Your Top 10's of Dramafest !

wow Jeremy! Way to go that extra mile in presenting your top 10. :) Seeing these images makes me want to do a 'DramaFestHIghlights' again like I did with the horrorfest. (click the HFHL at the bottom of my sig) Ugg. Time.

It's also crazy to see how different people like different films. There's some films of these lists that I would have put in the top 30. So, it's always surprising to see where some of these stand. Three of my top 10 films are actually projects I worked on myself, so i think i'll just leave it up to you guys.

Looking forward to seeing more 'top 10s' :thumbup:

/j
 
ullanta said:
Eric - Yardsale Oddly compelling. Reminded me for a bit of Puch Drunk Love
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Wow thanks! We started the last week of the fest so it was rushed but technical issues aside I'm happy I tried. Thanks mate :)
 
Jeremy, that was an awesome summary and display! Great job! (and thanks!) :thumbsup:

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Preston, you are flattering the hell out of me!!! Thanks! :)
 
Edgen said:
wow Jeremy! Way to go that extra mile in presenting your top 10. :) Seeing these images makes me want to do a 'DramaFestHIghlights' again like I did with the horrorfest. (click the HFHL at the bottom of my sig) Ugg. Time.
/j
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Thanks man. That would be great if you did another High Light graphic for this fest, I loved the first HorrorFest one. I think I even had it in the back of my mind when I was doing me list.
 
Here are some more grabs from movies I enjoyed:

ANOTHER DAY:


AFTER CLASS:


BREATHE:


THE FALLEN:


UKP:
 
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Ok here goes. Perhaps one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. How do you pick the best out of the best? One short to rule them all?

#1 Heritage

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

This one to me had all the elements. No one element was outstanding but the combination of them averaged out to a homerun. Nice shots, erie music, pretty good acting, and an end to remember.


#2 Ajar

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

Flawed sure but no other short captivated me like this one did. As I watched I forgot to critique it and just enjoyed it.


#3 After Class

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

It was as if I stumbled into the middle of a movie, watched a bit and had to leave but that little piece I saw made me a better person. Beautiful piece.


#4 Threading the Needle

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

Great characters and big in scope. It felt like I was watching a movie. It was fun and sad at the same time. The music was great as well.


#5 The Artist

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

As I watched this one I assumed something about the artist himself. What a creep I thought. At the end she enters the house and you think that's it for her and then out of left field your hit by the best husband in the world. A very touching piece. Brought a tear to my eye.


#6 Dissonance

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

Great colors, great lighting, great sounds, great twist. I got it. I guess some didn't.


#7 UKP

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

The dialogue and interactions between the two characters, outstanding. Showing you things to you that you wont grasp until later, outstanding.


#8 Eighteen Seconds

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

The most beautifully shot short in this list. The end killed it for me though. I liked what happened but I hated that after a few seconds the impact of what was going on between the two characters turned into, "I wonder which way the car is going to hit him from?"


#9 Where Silence Falls

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

Besides the totally lame story, kidding:Drogar-Love(DBG): , this one was great. Very well acted and technically beautiful. Great work.


#10 Breathe

*** Imagine Cool Screen Grabs Here. Crazy little brother ***

I really like the subtle crossing of genres in this one. Drama meets Sci-Fi. Great set design and art direction.



There were other great films too but that is my top ten. For one reason or another these films stood out to me.
 
SINCE i HAVEN'T WATCHED THEM ALL HERE IS JUST A FEW IN NO ORDER AT THIS TIME .

The Artist

Threading the needle

Where silence Falls

UKP

Ian

Update
and time is running out for me so I am trying to watch as many now before voting ends.

At the park
 
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Well, I was going to post my top 10, but I can't. After careful consideration and reviewing my notes, I realize that I like the movies for different and disparate reasons. I posted my top 5, but each one gets my vote for different reasons. I mean, look at the overall difference between, say, "The Artist" and "UKP".

I know this has been discussed in other threads, but maybe in future DVXUser Fests, we could vote for:

Best Picture
Best Cinematography
Best Screenplay
Best Director
Best Score
...etc.

I could easily vote for example, Best Cinematography - Eighteen Seconds (Can anyone dispute this?)
For me, there are a number of movies in this fest that would get different awards.

I also know, 'to each their own' and 'different strokes for different folks'.

Jarred, Barry, if you're listening, I would be willing to 'ante up' for one of the awards if we were to do this and spread the awards around.

My .02 (or possibly more?)

RobertE
 
Here's my top 10.

Eighteen Seconds
This seems like a real film, real cinema. You can watch it in silence and realize everything that is going on. It's elegant. I mean come on, it's Mac, Zac, and JDS. That's like sending in the NBA Allstars "Dreamteam" to the summer Olympics.

Heritage
The acting wasn't perfect, but it delivered. It felt kind of like Tony Scott meets Roman Polanski. This one really stood out for me. The music and sound design was radical too.

After Class
Justin Snodgrass is one hell of a filmmaker. I liked the warmth of the picture. The acting was great, even by the kids. I felt like I was in the classroom with them, like a fly on the wall.

Tempo
The cinematgraphy in this one was great. Although I didn't like how wordy it was, the premise was ok. It was a bit negative, but a valid point of view. I liked the progression of age in the character. I hope his next film's aesthetics are more from Nicolas and his vision instead of borrowed from Macgregor. I think he has a great deal of potential. I look forward to seeing it.

