My First Film School Movie!

Vamp · Post by **Vamp** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 1:34 pm

Our character is a successful businessman who lives in a lavish house, drives an expensive car, watches TV on a huge screen and has everything going for him, yet is depressed and lonely enough to cut himself and read medical journals on depression.

You can download it here, at 30MB

http://www.streamload.com/Neverdead/StillSad.mpg

Or here on YouTube.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ss6u0QyhDaQ

I did the dolly shot with a basket-trolley, so it's not entirely smooth but seeing as we weren't permitted a genuine dolly and tracks for our first term project, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Keep in mind, the original video is SDVCPRO (36gb for three minutes), I burnt it to DVD which was 130MB, then converted the DVD to VCD which is 30MB so the quality is considerably lower than the source material (still excellent, in my opinion though.) The YouTube version goes through even further compression and will look a bit shoddy, so I suggest the 30MB file.

There is one huge continuity error, can anyone guess what it is?

ctbullet · Post by **ctbullet** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 4:35 pm

not particularly fond of something that makes me want to slit my own wrists, it was well filmed just didn't have the entertainment value i was expecting

doesn't blood fly 6ft if you cut your wrists anyway?

and you've got a mean tv

Vamp · Post by **Vamp** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 4:37 pm

Not slitting his arteries, just forearms.

ctbullet · Post by **ctbullet** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 4:38 pm

gotcha, fair enough then, well done

Vamp · Post by **Vamp** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 2:39 am

Any other feedback?

John Groshko · Post by **John Groshko** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 10:26 pm

No offense, but the film seemed to start and go nowhere in my opinion. I don't quite get what the story was (if there was one).

ZombieKrieg2005 · Post by **ZombieKrieg2005** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 10:32 pm

rather depressing... but i thought it was well filmed and looked sleek, bare and suburban (intended as praise)

Bodysnatcher · Post by **Bodysnatcher** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:25 am

I liked the overall feel , it reminded me of the classic art noveu style. I would have liked to have seen it have a begining and an end though, this is somehtin gyou shoul develop more. if you construct it a bit more it has th epotential to be a keeper. the music fitted the short very well indeed (I am no music guru but I know what I like! lol) there is lots you can do to expand this and I for one hope that you do.

ChemicalShamanII · Post by **ChemicalShamanII** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:52 am

It was well filmed and looked really good but there wasn't really much to like about it. As it's already been stated, there isn't any real story to it etc.

As for the continuity error im not sure...... the bandaids?

CS

Kentertainment · Post by **Kentertainment** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:17 am

It overal just didn't do it for me. It was a little too simple, I thought maybe it would have worked out a bit if we see him slitting his wrists at the end, after we know he has it made. Which reminds me, I never really got why people slit their wrists.

Vamp · Post by **Vamp** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:06 pm

Thaks for the feedback. The message I'm trying to convey through the movie is: Don't judge peoples' happiness based on their tangible possessions and outward appearence.

I was thinking about having the bathroom scene at the end, but I decided that if placed in the beginning, when he's dressed in relatively shabby clothing it would raise the question of "Who is he? Why is he doing it?".

The further sequence of scenes displaying his lifestyle answer the question that he is in fact a very rich young man who has everything going for him. The why will always remain unanswered though. I don't think many people can explain what depresses them, although the shot of him eating alone at a long table suggests lonliness.

In regards to the cutting, I have no idea why people do it. I personally think it's silly and superficial, a teenage cry for attention but I added it here so more people would be able to identify with the character.

Keep in mind, the movie was meant to be +- two and a half minutes, so there's not much you can do providing backstory for such a complex character in that time.

Vamp · Post by **Vamp** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:11 pm

By the way, the music is Black Tape For A Blue Girl, it's called Fitful.

Bodysnatcher · Post by **Bodysnatcher** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:17 pm

although the shot of him eating alone at a long table suggests lonliness.

I agree, and the DIY dolly shot was well executed, very smooth really.

Ornsack · Post by **Ornsack** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:30 pm

Filmed well!

It's a bit too "Film School Film" for me though. Depression, skateboards, surrealism and guns are pretty much the staple for film schools, so you wanna be avoiding all that. And filming it in black and white is the purest of cliche.

And the 'music' got to me too. It's pretty much the same note constantly for 2/3rds of the film.

Done well though, and I look forward to your next project! Just try and break the mould and get noticed is my advice

Vamp · Post by **Vamp** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:24 pm

Well, it had to be in black and white so I couldn't avoid that. And we'd also just studied German Expressionism in our Film Appreciation lectures, so...Yeah.

I think the music suits the imagery perfectly though, I really love that.

richardcrycheck · Post by **richardcrycheck** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:18 pm

I agree that it was depressing but i enjoyed it

Vamp · Post by **Vamp** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:49 pm

some things I've found that notches any movie up on the professionalism scale.

A good camera, for starters. If I filmed that on a crappy camera, I don't think anyone would think it was well filmed. Crist, clear images are a must.

Simple frame composition makes a HUGE difference. The head and lead room should always be the basis of good compositon.

Don't forget sequential punctuation and relevant scene introductions that give a sense of expanse, location and subtle theme scenes without being too expositionary.

Ornsack · Post by **Ornsack** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:59 pm

It's not the type of camera, it's what you do with it that counts!

That might sound like a bit of a lame pun, but it's true.

A prime example is the film 'Haggard'. It's shot on 16mm but they managed to make it look like Mini DV. Amazing (in a bad way!)

joe · Post by **joe** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:14 am

So right Ornsack. Image quality is only a very small portion of the battle to make a good film. Haven't watched this film yet though.

SgtPadrino · Post by **SgtPadrino** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:42 am

Well, come on Ornsack... It's Bam Margera... that kid is so f*** stupid he should be living in a nursing home...

With Vamp's film, I thought that it was very well made. But I'm going to have to agree that it should have had the guy cutting himself at the end rather than at the beginning. I can understand why you'd do it at the beginning, but I think that showing the depression and loneliness, even amongst some great personal fortune (such as a large house, good job, etc) would have been more effective if you hadn't shown it right off the bat.

Mr.Anderson · Post by **Mr.Anderson** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:30 pm

I liked it. And even though this has become the standard response...very well done. But, I have to say that I like that the scene of him cutting himself was at the beginning. It makes you assume he has a hard life in poor living conditions. But slowly you see more and more that he actually lives well, and he lives in luxury. Personally, I think that that makes it slightly more original.

MattHawkins Online - Film Making Forum

My First Film School Movie!

My First Film School Movie!

RE: My First Film School Movie!

RE: My First Film School Movie!

RE: My First Film School Movie!