DVC12 - "No Quarter"

Jay Kavi · March 11th, 2008, 11:49 PM

Wow, that was hilarous! I actually laughed out loud.

I didnt see much issue with the supermarket lighting, could be my monitor though. My only gripe would be he should have changed clothes for the wake up scene, and i would've replaced the car scene (although you did it quite well) but thats minor.

Alex Chamberlain · March 12th, 2008, 09:49 AM

Thanks Jay, that means a lot. Believe it or not, those are different clothes for the wakeup scene. I should have switched his shirt colors too. Hindsight is 20/20, right? I've been trying to see the lighting issues in the supermarket scene too, and I admit that I still have a hard time putting my finger on them, but I'm prepared to take Jim's word on it. He seems to be quite good at the whole lighting thing. Anyway, thanks for the thoughts and good job on your own!

Jesse Steele · March 12th, 2008, 12:07 PM

See now that I watched it again I now understand that he was losing change each time!!! I thought it was a magic quarter that will always work. That is why i felt the ending was weak! now that I get it I think your ending is perfect! hahahaha I'm still laughing! I only saw the compressed version and in it, the coin always looks like a quarter.

Excellent job!

Hugh DiMauro · March 12th, 2008, 09:46 PM

Alex, your sound was fantastic. I wish I could create sound as full, crisp and realistic as yours. I could find nothing technically wrong with this movie. The supermarket scene had vibrant colors and YOUTUBE did not ruin the quality at all for me. I wish mine could have looked as good as yours after YOUTUBE destroys it as an MPEG4. The idea was great. But what if he acquired the change in less of a mundane way? Why that particular cashier? More acceptable if her wore a turban? HAHAHAHHAAHA! Hey, this was a great movie and your images and special effects were great!

Alex Chamberlain · March 13th, 2008, 11:10 AM

Thanks Hugh, I've enjoyed your films, so that means something coming from you. I recorded all the audio with a fairly Cheap ($125-ish) Shotgun Mic. If I remember correctly, it's an Audio-Technica. The complement on the audio means even more to me because this mic has a power switch and for several scenes I forgot to turn it on (It's not my mic, so I'm not very used to it). Hence, a small portion of the audio is completely assembled from other footage and (in the case of the horns, crashes and car doors) sometimes I ended up mixing sound from other points in the film with a Sound Effects Library. Just one of those crazy complications that seems to pop up every time one endeavors to shoot something. Thanks again.

Tor-Atle Kindsbekken · March 14th, 2008, 02:19 AM

Great short film, this one, Alex! :-)))
I really liked the story... really original... and great use of effects :-) I really loved the part with the boy and girl talking about their relationships future. That was incredibly funny :-) I guess every man wants that power to reverse the conversation the way he does ;-)

I only find two small things to criticise about:
1. In the shop, when he recieves the change, the person in the background jumps in the cut. That's only a small detail, but I noticed it the first time I watched it. I noticed something wrong and imideatly wanted to go back and study what happened in that shot ;-)

2. When the man stands outside the shoping center, he's standing in front of the sliding doors. After he drops the coins, and when the second car-crash almost happens, you see the same sliding doors, now in the background, but the man is not there anymore. Where has he gone? That's another small detail that I noticed ;-)

Alex Chamberlain · March 14th, 2008, 11:01 AM

Tor,
You nailed both of those errors on the head, I'm afraid. They're things that I was hoping would slip past the notice of most of the viewers, but that's not terribly likely with this audience. The answers to your questions are:

1. The Cashier took forever to get the change out of his till, and I didn't take the time to put a matte behind him so the person's legs wouldn't jump. I definitely should have.

2. Where has he gone? He's driving the car that almost hits "his" car. Ha ha ha. This was really a skeleton crew production.

On another note, the thing that has surprised me the most that no one has asked about is whether this piece addresses the theme with the coins or with changing time. I've been rather surprised about that one, but I guess it's neither here nor there. Thanks so much for the input. I really enjoyed your piece and I think I can learn a lot from you. Feel free to chime in with anything else that crosses your mind!

Joseph Tran · March 16th, 2008, 11:11 PM

Alex,

I didn't ask about the 'either-or' theme because I felt that the piece addressed BOTH aspects of the coins and time. It was a great mix of the two elements, all neatly tied into the overall theme. That's one of the aspects of what makes this a great piece. Nicely done.

Cheers.