The Artist
Cute little movie here. It moved along nicely. I felt like I was the voyeur, and I remained intrigued until the last frame.

Where Silence Falls
This director really took his game to a new level with this film. It had better acting, cinematography, music, etc. etc. than his previous efforts. This was the Eagle to his Sparrow.

Sara's Gone
the subject matter of this film was more intense than many others. It tangled a big mess for Eric like no other film did. It was very well written, if a tad over and under performed at times.

The Fallen
This had the best CG, and compositing. This could have been a hero fest contender for sure. Almost everything in this film was good quality other than some of the acting & audio. The dialog seemed too reverberated.

Dissonance
This was different. It had that Clint Eastwood - Mystic River darkness vibe to it. I don't think anyone else was able to bring that kind of feeling out. A lot of these movies this Fest, that I complain about the acting; it make me wonder, "What if these directors had budgets, and more skilled actors?". I don't think the shortcoming is so much in the directors but having the funds to hire people that know exactly what they're doing. If you're shooting rigidly to a script you absolutely need experienced actors. You have to either make the decision of forcing something with good variables, or flowing into your art with chaotic variables. Good Variables = $$$, so my $.02 - do the latter on a budget.

To Kill a Rockstar
I liked this one. It had a sad element, a tribute type of story. I liked the contrast between the bright sunshiney Tampa to the dark currents that rippled underneath. It was like something beautiful, but dangerous.

I feel bad making a top 10 because I'm leaving so many good films out. Lots of other films tie the ones above on many levels, but for some reason or another these listed resonated with my personal taste & sensibilities.
 
Aaron Marshall said:
To Kill a Rockstar
I liked this one. It had a sad element, a tribute type of story. I liked the contrast between the bright sunshiney Tampa to the dark currents that rippled underneath. It was like something beautiful, but dangerous.
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wow, thanks Aaron. I didn't think I would be on anyone's list. I'm glad you liked my film and the contrasts. I purposely bookended the dark story with "beauty-shots".
thanks again!
 
Hey Preston, don't be so humble... you put up a fine film!!! You should be proud. And it was your first, too. Right?

You did a great job, my man! Definitely looking for your next one!
 
Aaron Marshall said:
I mean come on, it's Mac, Zac, and JDS. That's like sending in the NBA Allstars "Dreamteam" to the summer Olympics.
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Spain kicked DreamTeam ass in these last world championships hehe. :p :D
 
I Really Digged these movies My top 5:

1. Life Is Good - I wasn't expecting this. Funny and sad at the same time.

2. 18 Seconds - Great Movie. Who ever made this is a pro.

3. Where Silence Falls - Felt like I was watching a TV drama.

4. Threading The Needle - Looks like alot of money went into this just needs better Green Screen.

5.After Class - Being a Catholic, I've seen those types of guys before, you got it down right. Congrats.

I like some more but those were the ones I kept coming too. I hope for the best for all of you. Later.
 
Aaron Marshall said:
After Class
Justin Snodgrass is one hell of a filmmaker. I liked the warmth of the picture. The acting was great, even by the kids. I felt like I was in the classroom with them, like a fly on the wall.
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Thanks Aaron! I wish I could take all the credit, but it was 50% Tim Young.

There is a pretty good mix of favorites around here. It will be interesting to see the results.

There have been some great ones.
 
hvxabuser said:
I Really Digged these movies My top 5:

1. Life Is Good - I wasn't expecting this. Funny and sad at the same time.

2. 18 Seconds - Great Movie. Who ever made this is a pro.

3. Where Silence Falls - Felt like I was watching a TV drama.

4. Threading The Needle - Looks like alot of money went into this just needs better Green Screen.

5.After Class - Being a Catholic, I've seen those types of guys before, you got it down right. Congrats.

I like some more but those were the ones I kept coming too. I hope for the best for all of you. Later.
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lol! well thanks i should post my five soon or 10 lol....
 
preston said:
wow, thanks Aaron. I didn't think I would be on anyone's list. I'm glad you liked my film and the contrasts. I purposely bookended the dark story with "beauty-shots".
thanks again!
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Preston,

I'm a sucker for musical biographical, pseudo or not, type of films. Something about the imagery hit me too. In a strange sort of way it reminded me of "One Crazy Summer".

I just saw the banner for "Threading the Needle" and was like slapping my forehead thinking "Oh that should have made my top 10". I'll just stick to what I listed. A lot of other films made me have the same forehead slapping thought.

Spidey, your film was seriously pretty good. I was entertained and the edit flowed really well. I didn't get bored. Even though you crapped it out, it still had your mark. It's strange that we both thought to do a funny over-acted Fart (Faux Art) film.
 
I'm so impressed, theres some fantastic films here. Ones I especially admired were:

Tempo-The Wrath of Indifference: Man. I absolutely loved the look of this film, as well as the symbolism at the end, especially when it talks about the end of your life,l being the end of a road. Give your dp my compliments, cause thats a fine looking short. I'm suprised more hasn't been said about this one, I liked it the most out the drama shorts.

Where Silence Falls: Man. Ya'll did an amazing job of creating a tense, crazily dramatic, atmosphere, and thats not something easy to throw the viewer into, especailly well. But you guys did a tremendous job at it. And it looked great. Way to go.

Heritage: Very stylistic. I liked that. Told the story very well, and looked great. I loved the score.

Semele: Looked great, and the story played out well. Well done.

And, I must admit, I'm pretty proud of the film that Justin and I put together.
 
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