The Bedtime Story

Cur said:
I enjoyed it. The monster was truly scary. I also loved the opening/closing, it was unique yet it reminded me of something that would be in a late night television series. My only problem was the editing of the conversation that was already mentioned. It just felt weird and less "fluid" than the rest of the film.

overall excellent job.
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Thanks! The opening closing was kinda perilous, the jib I made was not long enough to make it to the roof so we climbed the roof and put the tripod at the edge near the gutter to get those shots. (Kids don't try at home) The jib was fun to make and use, I only wish I could have used it and the dolly I made more in this film. Maybe next time. Thanks for the review!
 
Edgen said:
Holy CRapolA! You scared the dark stuff from that little girl! I was oddly laughing, cause I'd probably do the same to my son when he's older. Make him be in a movie and then really bring some real stuff from him. :)

I loved how you actually had a monster and the monster was shown multiple times. Maybe one too many, but hey... who can resist that really cool slimy mouth shot with the teeth?

Thank you for sharing!
/j
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I should probably state again that actually scaring her was not my intention.... The footage turned out great though, and I wasn't about to put her through it again. I just used what I had, as it was highly affective... I'm still not convinced that she wasn't acting though... I only had a black glove from the costume on and my street clothes, I have no idea how that could create the response you see on screen; but it did. I think that when I told her to pretend she was scared she really got into it and created that response within herself. Either way it was truly chilling!
I agree that Alien slime is awesome, i had a lot of fun playing around with it and I intend to use it more in future films.
Thanks again!

Note:(She never saw the full getup, and even to this day, she hasn't seen the film)
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Having a little girl who is a little bit older than yours... this movie bothered me a bit. She was genuinely scared. :(

That aside, you moved that camera really well and your monster effects kicked butt.
Just remember, sound is half the battle. Or as Herman would say, 99%. :)
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The sound was a bit of trouble for me this time around. The new mixer combined with my mic had some issues and at the end of the day I probably would have been better off using the in-cam mic and fixing it from there.

I spent a great deal of time getting the monster how I wanted it, so I'm relieved that it was effective at the end of the day. Thanks!
 
You have one of the best monsters in the fest. If not, "the best." Horrific as hell. I would have died from a heart attack if I found that thing in my closet. The technical merit of the shooting, sound and titles are bit weak, but not enough to not lower this gem too far down the ladder. The girl looked really scared. Very believable in that sense, but the earlier angles did not capture enough of her fear and apprehension. What can I say - your monster knocked this one out of the park. Thanks!
 
You needed hell of a lot more J cuts and L cuts in this film. The back and forth rhythm really hurt the viewing experience. I really would have liked to see 2-3 more angles on the scene. Instead everything was done in closeup. Shot selection is integral in building tension.

That aside you had ultimately the BEST MONSTER of the entire fest.

I would have liked to have seen his journey getting back to the bedroom with the screams in the background. Instead its just fast cut that felt misplaced. Structure needs improvement in order to get the right amount of tension.

I don' think you need the fake ending and the "Bed time story" line just felt tacked on. The moment the monster emerges and we see it in full... THAT's your shot right there.

Instead we got a lot more monster shots which in the end lost efficacy because of overexposure. Work on your lighting as well. A lot of it was underlit as opposed to strategically lit to enhance the mood. Pay more attention to that kind of thing and you can increase your production value without too much effort.

Good showing though. Apart from those quibbles, a good entry.
 
Cool monster! Pretty scary. Short little story but seemed fun to work with. Good job with the little girl.
 
This short was a fun project. The little girl looked genuinely scared (I think she was hee hee).
The dialge editing was distracting, lots of pops and room noise coming in and out. Tip: Next time make sure to record 30 secs of room tone in each setup so you can have it underlining the film when you cut to another scene where there is no dialog or a reaction shot set.

I really think that if you go back in and smooth out the rough spots on the audio/dialog track you will elevate the entire production value quite a bit.

The father seemed to have some good acting chops and was drawing off of some true emotions in his earlier scenes with his daughter.

Fun stuff, thanks for sharing!
 
AmyO said:
Poor little thing! I'm just as curious as everyone else as to the making of the screaming scene. It is entirely possible she's a good little screamer and had fun doing it. My 9-year-old daughter could earn her college tuition by recording screams for movies. I just have to trust that you were gentle with her.
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Lol, sounds like you should get your daughter into movies! My daughters make a game of screaming at each other and breaking out in laughter when those screams become deafening. I think she probably just got into the scene and started to believe it herself, giving us that chilling scene!
Thanks AmyO
 
Great job on the film. Best monster...love the mouth shot. Classic story that I'm sure we can all relate to (frickin' closets). I remember waking late one night and seeing the shadow of my clothes tree (which had a hat on the very top)...I couldn't move from my bed! Scary stuff.

Congrats to all involved!
 
Awesome on the monster. Had a small issue with your vignettes, bit overdone. And shot composition was a bit here and there.

But you did scare. Well done on that. Anata no musume kowaisou! If I did that I may as well by the shovel myself.

Good job.
 
Amazing job!

Amazing job!

Honestly, I have to say I am extremely proud of Kory!!! and his cute little daughter she did a great job! :laugh:Especially with the camera shots and lighting. Every shot really tied everything together. Set the mood. Now where do i vote....
 
kalaylababe said:
Honestly, I have to say I am extremely proud of Kory!!! and his cute little daughter she did a great job! :laugh:Especially with the camera shots and lighting. Every shot really tied everything together. Set the mood. Now where do i vote....
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Lol, I think you have to have at least 50n posts to vote! thanks though.
 
