DVC8- Chris Barcellos "The Ratings Game"

Bryan Wilkat · May 7th, 2007, 05:37 PM

chris, man, what can i say? thats a damn fine submission!
i'm so jealous of that setup you had, it had nice shallow depth of field going, nice lighting too!

really great stuff!

Hugh DiMauro · May 7th, 2007, 06:10 PM

I loved the lighting but I wish you had varied the camera angles a bit during his monologue. I almost left with the grandkids! :-) I did feel a bit nostalgic, however, since I have an uncle who regaled us with stories like that (my Godfather, actually). Oh, and we dared not get up and leave before his story ended!

Thank you!

Brent Graham · May 7th, 2007, 09:35 PM

Chris,

I liked the way the light falloff framed Grandpa's isolation in this new high tech world...very nice. I agree with Hugh though on the monologue. I understand time was short and actually filming a re-enactment would be impossible. But I would have liked to see some ECU's of Grandpa's mouth from profile while talking, and maybe his fingers fidgeting with his glasses. I feel it would have made a more artist use of your DOF setup, and would have been more sentimental for his age (close-up on wrinkled hands and such).

Where can I buy me some alligator army boots?!

Jamey Hastings · May 7th, 2007, 11:12 PM

Chris,

Your movie was really sad! I nearly cried at the end! Good message!

I can definately relate to the never-ending grandpa stories, but then being older I think they're facinating and don't find myself walking away...lol he doesn't have any about beating alligatos with paddles to make army boots though! :)

I too really loved the sillouette look! I think I'm with Hugh & Brent about adding in some cutaways of Grandpa, though...Although the more I think about it not changing the camera at all sort of adds to the bored feeling the kids must've been experiencing...so it actually could work as is.

Overall good entry!
Jamey*

Ronn Kilby · May 8th, 2007, 12:34 AM

OK if nothing else you made me chortle (not quite guffaw) with "alligator boots for the army"

I was ready for you to break into the "Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Driftwood...

"Well, we fired our cannon til the barrel melted down,
so we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind,
and when they tetched the powder off, the gator lost his mind."

Nice DOF stuff.

Ruth Happel · May 8th, 2007, 08:30 PM

I really like this on two levels. First, the look of it was really striking to me. It seemed much more like film than video, between the shallow DOF and the lighting effects you had. It was really enjoyable just watching it.

Second, I really liked the message. The text at the end was sort of like being hit over the head with the implications- sad but I think a good and important message.

I have mixed feelings on what others have suggested on varying the camera angles. To me, the way it was shot- both literally, and with a fairly constant camera angle, exaggerated the way he could be perceived as boring by the grandkids. So in the context of this film, I think it worked to create that mood.

This was a great film, with an important message.

Chris Barcellos · May 8th, 2007, 08:46 PM

Ruth:

Thanks for the kind comments. Happy about the film look, as that was where I was trying to go.

This story has some family background. My father used to tell an alligator hunting story to his grandkids, my kids, and my sibs kids.... Got to be quite a story as he embelished it.... They knew it was a story, but at the same time, had fun with it... And we his kids knew he never had anything to do with hunting anything.

Anyway, fast forward to today, and he is a lot like the guy in the movie, nobody is really listening to the stories anymore...it hard on him and us.....

Chris Barcellos · May 8th, 2007, 08:50 PM

Cutaways, etc: I did do some CUs at beginning, of movie, and did consider adding more during editing. Ultimately, decided to treat it the same as if we were behind the kids on while they were watching to TV....

Mugurel Dragusin · May 9th, 2007, 09:55 AM

Interesting looks and felt the intended boring aspect of it, poor grandpa, the TV took over :)

Jeff Hendricks · May 9th, 2007, 10:29 PM

I really loved the lighting on the grandpa, he seemed to glow...really cool. I also enjoyed how you framed him (the kids as the frame and him in the middle), nice look.

Great writing, very rich story telling. I think it would have been funny to add more of the time passing type editing cuts and maybe have him go off on more tangents etc...

Cool work...and great concept.

Bruce Foreman · May 13th, 2007, 10:04 PM

Chris,

I liked the look and feel of it. Like others have said you had a real filmic look to it but beyond that, the lighting and focus seemed to me to add to the growing isolation GrandPa was obviously experiencing.

