"PANIC" a LOST production

Hey, these grabs DO look awesome. I wish my files of them would freakin' work.

The one of Bryce is way cool. Too bad THAT wasn't in the film.
 
I keep thinking Ive seen the best of the entires and then another pops up.

This was really well done. Tense, intriguing, and claustraphobic.

I do have reservations about the end. I think I wanted just a little more information about what was going on. That said this was one where we all stayed silent while watching, completely absorbed. Perhaps a minor let down at the end but you sure know how to hook and audience and pull them in. Really dig this. Acting was great, editing spot on. I'm finding a lot of suprises this fest and this is one of them. I hope you get much more positive feedback.
 
Very good film! Loved the score...it helped keep my attention since this was a 'silent movie' (which I usually don't care for). Good camera work. I liked the security cam shots. You also did a good job on the edit.
 
A black and white film without dialog. That means to me you need not only a very good framing and lighting, also a good story and acting. I think this was exceptional - very nice work! I like the end-time-feeling which you already had in your TimeFest entry. The film title is also matching very well the story - compliments, well done! :beer:

Susanne
 
Susanne G. said:
A black and white film without dialog. That means to me you need not only a very good framing and lighting, also a good story and acting. I think this was exceptional - very nice work! I like the end-time-feeling which you already had in your TimeFest entry. The film title is also matching very well the story - compliments, well done! :beer:

Susanne
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Hey Thanks so much Susanne. Justin (kingstubby) does do his end-of-days post-apocalyptic silent films well, doesn't he? I'm hoping he'll pop on and comment, but I (and the rest of the crew wearing our banner) might have to suffice (he's a bit thread shy and doesn't like to talk about his pieces beyond technically and to show his thanks.

Glad you liked it. Check out "Hollow" from LOVEfest submitted under my name. "Panic" is suppossed to be a companion piece of a sorts to that one. But it should not be judged in light of that one. The idea is to have them set in the same world, maybe have some of the same characters, themes, etc. but also for each to stand on it's own and be critiqued without the benefit of added information that the other film might add.

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it. We sure enjoyed making it.
 
Very tense scene.
It felt REAL. That I liked very much.
I also liked all the static camera shots, really sucked me in.
The characters both worked for me extremely well. I have to say that this is one of my faves.

My only gripe is that I didn't get a big Twilight feel out of it. Maybe it's just the end of the world type thing, not sure.

Loved it though.

Cheers,

Mike
 
hell yeah, this is a really nice piece of storytelling. The anxiety the lead character is feeling is palpable. the film gives us a very realistic feel for the post apocalyptic paranoia one would have. Really strong production value. I feel the payoff could have been a bit stronger. Really nice work though. great score too btw.
 
ZazaCast said:
Very good film! Loved the score...it helped keep my attention since this was a 'silent movie' (which I usually don't care for). Good camera work. I liked the security cam shots. You also did a good job on the edit.
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Ditto all around. Wanted maybe a little more with the ending, but loved it conceptually and also the lack of dialogue. There was no forced "what the?" or "who is this guy?" type of nonsense lines. Nice work.
 
Hey all, thanks for the kind words! Glad it's working for a lot of you.

I can try to speak to the ending, as it's something I pushed for when we were developing the story... as it plays to both the 'twilight-ish' ness of it as well as the overall plot.

The first thing we were up against is what is the "they" in "they are coming" and how would we depict them? We went back and forth with this idea of zombies, mutants or just plain 'dark ambiguous shapes' that would be lurking. What we settled on was that the evil/danger that was out there were merely other human beings, plain and simple. People turning on one another is a concept that can feel very real, and so our thoughts turned to setting this world in which man has indeed turned on one another.

The ending was meant as a reflection of this type of threat. Metaphorically it's this idea of how in society people can remain so insular and isolated -- afraid to venture out and help those in need... and obviously that idea can be magnified further and explored on a more world view. While in our case the results are extreme and pessimistic, the core concept holds true.

So the idea that the real threat the entire time was the Stranger outside became what we hoped would work as the Twilight aspect - that human nature is far more frightening than any unseen danger.

Hope that helps in some way. Thanks again for commenting guys!!
 
Glad everyone is getting the intensity in this. This piece wouldn't really work without it, huh? But very glad that it's coming across as intense.

Thanks for the comments all. And thanks, really, for watching. That means the most to us.
 
Right. Going off Jason's... er jojopop's above post....

Analyzing the script before shooting, I was pontificating on the underlying metaphors I saw. How the character is just watching the news being afraid of the "them" and "they" in the media. Insulated world. Culture of fear. People being more afraid of each other that anything else. In our case one character is afraid of "they" and the other just exploits the fear for his advantage. Blah blah... etc.... this and that.....

Then mr. writer/director just says, "really... my take on the movie is it's all emotional. What happens when you let someone in? THEY KILL YOU. But yours is good too."

Ha. Ouch. I likes it.
 
Liked it a lot, though it doesn't entirely fits the 'twilight' term. This is real, solid, post-apocalyptic world(which I like:D), so I kinda hoped 'they' are some kind of supernatural beings, that take humans as host etc. At the end, when stranger kills the main guy, I really thought that's it-we're all hosts for some mega-poltergeists or something like that!

