DVC14 -"Interrogated" - Jeremy Doyle

James Huenergardt · November 19th, 2008, 02:12 PM

Well, I noticed at the beginning the girl guessed the guy was going on another trip. That's all I noticed. Maybe there was more.

At the end, he wondered where he was, so maybe he traveled before being interrogated.

Jeremy Doyle · November 19th, 2008, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Gan

I liked all the action except for one shot, when one of the guys points a gun at the back of the main character's head, and holds it there for a split second before getting the gun wrestled away.

Here's the theory behind that shot. He puts the gun to his head wanting to shot him, but can't him because the main character still has the information they need thus they need him alive. This creates the hesitation that gives him a chance to wrestle the gun away.

That's theory anyway.

As for getting it. We'll just leave it open to interpretation.

Dennis Khaye · November 19th, 2008, 09:21 PM

I don't usually post until after the judging but I wanted to say this now because in all likelihood I'll forget it later. LOL

At the end of "The Usual Suspects", Kevin Spacey's character kind of revisits the past events only this time audience gets to see the truth. IMHO this film could have used some device like that. More on this and all the other films later, just wanted to get that one out.

Alex Chamberlain · November 19th, 2008, 10:32 PM

I really admired the lighting and color work in this film. The Dolly/Wheelchair shot set my expectations high from the get-go. I kinda suspected that his girlfriend had been the force behind his suffering, but that could have used more emphasis, I think. As others have mentioned, good job actually coordinating a fight scene and maintaining a level of believability throughout. Well done.

Joseph Tran · November 20th, 2008, 11:39 PM

Nice piece, and a bold undertaking to say the least! I think everyone covered most of my comments. In addition, I really liked the color. Looks like you did a bit of color grading to get a certain look and feel to your piece. It's a nice detail, and the work is certainly noticed.

Aaron Fay · December 4th, 2008, 10:43 AM

Hi Jeremy,

Sorry for the late post, I have been swamped at work and trying to get these reviews together.

Right off the bat I want to say I admire the amount of work that went into this short. As mentioned above, the titles were great, and the opening shot was excellent. I said to our group, "I need to ask if he used a dolly or stabilizer for that shot..." Turns out, neither, nice work.

We hear the girl ask for a drink right off the bat, but it didn't fit for me. I would expect her to order the drink after she sat, or else establish that she was at the bar to begin with.

The sequence at the table was pretty good, your cast did a decent job of getting the point across. I do have to say, I didn't like the music over the whole opening sequence, it didn't match the mood. The music was trying to make the piece 'relaxed' or maybe even funny, and it wasn't really that at all.

Someone mentioned crossing the 180 line (didn't know what that was called before, but I definately saw it), and I didn't think it added intensity to the sequence, it said to me that you kinda know what you want, but either you're experimenting, or losing the battle to old habits.

The transition where he gets punched in the face was great, and Fedor was awesome. That line, "Feels good, yes?" was perfect. I'm paying attention now, this film just went from 'ok' to 'cool'.

I noticed the audio from the boss guy was off right off, and I guessed that Fedor had a lav, but I couldn't find any hint of it, nice work. The music over this sequence was good, it didn't distract me from getting into things. The russian accents wavered a bit, and it seemed like the boss guy was struggling with his lines, there were a couple unnatural pauses in there, but otherwise he did a nice job.

The part with the rifle butt in the face was shot nice, but he reached for his pistol really slow, like he was going scare whatever he was shooting at, and if what he was going to shoot was so far away (those were pretty damn big binoculars), how was he going to hit it with the pistol? You used a white flash when the rifle but comes towards the camera, I would have cut right to black.

The shaky camera bit was done quite well, I would have dialed it back about 15%, some of it was a little too much (but nothing like Bourne ultimatum, 10 minutes in I had a headache).

Fedor punches this guy in the face a half-dozen times, but after the 3rd I was thinkin, "that big russian could make meatloaf out of 1/2" plate steel, and this guy's not making any noise?" At the end I get that it fits the story when he finally makes some noise. He didn't have any bruises on his left cheek (he has hit there a couple times), but otherwise the makeup was great.

The triangle choke: I appreciate that the fellow is a black belt and the choke was legit, I just wanted to voice that I didn't buy it when I watched it. It just says to me that hollywood has to glorify and exaggerate everything just enough for us to believe something on screen. If they shot it like it is, we would probably get bored.

The cigarette butt: I would have slowed the 'bounce' of the cigarette down like 200-300% to draw suspense, but otherwise the shot was definately a "how'd he do that?".

The fight sequence was well shot, I haven't tried to put one of these together yet, but I recognize the time and effort put into making the cut work. I think you did well. For the limited amount of time we all had, you did great with the cg blood. On the 42" it actually looked convincing (sometimes compression works in your favor?), and a couple people jumped when the old guy got stabbed in the hand.

The establishing shot in the alley was nice. It seemed an eternity for the kid to put the phone in his hand, I would have cut that way short. In the end when he made the call, I had no idea who he was calling.

Overall this short scored high in technical for me, it was pretty easy to get into. The color was great, the photography was good, and the audio quality was quite good. I didn't totally get the travel theme, but it wasn't much of a stretch. In the end, if you could have spoon-fed me the part about the girl a little better, this film would have gone from 'ok' to 'awesome'.

