DVC19 - Demon's Mask by Bruce Foreman at DVinfo.net

Bruce Foreman · October 26th, 2010, 12:29 AM

Shot with the Canon 7D, primarily used the EF 24mm f2.8 but did use the 18-55mm "kit" lens where I needed a wider field of view. Audio for the interiors was recorded with the ZoomH2 using it's built in mics. Exterior audio was recorded in the camera with a Rode SVM on camera.

Shopping for the mask used as a prop was frustrating. Not being located in a larger city like Dallas or Houston (thank God!), all the shops seemed to have was Halloween "junk". Until someone tipped me off to a "hole in the wall" shop in the mall that had several replicas of African Tribal masks.

My acting crew had fun with this one and put themselves into the roles enough where they improvised some, deviating from the script. Just about all of the improvisations improved things and were left in.

Hope you enjoy watching.

Mugurel Dragusin · October 26th, 2010, 11:16 AM

Nice one! I enjoyed the overall concept and the way story unfolds, however, I felt it was slight predictable (maybe that's why I have enjoyed it as I knew what is coming yet was curious how it would be pulled of).

Perhaps more angles (as in camera work) would helped a lot but then I know first hand what are our limitations here in terms of supporting crew.

The 7D really allowed you to have nice night shots.

Anyway, take this in a constructive manner, of course. Thank you for the entertainment!

Marc Burleigh · October 26th, 2010, 11:33 AM

Hi Bruce, thanks for your comment on my entry (we're playing musical chairs for the critiques over here!)....

On your Demon's Mask, I have to say I'm a big fan of the old Hammer House of Horror stories. They delivered every time, reinforcing narratives that you may have seen before but which were fascinating even in their familiarity. I could see you going there. Actually, one telemovie your entry made me think of was the African doll story ("Amelia" I think it was called) in a compendium called "Trilogy of Terror". Worth a look at if you haven't already seen it.

Your "professor" was delightfully cast against type. It would have been nice to see a bikie professor in a sort of university environment to better savour the contrast. Having his relative (nephew you said?) play the transformed character was good, and he obviously got into the part.

I'm no technical whizz, so I won't dwell on lighting and such. Just my thought on the narrative would have been to have scripted the dialogue to make it tighter and more movie-like. But you did say you enjoyed the improv that broke out on set -- and apparently that also helped the "Blair Witch Project", so it's just my two cents.

Chris Barcellos · October 26th, 2010, 12:02 PM

Looks like you had a bit of fun with this one.

Like the others, I think the editing could have tightened this up quite a bit. Also use of cutaway shots and close ups would have made the lock down camera scenes in the living room better and in keeping with the story line. He should have gotten up, when you came into the room.

Another thought, I would like to have seen is that the "Polly Pureheart" female character have been featured in the shots more. She was an asset to the film to play against you and your partner more.

A fun film, once again, Bruce.

Henry Williams · October 26th, 2010, 07:33 PM

That was great fun! I particularly liked the transformation shot. How did you put that together?

Lorinda Norton · October 26th, 2010, 10:23 PM

Bruce, that was entertaining as all get out! Thanks! Good thing Bill Hollingsworth happened to be in that parking garage. Or did he know that the good professor wouldn't be able to resist the pull of the mask? :)

As was already said, it could have been a little tighter there in the beginning, but the pace picked up so well and continued it made up for it.

You ol' Texan you, referring to them as the "paranormal bunch." I had to laugh, and I also laughed at the sequence regarding burying the mask. That was very conversational and, I'm guessing, part of the improv.

Your demon from the mask was pretty convincing as a scary human eater. I'd hate to meet up with him in an isolated parking garage, I can tell ya that.

Music and graphics took me back to the days when we'd watch scary movies in the auditorium at school. That was great fun and so was this film.

Mugurel Dragusin · October 27th, 2010, 02:21 PM

Bruce, just a thought: http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8775/lightingb.png :)

Bruce Foreman · October 27th, 2010, 03:53 PM

Gotta respond to some good comments here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mugurel Dragusin

Perhaps more angles (as in camera work) would helped a lot but then I know first hand what are our limitations here in terms of supporting crew.

The 7D really allowed you to have nice night shots.

Anyway, take this in a constructive manner, of course. Thank you for the entertainment!

Yes more angles. I let myself get rushed and don't do this like I should.

7D is one neat camera!

