"The Spear" - NJ Film School

It was well done I thought, I will admit I wasnt as drawn into the story as I would have liked. But defiantly well filmed however! :)
 
Ryan P. Kelly said:
Loved it Chris!
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Thanks a lot! I'm looking forward to watching yours.

JaceBrownlow said:
It was well done I thought, I will admit I wasnt as drawn into the story as I would have liked. But defiantly well filmed however! :)
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Any problems with the story are on me (I wrote the thing) and I was channeling some of my childhood.

But, the look was all my students as they were the crew. I'm very proud of them and I will definitely pass along your compliments.
 
Quick Review:

I thought this was well set up. Who can honestly say they didnt think the result would be less than a spear through the guts? Chris I liked the theme you guys touched on here and the underlying message.

Well done again NJ Film School students - you guys put together a fluent, watchable story and that's not an easy thing to pull off.
 
Noel Evans said:
Quick Review:

I thought this was well set up. Who can honestly say they didnt think the result would be less than a spear through the guts? Chris I liked the theme you guys touched on here and the underlying message.

Well done again NJ Film School students - you guys put together a fluent, watchable story and that's not an easy thing to pull off.
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Thank you so much! I wanted to try a different take on war and with no first hand experience, I instantly thought back to my childhood. I'm so glad you liked it.

My students (both cast and crew) worked really hard on it and it's so much fun to see them grow as filmmakers. I'll be sure to pass along your compliments.

Chris_Keaton said:
Another cutesy film. This really made me smile at the end. Good job!
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Thanks a lot! I'm glad the ending worked for you. My first draft ending was much darker, but this felt more honest to me (and was a hell of a lot easier to shoot). :)
 
Good production value for sure. Props to your students for that.

Story wise, it was good, and I was into it, but it felt like it ended a bit prematurely for me... like I was still waiting for the final act. The denouement. It was like, we hit the climax, and then were like "I'm bored. The end." So, it left me wanting for a bit more. Not sure what, though... Maybe a little more of a resolve... a little convo between them as they were on their way home to kind of tie up the lesson there or something...
 
I liked the way the entire film brought itself around. I definitely had a sinking feeling in my stomach until the end. I also give you props for doing this work with child actors, I have a hard enough time with adults.
 
Jason Ramsey said:
Good production value for sure. Props to your students for that.

Story wise, it was good, and I was into it, but it felt like it ended a bit prematurely for me... like I was still waiting for the final act. The denouement. It was like, we hit the climax, and then were like "I'm bored. The end." So, it left me wanting for a bit more. Not sure what, though... Maybe a little more of a resolve... a little convo between them as they were on their way home to kind of tie up the lesson there or something...
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Great review and I agree about the ending. If I could change anything, I would add a few more shots there.

Gulroc said:
I liked the way the entire film brought itself around. I definitely had a sinking feeling in my stomach until the end. I also give you props for doing this work with child actors, I have a hard enough time with adults.
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Thanks a lot. I'm glad you dug it.

I know what you mean about kids, they can be a nightmare to work with, but these two were selected from my Kid's Filmmaking class and they were perfect little professionals - no complaints.
 
Well put together! Looks like a very fun class to take and be a part of. You produced a very solid entry that kept me interested with its cool opening shots.
 
Tequilawoo said:
Well put together! Looks like a very fun class to take and be a part of. You produced a very solid entry that kept me interested with its cool opening shots.
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Thanks a lot. We do have a great time in class, but then filmmaking is awesome so it's hard not to have fun. :)

Those opening shots we're done using a Lensbaby to create that slightly surreal look. I'm glad you liked it!
 
Really clean, solid piece - as I expected, coming after "The Water's Edge." I don't know that I have anything else new to say past what's been posted -- the film does what it does competently -- not super dramatic or compelling for me, but certainly works. I will say that not only would I have liked a bit more of an ending, I think I would have far preferred the much darker ending you mentioned above. Had the one kid actually stabbed the other kid, that would have really raised the stakes (no pun intended!! heyoo) and explored something interesting. Congrats to you and your students
 
zucked said:
Really clean, solid piece - as I expected, coming after "The Water's Edge." I don't know that I have anything else new to say past what's been posted -- the film does what it does competently -- not super dramatic or compelling for me, but certainly works. I will say that not only would I have liked a bit more of an ending, I think I would have far preferred the much darker ending you mentioned above. Had the one kid actually stabbed the other kid, that would have really raised the stakes (no pun intended!! heyoo) and explored something interesting. Congrats to you and your students
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Thanks for the great review.

That's cool that you remember "The Water's Edge". That's probably my favorite class project we've done too, but each new class brings new students and new challenges.

Endings are tough. I really like ours (it's a bit more hopeful in it's view of war), but I could also picture that darker ending. Maybe next time. :)
 
Great film, it brought me back to my childhood and all the "wars" between my friends and I. Overall the production quality was impeccable. I would have liked a bit more resolve in the end too but regardless I enjoyed it a lot. Good work and I hope to see it again.
 
Amir Assasnik said:
Great film, it brought me back to my childhood and all the "wars" between my friends and I. Overall the production quality was impeccable. I would have liked a bit more resolve in the end too but regardless I enjoyed it a lot. Good work and I hope to see it again.
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It's nice to know I'm not the only one who spent my childhood repeatedly killing my friends. :)

I'm glad you liked it and I will pass along your compliments to the crew.
 
Great job Chris! Each one of your NJ FilM School entries get stronger and stronger. Good acting, good cinematography. I kinda wish it'd been longer, but you'd have had to have more story, so maybe not. Enjoyed it.
 
This I think is probably the best of your shorts (imo) that I have seen played here in the dvxfestivals Chris. I've often been critical of the sentimental aspects of some of your previous works, or this and that! What this film does well is that it uses just the precise amount dialogue required, - great motivated action, and a genuinely discomforting level of suspense (played brilliantly at the start) that manages to pull of the foreboding (ahem twist) that well... is simply not easy to pull of right!

Other than that the actors were good, the film was nicely shot and produced. All in all a solid film, and to me is probably the most complete and professional looking film in the festival, every component from script to production adding up just right.

Nice one bro.
 
Shawn Philip Nelson said:
Great job Chris! Each one of your NJ FilM School entries get stronger and stronger. Good acting, good cinematography. I kinda wish it'd been longer, but you'd have had to have more story, so maybe not. Enjoyed it.
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Thanks so much! I'm so glad you liked it. It's so much fun shooting with my class, but we always working under the class schedule and this makes it hard to make the films longer. Maybe I can try to put together a class in the future with two days dedicated to shooting instead of just one. That would be fun!
 
lawriejaffa said:
This I think is probably the best of your shorts (imo) that I have seen played here in the dvxfestivals Chris. I've often been critical of the sentimental aspects of some of your previous works, or this and that! What this film does well is that it uses just the precise amount dialogue required, - great motivated action, and a genuinely discomforting level of suspense (played brilliantly at the start) that manages to pull of the foreboding (ahem twist) that well... is simply not easy to pull of right!

Other than that the actors were good, the film was nicely shot and produced. All in all a solid film, and to me is probably the most complete and professional looking film in the festival, every component from script to production adding up just right.

Nice one bro.
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Wow! Thank you so much for your thoughtful review. I always respect your opinion and I'm sincerely touched that you enjoyed our film so much.

I think I spent more time editing the first few seconds of our film than the rest of it put together (to try and setup the twist) and I'm so happy it worked for you.

Thanks again!
 
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