Friday afternoon/evening will find me still shooting, but if all goes well I should get something submitted. I agree with Bob -- please sleep in, Mike! :)

I'll make sure to sleep in on Saturday. I'm going to see 300 that night so it shouldn't be a problem. ;)

Looking forward to your submission!


Mike

Aside from the fact the white balance is all over the map, the lighting is bad, I forgot to turn on the mic in several shots, I can't act and I shot about half in 16:9 and half 4:3 cause I was messing with the menus...
LOL!!! I'm starting to think you and I are related, Bob. ;) This is going to be so fun. You've picked exactly the right place to start this creative stuff, and we'll be there with you. Remember the old DV Info slogan: Content Is King. We deal with the technical stuff as we keep shooting these things....time after time after time.

You're one up on me; I've yet to try even half a movie in 16:9. :)

LOL!!! I'm starting to think you and I are related, Bob. ;) This is going to be so fun. You've picked exactly the right place to start this creative stuff, and we'll be there with you. Remember the old DV Info slogan: Content Is King. We deal with the technical stuff as we keep shooting these things....time after time after time.

You're one up on me; I've yet to try even half a movie in 16:9. :)

Lorinda is right Bob, Content Is King for these contests. Thank God, or I would be in deep trouble! Have fun and we look forward to seeing it.

Mike T.

I'll do my best to have all the entries linked and posted on my site for download/viewing Saturday night. Hopefully before the Leafs/Sens game. ;)

Best of luck to everyone!

Cheers,

Mike

Bob;

The saying is "I'll fix it in post." In my case, my whole dialogue went out the window when my star ( a four year old) refused to participate in the planned movie.... so now I have a silent movie :)

Bob;

The saying is "I'll fix it in post." In my case, my whole dialogue went out the window when my star ( a four year old) refused to participate in the planned movie.... so now I have a silent movie :)

And the nice thing is that it becomes a learning experiance...
Tonight I'm going to try and learn how to do split-screen color matching in Vegas. :)

Wow...I'm in and done....tired too!

A friend sent me some music he did for my sound track at the last minute...without me even asking!

Thank you Oli Pahlow at Blind Child Productions..!

Time for bed,
Bob T.

I uploaded about a half hour ago. Say, Mike--that filefront.com is pretty cool. Thank you so much for the tip!!! :)

Lorinda Norton, Bob Thieda, and Mike Teutsch!

I received all of your entries. We now have a total of six.

I'll upload them to my site later today and post the link here. I have to say... great job! I think it is going to be very difficult to pick a winner.


I uploaded about a half hour ago. Say, Mike--that filefront.com is pretty cool. Thank you so much for the tip!!! :)No problem! It a handy little resource when you are in a jam, and it's free. :)

Mike

I uploaded about a half hour ago. Say, Mike--that filefront.com is pretty cool. Thank you so much for the tip!!! :)

Lorinda and Mike,

Ya, Filefront is very easy to use and I stuck mine there first because I could not get into my hosts server. I have since taken mine off of Filefront now.

If you read the user agreement you will find that they own the rights to everything you upload forever and can use it and license it in any way they want. I know that this is pretty common, but just thought I would mention it.

It is definitely an easy to use site though.

Mike

Funny how stuff that looks good at 11pm looks different at 8am.... :)
I should have rendered to a higher quality also, but oh well.

This was a lot of fun.

I cannot wait to see everyones work!

Bob T.

Bob & Mike, you two really need to get together sometime. :)

All will be revealed when everyone sees your movies. ;)

Cheers,

Mike

Bob & Mike, you two really need to get together sometime. :)

All will be revealed when everyone sees your movies. ;)

Cheers,

Mike

Sounds like we found similar plots! :)

Can't wait to see all of the entries.

Mike

Bob & Mike, you two really need to get together sometime. :)

All will be revealed when everyone sees your movies. ;)

Cheers,

Mike

That just makes my "anticipation" even more acute. :)

Here they are!

Honour & Glory Film Challenge Entries (http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/HGFilmChallenge.html)

I was hoping for a few more entries but the quality is there so I'm happy! :)

Everyone did a great job! I have to say that I was really impressed.

I'm going to post my opinion of all the entries once I have another look.

I would also ask that once everyone has viewed them all that they make a post and offer their thoughts of each short. Please add spoiler warnings if you are going to give something major away.

I think we can keep it all in this sticky.

I'll post details on how the voting is going to be done in the next day or so.

Well done everyone!

Mike

Bob Thieda: Last Goose
This was pretty good. I really got a kick out of seeing you go back and forth over your dilemma. :)
You really got the theme across quite well.



