Curious Cat

[Bjorn Wilde]

Edited on a plane, uploaded at an airport, I hope I made it in time.

http://www.youtube.com/v/BYi2XynDUTc

"Curious Cat"
Written and Directed By Bjorn Wilde
Starring Julia Perri, Josh Valencia, and Pinks

[Andrew Bove]

Originally Posted by Bjorn Wilde

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Curious Cat - DVChallenge - YouTube

Embedding works on this forum if you simply paste the youtube link http:// address. (It's a mystery why it works this way.)

[Derwin Dalida]

The cast was fun to watch, however I was having a hard time deciphering what they were saying some of the time. I also had a hard time what was going on story wise. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful :(

[Henry Williams]

loved the actor's unusual delivery. Gave the whole thing a kind of hyper-real vibe when coupled with some of the ECU shots. The low light camerawork was nice too!

[Adam Snow]

I'm guessing this was the only film entered that was edited while traveling hundreds of miles per hour, lol.

In generally I thought you did a nice job with shot selection and camera movement.

At 2:18 - When the bearded man got into the elevator if you had held onto the first shot until after he crossed between the actress and the camera you wouldn't have crossed the 180 line which would have made the cut smooth. I say that because I don't recall any other line crosses.

To echo Derwin, it was hard to decipher what the actors actually said and thus it made the piece harder to follow... more of a mystery if you will. I felt like part of the time they were speaking gibberish and then there were "actual" lines mixed in which were meant to be understood. Although it's not always the most ideal thing to do you could always add subtitles to help clear up what's being said if it's important.

That being said, I have never edited on a plane and I'm guessing editing audio on a plane is far from an easy task. :-)

[Bjorn Wilde]

Ah snaps, these notes were hard to hear. To be fair I did ask the flight attendant to pass a message off to the pilot "If he could just coast for a few minutes at a time I could check my levels." I'm not sure she passed it on.

When I landed I exported the file between flights, then because I rendered a few too many(12 seconds) black frames at the end of the video and it came in at 3:32 I had to re-render. In my rush I rendered the wrong file and uploaded it on the slowest airport wifi, hit 100% on the status bar of death as I heard my named called over the intercom as I was supposed to be at the gate closed my comp and never looked back. Ah well, sht happens. "Hear" is the proper take.

"Curious Cat" - The DVChallenge: Mystery - YouTube

Tagline: A young woman's curiosity leads her from one door to the next.

Written, Shot, then Edited in a plane, uploaded in an airport in under 48hrs.
Based on a conversation between Alice and the Caterpillar.

Film by Bjorn Wilde
with Julia Perri, Josh Valencia and Pinks

[Adam Snow]

I hope that the our comments are helpful in any case. Everyone can be critical of a film no matter how good it is. And I know anything said on this forum is meant to be helpful so that we can all take our collective lessons, learn from them and make even better films in the future.

I do think you have a lot of strong things within your film that you can doubtingly use as a strong foundation for what you do next.

I certainly was able to understand what they were saying a lot more after watching it a couple of times. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what she said at 1:13 though. For me during the first viewing (which is where you generally either capture your audience or lose them) the mixture of not quite being able to understand exactly what was being said and the eery music that underscores the piece made me feel as if I wasn't suppose to understand everything. When the deliveryman says "What?" (1:00 mark) I felt like I was in the same position as the deliveryman -- not quite sure what was going on. I felt that the whisper was a key part that really needed to be clearly understandable (which after listening to it again I can make out). When I wasn't 100% sure what she said during the first go though I think it detailed what you had build up a bit.

Audio for me is certainly not my strong suit and it's really hard to know what others will understand or not when you KNOW what something is suppose to mean or what a character is suppose to be saying. Sometimes you simply have to make it so clear that there is no question that your audience will be on the same page.

I did find the guy in the elevator randomly having packing tape was pretty funny though and one of the moments in your film which I really thought worked well.

I'm guessing that 3:32 with a bit of black on the end wouldn't have hurt you in this contest (though I'm not 100% sure) but generally speaking I think it is wise to make sure to not go over any time limit so going back and reexporting was a wise move.

In any case, I truly hope our comments are helpful rather than discouraging. I look back at the film I made for this contest last year and wish I had done a hundred things differently. So I challenge you to take all the positives and strengths of this film and make something even better next time around. With any luck you'll at very least have the luxury of editing on the ground ;-)

[Bjorn Wilde]

Ah Mate, it's all fun and games. What you learn in one project you take to the next, I'm generally the most critical person anyways so the notes here have been tame. I'm not fussed, it was a fun a experiment in a style and adrenaline rush to the finish. 3:20max was a hard number to hit, black frames or not. I did I want to leave the audience with only questions, after all it is a mystery.

