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watch A Film Consisting of Movie Quotes

B

Bpeas

For my big film this semester at film school I wrote/directed/produced a film consisting of mainly Movie Quotes.

It's a short 5 Min 30 Sec Film. My main question's involve your opinion on the story.

Was an entertaining short achieved?

Was a complete story visible from what you saw on screen?

Were the lines taken from movies recognizable and well intertwined?

Did the dialogue, add conflict, and provide an enjoyable flow?

Your input is much appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVyqDs8-sxQ
 
I have to answer yes to all of your questions also. A very good job indeed.

I actually found myself saying the quotes with the characters when I could. :)

That said, I do have to offer the critique on your sound, it sounds like an on camera mike. It didn't distract too much, just enough that I noticed it.
 
Thanks for the compliments. It's always nice to hear when a risk pays off.

As for sound their were defiantly a few issues. The shotgun mike set to the boom pole wasn't set to the proper levels. Additionally this was my first attempt at ADR.

To be honest, I'm loving these compliments, but what I'm really looking for is constructive feedback and insight on this film for better product not only to use on this short film, but for every project I work on in the future. I have access to some of the best equipment available at film school. This is an opportunity for you to help guide a young filmmaker into producing professional results. Insight on filmmaking is one of the most important aspects of growing with the craft, and everyone here (well mostly everyone) is a great resource of mine.

So continue giving me compliments if you believe I deserve them, but more importantly constructively critique the negative aspects as well.
 
While watching your film, all I am thinking is: Why?

WHY should I care for this main character?

What is your inspiration for filming a movie consisting mainly of quotes, and WHY did you think you could fit it in a 5 min. movie?
 
since you asked for constructive feedback...

I wasn't hearing all of the lines very clearly. It could be that I have crappy speakers...but if I do, figure a lot of other people do as well. And they may have the same issue. The EQ on the dialogue was a little flat and low. You already mentioned you were aware of the sound issues, though. I enjoyed most of the camera angles and shots. The actors handled things reasonably well, but they could have used a bit more energy and enthusiasm. They went though a wide range of emotions verbally, but it didn't all come across in the performances.

Overall, it was a fun concept to watch.
 
Thanks for addressing some of the dialogue issues!...I'm currently reworking a few of those lines of dialogue and lowering the music track....
 
I've never entered a legit film festival before.

Has anyone ever done that before?

And where do you think this film will stand amongst the competition?
 
i thought it was great !

but here comes the but...sound for one...ok that will be my only comment...here are a few tips for the next one...

SHOE FOAM..a lot of the dialogue was lost do to footsteps...and amplified by the fact you used a shotgun pointing at the floor...not a smooth mic for a big echo rooms like those...USE shotguns OUTSIDE or in DEAD STUDIO's...not crappy hard locations with tons of reflections...the mic is not built for that...i sat it all the time!!!

there was some great shots killed by vad sound...i loved your move to the table...but all i heard were her shoes...lol...killed it...walk to door at end...should of cut in to a closer shot to get better sound...didnt need all that headroom...

lay small carpets down when you dont see the floor...hang blankets to kill some reflections...anything is better that nothing...

gonna stop there...didnt mean to rip anything apart...i did love your film...just trying to maybe help on the next one...

keep up the good work
 
No, that is great. Those are some suggestions I can really use. I never thought of shoe tape. Do you know of any filters on FCP that can remove the loud footsteps by chance?

I'm glad you liked it!
 
You can try to isolate the frequencies (soundtrack is much better suited to this job) and cut them out, but you'll probably cut into the voices pretty heavily. You can really only do so much after the sound is captured.

I'm going to watch this tonight, but the title of the thread broght an old movie to mind that I love: "Dead men don't wear plaid" with Steve Martin. It's a noir comedy that uses clips from old movies and stitches them together with reverse shots of Steve Martin interacting with the old characters.

Dave: What is a "Smooth Mike"?
 
