.static Dramafest Entry

My Review: .static

My Review: .static

Alright... this is the 5th movie that i have watched so far this afternoon.... and this by far has outdone all those movies.

The bads:
- Lighting... was terrible. Very flat... It appeared like you put all the lights in one corner and hit them right at the character
- The opening scene - The performance was awful. I thought the dude could not act
- The shot compositions... Again very flat because you did not use them to build your drama...

Now, the goods:
- Good choice of actor.. Only in the second scene i realized this guy did a great job. He carried the movie forward
- Direction was good, in the sense, the fundamental or backbone of any film is the way a scene/scenes are staged. No matter how you film or cut it... the scene has to be right. Only your film, so far, i thought had the 'scene'.... I was able to stay glued to it. I could feel the drama.
- Editing was a plus
- Effects were a plus

From the picture Eric looks at, i gathered that he had a very good looking GF.

Good job dude. I really liked ur film
 
That was a cool short!

Your actor was strong! I was in the tip of my seat until the end. I am not easy.
You did a very good job at working with time in your movie... I felt the anciety to findout what was going to happen with him... something that 24 the show does really well.

I enjoyed the effects. Its crudeness works in favor to your story. Although nothing is really explained, I was kind of hooked into the character's concern.

I wish you did not narrate at the end his struggle to turn off the TV.. it was just not right.

I liked your movie a lot.

Best,
 
givemefood said:
Alright... this is the 5th movie that i have watched so far this afternoon.... and this by far has outdone all those movies.

The bads:
- Lighting... was terrible. Very flat... It appeared like you put all the lights in one corner and hit them right at the character
Click to expand...

Haha, pretty much what I did. Crap lights too. Good eye. But, like I said in an earlier thread, I was hoping that the flat lighting might work for the story, conveying a sort of "blah" feel. Sounds like an excuse, and it partly is. But I guess that didn't work.

givemefood said:
Now, the goods:
- Good choice of actor.. Only in the second scene i realized this guy did a great job. He carried the movie forward
- Direction was good, in the sense, the fundamental or backbone of any film is the way a scene/scenes are staged. No matter how you film or cut it... the scene has to be right. Only your film, so far, i thought had the 'scene'.... I was able to stay glued to it. I could feel the drama.
- Editing was a plus
- Effects were a plus

From the picture Eric looks at, i gathered that he had a very good looking GF.

Good job dude. I really liked ur film
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this short...

As others have stated, I thought the lighting was a little flat, but didn't take too much away for me.

I believe that your actor made this film work. Although he started out a little slow, I felt like he really got into character as the film progressed. He seems as if he could be molded into a solid actor given the right experience, instruction and time.

Your cinematography and editing was dead on!

Great work!
 
This short was weirdly good. I say weirdly good, because it had some real weaknesses (primarily sound and lighting), yet it really did escalate in tension, and the performance of the lead ended up being excellent. I think it's actually a great short that demonstrates some real talent over many short films that have superior production values but lack any of the heart or smarts demonstrated in Static. Add some production value and you're a filmmaker who can can probably get somewhere with your talent. I liked the concept a lot--very surreal--but I'm not sure I'd call it a "drama." Felt like a hybrid horror-sci-fi sorta thing.
 
sean90291 said:
This short was weirdly good. I say weirdly good, because it had some real weaknesses (primarily sound and lighting), yet it really did escalate in tension, and the performance of the lead ended up being excellent. I think it's actually a great short that demonstrates some real talent over many short films that have superior production values but lack any of the heart or smarts demonstrated in Static. Add some production value and you're a filmmaker who can can probably get somewhere with your talent. I liked the concept a lot--very surreal--but I'm not sure I'd call it a "drama." Felt like a hybrid horror-sci-fi sorta thing.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. I appreciate you looking beyond the obvious lack of production value. You work with what you have, and for me that's not always a whole lot.
 
hahaha! Great short! I felt like I was watching horrorfest all over again!

I enjoyed this simple yet powerful story. I say powerful because the ending made it so. I didn't expect this to be a powerful film as I was watching (not that I wasn't enjoying it), I just thought that it was going to be entertaining. But when he is IN the TV looking at himself, a powerful punch was thrown. It is vague and leaves the viewer guessing and drawing their own conclusion. I love that!

I thought that the acting was well done. It is not easy to have no one to perform off of. Your actor did great in keeping the story moving.

I like the camera work. I didn't love the lighting. Particularly when he goes to answer the door. There must have been 5 or 6 shadows of him on the wall! It's not easy, but I hope that you find ways in your future films to light a scene with a more diffused lighting scheme.

Anyway, great job! I really enjoyed your film.
 
This was such a great film! Nicely done acting. I especially liked his phone conversation with the cable company....we've all had frustrating moments and I could relate to his anger. I was on the edge of my seat and actually scared. I agree with Ted; I felt like it was Horrorfest, but that was fun to mix it up!!
 
Theodore J Arabian said:
I like the camera work. I didn't love the lighting. Particularly when he goes to answer the door. There must have been 5 or 6 shadows of him on the wall! It's not easy, but I hope that you find ways in your future films to light a scene with a more diffused lighting scheme.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I knew I was going to get called out big time for the lighting. I was pretty much a one man band, and didn't really have any lights to work with, so, it is what it is. Even if I did have proper lights, I'm not very well versed in how to use them. I need a DP. But anyway, thanks for watching.
 
