"PANIC" a LOST production

[Bryce A]

just wanted to chime back in and say I love the bts shots. Its a real shame that you had to show all of this on a CCTV monitor because it all looked so great.

That said, if you had shown it, it wouldnt have been such a tense piece. I bet you were gagging to just slot a few shots of this outside world into the film, well done for resisting ;-)

Thanks, Darkline, fellow end-of-the-worldian. Like you said, we hoped the CCTV monitors would ratchet up the tension. The idea was to show this messed up world through the confined space of the monitor to add to the claustrophobic helplessness of the character inside. ...to help convey how hard it is to make decisions when your information is limited and what you see is frightening.

Speaking as set designer, the director and I were also counting on the grainy black and white to help sell the authenticity of an aged world.

Maybe we'll get outside someday. Thanks for the complement! Means a lot!

"When I watched the film and the end came I just felt like "Okay, so exactly what he thought was going to happen happened."

Heros whose destiny's are known and inevitable. Isn't that a hallmark of greek tragedy? ::getting stuck down by lightning for daring to make the comparison::

Dude, glad you guys are back and with another raw and stunning story. Your imagery alone always makes watching your films so damn cool. You definitely captured the rawness and reality of the situation and I liked how well you were able to pull off a visual story without having to resort to dialog. Pure visual story-telling. Lighting fit the mood and characters were perfect, so awesome work all around.

Guess that will teach him to open the door for a stranger.

Wow! Thanks! That's a feel good review for us! Words like "raw and stunning" make my spine tingle!

That said, we're always a bit self-conscious of our production values and hence rack our brains on how to amp up the visual aspects. Both practically (sets, costumes, lighting...) and in our film aesthetic and visual effects. AND most importantly that our stories and actors will warrant it. we try and hope our trickery pays off. heh....

This film in particular was a blast, because it was so practical. We had this bunker to create, then this outside world to convey through a series of quick CCTV shots. The idea of multiple cameras really let us open up and define the world.

Plus the fact that our nutty director insisted (and rightfully so) to do the CCTV practical. We shot on day one, he went home imported and edited, then came back the next day and we wired up the bunker to show all the b/w footage on screen (as opposed to compositing it in post). made a big difference in the look and with the acting. So, :thumbup: to him.

...yeah, and I guess mommy forgot to teach him about stranger danger....

:dankk2:

 

[Ben Sliker]

Carrying on the tradition from Timefest, the AIM sessions have returned, a live stream of whatever may come out of our heads as we watch your films. Here are Ben Sliker and Brad Mates thoughts on "Panic."


12:39:13 PM Ben Sliker: alrighty
12:39:16 PM Ben Sliker: moving on
12:39:19 PM Ben Sliker: PANIC!
12:39:52 PM Ben Sliker: rdy?
12:40:56 PM Brad Mate: yes
12:40:58 PM Ben Sliker: 3
12:40:59 PM Ben Sliker: 2
12:41:00 PM Ben Sliker: 1
12:41:01 PM Ben Sliker: go
12:41:19 PM Ben Sliker: i never get sick of that
12:41:51 PM Brad Mate: do they even do test pattern anymore?
12:42:03 PM Ben Sliker: lol, it doesn't look like that
12:42:19 PM Ben Sliker: maybe he's living in the 50s like in fallout.
12:42:30 PM Brad Mate: doenst look like it..
12:43:00 PM Ben Sliker: is this a storage container? that's AWESOME.
12:43:15 PM Brad Mate: he got that much by your banging ...
12:43:26 PM Ben Sliker: lol ... i just so happen to have a piece of cardboard and a sharpie
12:44:09 PM Brad Mate: didn't you know? thats number 1 on the list of the post apocalyptic check list
12:44:21 PM Ben Sliker: THATS MY PURSE
12:44:26 PM Ben Sliker: I DONT KNOW YOU
12:44:43 PM Brad Mate: PRANK CALLER PRANK CALLER
12:44:49 PM Ben Sliker: ZE GERMANS ARE COMING
12:45:04 PM Brad Mate: lol nice wrestling throw there.
12:45:05 PM Ben Sliker: he said "they" ... that's one dude.
12:46:13 PM Ben Sliker: quite a system this guy's got for a door.
12:46:30 PM Brad Mate: yea...its amazing the only thing he has is a bat with this set up
12:47:07 PM Ben Sliker: wait ... did he just blink?
12:47:12 PM Brad Mate: yes
12:47:54 PM Ben Sliker: ive watched it three more times and didn't see it again ... dammit, i can swear he blinked ...
12:49:44 PM Ben Sliker: regardless, i was expected A LOT more if he ever let that guy in
12:50:04 PM Brad Mate: im always a sucker for the post apocalypse stuff. but i think this could have been improved in a variety of ways. in terms of logic...the guy would have more than just a bat with that kind of set up. and if this outsider is so desperate that he would kill his friend for supplies then he would be scaveging a bit harder than what he did. then theres the drastic difference in wardrobe. the outsider looks like hes been scouring the wastes for years, while the guy inside looks fine. plus theres still tv broadcasts so it cant be that long for that guy to look so ravaged
12:51:06 PM Ben Sliker: yeah ... you already killed the guy, why not just toss him out the door and take his sweet pad.
12:51:26 PM Ben Sliker: nah ... 4 cans of food ... and im outta here.
12:51:34 PM Brad Mate: he doesnt even take the bat....thats an upgrade from just your fists. if you care about survival there is not question he would grab that
12:52:26 PM Ben Sliker: he obviously didn't search every corner, i mean ... he could have sold bottlecaps ...
12:52:56 PM Brad Mate: my playing fallout the last 2 weeks straight has nothign to do with this!!!! no more questions
12:53:08 PM Ben Sliker: lol.
12:53:14 PM Brad Mate: but seriously, you'd take the poo pooing bat
12:53:20 PM Ben Sliker: MOVIE MASTER?
12:53:28 PM Brad Mate: hold on slappy
12:53:34 PM Ben Sliker: ok
12:53:37 PM Brad Mate: got anything more constructive to say?
12:54:08 PM Ben Sliker: more beards
12:54:22 PM Brad Mate: i thought more could have been done visual and with the score to make this more tense. you have tense music...but it plays the whole time....it really loses meaning
12:54:55 PM Brad Mate: dead silence would probably have worked better in some places

