The Wallet

When DVXUser converted it to an MP4 for the site, the audio got overly compressed. Larry fixed it now, so it's all goooood!
 
Loved it! I have to say, I guessed it when he started chasing him but you made me doubt myself a little. I won't give away details but you probably know when.
Very well put together. Editing, sound, cinematography, all top notch. Going to watch it again soon for a fresh look since I was trying to figure things out too much the first go around.

There are some really good entries this Fest. This is going to be tough.
BTW, great actors as well. Very natural, 100% believable.

Nice work.
 
Awesome. Liked the story and the twist. Guessed it, but wasn't 100% sure. nice acting. Very nice acting and good cinematography. I don't usually like handheld, but this one fit. One of my favorites.
 
Mike Manning said:
When DVXUser converted it to an MP4 for the site, the audio got overly compressed. Larry fixed it now, so it's all goooood!
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I have the same issue Mike. Hoping it can be fixed soon. Mine sounds like pooh.

So to your entry.

Like others, I predicted the outcome early, but it only served me to watch more intensely to see if I was right. I think in part, that was also because the character set up was very clear and you could get into his state of mind.

Everything was clean, shots, sound etc. But Id expect that level of quality from you. Nice.
 
WOW. That's all I got to say. I loved it. I really want to see what happens next, what this guys does next would define him more than the situation we just saw. This film got me thinking, so that is a plus. Really good job, one of my favorites so far.
 
Yep I enjoyed this film too, the fact that the character had been fired - setting up an effective theme of loss - before he suspects losing his wallet - and even playing a little hint of crash-esque race, all adding to the characters untrue suspicions only to be proven hilariously ironic. Excellent and clever little film - well shot and produced. Good work mon amie :)
 
You could have gone several different tangents with this. The wallet at the end could have been his boss's wallet. Being the guy's wallet was also another tangent. I LOVE chase scenes. One of the favorite things to do on short and feature writings. It builds suspense. That's what you did. I feel it more a suspense flick than a thriller, but still good job in capturing the "not knowing" and making us want to know.
 
Mike

I really liked this short. It's paced perfectly, acted well, and the story has a twist that was more emotional than sensational. So it felt very true. I'm such a big fan of simple but effective shorts and this was one that was never showy, and because of that it grounds itself in an engaging realism that few other films do.

I did also guess the end, but ,I was leaning in to see if I was right not sat back knowing I was right, and I think thats a really important difference. Also the sight of him pulling out the man's family is a humorous extra touch which brings the films meaning into light at the right moment. I think this is why you dont care if you saw the ending coming because you don't see the theme/connection until the last seconds.

Everything was done really well, editing, sound, direction, acting. It may not be the most flamboyant, but it's one of the most accomplished here.
 
This was a film with a high production qualty and the main actor played very good and was convincing. I like the story too, even I believe that his backround (probably his wife left him!) created at the beginning of the short wasn't necessary for the story. Unfortunately already after half of the film length I could see the end and so there wasn't really a surprise and I lost a bit the attention. However - good work and enjoyable. Much luck!

Susanne
 
Nicely shot film Mike, very dramatic and carried us all the way through to the inevitable conclusion... but it wasn't really a thriller. I was still able to enjoy the film since I didn;t go in with any expectations and went along for the ride. You have some great shots in there and your storytelling is solid as always. Glad to see you made it back to us after being away so long.
 
Rodney V. Smith said:
Nicely shot film Mike, very dramatic and carried us all the way through to the inevitable conclusion... but it wasn't really a thriller. I was still able to enjoy the film since I didn;t go in with any expectations and went along for the ride. You have some great shots in there and your storytelling is solid as always. Glad to see you made it back to us after being away so long.
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Thanks Rodney. Though I'm not sure why you would say it isn't a thriller. It's definitely more thrilling than some of the other entries. :)
 
Mike Manning said:
Thanks Rodney. Though I'm not sure why you would say it isn't a thriller. It's definitely more thrilling than some of the other entries. :)
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Well that certainly is a good point. I dunno, maybe it just felt too dramatic. Yeah we had the chase sequence but that was more reminiscent of action than thriller. Maybe if we felt that the protaganist was in some mortal danger on top of everything else, it would have raised the stake in my mind to make it more of a thriller. It's a damn good movie, definitely way up there in terms of production, quality and story-telling.. but that whiff of danger would have knocked it out of the park.
 
I liked this a lot, really good job Mike. The black and white was really nicely graded, especially for tough lighting situations like a parking garage!
Can you explain your process in grading the b&w?
 
Keaton - in my interpretation of a thriller I usually associate it with impending doom. This short followed the guidelines of suspense and entertainment, but I felt no harm nor foul to come, therefore the "thrill" did not reach an optimum level.
 
Ah, Charli, that shows you must have some faith in humanity. I could see this going all kinds of ways wrong. That's what made it thrilling to me. I knew he left his wallet in the car and now because of his high emotional state he was liable to do anything because of that mistake. So that makes this a thriller in my book.
 
Matt Harris said:
I liked this a lot, really good job Mike. The black and white was really nicely graded, especially for tough lighting situations like a parking garage!
Can you explain your process in grading the b&w?
Click to expand...

We shot black and white using the monochromatic color space on the 7D. Then, using the Avid Nitrus, we color graded each shot by assigning the appropriate Blacks, Whites, and Mids.
 
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