Mercy by Troy Ruff

Rodney V. Smith said:
Glad you went the zombie route. That was a great location for it too. Where did you find that location anyway? It gives it the right grit and space needed for a piece like this.
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Yes ray ( our film commissioner ) is fantastic! he will find any city owned location that fits our needs and will let us film there for freeeeeee!!!!! He is amazing. Not to mention free permits so we dont get kicked out of anywhere. :) It would be great if you wanted to come up and do a film together, I love having dvxuser come up for films. We had a couple of guys come up and help on the feature Stricken that will be finishing up in post this January. :) always fun, I cant wait for the next film, I have two more no three more no four more in mind. :) ok Im going to stop rambling on but really thanks everyone for your positive and corrective comments. :)
 
I like the opening tension, title sequence... nicely done and gets us amped up and into the story in a solid 30 seconds. Story-wise, I dig the simplicity and I like how you approached it. It's a very easy to understand conflict and perfect for the short film format.

You've got a lot of cool moments in here but I had some issues following some of the performances and that was probably the one thing that bugged me here. First off... the girl, knowing the ending, I feel we were too deliberately misled. She comes across as someone very committed and willing to do whatever is necessary... she's very certain that whatever happened to the brother will result in his transformation. So she'd have to be certain that she would also change... yet she flat out lies to the healthy brother that she is fine... and she also seems very calm and collected during her "what are we going to do... we don't have a choice" bits. I'd prefer to have some legitimate foreshadowing which on a second viewing would make it all make sense... whereas I'm currently feeling like it's a twist sprung from nowhere. Did I miss something? A small detail somewhere?

I like the performance of the injured brother... he goes from a frightened state to an angry one quite well and it's extreme (yes) but I liked it. I'd like it even more though if the healthy brother had been less animated and vocal. He took me out of it at times.

The ending shot is very cool and definitely my favorite bit of the film. Cinematography wise, my only comment would be to light more of the space. It had a little bit of a stage-like feel to it because the background just rolled off into darkness. I couldn't tell if it was shot outside or in a warehouse (from a physical production sense). And I would have liked to have seen some practical lights as well. I think the lack of seeing any lights also gave it that theatrical look to it IMO.

I did enjoy this film and watched it a few times to get a better sense of the whole picture you were trying to paint. It's a good film and worthy of a more in-depth response. Thanks for sharing.
 
Geoff_R said:
I like the opening tension, title sequence... nicely done and gets us amped up and into the story in a solid 30 seconds. Story-wise, I dig the simplicity and I like how you approached it. It's a very easy to understand conflict and perfect for the short film format.

You've got a lot of cool moments in here but I had some issues following some of the performances and that was probably the one thing that bugged me here. First off... the girl, knowing the ending, I feel we were too deliberately misled. She comes across as someone very committed and willing to do whatever is necessary... she's very certain that whatever happened to the brother will result in his transformation. So she'd have to be certain that she would also change... yet she flat out lies to the healthy brother that she is fine... and she also seems very calm and collected during her "what are we going to do... we don't have a choice" bits. I'd prefer to have some legitimate foreshadowing which on a second viewing would make it all make sense... whereas I'm currently feeling like it's a twist sprung from nowhere. Did I miss something? A small detail somewhere?

I like the performance of the injured brother... he goes from a frightened state to an angry one quite well and it's extreme (yes) but I liked it. I'd like it even more though if the healthy brother had been less animated and vocal. He took me out of it at times.

The ending shot is very cool and definitely my favorite bit of the film. Cinematography wise, my only comment would be to light more of the space. It had a little bit of a stage-like feel to it because the background just rolled off into darkness. I couldn't tell if it was shot outside or in a warehouse (from a physical production sense). And I would have liked to have seen some practical lights as well. I think the lack of seeing any lights also gave it that theatrical look to it IMO.

I did enjoy this film and watched it a few times to get a better sense of the whole picture you were trying to paint. It's a good film and worthy of a more in-depth response. Thanks for sharing.
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thanks Geoff, I did have some thoughts of foreshadowing the womans wound early in, but it was last minute thinking and ran out of time, it wasn't in the original script, but I agree it was lacking that little touch. You didn't miss anything, it just wasn't there. I did however want the girl to play off like she did not get bit, purposefully lying to them because she knew what would happen to her and what he would do to her. Im really glad you like it, thank you for your comments, it always helps. :)
 
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Very slick. I really liked the opening shot in the car. Frenetic, chaotic and cool looking - a great combination. This film just had a look of polish. The initial back-and-forth between the two actors was a bit stiff for me (very clean and "your turn" and "my turn" when I thought there should have been some shouting and stepping on lines). That is, until he starts stammering a bit about it being his brother - then it was natural again.

