The Circle - deedive

I'm a little slow, so the twist went over my head. Any clues would be appreciated.

I liked the score and it's dreadful tone. I didn't understand why the lady walked to her door? Did she hear something that I didn't?

I liked the framing, but the lighting was too dark for my taste. The lighting in your stills is excellent. Did you lower the pedestal or do some post correction on it?
 
interesting. on my screen the screenshots are darker then the video. the screens where taken command+3 right out of FCP.

Did u watch the movie with quicktime player?
 
Originally i wanted to do this idea in flash or dvd. so i could have the titles in the beginning so that u would only see the titles once and the loop would be after.

Here are some of the ideas i had for title. Which include the shots we got for the title sequence.

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I loved this. The twist is really cool, and I had to watch it twice to get it, which in this case didn't bother me. "Figuring it out" is sort of part of the fun. And when you do, you get sort of an "aha" moment. Intelligent, thoughtful, thought-provoking. I could watch more films by you, without a doubt.
 
The download took so long that I came back and read some posts while waiting and they blew the surprise for me. Oh well. Cool idea though. Me thinks you like to see feet walking down stair cases ;)
 
Deedive you have a thing for the cyclical event! :-) But here you took it to a really interesting place, and actually used the medium to be part of the piece.

I think that elevates it above a typical short film, almost the kind of piece I'd expect to see in an art exhibition. Since 'check' I was hoping you'd provide one of the better films of the festival and I think you did.

Very refreshing.
 
Cool. I just saw this. You definitely got me and didn't see the "twist" coming (pun intended). Finally someone found a great use for the loop feature.

Hope to see more inventive stuff from deedive and dvpixl in the future. (So it was the lack of titles that DQ'd it is what I understand?).
 
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I loved it!

It's like a Lost Highway halloween prank :D

The dutch angles in the camera work look really great (but hey, I'm Dutch :grin:), used in a subtle way, and I thought that the score was very effective (Justin > Great work, man! - Is that Cubase's Embracer synth btw? :))
 
Darkline said:
Deedive you have a thing for the cyclical event! :-) But here you took it to a really interesting place, and actually used the medium to be part of the piece.

I think that elevates it above a typical short film, almost the kind of piece I'd expect to see in an art exhibition. Since 'check' I was hoping you'd provide one of the better films of the festival and I think you did.
Very refreshing.
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THx, your film "Halfway" was one of my favorite from all dvxuser fest. I dont know, i keep doing the circular stories. we will see how the next one goes. Do u have any new films in the works. can i see.:)

Cool Lights said:
Hope to see more inventive stuff from deedive and dvpixl in the future. (So it was the lack of titles that DQ'd it is what I understand?).
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yeah that was the reason for the DP. but since i have the title sequence on the 11th page i should be ok now. lol jokin


Herman Witkam said:
I loved it!
It's like a Lost Highway halloween prank :D
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Thank. lost highway is one of my favorite movies. thnx again

your work in a little mouth to feed was fantastic!

Maximus said:
Very clever. Well put together.
Look forward to your next one.
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I'm look forward to another one too. i wonder what the next fest will be.
 
This one worked a lot better in theory than in practice. It fell a bit flat for me because the setup didn't put me where I needed to be for this to work. When this started over I found it more disappointing that "a-ha!" and I think a little more work on the setup would have sucked me in deeper and put me on the edge of my chair...a place I wasn't at.

The concept, though, was unique compared to all the other entries. I'd love to see you take some time after the fest, go back and remake this with a more engaging setup.
 
deedive, theres a movie i just saw on showtime called REEKER, a straight to video sort of movie. However it actually has very high production value, is shot well and has some nice effects. its horror, and its pattern is circular so it reminded me of your work.
go check it out, the movie starts off great, gets lost in the middle, but has a cool ending
reminiscent of our stuff.
 
Blaine said:
This one worked a lot better in theory than in practice. It fell a bit flat for me because the setup didn't put me where I needed to be for this to work. When this started over I found it more disappointing that "a-ha!" and I think a little more work on the setup would have sucked me in deeper and put me on the edge of my chair...a place I wasn't at.

The concept, though, was unique compared to all the other entries. I'd love to see you take some time after the fest, go back and remake this with a more engaging setup.
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interesting, when u say "more engaging setup" do u mean scarier? more peril? more backstory? dont exactly understand. interesting comment. and thanx for the input.

Defcon said:
deedive, theres a movie i just saw on showtime called REEKER, a straight to video sort of movie. However it actually has very high production value, is shot well and has some nice effects. its horror, and its pattern is circular so it reminded me of your work.
go check it out, the movie starts off great, gets lost in the middle, but has a cool ending
reminiscent of our stuff.
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yeah, i gotta work on my middles.
this reeker. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0393635/
I'll look for it. :)
 
I guess I never felt her peril. Particularly, if she was terrified enough to drop the candy but still left the safety of her apartment to investigate. For me, the endless time loop left me a bit flat.

As I said, you had one of the more interesting concepts. I would have liked to seen more done with it. On the other hand, one actor and an apartment makes it easy as far as low budget goes.
 
I too was slow in figuring this one out.

It was not until I read some of this thread that I realized what I was seeing. Very clever ! Very effective and very fun. At first, when it re-started, I was like 'Huh ? That's it?' But it was not it !

Genius !

Technical comments:

I found the contrast off and wonder if this was a MAC/PC thing ? Was it a choice ? I think bringing the levels up (Using my Scopes as a guideline help it out a bit more:

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Overall, I found your camerawork pleasant. Most of the compostions seemed just right for the mood you were setting. No need for Post effects to ramp up the imagery or distort it. It just felt contemporary in a good way.

I got waaay thrown off when you crossed the line; at one point she is above the stairwell in the hallway and then the camera moves onto the stairs and we are seeing her walk 'stage left'

If this was intentional, I think it really broke the rule hard and did not work at all.

I loved that you stayed mainly with locked down shots but actually would have liked to have seen all of this way; the hand-held look tends to not mix well IMO. I see a lot of folks doing this; mixing hand-held and sticks. I don't know. It does not feel motivated, but lazy.

I also see many many many shorts NOT moving the camera while on the tripod. I'll keep preaching until someone gets it; panning and tilting are great visual techniques and no one ever seems to use them.

Overall; I really enjoyed this. Another film that shows what the imagination can do and that simplicity can be creepy and fun.

One of my favs so far.
 
Blaine said:
if she was terrified enough to drop the candy but still left the safety of her apartment to investigate.
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ok, i see your point. Yes, i thought alot about that part, dont know how well i succeeded, thinkin about how terrified u would be if you saw yourself on the other side of the peephole. How much of u would be scared and how much of you would think "nah, i didnt see what i just saw. it was a reflection or something"

hmmmm, tryin to convey that was tricky. Also wondering how to work a 3 act story to infinity. Tryin to put as many little things in so u dont get bored right away.

thnx again for your comments.
 
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