Thanks everyone for the awesome feedback! I'm really proud of this and I'm glad you guys liked it.
It’s really good.
I especially like that you shot against the windows with no blow out.
Thanks, I'm really proud that I got that to work. It was actually just as simple as blasting my 500watt work light at the action.
Two minor things I wished it had:
1. A few insert shots (the door handle, the glass when pouring) to vary from the wide.
Agreed. After seeing the finished product(or close to it) a bunch of times, I became painfully aware of how excruciatingly long that master shot at the table was. If I were to go back to it, I would add in all those things you said plus some more OTS shots etc.
2. Some minor conflict gestured between the two (one is going to leave, one is sad for a moment.. even just a look), nothing major, but just enough of something to provide a dynamic to ramp down from before the end. This could be artistic choice, but you invented and invited me through the looking glass, but with no minor conflict to witness or feel or learn something from, then I don’t have a sense of change or the fullfillment of having been to the ball when the clock strikes midnight and it comes time for the end.
You're probably right, but I wanted the piece to be a bit more experimental and open to interpretation. I think there are a lot of stories I think you could tell based on this interaction (you called them flashbacks, Tina called them foreshadowing, I haven't decided what I think they are). It would have made it better with more of a middle though, for sure
Like the black and white, works very well. The camera shot with the sunglasses-deliberate non-use of tripod? I found it a little distracting.
Yes it was deliberate, I was using my homemade steadycam(in fact all the whole opening sequence minus the 'head/mirror' were shot with the steadycam), which seems to work well, especially with the added weight of the adapter. (side note: anyone got any good ideas for some dead weight to add to the rig to make it more stable?)
The fact that it's still shaky is largely because I am still getting used to the flip from the adapter. Having said that, I really like the movement in the shots, I actually chose those over more 'stable' shots of the same things
The head form in the mirror was a nice touch(again, deliberate stop motion? As opposed to putting it on a stand and rotating it off screen?)
Thanks, I'm in love with that shot! It was deliberate stop motion, or my attempt at it. I didn't do 1 frame per movement, which is why it's 'jerky', I just wanted a little bit here and there.
You “borrowed” my dripping faucet from Delivery Day! ( I kid)
Zoom into the mirror was well done.
Thankyou sony vegas, I will take credit for that smooth zoom if I must
Maybe it’s my ears, but the voiceover seemed to be getting drowned out by the music (or I’m going deaf, which is quite possible)-I would bring the music down just a tad.
I'm not sure what happened to the audio. I had the mix perfect in Vegas and when I rendered, but on youtube I agree the VO is a bit low compared to the music.
Any sound folks know what I might be doing wrong? I'm pretty sure every render is lossless :/ ...
The piano music was well done!
I'll tell Sean, he'll be super happy!
Again “shakey” camera of being strapped to the bed-I would have again had tripod (again, “Art”? ) Having said that, the “foreshadowing” is very effective :
Yeah, totally intentional. I wanted a really frantic flash like a memory that you only remember emotionally.
Far be it for me to talk about lighting lol-I will mention the shadows-again, maybe it’s intentional (yea, I know, the converted now preaching to the orginal teacher)
I used mainly natural light for this, but were there any parts that particularly stood out as more shadowy than others?
Plus if you are doing the split screen effect the way you did it in this short you must be very meticulous about where you lock your tripod down. There was a slight shift in the shot during the toast that gave the effect away and hurt the illusion.
Hmm, yeah I was wondering what was causing that. As far as I know the camera did not move a millimeter. I had everything taped/locked down and used the remote to start and stop between takes. It's only weird, too because when I see those little jumps, I can't tell the difference. As in, I can't see that one side is drooping or anything... weird.
Then at the piano the two versions of the character were so close that one sort of faded into the other. If you are going to duplicate character's like that you must make sure the camera is locked down consistently in the right place for all takes and be sure to keep a safe distance between the characters. That said, with some composite work you could have had these characters interact more closely with each other, even touch each other. Still not a bad effort from you with the effect.
Agree, I should have rotoscoped that portion. Must. Not. Let. Self. Get. Tired. And. Lazy. About. Rotoscoping.
Super kudos for pulling that shot off in front of those windows without blowing the scene out.
Nice art short. I liked it.
Thank you! Like I said, that 500watt work light is a godsend, even if it throws harsh indiscriminate light, you can wrangle it if you need to.
And thanks to everyone else, too!
Any more feedback is completely welcome!!
( I kid)
