DVC 5 Feedback - 2.5 Kids

[Tyler Baptist]

Well here's my DVC5 entry. I filmed it on the ONLY day I had to film my short in the whole time we had to get DVC 5 done. I guess that's what happens when you work 32 days in a row, haha. I had tonnes of fun making this though. Anyway, it's nice to have friends with good gear to use, and when you help them out you get brownie points so that you can use it as well, so that's what I did here. And he also helped me out here by being the boom pole operator on the film. Thanks Mark!

Gear used:
Sony Z1U
Sennheiser ME66/K6 shotgun
Audio-Technica U100 wireless lav
Home De-pole® (Haha. Homemade boom pole.)
Ladder (For those high establishing shots.)
Edited on Vegas 5.0.

I changed my idea halfway through the challenge, so this is the outcome. I told my friends who would be perfect for the short to be in it, and they agreed but were always worrying whether they could act or not (as they have not), and that's where I assured them that people who have never acted act better because they don't have the pressures of 'knowing' what they are doing right or wrong, and it always turns out awesome. Anyway, props to them for their awesome job improving the dialougue while I gave them checkpoints and subjects and information to talk about. So there you have it, I hope you enjoy it.

Contstructive criticism more than welcomed!

[Robert Martens]

Your friends did a pretty good job, I think you're right about them lacking the pressure of "Am I doing this right?" Worked out well.

I personally adore the fifteen screen, sensory deprivation tank multiplexes that movie theaters have become, as that's how I grew up watching movies. My fondest memories of my favorite films are set in the featureless darkness of those buildings, so drive-ins hold no nostalgic value for me. Nonetheless, I fully understand and appreciate the sentiment, as I explained in the thread for Volker Krieger's film: seeing old places, things, people, ways and traditions disappear often upsets me. I can't empathize with those who grew up around drive-in movie theaters, but I can imagine how it feels, and I'm glad to see others in my generation (or close to it, anyway--not sure how old you guys are) also feel the same. That or they're just natural actors who couldn't care less about this stuff.

My only suggestion would be to get yourself a tripod, and if going handheld, try to stay away from the zoom. Not terribly annoying, but this particular story didn't seem to be a good fit for a fast moving camera. I think a slower, more deliberate shooting style would be more in line with the "old school" attitude presented in the film.

And "Home De-pole"? Priceless.

[Chris Barcellos]

Tyler:

I love your Home De-pole description. In fact I had the same "boompole" down to the same ME66 mic, and I shot using sister cam, the FX1. I used a an aluminum paint roller pole as a boom, though I understand the latest is to go to the fiberglass flourescent light changing poles.

To us oldtimers that actually lived when those news reel shots were shot, your perspective is a bit different than what we were seeing in those days. I lived with my three brother in an attic on a farm in the Santa Clara Valley. During the summer, when there was no moisture to swell the shingles, you could see the stars through the gaps in the shingles. What your guys seem to lament, was originally seen as progress by us "boomers". New houses, new friends. In fact, our farm is now a housing tract. And the bomb was the biggest fear I had as a kid...induced by my older brother who was always in a panic over it...

[Tyler Baptist]

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

I used a an aluminum paint roller pole as a boom.

That's exactly what we used. Haha. We even put a paint brush adapter piece on the end that fitted perfectly with the shock mount so that we can swivel the direction of the mic as well.

[Mark Utley]

Originally Posted by Tyler Baptist

Home De-pole® (Haha. Homemade boom pole.)

©2006 Mark Utley! Haha.

Good job with the movie. Regarding Robert's tripod suggestion, I thought going handheld worked for this type of movie. I agree about it being distracting a couple times, though.

[Kris Holodak]

People tend to either love or hate that style of hand held, more or less depending on how well it fits the story. I'm not a fan myself, beginning with the Blair Witch Project when I missed the ending because I was in the bathroom throwing up from car sickness. Seriously. However, if that's the style you were going for you did it well. Here's the thing though, when you know your primary audience is web delivery that's a really hard style to get a good compression on. While we all know that it will look better being delivered other ways and might be inclined to be forgiving, none of us will actually get to look in other ways. A couple of times I zoned out on what the guys were saying because I was distracted by the artifacting and interlace problems you had. Not saying it was necessarily the wrong choice, just pointing out the ripple effect of some of the choices we make.

[Dick Mays]

I enjoyed this short. I like to use handheld when the actors are moving about, but I probably would have used sticks for sitting in the chairs. I thought the dialog was real honest and I liked the relationship between the two guys.

But whats wrong with having the big house and 2.5 kids? We actually have three, but that's soon to change as my wife informed me to expect another around Thanksgiving.

[Meryem Ersoz]

it's interesting, the gap between how the original generation perceived an image and how it gets recycled almost as a consumerist image with the younger generation.

one of the recently recycled products is the 30 year old sesame street song "munamuna"--i recently had a 20-something tell me that i HAD to see the new new thing in circulation on the web, and it was something i had watched as a child on sesame street. now it was being replayed in every college dorm hall, repetitively. dug up and reclaimed. so i'm always interested in that process.

older people always feel like they need to explain the authenticity of those experiences to kids who don't understand. and younger people always feel like their authority to make meaning of those experiences is being challenged.

or, to put it another way, as one of my students pointed out, "every generation thinks their version of Saturday Night Live was the only one that was really funny. well, i still think the one on now is funny."

i liked this. i thought it was a very earnest and good-hearted examination of the meaning of life by a couple of very talented videomakers. getting anything of substance up on the web in one day is something to be proud of--i did one of these one-day wonders for DVC #3, and it's kind of fun to look back on what you managed to pull off in eight hours....

[Bradley L Marlow]

Hi Tyler!