As you might be able to tell already, we are both suckers for the post-apocalyptic stuff, and this was really well done. This guy does everything I would have done, gather a bunch of cool shi* and hide where you'd have little contact with anyone. As you can tell, we didn't like how it ended, for us it didn't make sense logically for either character. Regardless, great production values, cool location, and sweet film. Cheers. :beer:

 

[gabrielflorit]

Yes yes yes yes I love AIM sessions!!!

 

[KenV]

Thanks again for the opportunity to score your short.

Good luck to you guys next time.

 

[Bryce A]

The Logic Response!

The Logic Response!

Thanks for the AIM review guys.

It's great to hear what worked and what didn't work for people. It' gives us a good idea about what we need to work on in the future. Especially with making our intentions and logic clear as with Ben's comments. Obviously something wasn't working, so good to hear exactly what it was!!

I went ahead and broke down the review into sections. Take it or leave it. Thanks for watching!

12:43:26 PM Ben Sliker: lol ... i just so happen to have a piece of cardboard and a sharpie
12:44:09 PM Brad Mate: didn't you know? thats number 1 on the list of the post apocalyptic check list

Ha. Well, the character did have it in his bag for reasons of communication. We'd hoped that the after the flick the audience would get the idea that the outsider had done this before or at least had set up signs for similar reasons. Why else have it?

Oh yeah, we did try a sharpie, but it came out far to dinky. We actually went and got burned chunks of wood to use as charcoal for writing on the signs. Not on your post-apocalyptic checklist?! tsk....

12:45:05 PM Ben Sliker: he said "they" ... that's one dude.

It was a play on the infamous "they" we all fear. Who are they? Who ever knows? But it does play on people's fears. We've discussed at length the idea that the "they" in this film are just folk. Mistrust and so on. Just like the "they" the bunker character is hiding from turns out to be the guy he lets in.

Also, in the tradition of actors playing their characters like they're the hero/smartest people in the room, I took on the angle of the outsider purposely using the word to illicit the bunker character's fears/sympathies.

12:46:30 PM Brad Mate: yea...its amazing the only thing he has is a bat with this set up ....logic...the guy would have more than just a bat with that kind of set up.

Once again, we hoped to make that a point. Why would that guy have a god damned bat. There are two reasons really. 1) cause he found the place and that was the best he had at the time. 2) When looking through the CCTV, it's pretty clear there are areas of the complex not entirely secure. Meaning there probably isn't an armament around for guns to just be laying around video game style :kali: (No BFG ?!? Sorry...). Yeah, no shotguns and bloodsplatter..... sigh.

and if this outsider is so desperate that he would kill his friend for supplies then he would be scaveging a bit harder than what he did.

If the guy had four cans of food left there's probably not gonna be much else around. The idea was the Outsider wanted in and out asap before someone else came and he got stuck in the same situation.

then theres the drastic difference in wardrobe. the outsider looks like hes been scouring the wastes for years, while the guy inside looks fine. plus theres still tv broadcasts so it cant be that long for that guy to look so ravaged

A week climbing around a sh!thole will do wonders to your clothes. Trust me on that. Plus the bunker character is in a nice ol' bunker. He's gotta have a place to keep clean.

As far as the newscast goes... we were hoping the CCTVs would get across is that they aren't exactly in an urban area or city. it's a dusty run down area. I've worked in some pretty back water parts of the world and they all get the wonderful news casts from the capitol. It might look like the apocalypse out the front door, but go your neighbors house and it's time to watch parliament rant and rave about how great everything is.

but thanks for saying the costume looked ravaged! heh. neat....:thumbup:

12:51:06 PM Ben Sliker: yeah ... you already killed the guy, why not just toss him out the door and take his sweet pad.
12:51:26 PM Ben Sliker: nah ... 4 cans of food ... and im outta here.
12:51:34 PM Brad Mate: he doesnt even take the bat....thats an upgrade from just your fists. if you care about survival there is not question he would grab that
12:52:26 PM Ben Sliker: he obviously didn't search every corner, i mean ... he could have sold bottlecaps ...
12:53:08 PM Ben Sliker: lol.
12:53:14 PM Brad Mate: but seriously, you'd take the poo pooing bat

Meh, this guy uses his hands to get his killin done. :happy: Once again, he's out of there asap. Outsider takes care of himself and having something someone else wants that you can't hide is never good for attracting attention. But either way, maybe he didn't like the bat cause it was poo pooed.

