"Rant"

Thanks for the kind words guys. If I haven't gotten around to giving you feed back, don't give up on me. haha. I'll be there asap. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it though.

I'm even more glad that you guys are commenting more on the content than the technical side. I suppose that means I did my job as someone who wants to direct. Nothing spectacular technically...but good enough not to distract. Hopefully that's how you felt.

About the audio...I agree that it would have been interesting to hear. But I don't think that the scenes didn't really need sound...mostly because the things he was doing didn't make much sound in the first place. haha. I definitely feel you on that though.

About why he's that way...I guess I wanted to make it a little ambiguous...vague. Didn't want to explain too much. I wanted to leave the viewer wondering just a little bit.

also I think the in and out of focus thing is just something I thought went with the mood. The uncertainty of the character seems to tie in with the camera moves and the rest. It was planned but I didn't want to leave anything feeling stagnant.

Again...thanks for watching guys...anyone who happens to open this thread please feel to comment. I'd love to hear what you have to say!
 
I've seen a couple of films in this fest that deal with this subject matter, and man, you did it best. The fact you didn't have the character interacting with anyone, except an voice message on a cell phone is really pathetic and lonely. You created an uncomfortable feeling in this film with the solitary voice, not speeding along with social political reasons for failure, but a reflection of self... the disappointment of one's self. Beautiful. Can you tell, I liked it?
 
Well done...and sad. If even the smallest part of this story isn't a 'story', please get help...or get whoever it's based on help.

WAY too real...having had experience with this subject.
 
sprocket and chris - thanks dudes. I'm flattered that you enjoyed it of course and I'm glad that you noticed that it was disappointment of self. Totally the point.

Zaza- I'm alright man. This is all a story...I suppose it's a reflection of myself but in the most extreme, exaggerated sense. I'm sorry you have experience with this kinda stuff :( hope everything is okay man.

Keep it coming guys. I'm learning a lot from what you guys have to say.
 
The VO held up nicely. This kinda thing can easily drag a film down, but I think the changing tones in the voice really kept it authentic.

Not sure I got the easel in front of the car bit. really loved the bathroom scene. The waving knife cutting to black was a sweet jolt of 'Oh crap!'

Nicely done. Felt like something anyone of us could or has gone through.

a
 
This was emotionally intense and well done.

Now to appear smart for a second --- *puts on reading glasses*

I liked that you chose not to go into "why" he's in this state of insecurity and failure of self or what drove him to this point. By making the reasoning for his psychological condition ambiguous you could say that it allows the audience to connect their own associations with it or it could create more of a thought process, letting our conscious worry about your character. Either way, a connection is formed without the need for explanation in specifics.

*takes glasses off* --- don't know where that came from.

Anyway - what was your thought process on all the jump cuts and speed changes, was it supposed to have some sort of association with the character or was that just the style you were going for?

You're a very competent filmmaker. You know how to use what you have and work on the little things to make a really solid piece. Keep it up!
 
Ienjoyed this overall. I´m soo used to 16:9, when a 4:3 frame pops up it looks always a bit home video in the first place, but it worked quite well here, geve it some diary look.
Good story. Well done.

Frank
 
I thought at first this would be home video, but when I saw the look I was amazed.

It's a shame you didn't shoot this 16:9. Would look a lot better in terms of picture and image.

Nice shots, nice lighting, and the lenses were really cool.

You color this in Magic Bullet?

Great film overall.

Robbe
 
Hi Nick, I really enjoyed this one. It was very different and for that I really appreciated it. I thought Ezra's performance was pretty strong - I didn't quite buy it when he first started talking to himself in the mirror, but by the end of that scene I was totally entranced. Nice work.
 
Thanks guys. The fact that most of you enjoyed it overall is more than enough for me. Appreciate the words and time you put into it!
 
Hey Nick, great piece film. I liked the shot compositions that you used and I felt the color grading worked really well, especially in the shots where he's making the phone call. Effective lighting too.

Your lead actor was good. Very convincing. I like how you didn't use a full 6 minutes to tell the story. It's stronger for that. The audio volume was a little low at the part when the actor is in the mirror but I'm thinking it was a stylistic choice. If so, cool.

I enjoyed this short man. Great job.
 
Trippy. Something about this kind of resonated with me ... haunted me in a way.

While I think there's room for improvement with lighting, etc. (audio as well - while the VO was solid, was difficult to hear the guy when yelling into the mirror, in comparison), you've got a knack for telling a disturbing, lonely story.

One thing I didn't get, at the end .... so was this phone call all BEFORE everything else we saw, and he ends with splitting his own skull open with the knife, looking for himself? OR, was all that stuff just in his imagination/memory, which we SAW while he was leaving the message for his friend, and then he heads off to go find himself and/or be comfortable with who he is (loved that line, BTW)?

I'm guessing probably the latter, because he said he won't drink anymore because he's crazy & can't control himself, and then we kind of saw that happening afterwards.

Regardless, I dug this, and rated it among the higher ratings I've given out.
 
Thanks dudes. once again, appreciate the view :)

Norm- The concept was that he is leaving a message on someone's answering machine and while he's leaving it, we see what is going to happen, and at the end, when he hangs up and walks, he is about to begin his journey, which we already saw. It's a cycle sort of, and the actual scenes, other than the phone calls are the future...in the least supernatural way possible. Hopefully that makes sense.

edit: also...I did the alcohol contradiction very much on purpose. I feel like that's a constant thing that I deal with in myself. Failure to meet my promises to my self. Also! to show the desperation and carelessness of the character. and thank you for rating it highly :) that rules.
 
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I got completely owned in the ranking and rating. haha.

Not a big deal at all...I just wish the people who rated me low would have given me some feedback as to why :/

haha. either way, thanks to everyone who watched and reviewed! I appreciate it and I had a lot of fun. See ya next fest dudes.
 
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