The dude chained to the wall got better as he became more and more zombied-out. I liked a few of the final shots of him lunging toward his brother - great lens choice! I also really liked the pull away shot from the building at the end. Random but I liked it :)

My only criticism broadly speaking is that the take was fairly conventional zombie movie. Two friends debate whether they should kill someone close to them who has become a zombie - and one of them is hiding the fact they have already been infected. Standard approach I think but very well executed. Cheers!
 
Geoff_R said:
Cinematography wise, my only comment would be to light more of the space. It had a little bit of a stage-like feel to it because the background just rolled off into darkness. I couldn't tell if it was shot outside or in a warehouse (from a physical production sense). And I would have liked to have seen some practical lights as well. I think the lack of seeing any lights also gave it that theatrical look to it IMO.
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As far as the lighting goes, it was actually lit naturally that way. We just enhanced it a bit. The overhead lighting was from a skylight, and the injured brother was lit with a practical overhead. It was out of frame, but it was there. We thought about hanging a bulb from the ceiling but I think Troy decided it looked to cheesy, and we didn't have time. The sidelight that lit the brick wall was a little flat and untextured looking, but that is what happens when you have such a big soft light. We were slaves to the little 2kw inverters! We didn't have a choice to use a smaller harder source light because the power issue. I disagree that it looks like stage lighting because stage lighting is usually overhead back lit with hard lighting, and then a flat spot lighting specific portions of the stage, but I think I know what you mean. The key difference between stage type lighting and our film is the shadow on the actors faces. I do agree that the light falls off into blackness, but that was a choice. We didn't want people focused on the background. Also the blackness doesn't allow you to know what is out there and adds more tension that something could come at any moment. Also that is, like I said, what the natural lighting did in the room. We could have added a little more depth to the visuals with more light but I don't think it would have added to the film personally, especially without more production design decorating the rest of the set! What we were missing, and Troy had it planned, was a wider shot that showed a little more of where they were, as well as some of the flashback footage of them carrying him up the stairs into the building. I think this would have helped a ton. Thanks for the comments on the lighting! I love hearing them. I'm a lighting guru, so I appreciate anything anyone says about the lighting design!
 
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Rodney V. Smith said:
Well damn: looks like I'll be moving to Fresno for a bit. :grin: Good to have a city so accessible to filmmakers.
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Come on over, er up, er um down. Where are you coming from again. Well either way, We'd love to have you! There are a few of us film fanatics here that actually go to city hall to fight to keep the film commissioners job regularly, so that is what kind of town this is! *MUMBLES "and they call Fresno the armpit of California! Maybe in the summer time!"
 
I though the look of it was really pro. Great movement in the car. Nice camera work and editing. There were only a couple parts that bumped me. Something that took me out was at 1:07 when he said little brother. Maybe it was the makeup but the "little" brother looks at least 10 years older than the older brother. I haven't seen all the comments but I do agree with the one that said that the back and forth between the brothers could have been a little shorter. Your acting saying "I'm not going to hurt you" a couple times I think is what made it seem long because he said them so far apart.

Absolutely love the silhouetted slow stand up of Kira. Very nice. Justin kicked ass on the score.

Great job Troy.
 
Haven't really read any of the other comments, so sorry if I repeat anything.

This was really good! Looks fantastic, the story comes across clearly, and I think for the most part the performances were strong.

I had a few issues, most of which can be fixed in editing. It seemed like you were letting your actors improvise a little too much. Several moments just go on far too long and are too repetitive. The convo at the beginning where she's telling him to kill his bro isn't as tight as it can, and should, be. And the screaming of the brother, repetitive shouting of "Nick!" grew tiresome and could have been edited way down.

Also the flashback at 2:19 was unnecessary. We got all that (effectively, I might add) in the opening credits. And if it's Nick remembering, that would only really make sense if we saw it from his POV.

The last thing is that the younger brother looked older than his older brother. I wouldn't have cared if the reference to younger brother hadn't been in there. I don't know if you could edit out "younger", but I think it would be a good idea.

Anyways, this short had a great style, a lot of tension, and was strongly executed. Kudos!
 
This one was good but I think the running time for what it was was a bit too much. Rather than building tension, you were beginning to lose me in the middle...it just seemed to go on forever and you had me asking him to shoot him already. You had a nice surprise at the end but there was really nothing to hint that it might happen. How come they knew about the brother's injury but missed her?

I loved the sound of the rain but didn't care as much for the CG rain at the beginning and end.

I don't think you needed the flashback. It really didn't do anything for the story other than remind me how long the "waiting to shoot the brother" scene was running.

I thought you did a pretty good job on the transformation and wet blood...not so much on the dried blood on his clothing.

Overall, I liked it, but it could use some tightening.
 
Blaine said:
This one was good but I think the running time for what it was was a bit too much. Rather than building tension, you were beginning to lose me in the middle...it just seemed to go on forever and you had me asking him to shoot him already. You had a nice surprise at the end but there was really nothing to hint that it might happen. How come they knew about the brother's injury but missed her?

I loved the sound of the rain but didn't care as much for the CG rain at the beginning and end.