Am most impressed by what you and your crew accomplished in ONE day. What an undertaking! Two young men reflecting on generational issues/perceptions is a very good idea. Liked your choice of the snowy/lonely drive-in location. I remember when I was a kid, mom and dad would throw us in the back of the pick-up to watch B westerns at the drive-in. Sadly, it was torn down.

I completely agree with your thoughts "...I assured them that people who have never acted act better because they don't have the pressures of 'knowing' what they are doing right or wrong..." and these two came across very natural and believable. Well done.

I'm also one of those people who believe that a tripod would have worked better for the majority of the scenes. I was distracted in places of the conversation due to too much camera movement. Not all of it, just some.

Of course, this very issue I suspect is a generational one as well. You might notice those who like this shaky camera look are younger and those who don't, are older. Just a guess.

Best Wishes~
Bradley

[Tyler Baptist]

Originally Posted by Kris Holodak

A couple of times I zoned out on what the guys were saying because I was distracted by the artifacting and interlace problems you had.

Yeah, I forgot to de-interlace, as I used my friend's newer camera, whereas my old camera you didn't have the choice to...

Originally Posted by Dick Mays

But whats wrong with having the big house and 2.5 kids?

Nothing at all, haha. That's something Aaron and Evan just improved right on the spot.

Originally Posted by Bradley L Marlow

Am most impressed by what you and your crew accomplished in ONE day.

The filming was all done in one day, yes, in about 2 hours. I shot 50 mins of footage. Then I had to go to work. The editing was done over that night and the next, during the only 3 hours I had off from work. So yeah, it was pretty much done in a total of 8 hours. So I guess the whole thing wasn't really done in one day, but I only had that one day to shoot it. I was definatley a blast though, and editing was a bit tricky making a solid story flow from 50 mins of improved dialogue and camera work. Getting it to flow was the challenge, and I gladdly accepted that and I think it worked pretty well. I'm really happy with the end result.

Originally Posted by Bradley L Marlow

I'm also one of those people who believe that a tripod would have worked better for the majority of the scenes. I was distracted in places of the conversation due to too much camera movement. Not all of it, just some.

Of course, this very issue I suspect is a generational one as well. You might notice those who like this shaky camera look are younger and those who don't, are older. Just a guess.

It was all shot handheld becauase: A)We didn't have a tripod. B)It was all improvised (with direction of course, haha) so I wanted the camera work to be improvised as well. You gotta shoot with the same energy that the actors are putting out.

Thanks for all the feedback! Much appreciated! Keep it coming!

[Philip Gioja]

I got some enjoyment watching this one, thought it was funny to watch them talk about the old days when they were obviously too young to know anything about what they were talking about. Good use of stock footage -- I liked that aspect.

It felt a little bit long for the material, and I'm not really sure I understood the atomic bomb at the end -- maybe I missed a line or something -- but overall I thought it was a creative and interesting idea, and I think those guys were great at their improv -- very funny!

[Lorinda Norton]

Good movie, Tyler!! Your guys were killing me because I'm part of that older generation (well, except I'm a little too young to remember that A-bomb stuff, which kind of blew my mind. :). I thought it was cute that they wondered what us old people experienced that they missed.

This is one of my favorites so far. Thanks!!!

[Bruce Broussard]

Tyler, I thought it was an excellent idea, although, I must admit that the "like" stuff got on my nerves after about the 4,000,000,000 nth time! The guys interacted very well and it came off very smooth. By the way, it made me feel OLD.

[Tyler Baptist]

Sorry if I haven't responded back to your comments reasonably fast here, as I work shift work so after the 12 hour graveyard shifts I was on, I just felt like sleeping, then I had to go to work again. Anyway, I'm done those 4 shifts so now I have 6 days off. Yay!

Anyway, back to the feedback:

Originally Posted by Philip Gioja

Thought it was funny to watch them talk about the old days when they were obviously too young to know anything about what they were talking about.

Sure, we may not have lived in those days, but I wish we had. These days, especially my generation, everything is so damn commercialized. It's gross. Everything is a part of consumerism: movies, TV, the news, the paper, food, clothes, everything. It's just my opinion and feeling, from growing up as a teenager (and now young adult, haha) that only anything with a big name behind it is the right thing; the only thing. Reflecting on my short here for instance, the drive-in: They played indie films, b-movies, movies without a big studio backing. Now to get any movie in the theatre, it's gotta be a $100 million dollar Hollywood blockbuster. There are the indie theatres, but they are still overshadowed by the multiplexes that move in and take over. This goes for basically every medium these days. I wish it was the good old days.

Originally Posted by Bruce Broussard

By the way, it made me feel OLD.

..... Sorry ..... (Looks from side-to-side nervously.)

[Sean McHenry]

Some us just are old, like me. 45 and just starting to play with this stuff after all those years in TV shoveling other folks stuff to air.

You done good. I liked it. It was a bit rambeling but I think that was the general nature of the way you did it. I sort of see it as 2 old guys sitting in an empty theater talking about how it was in Vaudeville or something. "When I was young we had to walk 7 miles one way in a raging blizzard, uphill both ways to sit for 12 hours in 1 room classroom next to "stinky" Boyle without air conditioning and no windows..." sort of thing.

One of my simple fears is actually a matter of fact. History is written by the winners. After a generation or two die off, the fact surrounding something sort of vaporizes. You're left with third hand hearsay in some cases that gets handed down from one group to the next, etc.

Don't forget the bad stuff that happend in the past and how far human rights have come, crime statistics will actually prove that crime is down despite what the evening news tried to scare us into thinking (because it ratings driven), infant mortality is down, lead paint poisoning is a thing of the past (mostly), and so on. It's Yin/Yang.

Back to the point. I liked it. It was an interesting work in that it was a one take thing, almost like a segment of a live appearance or live broadcast.

Very interesting idea.

Sean McHenry