Feedback forum for my entry, which should be one of our 5 on Thursday. Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions. First entry for DVC and I had a blast. Glad its over but excited for the next one....how is that possible?

Nice work! I found it "slightly" preachy but I think that's what you were going for.

Maybe if we saw someone change their habits at the end that would have been a little more hopeful. As it stands I found it a little depressing... but a VERY good message!

Nice work.

Definitely left me thinking.

Cheers,

Mike

Very nice work with the text effects, with the shot selections, cutting and effects. Definitely had a "pro" feel to it in these areas.

I will agree that it seemed a tad preachy for my tastes, and that the very dramatic music added a bit more to the preachiness for me. But the message is certainly right on target.

Nice work, and particularly nice first entry!
Bill

Wow, Chris—that was pretty powerful. The first minutes looked like something one would see on…um...television. :)

The facts you compiled were interesting, sobering. I have always felt bad about TV being used as a babysitter but didn’t give as much thought to the marriage side of it.

Very, very nicely done. I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Your opening titles and music were fabulous. I also liked your New Age style of mood music throughout. I wholeheartedly agree with your message about kids and TV but... is this autobiographical? It isn’t that bad, is it? Amusing end titles. Well shot.

Chris,

I really liked this one. Considering I despise television as it's used these days. I am glad that you took the time to compile these facts for us.

Thanks for waking us up!! Haha.

Thanks for the comments. I did mean for it to be on the depressing side. I couldnt come up with a positive way to say "We watch way to much TV and miss out on alot of lifes precious things..(i see this now with my little one)" I had thought of shooting a last scene where the "husband" and "wife" meet but decided to leave it alone. My message was, as he woke up from the dream, he then checked to see if his wifes picture was still there. After realizing he was dreaming, he then hurried off to find her.

I tried to base my video off the theme "Television", since 50% of the rating should come from this, so Dylan says. The fact that it is depressing may be due to the fact that it is true for alot of people. About the marriage thing, I wasnt trying to say Television caused divorces but more that the time people spend watching Television could be spent with Love ones, even the wife..;).

And lastly about the autobiography comment, were you asking if this is about me? If so the answer would be NO. I have a beautiful 19month old which gets all my time. I cant afford to watch TV or, like my video says, would miss out. This however could be true for anyone which if so I hope that this will help them understand how important Family is. Luckily we have seen a huge decrease in the amount of Televison america is watching...see http://tv.yahoo.com/news/article/urn:newsml:tv.ap.org:20070508:tv_missing_viewers__ER:1

Again thanks to everyone thats viewed my Short and I hope to do many more. Sorry to have Awaken you..haha

Chris

Nicely done. I agree with much that has already been said. I thought you did a great job on "taking a position" and sticking to it.

Your research was fantastic! Also, I really liked the bride photo fading / fuzzing out. Care to share more on that?

Your credits...voind during football season. hahaha!

Bradley..would love to share more on that part. What are you wanting to know? How it was done? What was the meaning?

I would like to know how it was done. Thank you. As for the meaning, I took it to suggest the amount of time couples spend in front of the TV (the guy in this case) can harm a relationship. Was that your intention?

Bradley,

During that shot I had the True shot on the top layer which had no blur and just used the cookie cutter effect in Vegas to "cut out" the top layer so you could see the one below it. At the certain keyframe i began to open that cookie cutter and then blured the bottom layer out.

My intention was that the guy actually was dreaming of his Realationship "fading away". Then when he woke up he checked the photo to make sure it was still clear and there. Then he realized he was dreaming so he rushed off to find his wife.

Glad you watched the credits. I thought the "Void during football season" would make a nice ending to a serious film.

Well done indeed! I appreciate your description and feel your choice in the scene was very good.

Cool montage, unique and interesting

I liked how we could not see the person (I am guessing the mom) walking past the baby, only the feet...really added to the feeling of the piece, and it touched me.

Nice job...thank you

Jeff

We you refering to the opening scene (montage)? The feet was actually me. Madison (my daughter) very rarely falls asleep on the floor like that. I happened to be off that day and she was sick. When she feel asleep I thought this would be a nice shot. Glad you enjoyed it.

I guess montage was a wrong chioce of words. But I was referring to how the piece was put togetehr as a collection of shots that were tied together with the messages...what ever the style is called, I really liked it.

Jeff

I like the feel of the film. The opening was great, with an increasing tempo in the parade of tv's, and then the isolation of the baby bonding to the tv rather than a parent too busy to stop. The empty swings were neat, and the photo of the bride fading away- all great symbols for your message. The music kept it moving along well. As others have said, it's a negative message, but maybe doing a "down" film can have positive results. I really think it's an important message (my own film for this contest had a similar theme- get out and enjoy life), and enjoyed watching it.

The fact that it is depressing may be due to the fact that it is true for alot of people.


That's where I disagree. If you did a film about drugs in the same manner as this I still would have found it depressing, yet I don't do drugs.

I loved your entry, I just found it a little sad to see a baby lying on the floor and having people step around it as nothing more than an object.

Like I said before, that was your intention and I think you did an EXCELLENT job.

You may actually be able to sell this as a PSA ad if you can shorten it up.

Cheers,

Mike

We you refering to the opening scene (montage)? The feet was actually me. Madison (my daughter) very rarely falls asleep on the floor like that. I happened to be off that day and she was sick. When she feel asleep I thought this would be a nice shot. Glad you enjoyed it.

My daughter's name is Madison as well. :)

That was an excellent shot! Well done.

Your film obviously had a message and you stuck to it. It's actually pretty brave to make a message film like this, so I commend you on that.

I think you really have a knack for imagery....You found images that best symbolized what you were trying to say and those images are what stand out for me; the baby lying on the floor looking up at the T.V., the obscure colors and shapes that she might be seeing, the empty swings, the kids at play sign, the phone ringing during the game (i have on occasion ignored my phone during a T.V. show too...although I always call back after or during a commercial), and the wedding photo. Great job with those!

Really good symbolic piece. Very vivid imagery. Nice work.

Thanks again for viewing my video and all the nice comments. I really enjoyed doing this and glad to hear everyone like the imagery I used during it. I hope the infant scene didnt offend anyone, just used it to help with the fact some parents seem to busy to spend time with their family, not just b/c of TV. Sorry if it seemed to depressing. About the Drug video comment, how else would you make a video that gives the same message? What about the videos you see of the starving families in different countries, would anyone care to donate or help out if you saw a video of kids being happy and having a good time? I beleive these type of videos are depressing to raise awareness and to make you think. Hope the message wasnt sent in the wrong way and cant wait for DVC 9. The hard part is going to be judging for a winner. Thanks again

Chris Barton

Haha...after watching your piece first thing yesterday morning I felt bad about my normal Friday morning TV routine (have to catch up on all the Thursday night shows I'm not home to watch). I put it off for several hours by running errands and reading on my balcony! lol so I guess even though I don't think I watch TOOO MUCH TV...you movie must've still gotten in my head a bit...:)