Spy Master

Theodore J Arabian said:
Thanks Brandon! I appreciate your critique and share some of your observations... especially the "home-made video look" to it. I must learn how to use this camera! I know that CC can do many things for me and I played around with Magic Bullet but I want to learn how to adjust the settings in camera to get a better look.

Anyway, I set a goal for me to concentrate on a few elements of filmmaking and I achieved those. I hope as I continue to grow as a filmmaker, I can keep filling in the gaps.

Sorry that the story was boring. I actually like the simplicity of this story. And to me there are a lot of layers to it.
Click to expand...

Hey Ted, I hope my comments were taken as constructive :) And yeah, I don't think it's boring, that's not the right word... maybe it was just that I didn't get pulled in right away with the story...

I did jump when the girl startles the guy in the beginning, haha.
 
Hey Brandon, ALL COMMENTS are taken as constructive! Thanks, seriously. Thanks!

I really enjoy reading the comments. The opinions expressed are so valuable. If I thought that I was the "prima donna" of filmmaking, I'd take offense... but don't worry. I am a student of the craft!

Thanks for clarifying the "boring" comment. I understand.

Keep the comments coming!

-Ted
 
Last edited:
Mark Johnson said:
Good car interiors are a ***** and yours are very nice.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mark! I really appreciate all of the comments! The one that I quoted here means the most as that was one of my primary focuses of this film. Shooting inside of a car.
 
Ted, nice film dude! I dug the use of the iPod. It was a well played spoof/ farce. I liked the use of zooms in this one. I felt it worked well with the content. One thing that threw me off was the transition in audio from the inside of the van to the outside. Nice cameo.
 
Mark Johnson said:
Hey Ted,

I understand you did the score. Was this GarageBand loops or Soundtrack or something entirely different?
Click to expand...
Yep! More of my plucking at GarageBand. I actually only used one loop.... the bass riff in the opening theme song. (Oh,wait I did use a drumset pattern in the end of that song as well)

The rest I create by hand.
 
Alex Jeffery said:
Ted, nice film dude! I dug the use of the iPod. It was a well played spoof/ farce. I liked the use of zooms in this one. I felt it worked well with the content. One thing that threw me off was the transition in audio from the inside of the van to the outside. Nice cameo.
Click to expand...
Thanks Alex, I appreciate it.

The audio was actually not supposed to happen that way (as I intended it). But I heard someones take on it and suggested the audio to change levels from inside to outside (since it is coming from the iPod). I tried it.

Thanks for watching and commenting!

-Ted
 
Ted,

I enjoyed 'Spy Master' and thought it was well done. Nice opening crane shots and titles, it drew me in quickly. I thought your actor playing the spy master was overall good and contributed to the quirkiness of the film, the iPod inclusion was pretty funny :) Nice touch!

One thing I really liked was the use of zooms and camera movement. At times, it reminded me of Sam Rami's style of using the camera.

I also thought there was maybe a little too much dialogue. I'd like to see more visuals, but that's really more of a personal opinion I guess.

Thanks for sharing the film! Looking forward to your next one!

Geoff
 
Standard Disclaimer: I've yet to see a bad film so far in this fest. Congratulations to every film maker, everyone did a great job. All my comments and criticisms are meant to be constructive and helpful and in no way am I trying to take anything away from what you accomplished.

Good: Great opening shot. The ipod stuff was funny, didn't see it coming. The car mounted shots were very cool.

Not as Good: Some stuff was cheezy, but imagine you were going for that. My mom called and said she wanted her van back (ha, jk), the full size van doesn't really say "spy" to me.
 
Geoff_R said:
Ted,

I enjoyed 'Spy Master' and thought it was well done. Nice opening crane shots and titles, it drew me in quickly. I thought your actor playing the spy master was overall good and contributed to the quirkiness of the film, the iPod inclusion was pretty funny :) Nice touch!

One thing I really liked was the use of zooms and camera movement. At times, it reminded me of Sam Rami's style of using the camera.

I also thought there was maybe a little too much dialogue. I'd like to see more visuals, but that's really more of a personal opinion I guess.

Thanks for sharing the film! Looking forward to your next one!

Geoff
Click to expand...
Hey Geoff! Miss seeing you around. I see that you are in LA now! Cool. Good for you.

Thanks for viewing and sharing your comments. I appreciate the feedback.

-Ted
 
chris f said:
Standard Disclaimer: I've yet to see a bad film so far in this fest. Congratulations to every film maker, everyone did a great job. All my comments and criticisms are meant to be constructive and helpful and in no way am I trying to take anything away from what you accomplished.

Good: Great opening shot. The ipod stuff was funny, didn't see it coming. The car mounted shots were very cool.

Not as Good: Some stuff was cheezy, but imagine you were going for that. My mom called and said she wanted her van back (ha, jk), the full size van doesn't really say "spy" to me.
Click to expand...
Thanks Chris. I appreciate your comments.

As for the van, it may not be spy-like but it is certainly no soccer-mom's van! :)

Thanks again. I am glad that you watched and critiqued.

