My Gal Pal

For some reason it just felt last minute. I can't really put my finger on it, but that's what it felt like to me. Either way, if it was or was not if it works it does. =D
 
Hey guys. I enjoyed this film. It was pretty clever. The getting wrapped up in party banners before running across campus. The roommate's "That sucks, hot stuff". The confetti at the end.

I like the fact that we can get a feel for the filmmaker's personalities through the movie.

Good cast, good production design and costumes, good camera work. A fun movie.
 
Very nice. I did really like the way this opened so simply and humorously in-medias-res.

One thing I noticed though is the timing doesn't really match up at the end. He leaves his friend 30 seconds till mid-night, is upstairs maybe 10 seconds, probably another 10 seconds before he runs out of the house. Which means his friend first of all ran, and faster than him at that, all the way back. And ran even so fast that she could change clothes before he got there. Which really can only lead to my assumption that his friend is actually Supergirl. Nothing wrong with that though.


I really liked the shots of him running with all the party stuff all over him. Also he really nailed the lines "K, I can dance" and the last "how do you feel about Texas". Worked out very well.

Very nice job overall.
 
For some reason it just felt last minute. I can't really put my finger on it, but that's what it felt like to me. Either way, if it was or was not if it works it does. =D
Click to expand...
It was done a little last minute, but I told the sound guy he needed to be done by noon on Saturday cause I wanted to make sure this thing got submitted.

Thanks Mentaduke, yeah that is pretty much my personality wrapped up in 6 minutes. After seeing some of these other films I wonder if I am too optimistic for film making lol.

Gohanto, originally they drive to the party and then she leaves in the car, leaving him to have to run the said miles back to her apartment before 1am. Unfortunately due to some time constraints we weren't able to really film it that way, so we just left it up to the audience to assume she had taken the bus or something.

Oh and thank you for commenting on the "How do you feel about Texas?" That is the line I'm most proud of.

Thanks for all the great feedback guys, we really appreciate it.
 
smashedburrito said:
It was done a little last minute, but I told the sound guy he needed to be done by noon on Saturday cause I wanted to make sure this thing got submitted.
Click to expand...

But that's not to say it isn't the feel we were going for. We wanted the music to be very 80's synth feeling but we didn't want it to overpower the actors' dialogue either, so it was a conscious effort to make it sound the way it did.
 
GerfalconCP said:
But that's not to say it isn't the feel we were going for. We wanted the music to be very 80's synth feeling but we didn't want it to overpower the actors' dialogue either, so it was a conscious effort to make it sound the way it did.
Click to expand...

Agreed Conor, I was just commenting on the time frame, not the quality of the work.

P.S. is it too early to talk shootout smack?
 
smashedburrito said:
Gohanto, originally they drive to the party and then she leaves in the car, leaving him to have to run the said miles back to her apartment before 1am. Unfortunately due to some time constraints we weren't able to really film it that way, so we just left it up to the audience to assume she had taken the bus or something.
Click to expand...

Um, incorrect director... no time constraints, no lying to our faithful audience. Our only constraint if you do remember was the plastic wrap over the window that prevented us from opening the blinds. Haha.
 
andreww said:
Um, incorrect director... no time constraints, no lying to our faithful audience. Our only constraint if you do remember was the plastic wrap over the window that prevented us from opening the blinds. Haha.
Click to expand...

No it was time constraints. I didn't want to take the time to remove the plastic wrap from the windows.

My bad.

Anyway I just wanted to write that we may not be very up on any questions/comments during this weekend because our school sponsers its own version of the 48 hour film festival and I will be busy competing with Andrew and Conor aka urinating in their DVX bag.

But please keep posting, we love the feedback.
 
Fine pat, leave me out of the competition in shoot-out. It's not like I matter or anything. I see how you value talent- see if we ever work together again. Now I'm just going to have to out-act myself so I can take our urine-filled DVX bag and dump it on your head, post-game victory shower-style.
 
Hey, I can't say this film really did it for me, but there are somethings that I'm fond of. The main male actors did a great job. The story worked well enough and I liked your little 80's references, but your lead kept me watching. It's an easy role to over act, but he pulls off that gullible goofiness in spades. Also, the acting from the ex's new man in the bedroom was priceless. Sometimes less is more. Good entry!
 
I get the story, i've been there, but the soundtrack, oh man sounded like, like, oh man, distracting to me, since im a sound dude. But If I was hired on this project I probably would have done worse a job, since the 80's is such a sound to recreate in itself. But, yeah I've been in this guys shoes before. In my mind acting could be better, cuz college is much more intense/subtle than this, as mixed/vague as that means, but most will know.

