"One Saved Message" - Off Stage Films

Zim said:
Chris my main problem is that you waited 5 years to get into the fest. Great work man.
My hearing is not the best and music did create a problem for me hearing the message on the tape the first time. But I knew what had to be on the tape. You could just tell. So I went back a listened again with the ear plugs in better.

I thought the acting was good. The woman really got her part down. Great film.
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Thank you so much.

I can guarantee, I won't be waiting another 5 years. This fest has been way too much fun.
 
filmingfan said:
Good little film, good little film. It's always tough to be reminded of 9/11 but this one did it in a real personal and human way. Sound, music, lighting, acting all strong, man. The voice on the tape didn't resonate with me like it did with others because i think i woulda been screaming if that were me...i don't know. Solid performances from the lead and the girl. Looking at all the comments i gotta say maybe those guys don't have teenagers at home. i have two a boy and a girl and they are always kinda in their own little world. Like the comment from plk142 it's realistic that the girl comes home probably from school and gives her mom a look like whats up with you and then goes about her business. The really cool point is when she looks up and says are you okay. As a dad that look just sorta tugged at my heart. Real solid connection between the actors. Nice work.
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Thanks a lot. That's cool that you felt a connection and I'm glad you enjoyed the film.
 
Chris Messineo said:
Thanks a bunch, I'm glad you liked it.

There has been a lot of talk about why she deleted the message. I'm sure there are people who would keep a message like that forever, but for others, I think letting go of something like that, is probably a good thing.
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gotcha; nice job.
 
good film!

simple and strong. you tackled a huge thing and you did it with grace. congrats!!
 
Chris, this was nicely directed. Really well done, actors did a very good job. My only small qualm was it was a bit two dimensional insofar as we were always looking at the players from the same side of the room, almost like a stage play.

I only just saw Timur was DOP (in the credits), and it showed, really nice lighting that suited the piece very well and great lens choice. Some good lessons on correctly using a DOF adapter there for many on this forum.
 
Chris, nice job on this film.

The cinematography was perfectly out of the way, meaning it didn't intrude on the action or atmosphere. The lighting was very natural. For the most part, the acting was good.

I wish the young girl had not looked at the camera as she turned towards her mother. I've watched it a couple of times now and it distracts me. The mother mouthing the words of the message seemed a little forced to me like she had just learned them, not something that was ingrained in her mind.

There were a couple of shots I would have cut shorter, particlularly the last shot. It seemed like it was held just a little too long. Also, in that same shot, when the mother is looking up and thinking about her answer, that also seemed like she was about to look into the camera. Not huge things really, just my initial reaction.

I loved the music you chose, it was perfect for the mood of the piece. Like others, I didn't even need to hear the words on the tape to know what it was. The worn tape effect sounded very authentic to me.

I'm sure it was the Quicktime encoding but the shots appeared very soft to me and the blacks were quite milky. Other than that, I found everything to be natural looking.

I felt the emotional impact quite strongly in the story and performances without feeling like I was being manipulated.
 
Aside form being the Raymond Cocto of MoviePoet.com, you are also a GREAT STORY TELLER!

I dug the release of the female lead when she finally able to press the "delete" button. My only "meh" about it was that there was no emoitional buildup to her deleting the message. It was just like she saw her daughter and deleted it. Like when my wife walks in and I'm looking at porn, I close the window really fast. Sort of like that.

Also, thanks to my speakers, I missed the first few lines of the message. I heard something about a plane and put two and two together that perhaps there was a plane crash of some sort?

All in all, I gandered this was a saved message from a lost loved one, so her deletion should have been a little more of a struggle. No door is ever opened without turning the knob. No what I mean?

On the whole, me-likey!
 
Noel Evans said:
Chris, this was nicely directed. Really well done, actors did a very good job. My only small qualm was it was a bit two dimensional insofar as we were always looking at the players from the same side of the room, almost like a stage play.

I only just saw Timur was DOP (in the credits), and it showed, really nice lighting that suited the piece very well and great lens choice. Some good lessons on correctly using a DOF adapter there for many on this forum.
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I'm so glad you liked it. Maybe I followed the 180 rule a little too closely. I agree, Timur was awesome with the camera and adapter - even his handheld shot was smooth as silk.
 
disjecta said:
Chris, nice job on this film.

The cinematography was perfectly out of the way, meaning it didn't intrude on the action or atmosphere. The lighting was very natural. For the most part, the acting was good.

