"Voices from the Dark" -- a film by AJ Brooks...

^ hey... it was 3am in the morning when I watched it...just going by my notes... cut me some slack. :happy:
(maybe a score would have been nice...? No more comments until I get some sleep!)
 
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To Score or not to Score ...

To Score or not to Score ...

I like AJ's choice to not have a score in this film. I think it is in keeping with his vision to not go the tradition route, and I enjoyed the sound design so much that I never felt like I was missing a score. The pacing, acting, and sound design all combined for a nice delivery. At the end, I felt like "hey, there was no score, and I didn't miss it."
 
Tim Joy said:
Yeah, I can see how a normal viewer would not think twice about it, especially if they've ever watched CSI, but we are not normal viewers here. :)

I wouldn't have noticed it if there was a little more crossover/ bleed between each guy's light. It still looked fantastic and only took me out of it for a nano-second.
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Yep- WE are not normal at all. ;)

It is good to know, and I appreciate the feedback / criticism. It is important to know if a viewer is taken out of the moment, as that is not what I want to happen. But it is a risk whenever the norms or conventions are strayed from. And I am still glad that we made bolder choices and took more risks on this one. It is good to know that it did not take you out of it for very long and it wasn't overly distracting.

I think it works, but obviously I am bias. The films / cinematographers that inspire me most have always been ones that stray from the norm / convention. So I just need to be aware to not let it become to over powering that the images overtake the story- in the end, the images should be subservient to the story. :)
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I did find it odd that he kept calling him kid though. Yes, he was younger than him but not kid status by any stretch, not even close.
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Yes, I had planned a younger actor to play Crosse (suit) when I wrote the script. And I debated cutting the "kid" lines but once I saw it in rehearsal I wasn't bothered by it. Phillips saying "kid" is more of a reflection of who he is and how he sees people, rather than a accuracy denoting age. But yes, I do see how it can be distracting.

Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I did find the opening face to the floor cough to look a little forced though. As if he was told to get the dust to rise for effect. Again, just a small thing.
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Yes, I did like the effect of the dust rising after he coughed, and I DID say that on the second take, but in my defense, I used the first take in the edit, the take where he did it naturally before I had said anything about the cough. :)

Gohanto said:
Thanks Zaza, what score though?
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Gohanto, maybe take that as a compliment. The sound design was so effective that he felt as if there was a score. :) hah

Ryan E. Walters said:
I like AJ's choice to not have a score in this film. I think it is in keeping with his vision to not go the tradition route, and I enjoyed the sound design so much that I never felt like I was missing a score.
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I knew early on that I was not going to use score/music. In fact the sound designer Gohanto (Alex), was technically the first person onboard. I had him involved early in pre-prod, and made sure we had sound in mind for the shoot. Alex is very talented and was dedicated to doing what was right for the film. Kudos to him for his work.

To respond to the questions about the story and "what the hell was going on?"...

Like Ryan said, it is a balance. I usually get comments on my films saying I do not give enough information or that certain elements were unclear. Personally I feel I gave enough in this film for people to figure out everything I wanted them to in terms of story.

I might elaborate on the story in a future post, but I almost think I should leave things as they are.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I love the feedback!
 
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AJ Brooks said:
Gohanto, maybe take that as a compliment. The sound design was so effective that he felt as if there was a score. :) hah
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Thanks AJ and Zaza, sincerely, and I do take it as a great compliment (hence the smiley face after the comment :D)

I was a wonderful challenge to get a film that worked sonically without a score and thanks for bringing me on board early. And I certainly owe a lot to your production mixer / boom op who captured excellent stuff on set.
 
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Ryan E. Walters, i loved the lighting and cinematography. loved. To me, you knocked it out of the park. I would work with you in a nano-second.
 
Good film! I really liked the cinematography, although have the same thoughts on the color of light. I think it looked a little washed out as well, which could be adjusted easily with some color correction. Sound was good. Acting was great. Good job!
 
Good film, I liked it the pacing was very good, I didn't get the story although I think its good to leave the audience wanting more information of let them "fill in the blanks". Overall well done.
 
definitely one of the best looking films of the fest for sure, although I guess it being shot on red obviously helped. the cinematography was very good, as well as the editing and sound. overall it came off as very pro. as far as the story, I'm guessing it was a reservoir dogs like scenario where most of the accomplices had never met? and he recognized his daughter's killer from his neck scar/tattoo. the only problem I had was why were the guy's hands tied in front of him? wouldn't it have been easy for him to pull out his gun and wait for whoever tied them up to come through the door and then just shoot them? still one of my top films of the fest though. good job.
 
AJ! I think everything for your project came together really nicely and I definitely got what you were going for. (I didn't even notice there wasn't a score, so it totally worked for me). I thought the story was interesting and everything was shot very nicely and the colors you used totally worked.

Oh and just a little shout out to the rest of your crew. It was exciting seeing Janet, Ryan, Jerry, and Ken's name in the credits. :)
 
Very nice sound design from Gohonto.... Not to much, not to "full".. just enough.
A sound here, a sound there...

Also very nice cinematogrophy (being not an experted cinematographer) and lightning also looks nice.

Only the falling of the guy I find a little less "impressive".
 
one of the best so far. just everything was really good so its pointless to even go on about it.