Michael Horrigan: The Mark
Shooting some of the scenes in -41 degrees Celsius (-42 degrees Fahrenheit) with winds strong enough to knock over the tripod was VERY challenging.



Mike Teutsch: A Cold Beer
Mike, this was pretty funny. You and Bob definitely think alike!
Great use of editing, and I especially liked the ending.
Good work!



Chris Barcellos: Homecoming
This was quite nice. Nice camera work, very soft looking focus creating a nice mood overall. Quite patriotic as well and good use of the theme.



Lorinda Norton: Dog Days
Being a dog lover, I really enjoyed this one as well. Your dogs were great little actors! Really, very well done. Great use of the theme as well!



Dennis Khaye: Man Sans Muse
Very funny! I actually enjoyed this more the second time through. I laughed out loud a few times during this one. Nice work.

Congratulations to everyone!

Cheers,

Mike

Looks like the fates were against me on this one. First story idea, I couldn't get a cast together. Second story idea...A sudden rush on a few clients for handgun training.

Seems like instead of being able to schedule an actual class, the kind of client I get these days has had a "situation" and there is no waiting on a scheduled setup, so I literally have to drop what I'm doing and get with it, tailoring the training to their situational needs.

Didn't leave much time for video.

Well I won't give away to much for those that haven't watched them yet...but first impressions:

Cold Beer….What can I say Mike? I loved it! I guess you and I should get together sometime. I laughed out loud more than once, (dang wives). Nice color BTW.

Dog Days…Lorinda, that was great. All those camera angles and keeping all those actors on cue. I’m impressed. And loving dogs myself, made it even better.

Man Sans Muse….Dennis, you are a braver man than I. I was intrigued trying to understand what you were up to at first. The bathroom scene was laugh out loud funny.

The Mark…Michael, you are good! Dark, with a nice twist, I liked that. And you sure know how to use close-ups.

Homecoming….Chris, after all the laughs, yours was a definite change of pace. Very touching. Nice pace. Must have been fun getting your actors to play along, they did a great job.

They were all very, very good to my eyes. And I learned something from everyone of you.

As for my own...I can see so many things I could've done better.
When everyone has had a chance to watch them all, I hope we can get into some detailed criticism. I can use the help.

Bob T.

Here they are!

Honour & Glory Film Challenge Entries (http://www.morecowbellpictures.com/HGFilmChallenge.html)

I was hoping for a few more entries but the quality is there so I'm happy! :)

Everyone did a great job! I have to say that I was really impressed.

I'm going to post my opinion of all the entries once I have another look.

I would also ask that once everyone has viewed them all that they make a post and offer their thoughts of each short. Please add spoiler warnings if you are going to give something major away.

I think we can keep it all in this sticky.

I'll post details on how the voting is going to be done in the next day or so.

Well done everyone!

Mike


Hey Mike:

I wouldn't be discouraged. First time we got three, this time 6, and about 50 percent or so of entrants made movies. Thats about the same as DVC. So hang in there.

Looks like beer and front window watchers were predominant themes of anticipation. I have to say that theme was interesting to try to get down on film.

Re: Homecoming

My original plan was to have more dialogue, especially with a four year old who was going to be saying she couldn't remember "Daddy" and wondered if he would remember her.... Alas, that little grand daughter suddenly got camera shy, and we could n't coax anything out of her.

I shot this with my FX1, and a home made 35 mm adapter I am learning to use. Thus the use (probablyoveruse) of selective focusing, and the soft focus issues.

I enjoy these film making projects as a tool to improve my skills and learn how to use the equipment, so I look forward to doing another one of these, if you can hack it !!

Thanks for the kind words, Bob!




As for my own...I can see so many things I could've done better.
When everyone has had a chance to watch them all, I hope we can get into some detailed criticism. I can use the help.

Bob T. Well, I noticed a couple of things.

The date on the note and on your office calendar don't coincide. Not a big deal really... maybe it was done on purpose?

You could have probably tried a few more variations with your shots. Some different angles, the odd close up maybe.

In all honesty, I thought you did a great job. It's tough to shoot a film by yourself. I also thought you did a great job with the theme.

What kind of camera did you use?

Mike

Hey Mike:

I wouldn't be discouraged. First time we got three, this time 6, and about 50 percent or so of entrants made movies. Thats about the same as DVC. So hang in there.
Don't worry, I'll be hosting another one after the other challenges are finished. :) I had a lot of fun with this one and I'm looking forward to when my new camera arrives in April. The more practice the better!

