"Losing It" (a DVX-100A short)
 

I just completed a new piece for a short film contest. We had 8 days to complete the project. We were given the topic last week (which appears at the end of the film). I would love to hear your thoughts on the piece:

http://toppup.com/losingit

Settings: Standard F5, Shutter Speed 1/120, Edited in FCP (color corrected, diffused and levels adjusted).

Thanks,
Russell

shelley long and tom cruise, right?


---(I know that was "losin it")

great job on the intro. Acting was sub par by some .. but they did their best. I guess im confused on what exactly the story was about. Kid stealing money from parents bank account? but not really?? just pretending to? Im not sure i understood it but overall i give it a B+ : ) the B+ is for Fortitude, good picture and cinematography, excellent intro.. just failing a little on bringing understanding of the situation to the person watching..

Nice. Great pacing and frenetic camerawork. I'm in the middle of watching the first season of 24 again and this definitely had the same tension and energy. I didn't completely get the story though. Also, more attention to lighting in the kitchen would have gone a long way, some colour correction as well. Overall, great job though!

too much handheld
 

I would suggest using a tripod. I think a lot of people out there get nauseaous (like myself) when it comes to too much hand held camera work. I like the existing light but I think just one light thrown on the subject would definitely help as well as a reflector - especially on the closeups. Acting is sub-standard. But I do see that the Panny is capable of producing nice images.

more steady camera shots. Was the cine gamma used?

Good work though! Nobody is perfect, right? :)

I actually liked the camera movement and thought that it captured the sense of urgency that you were probably going for. Tripods wouldn't have given your flick the same feel. As for the acting... not so good. I also agree with one of the comments about the story being a little difficult to understand.

Out of 5...

4 for editing
4 for camera work
3.5 for lighting
2.5 for acting
3.75 for direction
4 for intro

21.75/30 = .73%, which is slightly higher than a "C" I guess.

You got the editing and camera work down so keep 'em coming!

I'm REALLLY close to getting myself a DVX100A... how do you like yours?

I did get that sense of urgency, I think the camera work was extremely well done, maintaining balance and a frantic edge at the same time...that nauseus feeling...is the camera work effectively doing its job. I thought the acting was extremely well for the most part. The actress playing the mother seemed like the mother herself, the father seemed realistic as well, and the son seemed slightly like he was trying to be the frustrated son, rather than being the frustrated son. Im a complete amateur to movie making, but I figured I'd voice my opinion as well (y' know what they say about opinions, they're like...well, you know.) All in all, I felt the story and was sucked in by it. And the intro was very professional...I'm trying to figure out how to get that type on effect in Adobe AE 6.5 myself.

I liked the idea of the hand held, but it still neede to be slightly steadier. Great idea for a story, but as previously noted, the acting was sub-par (but good in some places).


Well edited, and the framing was great. Are you happy with the DVX100? Looks like it did some good for ya.