1. acting was amongst the best especially the older guy
2. cinematography/photography/lighting very good.
3. story was pretty good as well.
4. sound design was really good. not sure if it detracted that there was no music but I wasn't bothered by it so I guess it was good.

one of the top films in terms of authenticity in professionalism.
 
Wow! Really good work here to everyone involved. A really great progression. I loved the look and feel, cinematography. Really solid acting and direction. The story, really confused me. Now, this is usually leveled at 100% of my pieces so I understand the problem in trying to setup a plot in <6 min, but that's part of the beauty of "Red and the Wolf' was its simplicity. I understand that we dont need to know EVERYTHING, but I felt we needed more info. The turning point of how he figured out that the tied up guy was evil didnt work for me. I could tell it was the neck scar, but it just didnt play. I really liked the emotional beat of the picture of the girl, but just a little more info of how that all connected could have really sold it I think.

In all, an extremely well done short.

Oh, I would recommend better color grading the two shots (each guy's separate closeup) to better match, they are a little too far apart in color/exposure I think.
 
AJ, I finally got around to watching this, and man it has a lot of great things going for it! First of all, as many have said, the look of this film is phenomenal. Great cinematography and great tension building with the knife. Some of my favorite shots occur after the lights go out and he plugs in that bulb on the floor. Sweet stuff.

Also, I loved the snappy dialogue and thought both actors did a great job. I almost wanted the other guy to be a little younger, but alas, that is just super nitpicky on my part.

I'll admit that I lost the story a little bit after the lights went out, but of the films I've seen so far, I think you did the best job of launching us into a 6 minute short. Nice work overall man!
 
Beautiful to look at and the acting was pro. Just a great film. I am with everyone else on the story. By far the best looking film of the fest and definately one of my favorites.
everything was on point. The RED can produce AMAZING images in the right hands and you really know what you're doing. Beautiful job and I'm sure you will do well.

I have a real nice 7D if you wanna trade, I will even throw in a couple of lens caps.:Drogar-Shock(DBG):
 
AJ -

Great work - just great. The actors were really on their A-game (we've worked with the actor wearing the baseball cap and love his look...Ryan remember the union goon?). Loved the location. I thought the story was a bit confusing toward the end as well.

Ryan, beautifully shot - one of my favorite from you so far. The framing, lighting, subtle camera moves were all masterful. I especially liked the lightbulb on the ground. The unique source position made for some really fun atmosphere and when he kicked up the dust, all the more.

Bravo.
 
Who the hec is that!!!!!
who walked in at the end with the gun! who! lol....
I have a right to know! lol....
Great piece! very, very nice....
I personally missed the strings in the background a little but the audio was so good that I
need to use your mic for my next filck! lol...

The only part that I did not like was when they looked up at the knife...
because how can they see it? from the line of sight they had, it was hidden...

That stuck in my head and damaged my brain for the first few minutes...
but don't worry it's the voices in my head...... lol...
And I got over it real quick! :)

So back to the knife, I thought the knife would have been better hanging off the edge a little more
like where they can actually see it.

It would have been more intense too.. like I was already scared that it was going to fall
on the guy's head when he was pushing the thing! omg! lol...

The acting was awesome!
the lighting was awesome!
I kind of wanted to see his mouth a little more at the end in the dark, but that's ok it still worked out perfect the way it is...

This flick is in my top 3!!!
just awesome all the way around!
congrats to everyone involved, LOVED IT!

This movie Rocks!!!
 
WOW, AJ!!! Without a doubt, your best film yet. So expertly acted (best performances I've seen in the fest so far- would LOVE to work with either/both of these guys in the future), the writing was cool, the editing, and for sure among my favorite work I've seen from Ryan yet, as far as shooting ... the lighting & everything was just amazing. Sound design was top notch as well ... when I heard what sounded like bones cracking I cringed ... hard!

Now, my only quips would be that I didn't think they (at least the one in the suit) would be able to see the knife where they were at. Also, the lighting was SO different on the guy in the suit than it was on the one in the hat, that it kept throwing me ... taking me out of the story becuase I was being caught by the extreme difference in lighting (almost a green effect that made the one in the suit look like a vampire or something, lol). Lastly, the story ... towards the end, I flat out got confused. Sarah? What is she to the guy in the suit, and what exactly did the other guy do to her? Who's the person with the gun at the end? Too many questions for me ... which kept me from giving this a full 10 starts, and instead leaves it at 9. Typically, I'd rate even lower because of the story Q's it was leaving me, but everything else was so awesome, I just can't help myself. :)

Incredible job to all involved.
 
Nice film! I loved the look of this, great cinematography...really nice colours, framing, lighting, movement. I really liked your actors and their performances, I was drawn in, convinced. The older guy had a lot going on with his eyes, a heavy quality to them that worked so well here....he’s the kind of guy I’d love to be able to work with in a film. Nothing seemed out of place in that department.

Great, great sound design. Really enjoyed that. Everybody else pretty much already mentioned the things I was wondering about (the knife, the slight continuity difference with the light etc) but nothing drew me out of the story or the film because I was so captivated by the performances and the camerawork.

Memorable Moment – The push in at 3:50ish, the reverb of the dialogue...intense. That was really cool, very cinematic, nice work.

Great work to everyone involved on this...AJ Brooks, your directing and writing was great, Ryan, your cinematography was top notch as always, awesome work on the sound Alex, and of course everyone in the crew, Congratulations on a fantastic entry.
 
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