DVC14 - "The Game" by Alex Chamberlain

[Alex Chamberlain]

I really don't know where this idea came from, but it was a lot of fun to shoot. This is the first time I've had anybody actually help with the challenge beyond just acting. My last entry caught the eye of Zack Beatty, a good friend who recruited his little brother Kade to play the Cowboy and also helped with the technical end of things. Living in Southern Utah, there's a lot of neat country to shoot in, but it's also hard to find a proper Roman Gladius when one needs one (or Roman Armor for that matter), so I ended up making the sword with another friend the night before we shot. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your input!

[Andris Krastins]

The idea is wonderful, but the American accent and expressions ("yeah") of the Roman soldier stood out very much. A little bit of fake accent would have helped a lot.

The banjo music was a bit annoying, maybe some other, more neutral soundtrack would have been better, but if you wanted to show that that's happening in Utah, then ok, but to me it seemed like a place outside of normal space and time. And also the Roman was unfairly treated, because only the cowboy received a music score, he should at least have gotten some Roman music, when awoke back in his time. But that's just me! :))

Apart from that, as I said, the idea is really great, two warriors from different eras meeting in the desert, maybe even in a timeless dimension or something, very nice! And nice humor too.

I also loved the colours very much, especially the first place, and how your used different colour settings to show different places, great!

[Lorinda Norton]

Opening shot: Gorgeous.

Color of film: Gorgeous…again.

Story: Cute! And well-executed. I liked both characters in their roles. They seemed a little young to have wives and families, but that's coming from an old mom here. :)

Second ending: Very funny! Just as funny as the first ending.

I actually liked this film better on subsequent viewings, which, in my opinion, makes for a good movie. It will hold up. Great job, Alex and company.

[Alex Chamberlain]

No Andris, you nailed it: the bulk of the film is definitely supposed to take place "outside of normal space and time." I simply mentioned Utah because I live in a very rural area and so I had to make my own sword. I.E. there are no "sword shops" in small towns. I guess that fundamental to this particular film is the notion that dreams or any sort of unconscious state could be free from the shackles of space and time. I just decided to push it a little further and suggest that they don't necessarily need to be isolated to individual experience either. As far as accents go, I felt that the language barrier (I.E. Roman's speaking latin, etc.) would just have to be ignored for these encounters in the first place. I extrapolated from there that one could assume that, since these two meet in dreams, their communication would be "thought-for-thought," not necessarily word-for-word. Just my thinking but whether or not it works for everyone, who knows. . . Thanks for your thoughts Andris!

Lorinda, as always, your comments make me smile. Thanks for the input! Believe it or not, Kade, (the cowboy) actually does have a wife and kids. Although Kyle (the Roman) is still single, so I guess you pegged him. Thanks!

[Eric Gan]

Hey Alex,

Your short had a very nice filmic look - and good use of the contrast at the end when he jumps back. The landscape and costume reminded me of Star Wars at the beginning.

[Robert Martens]

I don't know, Lorinda; life expectancies were shorter way back when, weren't they? I could easily see the characters having families, even not knowing one of the actors really does. How they'd be able to take care of said families when they so easily lose their most treasured possessions in a dice game is beyond me, but that's beside the point.

This space/time/dimension travel business is good times, all around. I loves me a mystery, and deciding where these two came from and are returning to is an entertaining puzzle.

Simple setup, beautiful backdrop, and a nice big vacuum of information to keep my imagination going. Nicely done!

[Chris Barcellos]

Greetings fellow time traveler.

The good: great story line, twist at end, location, camera angles, and general cinematography.

The bad: Character match for the roman soldier( I would have considered reversing roles), accent and dialogue from roman soldier (throw in an ave or hail ).

Other: would have liked more backstory on the reason and how they hooked up regularly.



Potential other ending: Archeologists digs up Roman battle site in England, finds pair of cowboy boots on armor clad roman soldier.

[Dick Mays]

Alex,

I watched this yesterday but didn't entirely get it so I watched it again this morning.

