SINNERGY - Geoff Reisner

Blaine said:
Shot it with the GH1, hmmm. It'll be interesting to see how it looks. I loved the noir feel of your screen grab. Kholi, Geoff and Matty...quite a crew of who's who. :happy:
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Admittedly, I didn't do much at all! But, I'm really happy to see that Geoff made this in time. It's pretty awesome looking and I like his view on the material.

Can't wait to get into the writing process once fest viewing starts!
 
Defcon said:
a bunch of heavy hitters! kholi did you shoot it or not?
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Nooooooo no no. The awesome imagery comes from MattY G

I helped out a little during the shoot but no major role in production. I did write the original draft/story and Then passed it on to Geoff. More details on that later for sure.
 
Forgive his modesty... Kholi did have a large part in this. This is all built upon a concept and story he originally conceived of when the fest was first announced. We always have these lengthy brainstorming where we pitch ideas back and forth and Sinnergy was one of the ideas he threw out. I think we initially dismissed it because we both felt it'd be way to challenging to pull off. The first draft, written entirely by Kholi, had numerous locations which we felt couldn't be cheated and a much thicker plot that would have been choked with a six minute time frame. I was really drawn to the story (and still am) and I felt I couldn't disservice it with the creative limitations I'd face. ($)

So we put it aside and kept working on generating new ideas to pursue, but Sinnergy kept popping back into our heads... I eventually did a re-write and tried my best to keep the concept pure and after much back and forth tweaking we had a seven page script that I felt was creatively challenging, yet possible if done right. I'm thankful Kholi let me play on the material and glad he seems to enjoy the direction I took.
 
Geoff_R said:
Forgive his modesty... Kholi did have a large part in this. This is all built upon a concept and story he originally conceived of when the fest was first announced. We always have these lengthy brainstorming where we pitch ideas back and forth and Sinnergy was one of the ideas he threw out. I think we initially dismissed it because we both felt it'd be way to challenging to pull off. The first draft, written entirely by Kholi, had numerous locations which we felt couldn't be cheated and a much thicker plot that would have been choked with a six minute time frame. I was really drawn to the story (and still am) and I felt I couldn't disservice it with the creative limitations I'd face. ($)

So we put it aside and kept working on generating new ideas to pursue, but Sinnergy kept popping back into our heads... I eventually did a re-write and tried my best to keep the concept pure and after much back and forth tweaking we had a seven page script that I felt was creatively challenging, yet possible if done right. I'm thankful Kholi let me play on the material and glad he seems to enjoy the direction I took.
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That's is definitely accurate. For me, the craziest part is having the original plot be the same but the stories differ, both in ways that are equally effective and enjoyable. The direction and pace is also different, but once I saw the final cut I got it. With the music and everything in the mix (which people will see) I totally feel it living in Reisner's world which is a bit grittier than my own and much more personal. That's also another thing that I really got out of this process, not only writing with Geoff and watching him Direct and make choices as his own individual, but helping Matty with setting up lights and being under him as a dp.

There are several ways to skin a cat! This way is equally enjoyable to me.

Not actually skinning a cat... I mean... Ew.
 
great looking poster and i loved your flick, " The Things We Carry" . looking forward to your film!
 
Just some wrap up thoughts...

Had a ton of fun putting this one together. Even though we had to move fast and race against the deadline, it was definitely one of my most streamlined productions. I think this is mostly due to the fact that I delegated more work here. My Producers, Mike and Damien, helped tremendously with the essentials and allowed me more time to focus on the creative aspects. It was also a huge bonus to have Matty G aboard to shoot the piece. When I'm DPing and Directing, something is bound to suffer. Anytime I spend with actors results in less interesting shots/lighting and vice versa. This is the first production where I had someone else DP for me and it was a great experience. The shots are wickedly similar to my storyboards. I extensively boarded this project out and developed a flow based on mine and Mattys pre-production conversations. During production, Matty was able to look at the boards and move from shot to shot with a fair understanding of what we were gunning for. I can honestly say that I'd prefer to never DP something I am Directing ever again. The film as a whole is significantly better due to that separation of duty.

We put this thing together on a tight budget. Everyone pretty much tossed in their time and sweat for nothing but some food and a good time on a set. We shot over two days in various LA locations, most of them free or very cheap. I need locations to make movies... It can be a simple rooftop or bridge, but it's gotta be at least something interesting to photograph. Yes, there are creative stories that can be told in a home or apartment... but it's more interesting to get out of your comfort zone. I spent a good chunk of my time scouting for this film. It'd be wonderful to have a location scout :)

I'm pretty wiped out from the post experience... lots of minor vfx and then a few big ones... the last week has essentially been a full time gig of getting this one ready for the fest. In my head, these projects always start off as little side things I'll do in my free time but they quickly escalate into life consuming, 'nothing else matters but this film' events :)

Hope people enjoy the film and looking forward to when the films go live.
 
This is the first one I watched. Top-notch work, very well executed on all levels. Love that it feels like the prelude to a feature at the end. I was ready to be carried thru another two hours when the credits came up.
 
Lots of big hitters in this one and it shows! Really nice work. Nailed the noir genre you were going for. Cinematography/VFX/sound/score all top notch.

The only thing that brought me out of it for a moment was the scene at 2:43. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the sidekick was looking at? I played that back a few times. If the intention was that he was turning away in fear from the monster, or in disgust from the result... then I didn't quite get that from his performance.

Otherwise this is pretty flawless and should do really well. Nice job to all involved.

MAH
 
excellent job... fx were primo.

Thought you embraced the theme to the absolute fullest and made it your own. Nice style, pacing, everything. Acting was a bit, meh... at times... But, all in all, really fantastic job.

Thanks for sharing.

later,
jason
 
Love the look - and love that you shot it with a GH1. It really looked amazing. The atmosphere and lighting were excellent. The score and sound were excellent too. For that you scored pretty high with me and all of our group of watchers.

The criticism I have is that it would have been nicer to see more than just a glimpse of the guilt monster. I kinda feel like a lot of film makers in the fest showed as little of their monsters as possible, and I was hoping you wouldn't go the same route. I was disappointed to never see it again.

I enjoyed it very much though - you did a fabulous job!
 
Another one of my favorites.

I loved the opening title... great job Tom Marshall.

The film looked great! The cinematography and locations in particular (bar, hallways, alleys) gave it high production values. A definite "Se7en" influence, nothing wrong with that.

I did not like Archie's costume, mainly because it felt like a "film noir" costume. The fedora and trenchcoat seemed out of place, a little too on the nose. I must admit that the silhouette is ultra cool, ie. as in your screengrab and poster, but on the street, in the real world, it looks like an actor in an ill fitting costume. Literally, the trenchcoat seemed to be three sizes too big for the actor, the sleeves covered his hands.

The acting of the Archie character at 2:07 to 2:37 "Where is she...?" was over the top and verging on a Dirty Harry parody. Otherwise his voice over was very well done, and his line at 5:54 "Waitin' for me." is chilling.

Overall, great job, as usual.

In my top three.:beer:
 
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