The Stepmother

Charli said:
I think one of the problems is that you had so many characters that it was difficult to get invested in any one person.

The shots felt so tight that I almost felt smothered in them, but I do understand where you were going and what you were trying to accomplish, but less is more.

Help me to care about one character and then I can get invested in the story.
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Thank you, your right I tried to put to much into 6 minutes. Thank you.
 
Damn! This one had a LOT of potential. Especially concerning the story and the actors. Even the set design/costumes were good for me.

The sound was bad. Hissing, cutting in and out. An easy fix for a sound guy with time.
Some bad cuts/editing here and there, most of which could also be fixed. The odd actor looking at the camera.

Still, there is something about this one that got me. I fell right into it and got fairly engaged, which is quite a triumph considering many of the distractions. There's some real talent here.

I enjoyed many of the performances and the writing was quite good. Polish this up and see how it looks. I would be willing to give you hand with some editing and sound design if you are interested.

MAH
 
I used the VLC viewer that Ramsaur recommended and it worked fine. It looked a little dark to me, but that might be my setup.

The end was great. Ok that last half was great. The first half was a perfect example of telling and not showing. Sure what they were saying was interesting, but not as interesting as actually seeing the events. Ain't 6 minutes a *****. Overall good job.
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Damn! This one had a LOT of potential. Especially concerning the story and the actors. Even the set design/costumes were good for me.

The sound was bad. Hissing, cutting in and out. An easy fix for a sound guy with time.
Some bad cuts/editing here and there, most of which could also be fixed. The odd actor looking at the camera.

Still, there is something about this one that got me. I fell right into it and got fairly engaged, which is quite a triumph considering many of the distractions. There's some real talent here.

I enjoyed many of the performances and the writing was quite good. Polish this up and see how it looks. I would be willing to give you hand with some editing and sound design if you are interested.

MAH
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Thank you. This was my first attempt at editing. My editor had to go work on a full length feature and I was handed the movie. The things he did were exelent I wish he could have had the time to finish it. I actually have very little experience with editing. I used the CS4 premier. I dont have the hissing and stuff on mine but i would love to have you help me. I actually had to cut this down from 12 minuts to 6 as i have alot more shots to put into the movie. I am working on re-editing it now. can you let me know in a private message where I can communicate with you. I would love some help editing and sound.
 
Chris_Keaton said:
I used the VLC viewer that Ramsaur recommended and it worked fine. It looked a little dark to me, but that might be my setup.

The end was great. Ok that last half was great. The first half was a perfect example of telling and not showing. Sure what they were saying was interesting, but not as interesting as actually seeing the events. Ain't 6 minutes a *****. Overall good job.
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Thank you, yes 6 minutes, ouch.
 
I thought this was a really good job. Yes, it had the sound and editing problems that others have mentioned, but I thought the acting and dialogues were great - there were some very convincing faces in there. Thanks!
 
Arturo Sanchez said:
Thank you. This was my first attempt at editing. My editor had to go work on a full length feature and I was handed the movie. The things he did were exelent I wish he could have had the time to finish it. I actually have very little experience with editing. I used the CS4 premier. I dont have the hissing and stuff on mine but i would love to have you help me. I actually had to cut this down from 12 minuts to 6 as i have alot more shots to put into the movie. I am working on re-editing it now. can you let me know in a private message where I can communicate with you. I would love some help editing and sound.
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Sure. Just PM me here and I'll give the audio a whirl.
 
Just watched. First, I really liked the story, the setting and the acting. In fact, the lack of score and the simple sound design was spot-on for this story and setting. This was some of the best acting I've seen so far this fest.

I was thrown off a little at times by the jumps in the underlying audio tone. Good room tone as an audio bed would have really helped this problem.

What happened to the two priests. I've not read the other comments yet so perhaps you've addressed this. But for me, one minute they were there the next they were gone (or dead?).

The demon effect on the girl seemed way too over the top. This would have been a moment for creepy subtlety in my estimation. Maybe just simple eyes going black? The over the top warp was almost funny which DIDN'T fit a very cool tone you had going.

We are going to get all the local folks together sometime in the next 5 weeks to show shorts up at the Hollywood in Portland. Want to join us? Should be good fun.
 
lyonfilms said:
Just watched. First, I really liked the story, the setting and the acting. In fact, the lack of score and the simple sound design was spot-on for this story and setting. This was some of the best acting I've seen so far this fest.

I was thrown off a little at times by the jumps in the underlying audio tone. Good room tone as an audio bed would have really helped this problem.

What happened to the two priests. I've not read the other comments yet so perhaps you've addressed this. But for me, one minute they were there the next they were gone (or dead?).

The demon effect on the girl seemed way too over the top. This would have been a moment for creepy subtlety in my estimation. Maybe just simple eyes going black? The over the top warp was almost funny which DIDN'T fit a very cool tone you had going.

