need opinions on this short clip
 

Here is a short clip of a movie I've shot in NYC. the clip is short because it's the max file size i'm allowed to upload. (20mb)

i'm curious what people think of it's production values, mood, etc. you guys can be very harsh and blunt, please, i can take it. need to know what goes through your minds so i can better it, in preperation for NYU's yearly film festival. the clip won't make much sense in the context of the film, but basically the character is a terrorist whos just planted a bomb and is now fleeing the scene.

a little info: its shot in the same style as the Gus Van Sant film "Elephant", ie. very long tracking shots, and no location sound is used (everything is being recreated for optimum control over mood.) i've used the DVX100A, shooting at 24P, and this clip has been color corrected in post (although not to any final level. just a rough idea of how i imagine it looking.) any thoughts greatly appreciated!! :)

http://www.furypie.com/clip.mpg

feel free to browse through the rest of the site as well, if you want.

It looks like something with a good bit of potential. I wish you had used a steadycam for that long track since in a long track that hand held shake really becomes noticable. The whole clip is a little dark, but seeing that the sky is perfectly exposed I can see how you probably had trouble getting a good exposure. A small light should have maybe been added into the phone booth so you didn't have to adjust the iris midshot like that since its really over exposed once the man comes out the booth (something like those little stick on press lights you see advertised on informercials). I liked the concept of that shot though...the wrapping around the phone booth to come just at the end of the phone call.

I agree 100% with Matt, even down to the final move at the phone. Also, the audio was really cool, until you added all the synth noises. Then it sounded like a bad video game.

I also agree that it has great potential, and would like to see more.

You should check out a plug-in called "steadymove" it works quite well and can make handheld stuff look smoother... that being said, the handheld didnt bother me that much. What REALLY bothered me was whatever was flapping in the left edge of the frame for the first part of the walk... also in general it seems underexposed, prolly an easy fix...



ash =o)

thanks guys! i'll wait for a few more replies before i respond to anything :)

Yeah, there was camera shake, but that didn't bother me. Every hand-held shot does not have to be done with a Steadycam. In this case, it added to the sense of the "hustle and bustle" in the big city--a type of kinetic energy that you loose with a Steadycam.

The only two things that bothered me were the length of the shot, could have been shorter, that's just my opinion, but would have to see it in context to really decide. The second thing was it appeared awfully dark on my calibrated monitor.

Jay

Well if you've seen Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" like he said...the length of the shot is rather intentional. Elephant has tracking shots which last nearly 2mins. However, that is why I say a steadycam should be used. I agree with you that handheld is an ok way to shoot, and adds energy for this type of scenario, but given the fact that one of his main goals is making long tracking shots I think it needs to be smoother.

sirens
 

the thing that stood out for me was the sound of sirens with no visual back-up for an image. it was loud enough on 2 occasions that I expected an emergency vehicle to be close by the actor in traffic. either backing off the volume or putting in a red flash at some interval may solve it. not a big deal though

Haven't read the other replies yet... forgive me if I repeat...

On the technical side...

It was a little dark for me - I couldn't really make out his face very much, and that would have been the more interesting part for me.

The rough hand-held look works OK for me, but a lot of people get sick and won't watch it.

I thought the sound was well done. I liked the way the camera switched from ahead of him to behind him and then panned around the booth.

On the artistic side....

It's really tough to comment without knowing anything about the story or character, and without knowing what you are trying to accomplish, but this shot didn't help me on any of those three things. To me this was an establishing shot of someone living in the city. I didn't learn anything else. I was expecting maybe someone would bump in to him, and he would react or not. He would see something, and react or not, etc. I think that you are not maximizing your time unless you can give us something other than mood there.

On the business side...

You won't be able to submit to any decent festivals unless you have releases from everyone who's face is visible.

Keep it up, and keep us posted.

You can submit anything anywhere... doesnt mean they will take it =o) That being said, festivals dont care about random extras on the street, the only time you MAY have an issue is commercially (broadcast/DVD) but I doubt it.

Having just submitted (fingers still crossed) a feature doc to Toronto I did get releases for most people but some, I do not have a release for. My lawyers say it is not an issue and Toronto certainly doesnt consider it an issue.



ash =o)