Chris, I actually really liked the look of yours, the soft focus was very nice. Do you have any pics of your 35mm adapter to share?

Mike

Thanks for the kind words, Bob!



Well, I noticed a couple of things.

The date on the note and on your office calendar don't coincide. Not a big deal really... maybe it was done on purpose?

You could have probably tried a few more variations with your shots. Some different angles, the odd close up maybe.

In all honesty, I thought you did a great job. It's tough to shoot a film by yourself. I also thought you did a great job with the theme.

What kind of camera did you use?

Mike

Thanks Mike....I didn't even think about the date on the office calendar until I was done, its always set to April Fools day....the note in the kitchen was real, I really went for my physical that day.
If I wasn't so rushed I would have made a new one that said "today"....that would have worked much better.

Your right about different shots...that's what I got out of everyone elses works....it was tough...one man, small house, only had a part of one day.

The camera is a GL2 that just showed up in the mail Monday....I hardly know how to use it yet...
I've only played with this hobby for about a year with a little Pana GS250. I've only done vactions and drag racing videos. First attempt at anything creative.

Can't wait for the next one,
Bob

Thanks Mike....I didn't even think about the date on the office calendar until I was done, its always set to April Fools day....the note in the kitchen was real, I really went for my physical that day.
If I wasn't so rushed I would have made a new one that said "today"....that would have worked much better.

Your right about different shots...that's what I got out of everyone elses works....it was tough...one man, small house, only had a part of one day.

The camera is a GL2 that just showed up in the mail Monday....I hardly know how to use it yet...
I've only played with this hobby for about a year with a little Pana GS250. I've only done vactions and drag racing videos. First attempt at anything creative.

Can't wait for the next one,
Bob

Always April Fools... that's pretty funny! I thought it might be something like that. :)

So... this your first attempt at something like this? Well done! Enjoy the new camera.

I think you did a pretty good job.

Hey, I didn’t know these were going to be judged! I’d have tried a little harder. (Not really.) :)

Okay, this is going to be a long post, so brace yourselves…

Bob and “The Last Goose” : Here I was feeling for the newb—thinking we’d have to build you up and say, “There, there…you did a great job.” Pfffft! You did a GREAT job! My screen is a tad lighter than some, but even your darker scenes looked pretty good—I didn’t see grain, anyway.

I watched your movie again and had to laugh at the way you just stayed at the refrigerator and stared in sadness. Now tell me, do some people really daydream all morning about having a beer? LOL!

Mike’s “The Mark” : Doggone it, I got the same feeling while watching Di Niro’s “The Good Shepherd.” Hate being dull-witted here, but….I don’t get it! :) My son had to explain “Shepherd” to me, so if you’ll help me out here it will be much appreciated. Technically, as usual, you did a really nice job.

Mike T. and his “Cold Beer” : You do such wonderful comedy! Loved the way the door closed and revealed “Mrs. Battleaxe” standing there. And you were both so believable. Your attention to detail (tasting the beer from your shirt—hahaha!!!, audio touches, etc.) really adds to the fun. Beautiful color, as Bob mentioned earlier.

I always look forward to your movies, Mike. Glad you got that little Sadie in there, but would she really want us seeing the “gifts” she leaves for you? LOL!

p.s. Hey, where’d ya get that Bluegrass music? You knew I’d like that! ;)

Chris and “Homecoming” : You got me on this one. I kept anticipating seeing the soldier’s face…and you never revealed it! Nice story.

You’re doing a great job with the 35mm adapter you built—the images are quite pretty. I agree with your assessment of the “selective focus" usage, but that’s a big part of why we should do these things—to practice techniques with our stuff. In your case it’s really paying off.

Last but certainly not least—Dennis and “Man Sans Muse” : *sigh* Mike H. has a guy vomiting in a toilet and you had to show us Jay Barlowe sitting on one! I think you and Jay are both insane. But this was one funny movie.

In particular, I loved the way our hero moved just enough to reveal the writing on the shower wall. Subtleties are important--although, the Tommy Hilfiger briefs almost fell into the TMI category. ;)

Tell Mr. Barlowe that this is my favorite of all the roles he’s played, and as usual, you told a great story, Dennis.

By the way, what’s that on Jay’s head when he’s doing the “omm” thing?

Edit: I added the title about spoilers way late because I forgot about your request, Mike. I'm used to the free-for-all at the DV Challenge. Please forgive...

That's a bra, ala "Weird Science". ;)

Don't worry, I'll be hosting another one after the other challenges are finished. :) I had a lot of fun with this one and I'm looking forward to when my new camera arrives in April. The more practice the better!