I don't think you needed the flashback. It really didn't do anything for the story other than remind me how long the "waiting to shoot the brother" scene was running.

I thought you did a pretty good job on the transformation and wet blood...not so much on the dried blood on his clothing.

Overall, I liked it, but it could use some tightening.
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agree on the length of the screaming, a little lengthly, but the rain at the beginning and end was real. No CG... but thank you so much for your review and comments. It really does help me as a filmmaker. :)
 
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Troy Ruff said:
agree on the length of the screaming, a little lengthly, but the rain at the beginning and end was real. No CG... but thank you so much for your view and comments. It really does help me as a filmmaker. :)
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Real? Wow, it didn't look it. I guess I'll have to retract that complaint.
 
Yep, we ran a hose from across the street for water for that shot. I think the fact that some of it was going sideways made it seem fake, but it wasn't.
 
First, I thought your intro and outro were great. Very well thought out and cut together.

I thought you did a really solid job with everything. Makeup, set design, lighting, camera, sound (minus a couple of minor hot spots) were all pretty good. The acting was a bit like being at the beach, sometimes you'd catch a really nice wave.

And then the story, which I thought was a bit of a missed opportunity for suspense filled drama. What I did get was "oh ffs shoot him already". Around the middle I was getting pretty impatient with it.

Overall a solid effort.
 
Marlon Ladd said:
Excellent film, Troy. I liked the story, location and lighting. Everything looked good and sounded good as well. Of course the score was good as well. One thing I noticed right away (which is an easy fix) was the lack of sound when the brother was chained against the wall. The whole time he fights and screams as hard as he does, we never hear the chains rattle. That's a small thing, but adding that sound in that scene would really help, I think. Now, if there is some there and I missed it, then my bad. I thought the fx on the gunshot was good, but there was something about it that seemed a little off. Not sure. Maybe the sound wasn't loud enough. I'll have to go back and watch.

Anyway, the camera is amazing and your shots were excellent. Nice!!
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As the sound designer I agree with your assessment on the chains. It really came down to time. However, it could also be said that chains make the most amount of noise when there is slack in them and it is pulled out. After watching the film several times and not having time for chain foley I decided to only add sounds when the slack was pulled out. As far as the gun shot goes, there is ALOT going on at that moment (about 15 tracks) and the music takes up about 50% of the master. So yea, the gunshot could be mixed up a bit but the music would have to be brought down to keep it from peaking. Thanks for your feedback. It will help us to make the film better for festivals to come.
 
Wow, this was very powerful. A simple story, perfect for a short, and you managed to keep on pumping up the tension - the excellent score helped a lot there. The opening sequence, closing shot and close-up at 4.30 were magnificent. Two small criticisms: I don't think you needed the flash back in the middle and the man is all chained up with nice new stainless steel bolts (where did they find those in all that hurry!). Overall a very polished entry, thanks.
 
Horncastle said:
Wow, this was very powerful. A simple story, perfect for a short, and you managed to keep on pumping up the tension - the excellent score helped a lot there. The opening sequence, closing shot and close-up at 4.30 were magnificent. Two small criticisms: I don't think you needed the flash back in the middle and the man is all chained up with nice new stainless steel bolts (where did they find those in all that hurry!). Overall a very polished entry, thanks.
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Thanks, I shot this whole film in one day... it was a long day, but we ran out of time, so there were things that I couldn't shot that I wanted to, and some things that I had to make work. I have been hearing a lot of people saying they didn't think the flashback was needed. I was trying to get across that he had been in and out of conciseness and was remembering back to what happened. I intended to shot his being pulled up these stairs into the room and a long hallway shot ( that would have looked amazing!) but we ran out of time. :( But ya I will have to think if its really needed. Im starting to agree with the crowd. Well to say all that, thank you for your comments, I love getting feedback and critiquing of my films. It helps us grow. :)
 
I liked this film, thought the male lead was good. thought the mercy part of it did drag a little and needed maybe an additional element or cut down to build the tension more. It stalled a little bit for me. also the makeup initially read a little fake to me. I like the shots at the beginning with the initial dialogue over them to set it all up. The ending was a well done twist and the final pull back was nice touch but I wish it was uniform and a bit slower for emphasis. Nice work and a lot to be proud of.
 
this one looked great and was well acted, but i could never get invested in the story. it's a situation i've seen many times before and nothing really new was presented in it. the monster looked good though, and the whole thing felt very professional.
 
i liked this film. a simple and potentially strong story. good acting. not great only because there are moments where the shooter kinda falls out of it. maybe its because he is trying to act out the same kind of line over and over and thats why it comes off as a bit unnatural - what am i saying - what the hell is natural when your brother turns into a zombie? - well, i don't know !

maybe make the brother revert to some personal moment he had with the shooter while the shooter is holding the gun to his face. something really personal, like when they were boys. and quick cuts back and forth might impress a much stronger sense of urgency.

that said, its a fine short, congrats!
 
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