DVC22 - The Road to Symphony - Joseph Tran

[Ruth Happel]

This was really well filmed, as others have noted. Thanks for explaining the bottle effect, which was awesome. Switching from the POV of the bottle to the couple was great. I found the story very powerful, and the only thing I missed is the bottle symphony. When I was around 10 I made a bottle instrument from filled water bottles for a school project and still remember how much fun that was. Maybe you can do an expanded version with the symphony?

[Joseph Tran]

I guess sometimes we only respond to the issues and questions about our projects... but tonight I'm getting around to responding to everyone who I didn't respond directly to yesterday... (and borrowing Mitchell's and Simon's idea:)

@ Simon - thank you for your response. That means a lot coming from such a skilled cinematographer! And yes, I was very fortunate to get two very skilled, hot actors, lol! Shelley is a friend of mine whom I met while working at a comedy club. She later introduced Ben through a mutual project of ours, so this is a small reunion for us. Edward -- who played Baby Shelley -- is in for some embarrassment when he grows up. Gramps will be in the next production as well, I'm sure.

@ Andrew - I'll give the crossfade a try... thanks for the tip! I'll also relay the compliments to my grandpa as well. I wanted to have some kind of twist, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. And yes, I filmed this the same weekend as I filmed a wedding! Thanks to the DVC members' support, however, it got done!

@ Adam - the journey of an inanimate object was a first for me. Thanks for your comments, and happy you enjoyed it!

@ Chris - thanks for the kind words. Always good to see your name here!

@ Mark - thank you so much! Glad you liked both the flashback and the beach shots -- they were both my golden hour shots! (which to some extent happened by a stroke of luck...)

@ Dick - thanks for being my #1 fan from the start. I'm happy to be able to show you more and more every time we do another one of these. Always good to hear from you, and my apologies for momentarily loosing touch back when I pulled "Metamorphosis". I kinda 'disappeared' for a bit, but it's good to link up back again, and I'll have that first film back online for you very soon.

@ Michell - thanks for your comments as well! Being able to have these discussions is what I love most about the DVC and dvinfo! I think creating a narrative is ALWAYS tricky when you only have 5 minutes!

@ Ruth - figuring out some of the POV shots of the bottle was a lot of fun. Btw, I'm a big audiophile too, which is why I experimented with having dialogue in some places, but not in others! Here's a tidbit for ya: the sounds of the bird pooping on the bottle at the beginning (if you heard it... it's subtle) is actually ketchup packets hitting my bathroom sink! Switching from the POV of the bottle to the couple, and back, was the hardest challenge with this piece... which is largely why I didn't include some kind of bottle tune at the end -- I wanted to keep the story about the bottle. However, both you and Toni suggested it, so yes, I'm inclined to find a way to fit it in for an extended version!

Thanks again, everyone, for a fun challenge! The next challenge is figuring out which films to send to the Top 3!

[Dick Mays]

Yeah, add the symphony at the end in an extended version. And add a child, so we can see it from a child's point of view. Just saw the very wonderful Beasts of the Southern Wild last night, and am reminded at how powerful things are when seen for the first time.

[Simon Wood]

I have to say I really like the ending exactly as it is - its got a kind of Nolan-esque vibe to it (will the spinning top fall over or won't it...). That single note was perfect in my opinion.

[Andrew Bove]

Originally Posted by Joseph Tran

@ Andrew - I'll give the crossfade a try... thanks for the tip! I'll also relay the compliments to my grandpa as well. I wanted to have some kind of twist, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. And yes, I filmed this the same weekend as I filmed a wedding! Thanks to the DVC members' support, however, it got done!

When watching I didn't realize it was the bottle spinning! I thought it was some crazy preset transition and couldn't figure out why someone with such a tastefully done film would think to use such a wacky graphic! Now I get it.

Originally Posted by Simon Wood

I have to say I really like the ending exactly as it is - its got a kind of Nolan-esque vibe to it (will the spinning top fall over or won't it...). That single note was perfect in my opinion.

I think the one note ending was great too. Anything more complex, and you'd have a whole new project on your hands. Perhaps the sequel can be a music video.

[Joseph Tran]

I've been playing with the extended symphony option, and I think Simon and Andrew have some really good points -- when I added any kind of extension to the end, it felt a bit muddled and out of place. I even tried doing a symphony from the bottle's POV, but the outcome wasn't as strong as the one-note ring.

It was a fun experiment, though, and I found out that anything else would have to become another project. A sequel is not out of the question... and a music video sounds like a great idea! Or a Bollywood style add-on? Haha, who knows?

Simon, I gotta admit that I'm a bit giddy at the Nolan comparison -- I'm a huge fan of his.

Andrew, heheh, now I understand what you really meant at the beginning (I originally thought you meant the cut BETWEEN the bottle spinning POV and the sidewalk shot). But I think I found the reason why you might've thought it was a transition at the beginning: When we cut from the bottle rolling down the street to the bottle POV, I should've also changed the SOUND we were hearing as well! I've fixed it since, and it just goes to show how important audio is!

[Joseph Tran]

P.S. If I shoot an old-school Batman remake, I'm gonna use the bottle pov spin as a transition. I'll call it, "Bove's Wacky Graphic".