Long-distance collaboration on a movie can be almost as fun as friends getting together to shoot! I'd have loved hopping on a plane to shoot in New Jersey, but, well....that just wasn't possible. So, here's our movie. We sure hope you liked it!

Hugh wrote the story, shot his half of it, then mailed the clips he wanted me to use. I just dropped them in the timeline with my stuff and finished editing. Aside from major shooting woes, this is probably the least stressful one of these I've done yet!

Big thanks to the local band Bone Daddy for allowing us to use one of their songs. I found out that loops programs and I don't get along all that well, so the band really saved the day.

And even bigger thanks to Hugh! This was great fun--we'll have to do another one someday! Chime in here as soon as you can!

Cross-country filmmaking, sounds like a blast!

I'm a little confused about the story, however, are these cops all supposed to be working together, or is it two different versions of the same story told at the same time? Or perhaps you're trying to tell us something about Idahoan police officers? :)

Got the version with the extra footage, looks like you all had a great time, congratulations!

Hey Robert,

Your assumption about two versions of the same story is the right one. I should be making Hugh field this question because he knows best, but since he's not around, this will have to do:

Think of it as a mirror of the same scenario but with a twisted "reflection." (hah!) :)

Production values are awe inspiring. I had to think about what was actually going on, but then making someone think is what it is all about. What I came away with was the culture of "cop" is really the same everywhere, the clothes are different, the "techniques" are different, but when its one of their own.... boy look out !!

i was a little confused regarding the storyline, too, so thanks for the explanation. makes sense now. doink!

it looked terrific! and you squeezed more good performances from your actors.

maybe what would have been cool was if you made this a meta-movie, with an additional narrative frame of the filmmakers struggling to make mirror images of the same movie. of course, such an undertaking would disgustingly complex, but after all, what's a bit more brain hemorrhaging among friends??

enjoyed it, thanks!

i think this requirement of maximizing use of locations is producing some of the most interesting DVC films to date.....

Heh heh....I should say right here that this movie isn't meant to cast a bad light on the brotherhood of cops. Hugh is a part of that brotherhood; I have the utmost respect for law enforcement and the brave folks who protect and serve. :)

Originally, the victim was not a cop, but my more--shall we say "tender" sensibilities couldn't handle it, so Hugh made the change.

Thanks, Chris and Meryem. By the way, Meryem, just READING your idea nearly gave me a stroke! LOL!

i think this requirement of maximizing use of locations is producing some of the most interesting DVC films to date.....

oh yeah, definitely! Really getting to see a lot of GREAT location shooting. Helps set the tone for the film. And this one was right up there.

Took me a while to get up to speed with the "reflection" in this one, but I did get it. not the sharpest knife in the drawer, mind you..... Talk about "good cops, bad cops..." Good film.

PS: BTW, who gets the iPod when you win???

Lorinda,

Very good work as usual!

It took me a few more minutes to figure out the main "reflection", but when I did it I found the picture much pleasing. Great shooting style (to you both), and great actors as well.

Deeply recommend the version with extras :D

Hugo

This one confused me at the beginning until I got what you were trying to do. I think the fact that the Idaho guys didn't jump out at me as being cops had something to do with it. Is this what cops look like in Idaho? :)

Nice shots and nice working your locations in as backdrop. The abandoned location in Jersey was a very cool spot to shoot! (Though I must admit that it looked to me like the early and late scenes were shot in the same location, so when I first saw it I was wondering why they were bringing him back to the same spot they started at ?.?.?)

What is the significance of the title?

Also, one minor thing I noticed because I was listening with headphones (so as not to wake the kids) was that some of the dialogue wasn't panned in the middle...

My wmv file also seems to hang when the Idaho cops start digging: I don't know if this was intentional, a problem with my computer, or what...