Chris, I actually really liked the look of yours, the soft focus was very nice. Do you have any pics of your 35mm adapter to share?

Mike

Here they are in its latest incarnation. Let me point out some fine points.

1. Note the finely milled aluminum finish throughout :)

2. Note the finely milled ABS plastic pipe spacer between camera and adapter :)

3. Monitor is a $99 Polaroid DVD player from Walmart that actually has a image flip function.

4. Hoodman for viewing LCD is made from an old campaign sign from my lawn, and black tape, and a piece of elastic.

Mike’s “The Mark” : Doggone it, I got the same feeling while watching Di Niro’s “The Good Shepherd.” Hate being dull-witted here, but….I don’t get it! :) My son had to explain “Shepherd” to me, so if you’ll help me out here it will be much appreciated. Technically, as usual, you did a really nice job.
Have your son watch it for me and let me know if he gets it. :)

I ran this one by a few people who knew nothing about the movie and they all got it without any help from me. I know Bob got it as well.

It is definitely one of those movies that you could have to watch twice.

It is also best viewed with a good pair of headphones, or speakers.

If you watch it again and still don't get it just email me and I'll sum it up for you. I have faith in you though.

Cheers,

Mike

That's a bra, ala "Weird Science". ;)

I got that one Dennis, I laughed pretty damn hard!

;)


If you have the time, please comment on the other movies when you get a chance.

Thanks,

Mike

Here they are in its latest incarnation. Let me point out some fine points.

1. Note the finely milled aluminum finish throughout :)

2. Note the finely milled ABS plastic pipe spacer between camera and adapter :)

3. Monitor is a $99 Polaroid DVD player from Walmart that actually has a image flip function.

4. Hoodman for viewing LCD is made from an old campaign sign from my lawn, and black tape, and a piece of elastic.
Chris,
How do you get the pictures to show up like that? I thought image tags didn't work here?

Compared to what I have... that is some serious equipment!
Nice work! You're obviously very handy.

Also, if you have time to post a mini-review of the 5 other movies please do.

Thanks,

Mike

Hey, I didn’t know these were going to be judged! I’d have tried a little harder. (Not really.) :)

Well, it is for honour & Glory! Only one can hold that title. ;)



Edit: I added the title about spoilers way late because I forgot about your request, Mike. I'm used to the free-for-all at the DV Challenge. Please forgive...

No problem, if we all had individual threads like in the DVC it wouldn't really be a problem.

Cheers,

Mike

Bob and “The Last Goose” : Here I was feeling for the newb—thinking we’d have to build you up and say, “There, there…you did a great job.” Pfffft! You did a GREAT job! My screen is a tad lighter than some, but even your darker scenes looked pretty good—I didn’t see grain, anyway.

I watched your movie again and had to laugh at the way you just stayed at the refrigerator and stared in sadness. Now tell me, do some people really daydream all morning about having a beer? LOL!

Thank you very much....I was a little nervous about my first effort.
I was very surprized how well the camera worked with just normal indoor lighting having been used to smaller/cheaper cameras. Still, I really wished I'd taken/made the time to add a light on those kitchen shots. I was backlit pretty well from the windows behind me.
I also found out how hard it is to use a full sized tripod in a small galley kitchen. :)

As for the beer. My sister gave me a box of assorted "beers from around the world" at Christmas. That bottle of Goose Island was the last one left. Sadly, when I finally drank it before I shot the scene with Amy, I didn't like it that much.
I'm really a Miller Lite guy, like Mike.

I'm thinkin' I'll be signin' up for the next one and maybe the next DVC.

Bob T.

Chris,
How do you get the pictures to show up like that? I thought image tags didn't work here?

Compared to what I have... that is some serious equipment!
Nice work! You're obviously very handy.

Also, if you have time to post a mini-review of the 5 other movies please do.

Thanks,

Mike

When you open the box to reply, there should be a box beneath it called "additional options". Click on manage attachments. I assume it is available to all users....

First, I am by no means pretending to be an ultimate expert in anything I indicate below. I kind of dislike these post mortems, but realize they were and are necessary for me to improve at my processes. So anything I am conveying here is offered in that same light. I also use my wife's reactions to give you an idea how someone less involve is reacting.

In general, I thought all the entries in this one were well produced, compared to what we've seen in other contests. Seems like these were all serious efforts, as opposed to some we have seen in other contests. All should be congratulated.

Bob Thieda: Last Goose

Anticipation theme was well formed. We knew right of he was waiting for something. This is the first of the two wife steals beer films I saw, so the idea was fresher. Visuals were good and decently lit, though I would like to have seen more camera angles, and more cut aways. I was interested in what "Bob" did from his home... having worked that way for a while myself.


