Noa/Rice Digital Presents: "Into the Darkness"

[Darkline]

Hi brandon.

Im not saying the effect was bad by the way. Im saying I thought it stood out thematically from the mood of the piece. Up to that point your short had been done with suggestion and lighting alone, so it seemed more jarring to me. A big departure from the tone which was set.

But I can see how that might make it more unexpected and work!

These are all subjective judgements and its what makes making films such an interesting craft. There is no formula to it, you have to try things out and see if they feel right to you.

keep it up!

 

[Brandon Rice]

Thanks for clarifying guys, and yeah, I wanted it to jar you... In the same way the saturation differences in the film are meant to jar you So, I hope it achived the purpose.

 

[VersuS]

Last minute thought on this....as I said the overall feeling I had was not horrifying or scary...there was stress...anxiety....something disturbing in the air...but let me tell you this....with this VFX you could draw your brother to a world like Alice In Wonderland and continue with an amazing story of that sort. I m not kidding...It could work and I'd love it. So maybe next fest could be a fantasy fest???????

 

[Brandon Rice]

haha there ya go! Yeah, I'll be honest, I ain't a horror guy at all... I see VERY few horror movies... I like the more sci-fi-ish weird (but tense) kind of things, ala, X-Files, which can sometimes be constituted as horror. Anyway, I like what you said, "something disturbing in the air" nice!

 

[Cynic821]

Brandon gets the courtesy of my first length review arent you so privalaged? Just kidding dude.

A movie for the making...or for making it into the contest. I know you are in the middle of a lot of things, Smugglers Ransom, and ive read some other projects as well. And im disappointed you decided to join in with this effort instead of staying focused on your biggest project, Ransom. Though the positives that can come out of this will work for you in the future, the confidence from others given to you as well as the practice.

Maybe im missing something , but i didnt see a story besides that maybe the kid is dark and to keep an eye on anyone, since they could all be dark. Where does he go? Whos voices? already ive had the unpopular opinion as i can tell from others posts, but i feel like this was made to make the contest.

Positives+ You have alot of experience with the DVX Brandon, and it shows as your images are sharp, you are pulling alot of information out of those chips in that camera. Im suprised, really great looking for miniDV. thats alot coming from me

You seem like you got your directing talent down pat, and experience with the camera has topped out technically. Good work! My thoughts on the prize are that it should go to someone deserving of the HVX, someones who's life it would change if they won it. Maybe you should win! You could do alot more with the HVX for your future than anyone else would. It would mean so much more to you and would really benifit your YOUNG career more than it would anyone else here! But it wont go that way, not for anyone, and its a shame, your technical skill with the DVX is put on display here just too bad there was no substance for me.

Keep at it.

 

[Brandon Rice]

WoW! Thanks for the review! And thanks for the compliments... I am truly undeserving dude. I have a lot to learn still, but I am glad that the time and energy I have spent in working with the DVX has shown...

I do agree the story isn't strong... I didn't have one when I went outside that afternoon to shoot... just tried my best to make an interesting 3 min. that made some sort of sense

Thanks again for the kind words! And, for watching my short!

 

[Tom Marshall]

Im suprised, really great looking for miniDV. thats alot coming from me

I'll get to reviewing stuff... honest! Actually, bossman just left for the day so I can play around as much as I want now!

 

[Brandon Rice]

cools, look forward to what you think thanks!

 

[Tom Marshall]

Ok B-man, here's what I think... Like I said, this is only constructive criticism.

I think thre are too many cuts back and forth at the beginning of the piece. I would take maybe a low cut shot and a side shot and not cut back and forth between them.

When he kicks the ball, it looks like it should either go behind him or to the side, but he walks forward after it. I found myself saying, "Wait. It should have gone behind him."

I don't see the point of the closeup on his face at this moment. It might be a perfectly reasonable reaction, but it's not set up in the viewer's mind that way...

I like the color transition when get gets off the swing and heads after the ball. It's very effective at setting the mood at that point.