Loved the Joysey accent "We know waht, wehn, and wahy ya did it.." ! :)

Nice work!
Bill

Love that P.S., Edward! We're not, uh...too worried about that. :)

I know what you're saying about the story in light of the theme; if you're like me you don't want to have to think that hard. (lol) And I know, Hugo, that when you saw my name attached to a movie you were expecting the usual simplicity of my mind, not the complexity of Mr. DiMauro's. ;) While I'm at it, Hugo, we're sure going to miss watching one of your movies this time around, but thanks so much for sharing with us here. Next time!

Ah, Bill, always thinkin' there, aren't ya!

No, detectives in Idaho don't dress quite that casually. That dollar store badge on my son's belt was supposed to do the trick. It's even shaped like a star! :)

As for the title, are you referring to what Dylan originally posted? It's been corrected. About the audio.....we're not going there. What a nightmare, all because I'm an idiot. Don't know what's wrong with the wmv thing; I'll check it out. Something's haywire with my PC so I haven't been able to download any of today's movies!

Thanks!

I was quite confused about the story and I wondered, if the reason is to be found in my bad English ;) . After consulting my wife's advice we are not really more cunning: We catch the idea of reflecting the story at two different places, but - why did the cops in Idaho kill the man? Nonsense, deeper sense...?!

Thanx for help

Volker

Dear Lorinda and Hugh,

What an effort! To collaborate from Spudville to Jersey had to be an amazing challenge and both of you are to be commended. I can only imagine the various discussions taking place as story ideas are tossed about and decided upon. Well done.

Nice story concept. To me, this seemed to fall more into an almost synchronistic string theory realm as opposed to reflections. But the definition for reflections means many things to many people as evidenced here in this very competition.

I enjoyed the acting by all parties and thought the locations were terrific. Being from Stickville myself, I especially relate to Idaho country and can easily see "cops" from 'round those parts' looking like that.

I'm thinking for DVC#6, we can have five people teams collaborate on a film, each person within the team shoots a segment of one story, wind up with 5-6 submissions. Hmmm.

Way to go you two!

Best wishes~
Bradley

I am so sorry for the confusion, Volker! As you can see by the other comments, you're not alone.

I'm going to tip the entire hand here, supposing that anyone who reads this has seen the movie already. I wish Hugh wasn't out of town; he could do a better job of explaining:

Our goal was to show the different ways detectives from each region would handle a suspect. East coast detectives are typically seen as rough, tough guys, where out here in Idaho they're seen as more by-the-book, courteous gentlemen.

The idea that these detectives in Idaho would pretend to be doing the suspect a favor, then kill him is supposed to be a wry twist by utilizing what some call "Western justice." Harkens back to the Old West days and ways of handling evil doers.

Hope that helps!

Edit: Hey, Brad! Thanks for the nice comments. Someone on this board once suggested movies shot by region. Would that be a blast, or what?

Oh yes - that helps! Am not very familiar with the police habits of east and west coast ;)

What Bradley considers is in a similar way already on the net: www.kettenvideo.de - the first endless serialized video.

But this is another thread...

I enjoyed your film. I do think, like the others it was a little confusing at first. After "reflecting" on it a bit, I think the concept would have been easier to present if you had more time. For example, in the opening scene in NJ. You have a great shot on the freeway, then all of a sudden the car is pulling up to what looked like an abandoned location. It took my brain a second to catch up and recognize the sequence.

Another minor point was that during a couple of the scenes when the NJ cops were moving (before entering the apartment), the backlight (sun) was really bright, this led to some underexposure on the actors faces, however, the camera adjusted nicely when zoom was performed.

Maybe the writing (I understand you said that Hugh wrote this who is a police officer) it was case of wishful thinking on his part!

Good work. :)

Okay. I survived the trip to South Carolina with the kids/ Now let me finish with my feedback.

Lorinda and Hugh. I loved this short. I particularly loved how you would tell part of the story in one location and another part in the other location. This is so good, the bar really is raised to a different level with DVC5.

I liked both Techniques and Love Bites better than any of the five finalists in the Tribeca short film contest.

