- RECURRENCE - a MAH Film

This was very MAH-ish. It definitely had your look and feel. In the beginning it felt like a sequel to one you had done before, but of course it wasn't. I guess that was my overall reaction to it...it felt like something you had done before. You did all the right things and hit all the right notes, though.
 
Thanks for all the great compliments and critiques everyone, I really appreciate it.

I'm in a hotel and my daughter is sick so I'll be brief. Just wanted to touch on this.

EditPhish said:
My criticisms: Everything was really strong in your film, so I'd have to be nit-picking to come up with faults. There was one shot that confused me... the shot towards the end where it's a closeup of a box (?) and the christmas tree... I wasn't sure what it meant/represented or was.
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The ornament was pertaining to his situation. The chain link fencing on it like a cage. Trapped in a box if you will, in limbo really. :)

Glad everyone at your viewing loved it, that means a lot.
 
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lyonfilms said:
Loved the location. Sound design rocked. Performance was just fine. I do need to re-watch and maybe noodle it a bit more. I am dense.
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There's not much to get. The scrapbook at the end tells you all you need to know. The rest is up to you.

Richard J. Johnson said:
Great job as usual. Loved the location!
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Thanks!

Matt Harris said:
Dude you know i love this short, but i'm seeing the final final version and its stellar. Great color correction, it adds so much.
I really feel like i'm watching the intro to a real movie when i watch this. it's very mature filmmaking. I think the best compliment i can give you is,
i'm on the edge of my seat when i watch it. you have a real knack for building tension through shot usage and sound design. great score by justin as usual, it adds a lot. congrats on another success.
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Thanks, Matt. Wouldn't have finished this without you pushing me along. Thx again!

djbobbyrhodes said:
The Good:
Dude, awesome work. The sound was amazing. Really polished, top notch stuff. The shot design and the location was awesome as well. Real tension, the kind of stuff that is missing from shorts, but you've got it in spades.

The Bad:
There were inklings of a story, but nothing really happened. I was really engrossed for all but the last bit of the film. Yeah, I know what happened (presumably) but I feel like how it went down was a cop-out. I understand the limitations that you had going into this thing that was kind of haphazard to begin with. But I felt cheated in the end. I really wish there was more to it.

This feels like a cold-open to Criminal Minds or CSI or maybe even a Hollywood feature. That's respectable in and of itself. I just wish that there was some payoff in the end. Maybe it's just the sickest camera test in the world. :grin:

Good stuff though, I need to get my skills on your level for sure.
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When the bad includes comparisons to Hollywood features... I'll take it. :D. Thx
Great review.
 
EditPhish said:
My compliments: It looked fantastic, and for that location to fall in your lap... amazing! What a great location.
When he walks into the final room with the music playing, it was very "Fallout" - which I liked a lot. There's something about music playing through an old radio that creates nostalgia and memory immediately. The overall score was a perfect fit as well. Lighting was great.
Your actor did a great job.
The whole thing came together really well and was a terrific short film. In our little viewing party, it was definitely one of the favorites. We all gave it a big thumbs up.
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Answered your other question above. Thx again. Love the Fallout reference. :)
 
Michael!!

You have definitely arrived at a place where it is just impossible for you to turn out anything less than a very professional piece :). Congrats!

Good acting, great atmosphere!

What didn't work for me was no real narrative to speak of until something at the end. He's walking around a bitchin location and I had no emotional investment in anything. I don't know who he is or what he's looking for and haven't been given the slightest reason to wonder or any clues to guess. He could be the good cop or a child predator. It's like you fell in love with the location and just wanted to shoot that. Which I've done too, it's an easy allure.

Your professionalism is constantly rising every short. Just help me get involved and care about what's going on and I'll be there every minute.

PS Awesome set design and dressing.
 
I don't think this was one of your better films, MAH. I wasn't sure where it was going, felt "zombish" to me, or maybe "alienish" whatever you stated was left to the imagination. I don't think this had the MAH film quality we're used to. It just left me, eh, which isn't what I expect from ya. So, well, there it is.
 
Thanks, Blaine, Shawn and Charlie. I appreciate the feedback.

A little info on the shoot.

Just me and the actor, zero crew. What else is new. We wouldn't allow anyone else as it was far too dangerous.
Sound design is 100% foley, right down to the gum chewing.
It was my first time directing a solo actor with no one else to play off, so I had him play off against the location. It was the other actor in a sense.

That made this a very new experience for me and a complete opposite of my last entry, just two actors in an empty room.

And Charlie, at least I used the scrapbook (prop) as more than just a part of the backdrop. That should make you happy. Lol! :)

Thanks again.
 
