*FILM* It's been too long.....

[Salvador]

I've not been on these forums for a long long time. Far too long actually.

I'm just back from the Bootleg Film Festival in New York where I spent a good bit of time with fellow Meadows Maniacs Tom Wilton and Ryd Cook.



Ryd reminded us of the support, camaraderie and all round awesomeness of the Shane Meadows forums circa 2006/07. It was a time when we were in this little corner of the web supporting, encouraging and critiquing one another. It was a really amazing time and it lead to everything that I'm doing now. Without the forums I would never have met Tom Wilton and well, the rest is history.

I want to humbly come back now and become more active on here, not just to promote myself but to support others too....

This year I have been fairly busy making films. I want to share with you three that I have made in the last three months.

Domestic Wrestling
2 minute short film – Comedy
Role: Writer, Director, Editor, Producer
2013
A surreal comedy about a lazy boyfriend, a pissed off girlfriend and some serious professional wrestling. There’s nothing fake here.



Merrily We Go To Hell
5 minute short film – Drama
Role: Writer, Director, Editor, Producer
2013
The story of a loveless marriage and the explosive things left unsaid. A torturous, daunting tale told slowly and silently.



Films
The Traveller
8 minute short film – Fantasy Drama
Role: Writer, Director, Producer
2013
Unemployed and a new father, Connor Ray is unable to cope. On the day he decides to walk out on his young family he meets a mysterious Traveller who wants to know why he’s running away.
Made as part of the Edinburgh 48 Hour Film Project.



I'd appreciate anyone watching any of them and letting me know what you think. Good and bad.

Cheers

Salv

[jill]

Hi Salv,

Nice to have you back I haven't had time to watch all your films yet, but just wanted to say quickly that I just watched The Traveller and think it is wonderful.

[Salvador]

Ah thanks Jill, I really appreciate that. How are you doing these days?

[Bill Edwards]

Hi Salvador. Good to hear from you again.

I'd already seen Domestic Wrestling when you'd tweeted it. I really enjoyed and it was just as funny this time round.

I'd be interested to hear why you treated the video the way you did in The Traveller. I personally don't think it adds anything and for me distracts from the very intriguing and haunting story.

Merrily We Go To Hell is you at your bleakest best. I watched it full screen and really enjoyed its Kubrickian framing.

Thanks for posting. I really like your style and would love to see a longer feature of yours. Got a 30 min project in the pipe line?

[jill]

I'm good Salv-ta. Currently feeling guilty about not posting comments on all the films that have appeared on the forum lately-very busy work-wise This section of the site used to be very lively and enlivening (used to be my favourite section of the forum in fact). Would be great if it was re-invigorated by lots of active engagements with people's work.

Anyway....Domestic Wrestling is a laugh-liked it. Merrily We Go To Hell is indeed bleak, but it is good to see powerful storytelling that is entirely visual. I did wonder-at one point-if some close-up shots might have added something-made the audience feel a closer connection with/more invested in the emotional lives of the characters. On the other hand, the cost would be to greatly reduce the emotionally distant/alienated feel of the film which is very powerful and affecting. Bill must have seen an earlier version of The Traveller. As I said before, I really liked the style of it-inevitably brought to mind The Illusionist (milking the beauty and charm of lovely old Edinburgh) as well as films like Waking Life. For a non-film maker like me, who is pretty clueless about how you achieve the effect, the fantasy feel/look is enchanting.

[Salvador]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate you both checking out ALL the films. Really amazing.

Glad Domestic Wrestling is taken for what it is, fun. Nothing more. Great laugh to make and also to see it seems. Lovely.

Merrily We Go To Hell I'm really proud of, just because it is visually exactly what I wanted when I came up with the idea/script. It's funny because it's people who would consider themselves film enthusiasts or 'serious' filmmakers who appreciate this film the most, probably because of the aesthetic and tones taken from other filmmakers like Haneke and Roy Andersson. And Jill you're not the only person to say about a close up. I understand the thinking but it was never considered and I'm not too worried about it.

On The Traveller... it was made for the Edinburgh 48 hour film project. I had discovered an iPad app that shot like this and decided that no matter what genre etc we got I would use it and shoot on the iPad. We ended up getting Fantasy and this is a story/idea I had for a while. It was scripted in a couple of house and shot in a day. Then edited in a few hours. It was great to make and I'm very very happy with it. I realise not everyone likes the 'look' but that's okay. loads of people love it and it was never meant to be gimmicky but instead to add to the beauty and I think it does that in some shots and maybe not in others.

Thanks guys, really love getting honest feedback :-)

[RydCook]

Hey guys! Good to see you've posted this photo up here Salv. I just came here to do the same. I've not been around here for a while either! Love these forums. Was great to hang out with Tom & Neil in New York and chat about our beginnings on the forum.

I love all three films Neil, and I'm sure I've spoke to you about them all. I should post my latest work!

[Deleted]

Hey Salv, that's a really great range of films there, my favorite being Merrily We Go To Hell.

I absolutely 100 percent believe that any close ups in that film would have ruined it. We needed the distance to create the sense of isolation that these two people must be feeling, particularly the wife. I love that we never get to see her face, because it really gives us the sense of how faceless she has become to the one person who should love her most! She's no longer a person of worth to him. And just seeing the movements of her body, like someone trapped and dying inside, made it a much more painful film to watch.

I couldn't place what it was about the framing that felt very familiar to me (in a good way), but then Bill mentioned Kubrick and that's exactly right! And the cutting of the knife was also very affective. I don't know if it was intended but it seemed to go with the ticking of the clock. It was very mechanical. Life on autopilot!

On the subject of the chopping, I would have taken out the noise of the chops that weren't very clear. This may seem a bit pedantic, but there are times where she tries to chop through a vegetable and it's not a clean, crisp sounding chop. It would have been easy to replace those with better sounding chops. That may sound like a weird comment, but I just feel like it would have added to the uneasy atmosphere if all the chops were almost identical, like her actions are completely robotic.

I had a bit of a problem with The Traveller because I could not make out what it is that she says to him in the end, and I get the feeling it's quite important. I've played it back a few times but I still can't make it out.

Domestic Wrestling was a nice bit of fun but I would probably trim the ending down a bit. I think her cheering just goes on a bit too long that's all.

All the best.