"The Robin" A 500 cuts Picture
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chris f
Veteran
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: Interior shots looked great as well as the camera POV and the photos. Intro was great. Really liked the composite of the smoke on the exterior walking shot.
Not as Good: What was the ending? The guy has a family, but what happens to him? Didn't like that the whole film was voice over. The graveyard exterior shots didn't have the same high production quality as the interiors.
Good: Interior shots looked great as well as the camera POV and the photos. Intro was great. Really liked the composite of the smoke on the exterior walking shot.
Not as Good: What was the ending? The guy has a family, but what happens to him? Didn't like that the whole film was voice over. The graveyard exterior shots didn't have the same high production quality as the interiors.
Dr.Cyclops
New member
Nice work gentlemen. Now if you could just work some boobs in there...
Shawn Philip Nelson
Veteran
Wow! Amazing gents, truly. The story was good, the acting solid, but the cinematography was outstanding! Possibly the best of the fest.
The ending of the movie felt incomplete, I'd love to see a version that had even the slightest bit of resolution.
But in all, amazing stuff here.
The ending of the movie felt incomplete, I'd love to see a version that had even the slightest bit of resolution.
But in all, amazing stuff here.
ripupthehwy
Well-known member
Yeah I too just didn't get it..at all. Maybe I'm just too dense. lol
Nice shots though.
Nice shots though.
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
500Cuts said:
LOL! I almost spit Coke all over my laptop after that one.
500Cuts said:
Thanks for reminding me. I have really become a fan of adding smoke to rooms, especially when there is light coming through windows and such. I find that it diffuses things just a bit, and gives it less of a hard line digital look. As for the color correction, it was completed in Premiere pro 2, with the use of one, or a combination of the RGB color corrector, Luma corrector, and fast color corrector. We shot pretty flat, and then added the contrast in later. Also, our settings were pretty neutral, except for some detail adjustments which helped reduce noise. I also stuck with the white balance presets. For the intro garage scenes I was on the daylight preset.
Dr.Cyclops
New member
Is that the before and after post?
Shawn Philip Nelson
Veteran
Sweet! I likey. Who did the post colorizing? Was that you Patrick?
Hey Shawn, how's the voice? I did indeed do the color correction. I used the color correction filters that are built into Premiere pro, and pretty much just timed them according to what my vision for the final shots were. I then sent them over to Co, who made suggestions, and then we tweaked them from there. The before and afters that you see above are refering to the before coming straight from the camera, and the after being after the color correction- as you can see in the last set of stills, our smoke comp is in there, and so this was corrected after we got the shot from our compositor Loren Judah. As you can see, we shot the footage pretty flat and pretty warm to give us the most to play with in post. I have found that it is easier to cool footage in post than to warm it up. Thanks for the comments, keep em' coming. In the near future I'll post up some comparison shots of a weird filter anomoly that we had in relation to the grey camera bag. Thanks!
cinealma
Veteran
Best of the fest... until you killed the little boy.
One of my favorites. For the first 30 seconds, I thought the VO was going to kill it for me, but then it kicked in and played like a James Ellroy piece. VO dialogue meshed with the cuts well and really kept it moving.
But the kid thing bothered me. Suggestion would be good. Actually showing it, not so good. Yes, you went to black and didn't show little arms and legs all over the place, but it was close enough. I have children so maybe it's just me personally.
I think it would have been a lot more effective if you would have ended the film on the pan to the teddy bear on the workbench. Then you're kind of hinting at what's to come. A LOT more powerful and I think would work better for the film. DISTURBING. Disturbing is good. Bothersome is not. I liked this guy. I want to still like him at the end... somewhat.
Just my opinion.
Fantastic job. Thanks for screening.
One of my favorites. For the first 30 seconds, I thought the VO was going to kill it for me, but then it kicked in and played like a James Ellroy piece. VO dialogue meshed with the cuts well and really kept it moving.
But the kid thing bothered me. Suggestion would be good. Actually showing it, not so good. Yes, you went to black and didn't show little arms and legs all over the place, but it was close enough. I have children so maybe it's just me personally.
I think it would have been a lot more effective if you would have ended the film on the pan to the teddy bear on the workbench. Then you're kind of hinting at what's to come. A LOT more powerful and I think would work better for the film. DISTURBING. Disturbing is good. Bothersome is not. I liked this guy. I want to still like him at the end... somewhat.
Just my opinion.
Fantastic job. Thanks for screening.
500Cuts
Member
The idea is that you think you're following a good guy until you find out you're not. In fact, Nick, the guy playing the Robin, was sensitive about the ending as well. I told him to imagine that he's installing a self-extracting storm tent in the bear to protect the boy from the lightning. :laugh:
But yeah, don't imagine child parts all over the playground. It didn't go down that way. We're sensitive people! The whole idea is that this is a cliffhanger. You're like "Oh no! Not Jackson and his son!" But in the next episode, we see Jackson detect the bomb and chuck it. The Robin was too confident and left the scene before witnessing the actual carnage. The next episode is from Jackson's perspective. I have six parts written out.