Michael Horrigan: The Mark

Great visuals, camera angles, and a great cinematic feel. You seem to have a gift for that. As I recall, your equipment is limited, but this film goes to show what you can do with just hard work. Sound for the phone calls was still an issue, though, and the "computerized" voice was hard to follow, and the ending left a bit of shock with me, and my wife when she first saw it.


Mike Teutsch: A Cold Beer

Your films always have that underlying "poking fun at myself" feel to them, and this one continues with that. Your wife is also very tough, and made not bones about you issue :) Funny. I also like the way you speed things up to get through the more mundane things. I'm sure if you had more takes at the beer spill, or maybe more teeshirts, you would have gotten a more convincing fall forward by the tender, but at $5.00 a glass, your budget may have suffered. I wonder, did you try to "slowmo" the spill ?

Lorinda Norton: Dog Days

Having tried to corral 4 kids, and only succeeded with 3, I know the difficulties with setting up these shots. Great fun, and again, use of theme was maintained well. The faces of the dogs were so experessive, in their wait for you ..


Dennis Khaye: Man Sans Muse

This one made my wife laugh throughout, on her first view, until the end. It was second time through for me when she watched, and I caught on better the second time, and laughed to. As and aside, the toilet scene is a bit shocking to some audiences. Depending on your audience, and given the story line, the question arises is it just to add shock value, or what. Wife said that wasn't something she needed to see...

First, I am by no means pretending to be an ultimate expert in anything I indicate below. I kind of dislike these post mortems, but realize they were and are necessary for me to improve at my processes. So anything I am conveying here is offered in that same light. I also use my wife's reactions to give you an idea how someone less involve is reacting.


I think we all appreciate the criticism's. I know I do. :)
It's the only way to learn.

Yes, my equipment consists of an old camcorder, and all the voices were recorded with the tiny on camera mic. I did my best with the phone call/voice-mail and tested it on a few people who had no idea what was being said. They all got about 80 to 90% of it. That was good enough for me.

I'm hoping to improve on that though... :)

I find that listening to this one with headphones, or through speakers makes a big difference. It sounds like garbage through my little laptop speakers.

I find that it actually sounds pretty good with headphones.

Once again, I appreciate the critique!
I plan on throwing out a few more thoughts on some of the others later tonight.

Mike

Couple of notes on each one. If yours isn't mentioned, I actually thought it was fine :) But a few things stuck out to me watching these entries. And appologies for not getting in my own entry...I completely forgot about the due date, tried to throw it together last minute, and it didn't work out. On the upside, since we had the script anyway, we're just going to shoot it next weekend. I'll be sure to throw it on here, lol.

Anyway...

The Mark: The one thing that really struck me was "Oh my gosh blue..." when he went outdoors. I assume you did the blue because of the cold...I just think the blue was far too saturated. It looked like a wrong white balance. Maybe if you had desaturated it slightly, while still being tinted blue, it would've worked out. Just didn't look believably natural. Pretty good other than that, though... Good use of the "Kyrie" from...either Bach or Duraflay? I feel bad I'm not 100% sure... Shows you have some knowledge of the Latin text, 'cause it fit :) Well done on that one.


A Cold Beer: At the 17 second mark, he's clearly heading out the door. When she tells him "I don't think so" he's right back where he started in front of the refrigerator. You have to watch continuity like this, it gets away from you so easily. You forget what happened in the last take, etc. Having a dog, your montage made me smile :) The "walk through the camera" shot could've been cut a little quicker. It looks like he stops in front of the camera, then starts walking again...you want a smooth transition without that jar of stop and start. Cool shot, though. You enjoy your "Fast Foward" feature a BIT too much. Maybe if you'd cut back on it and just use it for emphasis where it's really needed. The montage was good for fast forward, even some of the driving...but it's just slightly too much. Ever so slightly. Cut back the FF a bit. :) For some reason, the ending just wasn't a "climactic funny" to top it off, it felt a little underdone. Maybe if you'd cut it into separate angles instead of one single shot as she trips, it would've worked out. Anyway, nice short overall, it made me chuckle, always good :)


