DVC 6 - Lorinda Norton - Mirage
 

What I had in mind and what ended up here are sure different things, but that’s what I get for starting late. Hated cutting corners on shooting and didn’t finish editing, but by golly, I was gonna get it submitted—rough edges and all!

My son was in his last week home from college so I talked him, my nephew and a friend into doing this one. That way I got to spend a little more time with my kid, plus the boys got to trot out some of their toys. I was glad for the time together, and I think they (and my sister) enjoyed the shoot; so now, if you were entertained a little bit, well…that will be very cool. :)

Lorinda

p.s. Dear Dylan, I’m sorry for making your job so much harder this time around. I appreciate all you do!

Lorinda,

You always keep us smiling! Great story too, loved it! Glad you got your son David into this one.

Mike

Too cute! I was holdin' out for those hula girls, myself. Looked like an episode of Tiki Bar TV! Great work, Lorinda!

...now I have to go see if my Mossberg shotgun is still in the closet...swear they're identical....

Hahaha! What the heck is Tiki Bar TV? Did I inadvertently rip off something?

Thanks, guys...

Yeah, where is this Tiki Bar TV?

Too funny Lorinda. Are you going to fix it up after the contest?

No, you didn't rip anything off....just yours was that good.


http://www.tikibartv.com/tikibar_dis...?pver=qh&vid=6

one of my favourite (filmed in Vancouver) episodes.....


Enjoy!

Lorinda:

Another good one !!! Didn't see the end coming. I was looking for sand to be poured out of the bottles.... Great job.

You guys are kind. Thank you.

Dennis, I am going to finish this for a DVD w/extras that I'll give to the boys. Don't know how much more polishing I can do, but we'll see.

I nearly laughed my head off at that clip you provided, Ed! Sadly for me, the only parallel is that yes, there were tiki bars in both, and yes, there were three guys and disappearances. Other than that... lol

There's a certain Content Mafia boss around this site who might like that "Trap Door," what with the Captain Morgan rum in it. ;) I copied the recipe for Erik. If we ever do another movie together, maybe he can mix up some of those and the writing will improve!

Just my kind of humor. A wise crack from two unappreciative guys gives them their just dessert: The beers are snached back! Oh did I crack up at that. Wise crack humor followed by retribution is the best! I loved the subtle camera crane movement that gave this piece its polished, big production look. One thing you can tell: The sky was overcast AND a deep blue. Those clouds musta moved pretty fast. Great cutting. Great pace.

Thank you. Your humor and story lines still prove without a doubt that clean fun always prevails over vulgarity and shock value.

the setting is quite beautiful. at first I couldn't take my eyes off the landscape. Man there is some serious firepower on those two guys. You can definately tell it wasn't shot in NYC. hahaha.
Did you build that Tiki Bar and haul it out there?

Nice Story and well told. The bartender's overly long bottle twirling was quite funny.

Great Job.

Another great buddy movie from Lorinda. This seems to be your genre'. Slightly stupid guys, collaborating on a stupid agenda. Or even stupider criminals. I love those guys.

What kind of guns were those? One appeared to be a 12 Gauge.
I'd have loved to see one of the guys blast the mirage into oblivion.

Or the dancing TIKI girls. More sex and violence basically. Great story, very original take on the Sun.

I love your movies Lorinda. Well written and executed. David is a born actor. Keep him in the series. Can we have a tv type western next time in all that beaut scenery?
Say!!! The girls are best left to our imagination. In Auckland (our largest city)yesterday there was a 'Boobs on Bikes Parade' Thirty topless girls rode bikes down the main street. It drew a bigger crowd than the annual Santa Parade.
It wasn't a mirage. The girls were real. I have my doubts about Santa.

Lorinda that was excellent! A funny little story, it sure made me smile. That's what they get for calling him a crock, haha. Its too bad that bottle on the side had to been blurred out. What was that anyway? Jumbo sun lotion? LOL

I would have avoided the short fade to black at the beginning, and would have just had the words fade out since the intro was mostly part of the story.

Nice job.

Justin

OWEN!!!! How's my dear friend from down under? Good to see you here, and I plan to see you in DVC7 as a challenger. As for your topless story...you Kiwis sure know how to keep things interesting, don't you. Dick, maybe you should vacation in NZ. :) Owen, I'll tell David what you said about him; it'll make him happy.

