"Revenge" 7 Min. at DVinfo.net

Joseph Mason · December 6th, 2006, 12:02 AM

"Revenge: A Brother Revenged His Murdered Brother"

I tried really hard. My first real attempt at a short.

Thanks for watching. Can't wait to hear what you folks have to say!

http://www.sovietpc.com/revenge.mpg

Adam Bray · December 6th, 2006, 01:50 AM

Pretty good for a first attempt. Maybe pay attention to lighting a little more next time. I'd also ditch the the shaky handheld shots in favor of a tripod. That's just me. Every time I see a shaky handhelt shot, I feel like it's supposed to be a POV.

I like the whole Russian/Bad Guy theme. You always know someone is going to get killed when there's pissed off Russians around.

Good job though.

Joseph Mason · December 6th, 2006, 01:58 AM

Thanks. I couldn't really rely on tripods, except for a few shots... I had minimal time to shoot. One of my friends is allergic to cameras or something - his hands get all grandma on me when I put a camera in his hands.

I couldn't do much with the lightening, I have zero lighting equipment.

I hope it is sort of decent - considering that I had no access to alternate light sources, no professional actors except my friends and I, and that it was a simple class project.

Thanks for the feedback!

I would've loved to have more time to shoot. Almost every shot would've been tripod supported ;)

Joseph Mason · December 6th, 2006, 11:32 AM

Any other comments folks? Liked it.. disliked it?

Bruce Foreman · December 9th, 2006, 01:53 AM

I liked it. Got so caught up in the story and the characters I didn't pay that much attention to camera steadiness or lighting.

The story itself is kind of "dark" so lack of supplemental lighting didn't detract in any way I noticed.

For a first attempt I think it turned out quite well.

Joseph Mason · December 9th, 2006, 12:22 PM

Thanks a lot sir!

That's a little different from some other positive reviews I've heard. Others have said they enjoyed the lighting, effects and music cuts -- but the story and acting sucked. (Hey it was my first time acting -- sorry for the bad performance.)

I appreciate you taking the time to look at the short.

Cole McDonald · December 9th, 2006, 02:41 PM

Nicely done...good use of available light, I was fine with the camera work personally. I have the same wireless phone the mafia boss had in his apt. :)

Love what you did with the subtitles too, almost graphic novelish.

Color saturation and exposure was very good.

Joseph Mason · December 9th, 2006, 03:08 PM

Thanks Cole McDonald -- much appreciated. That apt was actually mine -- I'm the gunman.

Camera work could've been much improved, I just didn't have as much time as I wanted to use a tripod for every shot.

Was the acting sort of decent, or just plain horrible?

Derrick A.Jones · December 9th, 2006, 03:10 PM

This was a very good storyline. I thought that the lighting was ok being that you had no lighting equip and had to rely soley on what you had. I thought also that the camera work was very good. I didnt see a lot of shakiness to warrant anything on the camera man. I thought you had a giid use of music and the only think i would have liked to see was a lil bit more on the last sequence between the two guys. It ended a lil fast maybe rushed a lil bit.

But other than. I thought it was done pretty good. Nice job!!

Joseph Mason · December 9th, 2006, 03:19 PM

Derrick A. Jones, thanks for the comment!

I would've liked to see a longer sequence at the end as well. I wanted a longer shoot out scene --- maybe a little back and forth gun fire?

It just wasn't in the cards. Not enough time to film, and it wasn't exactly the best of places to film a shootout. It was a private building, with people walking in and out. I was just waiting for a few cops to interrupt our film and show us their handcuffs.

Thanks!

We all took turns filming, I tried to cut out as much unsteady frames as possible.

December 6th, 2006, 12:02 AM	#1
Joseph Mason New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NY Posts: 6	"Revenge" 7 Min. "Revenge: A Brother Revenged His Murdered Brother" I tried really hard. My first real attempt at a short. Thanks for watching. Can't wait to hear what you folks have to say! http://www.sovietpc.com/revenge.mpg

December 6th, 2006, 01:58 AM	#3
Joseph Mason New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NY Posts: 6	Thanks. I couldn't really rely on tripods, except for a few shots... I had minimal time to shoot. One of my friends is allergic to cameras or something - his hands get all grandma on me when I put a camera in his hands. I couldn't do much with the lightening, I have zero lighting equipment. I hope it is sort of decent - considering that I had no access to alternate light sources, no professional actors except my friends and I, and that it was a simple class project. Thanks for the feedback! I would've loved to have more time to shoot. Almost every shot would've been tripod supported ;) Last edited by Joseph Mason; December 6th, 2006 at 11:55 PM.

December 9th, 2006, 02:41 PM	#7
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	Nicely done...good use of available light, I was fine with the camera work personally. I have the same wireless phone the mafia boss had in his apt. :) Love what you did with the subtitles too, almost graphic novelish. Color saturation and exposure was very good. __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

December 9th, 2006, 03:10 PM	#9
Derrick A.Jones Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: St. Petersburg,FL Posts: 94	This was a very good storyline. I thought that the lighting was ok being that you had no lighting equip and had to rely soley on what you had. I thought also that the camera work was very good. I didnt see a lot of shakiness to warrant anything on the camera man. I thought you had a giid use of music and the only think i would have liked to see was a lil bit more on the last sequence between the two guys. It ended a lil fast maybe rushed a lil bit. But other than. I thought it was done pretty good. Nice job!! __________________ This is what i do for the love of Video Production.. Derrick Jones..........

December 6th, 2006, 01:50 AM	#2
Adam Bray Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Houston/Austin Posts: 394	Pretty good for a first attempt. Maybe pay attention to lighting a little more next time. I'd also ditch the the shaky handheld shots in favor of a tripod. That's just me. Every time I see a shaky handhelt shot, I feel like it's supposed to be a POV. I like the whole Russian/Bad Guy theme. You always know someone is going to get killed when there's pissed off Russians around. Good job though.

December 6th, 2006, 11:32 AM	#4
Joseph Mason New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NY Posts: 6	Any other comments folks? Liked it.. disliked it?

December 9th, 2006, 01:53 AM	#5
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	I liked it. Got so caught up in the story and the characters I didn't pay that much attention to camera steadiness or lighting. The story itself is kind of "dark" so lack of supplemental lighting didn't detract in any way I noticed. For a first attempt I think it turned out quite well.

December 9th, 2006, 12:22 PM	#6
Joseph Mason New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NY Posts: 6	Thanks a lot sir! That's a little different from some other positive reviews I've heard. Others have said they enjoyed the lighting, effects and music cuts -- but the story and acting sucked. (Hey it was my first time acting -- sorry for the bad performance.) I appreciate you taking the time to look at the short.

December 9th, 2006, 03:08 PM	#8
Joseph Mason New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NY Posts: 6	Thanks Cole McDonald -- much appreciated. That apt was actually mine -- I'm the gunman. Camera work could've been much improved, I just didn't have as much time as I wanted to use a tripod for every shot. Was the acting sort of decent, or just plain horrible?

December 9th, 2006, 03:19 PM	#10
Joseph Mason New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NY Posts: 6	Derrick A. Jones, thanks for the comment! I would've liked to see a longer sequence at the end as well. I wanted a longer shoot out scene --- maybe a little back and forth gun fire? It just wasn't in the cards. Not enough time to film, and it wasn't exactly the best of places to film a shootout. It was a private building, with people walking in and out. I was just waiting for a few cops to interrupt our film and show us their handcuffs. Thanks! We all took turns filming, I tried to cut out as much unsteady frames as possible.