archived-videos My Directorial Debut (Feedback Please!)

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Escaping Westlawn

Hello all,

I made a short film last year and finally decided to make the video link public and would like some thoughts.

Its called 'The Spell Book' and its a no budget supernatural comedy shot in Austin, TX. It premiered at the 2012 Austin Film Festival.

Logline: After opening an ancient spell book, three friends confront evil in the form of a demon possessed teddy bear.

Hopefully the YouTube embed works, but if not here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUzD162l4uw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUzD162l4uw
 
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I watched until 1:00. Not my thing really.

Not bad though -- you're on your way. A quick title card then right into the action. The film festival screeners loved that! There was a 180 degree violation at :40 that was a bit jarring.

Next project keep an eye on your eye lines and minor framing issues or fix them in post.

Good luck.
 
Pretty good for a first effort, I thought. Eventually it gets moving and, while certainly a very modest budget, made good use of what it did have available. It was funnier than expected, too. :lol:

Agreeing with GA, there ain't a lot happening at all in the first minute. No fast hook. Unlike GA, I stayed beyond that. Past the 90-second mark, and it's great all the way through. If the audience makes it that far, they'll love it. :cool:

It's also a great example of a lo-budget single-location film. Three dudes in their living room, and a bear on the loose. Good job, man. :)

Btw, to fix your YouTube embed, only put the actual video ID # between the YT tags - not the entire URL.

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GuerrillaAngel said:
I watched until 1:00. Not my thing really.

Not bad though -- you're on your way. A quick title card then right into the action. The film festival screeners loved that! There was a 180 degree violation at :40 that was a bit jarring.

Next project keep an eye on your eye lines and minor framing issues or fix them in post.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear it wasn't your thing, but thanks for your comments and suggestions!
 
Zensteve said:
Pretty good for a first effort, I thought. Eventually it gets moving and, while certainly a very modest budget, made good use of what it did have available. It was funnier than expected, too. :lol:

Agreeing with GA, there ain't a lot happening at all in the first minute. No fast hook. Unlike GA, I stayed beyond that. Past the 90-second mark, and it's great all the way through. If the audience makes it that far, they'll love it. :cool:

It's also a great example of a lo-budget single-location film. Three dudes in their living room, and a bear on the loose. Good job, man. :)

Btw, to fix your YouTube embed, only put the actual video ID # between the YT tags - not the entire URL.

.
Click to expand...

First, thanks for the YouTube embed tip! Just fixed it.

And I'm relieved you found it funny. And thanks for all the kind words!
 
I really enjoyed this! Unlike some of the others, I was hooked right from the beginning. For me personally, if the acting and writing is at a certain level (which both of yours was), I'm hooked the whole way through! Great comedic timing from your actors and pacing of the edit. One of the fastest 6 min short films I've watched, and I mean that in a good way!
 
I really enjoyed it. I don't really have any critique to add, since I'm still a newb working on editing my 1st short (which now feels pathetic in comparison... thanks a lot... ha ha)

Nice work!
 
Micah Conrad said:
I really enjoyed this! Unlike some of the others, I was hooked right from the beginning. For me personally, if the acting and writing is at a certain level (which both of yours was), I'm hooked the whole way through! Great comedic timing from your actors and pacing of the edit. One of the fastest 6 min short films I've watched, and I mean that in a good way!
Click to expand...

Wow, thank you so much! You've officially made my day!

Glad everyone else loved the bear, by the way.
 
Brilliant. Starts off a little slowly and then becomes excellent. Surprisingly I really enjoyed it.

A few technical issues here and there (colouring, exposure etc...) but I didn't care because it was good.
 
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