Mina Morta!
- Thread starter taubkin
- Start date
I thought the title sequence was very slick. The combination of the voiceover and the location audio worked together very well. If it was ADR, then I didn't notice. The shots and editing worked for me. The hallway shot was very grainy and it kind of stuck out compared to the other shots that were sort of clean and calm. Since the only Portugese I know is "caipirinhas", I had to read the subtitles. The text I read left me a little confused about what actually was taking place. I would say that visually I understood what was going on, but the subtitles sort of confused me.
taubkin
Veteran
Hey thanks tigeba, great to hear good things about my audio, especially from you, because honestly, this film was an audio crash course for me! Yeah, the voice overs were ADR'ed in fact in a radio studio weeks after production it was a competely different mic and I treated the hell out of it, with a very apparent reverb and equalization (I guess there is much more bass in the V.O.'s). I think that maybe it was the compression or your speakers that are illuding you... Anyway I actually wanted them to sound different sort to separate location sound from the inner monolougue, I'm not sure I got that far... lol.
Yeah, I know subtitles suck...
I should have written a script with less dialogue. But I was so sick of movies with short dialogue I wanted to do something different this time, and also train my actor directing skills...
The grain was my attempt to do a flashback... I know, maybe it was too much. I'm just realizing that you should actally plan this sort of thing in advance too! How to treat flashbacks, witch filters you are going to use... All this things require specific ways of shooting and lighting...
Title sequence... Yeah, I kinda had 30 seconds to spare, so I asked an artist friend of mine for some zombie drawings... Aren't they awesome?
Anyway, thanks for the comments!
Yeah, I know subtitles suck...
I should have written a script with less dialogue. But I was so sick of movies with short dialogue I wanted to do something different this time, and also train my actor directing skills...
The grain was my attempt to do a flashback... I know, maybe it was too much. I'm just realizing that you should actally plan this sort of thing in advance too! How to treat flashbacks, witch filters you are going to use... All this things require specific ways of shooting and lighting...
Title sequence... Yeah, I kinda had 30 seconds to spare, so I asked an artist friend of mine for some zombie drawings... Aren't they awesome?
Anyway, thanks for the comments!
Curugon
Well-known member
No way, I loved the subtitles!! There are a few entries in non-English languages, and those are among my favorites (it adds atmosphere for us dumb Americans).
This was very slick, nice work overall. My only complaint is that I wanted to know more backstory (it was clear that she left him for someone else, I just wanted a bit more to the plot). But that's a compliment in itself, because it means I enjoyed what I saw.
Great camerawork, sound, fx, acting, location. The house was so nice I kept thinking "oh man all that blood is going to be a pain to clean from the carpet"...
This was very slick, nice work overall. My only complaint is that I wanted to know more backstory (it was clear that she left him for someone else, I just wanted a bit more to the plot). But that's a compliment in itself, because it means I enjoyed what I saw.
Great camerawork, sound, fx, acting, location. The house was so nice I kept thinking "oh man all that blood is going to be a pain to clean from the carpet"...
I might not have been completely clear about the subtitles. I don't mind them in general. I probably rent 2-3 subtitled movies a month. Just in this case, I thought the translation might have needed some work.
I definately understood the doorway and hall scene were flashbacks, but for some reason i thought the grainyness didnt match. It is the only movie I have seen so far (aside from mine) but I thought it was very good.
I definately understood the doorway and hall scene were flashbacks, but for some reason i thought the grainyness didnt match. It is the only movie I have seen so far (aside from mine) but I thought it was very good.
taubkin
Veteran
Thanks for the comments Curugon, I am really impressed with your film, so trust me when I say I won't take them fro granted...
The house was my grandfathers, so negotiating was really easy. I'm always surprised how a 90 year old man can be so light hearted to not even care that I turned his living room upside down for 2 days... (I got you, because we shot all the blood sequences without any carpets! hehehe... EXTREME care was taken! LOL
Hey tigeba, thanks for the pointers, now I see what you mean. If my subtitles were better written they would be read faster... It's a good point to consider. Yeah, I dig what you say about the grain, it's like one of the things I should've planned ahead and didn't...
Again thank you all for watching and commenting!