Homecoming: It dragged a bit...but I must say...35mm adapter? Some fancy DOF work, along with some catchy cinematography. It's just...that whole thing could've been about 1/2 as long and been more powerful. Interlacing killed you in the final few shots, they turned into nothing but lines as they went to give him a hug. Threw me. The acting on the "bored" girl was a bit excessive...though I guess that's forgivable on budget filmaking, lol. The music was cheesy enough to work, but the fact that it was a lot of the same thing made it monotonous. The same trumpet with...what...a low backdrop of strings? Just got boring. You'd need like a voicing switch, have the melody go to the strings, something like that. I don't know what track you used, so I can't suggest anything specific, but it needs to change up for anything over about a minute, or it just gets dreary. Did I mention nice DOF work? It was a 35mm adapter, ya? How much did it put you back? Speaking of DOF, watch at the "nap" shot as you panned across the couch. For a good chunk of time, everything but the center cushion of the couch was out of focus...it was a really jarring focus, lol. You should've waited until you got all the way over to the third girl before racking focus so you don't emphasize the couch cushions :) Very professional shots though, good one.


Dog Days: Cute, very cute, adorable, fluffy doggies. Not a lot else... It was shot almost documentary style, but in a way that REQUIRED an informative narrator telling us the eating habits of dogs and how to properly care for them. Because you lacked that, it sort of strayed the line between "narrative" and "documentary", never really going either way...and you really need to go one way or the other. Really cute shots, cute dogs, nice picture on the camera...but just very uninspired. It needed more, something more.


Man sans Muse: First of all, a muse is connotated as a musical storyteller, no? Though I guess it could apply to all art forms. Well, with that out of the way.

This was really boring. It took you far too long to get where you were going. By the time Beethoven started up, I was completely gone from the story, didn't care very much about your character anymore. Lots of shots of the same thing. Now, him blowing the pen cap at the screen. All you need is a 3 second clip of that, then like 2 second crossfades of all the days with a subtitle. You just drew it out REAAAALLY long. This could've accomplished the same thing in under a minute, methinks. Same message, would've been funnied 'cause it was tighter, etc. Not much to say about acting or cinematography 'cause there wasn't much of either, good or bad. And that's FINE, you gotta make up for it with something though. Hence, the art of editing.


Fun entries...I really wish I could've taken part, but time escaped me (mentally). Good entries. I haven't read the later posts, so idk if anyone's won yet, but if I HAD to choose a winner...hmm...

Guess I won't share :)

Thanks Chris,

Here's a banner that I made for mine...

Bob Thieda: Last Goose

Anticipation theme was well formed. We knew right of he was waiting for something. This is the first of the two wife steals beer films I saw, so the idea was fresher. Visuals were good and decently lit, though I would like to have seen more camera angles, and more cut aways. I was interested in what "Bob" did from his home... having worked that way for a while myself.

Chris, good point. It was actually a real day off, but I guess I did make it look like I was working from home. It would have made a better story if I had firmly established whether it was a guy with a day off or a guy working from home. Thanks!

BTW, I've never had a work from home job. Don't think I'd be good at it, what with the beer callin' me.

Bob

Dog Days: ...how to properly care for them.

LOL! Now that's funny! I should have done my entry on that and had all the dog experts on my back (because I do everything wrong). Oh, wait...the theme was anticipation.

Experts....gotta love 'em. :)

Lorinda, I thought you nailed the theme. In fact, you showed multiple versions of anticipation in this one.

I also thought that the image quality was stellar. Working with animals can be an extreme challenge, I'm surprised you pulled it off so well. I'm sure I would have bailed about half way through.

In comparison, my version of anticipation is very subtle, and not very obvious at first glance.

You did a great job!

Cheers,

Mike

A Cold Beer: At the 17 second mark, he's clearly heading out the door. When she tells him "I don't think so" he's right back where he started in front of the refrigerator. You have to watch continuity like this, it gets away from you so easily. You forget what happened in the last take, etc.

Actually Daniel, you're wrong on this. All he does is take the cap off his beer and begin to lean forward to toss it in the garbage. If you watch at the 1:22 mark of the movie pay attention to the location of the garbage can and where his wife tosses the empty bottle.

Watch it again and you will see that there is no problem with this scene. He opens the bottle, leans forward to toss the cap, cut to his wife, cut back to him, and he's standing exactly where he should be. He was never "clearly heading out the door."

It looks like you weren't paying attention. ;)


Cheers,

Mike

PS - As for the blue look of my film, that was intentional. Maybe a little too much so, but I like it.

Lorinda, I thought you nailed the theme. In fact, you showed multiple versions of anticipation in this one.

I also thought that the image quality was stellar. Working with animals can be an extreme challenge, I'm surprised you pulled it off so well. I'm sure I would have bailed about half way through.

In comparison, my version of anticipation is very subtle, and not very obvious at first glance.

You did a great job!

