Hi everybody. I just recently learned that YOUTUBE sports a "watch in high quality" mode that you can activate at the bottom right side of the viewing screen. I respectfully request people use it. It really works and boy, my movie's YOUTUBE picture needs all the help it can get.

Hope you all enjoy.

Well, Hugh,

I always enjoy the sense of imagination you bring to these challenges and the visual storytelling you employ. As far as I am concerned your "Farrier" stole the show. The sequence showing him forging the "lucky" shoe with the metal glowing as it came out of the fire was masterfully done, but his "character" with dry humor show brought a big grin to my face.

The choice of music, "Black Iron" fit perfectly.

This one is fun to watch.

Hugh:

Great job, and the the shoe production scene was great in that it provided a bit of education for some of us too.

Well told story, with nice camera shots and editing.

Very nicely done! up until about 6 months ago I wouldn't have known what a farrier was (thanks dirty jobs!) and now seeing one in Plumsted the other day, and now this... what a longshot!

loved the spinning newspaper! ;-)

oh and the high quality watch made a huge difference!

Another great movie from the two-time DVC champ! You just keep churning them out, don’t you. :)

This kept my interest from start to finish. The middle part with the blacksmith (I’m sorry, pilgrim, but where I come from that’s what they’re called) was not only well-shot but very cool. How many of us would ever get to watch a horseshoe being made?

Your actors all did wonderful jobs – really likeable guys, too.

When I started smiling was when the two guys were looking down at the horseshoe being dipped in the water, and I don’t think I stopped until the end. That’s the way you want good comedy. The picture in the newspaper with the hands on the head cracked me up and the laughs continued from there—right through that perfectly timed ending sequence. Hilarious. Just hilarious.

Thanks so much for the great entertainment, Hugh. It’s another winner. :)

Most importantly, I want folks to not feel they are wasting their time watching some idiot's movie after returning home from a hard day's work. It's hot out there for some of us and I know youse guys wanna relax at the end of the day.

Bruce: I am smiling like I just swallowed a banana sideways! Only a sneaky bloke such as yourself would know "Black Iron". Good catch. Buy you a beer? My farrier friend, Doug Prickett, is a riot in real life. I had begged him to be in my earlier submissions and he refused. Can you imagine my delight when he accepted this offer? "Unky Doug" has a face for the camera. He is also a combat vet, former rodeo cowboy, esteemed colleague, a wonderful father, an awesome husband and a brother to me. I know I'm in for a great time when he invites me over to his shed for a cigar and whiskey in order to "...solve the world's problems." Let me share a bit of his sharp wit. His lecture to our "customers" goes something like this:

"Those of you who know me make sure you acquaint me to those who don't know me. I do things sporadically and sometimes with what appears to be without reason. Behave yourselves, keep your voices down and follow orders if you don't want me to become the first part of my last name." I laugh at that every time.

The gambler, Monty Ralls, is also a combat vet, esteemed colleague and funny as all get out. As a matter of fact, he and I were partners last evening and the laughs continued from shift change to shift change. He stood in twice for me at the last minute when other actors had to bow out. What a guy and a true friend.

The friend, Kyle Jackson, also works on my squad and the first time I met him I made an immediate mental note to myself to cast him in one of my future challenges as soon as we became chums. He is incredibly intelligent, articulate, enunciates well and has us in stitches at every roll call. His wit is second to none and he came up with the symbolism of scooping the cat doo doo as a metaphor for his life still shoveling s**t while his buddy is on easy street. Oh, and my cat just loves him and Ralls. (But then again, she loves all men. That shameless hussy!)

We can't forget my sound man, Alan Takeuchi, who generously gave his off duty time to assist this production. You may remember him as the magical flashlight salesman and grumpy convenience store owner in my two previous challenge entries. Tak, as he is affectionaltely called (amongst other names I will not repeat here), accuses me of being a racist bas##rd in that I only cast him as a funny talking Japanese. I had a non-ethnic role in this movie for him but Doug had already promised it to Bubba, his horse. And then I got to thinking that Tak might have overheated in that horse costume anyway. It was hot that day! Don't fret, Tak my chum, I will cast you in a normal speaking role!

Last, but certainly not least, my brother the idea man, Bruce. Always in a pinch he comes up with an off the wall premise I more often than not use. He is the most warped individual I ever met.

Chris, thank you for your comments. Doug is an accomplished farrier and I have that very movie horseshoe hanging over my front door right now. I was fascinated watching him make it and what a wonderful bonus to have a challenge entry which also educates!

William: Yeah, dude, I really have to thank the bloke who made the whole spinning newspaper gag possible! When I get back there, how about dinner at Mastori's? Just the cheese bread you get before the meal is awesome!

Ahh, Lorinda! Once again thank you for your kind words. If I make you laugh, well, by gollies, I've done my job. You were the DVInfoer who aptly named my genre! I appreciate all of your critique and attention to detail. It's folks like you and the other entrants who help me enjoy this challenge.

Bruce: I am smiling like I just swallowed a banana sideways! Only a sneaky bloke such as yourself would know "Black Iron". Good catch. Buy you a beer?

