The Small Multiple

pia12254 said:
By the way...when do you sleep!?!? :shocked:
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He doesn't really sleep on any schedule...Mark is the king of the power nap. And he can literally take them ANYWHERE, including behind the wheel of his Prius...:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
I kinda thought as much! I imagine he puts some of the younger guys to shame with the pace he keeps.

Man, I seriously need to find my own "The Dude"....

"Ok, Dude. I just finished the script. When I wake up tomorrow we need to have the film funded, cast and locations locked. Night!" :beer:
 
Cool story. It was right on for Time Fest.

The special effects were well done. The camera shake effect was a nice touch.

The shot selection really held my attention. Music and audio were good throughout.

Thanks for showing.
 
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SPOILER

A not so quick question about the story, Say "world falling apart" is A, and the "happy world" is B. In world B where his wife ends up, who is the husband? Same guy as in A, I understand that, but how does he know the woman who just "appeared" in his arms? Or what happened to his wife that grew up in world B?

(Typing this I'm really feeling like a cult film nerd)
 
That's a good question...hmm... :evil:

I think Don, who wrote the script, has a better understanding of how all of this might "theoretically" work. I'll see if I can get him on here to give his thoughts on the matter. It is something I thought through and discussed at great length with my co-producer just for the sake of it...interesting quandary.

My thought would be that there are an infinite number of parallel universes to choose from (this is explained beautifully in the dialogue that Don wrote that we unfortunately had to cut due to time constraints). So, in theory, the guy in World B was simultaneously working on something similar where the result was he and Cathy being together. He just doesn't know that it is the Cathy from the parallel universe World A. Don't know if that makes sense or not...that's just my justification! :thumbsup:

If someone else has a better theory I would love to hear it as this type of thing fascinates me!

Ciao.
 
Gohanto,

I'll try to answer your question about what happens to Cathy.... though a serious philosophy wonk would surely be better at it than I.

The idea behind Frank's invention, The Selector, is based on actual discoveries in various branches of science: 11-dimensional space, the brain as quantum computer, and most importantly, the idea of an infinite number of universes existing in parallel with our own. I didn't have to make up any of this.

My speculation comes into play with the idea that Frank could achieve some sort of insight, some cosmic epiphany, by observing the emotions on Cathy's face, captured in photographs taken over time. By approaching these photos as graphical data (a small multiple) Frank's insight lets him understand how to build The Selector, which uses the brain's quantum states to flip people into any desired parallel universe. Pure hokum, but it makes a cool story.

It's important to understand the real weight of the phrase, "infinite number of universes." Humans have a hard time with enormous numbers. The age of the earth, the number of species on the planet, the distance to the nearest galaxy... these numbers, though measurable, are so vast that few people can really get their heads around them. Now try dealing with the idea of INFINITE. You're talking about an ENDLESS multitude of possibilities, each one separated by a degree of subtlety so small that we can never grasp it. Frank couldn't. That's where he slipped up.

Because of Frank's error (he shoulda done all the math, dammit), Cathy ends up in a universe that's not the same one where Frank went during his test. Instead, she ends up in a universe where the physics permitted another Frank to make the jump with her, at the same moment. So, Cathy A ends up with Frank B. And neither one of them will ever have any idea that anything went wrong. In all other respects, The Selector worked as planned. Frank A, unfortunately, gets left behind, with only booze and static on the radio for company.

At least, that's what I had in mind. Hope this helps! Now I need a drink....

Don Riemer
 
Thanks guys!

Pauly, I hope you guys are getting more views/comments..."Survival" was an amazing film in my opinion! If anyone reads this and has not watched it...go watch it!

Rogan, we need to work together sometime! I think the laughter would do me some good...and Waco is not that bad of a drive! :D

Thanks Stylz! Did you have a film in the competition or are you just viewing/commenting? Either way, thank you so much for watching it and I am glad you "Loved, loved, loved" it! :)

Daniel
 
I agree with you on Survival. What a trip. Nice of you to make that comment. I'm recommending it to my friends and acquaintances too.

I watched The Small Multiple again this morning and found it even more engaging. Brilliant work on so many counts. I am extremely impressed by your talents and those of your cast/crew. I really connected emotionally to the story and found myself wandering down to get coffee (I was staying at a Hilton) just so I could ponder the story again. Not often can you say that about a short. There are several films here that have achieved so much and this is certainly one of them. Congrats.
 
I thought I understood it the first time through, but all the "explaining" on this thread has got me second-guessing myself.

