archived-videos Unstuck - Neo Noir

[cheeseandachallenge]

About 2 years ago an IT member, and myself started collaborating. I produced and directed our first short, Unstuck about a year and a half ago.

After my distribution/festival plan didn't quite work out, and I ran out of money, I kind of went into a period of post-film depression about the project and didn't really do anything with it.



Anywho, I figured I should finally get around to putting out publicly. I've made peace with the things I dislike about it, so it'd be good to get some fresh perspective/feedback.

https://vimeo.com/158573861

 

[_Rok_]

Good idea. Well done.

 

[Murdock]

I enjoyed it. Would have liked to see more hard lighting on the exterior shots, but that means bigger lights = money.
And, it's a little thing, but I think there was an accent being given away by the "Rs" at the end of words.
If this is an American accent, it sounds a little off. For example, with more British accent "water" becomes "wateh."
Whereas, Americans say the "er" part of the ending. Also, the pronunciation of clandesTINE caught me off guard, with the long "I."
Americans would say clanDEStine, with a short "I."

 

[cheeseandachallenge]

Thanks Rok

Cheers Murdock. Interesting feedback re: accent. It's actually the actor's natural accent, believe it or not! He's a New Zealander, but has lived in Samoa and America, so it's a bit of a mess of influences. At the time I felt like it made sense for him to have an awkwardly not-quite-right accent, but in hindsight it might be a little confusing.
And yeah, we shot it without a budget - the exterior stuff didn't really come out the way I'd hoped, but given how little we spent on it I can't really complain

 

[NickClapper]

It's a sort of trite sentiment that I wheel out occasionally when I watch a movie, but what I would say about Unstuck is that it's a failure, but it's the right sort of failure! Trying to do something different and ambitious, and not quite pulling it off, is nothing to be ashamed off; the worst films are ones that are lazy from the outset, and can't even execute that.

Things I thought didn't work:

– The lighting of the colour scenes didn't feel hugely cinematic. At times I caught long shadows, and I don't know whether you were trying to emulate the noir feel or not, but it felt at times a bit crudely lit. I think you also know that the last outdoors sequence is too dark.

– Some of the acting is not great, especially the supporting characters. Again, I can see how this might've been an artistic choice, to reinforce the slightly surreal/artificial air, but it's a dangerous game and needs to be executed perfectly. I also felt like the casting could've perhaps accommodated for a few older actors, because some of the actors looked too young for the parts they were playing (especially the final guy who gets beaten up).

– I assume that part of the intention was to have a narrative that's fragmentary to the extent that viewers are more concerned with trying to follow the protagonist's psyche than the plot (which you make clear by establishing from the second scene that we're in a fantasia), but I found the noirish element pretty impossible to follow. People always talk about writers like Chandler and Hammett as being difficult to follow, and that's true on a scene by scene basis, but the set-up is always fairly simple. I could tell that you were trying to execute certain noir tropes (the femme fatale, the homely bystander...etc) but I couldn't really work out what was going on. I think you had two choices: go bigger with the alcoholism and make the impossibility/improbability of the plot a point in itself, or simplify the mystery element and make it a bit easier to follow.

Things I liked:

– Your lead actor is good and I liked the voiceover. I think that you might've been better served giving everyone strong New Zealand accents so that it felt like a proper Wellington Noir, but I didn'th have any complaints about his delivery.

– Some of the shot selection is excellent. There's a moment when he sits on the bench and the car passes and the shot changes slightly, which is really good. I also thought the CCTV stuff was good and a really clever use of the established colour palate.

– Generally speaking, I thought the movement between the sections was well handled and the colour transitions were often excellent (the moment walking into the bar was particularly good). I thought the attention to detail there was excellent and it works really well at the start when I was still configuring my mind to what exactly was going on. I also think the juxtaposition of the extravagant, vaguely gothic courtroom in the noir and the crappy HR room was great, it made a really forceful visual point, I just wish the colour section had been lit as confidently as the B&W. Generally, I thought your use and management of locations was really strong.

– I liked the music and the feel of the piece. I think you got what you wanted there, and, on a tight budget, that's a really tricky thing to accomplish, especially with a genre as demanding as noir.

 

[Cracker Funk]

Very cool. Both the film and the fact that you've decided to finally let it be seen. Bravo!

I know the feeling. Here's the good news - everything that has been broken can be fixed. Time to get your mojo back. What the next project?

 

[JoshL]

Glad you decided to share it! If I recall, the whole project came together very quickly, trying to make the festival deadline you were shooting for! It was a lot of fun, and like Nick said, ambition is a good thing and if you learn something, it was worth doing!

 

[cheeseandachallenge]

It's a sort of trite sentiment that I wheel out occasionally when I watch a movie, but what I would say about Unstuck is that it's a failure, but it's the right sort of failure!

Hey, thanks Nick! I agree with this - it was a pretty ambitious piece. I agree with pretty much all your feedback, especially re: casting and some of the plot details (some of the others were practical constraints, but both of those things were within my control a lot more, and I made mistakes).

I liked the music and the feel of the piece. I think you got what you wanted there, and, on a tight budget, that's a really tricky thing to accomplish, especially with a genre as demanding as noir.

I should've given props to JoshL and Mike McGuill in my OP here, they did a really great job within ridiculous time constraints!

Glad you decided to share it! If I recall, the whole project came together very quickly, trying to make the festival deadline you were shooting for! It was a lot of fun, and like Nick said, ambition is a good thing and if you learn something, it was worth doing!