I like the music inside, it fits pretty nice. It's one of those type that you actually forget about while watching, but it would be way too-empty without it. That part on the street kinda reminded me of Manhunt (PS2 game), where humans vs humans have little or (mostly) no mercy.

Great work, love it!
 
Even though I knew what was going to happen i expected it to be some kind of mutants or zombies or just plain aliens or something but liked the fact that it was just human nature banging at the door of reality. Well done guys made me feel drawn in and anxious.
Pauly
 
I REALLY liked this film!

The device that the communications is down forces the characters to get down to the very nitty-gritty of what they need to say to each other. This exchange is very well written. And yes, it's intense to watch! Great filmmaking in this sequence, the security cam shots are great!

I also like the idea that "they" are other humans. Terrifying. You wonder what's going on out there, what's the situation across the world, who's in charge, where it's safe and where it's not, are there humans banded together in groups, which groups are the strongest and do they prey on the weaker ones? I love the world you've created.

The music is awesome.

I kept hoping that he would let him in, and wondered if he would.

Top-notch work all around.
 
Mile Bozicevic said:
This is real, solid, post-apocalyptic world(which I like:D), so I kinda hoped 'they' are some kind of supernatural beings, that take humans as host etc. At the end, when stranger kills the main guy, I really thought that's it-we're all hosts for some mega-poltergeists or something like that!

I like the music inside, it fits pretty nice. It's one of those type that you actually forget about while watching, but it would be way too-empty without it. That part on the street kinda reminded me of Manhunt (PS2 game), where humans vs humans have little or (mostly) no mercy.

Great work, love it!
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Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed the intensity. Kudos are in order to KenV for putting together some great music. Thanks for watching.
 
Great Job! So many things were right with your film. Loved a lot of the shots. Watching that guy outside with the carboard signs...not knowing who he was...not being able to see what was just off screen in the dark. I really enjoyed this film. It hit all of the right tones. At first I was a little let down about lack of information at the end about what was going on but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all the information we need is right there in the film. It doesn't need to be spoonfed.

Really good job on this one!
 
pauly_the_hitman said:
...i expected it to be some kind of mutants or zombies or just plain aliens or something but liked the fact that it was just human nature banging at the door of reality.
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John LaBonney said:
I also like the idea that "they" are other humans. Terrifying. You wonder what's going on out there, what's the situation across the world, who's in charge, where it's safe and where it's not, are there humans banded together in groups, which groups are the strongest and do they prey on the weaker ones? I love the world you've created.
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Thanks guys! Really happy the human nature angle got across to you. We were playing the "things are not as they seem." theme against itself a bit. You expect the devil! But it's man you must fear! He is after all, just some schmuck with horns! :evil: ...or a black shirt if you watch Barn Dance! ;)

Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
My only gripe is that I didn't get a big Twilight feel out of it. Maybe it's just the end of the world type thing, not sure.
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Mile Bozicevic said:
... though it doesn't entirely fits the 'twilight' term. This is real, solid, post-apocalyptic world(which I like:D)...
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I wanted to touch on the Theme question a bit and I'll use some of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes to try and explain were the flick is coming from.

Spoilers Follow!

Ep.8 "Time Enough at Last" is perhaps one of the most popular and most ofter spoofed twilight zone episodes in which we follow a man who loves to read, but can't because of social pressures in a society that scoffs at reading for pleasure. A nuclear holocaust happens and he finds food enough for a lifetime and a library full of books. Time enough at last to read them. Then his glasses break and he screams, "it isn't fair!"

Ep.60 "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" follows a band of thieves who after a gold heist put themselves to sleep for 100 years to escape the law. They wake up, split the gold and water supplies evenly, and wander off to find civilization. As they travel, their water supplies dwindle and the group slowly kills each other off bargaining water for gold. The last man is found by some future folk. He begs for water in exchange for gold before dying. Future folk wonder why the hell he thinks gold is worth a damn since they can now produce it synthetically.

Things are not as they seem! Both of these episode are all about social irony. no supernatural elements. nothing spooky. It's all about playing off the characters/societies ideas about what is important. Oh, and how messed up the world can be. Especially to those with such singular focus that they loose sight of the big picture.

In Panic, the bunker character has the singular focus of empathy. That's what he chooses to value. It gets him killed. :violin:


Anyway! Feedback is like FOOD. Nutritious and delicious! Thanks so much for watching and commenting. If we haven't left a review for your film yet, just give it sometime!

Thanks again!
 
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Great job! I like this one a lot. Very good production value. It felt like a real movie. Tension build up was great. Really got you involved in the guys predicament. What would we do in a similar circumstance? What would I do? (My answer, I'm ashamed to admit, I never would have let him in. Does that make me a bad person - or a survivor?) Your film answers the question, and therein is the major flaw with the story as I see it. There was no where to go with his dilemna. He either doesn't open the door, end of story. Or he opens the door and gets killed, end of story. I think everyone knew that the second he buzzed him in he was dead.

If you could have come up with a new possibility, it would have worked better for me. One idea that comes to mind, the guy in the apartment kills the other guy first. He had set a trap all along.

My two cents. Look forward to your next film! :beer:
 
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