Dave: What is a "Smooth Mike"?
Click to expand...
well...for me it can be a few...my fav is a Schoeps with a 41 and GVC on it...i call it the shovel...just scoops it in....then there is Sennheiser MKH50...great mic...but not good when you need to get thru a doorway..no GVC for that one....But there is another fav of mine...the Neauman 100 with a 50head and 90^adjustavle swivel...very warm...but as with all Neaumans, they are more likely to pick up RF...i own all these mics...and 2 of each so i can get a second boom on the overs or if one boom cant make a swing thru the lights to get to an actor...usually a second boom can get there....these are my GO-TO mics for indoors...if i need to move to something with more reach and its a good location...i can go with a small shotgun like a Sennheiser 416...or 70...and i also have some Sanken CS-1 and 3's... Schoeps has a shootgun now too...but i have not played with it yet..but everyone i know that has...loves it....

i am an old-school 816man when it comes to outside, you need bite when you get outside....if it cant be had on an 816...then its a wire show....nothing made today can come close to a GOOD BOOM OP using a Sennheiser 816...

hope this answers your question
 
These are still cardioid mikes?
Click to expand...
all mentioned are Hyper Cardioid...then Shotguns are SuperHyper Cardioids...
i do also have many Cardioid Pattern mics as well...and use them when an actor talks facing glasss and mirrors in bathrooms as they deal with the reflections better with thier wider pattern...or for overlaping dialouge scenes...just depends on the situation i am in....

Cardioid= is just a pickup pattern of a mic..Cardioid meaning Directional Pattern

These are all Condenser Mics that i use and require either Phantom(48volt) or T Power(12volt)

Dynamic Mics require no power and just dont cut it for film work as Dynamic mics have slower transients in them which dont give them the reach of a Condenser...they go off color very fast at a shorter distance...which is why they are used for live sound more so you dont get feedback...

Ribbon Mics...these dont require power either, but are the best sounding mics out there...and the reason we dont use them for film is that they are too fragile...but man they sound great...

hope this helps
 
I liked it, most of the shots were superb I thought. Aspecially the ones at an angle towards the end when she walks out and he shouts after her.

One thing that did get me was the establishing "movie" shot of the character looking out of the massive window, it seemed incredibly dark to me. I'm sure you can just go Colour correction in FCP if you found it a problem too.

I found the sound hard to hear, but everyones put that down.

7/10 :)
 
Watched it... Couldn't hear some of the dialogue on my end... It was just too washed out and not clear enough.

I basically liked the camera work but I thought the acting was stiff and too rehearsed -- especially the dialogue.

I like the concept and I think you could have a great short here if the sound was more clear and your actors delivered their lines with more of an approach of listening to one another. It felt like they had rehearsed and memorized their lines to the point that they were just tossing them out as soon as the other actor completed his or her dialogue... i.e., a series of cues if you will instead of two actors actually listening and playing off each other.

filmy
 
FilmJumper said:
It felt like they had rehearsed and memorized their lines to the point that they were just tossing them out as soon as the other actor completed his or her dialogue... i.e., a series of cues if you will instead of two actors actually listening and playing off each other.

filmy
Click to expand...

I totally agree. During rehearsals, the main male was great, however once the cameras turned on he became stiff. I was giving him different scenarios, and objectives to play off of, but his performance was the same.

What do you suggest when an actor freezes on set?

What is the best way to prepare for this?
 
I like to keep rolling when I say cut... then I run the scene as a rehearsal and the actors don't necessarily know they're being filmed (I have the blinky red "tally" light turned off/covered up as well). Tape is cheap, honest performance is priceless!

This works especially well with non-actors or first-time actors to get the stress on set to go away. Another thing I use is that I never say "ACTION!". I borrowed Clint Eastwood's "Whenever you're ready" which he adopted from doing westerns so as not to spook the horses on set... it works to not spook the actors as well.

I recommend the book "Acting for the Camera" by Tony Barr. It covers how actors can prevent stilted over-rehearsed deliveries. Assuming the folks you have acting for you want to further their craft and are looking to learn their piece of the filmmaking puzzle as you are doing.
 
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