"One Saved Message" - Off Stage Films

lawriejaffa said:
Im just discussing this with you, (if you want!) i certainly don't mean this to come across as an overriding criticism, as i enjoyed your film, its up there in my book ;)
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Absolutely no offense taken. I think it's awesome that we are talking about it and I truly appreciate the kind words as well as the constructive criticism.

I think it's fascinating that you think the mother's resolution is so mysterious. It's not for me, but like I said before, if it is for you and that leads to sentimentality, then that is my fault as a filmmaker and it's something I will need to work on (getting the emotion in my head on to the screen).
 
Sprocketboy said:
This is well-executed. This is a very sensitive story and difficult to decide on how to shoot it. My hat is off to you for finding a way through it. None of your edits were too long or too short and the music is absolutely perfect. Of course, you got Herman Witkam, who has done the music for every film in this festival except mine.

Excellent job, Chris.
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Thanks for the review. I'm so glad you liked the edit. I spent so much time on it, going back and forth on each shot. It's great to know that the pacing worked for you.

Herman is amazing, as we all know. The mystery is how he does it all.
 
Beautiful. That's kind of all I wanna' say, but I guess for the sake of critiquing I should say more or elaborate. The story was just great. Very emotional - simple, but yet powerful. You pulled off alot with this - you said alot without having to say alot, if that makes sense. Good cinematography and lighting. Love the slow pan to the phone. Great entry for your first fest.
 
Very simple and well done. Impressive to be able to pull off a full story in such a short period of time.

I have to admit that I always kind of cringe when 9-11 is the subject of a story, but I think it was dealt with well here.

Liked her talking along with the message. Showed how many times she had listened to it, and exactly how she felt about it.

I kind of agree with Lawrie in that I would like to know why this was the specific moment where she decided to let go. What's changed? Or is the point of the movie that eventually, with time, we are able to move on?
 
That was awesome! I know the short is good when I stop looking at technical stuff and caring what camera etc. and become indulged in the story. All the technical stuff needs to be deadly spot on for that to happen. I particularly liked the music choice. This could have easily been made cheesy with a dramatic orchestral score but the jazzy stuff made it contemporary and even more impactful (impactful?).
 
Chris,
Really well done! Lead actress did a great job. Nice pace. Good detail on the degrading of the recording after years and years of listening to it.

I would have liked to see a reason, anything at all, as to why she deleted it, but that said, it's still a great idea.
 
Chris,

I think that this was well done, especially for such a short piece. It captured the theme so beautifully and the lead actress did nothing but a superb job.

*SPOILER*





Shawn, I think it was meant to be open for interpretation, but my guess would be that as her daughter came running up the stairs and started rummaging around, something clicked. I don't have kids, but I do have nieces and a nephew and I can tell definitely tell you, there's something about a love for a kid that can overcome much diversity. Maybe this was the case for the lead...maybe it was something totally different. That's what I got out of it however.

Again, Chris - really enjoyed it on a technical and emotional level. One of my favourites.

Kegan
 
Holy Crap, Chris!!! Once I heard that message, and knew what it was from, it just blew me away & instantly hooked me ... I wanted to hear EVERY word, and just imagined how many people may actually be in such a scenario as this, even 8 years later.

Short, but gripping. I wish there had been just a bit of visual motivation of some kind for the audience to better see & understand why she finally chose to delete it after all these years, but still works just great as is. I didn't think that the tape was degraded after all these years (though it would be), but thought instead of the bad connection that would likely be coming from the towers (insulation, etc.), let alone if there was disturbance in the building from fire, etc.

I really, really liked this one, and will watch it again for sure, as well as show others.
 
