Thanks man. After doing more thinking about what you just said I more than likely will do that one film and spend enough time prepping it then when production comes still spend lots of time but will be good. We'll just wait and see, I know it'll be good. I've started to make lot more contacts after doing some shorts this year.
 
The music started. And then it never stopped. Ever. There are some GREAT composers who offer their services for free in these fests. Please take advantage of them. A good composer can add so much to a movie.
Click to expand...

Can you please clarify what you meant by this statement. I can't tell if you just complimented or criticized my work. I was told by Matt to score basically through the whole video. This was actually my first short film score and I really need to know what I did wrong.

Thanks,
Ben
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top