archived-videos Feature length film: SCORPIO

[TwinCities]

When a man is offered a contract he can't refuse, the lives of a notorious assassin, a marked drug dealer, a UN agent with a past and a billionaire monopolizer will collide.


Scorpio is a film directed by Patrick Barrett, written by Thomas Balageur, and produced and edited by Eddie Curran. It took two years of planning, three months of filming and two of editing.

Its story is based around a Russian assassin making a living in America; Yesen Greigavich. He is considered a serial killer in the country, nicknamed Scorpio; not one person has been able to catch him yet.
But when he is offered a job of conflicting natures, he will find that his past will come back to haunt him, that there is more at stake than he thought, and that risking everything doesn't always pay off in the end.

Twin Cities Productions proudly presents SCORPIO.

 

[mus]

you should put links in this

 

[TwinCities]

you should put links in this

Click on the word SCORPIO!

 

[mus]

oh, i just thought that was in bold and underlined

 

[8salacious9]

i didnt really like the colour of it, also it looked too real to me.. and the beginning, for some reason looks awful, theres like some artifacting on the blacks or something the quality was just too much for me to bear to watch the rest of it, however i did like the score..

sorry no hard feelings

 

[mlesemann]

What's a "UN agent"?

 

[gebo]

I watched the first 5 minutes and didn't like what I saw. Bad image quality, very flat looking, dull. Looks cheap with all the shaky handheld shots. Shots are too long, boring, etc.
Of course this applies only to the first five minutes... I would have to watch it all to make a complete judgement, but after watching the first minutes I didn't feel like watching the rest.

 

[8salacious9]

I watched the first 5 minutes and didn't like what I saw. Bad image quality, very flat looking, dull. Looks cheap with all the shaky handheld shots. Shots are too long, boring, etc.
Of course this applies only to the first five minutes... I would have to watch it all to make a complete judgement, but after watching the first minutes I didn't feel like watching the rest.

Agreed

 

[TwinCities]

I watched the first 5 minutes and didn't like what I saw. Bad image quality, very flat looking, dull. Looks cheap with all the shaky handheld shots. Shots are too long, boring, etc.
Of course this applies only to the first five minutes... I would have to watch it all to make a complete judgement, but after watching the first minutes I didn't feel like watching the rest.

Thank you for your constructive feedback!

EDIT:

We knew this would be a problem, thinking back on it, we should have refilmed the beginning. Alas, mistakes lead to improvement. (: Thank you guys!

 

[gebo]

Thank you for your constructive feedback!

EDIT:

We knew this would be a problem, thinking back on it, we should have refilmed the beginning. Alas, mistakes lead to improvement. (: Thank you guys!

I hope you didn't interpret my comment as non-constructive. I pointed out what I didn't like so I think it's obvious what should be improved, in my opinion. Better lighting, better color grading, more stabilized footage, etc....
Of course mistakes lead to improvement, and if you made mistakes it means at least you did something, unlike many people (me included...) who talk and talk and never get things done...

 

[TwinCities]

I hope you didn't interpret my comment as non-constructive. I pointed out what I didn't like so I think it's obvious what should be improved, in my opinion. Better lighting, better color grading, more stabilized footage, etc....
Of course mistakes lead to improvement, and if you made mistakes it means at least you did something, unlike many people (me included...) who talk and talk and never get things done...

No it wasn't sarcasm, I understand. We were on an extremely tight schedule for filming and we rushed things too much. The writer only was able to come to America for a month. No excuse, though.

 

[Firm1]

Yeah, I mean to be honest with you its not the quality of the film that bothered me. Granted, it could have been done far better, but really when it comes down to it, its about the story and how you convey it. The way you conveyed it...Not cool.

First of all, why the hell were they in the parking lot? No one goes to an empty parking lot in the middle of the night to buy or sell drugs. High school kids selling pot do that. Not high end dealers selling coke. Secondly, why did he carry it in that case and why didn't he use a ziplock bag? Furthermore, why didn't he have more than just that tiny bag?

But more importantly, what sparked my curiosity? Most people who post on this forum are drug addicts or at least hang around people who do drugs. Its an everyday facet of our lives in some way shape or form so why is a simple drug deal interesting?

Anyway, I don't mean to sound like a douche but its doing everyone a favor when you're honest so there it is. The lesson you should take away from this movie you made is this: Add realism to your movies and figure out the best ways to tap a nerve in people so that they feel something while spreading an overall message that can resonate with a large audience living in this paradigm. Quality in picture comes second to the story however, its nice to get good shots.

 

[TwinCities]

Yeah, I mean to be honest with you its not the quality of the film that bothered me. Granted, it could have been done far better, but really when it comes down to it, its about the story and how you convey it. The way you conveyed it...Not cool.

First of all, why the hell were they in the parking lot? No one goes to an empty parking lot in the middle of the night to buy or sell drugs. High school kids selling pot do that. Not high end dealers selling coke. Secondly, why did he carry it in that case and why didn't he use a ziplock bag? Furthermore, why didn't he have more than just that tiny bag?