Easy for me to recognize it. I downloaded it as a single track from Smartsound for the UWOL #8 challenge (http://www.vimeo.com/926994). Although it worked pretty well for that, it actually begged for something with the "character" in your film.

You will be seeing my Unky Doug in future projects even if I have to beg, threaten, cry or bribe.

Man, this was highly educational and entertaining, watching that straight piece of metal becoming a neat horseshoe it's definitely engaging.

Good dialogue as well to keep the viewer interested throughout.

***SPOILER***

The only dislike I would have it's explosion effect at the end, way too cheesy :) Could probably made that more close to some sort of reality :)

The explosions were cheesy and believe me, I was appreciative as heck to have even them. Special effects are not my forte but some day soon I will noodle around with my programs to become better.

I have to repeat what everyone else has been saying. It was really cool to see the horseshoe being made. I freaked out a little when he pulled the shoe out of the bucket with tongs and just tossed the horseshoe into that guy's hands. Seemed like it might be just a little bit hot to the touch. But very entertaining and engaging. Good work.

We have an outtake where Ralls pretends to be burned by the shoe Prickett hands to him. We all gasped and hurriedly asked if he was OK and he started laughing and responded "Just kidding! Ha ha!" I will try to post a blooper reel by the weekend. I want to have it finished for the Independence Day barbeque at Doug's this Friday.

Very nice work. You put forth a good effort and it comes through loud and clear on the screen. As others have said it was cool to see the horse shoe being made. The two actors worked well off one another which continually gave me a laugh :) Nicely done!

These three guys had screen chemistry and that makes all the difference in the world. You know, this horseshoe thing is becoming popular! I'll have to tell Doug.

Hugh,

Great cinematography. Nice lighting and composition. Your sky is actually blue. Do you use a poloarizing filter outside? My sky is almost always blown out.

Everyone loves the horseshoe making sequence. When you put something in your short that we have never seen before, it is sure to hold our interest.

I bet there is some way to redit your footage, to lose the aftereffects explosion. The spinning newspaper was great but you really just needed a stunt man to douse himself in gasoline and run around the yard in flames. Actors these days have no respect for the craft.

Hugh,

I'll take you up on the offer! drop me a line when you are back east.

Dick: The sky was a beautiful eggshell blue and my secret is none other than 80% zebras and opening the iris just until I barely see the stripes. Oh, and two glass ND filters in front of the lens and a huge reflector which blew out the actors' eyesight. I wanted to set Monte Ralls ablaze but he was afraid his girlfriend would get mad.

Bill: It's a deal, my friend,

You'll notice a theme, but I'm trying not to read anybody's comments before writing my own. I find it makes me second guess what I was thinking. And I'd rather people get the "I watched it once and here's what I thought reaction" since in an actual theater you only get one viewing to form an opinion.

I have to say, I loved this. The camera angles and movement were great. The writing was good, the dialog really felt like a conversation you might say. The actors delivered it well. The music was good. It was fun. And the twist, while not exactly surprising, was nicely played. Plus this city girl from the north got to see a horseshoe getting made. How cool was that?

Smile,
Kris

Kris:

This city boy from the north thanks you and even I immensely enjoyed watching a horseshoe being made. He used to be able to knock out two at a time! Can you imagine?

Hugo, okay, I kid you not... your film was so engaging that right after I watched it, I went on wikipedia and looked up horseshoes! Lol... great montage! I can't explain it -- there just has to be a certain flow, a certain pace and timing with montages, and you hit it right on the nail (no pun intended).

Kudos to your actors, too. The cowboy was great... loved the final shot at the end. Very dramatic... And the one who thought of the kitty litter bit -- a great bit of metaphoring. I'm a fan of that.

Beautiful use of scenery. I'm a city boy, and sometimes long to see more of those wide open roads.

Wait... what's that reflecting against the red truck? It's the cameraman's shadow! Hehe... it's only for a split half-second and not noticeable... but they're like easter eggs to me.

Regarding the fire... what if you cut from the gasoline spilling off the roof right to the long shot panning to the close-up, and add a faint scream or fiery "woof" before the shot gets to the cowboy? Essentially, you don't see the gasoline spill on the gambler... just the red container tip and spill, then a long scenic shot with some faint screaming in the distance, concluded with the pan of the cowboy shaking his head. The newspaper following that will do the rest. Not sure if it will work, but if you give it a try, lemme know how it turns out.

My fiery ending did have me somewhat perplexed. I have a pitiful sound effects library and my pre-keyed fire effects are just what I had paid for. Your alternate ending would have been more powerful than mine. Now, if you would have PM'ed me with that idea before I edited the ending... :-)

Thank you, Joseph, for your wonderful feedback. I love how you think outside the frame.

Great film. The actors were great and the timing was right on. It was a good story and really made great use of the theme. As for the effects at the end--I thought the bit of fire special effects made it even funnier.

I appreciate your comments. I am glad you found the amateurish fire effect funnier than if I had done a better job.

By the way, Joseph, you did catch my reflection in the side of the truck. I had tried so hard to back away in time without my reflection showing, however, I was close to a drainage ditch and didn't want to fall in!