Welcome to my feedback thread. Hope you enjoy(ed) my little entry. I'll explain after it's been published for mass consumption. Thanks for stopping in.

More to come. Now, sleep.

Sean

Well, everyone seems to include what they used, except me so here's the short list of what I used in mine:

Camera - My trusty Sony DSR PDX-10 in 16:9 native mode
Mic - None. (Yep, all sound effects, some music and ambient stuff)
Lighting - Natural Sol
Tape - Sony DVCam
Sticks - Bogen/Manfrotto 3011Bk
Head - Bogen/Manfrotto - 501
Editor - Avid Media Composer, Software Version

Props and stuff:
Plastic Masks, Cheap Fedora hats, Barcode temp tattoos, 4 black balloons, 2 white balloons, plastic white Lilly's, Black Jeep Wrangle Unlimited (my new car), Picture of my dad and some computer stuff.

Total cost, about $70 or so. (I bought the entire cast fancy chocolate bars as a thank you)

Looking forward to seeing what the others have done.

You got me to watch it two times, right off. Reminded me of that first Mac commercial in the 80's, 1984ish Orwellian ??. This one makes you dig for a meaning... thought provoking. And the filming style changes interestingly, and I am sure intentionally from scene to scene.. I'm interested to see what others make of it...

I found it quite interesting too... Totally had a Orwellianish feel to it. The end shot with the winner? looking up was almost creepy... My head hurts...

Good one though!

Interesting film styles and editing choices. Conveys the theme well, though it was too deep for me or I too deep for it so I struggled to find meaning in it. I suspect that experimental films like this are supposed to do that though: provide an audio-visual experience that each viewer finds his own meaning in. ??

Bill

Thanks everyone. Sort of the ideas I was going for. Actually it's based on a combination of several ideas. Orwells "1984" is the most in your face concept but there is also a bit of "THX1138" in there and "The Island".

The concept was a bit more easy to come by in the original version but I didn't have the crowd of people I thought I would have so it got harder to convey the message. What it was intended to be is this:
The government controls the population through the televisions, government sponsored drugs (mandatory for everyone) to make all of society docile and sheep like. Every night the state sponsored Lottery comes on and allows one individual to be "freed" from this drugged controlled life. Natalie, at the end, is the result of the "freeing" of the person. Obviously not free.

In the short the people getting out of the jeep are a sort of "Prize Patrol" and they gather the "winner". They have flowers, not obvious but they are white Lilly's (foreshadows a type of death) and balloons. The one white balloon escapes. Represents Natalie escaping. In the end, like the ruined Natalie we see the balloon has come to rest but is also ruined.

Yeah, I may be pushing symbolism a lot but the artistic films of the early century, and David Lynch, very much intrigue me, a lot.

Still, creepy feeling are my present to you all. Hope you enjoyed it a bit. I enjoyed making it.

It's always interesting trying to explain this sort of idea to people in the shots. Some get it, some don't and some don't really care. It all works so well sometimes. I'm just happy to be making these and I owe it all to DVC2 for getting me started.

Sean

I forgot, Bill, that's exactly it. As my hero, Lynch says, everyones interpretation is valid. Whatever you get from it is as good as the next person. It's interesting really because it place art in reach of everyone if no interpretation is wrong, or dumb, or right on. All are valid.

He staunchly refuses to explain anything in his films as he wants you to get your own experience from the piece. I love that.

Sean

Thanks everyone. Sort of the ideas I was going for. Actually it's based on a combination of several ideas. Orwells "1984" is the most in your face concept but there is also a bit of "THX1138" in there and "The Island".


Happens to really liked the THX1138 and The Island, so by the time I got to read this, I was mumbling in my head that this has the same theme, good stuff man! :)

I'm so depressed now - but in a good way. :)
Only thing missing was a nice big bowl of Soylent Green.

Weird stuff. I loved it :)

Quote: Only thing missing was a nice big bowl of Soylent Green.

There is this little known band called Synth Punk Disco Panzer (well worth checking out) that has a tune that's so superbly mellow - "Eating People is Wrong".

Tuesday is Soylent Green day!

And for those that like this sort of style, check out my DVC5 entry, "Memories of a Dream", On Google Video, Grouper, YouTube and now on the MTV Italy web site, http://en.qoob.tv

Sean

Hey Chris, guess who did those Mac spots...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

Ridley Scott just after finishing Blade Runner. Loved that spot for it's dark overtones. Much the same reason I loved Brazil. Looks familiar, smells and tastes familiar but something is wrong, just plain wrong. I love that sort of feeling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(television_commercial)

Sean

Well now, Sean….that was pretty darn weird! Just the way you like it. :)

Thank you for not pulling a David Lynch; I really appreciate you offering an explanation here. It helped, for the most part.

Interesting shots and look to this movie. Guess the only question I have is how you got across that field. Stabilizer?

I liked this one. I liked the look and tone of the images. The story itself could use some more arcing, it seemed to be more like a single scene than a story. But I really liked the visual treatments, I'm now wishing I had time to color treat my film!

Oh well...

Very nice job.

*edit, just read your story explanation above...shoot, missed that. My bad.

This was some deep stuff. After I watched this I was like "whoa". This film is definatley a thinker. I mean that in a good way too :)

Also dig the Ohio State shirt on one of your actors ;)

Okay. Technically, it was a "10". I kinda felt it had a Kubrick quality to it but then again, I am not a deep thinker. I missed the symbolism until after you explained the visuals. You put alot of work into this and I appreciate that.

Pink Floyd called. He wants his hammers back.




