S i m i l o

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Similo

Similo

Great work!

Remined me alot of Solaris (New Version)...probably because of the female VO with an accent...also the gradient. Loved that you took me away from the typical DVX out of the box look and went for a very stylized film look.

Also I felt you patience in the storytelling reminded me of a Tarkovsky film.

Well done.
 
Man Mac. This was beautiful and I think anyone doubting the ability of the G35 after this baby should be bludgeoned.

I love the opening shot of the woman running at the camera. I don't think you could have had a better sunset or location to film.

I felt the car scene was a bit dark, but that's understandable when filming in alaska.
Very visually appealing, and I must congratulate you on the film.

Very entertaining and I loved watching it!
 
This one was obviously a standout in pretty much every area. Won't be suprised if it takes first. I thought it ran on a bit long, but that could be my only nitpick. Great job.
 
HOLY POO POO, MACGREGOR! Beautiful work. Excellent execution of a simple, elegant concept. Best cinematography I've seen in a long time. I mean, really, really, gorgeous cinematography. Shallow depth-of-field really is nice, isn't it? AND you have a naked chick in your short! You rock, man!

Aha, now I've read the entire thread--I was going to comment on the terrific production design as well! Beautifully written. Authentically acted. Wonderful score. You didn't miss a single f-----g beat on this one, man! I haven't seen a short of this technical/aesthetic/content quality in quite some time. You and your team really pulled it off. I also thought of Solaris while watching your short (I LOVED Solaris). I think your short is going to make me mark my ballot sheet all '11s'!!!
 
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WOW. I nearly pooped my pants on the first shot. I thought it was a Nike commercial! So well done. Yes it reminded me of the George Cloony Solaris film too in it's visual style. Beautiful, and SHARP! Did the sharpness come from the lens or was it part of your post process?
 
What can I say?

Awesome.
Simply awesome.

I could say everything that's been said about the camera work, the look, the lenses, the feel... etc. etc. etc.

Bottom line for me?
I cared.
You got me to care about the characters - and in 6 minutes time that's badass.

As always - you rock MacGregor.
 
Hey man, that rocked. You can tell a professional team worked on this joint. (Jdanstan-see, I used it again :) )
The first thing I thought of when I saw the white was the Chris Cunningham music video for the pixie looking girl with the 2 robots kissing... I forget her name now. I have not seen the new Solaris. One question i had was the delicate balance of the whites and blacks in the bedroom scenes. Even though the whites were blown out it sure didnt feel like it. How did you control them?
I guess I am waiting for the G35 because i didnt see any light loss issues or focus issues and if there were any, they were very well hidden.
Great freaking job to you and your "Team" <--- i have to get one of these...
 
Just have to add that I LOVE the ending of this.

"Do you remember me?"
And he just gives her that slight, oblivious smile.

Perfect.
 
I'm just starting to work through these, but I had to comment on this - I'm just blown away. Really great work man. I hate to be repetetive with previous posts, but yeah I loved Solaris and this had a very similar vibe.

Dying to see that full res on the DVD.
 
Those opening scenes had me thinking I accidentally opened a trailer for a feature length film, I was in awe, and the quality never stopped, amazing!

The acting was great and I am incredibly happy to see somebody who truly cares about set design, sound, wardrobe, etc, etc, etc, attention to details...

This was a pleasure and an inspiration to watch.


I agree with the Tarkovsky comparison/compliment!
 
FINALLY, I got to see this ... and it was worth it. I think the version that's online is still playing at lesser FPS, as it seemed jittery/choppy at first, but I grew accustomed to it quicly.

Loved the VO of the actress ... great voice. The story was beautifully done as well, though I'm confused about one thing. This replacement replaced the REAL him right? Then what were all those spare parts in the middle of the road when she was holding the REAL him? Or was that just a robot as well, and this new one is a replacment of the other robot?

That left me confused, but otherwise, everything else was very well done. I'm surprised how many people have gone with hand held camera work, which I believe this one is entire hand held, but I again grew accustomed to it, and I'm realizing that during some shots when nothing much is happening, the sublte camera movement/shake adds character to the moment, which can be beneficial and rewarding.

Loved the music & overall romantic, loving feeling of this piece. Well done.
 
i loved the look...the story didn´t really get me, but i watched the whole thing, fascinated by the wonderful look...congrats
 
I guess Panasonic guys, when they created the DVX100, couldn´t believe it would be possible to achieve such a beautiful result with this little thing. Waiting for your explanation about how you lit the her room. And congratulations for making clipped highlights look superb.
 
dj200423 said:
I felt the car scene was a bit dark, but that's understandable when filming in alaska.
Click to expand...


