Melody for Allyriane - A Cowboy Scene Film

watched this on the flight from LA to Austin a few days ago. and was I impressed. so nice to see a film that unfolds in such a gentle, understated way. we've had our share of the cinematic equivalent to being hit over the head with a frying pan in both the comedies and dramas in this fest. i wonder if that comes out of a fear of not being able to connect with and generate a response in the viewer. so you get overly sentimental dialogue and music from the dramas and slapstick/farce from the comedies. but this, this was masterful in its execution, and it's so nice to see something made by a filmmaker confident in what he's saying, but more importantly, how he's saying it.
 
alex whitmer said:
My only qualm is pulling the guitar case from what appears to be a closet in use, and blowing the dust off it.
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also my only gripe. Enjoyed it. Very quiet and in the nicest sense possible, slow. But surely that's what you were going for. Awesome job sir.
 
this movie was beautiful, i was sold from the very first tiny flashback. brilliantly made. you did an amazing job. your actors were perfect. the frustration he was feeling with himself and how that played out in his (im assuming wife) from when he was younger was great.

very good job
 
Zak, thank you so much. I wanted to keep it simple (it's a simple story, after all), and I'm glad that so many people have responded to that.

Thank you also to Nick_Lee and KTOOFRESH! I really appreciate your comments!

Sarah: Agreed. I'll send you a PM soon.
 
Jason, I thought this was a well-crafted story and I really enjoyed watching it unfold. The lead actor's performance kind of took me out of it though, as I feel like he was inconsistent. When he was frustrated and trying to remember something, I totally believed him . When he was speaking to Allyriane, I just didn't buy it at all.

Photography was very nice, as was the the sound, pacing, and pretty much everything else.
 
Nice melody.
I like the look of it, and the lighting all around. She looked especially good (and is quite a looker to boot!)

It's a simple concept that was effective for me, especially being a musician myself and always forgetting songs and melodies. :)

A couple things stood out that have been mentioned- The dust blowing part was weird. The only reason for it would be to show that he hasn't played in a long time, right? I might have put the guitar way in the back of the closet instead and had him dig it out under other junk.

The cutting between his fingers and his face when he's trying to remember the song. It was a little awkward and took away from the believability factor that he was actually playing the guitar. I didn't think he was "really" playing, for the most part? Not sure, but it didn't feel like it.

His "other" voice when she is talking to him. It made me go, huh? took me out of it a little, particularly the way it was recorded so close. If it sounded distant, I might have bought it.

I loved the sound fx transitioning between the flashbacks. Especially the first one. It was understated, but very effective at telling us that we're in another time or place.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the whole piece, and I think there's a lot of detail and thought that went into it, which leaves me with several version of his backstory. The dog-tags being the strongest clue. I like interpretive pieces that have enough to hold onto, and yet still much for the viewer to decide, depending on how they feel.

Great work!
 
yeehaanow said:
I might have put the guitar way in the back of the closet instead and had him dig it out under other junk.
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That's a good idea.

yeehaanow said:
His "other" voice when she is talking to him. It made me go, huh? took me out of it a little, particularly the way it was recorded so close. If it sounded distant, I might have bought it.
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His other voice is a younger actor, playing a younger him. I wanted it to be clear that this was a long time ago. The reason the recording sounds close is the same reason Allyriane is looking at the camera. We ARE James in this shot, so it's our voice. Make sense?

Thanks for your comments, and I'm glad you enjoyed it for the most part!
 
Loved this and I will echo what others have said. This is a strong piece that is based on a really simple idea. I liked the acting.

What was your lighting setup for musician? It seems you did some significant work on the final look based on your initial stills. It has a nice soft daylight feel about it.
 
I'm pretty helpless when it comes to describing lighting setups. Maybe Gary will drop in, although he might not remember himself. I think it was a fairly simple key light and a fill set up, with the lights fairly high aiming down.

As for the color correction, for the James scenes I desaturated the footage a lot and moved it towards blue.

Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you liked it!
 
I admit I haven't read through all of these posts yet and the answer might very well be in there somewhere, but I was just wondering where you got the name Allyriane from?
 
Actually no one's asked, but I'd be happy to answer.

Allyriane is a French name that is derived from the Greek word "lyre." A lyre is a stringed instrument which is a predecessor of the guitar. Hence why I picked it. And I found it by doing Baby Name searches for girl names dealing with music.

I'll admit the pronunciation for the purposes of the film was invented by me, because I had a difficult time determining what the correct pronunciation would be.
 
Hi Jason,

It's LATE, but I made a commitment to watch, rate, and comment on all the films before nights end. At this point, I've only got time to watch & rate, so I'm simply letting you know I've done so for yours.

If you'd like a specific review of your film, please just PM me to catch my attention, and I'd be glad to come back here & post a review. :)
 
Just dropping back in now to give this a review, now that I've got a moment & am awake. :)

It's a simple story, simple set up, and simple ending ... but I DIG it. It's simplicity makes it less complicated to understand, follow, and then can kick back even more & enjoy all the other achievements in this film. I really LOVED your editing here, with the SFX as memories began to come back, the rack focusing on the mirror (lovely) as she turned back & forth, and more.

Lighting was solid, and quite frankly, everything was solid here. In fact, I don't think there's anything I can find to critique this, from a technical point, nor really story as I think you told it exactly the way it was meant to be told.

Very nicely done.
 
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