(couldn't resist :)

(Dang it Dylan- that is EXACTLY what I was going to bring up) I kept having flashbacks to "Pink Floyd's - The Wall"

http://www.univie.ac.at/cga/art/img19.gif

Also, I think it was The Island that had a similar theme where they had a "give-a-way" which was all pre-rigged of course. Instead of a nice tropical vacation, they would be used for spare parts!.

Over all, I always enjoy your work Sean. It is fun to work to interpret these ideas as well as let your own mind develop possible meanings. Well done.

PS: By the way - whose face was that with the hammers?

Two notes, yeah, I tried to rework the hammers into a different graphic so as not to borrow something I didn't outright own but I failed to find the owner of the original prints and probably would never have gotten through to them anyway so yeah, I borrowed the hammers. Originally I had a graphic of my own in mind, like the original artwork in the Richard Burton, John Hurt version. Looked odd so I gave in to the dark side this time. (Don't try this at home kids).

Second point;
one of my actors told me I might not want to use that picture of Manson as it had such an evil menacing vibe to using anything related to an evil entity like that and I might not want to go there. I agreed but then had to tell him, that's a very old picture of - my dad. The picture itself isn't that menacing and in fact it's actually rather a good one of him but when you zero in on his eyes, he takes on a sort of Anton LaVey thing. Worked for me.

Glad it's generating some talking points.

Sean

Second point;
one of my actors told me I might not want to use that picture of Manson as it had such an evil menacing vibe to using anything related to an evil entity like that and I might not want to go there. I agreed but then had to tell him, that's a very old picture of - my dad... Worked for me.

Glad it's generating some talking points.

Sean

LOL Sean! You are crackin' me up.

Sean:

Your dad looks like a movie star. My dad looks like a cross between Ben Gazzara, Robert Loggia and Gene Hackman. Then again, my grandmother looked like Karl Malden, so...

By the way, what am I doing up this late? Oh yeah! I just had a snack!

Definitely had that psychological/cerebral style of filmmaking that leaves you thinking for days afterward. I think that it is important to imitate style and form based on those we admire and obviously you have no quams about stating that you are a Lynch fan...I admire that. There is a saying that goes something like "we stand on the shoulders of giants"...David Lynch appears to be your giant. I have found this true for all aspects of life for myself...I stand on the shoulders of many different giants and from them I have come to find who I am...dang you film is making me think too deeply...and I seem to be going nowhere with this so let me say...

I really enjoyed it greatly...I agree with others who state that is has the Kubrick, The Wall and Orwellian styles mixed within but it may seem strange that the scene where the people get out of the car in masks reminded me of "Point Break" where they all get out of the van in ex-presidents masks...

Liked the mix of balck and white and raw coloring as well

Jeff

I didn't totally understand the message- your explanation was helpful. But I definitely enjoyed the surreal feel to it, a bit of Pink Floyd mixed with Orwell. And I liked the way it kept shifting, so as you got into a groove of watching, something would change- colorize, new scene, different actor. I think the way it kept me constantly off balance was neat. As everyone has said, this one makes you think. Well filmed, fun to watch.

Hey Sean -

I definately got the Orwell/THX1138 vibes when I started watching your film. lol I saw that reference to THX actually in your color bars actually! :) Sneaky!

Overally I really liked your entry...it was really creepy and mysterious and the music you chose was perfect for that feel! Excellent use of symbolism too! I followed the story for the most part, the only time I got confused was with the prize patrol...until I read your posting I thought they were celebrating a funeral or something like that...which in a way I guess they were. I liked seeing the baloon stuck in the tree at the end too...that was a really beautiful shot...lol did you send the baloon up in the tree and hope it would pop there or did someone climb up and put it in the branches?

The other thing I thought about when I saw your film was this short story called "The Lottery." Read it? It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I'd still recommend. :)

Jamey*

Thanks Jamey.
Actually, that tree branch is only about 5 ft off the ground so I just hung it there. Actually the balloon was the spare balloon that I got for the shoot, just in case one popped, and I knew I wanted to shoot a dead balloon in a field but finding the balloon isolated in the tree (and consequently closer to the heavens) was what David Lynch calls "A happy accident".

That particular balloon popped the moment we got out of the car. I just though, great, it's ready to shoot then. It all worked out fine. Glad you saw the ref in the bars. I wanted the bars to show the end of the "official" transmission and the rest just mysteriously shows up, like a ghost or a presence you aren't supposed to see.

I sometimes wonder, if the Matrix were real, what if the movie The Matrix was actually sent out by folks like Neo to see who they can wake up from this worlds secret sleep? What if it was a test to see if we were paying attention and had enough ability to see the real truth?

Might make an interesting movie in itself.

Thanks everyone. I like this stuff.

Sean

I sometimes wonder, if the Matrix were real, what if the movie The Matrix was actually sent out by folks like Neo to see who they can wake up from this worlds secret sleep? What if it was a test to see if we were paying attention and had enough ability to see the real truth?

Might make an interesting movie in itself.


LOL! You're quite the conspiracy theorist...although it's definately something to think about. VERRRRRY interesting...and yes...might make a good movie! :)

Actually, that tree branch is only about 5 ft off the ground so I just hung it there. Actually the balloon was the spare balloon that I got for the shoot, just in case one popped, and I knew I wanted to shoot a dead balloon in a field but finding the balloon isolated in the tree (and consequently closer to the heavens) was what David Lynch calls "A happy accident".




My favorite film professor in college use to use the phrase "happy accident" all the time. I definately picked it up. Not sure if he stole it from Lynch or if it was just a "happy accident" that he came up with it it. In any case, happy accidents are the best! :)