new DVX feature film Firefly...amazing

S

sean90291

Veteran
Hey, just saw this amazing DVX-shot feature at Fantastic Fest in Austin. Not to be confused with the disappointingly lame Firefly movie by Guru Joss, this film by first-time feature filmmaker, shot on the DVX100 for a reported five thousand bucks is amazing. If you want something smart and soulful, riveting and thought-provoking, you have to see this movie. The Minneapolis-based director, Pete Marcy, is going to go places. One of the best movies I've seen in a while, including all the mega-budget Hollywood flicks. With a bigger budget, Firefly might have looked prettier in places, but a bigger budget does nothing for the telling of a compelling, fascinating story...and that's what this movie has in spades. A human drama with intersecting stories (a la Magnolia), all underscored by a haunting "supernatural" backstory, I was captivated until the very end. And unlike so many Hollywood efforts, this movie actually delivers a conclusion worth the wait. Just bear with the first fifteen minutes, which seem disconcertingly amateurish and student-film-ish and you'll be swept away by the rapidly accelerating story. All of a sudden, by the 20 minute mark, you realize you're in the very capable hands of a future master filmmaker. Buy it on DVD or see it at a festival cuz I'm not sure a film shot for so little money will get theatrical distribution (which it most definitely deserves by the way). At the very least, the flick should be an inspiration to DVXusers everywhere.
 
Mike McNeese said:
'Firefly' was dissapointing? I kinda of liked it.
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Yeah "kinda liked it" sorta sums that one up. Doesn't hold a candle to the miniDV "Firefly" shot on DVX100. Totally different except both sorta science fiction films. Oh, and the new Firefly is really really good...not just sorta good. ;-)
 
disappointing?

disappointing?

I thought Joss' film was great! It had everything that a sci-fi film should have - humor, action, good acting, and great effects... What was your beef with it exactly?
 
Joss Whedon seems to derail a lot of threads lately. For the record, the movie is called SERENITY, and I don't think this thread was put here to discuss it.
 
Watched the trailer. Looked sorta interesting but I got no real idea of what the real storyline was. To go with my previous post, it's probably a bad idea to name anything at all science fiction "Firefly" for a while.
 
Yes, Doug...I certainly didn't mean to open up a discussion on Serenity. I hoped to get folks jazzed about how much one can do with our little DVX100's. I think the movie title is probably a bit of a mistake. They will probably change it if it gets distribution. I think I would. Or at least call it "Fireflies" or something. The story is probably not something that can be captured in a trailer because it's like Magnolia in that it's got multiple storylines...but they're all connected. And sometimes those movies can be boring, and you just want the film to be about ONE person...but in this case, all the stories really work and when they connect I was sort of blown away. Anyone interested in low-budget miniDV filmmaking should see the film. But I would say anyone who loves thinking movies should see the film.

EDIT: Hmm...I think the hype about RED has truly distracted folks from much else. I mean I'm gettin' a RED too but...sheesh. ;-)
 
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sean90291 said:
Hey, just saw this amazing DVX-shot feature at Fantastic Fest in Austin. Not to be confused with the disappointingly lame Firefly movie by Guru Joss, this film by first-time feature filmmaker, shot on the DVX100 for a reported five thousand bucks is amazing. If you want something smart and soulful, riveting and thought-provoking, you have to see this movie. The Minneapolis-based director, Pete Marcy, is going to go places. One of the best movies I've seen in a while, including all the mega-budget Hollywood flicks. With a bigger budget, Firefly might have looked prettier in places, but a bigger budget does nothing for the telling of a compelling, fascinating story...and that's what this movie has in spades. A human drama with intersecting stories (a la Magnolia), all underscored by a haunting "supernatural" backstory, I was captivated until the very end. And unlike so many Hollywood efforts, this movie actually delivers a conclusion worth the wait. Just bear with the first fifteen minutes, which seem disconcertingly amateurish and student-film-ish and you'll be swept away by the rapidly accelerating story. All of a sudden, by the 20 minute mark, you realize you're in the very capable hands of a future master filmmaker. Buy it on DVD or see it at a festival cuz I'm not sure a film shot for so little money will get theatrical distribution (which it most definitely deserves by the way). At the very least, the flick should be an inspiration to DVXusers everywhere.
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Hi,