Your comments are taken as offered. We don't grow if we are told everything is perfect. Thanks, man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Burleigh

Your "professor" was delightfully cast against type. It would have been nice to see a bikie professor in a sort of university environment to better savour the contrast. Having his relative (nephew you said?) play the transformed character was good, and he obviously got into the part.

Seeing as two of the projects he worked with me on he played the Devil, this was a neat change for him. He enjoyed it and needed little direction to "act" bewilderment when the mask was removed.

His nephew, Val, is a good find. He has had some drama training, martial arts, and loves to act. He also needed little "coaching" to reach within himself and bring forth an intensity I didn't expect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

Looks like you had a bit of fun with this one.

Like the others, I think the editing could have tightened this up quite a bit. Also use of cutaway shots and close ups

Another thought, I would like to have seen is that the "Polly Pureheart" female character have been featured in the shots more. She was an asset to the film to play against you and your partner more.

A fun film, once again, Bruce.

Yes, must repeat 1,000 times...More cutaways...More cutaways...More.....

That "Polly Pureheart" was a really lucky find. My daughter found her for us and then the kicker...I was stationed with, flew on missions with, and worked for her Grandfather twice while on active duty. Anyway, I am looking forward to casting her in future projects and will definitely try to "showcase" her more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Williams

That was great fun! I particularly liked the transformation shot. How did you put that together?

A sequence of dissolves attempting to have the two actors in the same position in that chair. Identical positioning was, of course, a bit impossible but the rapid dissolves covered that up somewhat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorinda Norton

Bruce, that was entertaining as all get out! Thanks! Good thing Bill Hollingsworth happened to be in that parking garage. Or did he know that the good professor wouldn't be able to resist the pull of the mask? :)

4 minutes didn't allow time to set the stage properly for that, but yours is one plausible explanation..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorinda Norton

You ol' Texan you, referring to them as the "paranormal bunch." I had to laugh,

Yeah, well...We gotta run them outta town now and then....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorinda Norton

and I also laughed at the sequence regarding burying the mask. That was very conversational and, I'm guessing, part of the improv.

He blew me away with that, you can see I couldn't hold all the laugh back. (I can see a dog digging it up and carrying it back to his master...Or was that already in the Jim Carrey version of "Mask"?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorinda Norton

Your demon from the mask was pretty convincing as a scary human eater. I'd hate to meet up with him in an isolated parking garage, I can tell ya that.

Kinda made me feel like I ought to put down the camera and run...I just don't run fast at 72...Oh well, keep on filming...

Lorinda, thanks for your fun comments. I always enjoy being a part of this contest and this bunch of fine folks.

Bruce Foreman

Mitchell Stookey · October 28th, 2010, 09:50 AM

This might have been the most fun of the entries because I could tell it was just so fun to make. The movie itself feels like a good friend or something, if you know what I mean? The ending is feel good while we still know that "evil" is not out of this world. I really had a great time watching.

A few people mentioned it was predictable, and I felt that way myself (definitely part of the charm), but if you wanted to avoid it I think that maybe a little re-working of the dialog could allow us to discover more. Bill Hollingsworth tells us so much of the story before it has begun that it we clearly see what is coming. Perhaps if Bill could only hint at his suspicions of the mask, and we discover it's evil powers along with Professor Mendoza, then Bill's triumphant and heroic return at the end would be all the more believable and rewarding, and there would be more for us to do during the film then just watch, we could be solving the mystery ourselves. It certainly is tough to figure out the best ways to get the story across because it easily goes the other way and people say "You didn't tell us enough! It's confusing!", so it's never easy. I still really like the story.

I think a lot of other people raised good points about having more insert shots and utilizing editing to really control the scene, and I would second those.

Other than that fun film Bruce that I really had a great time watching!

October 26th, 2010, 12:29 AM	#1
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	DVC19 - Demon's Mask by Bruce Foreman Shot with the Canon 7D, primarily used the EF 24mm f2.8 but did use the 18-55mm "kit" lens where I needed a wider field of view. Audio for the interiors was recorded with the ZoomH2 using it's built in mics. Exterior audio was recorded in the camera with a Rode SVM on camera. Shopping for the mask used as a prop was frustrating. Not being located in a larger city like Dallas or Houston (thank God!), all the shops seemed to have was Halloween "junk". Until someone tipped me off to a "hole in the wall" shop in the mall that had several replicas of African Tribal masks. My acting crew had fun with this one and put themselves into the roles enough where they improvised some, deviating from the script. Just about all of the improvisations improved things and were left in. Hope you enjoy watching.

October 26th, 2010, 11:16 AM	#2
Mugurel Dragusin Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Philippines Posts: 253	Hello Bruce Nice one! I enjoyed the overall concept and the way story unfolds, however, I felt it was slight predictable (maybe that's why I have enjoyed it as I knew what is coming yet was curious how it would be pulled of). Perhaps more angles (as in camera work) would helped a lot but then I know first hand what are our limitations here in terms of supporting crew. The 7D really allowed you to have nice night shots. Anyway, take this in a constructive manner, of course. Thank you for the entertainment! __________________ Lost signature, if you find it, please return it to me, thank you.

October 26th, 2010, 11:33 AM	#3
Marc Burleigh Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Paris (France) Posts: 143	Hi Bruce, thanks for your comment on my entry (we're playing musical chairs for the critiques over here!).... On your Demon's Mask, I have to say I'm a big fan of the old Hammer House of Horror stories. They delivered every time, reinforcing narratives that you may have seen before but which were fascinating even in their familiarity. I could see you going there. Actually, one telemovie your entry made me think of was the African doll story ("Amelia" I think it was called) in a compendium called "Trilogy of Terror". Worth a look at if you haven't already seen it. Your "professor" was delightfully cast against type. It would have been nice to see a bikie professor in a sort of university environment to better savour the contrast. Having his relative (nephew you said?) play the transformed character was good, and he obviously got into the part. I'm no technical whizz, so I won't dwell on lighting and such. Just my thought on the narrative would have been to have scripted the dialogue to make it tighter and more movie-like. But you did say you enjoyed the improv that broke out on set -- and apparently that also helped the "Blair Witch Project", so it's just my two cents. Last edited by Marc Burleigh; October 26th, 2010 at 12:03 PM.

October 26th, 2010, 12:02 PM	#4
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Looks like you had a bit of fun with this one. Like the others, I think the editing could have tightened this up quite a bit. Also use of cutaway shots and close ups would have made the lock down camera scenes in the living room better and in keeping with the story line. He should have gotten up, when you came into the room. Another thought, I would like to have seen is that the "Polly Pureheart" female character have been featured in the shots more. She was an asset to the film to play against you and your partner more. A fun film, once again, Bruce. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

October 26th, 2010, 10:23 PM	#6
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	Beware...spoilers ahead Bruce, that was entertaining as all get out! Thanks! Good thing Bill Hollingsworth happened to be in that parking garage. Or did he know that the good professor wouldn't be able to resist the pull of the mask? :) As was already said, it could have been a little tighter there in the beginning, but the pace picked up so well and continued it made up for it. You ol' Texan you, referring to them as the "paranormal bunch." I had to laugh, and I also laughed at the sequence regarding burying the mask. That was very conversational and, I'm guessing, part of the improv. Your demon from the mask was pretty convincing as a scary human eater. I'd hate to meet up with him in an isolated parking garage, I can tell ya that. Music and graphics took me back to the days when we'd watch scary movies in the auditorium at school. That was great fun and so was this film. __________________ Lorinda

October 26th, 2010, 07:33 PM	#5
Henry Williams Major Player Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lewisham, London, United Kingdom Posts: 408	That was great fun! I particularly liked the transformation shot. How did you put that together?

October 27th, 2010, 02:21 PM	#7
Mugurel Dragusin Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Philippines Posts: 253	Bruce, just a thought: http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8775/lightingb.png :) __________________ Lost signature, if you find it, please return it to me, thank you.

October 28th, 2010, 09:50 AM	#9
Mitchell Stookey Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 196	This might have been the most fun of the entries because I could tell it was just so fun to make. The movie itself feels like a good friend or something, if you know what I mean? The ending is feel good while we still know that "evil" is not out of this world. I really had a great time watching. A few people mentioned it was predictable, and I felt that way myself (definitely part of the charm), but if you wanted to avoid it I think that maybe a little re-working of the dialog could allow us to discover more. Bill Hollingsworth tells us so much of the story before it has begun that it we clearly see what is coming. Perhaps if Bill could only hint at his suspicions of the mask, and we discover it's evil powers along with Professor Mendoza, then Bill's triumphant and heroic return at the end would be all the more believable and rewarding, and there would be more for us to do during the film then just watch, we could be solving the mystery ourselves. It certainly is tough to figure out the best ways to get the story across because it easily goes the other way and people say "You didn't tell us enough! It's confusing!", so it's never easy. I still really like the story. I think a lot of other people raised good points about having more insert shots and utilizing editing to really control the scene, and I would second those. Other than that fun film Bruce that I really had a great time watching!

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