DVC 13 - The Stop - Matt McLain
 

Hey all,

So this is my first entry into the DV Challenge, and I already wish there was another challenge tomorrow. This thing ended up being severely rushed in post, but that's usually one of the best ways to figure out how to streamline the post-production workflow, I suppose. Anyways, thanks for the views.

Wow!
 

The cinematography was very good. Did you use some sort of adapter for that nice depth of field? I sense you also maybe added a color reversal film filter to the footage in post? The saturation and contrast points to that and you used it well for the mood. The writing was very good, the acting excellent and your choice of camera angles, cutting and production design were all good. I may be looking a bit too deep into this but did you intentionally choose yellow painted walls to symbolize your one character's fear? I enjoyed this movie and look forward to seeing what other gems you can give us.

Ohhhh, Matt.......you’re putting a hurt on my little brain.

Gotta think on this one a while and try to figure it out....

Nice, love the acting, color grading and seems you did some ADR there which made the dialogue sound good without the kind of echo you would get in that room.

Pretty good for a first time, better than my first, that's for sure :) However, hard for me to get the story...

Ditto. Matt, I feel like I'm doing all right until that last scene, then everything goes out the window.

That said, I appreciate the intelligent writing, and of course, the unusual look that does every bit as much toward keeping the viewer off balance as the dialog and action itself.

First film. Wow -- very well done. The camera angles and cuts are those of more seasoned DPs/Directors/Editors. Kudos to those of you who were involved.

Quite a well done piece of work. Audio was clean and crisp, Camera work looked polished and professional, and the actors carried the feel of suspense.

The ending leaves a lot to imagination. Lets us try to fill in what is supposed to have happened, where most endings tend to be a little too neat.

I liked this one and the way you did it.

Well, I'll admit your story didn't do much for me. It felt a bit stiff and melodramatic. But your camera angles were nice. I liked that focus pull when he comes in. Did you cheat that in post or were you shooting with a camera that could really pull it off? The lighting could have used some work. And maybe a bit of music, but then again maybe not. It might have been hard to find the right music for the mood. Nice effort though.

Smile,
Kris

I'm with Lorinda. I watched this one three times and don't know if I got it. But next time I'm pulled in by gun wielding mobsters, I think I'm going to try dropping the F-bomb all over the place and see if they let me go.

Perhaps I was distracted by watching the cinematography. It appeared to be some kind of DOF adapter, and I kept looking at the image quality, the apparent vignetting. It sort of gave it a cool artistic effect, like the scene crossing the railroad tracks. Was that a consequence of the adapter or an artistic choice? I thought the image was very cool.

Some really interesting visuals, but I still didn't understand the story.

LOL! That may well be the funniest line of feedback in all of the DV Challenge!

Thanks for the compliments on the cinematography. We did use a letus extreme for some nice dof, but as far as the story... i can't be much help. I didn't write this thing, and don't 100% understand where exactly the luck theme fits in, but the guy wrote it assured me its there... so... you know... Thanks for all the feedback though.