Where does this take place and why is he looking around like that? It looks like it takes place at his house, but he's looking around like he's unfamiliar with the surroundings. I don't think a kid would look around like that if he were curious about a mysterious hole in the ground. He would walk up to it apprehensively and have a closer look.

That's a nice wide shot when he approaches the pile of bricks. I would have held that a little longer and maybe had him look over his shoulder.

Another question I have is, does he hear the music? If he did, then him looking around like that would make more sense...

The VFX were a little out of place, but I liked his hand semi-transparent like that. I think you should have done a VFX with that in mind rather than the particle burst thing you did. I would have also left the color the same way and not gone back to the more saturated / warmer hue.

 

[Brandon Rice]

Ok B-man, here's what I think... Like I said, this is only constructive criticism.

I think thre are too many cuts back and forth at the beginning of the piece. I would take maybe a low cut shot and a side shot and not cut back and forth between them.

Thanks for this man. Great comments, and I'll do my best to answer them

Too many cuts? I wanted to make it a bit more interesting then just one shot of him swinging. Plus due to some tech issues, the cuts had to be there. I think they flowed pretty well myself.

When he kicks the ball, it looks like it should either go behind him or to the side, but he walks forward after it. I found myself saying, "Wait. It should have gone behind him."

Funny you mention this... it went straight out forward... I was afraid it would hit the camera actually... in the raw footage, you can hear me say, don't let it hit the camera! LOL!

I like the color transition when get gets off the swing and heads after the ball. It's very effective at setting the mood at that point.

Very cool! Not all like that. I am glad you did!

O
Where does this take place and why is he looking around like that? It looks like it takes place at his house, but he's looking around like he's unfamiliar with the surroundings. I don't think a kid would look around like that if he were curious about a mysterious hole in the ground. He would walk up to it apprehensively and have a closer look.

I do see your point... this is meant to be at his house, but a place he dares never go, he's heard stories... for the viewer I was hoping it didn't quite matter where it was... nevertheless, point taken.

That's a nice wide shot when he approaches the pile of bricks. I would have held that a little longer and maybe had him look over his shoulder.

I love that shot too! Hence me cutting back to it

Another question I have is, does he hear the music? If he did, then him looking around like that would make more sense...

haha. no, he doesn't hear the music. He heard the voices, which in this case are incorporated into the music/sound design... But he doesn't hear the actual music, no.

The VFX were a little out of place, but I liked his hand semi-transparent like that. I think you should have done a VFX with that in mind rather than the particle burst thing you did. I would have also left the color the same way and not gone back to the more saturated / warmer hue.

Wow, interesting, totally 50/50 on the VFX. I still stand by what I said before, I dig them. I think it works real well for the end. And, I changed the saturation at the end to show that it could be anywhere this happened, and it could look all nice, and sunny...

THanks again for the comments dude... enjoyed answering and reading!

 

[Tom Marshall]

Too many cuts? I wanted to make it a bit more interesting then just one shot of him swinging. Plus due to some tech issues, the cuts had to be there. I think they flowed pretty well myself.

It's not that it didn't flow well... it was just noticable. In my opinion, if a shot isn't instrumental to the story line, it should be kept simple - but that's just my opinion. I didn't have a problem with the cutting of it at all. It was quite smooth as a matter of fact...

Funny you mention this... it went straight out forward... I was afraid it would hit the camera actually... in the raw footage, you can hear me say, don't let it hit the camera! LOL!

Man, that must have scared the crap outta you!! Would have wound up as a line in my contest entry... lol

haha. no, he doesn't hear the music. He heard the voices, which in this case are incorporated into the music/sound design... But he doesn't hear the actual music, no.

Ohhh, ok... I didn't pick up on the voices at all. I definitely would have brought that out more!

THanks again for the comments dude... enjoyed answering and reading!

You bet!

 

[JoshuaNitschke]

Pretty good, the desaturated stuff looked really good, didn't like the bright stuff so much.

I dunno, but maybe an establishing shot of the looming dark background would have been a bit helpful to help the transition "into the darkness" Something about just walking out of the bright frame and then into a desaturated frame didn't sit well with me. I know you were going for jarring, but I got more of a "whoops bad colorcorrection matchign" feeling.