But I know what your going for, and I like it.
 
Last edited:
Really enjoyed your film. As others have said, it reminded me of a good 80's flick. It had the perfect feel.
 
First, I love the little homages to "Sixteen Candles" and "Say Anything".

The story is a bit of a cliche, but I think that's because it is so true. For me it was a girl named Heather. :)

The acting is a little too broad for my taste at times, but I still enjoyed it overall.

Great kiss at the end.
 
***SPOILERS***

i really enjoyed this one. i got some laughs, i found myself cheering for different characters and even clapped when they kissed at the end.

let me say this - everything i shot back in college was total crap compared to this.

you had a great idea, a relatively tight script and got some good to great performances from you actors. the shooting was solid and the editing paced well with the story. you basically got me pulled into this goofy story and it worked very well.

i can't wait to see what you guys do next.
 
Nice work. You had some nice camera work. Keeping the camera moving kept shots interesting without being annoying. My favorite shots were the running scenes. I just like the composition of those.
The music was just so, so. The story was a bit predictable. I thought that Gal Pal should have been a little more upset before she gave in at the end.
I enjoyed this film. Keep them coming!
 
andreww said:
Hey Pat, for the next fest, I say we do 'My Underwear Pal.' You in?
Click to expand...

Ha, ha, heck yeah I'm in, but only if it is the love story between a underwear pal and a down on his luck janitor.

Thanks for all of the comments from everyone this weekend. I decided to take a few minutes and write a little background on the film, how we decided on the look, acting, etc. Not as an excuse for anything, but as an insight into the past three months.

When we started working on Gal Pal last December, Andrew and I talked a lot about how when we thought of "romance" or "love" we thought of 80's comedies. We worked on several drafts, one even taking place in the 80s, but ultimately we decided to use the 80's as a metaphor for his old relationship. While he is still transfixed on Emma, he is stuck in the 80s. The music, the camera work, etc. When he finally realizes he is in love with Gal Pal, the movie starts to catch up to the present. The music switches to a more modern feel, his 80s costume begins to fall off (aka the hat), and he falls in love with the girl dressed in modern sweats back in reality.

Once we had the script locked we started talking about the look of the piece. We decided to keep things wider than usual, keeping to the 80s style. After many viewings of Fast Times at Ridgmount High (well is he gonna kill us, or is he gonna sh**?") we started to think about lighting. We wanted to keep things relatively flat, but pretty bright. Not a lot of shadows or darkness, this is the 80s after all.

I am a big fan of television and the style of television, especially the single camera comedy style of Scrubs, Malcolm in the Middle, etc. We decided to try and use this kind of style in Gal Pal, again keeping things wider. We focused on a lot of movement and longer takes, really relying on the actors and their performances for comedic effect, rather than close ups or cuts.

Finally I really worked with the actors on keeping things stylized and full of energy. Again Scrubs and not 24. I sincerely doubt they will be in another movie where lines of direction include, "spin a little more while walking into those banners."

Ultimately those are the origins of Gal Pal. Thank you so much for all of the comments and criticism, we really do appreciate it. Anything you enjoyed or think we could improve on please let us know, cause we cannot wait until the next fest.
 
curse you for bringing back the 80's. i was waiting for echo and the bunnymen to pop up. acid wash, brutal.

story was good, cliche and all but good. i think that you were close to a hughes 80's ish teenie bopper film but it needed more drama. molly ringwald was always a mess at some point in the flick. or even mary whats her name in that eric stoltz flick... the friend should've put up a fight or cried or something before being won over. ah, minor critiques, this was cool. the scenes ran together real well and awesome shot with the say anything guy.
 
I was obviously impressed with the camera work for this entry. I liked the main characters, but I thought the ex-girlfriend was almost too... something. Like the midnight meeting to ask for a favor... not sure about that one. I think you needed some other reason to spoil his anticipation. She wouldn't plan for him to have to make a run at a particular time... also the orange hat, as a plot device made sense, but I would have liked to see that as more subtle and arguably cool... like a less ambitious hat perhaps? Also his widow's peak hairstyle while wearing the hat distracted me. As a romantic comedy I thought it was pretty good... a tough nut to crack, that's for sure, but speaking honestly I think that there was a lot of really good elements, but a few elements that could have used more subtlety.

Overall I think it's a very nice entry and it was enjoyable to watch. There were some surprisingly cinematic shots in there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top