DVC3 "The Best Buy" -Feedback
 

Well here she is in all her glory. If you don't have quicktime 7 you can download an mp4 version at www.ontapusa.com/dvchallenge/thebestbuy.mp4. I had a really good time making this and I would like to thank everyone who pulled together to make it happen. DVC'ers let me know what you think.

Yeah, that was good to. I enjoyed it. I liked the B&W during that part of the sales guys speech.

I liked the concept. Different cameras for different unusual shots.

Well done.

Sean McHenry

Great actor as the sales guy - I like seeing quality acting.

Yap,

The Sales Guy sure got my attention. Plus, overall, you movie looked very balanced and apealling. The non-assertive guy / attractive fiancé duo was very well played as well, and added to the situation.

Loved the cameras concepts. All of those would have given a very nice short too.

Quite good, keep it on!

Hugo

i thought it was pretty funny that you included the half-clad sales guy in the undressed picture...a better-than-average male fantasy moment, if i do say so!

The salesman
 

Yeah, Jeremy is great. I Dp'ed a short a couple months ago and he was the lead. Before the theme was released I had no intention of putting together a comedy but I was sitting around at work brainstorming ideas with my colleagues and this is what popped out. When I looked at the characters I knew he would be perfect, I was just fortunate that he could do it on 36 hours notice. Thanks for the feedback.

Hey Jason!

You did a great job!

First, your salesman was a terrific actor. He managed to let slide through that certain slimy quality...I need the commission type thing. While there are more good salespeople than bad in this world, he reminded me of the sketchy few I have come into contact with that required a sponge bath immediately after meeting. So I identified.

I loved some of these lines you came up with in the script. "Geek out" - That is damn funny. Isn't that what us guys tend to do? "The Sashimi" - To come up with a sliced fish sushi reference and equate it to the camera model was nice and quirky.

I was wondering if you used a green screen/blue screen for the couple? Am curious?

Nice job Jason. The salesman creeped me out. Loved the idea of the cameras having different specail powers. Couldn't stop laughing when that other salesman got zapped. Good job.

Green Screen
 

Yeah it was green screen for days anytime I shot the couple. I figured there was no way to shoot 6 hours in a Best Buy so we'd fake it. I smuggled a dv tape into one of their display camcorders and used it to shoot the plates. It was hard to get the proper angles because it was tethered but we did what we could. I was hoping that it wouldn't ruin the continuity too much, or be too obvious but this is my first run at keying and it was a nightmarish process. There wasn't really any time to practice with different lighting and exposure so it was just go and see what happens. You can see the green screen in the background when Steve has his face up to the monitor. Take Care, Jason.

Yes I thought it was green screened too, but it is not really appearant. Good story, I really liked it. We all know some vendors like this. Your actors were definitly really good! Perhaps the best in this contest.

Very funny! Good work

Very FUNNY!

No one mentioned the obvious clues to the salesman as the devil. Big LOU (Lucifer) but my favorite was "expandable to just over six hundred and sixty five souls...)

But YOU GOTTA GO ALL THE WAY with the polaroid! We don't need to see no stinking bras in the picture!

I loved it! I also loved the covert camera technique you used to get your background!

Hey Jason,
I loved this. I was shocked when I read that you chroma keyed the couple in front of covert store footage...I didn't even notice, I just thought you were using expert framing and focus techniques - which you basically did. After watching it again at fuller screen I was able to notice a few things, but I had to look for them only because I knew it then....You did an amazing job, it all looked so great, and the lighting was just so perfect.

The actors all did an amazing also. Very funny and they played their roles perfectly. The dialogue was right on target and very creative.

If anything at all, I would have suggested that perahps you lightly layer in background electronic store noise, like the beeps and whirrs that come with customers playing with gadgets in the background. It would help the viewer not think they were viewing a set.

As far as the rest...dude, you should be proud of this one. It was excellent.
Great job!
-Jon

Thanks Martian Man-Hunter
 

Thanks for the great comments. I actually had a friend of mine compose the score, which was essentially bad electronic elevator music, but he couldn't email it to me because we didn't know about gmail's 10mb limit. I had to settle for running a sample he created over the credits. Take Care, Jason.

Nice job
 

Great concept and a nice piece of writing.

What gear did you use to shoot and edit?

Thanks

What I Used
 

An XL2 with the 20x lens, a sennheiser ME-67 a green-screen, and FCP5. I wanted more sophisticated shots and more camera movement but was really limited because of the virtual environment. Thanks for all your comments, Jason.