Then again, half the people who watch it don't get the ending, so they're not disturbed. So to sum up... I'm glad you understood the ending, but I'm sorry it ruined the movie for you. I was thinking about putting a "The End... or is it?" kind of thing at the end, but it kinda made the movie too whimsical, and made the ending less concrete... which it isn't anyway, but the audience isn't supposed to know that, yet. You know?
Thanks for the feedback.
Co.
cinealma
Veteran
Cool. Then I will look forward to the continuing saga! :thumbsup:
Was there an explosion sound when you cut to black? That's pretty definite. And the editing, the music, kind of builds it to a point where something definite could happen. The explosion makes me feel like the kid is dead. I think the cliffhanger might play better, if you want to take it all the way to the point you did, if you cut to black without the explosion.
CUT TO BLACK - EXPLOSION - "Oh no, he killed the kid, what a ****ing asshole!" doesn't really spell cliffhanger for me. Will I tune in next week? Don't know. Kind of ended in a real bummer.
"Oh ****! He's going to kill a kid!" - CUT TO BLACK - NO EXPLOSION - "Or will he?" That's a cliffhanger. And I'm on pins and needles until I see the next episode. And I HAVE to tune in!
Anyway, that's just what would work for me.
I like the concept as a series, and I REALLY like the fact that the first person you latch onto is NOT the hero. As a viewer, you've been duped, BUT IN A COOL ****ING WAY!
Was there an explosion sound when you cut to black? That's pretty definite. And the editing, the music, kind of builds it to a point where something definite could happen. The explosion makes me feel like the kid is dead. I think the cliffhanger might play better, if you want to take it all the way to the point you did, if you cut to black without the explosion.
CUT TO BLACK - EXPLOSION - "Oh no, he killed the kid, what a ****ing asshole!" doesn't really spell cliffhanger for me. Will I tune in next week? Don't know. Kind of ended in a real bummer.
"Oh ****! He's going to kill a kid!" - CUT TO BLACK - NO EXPLOSION - "Or will he?" That's a cliffhanger. And I'm on pins and needles until I see the next episode. And I HAVE to tune in!
Anyway, that's just what would work for me.
I like the concept as a series, and I REALLY like the fact that the first person you latch onto is NOT the hero. As a viewer, you've been duped, BUT IN A COOL ****ING WAY!
500Cuts
Member
I totally see what you're saying, but I also like those old 50's serials where the truck drives off the ridge and explodes. Or you see his hand slip and hear the final cry (or see the freeze frame!). Then you're like "He's gone for sure!" But next episode, they kinda cheat and show you that he jumped clear before the truck went off the ridge, or he grabs a branch that was right below him.
Maybe putting Milo (young Jackson) in there is so distressing that people can't get the image of the innocent child out of their heads when the explosion happens. The implications are too dire! But that's my point! The explosion happens in the black so we don't know what happened. When the next episode begins, the first scene is Jackson dodging the bullet in bear-bomb form. Right?
Anyway, just explaining a little bit of where I'm coming from. Glad it stirred you to start the discussion and not just write me off as a child-hating sicko! :shocked:
Co.
I honestly thought I'd commented on your film before now. I feel so ashamed, being a fellow PDXer and all. I really enjoyed this film, it was very well put together, engaging, and you handled the VO nicely. As with "Imprint," this film marries the VO and visuals with the right balance so that it isn't intrusive or comes across as a way to cover a weak plot. The actor has a great voice, too, which helps.
The impending doom of the kid didn't bother me, really. I accepted that these were not-so-nice guys and sometimes innocents get in the way. As a parent, though, I'm glad to hear you didn't intend to kill the kid.
The only place I felt this film stumbled is the cemetery scene. I felt there was too much time between when The Robin realized he was "made" and when he left. Visually, it looked like he was still trying to decide if Jackson saw him, but the VO clearly indicated that he knew he was spotted.
Great CC work, too. Thanks for posting the before and after stills. It's always interesting to see where someone started and where they end up.
The impending doom of the kid didn't bother me, really. I accepted that these were not-so-nice guys and sometimes innocents get in the way. As a parent, though, I'm glad to hear you didn't intend to kill the kid.
The only place I felt this film stumbled is the cemetery scene. I felt there was too much time between when The Robin realized he was "made" and when he left. Visually, it looked like he was still trying to decide if Jackson saw him, but the VO clearly indicated that he knew he was spotted.
Great CC work, too. Thanks for posting the before and after stills. It's always interesting to see where someone started and where they end up.