How could you tell the tiki bar was homemade, Michael? LOL!! I made it at 2:30 am the night before using an old puppet stage, material I found in our shop, 2 pairs of stilts and a grass skirt. None of it was fastened in any way--pretty much just balanced. The shorter stilts in front kept falling over.

David packed pretty light, with only his AR15 and a Springfield XD (.45) in his pocket. Brian chose his Mossberg shotgun (Edward was right) and his AR15. You couldn't see his .40 cal Glock or the H&K 45. What can I say...it's Idaho.

Justin, that bottle thing turned into quite the bane for me. I knew better than to show the name, but we thought the huge suntan bottle display would be funny. I thought I'd just keep the name out of the shots. Right. Cropping was getting to be a pain, so I e-mailed Australian Gold, but they wouldn't give me permission to leave it; hence, the blurring. As for the fade, it wasn't a continous take. Mistake on my part.

Before I forget, thank you, Hugh, for noticing the dolly and crane work at the beginning. I could kick myself for abandoning my tripod for handheld when we got on the mountainside.

Fellas, thank you so much for the pats on the head. I get kinda down when I see how far I have to go even after doing these things for over a year. So I really appreciate your nice comments. :)

Oh come on... Pat on the HEAD??? you are one of the best story tellers here. At least everyone gets your stories. ehem.

Ohhh, and by the way, Aren't you a DVC winner???

Heh heh. That seems like a long time ago, and I've managed to lose ground rather than gain it, which frustrates me a lot. Plus, wouldn't you agree that since guys like you graced this Challenge the bar has been raised considerably? I'm completely overwhelmed by the talent here.

Btw, I'm no stranger to "I don't get it." But I apologize...shouldn't come across as such a Sad Sack. Forgive? :)

Ummm no. You're mistaking me for Bill Gardner.

DVinfo-ers and beer...

Technically, this video was pretty good. I was impressed by the exposure, how you were able to capture both the blue sky as well as the subject. However, I did notice a shot, close to when they first get to the bar, where the exposure fluctuated a little bit. It wasn't too bad, but it distracted my attention. I too noticed the crane shot. It gave an interesting feel; I liked it.

A few other minor suggestions: I think the "shi..." should have been interrupted a tad sooner. It seemed to me like he had time to say the whole word. Also, it seemed like the bar tender spent a little too much time with his tricks, but, maybe not. That's more of a personal decision.

The bar looked great. It looked like it could have been a functional establishment. I also liked the end, where the arms reach out and take the beer.

I think this one looks really good. The acting might not be up to your usual but it still works fine - I find it funny that we don't find out just what these guys are doing roaming the countryside loaded for bear. Nice job on the spit-and-bailing-wire bar prop!


-j

DV Info-ers and beer...I started to tell you what kind the guys had there, Colton, but it may have triggered yet another round of which beer is best. We've almost exhausted that topic on this site. Not quite, but almost.

What was up with that exposure change? I ran into that a few other times but was able to cut it. I shoot in all manual, so that still puzzles me. Of course, that was the least of my editing problems. :)

Don't I know it! LOL!! If you saw how many takes we shot right there trying to get my nephew to step in earlier! I couldn't believe it, but we all got some laughs out of it. Might have something to do with Jay's observation, I guess. ;)

Thanks for the comments, and I'm glad you guys liked the bar. In making that I found out that some table saws are actually pretty cool.

The guys seemed to be stepping on each other's lines when they first meet the bartender, and I'm also of the opinion that the bartender went on with his tricks for a touch too long (impressive as they were). The fade outs didn't seem necessary, either.

You do great comedy, Lorinda, I really enjoyed this film. I expected the bar to disappear as soon as the one guy mentions that "you can't lean on a mirage", leaving them to fall on the ground, but it works very well as is.

I still want to find out where they're going, perhaps a sequel is in order the next time your son is home?

Lorinda,

Very clever story. It was fun to watch.

I must agree with Robert and Colton's comments on what could have been better, but hey, you entertained me, and it's all about learing and as the DV Challenge web site states: "It's cheaper than film school."

