Groon here, back again after a long hiatus. I've recently finished a short film that I'm taking to various festivals. It's youtube quality (crappy) but I think you'll get the idea. It's set in the future, and, well, I won't say any more about it. Just check it out. Hope you enjoy!!
Groon. Really interesting piece. RB would be pleased in viewing it, I would think. We are starting Part III of F451 today (gr. 12) ("Burning Bright"). I will show this to the class this a.m. I'll follow later with a few comments from the students themselves -- Ah, the critics!!
thanks, f
Posts: 2822 | Location: Basement of a NNY Library | Registered: 07 April 2005
Groon,for some reason I could not get sound. But I am thinking that it is a silent film, am I correct. I, too, liked the robot camera. Say, my cell is low on battery right now. Call me later and maybe leave a phone number where I could reach you.
Posts: 1525 | Location: Sunrise, FL, USA | Registered: 28 June 2004
Thanks for all the wonderful replies!! fjp, is that fjpalumbo? You really showing it to your students!? How awesome, I'm honored!! Biplane, it is silent, but I would highly reccomend waiting to see it with the music, as it's pretty important to how the film is viewed. But I don't think I've ever had your phone number. Maybe I didn't get the joke. Sorry, I just woke up from a nap. Good to hear from you all again, and I suppose I ought to send a copy to Ray then. Hmm, now to find that pesky column of how to contact Ray. Anybody remember how to find that one?
Reason...there are too many present-day vehicles in the film. Other than this, I thought it was very good. This message has been edited. Last edited by: Robert M Blevins,
Posts: 349 | Location: Seattle, Washington State, USA | Registered: 20 July 2005
What did u use to film this? A Bolex 16mm I would say at first, but then the crispness of the picture says video, perhaps digital. I've made a few shorts myself (went to film school for 2 years as part of my artistic training) and I'm curious. It's definitely an enjoyable little flick. Would you mind if I post about it on my site? I run a site promoting my own writing and art and even publish my own speculative fiction e-zine (check the link below to see the site) and some of my fans/friends might be interested in watching this. Always happy to help others out and bring new things to fans/friends.
Feel free to PM me or email me at LordShen@juno.com... or just reply here, I'm sure I'll be checking back soon for other comments.
As for the "Sometime in the near future..." comment from Robert M Blevins, it's a good catch. But IMHO, words and dialogue are highly overrated in films. If you could/would really re-edit to address this issue, my suggestion would be to leave it out completely. Do we need to know it's time and place? How important is that in a short film? There's enough visual stuff in the short to identify the time and place as being similar to our own, yet quite alien enough to be futuristic or even historical... the music, the way the authorities are dressed, etc. all speaks 'old timey' 9for lack of a better term. Which could open up yet another definitive discussion about tradition and established ideals vs. progress and even regression if you leave out any definitve indication to time or place. But that's me and my Theory As Practice speaking. Either way you go with it, I like it.
groon, Just saw the film. Pow! You nailed it. My standard for a good film is, “Do I want to see it again?” I’ve viewed it three times and enjoyed it more each time. I remember when there was a cartoon or a short advertised with films. Sometimes people would go to a bad film just to see the short. I would go to a bad film in order to see any of your work. Hey, I guess that Max Sennett lighting still works, a good story still entertains and classical music still rocks. —Best
Posts: 861 | Location: Manchester CT | Registered: 13 August 2005
Biplane, I tried calling a couple times, but couldn't get through. If you'd like to email me, my address is christofmunoz@gmail.com. Otherwise, I'll try calling again. As far as the soundtrack, it's just Sonata 14 in C# minor (moonlight sonata) by Beethoven and I used the 2nd movement for the credits and the 3rd for the main part of the movie. I copied down the notes from a Beethoven music book into a midi program, and my friend George (who also played the police captain) helped me fix the tempo changes and dynamics to make it sound more human, and then we recorded it using a program he has called Giga-Studio, which uses samples of real instruments. I only did the parts you hear though, so I didn't bother recording the first movement or most of the second, just the coda. The repeats were left out of the 3rd movement in order to fit the story better, so I didn't record the full sonata, but if you want a copy, I could send you a CD of it, but it will be incomplete. It shouldn't be too hard to find a good recording of the complete sonata. I'm partial to pianist Walter Klein's rendition, so I'd reccomend that one.
VERY COOL! Ray would probably really appreciate it. I agree about the cars. I even have a friend who picks on the bicycles in "Fahrenheit 451." Cars I can see, but bicycles! But if you can make the bikes look futuristic, all the better. The news camera effect was amazing. Very artistic film.
Posts: 7327 | Location: Dayton, Washington, USA | Registered: 03 December 2001
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Robert M Blevins, 