I'm learning that I need to shoot more "insert" shots. Bradley Marlow also does this well. Boots getting out of a car.. these little inserts set the mood for a piece very powerfully with just a second or two of screen time.

It must have been really fun to collaborate on a pirce. Anyone wanting footage down here in Georiga, just let me know.

Great work!

Thank you for the kind remarks, guys. Because I've been so deprived of sleep for the past couple weeks (that's a whole other deal) I'll admit to feeling a bit down in the dumps about our little endeavor here. It bothers me that it's been confusing. But that's the chance we take when we shoot these stories...

Dick, if I could I'd come over there and give you a great big hug. You always know what to say to cheer up this old girl. Thank you. (And I'll sure keep your offer in mind. Wouldn't it be fun if my rednecks could somehow meet up with some Georgia rednecks someday? LOL!)

Finally got to watch it. I loved the two different locations. really gave you a sense that it was big time. (wow, they really had a budget to shoot in two locations besides across the street) hahah. I thought the sites for each were great. I loved it even though I didn't really know what was going on for a bit, but the concept was great. I thought about doing the same kind of 2 points that were reflections of each other. Just couldn't figure out how to do it at all much less in 5 min. Once I realised what was happening I got excited. Big thumbs up for taking it to the limit. I bow before you two.

Michael, you sound a lot like Hugh! "Try something new, take that risk" sort of thing. That's cool.

Thank you so much for the encouragement. Can't wait to see your movie! :)

Ok gal. Another fine one for your team. One day I'm going to have to get a crew. Maybe for the music video thing.

So, I had the same comments as everyone else so far. Remember a while back when we were talking about doing this? Glad to see you found someone to pair up with in a different location. Makes it look more like a higher budget piece with such differing locations. Great collaborative effort. Made it fun to compare and contrast.

I might have tried to tie the two locations together somehow. It's quite interesting and fun, especially the performances as it is. Not sure how I would have tried to tie them together but it works as it is. Great job to the cast and crew for their 2-location shoot.

I do worry about running around, even in the middle of nowhere with guns. I have a great BB gun story for you one day.

Good work.

Sean McHenry

Sean, what are you doing up so late, ya night owl?!? :)

I do remember us talking about collaborating. It just takes people saying "yes" -- that's all! Wish I was closer to Ohio and I'd try to be on your crew for the music video.

Back to the movie, I thank you for the nice remarks. And about the guns, out here we can get away with toting them. For the most part, people are very responsible. Btw, you once wondered about my "other" shooting. Watch the extras and check out the pistol my son used for our effect--then you'll know. :)

Patiently waiting for your movie to be posted!!!

Mine is like nothing that has been posted before. It's a highly experimental dream sequence sort of piece but it hits the reflections theme on at least 2 different levels. As usual, there is a creepy element, primarily due once again to the great music I keep getting access to.

I get a concept and build it around a musical piece that conveys the mood I am going for. I shoot and edit to the muisic a lot.

I'll send an e-mail on the music video progress. Have you hit my web site recently? I am also publishing everything on video.google.com lately. Easy to use and they put it up pretty quickly. I have 3 shorts listed there and they all made it live in 48 hours after posting.

Sean

I've been avoiding reading the threads until I had a chance to watch the videos in full. I wasn't sure what was going on at first, but second viewing made it click as parallel stories. I kept waiting to see how the two stories would connect, or if one was the past of the other. It would've helped me if we had seen the dead body of the Idaho criminal and the confession of the Atlantic City criminal at the very end.

Thank you, Lorinda, for stepping up and taking care of some of the feedback. These past two days I was out of town. I have alot to type so let me get right to it.

First off, I'd like to thank Dylan and DV Info for starting this marvelous challenge. Thanks to Rick Bravo, Jr., and the late Rick Bravo, Sr., for the inspiration for the "look" and camera placement in my segment. When you see my portion, think gritty, 1970s cinema, in particular, The French Connection. I stole the entire feel of my segment from that movie. Also, I need to thank Barry Green for his wonderful instruction on DVX camera settings which contributed to my "look." I didn't have his book at the time of filming so he spoon-fed me the settings I needed. Thanks, Barry. Thanks to my actors and crew, so named in the credits.