Still the wmv is running at 15fps and it is appearing with much more contrast than it is in reality. The car scene is about 1 stop down. The robot last scene hardly shows what is going on, since the road is completely dark, and this shouldnt be as that. I hate compression and it hurts to see your "child" in not so good condition. The mpeg DVD will look 10 times better, i can assure you.

Am i allowed to put a couple grabs here to show the real colors?
 
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Someone asked about light settings. I will explain better with grabs. As you see, thin detail+Vegas sharpening filter give good results in terms of resolution. Also have in mind we are using a PAL camera. The bad thing is that at PAL DVD, there is more noise in dark areas than i would like to.


Image1.jpg


This shots were done during the magic hour. With the sea at the left, and volcanic desert at the right. We only had a 20 minute chance to shoot this scene. A white reflector is on the right, to create that mistery light (michael Bay style).



Image2.jpg


The car scene. We wanted to shoot this at dusk. They are in the Antartic, so dusks take a lot of time there. Also the landscape needed that dark atmosphere. They are in a new Merc SLK. And it was shooting on the director´s garage.




Image0.jpg


The white set. 1000W X2 reflected in the ceiling. That is all. Naked girls do the rest.



Image3.jpg


Back to location again. We were running out of light here, so silver reflector was used to lit them from the dark and contrasted scene.



Color correction was done but not too much. The interiors needed a bit more, trying not to blow away the white and still have color skins.
The wonderfull G35 helps to create that crisp look. Exposure was important too, as well as WB.
BTW, no one asked about flares and red and blue intrusve lights...
We are glad you liked this project. It took us some time, and everyone likes to hear good comments. I apreciate it a lot. Thanks guys!
 
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Envision said:
FINALLY, I got to see this ... and it was worth it. I think the version that's online is still playing at lesser FPS, as it seemed jittery/choppy at first, but I grew accustomed to it quicly.

Loved the VO of the actress ... great voice. The story was beautifully done as well, though I'm confused about one thing. This replacement replaced the REAL him right? Then what were all those spare parts in the middle of the road when she was holding the REAL him? Or was that just a robot as well, and this new one is a replacment of the other robot?

That left me confused, but otherwise, everything else was very well done. I'm surprised how many people have gone with hand held camera work, which I believe this one is entire hand held, but I again grew accustomed to it, and I'm realizing that during some shots when nothing much is happening, the sublte camera movement/shake adds character to the moment, which can be beneficial and rewarding.

Loved the music & overall romantic, loving feeling of this piece. Well done.
Click to expand...




The story is quite simple.

We have a girl talking about his lost boyfriend. She looks like she loved him very much and so and so. In the end we discover that the loning boyfriend was in truth artificial. So we think, wait a second, all this tears for a washing machine?

But then, in the last phrase, she reveals that she has just bought a new one, the one Similo that is driving the car. So, were did all those emotions go? It is as easy as buying a new one to replace the old one. (Some girls do this with real human boyfriends, lol).

And all along she wonders where did all those feelings go. Think in this way. You have a girlfriend who is in love with you. She has an accident. She looses her memory. So she doesnt remember you. Will she still be in love with you? Where did all the feelings go?
This opens quite a lot philosophical discussions.
This is a not a new story or new aproach, of course. But you cannot tell a lot in 6 minutes, I guess.
 
Amazing lighting and final product. The girl was great. I think her acting skills really made your film. The bedroom scene was nicely setup.

However, the scene with the girl in the road holding her robot-mate was difficult to makeout at first...not sure if it was the compression issue you described here in the post, or if it was just too dark. It's like the blacks in the road overtook the details. In the still pics you posted here, that scene was understandable...just didn't see it in the clip and therefore didn't get the entire concept on the first run.

I love seeing something original, but, this storyline was not original for me. I've seen a few features and shorts with the robot-mate concept. It is an appealing and interesting concept for sure as evidenced by how many similar films are out there, just wished it were more original.

It did feel like a promo for a robot-mate feature on Sci-Fi....which is a great thing. I like the sci fi channel..heh.

But, I would love to learn your secrets for obtaining that level of finish...geez...amazing. Looked like a lot of fun to shoot too!
 
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