"The Sequence" - pastywhiteboy

wcs: thanks for the positive comments! It's always appreciated... it's just good to know that people are watching this one since it was next to last on the download list. More people should post that they watched it just to set my mind at ease! :)
As for the metaphor thing, I had a facination with reading about the MK Ultra, on of the most well known of many government mind control projects that took place back in the 50's and 60's. It's interesting to find out that thousands of unwitting citizens, soldiers, etc. were given doses of different experimental drugs for the sake of finding mind control methods.
So, that being said, I guess the idea for the film is loosly based around that, but of course a bit more modernized version of it. So the cool thing with this film is that you can watch it one of two ways... this is a guy who is actually under mind control and is trying to find the trigger to his mind control - which is in the phone. Or, this is a guy who has gone through some sort of trauma (possibly military based, but not necessarily) and is literally going insane.

Anyway, thanks again for the comments! Keep em' comin'!

-pastywhiteboy
 
I guess I'm repeating what others say, but I hope you like to hear it. I loved the camera moves, the lighting and the rythm of the piece. Great. One of my favourites.

The only little thing for me is the first man to die, who is not very surprised with the shot in his chest. A minor personal appreciation, though.

You'll be up there!

Pablo
 
pabloabad: thanks for watching and thanks for the compliments! As for that guy in the parking lot... unfortunately, we only had two takes and one of them wasn't usable due to technical issues.
Thanks again for the comments!

-pastywhiteboy
 
Hi - Good work -

This was shot well, and I liked the color correction. The score didn't do it for me and I found my mind wandering away from the story until the part where he says "click click". Maybe if you'd used the score more to accent what was going on in the story, it would have been easier to pay attention than with that wandery piano. Once I began really paying attention to VO again toward end, I liked what I was hearing as far as acting is concerned. Good job.
 
Hey, this is really nice work. Good looking, good sound, pretty solid acting. In terms of the story, I kinda wondered why he didn't just toss the damn phone, but I suppose I can forgive obsessives their logical lapses. ;) Really liked the timing at the end. Wasn't huge on the score, but it was used well, so that's really just taste. Really looking forward to whatever you do in the future.
 
I loved the music which blended so well with the storyline. I liked the beginning especially it reminded me of a fairytale my mum used to read to me, until it got close up.

I liked the idea that it ended with the beginning sequence. And although alot of the films had a 'shot in the head' killing, this was one of the calmest.

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
 
conrad johnson: thanks. Yeah, the score was the one thing we had the least amount of time to dedicate towards. We did the best with what we had and I think it turned out ok, but I certainly think it could've been better. Thanks for the comments!

Z B Brox: thanks for the compliments. Hah, we thought the same thing while writing this. It is supposed to come across better that he doesn't even realize that he is actually killing people until the second one when he "feels the warmth of the blood"... that brings him to realization. Then, he doesn't realize that he is being triggered by the phone until the third killing. At that point, he decides he has to rip his phone apart to see if he can find the source... that's where the film starts and of course is intertwined with those "flashbacks". Hope that makes sense!
Thanks for the compliments and glad you enjoyed it!

iSTy: thanks and I'm glad you caught the sense of symmetry in the film. We thought it fitting to integrate a sense of "sequence" into the entire film. I was disappointed that so many films ended with people killing themselves, although I do fill that ours is one of the few that it actually makes sense with the story. Thanks again for the comments!

-pastywhiteboy
 
pastywhiteboy says: "I was disappointed that so many films ended with people killing themselves, although I do fill that ours is one of the few that it actually makes sense with the story."

That's what I liked about it. The entire film was calm. So when he killed himself that's why I felt it was the calmest suicide.
 
Lots of things married well in this piece for me.

The only thing that struck me odd was the lack of muzzle flash - but then again I explained that away to it all being a dream... so it really didn't matter in the end.

Nice job.

EJ
 
Hi - I watched your video again to check out your editing - well deserved! The editing was great - everything was very natural and flowed well. Beginning to end, this felt like the best "package" of all the videos posted.
 
conrad_johnson: well why didn't you watch it again before the voting?! Just kidding! I really appreciate the compliments and I'm really glad that people are enjoying this film. Hopefully my team and I will have an entry in the Hero Fest as well and I'm going to go ahead and guarantee that it will blow you away (I know, risky statement!). Congratulations on the sound design award!
Thanks again for all the kind words and votes, everyone. Thanks Jarred for the sweet contest. Congratulations to all the other winners!

-pastywhiteboy
 
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badassmofro said:
Cool visuals and great editing. But was this really sci-fi?
Click to expand...

If by sci-fi you mean involving the typical aspects like time travel, space exploration, mutation, or aliens, then no it's not sci-fi. If by sci-fi you mean using technology to trigger mind control in an unwitting subject, then it is definitely sci-fi. I suppose that sort of stuff could really be happening, but who knows? Depends on how many conspiracy theories you believe.

Anyway, I have no doubt that it qualifies as sci-fi in my mind, but it definitely is subtle and unconventional... but for me that just solidifies what we were going.

Thanks for the kind comments!

-pastywhiteboy
 
It's funny how people's definitions of what "sci-fi" is vary. I wonder how many people realize that movies like A Clockword Orange are, in essence, much more "sci-fi" than Star Wars. If flashy tech was all sci-fi was, James Bond would be sci-fi. But really, sci-fi should have some scientific advancement as central to the plot and themes. When it comes down to that, Star Wars is more about magic than science. It's a fantasy in science fiction clothing.
 
TheMacB said:
pasty, i LOVED your film! it was #1 on my list tied with Signal Decay. Great job!
Click to expand...

TheMacB, thanks! It seemed that we came up with something that people either loved or just plain ol' didn't like... not too much in between. Glad you enjoyed it so much, though! I really enjoyed A Brief Case as well. Loved the set!

-pastywhiteboy
 
Nice job pasty and congrats on the edit award! You need to teach me some of your techniques.

I loved your film and can't wait to see what you throw at us for hero fest.

old'G out.
 
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