PANDORA - Presented by Envision and Waltind

Quick Disclaimer: I am avoiding reading other comments before rating each of the films, so I may repeat comments others have said to death.

So far I have only watched about 10 of the films (including SIMILO and We Are Not Alone, which seem to have caused a lot of buzz), but of those this is currently my favorite. I think the overall blend of story, FX, score, acting and cinematography work to make this a great film.

The opening shot in the coffee shop looks really good, and in particular I like the overhead (crane?) shot at the end of the coffee shop sequence. If I had to make a critique about the film it would be the acting during this sequence, it wasn't bad, but felt a little stiff (I think this may be due more to the seriousness of the material contrasted with the laid back location - coffee shop). But it wasn't enough to pull me out of the story.

I really like the effect of the woman lifting the one guy up by the throat, looked very realistic. The other effects were also good, but a little more expected (sci-fi and all, you know :) ). I liked the guys eyes at the end, great effect.

I liked how the flashback was introduced, it was clear when we went into it and clear when it was over, but never jumped in your face and said "HERE'S A FLASHBACK!!!". It also did a great job of telling us the backstory without being a talking-head, here's what happened, sequence.

My biggest complaint, if you can call it that, was that when the film ended I wanted more, but that's a good thing. I felt that there was a complete story told here, but could see this being a piece from a much larger story.

One of my favorite components of this piece is the score. I think it was as much an actor in this film as the actors were. I was so impressed with it that I watched it once with the sound muted to see the difference and it definitely plays an important role in telling the story. There are many times where the action seems to be going one way, but the score brings it around so when you hit the next shot/scene you are right there with the story.

I also liked the transition wipes, felt very sci-fi to me (I guess I have Lucas to thank for that).

The exterior shot of the truck racing up to the warehouse and the subsequent tension with the gun in the lead's face was great.

Overall the acting was very good, I enjoyed everyone in the film - except that lead, who is that loser? :D Just kidding . . . you did a great job Norm, especially considering the pressure of being the filmmaker as well.

Excellent Job!!

Larry


edited to add:
Envision said:
Crap, I went long again. At least Larry R can appreciate long posts, can't you Larry! :) (inside joke)
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This post might go a long ways to helping everyone understand the inside joke. So I can be a little long winded, is that any reason to rake a guy over the coals? :)
 
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pandoraprotools.jpg


gratuitous post-prod screen shot
haha sorry folks...


C.R.
 
Thanks EVERYONE for you kind words and your critiques. I appreciated them all.- What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. I just got back in the states about an hour ago , so sorry about not being able to respond to the posts. I'm glad that most people liked it- As Norm had said previously, when we went into editing, we had doubts, but as all the pieces came together we became more and more pleased with it. I know I work will only continue to grow from here. :beer:
 
Ryan, good to have you back!

Chris, I actually did laugh out loud watching your BTS video clip, though it was also VERY cool to see a little bit of what you do & how you do it. I laughed after probably the 5th time you kept popping out those short notes ... I think you were trying to find the ones you wanted for when Dan cracks Kelly aside the head with the pistol. Thanks for sharing!
 
Oh, and Larry, thanks for much for the kind words! Really appreciated, and glad you've enjoyed it. Sheesh ... ANYONE who would go so far as to say they liked our film better than such greats as SIMILO and WE ARE NOT ALONE ... well, they can leave as long a winded post as they want to. :)

You're right, the score really helps to pull it all together. Some people may complain that it was too much at times, while others thought it was all around great, but I think everyone can agree, it would be a totally different film without the score to support it (and DRIVE it at times) ... like nearly all films would be.

Glad you liked the FLASHBACK scene as well ... my personal favorite.
 
was just looking at this again ... gotta get me a crane!

just noticing how well that shot of the SUV driving up really worked with the music - that militaristic feel was spot on -- not sure it worked as well in the house when it build to the sudden drop off in the argument, seemed to miltaristic for that - if they were having that same argument as he boarded a ship or something it would fit perfect, but seemed to clash with the domestic scene, like poeple should be rushing to their battlestations or something - which he was, but we didn't really know that yet, and even then I think it might have seemed a tad manufactured in that scene.

but again was admiring the crane shot in the coffe shop and the cool score at that one part imparticular.
 
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RMI Studios said:
gratuitous post-prod footage...shot with my cell phone in January...

let me know if it makes you laugh as hard as it makes me!

Pandora Scoring Session - french horn action (right click/save as)


C.R.
http://www.rmistudios.com
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lol chris ... that was a both a silly clip and cool to see you working at the same time.

I'd love to work with a composer someday. ODD SQUAD was royalty free but I did my own for SHED -- I'm a hack, no where up to your level, but I don't know how I would work with a composer who's not me as I'm always barely getting my projects done by the 2nd or 3rd extended deadline.

Q: what was your turn around time for Pandora's box/what's the quickest you think you could have done something comparible to the finished product you delivered?

Watching you work on this reminded me that I have been trying to figure out how to get some Matrix sounding chord clusters ... I've tried various google searches, but to no avail.

Q: Could you give me a matrix sounding chord cluster recipe if there is such a thing? :D
 
I think Chris is like lots of us ... once he gets in his groove, he's a working monster. The guy cranked in some serious hours, and I'd imagine that from start to finish he'd have had that done in about 4-5 days, but I could be speaking out of turn.

Let me correct myself, I AM speaking out of turn, but I could be wrong about the guess. :)
 
jdanstan said:
was just looking at this again ... gotta get me a crane ...

but again was admiring the crane shot in the coffe shop and the cool score at that one part imparticular.
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Thanks. Having a crane is lots of fun! I like the movement and the perspective that it adds to my shooting abilities. To be able to go from looking up at someone from a low angle to looking down at them from a high angle can say a lot in the telling of a story. It also adds a lot of production value to the shot as well, IMO.
 
So, I heard about this great film called A PRICE TOO HIGH. My friend worked on it, and he said when he was shooting A PRICE TOO HIGH he had a great time, and learned a lot. Then he entered A PRICE TOO HIGH into this online film festival at dvxuser.com, and lots of people seemed to like A PRICE TOO HIGH. I think I might just go watch A PRICE TOO HIGH :)
 
jdanstan said:
Norm -- stop promoting in my thread -- hold on I have something in my throat

coughODDSQUADcough
ah ah ah achewODDSQUAD!
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LOL!!! Funny stuff. Nonetheless, it's a bump, and I have YOU to thank for it. *cue sappy music*

Oh, and Briceman, NICE try, but SO unoriginal. :)
 
Funny, to see Jack doing what I'd already dropped in his and Briceman's thread ... just a little more obvious with mine:

Personally, I liked this film.
At first, as in from the start, it really grips us.
Not like some others that take forever go get to the story.
Do you know what I mean?
Of course you do.
Really a great flick to watch!
A must see!
 
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