'The Western' A Brian Parker Film

Marlon - Yeah man. I missed you guys. Had to get back in. Looking forward to that feature length 'The Jones' man!

Richard - Thanks man! I really appreciate that coming from you. LOL...glad you like the ending too...heh heh. I'll be through your thread soon man! Thanks for watching!

Noel - Noel, man...you just made my day. That really means a lot to me. The filmmakers around DVXuser and the fests really push progression and improvement and it's a great way to grow. Thanks for the comment. Really.
 
Hey Brian,

I'm Anthony. Just watched The Western and thought I'd hit you with a review.

Intro was totally fun and the music got me right in. The interwoven credits felt right.
I was going to call you out on her 'feeling out of place' but I guess I'll have to turn that into a compliment. Nice forshadowing.

I would say that the ending was out of left field, but it wasn't. He refrences her weird behavior and it got my mouse wheel turning.

You got me with the end. I had no idea. Loved it. If I was to give you one negative, it would be that I wish it was graded or maybe even filtered. The footage felt really raw to me. But man, that's a minor. I did love the long shots a lot. Good work all the way around.
 
Brian very cool, especially the ending. Loved the hologram graphics. But you cut to the sky on the money shot for the shoot out! noooooooooo! i wanted to see some killin' go down! tastefully done though, and that was an ok decision on your part. The score: apple loops! I know because i have used those same loops, and there's nothing wrong with that. You chose cool loops and composed a neat score. Well done overall.
 
Nice job on this film Brian, it's great to see more of your work. Interesting little storyline...
and you totally got me with the ending, did not see that coming (but I should have known).

Congratulations....and don't be a stranger!
 
The Western

Nice twist at the end. Watch your shots, crossed "the line" a few times. Was kind of frustrated I didn't know more backstory but once I realized it wasn't all it was seeming to be I was ok with it. Nice effort!
 
Brian, very nice job. I liked it. I watched it twice. :beer:

This is quite a bit better than the other one I saw - the two girls fighting. Can't remember which fest it was for...
 
Anthony - Hey, thanks for checking out the film and all of the great feedback. I'm glad that you picked up on her strangeness. I was worried that it wouldn't read on screen. Have to do another pass on the filter. Glad that you enjoyed the film man!

Defcon - LOL...yeah man...even I was torn on cutting away to the sky shot but I wanted to create a little uncertainty. You're right on the music. I really wanted to find some instruments that Morricone used for his scores to make it more authentic. Thanks for checking it out and I'm glad you liked it.
 
Zaza - Thanks for stopping by man. Things have been crazy today so I haven't had a chance to start my reviews yet but looking forward to your film. Glad the ending got you! I'll be around!

Brandon - Thanks for checking it out. Yeah, sometimes I gravitate towards stories that are like excerpts from people's lives but I'm glad that you got resolution with the ending. Ugh, yeah, the line crosses still get me sometimes.

Tom - Thanks man! Yeah, that was a while back for Betrayal Fest I think. As long as I'm improving, I'm happy. See you in your film's thread soon!
 
Brian, nice little short here. For just a second near the end I thought I was seeing a scene out of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. :happy:

I originally had a big problem with the setup, i.e. the bounty hunter giving the outlaw a 'sporting chance.' It just didn't ring true. But as the short played out to its surprise ending I understood why it had to happen, though I still don't really buy his choice.

The bounty hunter was the best actor of the three by a pretty wide margin. I'm afraid the guy and girl seemed a bit wooden.

Loved the opening credits.

I feel the girl broke the time travel paradox, though, by killing the bounty hunter and changing the past.

Good job, I enjoyed it.
 
Blaine - Glad you enjoyed it Blaine. The Sergio Leone stuff was a huge inspiration for me as he made all of my favorite westerns. Yeah, she broke the time traveling golden rule. Not sure what the implications will be back in the future.

Thanks for checking it out Blaine! I really appreciate the feedback.
 
Hey, Brian. Finally able to stop through and tell you I enjoyed your film. I actually watched it twice and thought you had some really good shots in here. I especially like the wide shot at the end with the three of them. Nice! The location was pretty cool and I thought the acting was decent enough. It had a nice twist at the end and your fx there was very, very nice. I was actually asking myself, "How'd he do that?" Anyway, that mountain looked familiar for some reason. Where was it shot? Anyway, good job and so glad to see you back in the game!!
 
Some good stuff in this, a very solid entry. Some nice shots, and good pacing, especially with the shootout at the end.