Is a trailer available yet? How on earth do you shoot a feature for $5000.00?
 
sean90291 said:
Hey, just saw this amazing DVX-shot feature at Fantastic Fest in Austin. Not to be confused with the disappointingly lame Firefly movie by Guru Joss, this film by first-time feature filmmaker, shot on the DVX100 for a reported five thousand bucks is amazing. If you want something smart and soulful, riveting and thought-provoking, you have to see this movie. The Minneapolis-based director, Pete Marcy, is going to go places. One of the best movies I've seen in a while, including all the mega-budget Hollywood flicks. With a bigger budget, Firefly might have looked prettier in places, but a bigger budget does nothing for the telling of a compelling, fascinating story...and that's what this movie has in spades. A human drama with intersecting stories (a la Magnolia), all underscored by a haunting "supernatural" backstory, I was captivated until the very end. And unlike so many Hollywood efforts, this movie actually delivers a conclusion worth the wait. Just bear with the first fifteen minutes, which seem disconcertingly amateurish and student-film-ish and you'll be swept away by the rapidly accelerating story. All of a sudden, by the 20 minute mark, you realize you're in the very capable hands of a future master filmmaker. Buy it on DVD or see it at a festival cuz I'm not sure a film shot for so little money will get theatrical distribution (which it most definitely deserves by the way). At the very least, the flick should be an inspiration to DVXusers everywhere.
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What's the movie called?
 
imageonepictures said:
Hi,

Is a trailer available yet? How on earth do you shoot a feature for $5000.00?
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Yeah, there's a trailer at www.failureboys.com under the link for Movies -- "Firefly."

I'm not sure how you shoot a movie for $5000. I made an 18 minute short for a thousand bucks. And I guess a movie is about 5x that in length. But this film has a lot of locations. I think think the big secret for producing a film for so little is learning how to do everything yourself. In this case, with Firefly, the guy who wrote and directed it also edited it, starred in it and apparently even did the awesome music together with his brothers and friends.
 
sean90291 said:
The story is probably not something that can be captured in a trailer because it's like Magnolia in that it's got multiple storylines...but they're all connected.
Click to expand...

I think the trailer for Magnolia did a perfectly fine job of making clear what you were getting into, what the basic storylines might be, and the mood. Here, I can see what looks like two distinct storylines, maybe more, but I can't actually tell, and I have no idea how they relate. That last part is fine, and I do get a nice sense of the mood, but while I'm a little curious about the movie I think it's a sloppy trailer. But hey, at least I'm curious about the movie.
 
sean90291 said:
I think the hype about RED has truly distracted folks from much else. I mean I'm gettin' a RED too but...sheesh. ;-)
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I know what you mean. I look at the Directing forum and see maybe three new discussions per week. Same with Writing. And a great many people on this forum claim to be (or want to be) writer/directors. In a year or two, all of the hooplah about RED will be forgotten, everyone will be salivating over the next big toy, and the same number of bad movies will have been made by people who had a camera but no craft.

Heh, sorry for the rant.
 
dougspice said:
I think the trailer for Magnolia did a perfectly fine job of making clear what you were getting into, what the basic storylines might be, and the mood. Here, I can see what looks like two distinct storylines, maybe more, but I can't actually tell, and I have no idea how they relate. That last part is fine, and I do get a nice sense of the mood, but while I'm a little curious about the movie I think it's a sloppy trailer. But hey, at least I'm curious about the movie.
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Yeah, I guess cuz I saw the movie before the trailer, I actually thought the trailer was cool. But trailers are surely a unique art unto themselves (think how many times we've all gone to a movie with a great trailer only to find the movie itself SUCKS). I can't tell if this trailer sucks or not. But the movie sure doesn't. By the way, I have no relationship with these dudes. I just keep singing the movie's praises because I'm just sorta astounded by it.
 
this movie looks to be awesome. i love the scene where the two guys are in the cafe and (i think it's the director/star) the guy on the right isn't paying attention and just kind of repeats the other guy... the timing and tone in his voice are perfect.
it takes allot of skill to ad those nuances.
the only problem is that I'm in australia and it'll never get here.
 
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