The Hand That Feeds

[Loren Simons]

The Hand That Feeds By Loren Simons

This is my new short feature that was shot entirely with the A1 and a redrock with fd lenses. I was the director of photography and editor.

Hope you enjoy it, it it twenty minutes, but i feel you wont regret it=]

Any criticism is very welcome!

[Robert Wide]

Well done Loren,

Looks beautiful! Reminds me a bit of Goodfellas, one of my favorites. Can you tell us a little bit more about the presets / adapters / dolly etc you used to get this pro result?

Best regards,

Robert

[Loren Simons]

Thank you very much and Yes I can=]
So my equipment i used was:
Canon Xh A1
Redrock Adapter
Canon FD Lenses
1.4 50mm
2.8 28mm
Dolly-An ebay "DIY" pre-made dolly that cost $250 with 16 skateboard wheels and pvc track.
Presets-Nothing special, i have never messed with the presets.

Edited-
Final Cut Pro
Magic Bullet "Looks"

Any further questions feel free to ask=]

[Bill Grant]

Loren,
I watched this last night and I have to say, to your credit, I watched the whole thing. There were several criticisms I could make that are all overshadowed by the fact that you told a pretty good story, and that goes a long way. Here are my very minor comments.
#1 there were a few scenes that were just plain too dark. Mainly at the card tables, but when it was dark, it was VERY dark.
#2 the White balance seemed inconsitant at times. There were a few sections where it semmed a little brown and off and then seemed well balanced.
#3 and lastly there were some times where the framing was a little odd like too much headroom and people not in a good space.
These are minor, but overall like I said, you told a good story which is really the most important thing.
i thought the audio was great btw and never "noticed" the audio mixing at all which is good. Good idea and well executed.
Bill

[Austin Dickson]

Looks good man.
The acting felt a little unnatural, but there is not much you can do about that.
The main thing I noticed was rampant vignetting. I apologize if you added that in post, but it was very ugly and distracting for me. Is that a side effect of the Redrock?

Also, some scenes were lit very well and artistically, where others seemed flat and off color (perhaps that’s the white balance issue Bill Grant was speaking of).

[Loren Simons]

yea the vignetting was my Canon FD 28 2.8mm lense, that was responsible for all the vignetting scenes as youll notice those are wider, while my 50mm 1.4 has no vingnetting (most of the tighter shots)

as for the white balance, i have not gotten that comment yet, but i think that is what was bothering me about a few shots and i just couldnt put my finger on it. so thanks=]

the audio, wow, that was probably one of the most bothersome things about this project i thought, but thats probably because i listened to it for hours on edge on bose noise canceling headphones, hahaha.

the lighting. Yeah i did what i could. I was also the only person that touched the lights, and when you have actors doing you a "favour" they tend to want to get in and out, making it hard to light each individual scenes=[

framing, same thing with the time constraints and working on the A1's tiny screen, but that mostly can go to the fault of me and the director.

thanks all of you for taking the time out and watching it and commenting it=] it means alot to a young first time film maker. This basically was something that my friends, going to (Director, Both main actors)NYU,(Editor) USC and (Various Actors) Csun can show people what they have done. And this will be good for me going into my 10th grade film class also=]

[Bill Grant]

Oh wait, you're in HIGH SCHOOL? Ok never mind my previous comments this was amazing for you then. I can't imagine where you'll be when you're my age (35) Sorry for nitpicking, I thought you were at least a college film student. Good stuff...
Bill

[Loren Simons]

hahah its okay Bill, I rather be treated like I'm in a college class and more harsh because than ill be able to learn like im in a college class! so thank you for the critiques they are very helpful and good things to watch out for.

oh and heres the vimeo one for anyone that likes vimeo better:http://www.vimeo.com/1598246
its also the finalized version with propper cuts +credits

[Phil Kay]

I started watching and thought 'same old same old boring crap......' but then after 1 minute I was totally hooked!

What an absolutely superb short - interesting,entertaining and immaculately shot. 10/10 well done.

[Loren Simons]

yay! thanks phil!