The Token

Wow, some really impressive stuff here. Great looking grabs. Sets, costumes, just a terrific overall look and feel. This should really be something.
 
Those grabs are jaw dropping Noel.
The lighting is top notch IMHO.
Really looking forward to this.

Frank
 
Cheers lads. Just had a few hour sess with Mr Durban. Score - excellent. I'd buy it on itunes if I came across it randomly. A quality partner for sure.
 
Cheers lads. Just had a few hour sess with Mr Durban. Score - excellent. I'd buy it on itunes if I came across it randomly. A quality partner for sure.

I love his scores and can't wait to hear this.

Honestly, I know it can be hard to judge from the threads some times, but this film looks/sounds amazing!
 
Thanks for the kind words. I know this is going to be a reflection of the hard work everyone of the cast and crew put in.

Can't wait to watch all the entries though.
 
Cheers Ryan. Thanks for busting a gut the last few days. Said before, though one more time - sincerely appreciate everything you did.
 
VERY well made, costumes, look, camerawork, acting, story everything was cinematic. Was the only real entry that actually felt like a hollywood production.
At points I felt it dragged a tad like when he sits down and takes a swing, looks at the token, could happened a little faster. But the visuals were just so lush and deep, it guess it forces you to appreciate the production design even more. Very much in my top 5!
 
The cinematography was beautiful. The acting was perfect by both child and adult actors. I loved the concept and execution. Shorts like this give me something to aspire to, thanks for the entry.
 
I'll say pretty confidently that this is my favorite film this fest. The main actor looked just right and played the part very well. The production design was fantastic, and you really did pull off the period piece feel which is such a challenge. Cinematography for the parts in 1940 was just incredible. The story worked very well for a 6 minute film, and I loved the feel inside the truck as it arrives and departs from the house -- that great truck rumble.
I wasn't crazy about the cinematography for the children's scenes in 1928 -- I know you were trying to create a visual change from the stuff shot in 1940, but it just didn't seem as cinematic to me, and sort of washed out.
Final note -- I was so impressed by the acting of the young version of the main character as he cutely waits under the tree holding the dreidel in his hands.
Excellent job on all levels for this film!
 
This was a great film. You tackled so many challenging scenes and what always impresses me are people who find good child actors and are able to direct them well. The editing was also tight and paced well. Visually it was exactly what it needed to be. My only two minor issues are related to the elderly man. I felt his shacking hands felt a little forced and I think it was to make it seem plausible he would miss with a rifle at such close range, but I could have done with a more subtle movement. The second thing was the choreography of the gun struggle could have been a bit more frantic, it felt too slow and deliberate. Again these are just small things that I noticed. Overall bravo on a great production!
 
Wow! The production values here are off the charts! The look of this film is amazing. The cinematography, lighting, and staging is perfect. I felt like I was watching a feature length film from Hollywood. Your craft is phenomenal. The attention to detail is spectacular. The only thing that threw me for a moment was the kid's spinning the dreidel on an apple box. :)

Still, this was stellar - definitely, another one of my favorites in this Fest!
 
No let down here...this was as good as I was hoping. Damn, it looks great and I really liked the difference visually between the two settings.
The acting was excellent all the way around. Good story (a bit predictable perhaps) but that's ok, it delivered as is.

This film just looked so professional and the shots are great and I really loved the camera movement. I just really felt like I was watching a hollywood produced film.

This really motivates me to start creating my own films!


edited after a second viewing.

Can't believe I didn't mention the score...Durban strikes again, beautiful.
 
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Lovely to look at. The blacks seemed a little washed out, but it was probably the compression of the file.

Predictible? Maybe if he had met his old friend in the house. Predictible once the kid crawled out from under the table, but where else were you going to go?

The kids were great. Tough to find and direct child actors and you did it in spades.

Costumes and props were great. Too bad the truck was American and way too shiny, but kudos for finding it in the first place.

I have to say I didn't care for the lead actor. He seemed just too one-dimesional to me. A perpetual snarl and little else. Plus, despite the excellent uniform, his hat didn't fit and it endied up making him look a little silly - like a make-believe soldier.

Minor complaints. This was so good I had to find something to gripe about. 10+ for production values.
 
I didn't really mean predictable as a slight, I just felt like I had a good idea where it was going. But it was no less compelling to me :)
 
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