And last, but certainly not least (I saved the very best for last!) a great big heartfelt thanks to DV Info's den mother herself, Lorinda Norton. As you can clearly see, she is humble. Please pay close attention to the originality of her segment versus the copycat nature of mine. Her shots and angles are well thought out. She doesn't take the lazy way out by cutting back to the same old camera angle. She actually moves the camera around. The sign of a good filmmaker. She just didn't drop my segment on her timeline. She trimmed, moved things around, tightened and tweaked tweaked tweaked. She has an intuitive editor's sense that serves her and this project very well. She made our entry what it is. Thank you, Lorinda.

There seems to be some confusion with the theme and how it comes across. Well, I was hoping that our colleagues would feel that we were trying to "reflect" between the east coast and west coast way of interrogating a prisoner, with a little "twist" at the end (SPOLER HERE: DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE VIDEO!) Everybody expects the tough east coast guys to kill the perp, not the nice west coast good ol' boys.

I am not the best writer in the world, doggone it but I sure had tons of fun making this movie! Now, let me read some feedback and I will post more. Thanks again for taking the time to watch!

Okay then, here goes:

Robert - This was two different versions of two different stories.

Meryem - No criminals were hurt in the making of this motion picture. HA! Actually, the guy who plays our bad guy is a great fellow who plays and sells guitars. Please believe me when I tell you that cops in our neck of the woods most definitely do not behave this way. We were just having fun (See the outtakes for proof!) I am sure that Idaho cops are also highly professional. Contrary to popular belief, we don't like to go around killing bad guys. That's just in the movies. That's a whole other story altogether.

Ed - Lorinda gets the iPod, of course!

Bill - You are one sharp hombre. You guessed correctly about using the same location twice. We shot at a group of four abandoned apartments that formed an "X" shaped alley. We used the one alley in the first shot and another alley in the second. See what I mean about me cutting corners and being lazy versus Lorinda and her fabulous camera angles?

Lorinda - By the way, you punched up the sound as best you could with all that wind noise that hounded you during your entire shoot. In light of the rotten conditions, you did great. AND, you scored a bullseye with your assessment with your "Wild West" reference. You explained it better than I. Thank you.

I will now pour some Remy Martin, sit back and engage in man's third greatest pleasure and honor: Watch some more of these magnificent and entertaining movies made by some of the most wonderful folks I'd ever had the pleasure to call fellow filmmakers!

"keep messing with us ... he'll open you up like a fish"

That's one line there with nice intonation from the character, mob like.

I like the looks of this one. One question tho, I've noticed Trump Plaza, is that Donald Trump's property there or just a name coincidence?
The editing where you go from the bad guys to the "the tape confesion" I find it great addition to the story telling.

The one thing I have trouble believeing in this piece - that Lorinda is old enough to have a son that old...

: )

Sean

The editing where you go from the bad guys to the "the tape confesion" I find it great addition to the story telling.
The script was written more like that particular transition. I wish we could have cut the whole story that way, but it just didn't work out. Thanks for the nice comments, Mugurel.

@ Sean: Excellence by L'Oreal. Wonderful stuff... ;)

Sean:

Many comments have been made on this thread. Some very true, some open to interpretation. But the truest, sharpest rock solid comment ever made on this site came from you:

<<The one thing I have trouble believeing in this piece - that Lorinda is old enough to have a son that old...>>

You scored a perfect 100% truth on that statement. I concur.

I hear her blushing now. She's a good egg.

Sean

I second that! :)

Mugurel:

Yes. That's one of three of Donald's casinos. Rarely, I see him trundling through the courthouse with his group of attornies on his way to claim bankruptcy once again. He's the poorest billionaire I know!