Cheers,

Mike
Heh heh…you’re just too nice, Mike. :)

My son got home for spring break tonight so he watched your movie. Guess I was listening more closely this time and finally heard the last line! (lol) It made lots more sense to me. He still had to explain the sequencing (or would you call it juxtaposition?) so I could have the “ohhh, I get it” moment. Takes some of us a while!

While it’s hard for me to say I liked it—you already know I’m not a suspense/horror fan—I always think your work is really well done. It's my opinion that you do a good job of working the color to match the mood. I remember your DVC entry where you contrasted the cold darkness with the gorgeous coloring in the little girl’s bedroom. Made it all the more creepy. This one definitely had “cold” written all over it…in more ways than one. What an awful thing for even a hired gun to anticipate.

Thanks again for putting this challenge together. Nice job!!

It makes sense, sure, but I daresay that it could easily be seen the other way (as...obviously...it did to me). You never showed where the garbage can was, and all the viewer sees is that little sliver of wall on the far right of the screen as he moves in that direction. You also clipped the motion, so I see him moving to his left...a hallway...and his line was fairly final, "I'm just going to have a beer and watch the game" okay, bye.

That's the feeling I got anyway...

And his positioning. He throws the cap away then moves all the back to his first position by the fridge? Why not stand at the garbage can? Anyway, enough of me being nitpicky.

I don't think it was so much I wasn't paying attention, as I'm paying perhaps too much attention. I'll give that.

I'm using Mike's first summary as a guide cuz I'm the king of LAZY when it comes to writing things out...

I think I'm going to mostly defend the authors here against some of the criticisms. I have no axe to grind...I have no submission to defend myself...

Bob Thieda: Last Goose

Bob, I think you pulled it off well. Not being in an area where Goose beer is sold, I did briefly wonder about the significance of the title as the first scene opened up. You built the suspense (and anticipation) well and the wife's "WHAT" was expressively acted.


Michael Horrigan: The Mark

Shooting some of the scenes in -41 degrees Celsius (-42 degrees Fahrenheit) with winds strong enough to knock over the tripod was VERY challenging.

Someone criticized your "blue" tint but I think I understood some of the import. The makers of "Traffic" did somewhat the same thing with yellow in some of the scenes in Mexico for a bit of a surrealistic implication. You had a definite "blue mood" to carry off.

I took the slightly synthetic sound of the phone voice as a probable attempt to hide identity of the voice. you do have a sense of the dramatic.



Mike Teutsch: A Cold Beer

Mike, the acting was pretty convincing to me. My wife cracked up over your facial expression at having to "pickup presents". I don't think your "fast forward" for time compression was excessive. It is an effect that I think is overused so much in documentaries these days I hate to see it done, but in your story is was appropriate. Your ending took me by surprise.


Chris Barcellos: Homecoming

You tackled a real potential tear jerker here. I've been retired from the military for about 28 years now and still feel a strong bond of kinship with those who serve. In response to those who say it dragged, I think 4 minutes may have been too long a time for most of what all would have tried. So I accept it as shown and savor the mood and other things as portrayed. After all...I don't have a plane to catch.



Lorinda Norton: Dog Days

Wow! The last dog I had was a tri color Sheltie. Looked a lot like Riley. You had some really well behaved talent working for you there. You showed more pure anticipation and in your case the 4 minutes gave us more time to "savor" what you did. How did you get all 5 of them to get up on the couch the way they did?


Dennis Khaye: Man Sans Muse

Jay Barlow is rapidly becoming one of my favorite actors. This is only the second film I've seen him in (Last Christmas for DVC7 is the only other one I've seen. He is rapidly showing himself to be a very versatile actor.

Again in response to a criticism of it taking too long to get somewhere...I think it very effectively built suspense, each "days" scene portrayed a different degree of frustration and the "bathroom" scene...Well, with almost universal recognition of that facility as the "library" or "reading room", I think it was a great "sight gag". But the scene where Jay got up from the computer at the end took me totally by surprise and cause me to really crack up.

While some may be shocked at the implied degree of "undress" it needs to be recognized that is is common to use the "blocky pixellated" look in cases where some cover existed anyway. "Tighty whities" pulled up high or "skimpy" swim briefs would give the same bare on the sides look.

Congratulations to everyone! I would be hard put to pick one as the best, I found things to appreciate and enjoy about all of them. I was entertained.


Bruce

P.S. One thing I think I've learned from the few of these I've done is that the 3 minute time limit seems to work. It seems to allow adequate expression of a concept without going into too much detail.

4 minutes may be an "awkward" degree of extension in that it may tend to lead one into not being as "concise" as the shorter time and we may "stretch" things a bit without having the leeway to develop more complex visual ideas.