The house was my grandfathers, so negotiating was really easy. I'm always surprised how a 90 year old man can be so light hearted to not even care that I turned his living room upside down for 2 days... (I got you, because we shot all the blood sequences without any carpets! hehehe... EXTREME care was taken! LOL
Hey tigeba, thanks for the pointers, now I see what you mean. If my subtitles were better written they would be read faster... It's a good point to consider. Yeah, I dig what you say about the grain, it's like one of the things I should've planned ahead and didn't...
Again thank you all for watching and commenting!
khmuse
Tech Guru
Hey taubkin,
I only have seen yours once and I really liked it. I watched it and only later realized that I failed to make any notes, I just liked it. That's a good sign in my book. I will be watching it again and will share any notes that I make. Good work, the best of the non English language films I have seen so far! As for the title, "Dead Chick", short and to the point, not too bad. Writing a good title is not an easy task.
I only have seen yours once and I really liked it. I watched it and only later realized that I failed to make any notes, I just liked it. That's a good sign in my book. I will be watching it again and will share any notes that I make. Good work, the best of the non English language films I have seen so far! As for the title, "Dead Chick", short and to the point, not too bad. Writing a good title is not an easy task.
pywl
Active member
Taubkin, I also liked the subtitles. It may be just me but I’ve always loved foreign films (foreign to me anyway lol). One of the only negative comments would be with the grain in the night sequences. I can see comments on it so you probably already know. Keep up the good work.
TC
Resident Agitator
Art house meets zombies. I thoroughly enjoyed that.
It had that really cool, low key vibe that only foreign films seem to achieve. It was a beautiful language, and accented by some great music.
I dig the opening titles!
Really great camera movement, my favorite was the over the head shot- beautiful.
The flash back was a bit grainy, but her big reveal shot looked great.
There were some spelling errors, but that can be fixed for the DVD. :thumbsup:
I'm not too sure how I felt about her screaming "brains." Sort of took me out of the moment.
Overall: I genuinly enojoyed it. But I'm a sucker for art house, (and zombies) so it was right up my alley.
It had that really cool, low key vibe that only foreign films seem to achieve. It was a beautiful language, and accented by some great music.
I dig the opening titles!
Really great camera movement, my favorite was the over the head shot- beautiful.
The flash back was a bit grainy, but her big reveal shot looked great.
There were some spelling errors, but that can be fixed for the DVD. :thumbsup:
I'm not too sure how I felt about her screaming "brains." Sort of took me out of the moment.
Overall: I genuinly enojoyed it. But I'm a sucker for art house, (and zombies) so it was right up my alley.
Jay Rodriguez
Coffee Member
Simply put, good work my friend!
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
Obviously all the production values were really high... and the thing I liked most is it's one of the few movies that made me uncomfortable. I mean that in a good way. My GF cringed and had to look away a bit when he was finishing her off.
In a thread before any movies were available I said one thing that would really get my vote is a film that can actually scare me... and being uncomfortable (by being pulled in) is the next best thing.
In a thread before any movies were available I said one thing that would really get my vote is a film that can actually scare me... and being uncomfortable (by being pulled in) is the next best thing.
taubkin
Veteran
Hey guys, I really appreciate the kind words and you putting some time to watch it. I'm kind of trapped between my real life and this tons of zombie films (I am impressed at how many I can watch without getting tired of watching zombies... I'm on 35 and ready for a lot more!)...
Hey, TC, thanks for sharing your opinions! Art house meet zombies, that is cool! I truly am much more an art house type than a zombie type, but then again, after all this time in front of a computer, I'm truly looking more like a zombie type.
Glad you liked the movement. I don't usually take this approach. I felt that if I were to make a zombie film out of my own free will and pocket, at least I should play with some cool toys, so I rented a jib arm, and had my fun with it. So I went for this tightly controlled, storyboarded, planned, hitchcockian film, that was kinda what I learn in school, but also really new to me... I really liked it, I think I'm going for bigger and bigger cranes from now on... :grin:
I'm really impressed you all thought it had high production value... But anyway, I'm holding my self criticism until the voting is over...
Hey, TC, thanks for sharing your opinions! Art house meet zombies, that is cool! I truly am much more an art house type than a zombie type, but then again, after all this time in front of a computer, I'm truly looking more like a zombie type.