Keep up the good work,

Jim

Thanks for the comments, guys; I will try to keep them in mind. I let too many thoughts crowd in when I’m shooting, like wondering if the guys are getting frustrated waiting on me—stuff like that. Soon as that happens I start cutting corners.

Robert, there most likely won’t be a sequel with these particular loved ones, so I’ll tell you what I was thinking. (I grinned at Jay’s comment because that was part of the convenient gag for me—no one really knows. Lol) It's not until the credits that you find out they are part of a militia. Now, we all know that these militia guys go on maneuvers, right? To keep on their toes? Ha ha—I really have no idea. My son is in his last year of ROTC at school; next year he’ll graduate as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army and begin his service. In his training they do lots of land navigation; that’s what got me thinking along those lines.

And James, entertainment is always my highest goal, so what you said makes me happy. I'll keep working on that other stuff. :)

Lorinda, that was very entertaining. If that was your goal, you definitely succeeded in achieving it. Superb job technically...couldn't find any faults. If there is one thing, it's just a slight wind noise outside. Did you use some kind of Rycote softie on the mic?

One question. Did you intend the location to be in America somewhere, or out in Iraq/Afghanistan? I thought the latter when I first watched it. I'm scared of going to Idaho if everyone totes around those guns. (I'm Canadian...heh, guns are foreign to us).

No, Eric, after all these Challenges and all my complaining about the wind, I still haven’t bought anything for that mic! Occasionally, I wrap part of a feather boa around it, but didn’t use anything this time. I’m gonna pry open my change purse and get something.

I opted for U.S. soil and militia (civilians) all the way. LOL about Idaho and its guns!! The overwhelming majority of gun owners here are very responsible, so you’d be just fine. I’ll admit, there are lots of ‘em, though! (No one should come sneakin’ into my house unannounced.) ;)

I’m gonna watch your movie pretty soon! See you in a bit!

Lorinda, Pretty funny story. My personal opinion is the guys were complaining just a little too much for getting free beer! Sounds like the tiki bar was a lot of work. I am amazed at how much work so many people go through for this fun. And as you said, the competition is tough. Good work again. Congratulations.

I can understand one week vs four from previous challenges. Kinda sneaks up on you when it's day 4 and you're still running spell check on the dialogue...

Maybe we get too serious, too ambitious, or treat it like a paying job (like I did with mine). This was not some folks having a beer and playing around for an afternoon. One week is very short for all of us, and we have to understand that there will be mistakes, shortcuts, etc. Thus it puts us all on an even playing field, and we are free to look beyond the edits and judge the storyline or punchline.

I like this one. The fact that two good ol'boys were out in the middle of nowhere and loaded to the teeth was funny enough. I didn't sense military, but more or less two boys with too many toys and not enough playground to use them.

The bartender struck me as more or less a good ol'boys 'savior'. Like a redneck guardian angel coming to their rescue.

lorinda, you're scaring me. i promise not to come into your house unannounced. but, if by some twist of fate, i happen to get a little drunk and disoriented and start weaving my way to idaho, promise you won't start blasting away....i'm just a croc-wearin, sushi-eatin, tree-huggin animal guardian (that's what we call dog owners here...) and mean you no harm.

another fun entry. i have not had much time to watch many of these entries this time around, but this was quite fun. and we, the few the proud, in the gun club, i mean...the girls' club...gotta stick together.

another great job. certain themes seem to get repeated in these parts. beer. dogs. and yet, we always get to see beer and dogs done in wholly unique and different ways! yay for us!

Hey Meryem, we missed you this time around. But I hope you had a happy birthday. And don't worry; I look before I shoot. Ha ha! We'll see you next challenge.

Oh, Peter. I wish I could use the excuse you gave me, but I can't. Last challenge was the first time we were given so much time, so I'm no stranger to a week-long deal. Just goofed up, that's all. But that's okay. Funny, I fall into both extremes: I care a lot about the quality of my movie (can't see going to all the trouble, otherwise), and yet, I'm too lazy to get out there in between challenges and practice. But that's going to change....yes, that's going to change... ;)

Thank you, Bruce. You know all about going to lots of trouble for all this fun, don't you! Just computer sweat rather than tramping through the desert with a rickety tiki bar. And yeah, those guys were supposed to be ingrates, kind of not thinking straight because of the sun and heat. May have been a tad overstated. :)