We are going to get all the local folks together sometime in the next 5 weeks to show shorts up at the Hollywood in Portland. Want to join us? Should be good fun.
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Thank you for your comments. The two priest are still there just that they were the victems of the 6 minute rule. It was very hard to edit this in 4 days and get it right. I am working on a longer redo which will give me time to fix the entire movie for other fests. I am taking in account the comments from this fest to fix all the problems. Doing the eyes were my first choice also.
 
I agree with some of the other posts. This story did have alot of potential. I commend you for having to edit this yourself. Editing ain't easy or everybody would be doing. Hopefully Mike can help with the audio, because it was distracting when it would cut out. You should also add some sound effects. At the front door when the priest comes in out of the rain, we should hear the rain more and maybe some thunder. Also, the wife yelling at the table was way to loud and the struggle between the husband and wife had no sound effects at all. There needs to be something there, because they're wrestling. If there's no sound on that it seems as though they are playing. It doesn't have to be over-the-top sound, just subtle tussleing sounds.

Other than that, you had some really good camera angles (cinematography) and it was a very intriguing story that automatically pulls you in. Also the kill shot with the gun was great, however, the beginning of the needs to be cut down, because it's like we were just sitting there waiting for the shot to go off.

Overall, nice job and a pretty solid entry!
 
Marlon Ladd said:
I agree with some of the other posts. This story did have alot of potential. I commend you for having to edit this yourself. Editing ain't easy or everybody would be doing. Hopefully Mike can help with the audio, because it was distracting when it would cut out. You should also add some sound effects. At the front door when the priest comes in out of the rain, we should hear the rain more and maybe some thunder. Also, the wife yelling at the table was way to loud and the struggle between the husband and wife had no sound effects at all. There needs to be something there, because they're wrestling. If there's no sound on that it seems as though they are playing. It doesn't have to be over-the-top sound, just subtle tussleing sounds.

Other than that, you had some really good camera angles (cinematography) and it was a very intriguing story that automatically pulls you in. Also the kill shot with the gun was great, however, the beginning of the needs to be cut down, because it's like we were just sitting there waiting for the shot to go off.

Overall, nice job and a pretty solid entry!
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Thank you, I have learned a great deal from your comments. I am taking some tutorials on the sound incase i ever have to do it again but mostly getting a good person to edit it and fix the the sound is a must. being my first film I wish I could have had the help.
 
Oh, wow, Arturo. I didn't know this was your first film. Outstanding. You have talent and with time and a little more experience you'll continue to put out better and better stuff. I've seen alot of first-timer films before and yours didn't strike me as amatuerish in any way. So, kudos for that.
 
This was really good! ... It's the the most scary film out of all the ones I've seen so far... It reminded me alot of the exorcist... Really good acting and the creepy lighting were key. The only thing I noticed was the sound seem to cut in and out but besides that great. One of the best in the contest!
 
Dauntless said:
This was really good! ... It's the the most scary film out of all the ones I've seen so far... It reminded me alot of the exorcist... Really good acting and the creepy lighting were key. The only thing I noticed was the sound seem to cut in and out but besides that great. One of the best in the contest!
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Thank you, I am very glad you like it. I have the sound issues fixed on the copy I have here at home now. I am glad you liked it.
 
There was some wonderful DP work here. Felt very 'big screen'.

I think you fell into the trap of convenience with the knife, and the odd teen seemed tossed in for effect, and stole some valuable screen time to work your main characters.

Acting was quite good.

Overall a very nice film. Never looked at my watch!
 
alex whitmer said:
There was some wonderful DP work here. Felt very 'big screen'.

I think you fell into the trap of convenience with the knife, and the odd teen seemed tossed in for effect, and stole some valuable screen time to work your main characters.

Acting was quite good.

Overall a very nice film. Never looked at my watch!
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Thank you. I am happy you enjoyed it.
 
I loved your movie... I feel it tells a full story not just a quick scene. great job getting all that in 6 min. I would love to see the longer cut as you say you are doing. Great first time movie. the acting is the best.
 
Marlon Ladd said:
I agree with some of the other posts. This story did have alot of potential. I commend you for having to edit this yourself. Editing ain't easy or everybody would be doing. Hopefully Mike can help with the audio, because it was distracting when it would cut out. You should also add some sound effects. At the front door when the priest comes in out of the rain, we should hear the rain more and maybe some thunder. Also, the wife yelling at the table was way to loud and the struggle between the husband and wife had no sound effects at all. There needs to be something there, because they're wrestling. If there's no sound on that it seems as though they are playing. It doesn't have to be over-the-top sound, just subtle tussleing sounds.

Other than that, you had some really good camera angles (cinematography) and it was a very intriguing story that automatically pulls you in. Also the kill shot with the gun was great, however, the beginning of the needs to be cut down, because it's like we were just sitting there waiting for the shot to go off.

Overall, nice job and a pretty solid entry!
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I pretty much concur with what Marlon has said here. I would add that the early closeups on Matt Dotson (between 00:59 and 01:41) suffered from insufficient light. He was lost in the shadows and I found it impossible to read his expressions.
 
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