Toll - Full film uploaded

Hobbes00

Hobbes00

Well-known member
Title: Toll

Genre: Action Drama

Length: 15 Minutes

Camera: Canon XH-A1 / XL-H1

Budget: $4,000.00 USD

Cast: Peer Metze, Marcus Lee, Steven Lim, Samizr Khan

A Production of: FPS Productions

Director/Producer: David Liu

Music & Overseas Producer: DaZ Dicks

Co-Producer: Brian L Tan, Malcolm Ong

Writers: Richard Hunter & Alex Whitmer

Production Status: Completed, planning to send to festivals soon

Supported by: Singapore Film Commission, Canon Singapore, Movie Mania Singapore, GM Nameplate Asia, Liquid Cafe, Heev Productions

Synopsis: Police Chief Mike Powers has enough evidence to arrest the son of Mr. Jimmy Chin, the ruthless and heinous triad leader.
However, when things get out of control and his family become involved, Power kidnaps Desmond, a local triad member trying to eek out a meager existence. With the stakes increasing as the two sides wage war of unprecedented scale, Powers must decide once and for all who's side he's on and determine if upholding the law means breaking it in the process.

A fast paced 15 minute short film, Toll is an action thriller that is governed by the pursuit of right versus wrong.
The lines between right and wrong or good and bad are often so ambiguous that it is always the innocent who suffer.




WATCH NOW



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Additional Notes:
Hey guys, this is the first short-film I've written, produced, directed and edited.. please do enjoy this and feel free to comment freely about the film.

I'm looking out to study film & tv this year, any advice from all you gurus out there?

Best Regards
David Liu


www.fps-carbonmade.com
www.fps-productions.com
 
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Some SPOILERS below...




Just finished. Nice work!

A few things, when he was holding the guy and "zapping" him, he probably should have shocked himself as well.

I also would have preferred if some of the actors used their native tongue when speaking to each other. English subtitles would have been fine for at least a few scenes. At least it would have seemed more real. Also, I would have liked to have seen how he was extracted from the torture room.

Pretty good movie though. Came off like a bit of a "24" episode.

Nice work.

Mike
 
Heh you already know what I think of the film, I loved it and its def a great piece of work.

I'm not on the poster credits however I did 95% of the music for this film! and it was a great fun experience.

I personally can't wait to see your next project.

Keep it up,

DaZ
 
Hey guys! Thanks for your comments Kyser. Its true, I watch too much 24!
Robbie, try again... its up and running...

Heres a random picture of me shooting some aliens... heehaw. Keep da comments coming in!
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No, Im at coop and they block sites. And they blocked Vimeo. I was wondering if it's on another site?

Thanks.
 
I just finished.

I thought it had great production value, especially considering your age. The music and sound design was pretty good and the cinematography had a definite confidence to it.

Some of the acting seemed weakened by the accents, especially the interrogator, but none of it made me cringe.

IT did feel a lot like an episode of 24, but that's not a bad thing.

Two things I did notice.
-the sound of the phone while the interrogator talks to his boss is a little sketchy. It could use some work.
-Also the police chief driving could use some better sound.
-the whole torture with needles montage could have been shortened or left out. It was a little much imo.

Just real nitpicky. Otherwise I found this to be very impressive. There is a lot happening in your fifteen minutes and it was paced really well. Pretty good lighting, especially the interrogation room. Overall great job, this should definitely help you on your way into the biz.
 
Humbled

Humbled

Hey David,

Beautiful work. I'm duly impressed.

I agree with some of the comments above about dialogue, but all taken into account, you did a great job.

It was a real pleasure and honor to work on it with you.

Alex

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
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Really nice cinematography, I love the crane and dolly shots, very professionally executed. The hand held camera was used with deliberate purpose and it never felt like you're just randomly messing with the zoom ring. Story was nice. Production value was great, right down to that CTU logo on the back of the police chief's office.

Now for the bad part. The acting was simply horrible. Everybody's English is heavily accented and conveys pretty much no emotion whatsoever, really took me out of the story. Your leading man probably came off the best, but everybody else is just comical; it hurts the tension when I didn't believe a word coming out of anyone's mouth.

SPOILER AHEAD!






When the police guy shot the woman, the sound was very tiny and there were no blood spurt. At that distance her brain should be splattered all over the other girl's head. I think you should cut to his reaction at the moment of the shot or composite in some blood to fix that shot.
 
Hey,

Great shots! How did you color correct this? What were your camera settings? The whole picture suited the mood of the movie, and the cinematography was top notch!

Good job, 10/10!
 
Hey guys, thanks alot of all your compliments and honest comments.

I would love to hear some comment on the storyflow, which I scripted it personally - Revealing just enough for the story to go on and increase the pace of the story like a car's accelerator.

And...!! which film-school should I consider getting a diploma in (I was thinking APA, international sydney or sydney film school)

I had a great crew to work with, awesome gaffer, camera-op - the only thing I had to manage most of the time was the acting - which is GREAT acutally, but could be so much more better. All of my casts were volunteers from the public - and they were the very few who could commit.

I will take time to study the flaws and weakness in this production and make sure it'll improve dramatically on the next film - do support my next film!

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XHA1, Stock & wide angle lens, vividrgb settings, graded in FCP.5 3-way colour corrector.
 
Wow, I think your editing and sound is what surprise me the most. What kind of sound equipment do you deal with. Also where did you find those nifty hollywood trailer sounding effects?

-Tyler
 
The story flow *which you scripted personally* has a bit of a chorus feel to it, like a song that builds up the chorus a little each time (think Ravel/Balero).

A mistake ... the last line should be COLLATERAL DAMAGE. Oops.

Also, I guess whats bothering me, and seemed a surprising departure from the original script, was I really dont think the Police Chief would have exposed himself like that.

Read up on subtext.

all in all a great pace, great angles, great music.

alex
 
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