-Ted
 
Last edited:
Theodore J Arabian said:
I played around with Magic Bullet but I want to learn how to adjust the settings in camera to get a better look.
Click to expand...


Isn't that the thing from the infomercials that make margaritas faster than quick?!? Gotta lay off the sauce, man... gotta lay off the sauce.
 
Hey Ted.

Finally got to this. Watched it twice. Really enjoyed the whole thing.

There wasn't really anything that I disliked, so let me just summarize a few of the things I liked:
  • The lighting in the van. That seemed to be (or should have been) hard to light but you really did a good job.
  • The music. Perfect. Cheesy. A kinda tuba-effect. Nice.
  • The acting. Cheesy again - but worked perfectly for me.
  • I did like the story. Fun. Good spirited. And the iPod gag was original and very smart. Nice job.
  • The licence plate - "The Guy". Very funny. Of course, if that's your real licence plate, I'm a little sad for you right now.

In passing, not that I disliked any of this, but I wasn't sure about your female lead's wardrobe. Also something funny happened to the sound at around 1:19. But that's really being nit-picky.

Very, very nice job. A nice, well shot, pleasant film. Well done.
 
Ted!!!! First of all, thanks so much for the credit. I was soo not expecting that! Wow! It was very fun to see this story come to life after having read over your script.

1. Loved the shots in the van. I felt like your unique setup worked incredibly well. I also thought the van was pretty bad a--, so no need for a different vehicle in my opinion. Oh, and I am a soccer mom, but I do not own a mini-van, fyi.

2. Acting was a bit cheesy, particularly the female, but it still worked for me. I thought your acting was actually the best of the bunch.

3. Overall, nicely done. You continue to amaze me with your one-man show effort. I eagerly await your next venture, Ted. :)
 
The interior lighting of the van was really sweet. Must be those LEDs you mentioned in the thread.

I think you should have framed your lovely lead actress either a bit wider or a bit tighter in some shots. Many of the shots really unfairly add a lot of pounds to her simply due to the top she's wearing and the way the frame crops her chest.

The score was a bit off-putting to me personally but I give you props for taking a shot at something creative and different. Obviously, some people really like it.

Shots of the iPod were excellent and really were fun.
 
The opening scene is interesting. Nice camerawork using that rig to shoot while driving. But the dialogue is.... not there for me. The worst part of this was the acting. I'm guessing they weren't professional actors? I couldn't sit through all of it, and so I started fast-forwarding. When I got to the IPod part I hit play again. That was definitely amusing.

I guess real actors could have done wonders to this one. I think they ruined what would otherwise have been a very clever short.
 
Dahopafilms said:
The licence plate - "The Guy". Very funny. Of course, if that's your real licence plate, I'm a little sad for you right now.
Click to expand...
hee hee... That is the plate on my van. Part of my business name. My other car has "THEATRE."

Thanks for watching and sharing your comments!


RebeccaD said:
Ted!!!! First of all, thanks so much for the credit. I was soo not expecting that! Wow! It was very fun to see this story come to life after having read over your script.
Click to expand...
Of course! I valued the script feedback... I just wished that I would have listened to it more! :)

Thank you for your critique and kuddos!


hoopman said:
The interior lighting of the van was really sweet.
Click to expand...
This comment is SO GREAT to hear (from you and from the others here that stated the lighting in the van) as it was my main focus of shooting this! To learn how to shoot in a car!

Thanks hoopman! Thanks for watching and commenting.


gabrielflorit said:
I guess real actors could have done wonders to this one. I think they ruined what would otherwise have been a very clever short.
Click to expand...
This is a real eye-opener for me. Thank you for stating this. This sinks home. I've read the comment several times in this thread and now I've got it!

Thank you, seriously, for watching and sharing your critique with me.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thank you all for your feedback!

-Ted
 
Last edited:
Hermn8r said:
Isn't that the thing from the infomercials that make margaritas faster than quick?!? Gotta lay off the sauce, man... gotta lay off the sauce.
Click to expand...

niiiiiiice.

yeah, the australian guy who shows off the blender? what a sweet infomercial.
 
I laughed out loud when I realized he was listening to the oh-so-overtly-spy music on his iPod. Nice reveal on that. The campy use of the iPod throughout was amusing, too. Thanks for the laugh! Now, when are we gonna meet in person? Oh, and off-topic, loved your lighting of Ute in Frozen River.
 
Hi Ted

Good to see you back in the fests! You're a real feature of these now.

I have to say at the end of the short we all went 'WTF?'... It didnt take itself too seriously and was pretty campy and cheesy; so it was good to see someone having fun with their premise. I too think the funny vibe could have worked better with real actors, but if your goal of this was to learn how to shoot/light inside the van then I think its mission accomplished.

Was he just a time traveller or supernatural being? or maybe I shouldnt ask and just accept he is Spy Master...

I have one of those ipods too but mine says

'Karl says he will enter the next fest'
'Karl announces film title and poster for the next fest'
'Karl gets busy and wonders if he'll get time to shoot for the fest'
'Karl withdraws from fest'
'Karl says he will enter the next fest'

loop to fade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top