Marlon Ladd said:
Beautiful. That's kind of all I wanna' say, but I guess for the sake of critiquing I should say more or elaborate. The story was just great. Very emotional - simple, but yet powerful. You pulled off alot with this - you said alot without having to say alot, if that makes sense. Good cinematography and lighting. Love the slow pan to the phone. Great entry for your first fest.
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Thank you very much. I'm so glad you liked it. Mark Harris was working the dolly on the slow push in and he did an awesome job.
 
jasonthewho said:
Very simple and well done. Impressive to be able to pull off a full story in such a short period of time.
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Thanks.

jasonthewho said:
I have to admit that I always kind of cringe when 9-11 is the subject of a story, but I think it was dealt with well here.
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I cringe a bit as well when a story has a 9-11 connection. I wanted that to just be the backstory and try and focus on her sense of loss and recovery.

jasonthewho said:
Liked her talking along with the message. Showed how many times she had listened to it, and exactly how she felt about it.
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That is what I hoped people would get from it.

jasonthewho said:
I kind of agree with Lawrie in that I would like to know why this was the specific moment where she decided to let go. What's changed? Or is the point of the movie that eventually, with time, we are able to move on?
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The last one. :)

I don't think there is a "straw that breaks the camel's back" - a reason for it to happen today. There is just a day when it is okay to let another piece go and that moment of letting go is transformational. I hope that makes sense.
 
orchidsofwrath said:
That was awesome! I know the short is good when I stop looking at technical stuff and caring what camera etc. and become indulged in the story. All the technical stuff needs to be deadly spot on for that to happen. I particularly liked the music choice. This could have easily been made cheesy with a dramatic orchestral score but the jazzy stuff made it contemporary and even more impactful (impactful?).
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Thank you so much. This is my first fest entry, but not my first short, and it has taken me a long time to learn enough of the technical stuff, to not let it all get in the way of the story. I totally agree about the music. This is the third time Herman has scored a film of mine and he always gets what I am after.
 
shawneous said:
Chris,
Really well done! Lead actress did a great job. Nice pace. Good detail on the degrading of the recording after years and years of listening to it.
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I'm so glad you liked it. We started with a 100% clean recording and then worked very hard to get that message sounding the way it did

shawneous said:
I would have liked to see a reason, anything at all, as to why she deleted it, but that said, it's still a great idea.
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Honestly, I totally understand people feeling this way. I've tried to explain what I think is happening in a few other posts, but in the end, I don't think there really is much more of a reason than "time".
 
Kegan Sant said:
I think that this was well done, especially for such a short piece. It captured the theme so beautifully and the lead actress did nothing but a superb job.

Shawn, I think it was meant to be open for interpretation, but my guess would be that as her daughter came running up the stairs and started rummaging around, something clicked. I don't have kids, but I do have nieces and a nephew and I can tell definitely tell you, there's something about a love for a kid that can overcome much diversity. Maybe this was the case for the lead...maybe it was something totally different. That's what I got out of it however.

Again, Chris - really enjoyed it on a technical and emotional level. One of my favourites.
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I'm thrilled that you liked it so much. I think your interpretation of what happened is wonderful. I have a daughter and I definitely thought about her when I wrote this story.
 
Norm Sanders said:
Holy Crap, Chris!!! Once I heard that message, and knew what it was from, it just blew me away & instantly hooked me ... I wanted to hear EVERY word, and just imagined how many people may actually be in such a scenario as this, even 8 years later.

Short, but gripping. I wish there had been just a bit of visual motivation of some kind for the audience to better see & understand why she finally chose to delete it after all these years, but still works just great as is. I didn't think that the tape was degraded after all these years (though it would be), but thought instead of the bad connection that would likely be coming from the towers (insulation, etc.), let alone if there was disturbance in the building from fire, etc.

I really, really liked this one, and will watch it again for sure, as well as show others.
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As a huge fan of your films, your review means a lot to me. I'm so happy this touched you. Thank you very much.
 
Great first entry, Chris. The writing is great, because it triggers so much emotion to use the event we all know so well. When I heard that, I took a big gulp and my heart sank. It wasn't over the top either. Great performance on his message.

My only critique is the kitchen you used. For me, I would've liked some more space, openness, color. Some windows for looks outside, and more variety of light in the room. It looked a little flat.

It must feel good to have a 1st movie in the can, and you should feel great about this one.

-tim
 
nice piece. everything looked good, lighting and photography were well done. directing and editing also- nice, simple and effective.

i haven't read through this thread yet, so forgive me if this has been covered already... i'm not to sure why she deleted the message. i think she would want to keep it, no matter how hard it is to listen to.

good job, i enjoyed this film. :thumbup:
 
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