"Until Death" a Film by Aaron Berg

Man, my hat really, really goes off to you. I know how hard it is to do almost everything and everything involved when it comes to doing your own film. I give you mad props, because even though you were standing alone, you got it done. I really liked the story in this one and the flashes were excellent althought the skeleton looked real fake in some places (quicker edits probably would have taken care of that). The audio was inconsistent in spots, but I liked the film and liked the ending. Very, very sad.
 
Did she really kill herself running into a mailbox? That must have been one hell of mailbox. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

As has been mentioned before the sound was not very good. And the use of voice over is just so overused in shorts. I'd much prefer a well told story without VO. If it's used as a noir element, okay but otherwise, I'd try and find a different way to get your exposition out there.

The effects were a bit cheesy. That would have been great if the rest of the piece had the same feel. But then I see that you did this as a one man show so I'm more willing to accept the cheesy ghost on that basis alone.

It looked like the husband was drinking white zin... :shocked: ...hopefully that was in remembrance of his dead wife. :beer:

Congratulations on getting this one under your belt. Now, go out and find some help on the next one. :thumbsup:
 
First off, thanks for the insightful, indepth and fair reviews of all the entries. Great job, above and beyond the call of duty.

I was so impressed by your effort I checked out your website and reel before viewing your entry. Nice reel - that penguin on the ice shot was gorgeous! What camera did you use for that? :thumbsup:

Now on to your film. I will be brutally honest, and say I was let down. I was expecting so much more. I know we all have limitations, be it money, equipment, time, etc... but I think you could have done so much better.

I would suggest using "actors" next time. By "actors", of course I mean, any friend, family member or colleague you can get. It is a real learning experience, trying to direct non-actors, especially those with limited enthusiasm.

The CGI didn't really work in a dramatic story like this. It would have been fine in a Spy Kids kind of movie, but for this, perhaps a subtle approach ie: The Haunting would have been better.

The audio was pretty bad. Lots of hissing and big tone changes when the VO started and stopped.

The camera work was pretty good though.

Sorry if my comments seem harsh. I mean them only to be helpful. Try to give your next film your BEST effort. Aim for the stars, the end result will be so much better for it. I look forward to your next film.
 
I was going to start criticizing this and that until I saw "show in 2 hours". For reals??? Then this has to win some sort of prize. Unbelievable effort man.

The intro shots are very cool, with the fog and the slow dolly to the bricks. Very cinematic, beautiful composition. But right after that is a poorly composed inside shot, and that sort of kills the seriousness you'd just established. I won't say anything about the audio, since I'm sure you know you could have done better - but then again none of us are pros here. I loved how he'd explain this and that and right away we'd see a bunch of images explaining what he's talking about, it established a pattern and made me look forward to the next montage. Overall a most commendable effort especially due to the time constraints and the fact that you did everything yourself! Congratulations.
 
Finally got to give this a watch. Trying to click down the list even if I cannot vote.

Dang dude a one man show. I like the use of masks to give you more characters to work with and the concept works. I kind of like the fact his death did not really take place in front of us and it was his fantasy of what he should do.

My only problem was the inflection on the voice in one or two spots of the voice over and one or two reaction shots. The character seems to have too much emotion in the voice over in a few spots. In my head...granted this is my brain and not yours the author, but I want him to sound more drained as if his emotions have finally made him almost numb. The visual reactions seemed a bit over the top in one or two spots as if they were meant to be theatrical...but that might just be a side effect of the way cameras will magnify even the faintest flicker of a face muscle.

Hope you don't mind my critique...acting is my thing and I cannot do all the things you do. If you saw me try to edit...ha ha ha...well, lets not go there cause I suck at tech stuff other than using my microphones!

All in all I am glad to have gotten to view it!
 
Hey Aaron Berg,

I thought the shots were pretty good and especially for being the only person acting and shooting this piece. I don't think you needed the Voiceover at all for this film. You're shots told the story fine by themselves and the voiceover seemed forced and redundant.

I like the part with the wife's parent being the you in the mask...it was very surreal. You probably could tighten the editing a little and also try not to show as much of the "wife" in the dream scene because it looked too much like a figurine. It would be more effective showing snippets of it and focusing more on the main char's reactions.

I think this was a good story and you executed it well. I've tried shooting something all by myself of myself doing things. You were a lot more successful at making a complete story then I. Good job.

Laters,
Ando
 
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