But more importantly, what sparked my curiosity? Most people who post on this forum are drug addicts or at least hang around people who do drugs. Its an everyday facet of our lives in some way shape or form so why is a simple drug deal interesting?

Anyway, I don't mean to sound like a douche but its doing everyone a favor when you're honest so there it is. The lesson you should take away from this movie you made is this: Add realism to your movies and figure out the best ways to tap a nerve in people so that they feel something while spreading an overall message that can resonate with a large audience living in this paradigm. Quality in picture comes second to the story however, its nice to get good shots.

That isn't very constructive, sir. Everyone has their vision of something and sees things differently. You could take a lot away from realizing this.

 

[Firm1]

That isn't very constructive, sir. Everyone has their vision of something and sees things differently. You could take a lot away from realizing this.

Woah, no need to get on the defense here. I'm not making personal attacks against your story...Well, I am but I'm not doing it because I want to be a douche. I'm doing it because that's what everyone else will do when they watch it. I'm sure you have a lot of good ideas, but you have to convey it in the right manner if people are going to watch your movies.

To be honest, I thought the premise for this movie sounded really awesome, which initially compelled me to want to watch it. However, as I watched the first 30 seconds of this movie, I thought "What the fuck? This doesn't seem realistic at all." And of course, I immediately wanted to turn it off. The point is, people see things differently, but everyone analyzes some basis of logic that can be agreed upon by the collective. You ground your movies on the accepted reality that everyone shares so that you can establish that connection to a larger audience. Isn't that the point of filmmaking?

Anyway, you're right, everyone has their vision of something and sees things differently, but that mostly has to do with emotion not what is physically being shown. Its like this: When people see a black guy walking down the street, everyone who is sane will see a man with dark skin. But, everyone will perceive that black man differently based on experiences and the way their psychological schemas are organized.

Some people will see him as dangerous. Others as loving. Others won't have any opinion of them. Then, you might have some who thinks he can jump high or rap well. But at the end of the day, everyone will always see that black guy as that...A black guy. That's the reality that everyone sees. The way they perceive and understand it is where they "see things differently".

So with that in mind, just make sure you cover the little nuances like that and you'll be able to convey your story properly. Its Ok to establish an emotional vision of the event, but the event itself is separate from the emotional response. The event is fixed. The emotional response is varied.

 

[TwinCities]

Woah, no need to get on the defense here. I'm not making personal attacks against your story...Well, I am but I'm not doing it because I want to be a douche. I'm doing it because that's what everyone else will do when they watch it. I'm sure you have a lot of good ideas, but you have to convey it in the right manner if people are going to watch your movies.

To be honest, I thought the premise for this movie sounded really awesome, which initially compelled me to want to watch it. However, as I watched the first 30 seconds of this movie, I thought "What the fuck? This doesn't seem realistic at all." And of course, I immediately wanted to turn it off. The point is, people see things differently, but everyone analyzes some basis of logic that can be agreed upon by the collective. You ground your movies on the accepted reality that everyone shares so that you can establish that connection to a larger audience. Isn't that the point of filmmaking?

Anyway, you're right, everyone has their vision of something and sees things differently, but that mostly has to do with emotion not what is physically being shown. Its like this: When people see a black guy walking down the street, everyone who is sane will see a man with dark skin. But, everyone will perceive that black man differently based on experiences and the way their psychological schemas are organized.

Some people will see him as dangerous. Others as loving. Others won't have any opinion of them. Then, you might have some who thinks he can jump high or rap well. But at the end of the day, everyone will always see that black guy as that...A black guy. That's the reality that everyone sees. The way they perceive and understand it is where they "see things differently".

So with that in mind, just make sure you cover the little nuances like that and you'll be able to convey your story properly. Its Ok to establish an emotional vision of the event, but the event itself is separate from the emotional response. The event is fixed. The emotional response is varied.

alright man. I was just hoping one of you would watch it through because I already had received a lot about the beginning but not about the rest. I'm hoping someone will let it go and watch it through so I can see what they think of it all together. Anyways, you're very wise with what you said and I'll remember that.

 

[Firm1]

alright man. I was just hoping one of you would watch it through because I already had received a lot about the beginning but not about the rest. I'm hoping someone will let it go and watch it through so I can see what they think of it all together. Anyways, you're very wise with what you said and I'll remember that.

Yeah, sorry man. Its not that we hate you or anything, but you're movie is pretty long and we all have busy schedules. I do that with high budget Hollywood movies all the time, especially these days with the information age. I'm so de-sensitized by everything to the point where if it doesn't suggest something new and exciting within the first couple of minutes, I'm going to turn it off. That's the power that opening scenes have for movies. In a literal sense, they can make and break the entire movie.

Anyway, good luck with your next movie and also keep this in mind. The fact that you have a good premise, puts you ahead of a lot of people. Most don't have any ideas to jump on, so if you're able to come up with good ideas...Well, then its just a matter of mastering the technique so you can properly articulate it to everyone else.