Pestilence - John Hudson

John_Hudson said:
. . . but am mad at myself for throwing together such a chickenshit result . . .
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John, are you high or what? I'd be goddamned proud as all **** of your film if it were mine! Honestly, it was what mine wanted to be, but was too lame to think of all the cool staging and storytelling devices that you had created. I really loved how you blocked all of your action scenes too. We even had some of the same kinda germs! I had the biohazard suits all picked out, and had already purchased 7 super-realistic looking M-16 airgun rifles for the big government-guys-kill-anyone-that-looks-halfway-infected scene that I was too lame to get organized to shoot. (Can you all tell, I REALLY liked John's short?)
 
****

Sounds like our shorts should have been combinded somewhat? Maybe we should have collaborated! Half would have been the nurse inthe garage and elevator and the other half would have beee her trying escape into the chaos all bleeding and limping.....

We could have had like a full fledged firefight and hordes of zombies running aorund inthr streets as she made it to the car that wouldnt start!

Damn. Hindsight sucks.
 
Yeah, we even had some of the same wardobe! 'Cept my nurse had PINK scrubs! I just wanted a scene with a bunch of guys in biohazard suits with automatic weapons (inspired by that GREAT infection/zombie movie, Warning Sign) . . . I just COULD NOT THINK OF WHERE I COULD SHOOT THAT SCENE WITHOUT GETTING SHOT BY REAL POLICE!

Again, but I really liked your prologue and epilogue treatments . . . very T2-esque. Which is JUST the right feeling (IMO) for this kind of genre. Scary, ominous, desperate. The prologue set that mood perfectly, and the epilogue bookended the ending with perfect symmetry.
 
the-lyons-den.com said:
I guess the lesson then is if you want a convincing story you don't go overboard in your opening VFX shots in order to be more consistent with the rest of the movie that follows . . .The other entries run on a consistent scale throughout . . . My vote is for overall result, not scale.
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Well, I see your point, but I don't agree with the premise. Here's my view . . .

We all had relatively the same constraints, right? We all had about the same amount of time (which wasn't much). All of us had to continue to go to work, go grocery shopping, etc. and deal with whatever major **** was going on in our personal lives in the last few weeks, AND still try and shoot something decent to submit by the deadline. And most of us, I'm sure, kept our budgets in the mid-triple-digits, or at the very most, the low $1,000s, right?

And if John has a VFX buddy, sure that's a great advantage, but more power to him for having the savvy to garner a pool of creative people to work with, just for occasions such as this contest.

So, I think, we all had a level playing field, regardless. And the fact that John made an "over-ambitious" opening, with a following act which "couldn't quite live up to it" is moot, in my opinion. I haven't seen all of the films yet, but so far, John's was the most EXCITING short to watch of all. And to me, THAT's the criteria by which I'll be judging these films.
 
Ralph is my new best friend. BUt serious; thanks. It really means alot to know someone dug this and could see what I was attempting to do. It's funny; I was watchign yours and thinking:

1. Why the **** didn't I use my dolly?
2. Look how clean this is!
3. Those titles are rockin
4. Look at the Zombie dude! That Make Up kicks ass!
5. She really does look like a nurse!
6. Oooh look at the blood pack prop!

Anyway; to get compliments from a fellow filmmaker and film I thought rocked is just cool.

Well I'm doing a Halloween short as well for delivery Halloween night on this forum. Nothing official and for no other reaon than to hone the craft. So; I'll create a sorta unofficial Halloween Thread later calling on my fellow filmmakers.

Nothign major and no grand scales; just looking to something small and Halloweeny (Heh heh Halloweeny)
 
I thought this one had the best opening of all the ones I've seen up to now. I did think it set a standard that was difficult to keep up. You and Rich did a fantastic job with it! Good Luck in the contest.
 
John...I don't say this lightly...your film was EPIC! I am absolutely astounded. To think you even attempted such a scale on a short production, and the fact that you DID pull it off just floors me. I loved the pace and energy in this short. You started off strong with the best FX shots I've ever seen with this low of a budget, and you kept the film moving fast and furious. I was so wrapped up in the film from beginning to end that I can care less about the nitpicks. To think what you would be able to achieve with a large budget. John, as a studying filmmaker myself, I have to say I was humbled. You've got the chops for LA La Land, and I can't wait to see one of your films on the big screen. Amazing. :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
John I like the film. It really reminded me of Dawn of the Dead, which is a great movie. Two of the elements that made it great was the 1. Composing and 2. the visual effects. I like the blown out sun in the shots. Overall I really enjoyed this film. Good work. Oh how many days or day shoot was it?
 
So here it is! My 5,000th post... or as I like to call it "Half of Hudson." :grin: It seems only fitting that it take place here.

So here's my review:

It was the first I watched, so I'll be extra critical of it. :thumbsup:

We start off with the black and white version of your logo. LOVED IT. Outland is so recognized around here, that it really set the mood. (Let me guess, Film Damage in AE?) :grin: I really liked the quote at the beginning.

The first shot looked great. The ravaged city in the background looks AMAZING. Rich did an excelent job. I really liked the use of color throughout the whole short. It's very stylized, which is something that I'm used to from you, but the use of color is beyond anything that I've ever seen you produce. Totally Tony Scott/ Man on Fire.