12:54:08 PM Ben Sliker: more beards

NO. I swear that thing was a bane of itchiness.... No more wolfman for me....

12:54:22 PM Brad Mate: i thought more could have been done visual and with the score to make this more tense. you have tense music...but it plays the whole time....it really loses meaning
12:54:55 PM Brad Mate: dead silence would probably have worked better in some places

Interesting advice. We'll take that into consideration next time. I just know we're gonna have dead silence and someone is gonna tell us to fill it with music! :crybaby:

Well, anyway.... I hope someone/anyone reads all of what I just wrote and gets at least something out of it. whew....

Thanks for watching and sharing your issues and complements!

Always appreciated!

 

[Bryce A]

Yes yes yes yes I love AIM sessions!!!

Brilliant and nuanced review, Gabe!

heh

j/k

:beer:

The AIM sessions are always interesting to read.

 

[Bryce A]

Thanks again for the opportunity to score your short.

Good luck to you guys next time.

Thanks goes to you too, Ken! Really outdid yourself this time. Blew me away. Great work!

 

[gabrielflorit]

Brilliant and nuanced review, Gabe!

heh

j/k

:beer:

The AIM sessions are always interesting to read.

Ooook..... I'll give you a better, more comprehensive review later... but in the meantime, I have to say this is in my top ten and I'm sad you didn't make the cut.

 

[gabrielflorit]

Panic: A critique.

02:01 - this music is getting annoying. Was really cool at the beginning.

03:48 - music again. Maybe less is more here? Try no music?

05:21 - I wish you would have used an eye light or something here - his eyes are way too dark, we can't even see the iris glint. Too bad, because this dude has a seriously creepy stare, as evidenced in 04:50.

That's it. That's the list of things I didn't like about your short. Dude this was unbelievably cool. What I liked the most: you created a world. You created a different reality, and showed us just a tiny glimpse. It makes me want to see more. My main and only real criticism is the music. I think less would have been more. Anyways, I'm really really bummed you didn't make the cut, this is top 3 in my book.

 

[KenV]

Panic: A critique.

02:01 - this music is getting annoying. Was really cool at the beginning.

03:48 - music again. Maybe less is more here? Try no music?

Hmmm, Interesting . . .

I'll try less is more next time, if there is a next time for me after that review.

I might have to go back and try a more toned down score, just for fun.

 

[eustace]

Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to get over here.

Really wanted to make sure I commented on this, though, as it was definitely one of my favorites of the fest. I loved! the look - really sold me on the setting, and this is a setting I really dig in films.

I love that it's pretty minimalistic, basically being a silent film, and yet it kept me drawn in maybe more than any other film of the fest. Awesome stuff. Really can't wait to see more from you guys.

 

[Bryce A]

Panic: A critique.
02:01 - this music is getting annoying. Was really cool at the beginning.
03:48 - music again. Maybe less is more here? Try no music?
05:21 - I wish you would have used an eye light or something here - his eyes are way too dark, we can't even see the iris glint. Too bad, because this dude has a seriously creepy stare, as evidenced in 04:50.
That's it. That's the list of things I didn't like about your short. Dude this was unbelievably cool. What I liked the most: you created a world. You created a different reality, and showed us just a tiny glimpse. It makes me want to see more. My main and only real criticism is the music. I think less would have been more. Anyways, I'm really really bummed you didn't make the cut, this is top 3 in my book.

Thanks for the review! I saw you getting the hang of the good with the bad critique structure on the "Borders of Elysium" thread.

music- I can agree that the music was heavy throughout (notice ambiguous verbiage). I can only surmise the directors intend, but i did feel we had sparse folly that the music made up for. Either way, the Ken V gets props for knocking us over with his talent.

stare - I think we were going for the lost in the wells of oblivion with that shot. Iris glint might have been cool....

Anyway, thanks for the support! We were surprised you didn't make the final round yourself. A glimpse is what we wanted to get across, so mission accomplished! :huh:?

 

[Bryce A]

Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to get over here.

Really wanted to make sure I commented on this, though, as it was definitely one of my favorites of the fest. I loved! the look - really sold me on the setting, and this is a setting I really dig in films.

I love that it's pretty minimalistic, basically being a silent film, and yet it kept me drawn in maybe more than any other film of the fest. Awesome stuff. Really can't wait to see more from you guys.

Thanks, Eustace! I'm beginning to think minimalistic is subconsciously integrated into everything we do. Very glad you were sold on the setting. It's something we really put a lot of effort into. Trying to make something from nothing! I think that's part of every no-budget films mission statement. :beer: