Finished my 22 minute short film "Red Ribbon". Watch it!
 

hello, im a fairly new student filmmaker (second semester) and i just finished my second short film entitled "Red Ribbon". It's a romantic tragedy. i would love some feedback. mind you, its just my second short film, be nice :) heres the link

http://www.citizencine.com/films/redribbon.htm

thanks again.

ps: shot with XL2 and edited in premiere pro, effects in after effects for those who care :)

Nice flick it kept my attention the whole time. did you use magic bullet for the color.

Really good short. It moved along nicely and looked really good. I really like the use of the music.

i only used magic bullet in one scene, the exterior scene where the ribbon exchanges hands, the rest of it was color corrected in premiere pro

flic
 

Wow! What a great film. My wife and I just watched it on my ibook in bed and we liked it.....my wife "LOVED" it! Took a while to download,however it was worth it.

wow, if i can get one person to love it (other than my mom) than its been all worth it, my only goal for the movie was to improve from my first.

Wow, I loved the music in your film. It sounds a lot like the
2046 OST at http://global.yesasia.com/jp/PrdDept...music/did-156/

oh, and it also sounds a little like the
In the mood for love OST at http://global.yesasia.com/jp/PrdDept...section-music/

Marlon Torres I can't believe you would stuff your "film" with copyrighted music - straight from Wong Kai-Wai OSTs. I mean, come on, you are basically playing the whole soundtrack throughout. I know you tried to credit it at the ending but it doesn't give you the right to use and distribute it. It's disappointing Marlon.

its a student film i did for fun, im not distributing it or submitting it to any festivals and i never claimed that it was my music

Watched it. Loved it.

As for the music.... Didn't bother me. These lovely chaps who get on non-profit student filmmakers for things like this, really need to get out of their editing studios once in a while and remember what it was like to learn the craft and not have EVERYTHING at you fingertips.

Now, if I see this for sale at my localy video store, then shame on you, and i take back my kudos and bravos.

Keep learning, experimenting, and filming. You have a "gift."

Bryon <><

How did you get the 2:35.1 ascpect (Cinemascope)? Watching it now =)

thanks byron, that guy really offended me... he made me feel like a dirty criminal or something, i mean... there are countless student films out there with unlicensed music... anyway, thanks for the kind words

did some algebra on the 856x480 ratio and simply added a letterbox and then cropped it in after effects.

Don't let it get you down Marlon (hey,MARLON TORRES, you even sound like a famous director!) I use other peoples music all the time,as long as you aren't selling your stuff then you have nothing to worry about. I think the musician would be proud to hear their music in such a great film.

Thanks Phil, I'm over it... I'm actually pretty proud that my movie could actually "disappoint" someone. Any reaction is better than no reaction.

Marlon,

I liked the film a lot. I liked the characters, your camera direction, and lighting. I'd say in general it was overly long, just really slow paced. Like most of the film was in slow motion (which I think it was). Also, it's a little offputting to have such a long and elaborate opening credit sequence for such a short film. Better just to get to the point. If this were around 10-12 minutes, it really would have been more effective. Kudos to you for pulling together such an ambitious project, though.

As for using unlicensed music... posting on an Internet discussion board qualifies as "distribution," so technically it was illegal to post it. My rule of thumb if that if the music isn't licensed, don't post it online, even student projects.

As for the thought that any musician would be proud to have his music in the film, I'd say you should really talk to some more musicians. I am one, and I run a record label, and I know for sure we would like to be asked permission first, perhaps compensated a little (your camera wasn't free, why should your music be?), and if we chose not to be involved, to know that you wouldn't use the music without permission.

There's lots of cheap, legal music online. You'd be surprised what you can get for free if you ask for it. And surprised what you can get for $5 over at productiontrax.com, etc.

Josh

howabout those countless star wars fanfilms all over the internet? lucasfilm is known to have an ironfist against illegal use of their property but it almost seems as if they encourage fanfilms.

I'm a musician as well, but I really wouldn't care if someone took my music and used it for something on the net or even a film festival without asking me. I would be happy that they like what I've done enough to want it in their film. If they were going to distribute it, I'd want them to ask, for obvious reasons. Maybe I just say this because I make bad music but hey that's just a matter of opinion I guess. I like my music and if someone else does, awsome!

Why can't we all just share people?

Sorry, haven't seen the flick yet, it's downloading. Will post after.

Marlon, I did love your use of camera and the general direction of cinematography. I did not like the acting nor the script though... the pacing was slow, as was mentioned before, but I do not consider that to be a flaw in this production.

I commend your efforts as a director when it comes to cinematography and editing =)

So I would definitely say thumbs up! =)

Lucas has said that people are allowed to use Star Wars characters, etc. in fan films online so long as they don't make money, either through sale or pay per view. Yes, he ecnourages fans to make films using his copyrighted material. (I'm not positive about the music but I would guess that counts as well.) But that's for Star Wars Fan Films only. You can't use the Star Wars theme in another film (not that would though).

However, I'm sure he'd have a problem with using his music and characters in a film and then selling it.

If they encourage it, then they are granting permission. You can't use Lucasfilm encouraging people to make Star Wars fan films as an excuse to use music without a license or permission.

As I said before, if you ask for permission from the copyright owners and explain the extent of distribution (personal project posted to the Internet for feedback on directing, editing, cinematography), they may grant you permission. If you wanted to submit to film festivals, they probably also have a reasonable price point for a "festival license."

It's just good practice to get started in licensing music now, because you will have to do it in the future. It could be beneficial to start building those relationships now, so you have better negotiating ability in the future. Plus, if you license the music, and people really respond positively to Red Ribbon, then you can take it to the next level without worrying about getting permission for the music.

Did you check out prodcutiontrax.com (or the scores of other web sites that deal in this stuff)? If you've got $20, you can get a lot of music similar in style to what you used, and use it with a clear conscience.

Josh

i will definitely use my own music for my upcoming third film, this was just something i worked on to improve on my really embarassing first short film.

Marlon,

I look forward to your next film. You've got some solid skills. BTW, I liked you actors as well, they had a lot of character.

Josh

haha...man, film is so subjective...some other folks in this same thread said the acting wasnt too good but some other folks liked it...ugk! which is it?

I Just visited productiontrax.com and I was amazed...I have found the music for my film( about 30 bucks)...
Fantastic...thanks for the link!

i think i may have found a few songs for my next movie as well!

That was really nice. I was just confused on the main charachter and the brother. they looked alot alike so the stort got a bit confusing to me. haha, thats just me though

well, if u need some clarification feel free to let me know what exactly you need help understanding...one of my main goals was to challenge the viewer :)

dont listen to dude. the music was great you clearly stated at the beggining that the film was for a school project. this was great i love everything about it. the picture was crips and sharp. that Canon XL2 is awsome i have used it before also. the plot was great. good acting and the cutting of the film was nice. kept things interesting the whole way through the film. great stuff man keep up the work

glad you liked it derrick :)

Nice job, Marlon! This is very good for your first film! When I look back on my first films, they weren't nearly as good as this one - and you'll certainly develop your style and learn many things along the way.

Overall, I think the lighting and composition were great! The camera does a great job - as do you!

I agree that the film was a little slow-moving, overall. I love the way you have the telephone segment at the beginning before the intro... but the intro was so long that the film almost lost me before it started up again. No worries, though - I stayed it through (though my girlfriend didn't have the patience).

There were also some distracting elements that made the characters seem strange -- for example, the fact that the girl 'wears the ribbon around her neck all the time because she promised a friend' kind of makes her seem a little weird. Especially since the ribbon was so big. It almost made her seem "special", if you know what I mean.

I don't really think it's fair to critique the acting. I mean yeah, it wasn't the best, but you're working without a budget, here. All in all, I think the fantastic shot compositions made up for the bad acting.

There was something distracting about the audio. My girlfriend thought so, too. It sounded good sometimes, but other times it sounded like a close-proximity studio-mic'd voice over that didn't really match the characters' position.

One thing I do have to say is that stolen music or not, you sure do know how to use it! Action goes right along with it and it was chosen nicely. But I do agree that using music from another film is cheating. Legally, whether you're distributing or not, you need a sync-rights license to even put the music in your film just for fun. Even if you state the source of the music... music rights are a little different than a high-school term paper.

I loved your lighting. I think amateurs tend to overlight scenes, and you can definitely tell. You did a great job!

Take all this for what it's worth. No matter how good or bad it is, you'll always have people who love it and people who hate it.

Overall, I think you did a fantastic job!

Marlon,

I really dig the film man!

Alot of positive things have already been said about your film, and I agree with them. One thing I don't agree with is the 'it's too slow-paced' comment many people have made. If you look back on the classic filmmakers that have inspired so many of us; Kubrick, Hitchcock, Welles, Fellini, Leone, and my favorite, Cassavettes, you will notice they all sloooooow it down. They don't move quickly through the plot. They let us dwell on images or sounds, or someones expression. Cassavettes was brilliant with this.

Look at Cassavettes 'Opening Night'. The time spent on Gena's character, her expressions, and her paranoia take the film to another level. Other films like Notorious, 8 1/2, Rebecca, Lolita, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of A Chinese Bookie, etc. etc. etc. are all great examples of pacing.

My point here is let the film develop. Let the characters unfold. Don't be afraid to stay on a characters face or an important moment. You're sharing something with us while we watch your film. I want to see what you are showing me, what you are saying, not how much or how fast you can move through it in 90 min.

Keep up the good work!

Good movie.

I'm kinda let down that you didn't want to enter it into festivals. It would have a nice chance if you guys got a composer to work his music in there and take out the copywritten stuff.

You got a good thing going, I can't wait to see more of your stuff.

Daniel: Thanks for the in-depth review :) You can't imagine how much I appreciate someone taking the time to write about my little flick :)

Joe: I couldn't agree with you more, my filmmaking is heavily inspired by kubrick and hitchcock as well as asian filmmakers like zhang yimou and wong kar wai, they are notorious for their "slow" pace movies :) but I love every second of them.

Travis: Don't rule it out, If I can get a decent composer to come close to what I had in mind, then you never know :)

Guys, Red Ribbon film will be debuting at my schools film festival tomorrow! wish me luck!

I've watched the first few minutes (it's loading still) and I really thought it was awessssome!

The whole look and feel of the movie felt like a Wong Kar Wai movie, even without the music (at least the first ribbon scene and credits did, I haven't seen the rest ya know).

Some questions: How did you get the forground to be in focus and the background to be out of focus? (Scene where he is cutting the ribbon I think)
Also, how did you compress it?

Anyway, things like this really inspire and scare me about going to a film school. Simply awesome, I'm excited about seeing more of your work later.

James: I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. I can get decent DOF with my XL2 by zooming in close to subject. I compressed it using H.264 codec, it kinda loses some of the colors vibrance but i think it looks the best.

Do you know if what program you use makes a difference as long as you are using the same compression? I compressed my movie using H.264 and it looked horrible.

Also noticed that your file is 300mb, crazyness.

I just used quicktime pro, yes my file is huge mainly because i didnt compress the music (which i probably should). just be sure to set ur settings as best quality and it should turn out fine.