Your brother did well.

 

[Brandon Rice]

Thanks for the review man... yeah, maybe an establishing shot woulda been good... I wanted to keep with the feet shot though thanks for checking it out!

 

[Charli]

FEEDBACK/SPOILERS:

Cine/lighting: I liked the silhouette of your bro, that was cool. I would have
liked to have seen his face a little bit better lit in the shadows, I know, sounds
like a paradox, but no, really, less leaves on eyes and have his eyes stand out
a bit more. Also, if the idea was to show your bro all alone in the world, the
shot at the swing needed to be bigger than it was.

Score: Sound was great.

Script: I would have loved more urgency in the boy. More tension. I did
however like the ending.

OVERALL: You developed cool shots for a last minute entry. You developed an
interesting idea and rolled with it. Good job. I expect dialogue from you next
time round.

 

[Tom Marshall]

I liked the feet shot... forgot to mention that...

 

[Brandon Rice]

FEEDBACK/SPOILERS:

Cine/lighting: I liked the silhouette of your bro, that was cool. I would have
liked to have seen his face a little bit better lit in the shadows, I know, sounds
like a paradox, but no, really, less leaves on eyes and have his eyes stand out
a bit more. Also, if the idea was to show your bro all alone in the world, the
shot at the swing needed to be bigger than it was.

Score: Sound was great.

Script: I would have loved more urgency in the boy. More tension. I did
however like the ending.

OVERALL: You developed cool shots for a last minute entry. You developed an
interesting idea and rolled with it. Good job. I expect dialogue from you next
time round.

Thanks for the comments!

I do understand what you're saying about the shadows... maybe a little overdone on some of those cu's.

believe it or not, I wanted a wider shot for the beginning! But because of other stuff outside the frame I didn't want to show, that's the widest I could get... Would have loved to have a crane for that one!

Yeah, the score was AWESOME!

I directed the actor to be more puzzled and curious, than scared... my call...

Glad you liked the ending!

Thanks again for coming by and checking it out! And don't worry, the next one WILL have dialogue! promise!

 

[Aaron Marshall]

Brandon,

I enjoyed your movie. I was a bit drawn out and slow, but not unlike Eraserhead. It was like Eraserhead for kids. I think your style and quality has jumped up so much.

The music was very nice. It was almost the star of the show. Great job Herman. I liked the special effect you used on the kid. He did a good job acting as well. I liked when he kicked the ball on the swing. Did you have that planned out or did he just kind of do it?

 

[Brandon Rice]

Brandon,

I enjoyed your movie. I was a bit drawn out and slow, but not unlike Eraserhead. It was like Eraserhead for kids. I think your style and quality has jumped up so much.

The music was very nice. It was almost the star of the show. Great job Herman. I liked the special effect you used on the kid. He did a good job acting as well. I liked when he kicked the ball on the swing. Did you have that planned out or did he just kind of do it?

Thanks SO much for checking out my film! I am glad my style and quality has improved! Excellent news!

The music was indeed great, Herman rocked!

The ball kick was planned, and in fact, I was worried about it, as it narrowly missed the camera hehe

Thanks again for checking out the film!

 

[Matt Sconce]

Brandon, I wanted to give this a more in depth review.

When the scene opened to the boy swinging I thought to myself...Brandon has done it again, another amazingly shot movie. I wondered if it would play out and it didn't disappoint. The kick was great and his expression fit what a little kid would do perfectly. little kids are usually more curious than scared in situations like that. he wouldn't have known to be scared as he does not have the world experience we do, but he would be curious and wonder what was going on! Good direction!

The color grading was great the dichotomies between light and dark saturation and none worked well. The end effect was creepy and amazing. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality you produced in such a short time. Congrats and good luck on smuggler's ransom!

 

[Noel Evans]

Dont want to say too much however I could see that this was a rush job with other pressures knocking at your door thats understandable, although I think you should have given it all or nothing ... all would have been a winner.