I didn't feel any sort of need to explain how Frank B knew who the woman was, I kinda took it like "The Prestige" POTENTIAL SPOILERS, BEWARE with Hugh Jackman's character, with both the "clone" and the "original" being exactly the same. But the science, the "how-does-it-work," didn't matter to me. What mattered was that shot of Frank, sitting dejectedly in his work space, with the brilliant voiceover, and you feel how alone and miserable the dude is.

Visually, great, the editing "felt" right, and the performances from the actors were definitely in the top 5 of the fest for me.
 
WOW... this one rocks! I loved this film on every level. I still can't believe you made such a complex story reveal in 6 minutes... I feel like I just watched a feature! (...and I can't wait to see the feature) Excellent cinematography, acting and score.

This one is an easy 10 in my book! Congratulations to this talented cast & crew.
 
The acting was the best! A testiment to the writing and directing too, no doubt.

I loved the lab scenes at night. The blues were fantasticly yummy.

You had some vignetting going on there, and I thought it really worked for the most part, especially the intro, but, it didn't work so well for me in the dialog scenes.

Special effects were awesome. The story and script and acting and directing and cinematography and music and sound design was awesome too, now that I think of it.

10 stars, Easy-
 
I like the off voice of the main character, the green eyes of the actress and the little golden cube as a special effect. Above all I loved your elements of coloured light: blue and green when he is alone and speaks with his own and daylight when there is his wife/girlfriend like a metapher for: blue/green light = the past/negativ/something dead, daylight = the future/positiv/the life. It reminds me to the Peter Greenaway film "The cook, the thief, his wife & her lover.
This was a very nice work. I appreciated it so much. A lot of compliments!

Susanne
 
Hey everyone!

First of all, I have to admit that all of the comments are SUPER encouraging to me! After I finished the editing and was getting ready to send it off to Herman and Brad for music and sound design I felt like it had not turned out as well as I had wanted. I didn't know if the editing was too boring or too sporadic. I didn't know if people would get the story...and on and on! :)

But after hearing you guys are following the plot and relating to what the character is feeling that is super rewarding! I think it is much more a testament to the people who worked on the film (actors, crew, writer, DP, Brad, Herman, etc.) than it is to anything I did. The old adage about surrounding yourself with people who are better than you is very, very true in this industry!!!

:) Mark, can't believe we got a second comment and even a second viewing from you!!! We are honored. :)

Dopey, I appreciate your comparison to "The Prestige"...I think sometimes I overthink how much the audience will analyze a story during a first viewing. I guess if the story is interesting and the characters believable the little "technicalities" matter as much. Glad you liked the editing! *Daniel stops crying and starts to smile* :D

ABSteel and ZaZa, thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!

Yeehaanow, the vignetting...ah yes. Uhm...we used the Redrock M2 which we have used before but this time we added the Flip to it. And apparently we did not have it set up quite correctly. It became more noticeable when we CC the film.

Regarding the color correction I attempted to do it in Apple Color. Being the first time I have tried to use it for a project there was a huge learning curve and I think I pushed some of it way too far. But I am glad the various "looks/worlds" worked for at least some of the viewers! Sweet!

I love you guys!!! :love4:

Thanks for watching,

Daniel :)
 
Cinematography!!!!!!! WOW!!! This looked very nice and the acting worked for the most part for me. The thing that threw me was the story. I did not understand how her sickness would be made better somewhere else. It sucked for him later and that confused me too. I am sure you explained it so I will read the above posts to find answers. Good effect at the end. Great accomplishment!
 
When I first saw the frame grabs for The Small Multiple, I remember thinking "this film looks like it's going to be exactly the kind of thing I like." And sure enough, I loved it. Aesthetically, it's beautiful -- the lab equipment, the dials, the lights, the tubes, the knobs, the superconductor prop -- great stuff, and all filmed beautifully.

Of course, I have quite a few storyline questions (most of which have already been asked by others). But somehow the plot in this film is almost secondary to the mood that you've created -- similar the the kind of feeling I'd get when watching Pi or Primer. That feeling of scientific discovery.

I love stories that are grounded in reality but have elements of fantasy. To me, the cool thing about the Small Multiple is that we get to a very intimate look at how a remarkable invention changes two people's lives. The result is solid sci-fi mixed with equally solid drama.

Definitely one of my favorites. Congratulations!
 
Loved this film. Great production design, great music, great writing, great story.

I liked the lead actor's look more when he was scruffy. I might have left him scruffy the whole movie, although I understand exactly why you didn't.

The only thing that bothered me at all was the vignetting that's already been discussed, but that's minor.

I'd love to drive up to Dallas to work on your next one, if you'll let me.
 
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