Yep, you recall right - I think we went from finalising the cast to final cut in three weeks (all while working a full time job and doing my final uni exams). Our post-production period was about a week? So I cut it in 3 days, and gave you and Mike about 4 days to score and mix it? In any case, working in opposite time zones with such constraints was a big ask, and y'all performed pretty brilliantly.

Very cool. Both the film and the fact that you've decided to finally let it be seen. Bravo!

I know the feeling. Here's the good news - everything that has been broken can be fixed. Time to get your mojo back. What the next project?

Thanks I'm doing a few mini documentary/portrait pieces to 1) get shooting again (i've spent a year working on other people's projects) 2) use as part of a pitch with a local tv station I have an in with. Shooting an absurdist (and again highly ambitious) no-budget music video in a couple of weeks, and hopefully going to have a web series (or two) in production by the end of the year! So if things go well, i'll be pretty busy!

 

[NickClapper]

Hey, thanks Nick! I agree with this - it was a pretty ambitious piece. I agree with pretty much all your feedback, especially re: casting and some of the plot details (some of the others were practical constraints, but both of those things were within my control a lot more, and I made mistakes).

It's so frustrating when you look back on a project and realise that you have to blame yourself for certain things. In a way, it's easier when you can say something like "that performance was terrible" or "the DP forgot to bring the correct lenses".

I can't watch back The Flight of the Flamingo now because the flaws that stick out to me are all script problems, for which I was wholly to blame. And all the good things – the cinematography, the design, some of the performances – are things for which I'd instinctively commend other people, rather than myself. But what I *hope* I learnt from FOTF is that I should never be satisfied with my plotting, and, at the very least, should submit it to rigorous scrutiny to ensure that it holds together. So while it's annoying to look back on a piece and focus only on your own mistakes, I guess it's also the best way to set yourself precedent for improving.

That all said, Unstuck is pretty damn good and you have literally nothing to worry about, except resource depletion from population growth and that's a pretty universal concern.

 

[cheeseandachallenge]

It's interesting. There were certainly things other people didn't do quite right on set, but I kind of take the fall for that for not getting the right people on or not being assertive enough in certain regards. I had to fight for certain a couple of things that you mentioned as positives (e.g. no one was on board with the transition into the bar - but in the final film, it's frequently one of the moments people highlight as *good*). So I guess for me it's also learning to be stronger as a director - something I've definitely gotten better at through ADing a few more things lately.

I find it interesting that you struggle to rewatch FOTF (which I still quite like). WIth all my projects I think we've had opposing trajectories with past work.
I always have a phase of contempt for the mistakes I made, but (as is the case with Unstuck) I seem to find peace with those things, and am actually quite proud of certain moments. I think with enough time, I see the projects in a more neutral light, and for the most part my work isn't awful. Or maybe I'm just deluded

 

[maz]

It's interesting. There were certainly things other people didn't do quite right on set, but I kind of take the fall for that for not getting the right people on or not being assertive enough in certain regards. I had to fight for certain a couple of things that you mentioned as positives (e.g. no one was on board with the transition into the bar - but in the final film, it's frequently one of the moments people highlight as *good*). So I guess for me it's also learning to be stronger as a director - something I've definitely gotten better at through ADing a few more things lately.

I find it interesting that you struggle to rewatch FOTF (which I still quite like). WIth all my projects I think we've had opposing trajectories with past work.
I always have a phase of contempt for the mistakes I made, but (as is the case with Unstuck) I seem to find peace with those things, and am actually quite proud of certain moments. I think with enough time, I see the projects in a more neutral light, and for the most part my work isn't awful. Or maybe I'm just deluded

You're a filmmaker, of course you're deluded

 

[JoshL]

I find it interesting that you struggle to rewatch FOTF (which I still quite like). WIth all my projects I think we've had opposing trajectories with past work.
I always have a phase of contempt for the mistakes I made, but (as is the case with Unstuck) I seem to find peace with those things, and am actually quite proud of certain moments. I think with enough time, I see the projects in a more neutral light, and for the most part my work isn't awful. Or maybe I'm just deluded

I've always thought that in order to really grow and build on your work as an artist, you have to be your strictest critic, but also your biggest fan. Being able to find the parts you did well, particularly those you weren't expecting helps do the same thing in the future, but intentionally. And going back to past work can give you a reminder of things you aren't thinking about anymore, but can bring back into your work. And to my mind, if I'm not making music I want to listen to, why would I expect anyone else to want to listen to it?

That said, there are people who enjoy the process more than the work, and that's perfectly valid too. And let's face it, my love of my own work is more than a little bit of ego

 

[cheeseandachallenge]

I've always thought that in order to really grow and build on your work as an artist, you have to be your strictest critic, but also your biggest fan. Being able to find the parts you did well, particularly those you weren't expecting helps do the same thing in the future, but intentionally. And going back to past work can give you a reminder of things you aren't thinking about anymore, but can bring back into your work. And to my mind, if I'm not making music I want to listen to, why would I expect anyone else to want to listen to it?

Yeah I 100% agree with this. It's also incredibly hard to motivate yourself to keep going if you hate everything you've done (or at least, it is for me).

You're a filmmaker, of course you're deluded

So far my delusion is still seen as socially acceptable.

 

[maz]

So far my delusion is still seen as socially acceptable.

Well, as long as you don't come Unstuck