I agree with Blaine, the idea of the bounty hunter letting the guy go was hard to buy. I also spent the whole time going, man a girl would never wear clothes like that in that time period... which obviously it turns out she's not from that time period. However, I think if you'd put her in a period dress, it might have made the surprise of the ending greater, AND I wouldn't have spent the whole movie wishing you'd done more research on the time period.

I actually liked you cutting to the sky on the gunshots. Left the tension high and made me wonder what happened. Then it's slowly revealed in the next shot. And I like how impressed the bounty hunter is with the girl. Good stuff.
 
Marlon - Hey man. Thanks for coming by. Glad you enjoyed it. How did I do the FX? LOL...lots of keyframing. Pretty much everything was done in After Effects.

The mountain is Arabia Mountain in Lithonia, Georgia. Our original plan was to shoot at Stone Mountain but at the last minute, the park backed out on their agreement to let us shoot there gratis and demanded we pay about two grand as well as hire off duty cops. Switched to that location at the last minute and I'm glad we did. It's way better and has way more character and less traffic. We were virtually undisturbed both days.

Thanks for the feedback man. It's good to be back in the game.

jasonthewho - Ha! I guess it is hard to imagine a bounty hunter who's bored with his job. Not exactly a cubicle 9-5 type thing. I hadn't considered that her anachronistic clothing could be too disconcerting for the viewer and that sucks a little. It would have been cool to put her in a time-appropriate dress. Glad you liked the sky shot, and yeah, Dennis (the bounty hunter) did a good job with that scene.

Thanks for coming by and checking it out man. I really appreciate the feedback.
 
Brian Parker said:
Marlon - Hey man. Thanks for coming by. Glad you enjoyed it. How did I do the FX? LOL...lots of keyframing. Pretty much everything was done in After Effects.

The mountain is Arabia Mountain in Lithonia, Georgia. Our original plan was to shoot at Stone Mountain but at the last minute, the park backed out on their agreement to let us shoot there gratis and demanded we pay about two grand as well as hire off duty cops. Switched to that location at the last minute and I'm glad we did. It's way better and has way more character and less traffic. We were virtually undisturbed both days.
Click to expand...

I actually thought it was Stone Mountain. LOL! Less traffic is always better. Can't believe they tripped and wanted you to pay like that. WTH??
 
Camera movement was a little jerky at time. Great twist at the shooting at end but I didn't like the cut to the sky - I would have liked to see something of the action, while still hiding just what happened. I enjoyed the music. I think a little colour correction would help as well, the visuals seemed a little flat. Great job with the girl - her out of place look was irritating me the whole way through until you paid it off at the end. Thanks for putting this in.
 
Yeah Marlon. The lady also said that she would have to supervise the whole shoot. We were like forget that. Everything happens for a reason.

4100xpb - People have been split on the shot with the cut away to the sky so far. Glad you liked the music. Yeah, I hit a speed bump with the color correction and the uploaded version is basic. The D.P. has a version that he did which is a lot better and more rich but because of some issues with my renders, I had to submit my backup. I prefer his CC on all counts though and wish I could have gotten it on here in time. I really like that Kristen (Faye) has been getting under people's skin as not belonging. Thanks for the feedback!
 
My hat is off to you sir. I like your homage to Good, Bad, Ugly. At first I thought the music was distracting but on a whole I liked it, goes back to previous reference. The last scene made me want to see a glimpse of the character's future...well present...

I think the actors were genuine, although I'm a little on the fence with the villain but it worked.

Well done.
 
Mobie540 - Before the fest was announced, I'd watched maybe two westerns in my entire life and one of them (High Noon) was in film class. I just never got into the genre. I don't know what made me want to compete in West Fest but I started doing a lot of research and a big influence on my film was Sergio Leone's stuff, particularly the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

I'm not sure what her time period is like. I wrote some ideas down in the character synopsis that I gave the actress but I imagined that it's fairly sheltered and utopian, thus her desire for action and adventure.

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!
 
Hey, I realized I didn't comment on this. You snuck a sci-fi in on us. I was wondering about that girls clothes. She was a damned good shot being from the future and using a terrible gun. I love how the bad guy is still polite in death 'Damn, ma'am.' That made me smile. Then it turned into a sci-fi and I went 'awesome'. Good Job!
 
This was fun. I was wondering about her clothes as well. The cut to the sky was a little harsh but not too bad. Sometimes letting the audience use their imagination is the right choice.

Cool effects too.

Nice work. Glad you managed to get it done.

MAH
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top