Great location and some wonderfual camera shots. I liked showing the hand on the sword before you see the arrived of the second guy. I love the close up on the boot. Beautiful location. It may be just because I'm sick, but I didn't follow the story very well.

At first I thought they were in heaven, then I thought they were actors killing time between takes on a movie set. When the one guy won, I didn't understand the significance of the victory or why the boots were so important. I didn't even get time travel the first time I saw it. I thought they were in the desert hallucinating on peyote on the first viewing and then I understood they were time travellers.

I wasn't bothered by the actor's accents. Since they were time travelling, I thought they were both friends like Bill and Ted's excellent adventure, and the just got together from time to time to catch up in between journeys back in time.

I think you have a great eye for composing interesting shots and the cinematography was beautiful.

[Alex Chamberlain]

Eric: Thanks. The "Star Wars" comparison is probably more flattering than I deserve, but maybe I just think so because I love Star Wars.

Robert: I was actually thinking along the same lines as far as life-expectancies, etc. However, I try not to get too zealous in my self-defense in these critique sessions just because I want to encourage honesty in feedback, etc. So, I thank you for pointing that out. I'm also glad you appreciated the "vacuum" of explicit information. For some reason this idea just dawned on me this way and I also think that vacuum is a really important element of the piece. Thanks for the input!

Chris: Loved the idea for an alternate ending! I wish I'd thought of that one before I filmed! Thanks for the critique, too.

Dick: Your comments on my camera work mean a lot, so thank you very much! As far as following the plot is concerned, this is definitely not your run-of-the-mill storyline, so I can imagine some viewers might not find it quite their style. Thanks for making the effort to watch it multiple times, though and I hope you get better soon!

[James Huenergardt]

Enjoyed the film, especially the boot ending. That was great. Was sort of confused at the second ending, mostly because of the 'hold' on the guy and some strange soft crunching noises at the end after he reaches for his sword.

I thought some of the edits were a little long, and I kept hearing the number 32.

Did he kill 32 people with that sword? Why was 32 being said continually?

The setting was beautiful and you had some very creative shots, especially the boot at the end.

Keep it up.

[Joseph Tran]

Nice color, indeed. The look overall was quite cinematic. In addition, I like the different angles you placed the camera. Quite a beautiful way to capture the landscape. Noticed the rack focus, too.

Did notice some spots on a shot or two. Was your lens dirty? It's a little thing -- I'm nitpicking.

Aside from that, a great idea for the theme. Nicely done!

[Alex Chamberlain]

James: Thanks, it's kinda funny to me that people seem to like the "boot shot." I like that shot too, and so I try to include a shot of a foot stepping into the frame in every piece that I do. I'd claim that it's my "trademark," but that might be a bit pretentious coming from an amateur such as myself. The number 32 can be heard twice, I believe, to the careful listener, but I'm going to exercise my right to be cagey and I'm not going to say why. I'll just say that if you look and listen (and count) very closely, you might be able to figure it out without my help. The crunching noises at the end are slowed down gunfire. Think "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid" if you're curious about the inspiration for this ending.

Joseph: Yeah, you caught me. We had to hike over some sand dunes to get to the rocks on which we filmed and my lens got some dust on it. I still can't bring myself to just wipe it off in the field. The idea of those grains of sand being rubbed against my glass just sends shivers down my spine, so I waited until I got back to clean it and tried to shoot away from the sun for the most part. Sharp eye! Thanks for noticing the rack focus. It's nice to hear an acknowledgement of something you did on purpose.

Thanks for the input folks!

[Jeremy Doyle]

I enjoyed the look of this film. I also liked the various shots of them playing. I liked the otherly world feel. Nice work.

[Chris Swanberg]

The camera angles were, as has been repeatedly said, very eye catching and effective. Your editing was very nice. It was comfortable and easy to watch. Excellent edits.

I like the alternate ending idea, and yes, somehow the boot scene was fun... maybe it was the music that helped make that. It seemed more in keeping with that scene than the others.

Beautifully composed and shot piece. I will be watching this many times, as is the case with some of the others as well.

Chris Swanberg