Glad you liked the movement. I don't usually take this approach. I felt that if I were to make a zombie film out of my own free will and pocket, at least I should play with some cool toys, so I rented a jib arm, and had my fun with it. So I went for this tightly controlled, storyboarded, planned, hitchcockian film, that was kinda what I learn in school, but also really new to me... I really liked it, I think I'm going for bigger and bigger cranes from now on... :grin:
I'm really impressed you all thought it had high production value... But anyway, I'm holding my self criticism until the voting is over...
khmuse
Tech Guru
Hey taubkin,
OK, now I have watched it for the second (and third) time I have a few pieces of feedback.
As for the story, this was one of the more subtle approaches that I have seen, no overt zombie cliches at all, I really liked this aspect of this film. I liked the opening credits, they worked really well and made for a very "high end" feel to this short.
Good mix of interior and exterior lighting, no obvious color temperature difference and nice simple camera moves that worked very well with the tone of the film.
There are a few typographic (spelling) errors in the sub titles. Not really important as the meaning is conveyed, but something that you could correct if you choose to do so.
"tought" should be thought
"hore" should be whore
"burried" should be buried
"braking" should be breaking
Again, this is an excellent effort and an entertaining film.
OK, now I have watched it for the second (and third) time I have a few pieces of feedback.
As for the story, this was one of the more subtle approaches that I have seen, no overt zombie cliches at all, I really liked this aspect of this film. I liked the opening credits, they worked really well and made for a very "high end" feel to this short.
Good mix of interior and exterior lighting, no obvious color temperature difference and nice simple camera moves that worked very well with the tone of the film.
There are a few typographic (spelling) errors in the sub titles. Not really important as the meaning is conveyed, but something that you could correct if you choose to do so.
"tought" should be thought
"hore" should be whore
"burried" should be buried
"braking" should be breaking
Again, this is an excellent effort and an entertaining film.
John C Lyons
Veteran
I too liked the subtleties of this one and dont apologize for subtitles.
This movie was alright, I didn't like the grainy flashback, bad style choice. Also you could see the girl was breathing most of the time when she was "dead". When he was beating the hell out of her with the hammer there probably should have been more blood.
This movie was alright, I didn't like the grainy flashback, bad style choice. Also you could see the girl was breathing most of the time when she was "dead". When he was beating the hell out of her with the hammer there probably should have been more blood.
.
.
Taubkin: I think you nailed it. This one is one of my favorites. Why?
I liked the story. This guy had motive, and complexity, and jealous rage at the end. It is difficult to capture that and not have the audience lose sympathy for the character.
The mood was consistent and perfect for the plot. I was rivited the whole time.
Great job!
.
Taubkin: I think you nailed it. This one is one of my favorites. Why?
I liked the story. This guy had motive, and complexity, and jealous rage at the end. It is difficult to capture that and not have the audience lose sympathy for the character.
The mood was consistent and perfect for the plot. I was rivited the whole time.
Great job!
This flick looked like something one of the new wave of Spanish/Mexican directors would do (that's a compliment). Decent compositions, and your casting was terrific. The acting was believable and motivated.
I don't know if it was just me, but I had shifting perceptions of your lead throughout the short. You know you've done a good job, when you take the audience from curiosity, empathy, revulsion and then finally, satisfaction.
I might be in the minority, but I'm glad he became a zombie. He seemed like one of those "pretend nice guys" who are really psychos at heart. Come to think of it, Christian Bale, would've been perfect. You fit a lot into 5 minutes. The only question I have is about the dressing of your location. It didn't seem anything more than a normal apartment. You were probably trying to keep the "reveal" until later, but I thought a few hints in the design would have been useful (but that's more of a "maybe you could have" than a big criticism).
I was wondering, did you ever consider going darker with the material? Maybe have him "do" the zombie (pre or post) corpse ? Anyway, good short...very cringe worthy (in the best way).
Cheers.
I don't know if it was just me, but I had shifting perceptions of your lead throughout the short. You know you've done a good job, when you take the audience from curiosity, empathy, revulsion and then finally, satisfaction.