Funny you should mention that MAH. I watched this with hubby and said "See! He's using the book as part of the story." So yeah, I noticed. I understand it was a difficult shoot. I thought you were crazy to shoot there. But you got a film out with what you could. Understood.
 
Charli said:
Funny you should mention that MAH. I watched this with hubby and said "See! He's using the book as part of the story." So yeah, I noticed. I understand it was a difficult shoot. I thought you were crazy to shoot there. But you got a film out with what you could. Understood.
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I actually almost gave up on this location. We could only shoot for very short periods and couldn't really do what I first intended. Matt Harris pushed me to go back and get the shots I needed to get it done. :)

In the end I like how it turned out. Anyone who says that they can't make a movie because they have no help isn't trying hard enough. Yeah, it's rough. But as Zaza and a few others have shown, it can be done. Get out there and shoot!
 
To start with I loved the location (not sure if anyone has complemented you on it yet). I liked the lighting and composition. The tension was definitely there and was helped along with the sound design. As someone mentioned the music on the Radio gave it a nostalgic feel, it definitely was a very good touch. As with a lot of other comments on here the ending was kind of a let down. I get the premise of it, but you did such an amazing job at building up the suspense that I was waiting for the felling of "Damn, I sure am glad I am not in your shoes" and instead I was more like "Oh, that must suck". Other than that I really liked it great job on everything, and even more points after finding out you did that all on your own.
 
NICE... great job on this one! I really love the new edit and think you totally nailed it.
Thanks.
 
Another great one, Mike. Your location was off-the-charts and you built suspense like nobody's business. I always like your shooting style too. You're able to tell your story with your cinematography in ways that are clever and intriguing. As filmmakers we can always go to the wide, MCU, CU and all that jazz, but you knowing all the basics seem to shy away from the norm and still manage to give style, professionalism and polish. Yeah, there could have been a little more punch at the end, but this is still an excellent piece. I've seen almost all of the films and yours stands apart - again. LOL!

I don't know if you mentioned this or not, but I know how much foley you had to do and sound design and it came out great. As filmmakers sometimes we don't pay enough attention to detail when it comes to sound. Sound is underrated and so important. As a viewer there are certain things you expect to hear and certain things you expect to sound a certain way. If it doesn't it can totally take away from what you were trying to get across to the viewer. So, great work on this all around.
 
Marlon Ladd said:
Another great one, Mike. Your location was off-the-charts and you built suspense like nobody's business. I always like your shooting style too. You're able to tell your story with your cinematography in ways that are clever and intriguing. As filmmakers we can always go to the wide, MCU, CU and all that jazz, but you knowing all the basics seem to shy away from the norm and still manage to give style, professionalism and polish. Yeah, there could have been a little more punch at the end, but this is still an excellent piece. I've seen almost all of the films and yours stands apart - again. LOL!
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Wow! Thanks, Marlon. Very high praise.


Marlon Ladd said:
I don't know if you mentioned this or not, but I know how much foley you had to do and sound design and it came out great. As filmmakers sometimes we don't pay enough attention to detail when it comes to sound. Sound is underrated and so important. As a viewer there are certain things you expect to hear and certain things you expect to sound a certain way. If it doesn't it can totally take away from what you were trying to get across to the viewer. So, great work on this all around.
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I really appreciate that. It was a lot of hard work adding the gum chewing, leather jacket, footsteps, breathing, crunchy footsteps, etc....
Not to mention all the other sounds and noises.

It's 99.9% foley. Minus two single soounds from the camera mic mixed in with all the foley work.

Anyone care to guess what those two sounds are? :)

Thanks again, Marlon.
 
Mad props for using Auld Lang Syne - you often have some cool old song in your entries, it's great. And it irks me you can grab your gear on a whim and put something together better than me with my months of prep work and planning:D My main issue here is the film started to drag. While you did a great job of keeping the tension high and varying shots to keep it interesting, nothing really changes over the first 3:30 – we’re just following some dude around in a creepy environment. That said, he seems like an interesting dude - I’d just like to see him struggle more. Overall, great job capturing the mood and tension.
 
Soundwise it's very good.

The foley is verry well done. And the 2 things from camera mic. It's those around 1:21, the glass falling (I think...)
and when he drops the torch on the table, 04:07 ?

Maybe the footsteps are sometimes a little to close... So some small reverb to give some distance could be nice maybe ?
But that's more a personal thing I think... Some people like carrots, others like pieces...

It's good you've done breathings also... Sometimes people think "they don't have dialogue... so the sound is not important".
But some "stupid" breathings, small "human" sounds....can do a lot. So that's very good you thought of that also

Also lightwise it's very good and imagewise also.

Only the story.... I don't get 100%
 
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