UPDATE... Now on YouTube... and now in better quality! Here's the link:
I made this film 5 years ago now, and suffers from all the usual stuff made with home video camcorders: 1) The look of washed out old VHS. Check! 2) The hum of the camcorder motor is heard throughout. Check! etc, etc
Anyway, I still quite like it. I'm still always impressed with the editing (that took two of us four days to do).
This is by far one of the better short films i've seen in a long while. Film students (such as myself) tend to try and make thought provoking films when really the little "nice" ones are usual alot better.
This film was good for the simple reason that it was "nice". I didn't have to think to follow the plot line or have to watch carefully incase I missed something, its just a film where you can sit back and enjoy.... and enjoy I did.
Well done Dave.
Si
"But if thats being disruptive... fuck you.... its not being disruptive its entertainment" Twitter: @thesimonsquare
Post by Big Al Fresco on May 30, 2005 21:22:53 GMT
I've downloaded it but not watched it yet. I'm at my sisters (my own Internet's been cut off, the bast!) so will watch it after everyone's in bed. I'll be uploading a couple of short films later on in the week as well.
Glad you liked it Fattaxi. I think I get where you are coming from with the "nice" comment. With a lot of first time shorts (which this is), you often get people trying to emulate a fim they love, or try to be overtly shocking, etc. I didn't want to do any of that because it is often the case that such shorts turn out crap. I guess the film is "nice" in that it is suitable for family viewing too! haha.... If I was trying to be shocking, I could have replaced the magazine the bloke ends up with in the film to be a porn mag or something lame like that. Ha ha.
The short film was made entirely under our own steam in that it wasn't for college work or anything like that, we just went out and did it for our own enjoyment.
Can't wait for more short films to watch... glad to hear you are to put some online soon Big Al Fresco. Oh, and Big Al Fresco, please let me know what you think of the film, and any criticism will be taken onboard (not that I'm planning to make any more shorts any time soon).
Yes.. the 'fake dodger' was a winner. We couldn't find a packet that didn't have a stupid little finger on the image of the dodger though. But that just adds to the crapness of the fake dodger, and more odd that no-one can tell.
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS: (May contain spoilers) 1) The opening of the bloke running to the interview was shot a month after the rest of the stuff. The door he enters is also a house, but when he is inside, it is Bath Uni. 2) The siren sound is lifted from Tomb Raider 3 3) The music on the closing credits is composed by me on my PS2!! No cheating with pre-made loops though, I programmed it from scratch. 4) The flashing orange light was created by holding an orange bulb behind a big maltesers box (from the cinema I worked at) with a hole cut in it, span on the end of some string. 5) I play the security guard. 6) The dodgy, wobbly tracking shots as the cam passes the magazines the people are reading, are a direct reference to camera moves in Where's the Money Ronnie? (done badly tho).
I just watched it. It was very assured and confidently directed, Dave, especially for a short film and the budget. I liked the shots and the look. The story isn't one I would be interested in though, and it felt like it could have been shorter. And I didn't think much of the acting, though at this level that's to be expected and it's a problem I have myself. I don't know why you're not making more shorts though as you (and/or the other guys involved) definitely have potential and talent.
I agree, it's definitely an odd little story that some people are not going to enjoy. It's virtually a silent film really. Probably would have been quite fun to have done it as a fake 1920's silent piece perhaps!
Yeah... plenty of dodgy acting, but no-one had ever done any before. Plus, I was too concerned with making sure I got enough coverage and also got all the shots I wanted. It was made harder by the fact that we didn't get the tripod we were promised on the day, so alot of the wide shots are with the camera on a pile of tables and chairs!
The budget of it was about £20 I'd say. This included biscuits, MINI DV tape, and some other bits and pieces. Other things were borrowed.
These upbeat comments are getting me interested in doing something else now!
I think you should, Dave, definitely. It'd be fitting (and good fun) if Shane's forum had a thriving guerilla filmmaking community. Possibly even a festival or something, with the best short included on a future Shane's shorts DVD.
Very good Dave, nice shots through out which is what lets most shorts down in my opinion, i have to agree with big Al on the story though but if you can make a film that looks like that for your first attempt using a more interesting story and you would make a great short i think. I really will try to remember to send the story i promised as ive always thought it would make a nice short film but im unsure how it would adapt as it's filled with lots of internal dialouge and a strange dream sequence. Anyway you really should get on with more as it looked really professional, good work.
I got Madonna's big dick comin' outta my left ear......
I really enjoyed watching the short. As a POM living overseas, the whole biscuit thing is really funny. I think you have to be British to really understand the Jammie Dodger versus the Digestive situation. Not just the names and relevance of the biscuits, but the issue of everyone being too "polite" to take the only Dodger, and role of biscuits in life, how much comfort people get from a cup of tea and a biscuit; that's uniquely British!
The last short film festival I attended was disappointing; your film was way better than nearly everything I saw there.
I think I know what you mean when you say you were disappointed with a recent short film festival. You often just want to see something fun and entertaining, rather than the bizarre and convoluted type of thing that often crops up.