I might be in the minority, but I'm glad he became a zombie. He seemed like one of those "pretend nice guys" who are really psychos at heart. Come to think of it, Christian Bale, would've been perfect. You fit a lot into 5 minutes. The only question I have is about the dressing of your location. It didn't seem anything more than a normal apartment. You were probably trying to keep the "reveal" until later, but I thought a few hints in the design would have been useful (but that's more of a "maybe you could have" than a big criticism).
I was wondering, did you ever consider going darker with the material? Maybe have him "do" the zombie (pre or post) corpse ? Anyway, good short...very cringe worthy (in the best way).
Cheers.
taubkin
Veteran
Hey guys,
thanks again for your comments...
kmhmuse:
Wow, 3 times? Im flattered! Thanks for pointing the spelling out, those were real typos thankfully, and I'll look into them asap. The lighting approach was really straihtforward, we had huge and bright windows on the location and few lighting fixtures that didn't have much power (mostly 650W fresnels and one 1K, all corrected with full CTB)... so we simply bounced whatever we could in the actors to maintain the back window consistetly lit through the curtains. As the sun moved, we would shoot to the other side of the room.
I know the credits rule, I have really little to do with that, but the drawings are really cool. I'll post jpgs of them when I am allowed... I am having problems making the drawing look good in NTSC, because the lines are so thin and fuzzy (pencil drawings). Does anybody know of a filter I can do to the drawings in photoshop that would make them hold up better? Well, I'll post this question in another board when it's more convenient...
Lyons Den and Hector:
Thanks for your comments. It's cool to learn that graind didn't work for you. Next time I'll be using an effect I'm going to do more tests before I shoot, because this doesn't quite look as I expected to me... I might just go for a high contrast night look... I don't quite agree that we are always trying to escape grain. Sometimes there are beautiful cinematography with high grain. 24 grams is a nice example. Another good one is last tango in Paris. I'm working on a feature that will transfer the DVX footage to reala 500 negative and shoot with 3 dB gain. And initial tests are looking really nice... But thanks for sharing your opinions, I'll take them in consideration, for sure!
Speedbump:
I'm honored... :thumbsup:
D_and_G:
I have to admit man, my casting happened 40 minutes before the shoot. My main actor bailed and I had to wake up the guy you saw (that is a collegue from film school) 40 minutes prior of rolling camera. He did a terrific job, didn't he? I was as surprised as you...
About dressing the location, well, I took this indie approach that both went to lighting and art directing: I would choose a nice looking house that had style and go with it no matter what style it had. That house was my plan C (It is unbelievable how you cannot depend on "friends" for stuff like that...), because it was my 90 year old grandfathers house and I didn't want to bother the poor guy... The old man was a true sport, I think he actually had fun while we trashed his living room... My grandmother was constantly offering my friends snacks, wich was kind of embarassing, hehehe. To tell you the truth, I didn't dress the place, I just dragged some stuff here and there and shot it. I didn't have the guts to mess with the paintings, but the one we see in the film is absolutely horrible! and there were some beautiful and sinister paintings for us to use there...
So you want to go even darker? LOL, Yeah, my first draft had him kissing her, but I was a little worried about that since none of them are really actors, so I had to take it a little more lightly. I guess necrofelia would be hard to pull off with those two... The producer read my script and just said: "you are sick!" and I was like "what do you say, will you produce it?", "hell yeah!".
Bigmagic:
You bring a good point about the music. I didn't want to go that whole orchestra feel. I tried that with some copyrighted music and it felt a little off, I mean maybe if I had John Williams or Phillip Glass...
The synth sound was also to take some of the more Barroque cinematography, and tone the whole thing down, because it ended up looking too soft and delicate. So I called for a trashy musician friend of mine. That is his style, but he is very good in it, no doubt about it. I didn't have time to discuss musical cues with him and incidental music, and I would have changed some things if I could. I might recut the whole sound, because I'm not quite satisfied to the way this sounds yet. I'll have somebody that likes it do it, because, quite frankly, I reached my limits in sound editing int this.
Well good to know the story didn't work for you. I like seeing different points of view and personal tastes. I felt this would not please everybody the minute I read the first draft, but then again, inside the zombies theme, that is what I though was closer to me.
thanks again for the comments and compliments, I'm truly honored!