[Adam Snow]

Good to hear. I've enjoyed this contest because it give us all a reason to go out and shoot something that we would otherwise not go out and shoot. So as long as everyone has a good time doing so and gets better in the process all is good.

And you did leave us with questions, in a good way, which to your point is kind of an underlying concept in what a mystery is.

[Andrew Bove]

Originally Posted by Adam Snow

When the deliveryman says "What?" (1:00 mark) I felt like I was in the same position as the deliveryman -- not quite sure what was going on.

I was totally with Adam and the delivery guy- had no idea what was going on, but the way you shot everything, I really wanted to figure it out. (I still do, I've probably watched this six or seven times trying to figure it out.) The whole thing is really awesomely uncomfortable.

Were those carrot cookies?
Did Guy Cochran send the girl a package?
Did she steal the package somehow?
Nice acting on your part, Bjorn (you're the bearded guy, right?).
My favorite shot is the one of "Pinks".
Was there a cat anywhere?

[Toni Dolce]

Hi Bjorn!

I'm glad that I was able to view the second cut. As with everyone's comments about the audio, I too was confused about what the girl was saying when she opened her door.

However, I really enjoyed the music! It was a perfect fit for the tone of the movie.

I would have enjoyed a bit of color correction, but for a 48 hour project, what a hell of a job!

Toni

[Bjorn Wilde]

Originally Posted by Andrew Bove

Were those carrot cookies?
Did Guy Cochran send the girl a package?
Did she steal the package somehow?
Nice acting on your part, Bjorn (you're the bearded guy, right?).
My favorite shot is the one of "Pinks".
Was there a cat anywhere?

The music was a Singing Tibetan Bowl.
Yes, Carrot cookies.
She said 'be careful what you leave out, there are thieves are about' and she a nutter so she continued "people are jacking sht!" hence her changing voices and accents. So maybe she is the thief? or is missing a package herself.
Yes, I was the Bearded Gent.
Pink was definitely a favorite, I'm glad she was available. I'll give her lines next time.
I was trying to squeeze as much color as I could into the shoot. I wanted a dark over saturated color pallet as I felt it matched the characters over-saturated, dark moods and delivery.
The girls name was Cat, and curiosity killed the cat.
In 48 film fests there is always a linking prop piece or theme, before I started writing I added a rule myself.
1. DVEStore logo had to show up somewhere. So it figured the packing slip was perfect. The computer was actually logged on to the website too (I cut the close up.)

The package is a RTS, return to sender, the Man with the just so happening to match blue packing tape in the elevator and the RTS was supposed to be the BIG ...Was it all a setup? Is the package his?? I many how many people have blue packing tape? Why did the delivery guy come back to her?

In the elevator I cut a few lines from the elevator, after he offers the tape, she asks "are you moving?" He replies, "No, send little trinkets I make out of family and friends." But I thought that gave too much away.

...and because she's curious enough to open a package, find something horrific, re-tape the box still deliver it... she'd be crazy enough to walk into the apartment holding a little blue knife for? Protection? Revenge? or?

Audio a side, I wanted it to be a mystery. I didn't want to reveal the end. I didn't want to reveal the box. Just enough that you say "What?" and walk in with her. Hopefully each time you watch it you wonder about something else rather than find the answer to something past.

Thanks for having a second look.

-b

[Randy Smith]

With the title and the feature of the box, during my first watching, I thought this might be a take on schrodinger's cat. Watched it a few more times and figured it wasn't that, but then got myself more lost! :)

[Tim Lewis]

Too much Big Bang Theory Ryan!

[Lorinda Norton]

Way to bring your inner Clint Eastwood to the project, Bjorn! I loved it. All of the acting was quite good. I may be mistaken but thought, "This is a group of community theater actors turned movie makers," while watching. It didn't surprise me a bit to learn you are a veteran of 48 hour films, either; they can get a familiar pace and look to them that brands them somewhat.

Reading your comments it became apparent that you pay much attention to detail, which can sometimes be lost on the small screen, or on slightly unobservant people like me. I'm impressed!

Your camera work and editing--both superb. I particularly loved the editing during the box-opening scene. You have a great eye for knowing how to set up shots and nail them, then cut them just right to make the story zing.

I'm so glad you joined DV Info and the DVC! This entry turned into one of my favorites, and I hope you will join us for more down the road.