I wish the young girl had not looked at the camera as she turned towards her mother. I've watched it a couple of times now and it distracts me. The mother mouthing the words of the message seemed a little forced to me like she had just learned them, not something that was ingrained in her mind.

There were a couple of shots I would have cut shorter, particlularly the last shot. It seemed like it was held just a little too long. Also, in that same shot, when the mother is looking up and thinking about her answer, that also seemed like she was about to look into the camera. Not huge things really, just my initial reaction.

I loved the music you chose, it was perfect for the mood of the piece. Like others, I didn't even need to hear the words on the tape to know what it was. The worn tape effect sounded very authentic to me.

I'm sure it was the Quicktime encoding but the shots appeared very soft to me and the blacks were quite milky. Other than that, I found everything to be natural looking.

I felt the emotional impact quite strongly in the story and performances without feeling like I was being manipulated.
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Thank you so much for the detailed review.

We wanted the lighting and shots to feel natural and not draw attention to themselves so I'm glad that worked for you. I really appreciate the notes on the edit. It's taken me a long time to get comfortable editing and even though I have a lot more to learn, it's nice to know I am getting close.

Damn Quicktime - those blacks are inky on my screen. I'll have to test my compressed files on other computers before I send them out.

Thanks again. I'm glad it touched you.
 
Hey Chris, finally got this one to load.

Beautiful story in a minimal time. Nice range of history and emotions among three generations. You tape machin really played an important dual character here.


Maybe the only line that stuck out is 'Mom, stop it'. Not sure where that came from.

Does this same thing happen all the time? I assume so since mom knows the message verbatim. Is the daughter just tired of it?



Really nice film. Glad you finally made the jump.

alex
 
alex whitmer said:
Hey Chris, finally got this one to load.

Beautiful story in a minimal time. Nice range of history and emotions among three generations. You tape machin really played an important dual character here.

Maybe the only line that stuck out is 'Mom, stop it'. Not sure where that came from.

Does this same thing happen all the time? I assume so since mom knows the message verbatim. Is the daughter just tired of it?

Really nice film. Glad you finally made the jump.

alex
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I'm glad you figured it out and even happier that you liked the film.

I think the teen-ager is just filled with typical angst, the kind that would have her reluctantly hugging her mom. But then, seeing the look on her mother's face, that teenage facade is momentarily broken. I don't know if that works for you, but that was my intention. :)

This fest has been awesome already. I will definitely be back for more.
 
RodThompson said:
Aside form being the Raymond Cocto of MoviePoet.com, you are also a GREAT STORY TELLER!

I dug the release of the female lead when she finally able to press the "delete" button. My only "meh" about it was that there was no emoitional buildup to her deleting the message. It was just like she saw her daughter and deleted it. Like when my wife walks in and I'm looking at porn, I close the window really fast. Sort of like that.

Also, thanks to my speakers, I missed the first few lines of the message. I heard something about a plane and put two and two together that perhaps there was a plane crash of some sort?

All in all, I gandered this was a saved message from a lost loved one, so her deletion should have been a little more of a struggle. No door is ever opened without turning the knob. No what I mean?

On the whole, me-likey!
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Rod, Thanks a lot.

There has been a lot of discussion about her motivation. Maybe, I left too much in the subtext, I hope not, but maybe.

Anyway, I'm really glad you enjoyed it.
 
I didn't really feel a strong connection between the mother and daughter to be honest. It could have just been the acting or the way they react to one another, not sure.

Was this the first time the mother did what he asked, to hug the daughter and that was her moving in the direction or does it happen more often?
- If its the first time then that shows she's taking the first step in moving forward.
- If it happened more than once then her daughter knows exactly whats going on and the daughter saying "stop it" doesn't seem so annoyingly angsty. It could be turning a light on for the mother, she keeps living in the past and its starting to affect the rest of her family.

The message on the tape is what really brings this one home. It's powerful and really pulls at you, awesome job with this.

I think there could have been a little more weight in the deletion of the message. A shot of hesitation perhaps, but thats just me. Great work.
 
Chris, I thought this was a nice spin on the theme of loss. It was charmingly simple and very well shot. I wish the audio from the message had been a bit easier to understand - I had to watch that section again, and I'm still not sure what was said. The acting was a bit stiff all around, but they did ok. Looking forward to your entry in the next fest.
 
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