Cheers
thanks again for your comments...
kmhmuse:
Wow, 3 times? Im flattered! Thanks for pointing the spelling out, those were real typos thankfully, and I'll look into them asap. The lighting approach was really straihtforward, we had huge and bright windows on the location and few lighting fixtures that didn't have much power (mostly 650W fresnels and one 1K, all corrected with full CTB)... so we simply bounced whatever we could in the actors to maintain the back window consistetly lit through the curtains. As the sun moved, we would shoot to the other side of the room.
I know the credits rule, I have really little to do with that, but the drawings are really cool. I'll post jpgs of them when I am allowed... I am having problems making the drawing look good in NTSC, because the lines are so thin and fuzzy (pencil drawings). Does anybody know of a filter I can do to the drawings in photoshop that would make them hold up better? Well, I'll post this question in another board when it's more convenient...
Lyons Den and Hector:
Thanks for your comments. It's cool to learn that graind didn't work for you. Next time I'll be using an effect I'm going to do more tests before I shoot, because this doesn't quite look as I expected to me... I might just go for a high contrast night look... I don't quite agree that we are always trying to escape grain. Sometimes there are beautiful cinematography with high grain. 24 grams is a nice example. Another good one is last tango in Paris. I'm working on a feature that will transfer the DVX footage to reala 500 negative and shoot with 3 dB gain. And initial tests are looking really nice... But thanks for sharing your opinions, I'll take them in consideration, for sure!
Speedbump:
I'm honored... :thumbsup:
D_and_G:
I have to admit man, my casting happened 40 minutes before the shoot. My main actor bailed and I had to wake up the guy you saw (that is a collegue from film school) 40 minutes prior of rolling camera. He did a terrific job, didn't he? I was as surprised as you...
About dressing the location, well, I took this indie approach that both went to lighting and art directing: I would choose a nice looking house that had style and go with it no matter what style it had. That house was my plan C (It is unbelievable how you cannot depend on "friends" for stuff like that...), because it was my 90 year old grandfathers house and I didn't want to bother the poor guy... The old man was a true sport, I think he actually had fun while we trashed his living room... My grandmother was constantly offering my friends snacks, wich was kind of embarassing, hehehe. To tell you the truth, I didn't dress the place, I just dragged some stuff here and there and shot it. I didn't have the guts to mess with the paintings, but the one we see in the film is absolutely horrible! and there were some beautiful and sinister paintings for us to use there...
So you want to go even darker? LOL, Yeah, my first draft had him kissing her, but I was a little worried about that since none of them are really actors, so I had to take it a little more lightly. I guess necrofelia would be hard to pull off with those two... The producer read my script and just said: "you are sick!" and I was like "what do you say, will you produce it?", "hell yeah!".
Bigmagic:
You bring a good point about the music. I didn't want to go that whole orchestra feel. I tried that with some copyrighted music and it felt a little off, I mean maybe if I had John Williams or Phillip Glass...
The synth sound was also to take some of the more Barroque cinematography, and tone the whole thing down, because it ended up looking too soft and delicate. So I called for a trashy musician friend of mine. That is his style, but he is very good in it, no doubt about it. I didn't have time to discuss musical cues with him and incidental music, and I would have changed some things if I could. I might recut the whole sound, because I'm not quite satisfied to the way this sounds yet. I'll have somebody that likes it do it, because, quite frankly, I reached my limits in sound editing int this.
Well good to know the story didn't work for you. I like seeing different points of view and personal tastes. I felt this would not please everybody the minute I read the first draft, but then again, inside the zombies theme, that is what I though was closer to me.
thanks again for the comments and compliments, I'm truly honored!
Cheers
CallaghanFilms
Veteran
What struck me most about your film was the smart editing.
As far as cinematography...
You passed the ultimate test: I didn't notice one single set-up.
I feel the story could have been improved upon (namely more clearly defined lead character.)
Oh, and I liked the "tought", "hore", "burried" and "braking"...
I saw their use as creative licensing rather than mistakes.
IMO you should keep them in...they make for uniquely seasoned dialog.
As far as cinematography...
You passed the ultimate test: I didn't notice one single set-up.
I feel the story could have been improved upon (namely more clearly defined lead character.)
Oh, and I liked the "tought", "hore", "burried" and "braking"...
I saw their use as creative licensing rather than mistakes.
IMO you should keep them in...they make for uniquely seasoned dialog.