To be %100 I wasn't terribly impressed with the acting.

I liked the location. What, did you caution tape off an entire city block? :smile: It felt like it had a huge scope, but at the same time, it felt like it was closed in. Like all this stuff was going on around the world, and here's a small cross section of one city street, and what kind of crazy **** is going down here. Very realistic.

I liked the story line, it was simple. Which was good for how short it had to be. And I liked the last shot, and the VO that accompanies it.

The music was awesome. I remember a few months back, you were bragging about the music that you got rights to; and it would seem that you had every right to.

Every time I watch it, I like it more and more.

Overall: The style helped make this film what it was, I'm always impressed with how versatile your films are. They never feel quite the same, yet they have some uniformity to them. Dig it. :thumbsup:
 
So many posts here now that I'm sure I'll offer nothing new, but here were my thoughts (no time to read them all either, as I'm trying to get to everyone I can tonight) ....

First, my general notes when I watched this on Saturday: Ranks high. Bugs me that the voice comes so softly out of only the left speaker (had headphones on), which sometimes sounded like poor ADR. Not a lot of story, but would fit well within a larger story/film. Very good production value, FX, etc.

Notes as I watch it again:
  1. For the opening title/logo, I'm seeing a lot of artifacting ... wish this was a little smaller screen size for a cleaner look/compression ... unless you're aiming for a dirtier/grittier look in the rest of the film
  2. Was this shot 30P instead of the coveted 24P?
  3. I'm sure I'm just a sucker, but when I see "the events are all true", I take it at face value ... didn't like seeing that for this genre, as I just can't buy into that statement
  4. Didn't understand the opening quote & the tie-in to the film
  5. Great shot of the city scape in the BG burning.
  6. Great SFX of the chopper passing overhead
  7. Love the huge, BIG ASS zombie coming over the hill. Hate to run into him.
  8. What's up with the spinning starry sky shot & the comet? Doesn't seem to fit. Did that comet crash into the earth, causing the problem?
  9. For as much as that zombie was stuffing his face into the women's ripped open guts, his mouth is sure clean when he comes up for air.
  10. Title looks too cartoonish ... reminds me of SWAMP THING, or some other B films. It takes away from the serious & larger caliber feel you've set for the film.
  11. Great shots of the entire block, the truck pulling up, the shooting, loved it.
In looking at this, your short film is actually only about 3:30 long, once you take away the opening title & credits ... I'd like to have seen the story developed more within that extra 1:30, and saved the title/credits for the DVD version.
 
the music is great on this! the camera motion is good and the dynamism of the movie is the best i've seen, even surpassing carugon's for energy. (his film is in my top 4 so far). The only thing that let this down for me is some of the acting, in fact all the acting and the actual look needed to be harsher. some scenes like on the stret and in the car....too clean. this film rocked though. good job.
 
note, the look u attained at the opening with her walking to cam, and the focus shifting in and out of sharpness...that's what would have smacked it. that kind of confused tense feeling you got so well in those shots.
 
oh almost forgot to say...the editing on this really added to th feel and pacing. Very good editing indeed. Packed in the information and kept the story moving well.
 
Hey
I just watched it again and I liked it the second time even more. I really like how you incorporated the still shots in it. The very first scene after the title looks like a helicopter shot to me. It appears as though the camera is floating in the air and when it turns it almost goes at a slight angle like a helicopter would. And I think you even here a helicopter sound in the background. I like it. You have been kind of hard on yourself on this one and I think I can understand as thats the way we all feel after watching our own stuff for hours on end. I remember within the last 2 months you said you were still trying to discover your "looK", do you think you found it with this one?
I went back and watched the chaos scene and I see cars driving down the street in the background. It doesnt look like you had to close off the street for this shot. Did you? This really makes me want to try something big and chaotic in my next movie. It was really really impressive to have that much going on. It was just coordinated really well.

Brian
 
John,
Everyone loves this film on some level, it is not **** by any standards.
If everyone seems to be pointing things out I think thats the best thing for growth as a filmmaker. Your dedicated. I submitted a short, (you know the one), and everyone hated it. At first I was down but because I want this life as much as you do, I took it on the nose and vowed to learn by the experience. It not only helped me but got me into a frame of mind to get better and better. People around here tend to post more if they can criticise. Wait for the day you put something up and get no response! I think this short is the most ambitious and for that alone everyone applauds you. If everyone around here would have loved it, I know your next film would not be a classic. It will be..
J.P.
 
Sorry John and you guys, but Pestilence doesn't do it for me. Il liked the fact that it has a self-contained and well told story, and the music is definitely very interesting... but there are also many things that should, IMHO, have been done differently, both from technical and artistic points of view. Most of them have already been mentioned above so I won't repeat them.

I'm very sorry if this sounds harsh, I just mean to be honest and to say what I felt as a viewer...
 
This short seems to be a mix of the plant of the apes and the night of the living dead 1 & 2. There a lot of energy involved and it seems to mesh really well. Very entertaining indeed. Good job. Though there is a few too many expletives for my tastes. :)
 
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