My first movie
 

Well, I finally got my buddies together and shot a movie! It's not much and I don't think it will win my any Oscars, but it was sure a lot of fun to film. I learned so much during this filming too. It was great!

Well, take a look if you care to.

Was filmed on a Canon XL2 and edited with Avid Xpress pro and converted to streaming using Sorensen Squeeze 4.0.

So A Guy Walks Into A Bar

you have the technical chops down, camera, editing , lighting , music, sound ... in general i found each individual scene better then the piece as a whole ?
they're good scenes and for me the piece as a whole isn't working as good as the indivdual scenes ...

very good for a 1st movie - keep us posted on your next ...

Hey thanks Dan! Yeah, I agree. The entire movie is sorta just off kilter and pretty much non-existant. When we wrote it we were laughing and laughing and then when the actual film was done we were sorta like. "Huh!?" haha.

You are correct though, I did the film to learn how to edit and stuff like that. We have two more shorts on the way and we are taking all the stuff we learned from this one and will do a MUCH better job on the next and the next, etc... :)

I gotta sya two things... First, the overall production wasn't bad. Two, puking on himself again? What is up with that shtick? That was a little weak, but the extra $10 was hilarious!

Just watched this, and had to congratulate you on both completing your first movie, and making me laugh; I'd heard the puke joke before, but had forgotten the punchline, and the thing about the yuppie's shoes was great.

I did have some comments, though, if I may be so bold:

-The opening sequence could've used a bit more light, I think. Maybe a piece of white foamcore, or something similar, propped on your lap while shooting to help bounce something back up onto the driver's face. Seemed a bit muddy. And was there a story reason for the character to make that U-turn? I was the teensiest bit distracted by that--the guy's not drunk yet, and he's been to the bar before (I assume), so I would think he knows where he's going.

-I'm unfamiliar with the giraffe joke, but while the homeless guy's in the middle of telling it to the woman, he's suddenly up in heaven with her? I was confused there, and wasn't sure what had happened (and why he's not the least bit surprised at his new surroundings).

-I notice in some of the shots where the camera's on a tripod (or seems to be, from my point of view), the framing wiggles a bit too much for my taste. When our friend first sits down at the bar, for example--two minutes and forty-two, maybe forty-three seconds into the film--there's a little bump upward. Nothing horrendously offensive, of course, just something that struck me.

That's about it, really. Hope I don't come off as too critical, I understand how hard it is to do anything at all, and I'm only trying to help out. Great job on finishing this, and best of luck finishing many more!

It was good for a first, but felt it was strung out a little long. You should of just cut to the chase. A quick scene of him arriving at the bar, some banter back and fourth with some drinking, some "wife jokes" (the battle axe comment was good) then hit them with the punchline. The punchline was great! I did not see it coming.

I think for a first film its very good - you managed to get good performances which is the main thing to aim for as a director, so maybe the fact that you were all having a laugh worked in its favour. Maybe try some more adventurous camerawork on the next one - the drunk scenes in the bar called out for handheld (and personally, I hate slow zooms). But I don't want to be too critical - i've seen films by so-called experienced directors that weren't nearly as good. I look forward to the next one

Hey friend. First of all... anyone can say anything they like... and that's a very valuable learning experience... but I must say I've helped out a lot of student films in my time and... these "professionally" trained students lack any heart or resolution... your film has both. I loved the ending. I loved the shuffle board montage. I agree with the u-turn. It was unneccessary, but I loved the bum and the woman in heaven... it's an artistic decision and I'm so glad you did that!

Congratulations on your first one. Check out Robert Rodriguez's ten minute film schools in his DVDs. starting with the Desperado/El Mariachi combo.

High Regards,

Dan

Hey Keith,

I wanted to show that he's a big drinker and that he's puked on himself before and that the last time he did do that, his wife practically killed him! haha. That's why he and his buddy came up with that eloaborate scheme to get out of it.

Hi Robert - Not being too critical at all!! These are awesome comments that I take with me and keep when I work on my next films. I did a lot of "artsy" stuff in here like the U-turn which was his decision to instead of going home, he decided to go to the bar and have a drink with his buddy. That u-turn was not planned and I really loved it when I got on camera and just had to put it into the film!

Putting the bum in the God scene was strictly to make it "artsy". I just thought I'd keep the scene consistent and throw in a little strange stuff too. :) However, the script is totally different in that spot. We were supposed to act out the entire thing, but when I was editing I noticed that it was WAY too long and so I decided to cut it off and create a new transition to the next scene - hence, the bum and the woman in Heaven. ;)

Camera work on this one... hmm. what to say about that except I totally underestimated how much thought needs to go into setting up a shot! I'm really happy I did this movie so that I could learn all of these things. Now that I have this under my belt, the next one I'll learn something completely different.

Thanks again for your reply Robert!

Hey Paul - I was so surprised at how well my buddies acted. The scene at the end when the main character "Mike" is talking to his wife... ahh... I can watch that scene over and over again and love everyminute of it! You are so right about handheld during the drunk scene though. I didn't even think of it!

Dan - I've watched the 10 minute film school from Once Upon A Time In Mexico. I LOVED IT!! That was one of the things that inspired me to go with Avid.

I really thank you for your comments about the heart and resolution. Doing films has turned from a passion into an obsession for me and that's all that I want to do now. We will for sure keep the same heart and passion in all of our next films. We have the same group of guys making the next two films. I had a small premiere for the movie in my hometown where it was filmed and after all the people saw that this wasn't just some pipe dream and that we actually made a movie they want to do more. It's great!

Thanks again Dan - your comments make me want to keep pushing to get my next one made and the next one.....

First, I got the point of the U-turn and I wouldn't take it out. It pulls you into the movie because you immediately start wondering why the guy is turning around.

I also thought you shot it really well for a 1st-time movie. My only complaint really was that I think it would have been a much stronger movie if you cut it down some. It starts to drag a few times (less of God drawing maybe, less footage of the guys at the bar in the beginning, things like that). The intro was just a little long for me as well.

The concept of the story was great. Very novel. I enjoyed that, AND the punchline at the end. Made me lol, ya know?

The only reason I think the turn struck me as odd was that the movie was called "So A Guy Walks Into A Bar"; as soon as it starts, we see "A Guy", and I just kinda figured he was already on his way to "A Bar". Not to mention the fact that he looks to me, at first glance (and no offense to the actor intended), like the kind who frequents bars, and doesn't just suddenly decide to go--I get the impression he's one who makes a habit of hitting a tavern once a day after work, on a schedule, if not a rigid one.

But I'm probably just projecting a personality onto him from my experiences interacting with similarly styled characters on construction sites I've been to. :) And it does make sense now that I've heard it explained, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I'm happy that you thought that he's the kind of guy that frequents bars, because then we did a good job on making him look authentic! Actually, he pretty much just goes home after work these days. Back in our early twenties... well that's a whole nother' story. :)