5-7 minutes may be more where some of us would like to go, but download times and server bandwidth likely would prohibit going there with the number of folks these challenges can draw.

Bob, I think you pulled it off well. Not being in an area where Goose beer is sold, I did briefly wonder about the significance of the title as the first scene opened up. You built the suspense (and anticipation) well and the wife's "WHAT" was expressively acted.

Thanks Bruce. I think if I had done a nice, clear close up of the Goose Island label the first time we see the bottle, it would have been better. Good point.
And I'll pass your complement to my wife. She didn't even know what the movie was about, I just told her to walk in, stop there and say "WHAT".
Three takes and it was done.

Bob

It makes sense, sure, but I daresay that it could easily be seen the other way (as...obviously...it did to me). You never showed where the garbage can was, and all the viewer sees is that little sliver of wall on the far right of the screen as he moves in that direction. You also clipped the motion, so I see him moving to his left...a hallway...and his line was fairly final, "I'm just going to have a beer and watch the game" okay, bye.

That's the feeling I got anyway...

And his positioning. He throws the cap away then moves all the back to his first position by the fridge? Why not stand at the garbage can? Anyway, enough of me being nitpicky.

I don't think it was so much I wasn't paying attention, as I'm paying perhaps too much attention. I'll give that.

Daniel,

You made some pretty bold statements about that scene, and you do get to see the garbage can quite clearly about a minute later. He also just leans towards it, hardly... "he's clearly heading out the door", as you put it. You also described it as "all the way back to his first position by the fridge."

He twists off the cap and "barely" leans forward to toss it in the garbage can, looking down as he does so. (Cut to the wife)

Cut Back: He is now standing exactly where he was as he tossed the bottle cap out, without the bottle cap in his hand I might add. We also get to see the garbage can quite clearly soon after when his wife tosses the empty bottle in.

I got this on my first viewing.

Criticism is fine as long as it is justified.

Daniel, I've seen that you can be quite hard on a lot of work in this forum. So much so that you have come back to apologize.

You even berated someone on their spelling and grammar, only to misspell grammar twice in the same sentence, along with the word definitely. Someone else called you on that.

I welcome your criticisms, you hardly had a knock against mine. I'm just defending what I thought was an overly harsh complaint of a scene that you clearly missed the ball on. Try not to be so harsh to the point that you even attempt to find things that are not even there.

This was just for fun after all.

Cheers,

Mike

Heh heh…you’re just too nice, Mike. :)

My son got home for spring break tonight so he watched your movie. Guess I was listening more closely this time and finally heard the last line! (lol) It made lots more sense to me. He still had to explain the sequencing (or would you call it juxtaposition?) so I could have the “ohhh, I get it” moment. Takes some of us a while!

While it’s hard for me to say I liked it—you already know I’m not a suspense/horror fan—I always think your work is really well done. It's my opinion that you do a good job of working the color to match the mood. I remember your DVC entry where you contrasted the cold darkness with the gorgeous coloring in the little girl’s bedroom. Made it all the more creepy. This one definitely had “cold” written all over it…in more ways than one. What an awful thing for even a hired gun to anticipate.

Thanks again for putting this challenge together. Nice job!!

Thanks Lorinda, I'll have to send the comedy I shot your way. Maybe you can email me and let me know what you think of it.

It looks like we just need Mike and Dennis to chime in with their thoughts.

We'll put it to a vote soon after that....

Thanks again for participating!

Mike

Wife said that wasn't something she needed to see

I certainly didn't intend to offend anyone. Please extend my apologies to your wife. I'll put a disclaimer on it next time.

Dennis:

No offense taken. Just made this comment from the stand point that we as film makers need to consider what the ultimate audience may be. And, you may have done so, thinking that the film would have a limited film maker only viewing. It was I who added the element of the "innocent by stander" :) She was similarly put off by the final scene in "The Mark". I do believe that scene was intended similarly to evoke shock, and it did in her.

She was similarly put off by the final scene in "The Mark". I do believe that scene was intended similarly to evoke shock, and it did in her.

Perfect! ;)

Shock, and closure... it was necessary I think. I really wanted to stress what he was anticipating after the phone call, without giving it away.

Maybe we should add ratings or something though? Scenes of violence, language, partial nudity, salivating dogs, etc... ;)


Mike

BTW, I've never had a work from home job. Don't think I'd be good at it, what with the beer callin' me.

Bob

Yeah, I found myself dressed like that a lot as time went on, and realized I had to get back to an out of home office. On the otherside, I never left work either, and that was nasty too.