March 12th, 2008, 09:49 AM	#17
Alex Chamberlain Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hurricane, UT Posts: 186	Thanks Jay, that means a lot. Believe it or not, those are different clothes for the wakeup scene. I should have switched his shirt colors too. Hindsight is 20/20, right? I've been trying to see the lighting issues in the supermarket scene too, and I admit that I still have a hard time putting my finger on them, but I'm prepared to take Jim's word on it. He seems to be quite good at the whole lighting thing. Anyway, thanks for the thoughts and good job on your own! __________________ Get rid of the "Aspiring" in "Aspiring Filmmaker." Shoot it; you're a filmmaker. After that you're just negotiating your budget. (James Cameron paraphrased)

March 12th, 2008, 12:07 PM	#18
Jesse Steele Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Irvine CA Posts: 98	See now that I watched it again I now understand that he was losing change each time!!! I thought it was a magic quarter that will always work. That is why i felt the ending was weak! now that I get it I think your ending is perfect! hahahaha I'm still laughing! I only saw the compressed version and in it, the coin always looks like a quarter. Excellent job! __________________ I like movies.....

March 12th, 2008, 09:46 PM	#19
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,207	Groundhog Day! Alex, your sound was fantastic. I wish I could create sound as full, crisp and realistic as yours. I could find nothing technically wrong with this movie. The supermarket scene had vibrant colors and YOUTUBE did not ruin the quality at all for me. I wish mine could have looked as good as yours after YOUTUBE destroys it as an MPEG4. The idea was great. But what if he acquired the change in less of a mundane way? Why that particular cashier? More acceptable if her wore a turban? HAHAHAHHAAHA! Hey, this was a great movie and your images and special effects were great! __________________ Interesting, if true. And interesting anyway.

March 13th, 2008, 11:10 AM	#20
Alex Chamberlain Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hurricane, UT Posts: 186	Thanks Hugh, I've enjoyed your films, so that means something coming from you. I recorded all the audio with a fairly Cheap ($125-ish) Shotgun Mic. If I remember correctly, it's an Audio-Technica. The complement on the audio means even more to me because this mic has a power switch and for several scenes I forgot to turn it on (It's not my mic, so I'm not very used to it). Hence, a small portion of the audio is completely assembled from other footage and (in the case of the horns, crashes and car doors) sometimes I ended up mixing sound from other points in the film with a Sound Effects Library. Just one of those crazy complications that seems to pop up every time one endeavors to shoot something. Thanks again. __________________ Get rid of the "Aspiring" in "Aspiring Filmmaker." Shoot it; you're a filmmaker. After that you're just negotiating your budget. (James Cameron paraphrased)

March 14th, 2008, 11:01 AM	#22
Alex Chamberlain Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hurricane, UT Posts: 186	Tor, You nailed both of those errors on the head, I'm afraid. They're things that I was hoping would slip past the notice of most of the viewers, but that's not terribly likely with this audience. The answers to your questions are: 1. The Cashier took forever to get the change out of his till, and I didn't take the time to put a matte behind him so the person's legs wouldn't jump. I definitely should have. 2. Where has he gone? He's driving the car that almost hits "his" car. Ha ha ha. This was really a skeleton crew production. On another note, the thing that has surprised me the most that no one has asked about is whether this piece addresses the theme with the coins or with changing time. I've been rather surprised about that one, but I guess it's neither here nor there. Thanks so much for the input. I really enjoyed your piece and I think I can learn a lot from you. Feel free to chime in with anything else that crosses your mind! __________________ Get rid of the "Aspiring" in "Aspiring Filmmaker." Shoot it; you're a filmmaker. After that you're just negotiating your budget. (James Cameron paraphrased)

March 11th, 2008, 11:49 PM	#16
Jay Kavi Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 243	Wow, that was hilarous! I actually laughed out loud. I didnt see much issue with the supermarket lighting, could be my monitor though. My only gripe would be he should have changed clothes for the wake up scene, and i would've replaced the car scene (although you did it quite well) but thats minor.

March 14th, 2008, 02:19 AM	#21
Tor-Atle Kindsbekken Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Norway, Hedmark Posts: 26	Great short film, this one, Alex! :-))) I really liked the story... really original... and great use of effects :-) I really loved the part with the boy and girl talking about their relationships future. That was incredibly funny :-) I guess every man wants that power to reverse the conversation the way he does ;-) I only find two small things to criticise about: 1. In the shop, when he recieves the change, the person in the background jumps in the cut. That's only a small detail, but I noticed it the first time I watched it. I noticed something wrong and imideatly wanted to go back and study what happened in that shot ;-) 2. When the man stands outside the shoping center, he's standing in front of the sliding doors. After he drops the coins, and when the second car-crash almost happens, you see the same sliding doors, now in the background, but the man is not there anymore. Where has he gone? That's another small detail that I noticed ;-)

March 16th, 2008, 11:11 PM	#23
Joseph Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 177	Alex, I didn't ask about the 'either-or' theme because I felt that the piece addressed BOTH aspects of the coins and time. It was a great mix of the two elements, all neatly tied into the overall theme. That's one of the aspects of what makes this a great piece. Nicely done. Cheers.