Great filmmaking :)
Aaron

November 19th, 2008, 02:12 PM	#16
James Huenergardt Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA Posts: 513	Well, I noticed at the beginning the girl guessed the guy was going on another trip. That's all I noticed. Maybe there was more. At the end, he wondered where he was, so maybe he traveled before being interrogated. __________________ Reel Inspirations - www.reelinspirations.com Commercials, Dramas, Image Pieces, Documentaries, Motion Graphics

November 19th, 2008, 10:32 PM	#19
Alex Chamberlain Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hurricane, UT Posts: 186	I really admired the lighting and color work in this film. The Dolly/Wheelchair shot set my expectations high from the get-go. I kinda suspected that his girlfriend had been the force behind his suffering, but that could have used more emphasis, I think. As others have mentioned, good job actually coordinating a fight scene and maintaining a level of believability throughout. Well done. __________________ 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)

November 19th, 2008, 09:21 PM	#18
Dennis Khaye Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 255	I don't usually post until after the judging but I wanted to say this now because in all likelihood I'll forget it later. LOL At the end of "The Usual Suspects", Kevin Spacey's character kind of revisits the past events only this time audience gets to see the truth. IMHO this film could have used some device like that. More on this and all the other films later, just wanted to get that one out.

November 20th, 2008, 11:39 PM	#20
Joseph Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 177	Nice piece, and a bold undertaking to say the least! I think everyone covered most of my comments. In addition, I really liked the color. Looks like you did a bit of color grading to get a certain look and feel to your piece. It's a nice detail, and the work is certainly noticed.

December 4th, 2008, 10:43 AM	#21
Aaron Fay New Boot Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada Posts: 16	Hi Jeremy, Sorry for the late post, I have been swamped at work and trying to get these reviews together. Right off the bat I want to say I admire the amount of work that went into this short. As mentioned above, the titles were great, and the opening shot was excellent. I said to our group, "I need to ask if he used a dolly or stabilizer for that shot..." Turns out, neither, nice work. We hear the girl ask for a drink right off the bat, but it didn't fit for me. I would expect her to order the drink after she sat, or else establish that she was at the bar to begin with. The sequence at the table was pretty good, your cast did a decent job of getting the point across. I do have to say, I didn't like the music over the whole opening sequence, it didn't match the mood. The music was trying to make the piece 'relaxed' or maybe even funny, and it wasn't really that at all. Someone mentioned crossing the 180 line (didn't know what that was called before, but I definately saw it), and I didn't think it added intensity to the sequence, it said to me that you kinda know what you want, but either you're experimenting, or losing the battle to old habits. The transition where he gets punched in the face was great, and Fedor was awesome. That line, "Feels good, yes?" was perfect. I'm paying attention now, this film just went from 'ok' to 'cool'. I noticed the audio from the boss guy was off right off, and I guessed that Fedor had a lav, but I couldn't find any hint of it, nice work. The music over this sequence was good, it didn't distract me from getting into things. The russian accents wavered a bit, and it seemed like the boss guy was struggling with his lines, there were a couple unnatural pauses in there, but otherwise he did a nice job. The part with the rifle butt in the face was shot nice, but he reached for his pistol really slow, like he was going scare whatever he was shooting at, and if what he was going to shoot was so far away (those were pretty damn big binoculars), how was he going to hit it with the pistol? You used a white flash when the rifle but comes towards the camera, I would have cut right to black. The shaky camera bit was done quite well, I would have dialed it back about 15%, some of it was a little too much (but nothing like Bourne ultimatum, 10 minutes in I had a headache). Fedor punches this guy in the face a half-dozen times, but after the 3rd I was thinkin, "that big russian could make meatloaf out of 1/2" plate steel, and this guy's not making any noise?" At the end I get that it fits the story when he finally makes some noise. He didn't have any bruises on his left cheek (he has hit there a couple times), but otherwise the makeup was great. The triangle choke: I appreciate that the fellow is a black belt and the choke was legit, I just wanted to voice that I didn't buy it when I watched it. It just says to me that hollywood has to glorify and exaggerate everything just enough for us to believe something on screen. If they shot it like it is, we would probably get bored. The cigarette butt: I would have slowed the 'bounce' of the cigarette down like 200-300% to draw suspense, but otherwise the shot was definately a "how'd he do that?". The fight sequence was well shot, I haven't tried to put one of these together yet, but I recognize the time and effort put into making the cut work. I think you did well. For the limited amount of time we all had, you did great with the cg blood. On the 42" it actually looked convincing (sometimes compression works in your favor?), and a couple people jumped when the old guy got stabbed in the hand. The establishing shot in the alley was nice. It seemed an eternity for the kid to put the phone in his hand, I would have cut that way short. In the end when he made the call, I had no idea who he was calling. Overall this short scored high in technical for me, it was pretty easy to get into. The color was great, the photography was good, and the audio quality was quite good. I didn't totally get the travel theme, but it wasn't much of a stretch. In the end, if you could have spoon-fed me the part about the girl a little better, this film would have gone from 'ok' to 'awesome'. Great filmmaking :) Aaron