Hmm, more moody lighting, create definition and a cinematic feel.




Edit : you know about the lighting so i'll go on to the rest of the flick.

The story was interesting, but the protagonist bought into the occurrence pretty easily - no phoning friends, taking apart the t.v, checking if neighbors had the same thing happen to their t.v.

Would have liked to seen this happen in the day (to mix it up) smoke the interior for atmosphere, and add another ten minutes to explore the whole script.

Thanks for making it, though. It was a nice change of pace from straight drama.

:beer:
 
Hi Ben. Congrats on a fun little film. Whilst I would say that I agree with a lot of the above comments regarding technical shortcomings (lighting, expositional dialogue, etc) there's still a vibe I enjoyed very much. It reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode I might have seen as a kid (and, more importantly, would have remembered).
Not sure if anyone else felt this way but I was laughing A LOT when the threats appeared. In fact, I thought it was the second funniest thing I've seen this fest. It was the combination of some guy sat drinking and feeling sorry for himself and the precise psychological torment of the tv message. Fantastic. In fact, you could cut the film at about 1m 15s and then shoot a new story and re-submit it for Comedy Fest! That's not an insult, by the way. It's the kind of humour us Brits appreciate.
Keep shooting. Look forward to seeing more work in the future.

BTW, although you don't really know me, you will know who I am if I mention that I had a rather unpleasant encounter with a large sack in Horrorfest...

And, in case you were wondering, NoMoney5U made me laugh the most!!
 
DVX-Ben said:
Yeah, I knew I was going to get called out big time for the lighting. I was pretty much a one man band, and didn't really have any lights to work with, so, it is what it is. Even if I did have proper lights, I'm not very well versed in how to use them. I need a DP. But anyway, thanks for watching.
Click to expand...
Hey man, that's why we make these films, right? Live, learn and to get better at it!

And true about the DP. I loved having one on TTN. My first film for horrorfest was a one-man effort and it was a lot of work. TOO much work.

Great job again. I really enjoyed the film and that's what matters.
 
I enjoyed the film. I enjoyed the premise. The sound during the emergency alert tripped me out.

Acting was totally aceptable. Nice job. There were some technical issues like background noise when changing from angle to angle, etc.

But I thought it was a nice effort. I can tell it wasn't a big production and what not, but I didn't care. It worked or me. Good work. Keep at it.

Jason
 
I really liked it Ben. I'm not sure I understand it yet but that's what I really liked about it. I'm gonna watch it again and see if I can pick up on anything new. Is the TV a passageway for the spirit? Is it a form of communication for the Grim Reaper? I don't know! I love that. Enlighten me if you want to. If not, then keep me thinking. Very creative film.

david jerome
 
Nice work Ben. I really liked the dialogue and acting during the phone call to the cable company. Great stuff. I think your lead did a great job. I liked the concept a lot. I had this whole story in my head from following your thread and when I watched it boy was I wrong, but in a good way. The sound design was really good. Your use of harsh tones and noises during certain scenes were great. They made things feel really unsettling. The lighting was a little rough but not to bad. The lighting in the living room where the lead was sulking seemed way to bright. It didn't match the mood. I liked the shot of him looking back on himself from the field. The FX of the screen was nicely done. Overall a great effort and I enjoyed watching it very much. I look forward to seeing more from you.
 
I wasn't sure what to think about this film at first. Initially I did not like it, but after it all absorbed into me I liked it. I did not like the scene where he gets pissed at the person on the phone. It made me hate the character. I loved how you put him out in the field and the way he looked at himself. That was far out. It burned into my memory. The actor, despite a few decision of the character (my personal taste), was really good.
 
Thanks a lot Aaron.

Aaron Marshall said:
I did not like the scene where he gets pissed at the person on the phone. It made me hate the character
Click to expand...

Well, I didn't necessarily want you to hate the character, but I did want that conversation to make him dislikable (at that moment).
 
The idea was money. I loved the end sequence -- get into more of that. It's Lynchian... the lighting in the kitchen was a little strange to me...
 
Nice horrorfest errrr dramafest entry:) liked it ..Loved the phone conversation

Other reviews have already said just about everything( I got pounded on lighting in my last fest entry) So I bought a 250W 3200k photobulb and some shop lights at home depot and it did wonders...


/product placement?
Picky people pick
Peter Pan Peanut-Butter,
'tis the peanut-butter
Picky people pick.
 
I see there has been different takes and ideas so far in the Fest and this was different to say the least.

I thought the actor fit the role just nice!!
I thought the ending was a nice touch with a Sci-Fi feel to it at the end .
At the moment I'm writting this from the top of my head as I watched yours (along with others ) late last night .

One scene I didn't like is when he hangs up on the TV staion and then he is the floor with the phone then he is standing without and back on the floor with phone . That sequence seemed a little off for me .

I enjoyed this despite some minor sound issues .
Question . Since I haven't read the other threads yet and I appologize if this has been asked ..Who was after him ?

His wife really didn't look like a killer But I was expecting her to be at the door maybe showing how Evil ( *****) she may have been . Eg: playing games , trying to make him a little crazy and then BANG!! When he opens the door .Well you fooled me ..lol
Having said all that , I like your approach on this and made it worth watching .
Ian
 
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