Noel Evans said:
Awesome on the monster. Had a small issue with your vignettes, bit overdone. And shot composition was a bit here and there.

But you did scare. Well done on that. Anata no musume kowaisou! If I did that I may as well buy the shovel myself.

Good job.
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Lol, my wife thought it was pretty funny! But then again she may be demented.... So do you speak Japanese or did someone tell you that phrase?
Thanks again!
 
Marlon Ladd said:
Hey, Kory! I really enjoyed the film. The teeth were freakin' great and scary. You seem to be good and have a knack for bringing truly frightening stuff. My only minor critiques would be that I think you showed too much of the monsters face. The teeth I think would have been enough with the wide shot of the monster in the hood and then I wanted to see more OTS (over the shoulder) shots between the father and daughter. Other than that, the acting was good and kudos to the little girl. I also really dug the opening credits too BTW. Great to see you back. Nice work.
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I don't know what to say... Thanks man!
 
Blaine said:
I'm beginning to think this is ChildFest! :cheesy:

You did an excellent job on your monster and some great screams from the Megumi. Child in jeopardy always runs the risk of the cheap scare, though.

I thought the dialogue sounded a bit over processed. Sounds like you had a noise issue recording this.

Overall, you did a good job on this and it moved along quickly.
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yeah, my mic. mixer to cam didn't turn out so well! I tried to fix it in Soundtrack but there was too much noise, and it ended up overprocessed. On the plus side It sounds better than it did :cheesy: Glad you liked our monster!
 
jasonthewho said:
You were the dad, right? I think your performance was the strongest thing about this film for me.
The monster was really well done too. The end was strong all around.
You had some interesting camera angles, but that vignetting was too much. If you're going to use a vignette, you should use it just to darken the corners, not bring them all the way to black. Just drop the opacity on those garbage mattes, and that should help significantly.
The sound was weak for me. It should flow, and not feel like abrupt cuts between every piece of dialogue, sound effect, etc.
Enjoyed it overall though! Looking forward to seeing more from you!
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Thanks a lot! As for my part I think my acting was terrible ( I'm way too self-concious in front of the camera; I don't even like having my picture taken) I was really nervous, so I'm at least glad you disagree with me! :) The vignettes were a artistic decision, but I respect your input on the alternative.
 
Sprocketboy said:
You have one of the best monsters in the fest. If not, "the best." Horrific as hell. I would have died from a heart attack if I found that thing in my closet. The technical merit of the shooting, sound and titles are bit weak, but not enough to not lower this gem too far down the ladder. The girl looked really scared. Very believable in that sense, but the earlier angles did not capture enough of her fear and apprehension. What can I say - your monster knocked this one out of the park. Thanks!
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Thanks on the monster comments, I tried to portray bit in the most frightening way possible. I'm not afraid to admit either in the same situation It would have scared the $&^! out of me. I think that may be what makes aspects of all films impactful; that we draw on our own experiences and others can relate on some level so it has an effect on us, and while we can't always relate to everyone, some things or ideas are universal.
Thanks for checking it out!
 
Rodney V. Smith said:
You needed hell of a lot more J cuts and L cuts in this film. The back and forth rhythm really hurt the viewing experience. I really would have liked to see 2-3 more angles on the scene. Instead everything was done in closeup. Shot selection is integral in building tension.

That aside you had ultimately the BEST MONSTER of the entire fest.

I would have liked to have seen his journey getting back to the bedroom with the screams in the background. Instead its just fast cut that felt misplaced. Structure needs improvement in order to get the right amount of tension.

I don' think you need the fake ending and the "Bed time story" line just felt tacked on. The moment the monster emerges and we see it in full... THAT's your shot right there.

Instead we got a lot more monster shots which in the end lost efficacy because of overexposure. Work on your lighting as well. A lot of it was underlit as opposed to strategically lit to enhance the mood. Pay more attention to that kind of thing and you can increase your production value without too much effort.

Good showing though. Apart from those quibbles, a good entry.
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Thanks for the review and your insights, they are appreciated. Your ending idea I think would have worked well, (my last entry ended in that fashion) I wanted to try something new with this one, I also felt it needed some closure and (I kinda like the ending as it is). I appreciate the critcism on the technical aspects as well; dually noted. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Bed Time Story actually has some grizzly and interesting elements at work here - and its frustrating because there is some great little nastiness going on here - that is sometimes pee'd on as it were by marked inconsistencies.

First we have the Nikolodeon style title for spooksville or something - about a group of multiculural tweenies (of various abstract primary colours) hunting for haunted easter eggs or something.

But no.... no at all! Instead we are confronted by a man - 'a man' that not only ANY child would be terrified of, but most mammals and cellular based audiences.

If a creepy bald man in black was sitting next to be talking in a low monotone voice with unblinking eyes telling me not to get scared in bed, (then i'd tell Chris Keaton to go have a shower.) But honestly!!!

So that is actually the most terrifying monster in this fest there and then!

But wait! Theres more!

Our poor child is a great actress (my god at least i hope she was acting) and you werent just threatening her with the films of Questfest or anything!

While the story is uttterly simple - its quite clear that this abstract (visually too though we do go overkill on vignette) has something different going on anyway. I like to think of a Lovecraftian influence and if thats not intended then it has certainly permeated from the miasma of popular culture to influence your monster depiction!

It's great, i think a slight occult subtext - in scene building, something to hint at something 'infernal' to suggest ever so slightly that we go 'er' - that this father and child relationship is anything but benovelent may lend the film greater purpose and dread.

As its stands, its a dark little ditty.
 
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