I'm a Grandpa myself, last year my 17 yr old went with me to a military reunion in San Antonio. The "Society Of Old Backenders" (those of us who operated electronic equipment riding in the "back" of specially configured recon aircraft) met in a small meeting room and began to "swap stories" of outrageous mischief and "bawdy house" visits.

Grandson's eyes got wider and wider as it became apparent that I had been a party to some of what was included in the tales. No boredom there...

But I did remind him that what happened in Tokyo, Tachikawa, and other places mentioned needed to stay there.

May 7th, 2007, 06:10 PM	#17
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,207	I loved the lighting but I wish you had varied the camera angles a bit during his monologue. I almost left with the grandkids! :-) I did feel a bit nostalgic, however, since I have an uncle who regaled us with stories like that (my Godfather, actually). Oh, and we dared not get up and leave before his story ended! Thank you! __________________ Interesting, if true. And interesting anyway.

May 8th, 2007, 08:46 PM	#22
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Ruth: Thanks for the kind comments. Happy about the film look, as that was where I was trying to go. This story has some family background. My father used to tell an alligator hunting story to his grandkids, my kids, and my sibs kids.... Got to be quite a story as he embelished it.... They knew it was a story, but at the same time, had fun with it... And we his kids knew he never had anything to do with hunting anything. Anyway, fast forward to today, and he is a lot like the guy in the movie, nobody is really listening to the stories anymore...it hard on him and us..... __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

May 8th, 2007, 08:50 PM	#23
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Cutaways, etc: I did do some CUs at beginning, of movie, and did consider adding more during editing. Ultimately, decided to treat it the same as if we were behind the kids on while they were watching to TV.... __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

May 9th, 2007, 09:55 AM	#24
Mugurel Dragusin Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Philippines Posts: 253	Interesting looks and felt the intended boring aspect of it, poor grandpa, the TV took over :) __________________ Lost signature, if you find it, please return it to me, thank you.

May 9th, 2007, 10:29 PM	#25
Jeff Hendricks Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: The Carson Valley, Nevada Posts: 248	I really loved the lighting on the grandpa, he seemed to glow...really cool. I also enjoyed how you framed him (the kids as the frame and him in the middle), nice look. Great writing, very rich story telling. I think it would have been funny to add more of the time passing type editing cuts and maybe have him go off on more tangents etc... Cool work...and great concept. __________________ www.tahoestarr.com

May 7th, 2007, 05:37 PM	#16
Bryan Wilkat Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 171	chris, man, what can i say? thats a damn fine submission! i'm so jealous of that setup you had, it had nice shallow depth of field going, nice lighting too! really great stuff!

May 7th, 2007, 09:35 PM	#18
Brent Graham Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 222	Chris, I liked the way the light falloff framed Grandpa's isolation in this new high tech world...very nice. I agree with Hugh though on the monologue. I understand time was short and actually filming a re-enactment would be impossible. But I would have liked to see some ECU's of Grandpa's mouth from profile while talking, and maybe his fingers fidgeting with his glasses. I feel it would have made a more artist use of your DOF setup, and would have been more sentimental for his age (close-up on wrinkled hands and such). Where can I buy me some alligator army boots?!

May 7th, 2007, 11:12 PM	#19
Jamey Hastings Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 77	Chris, Your movie was really sad! I nearly cried at the end! Good message! I can definately relate to the never-ending grandpa stories, but then being older I think they're facinating and don't find myself walking away...lol he doesn't have any about beating alligatos with paddles to make army boots though! :) I too really loved the sillouette look! I think I'm with Hugh & Brent about adding in some cutaways of Grandpa, though...Although the more I think about it not changing the camera at all sort of adds to the bored feeling the kids must've been experiencing...so it actually could work as is. Overall good entry! Jamey*

May 8th, 2007, 12:34 AM	#20
Ronn Kilby Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fletcher Hills, CA Posts: 211	OK if nothing else you made me chortle (not quite guffaw) with "alligator boots for the army" I was ready for you to break into the "Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Driftwood... "Well, we fired our cannon til the barrel melted down, so we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round. We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind, and when they tetched the powder off, the gator lost his mind." Nice DOF stuff.

May 8th, 2007, 08:30 PM	#21
Ruth Happel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Black Mountain, NC Posts: 488	I really like this on two levels. First, the look of it was really striking to me. It seemed much more like film than video, between the shallow DOF and the lighting effects you had. It was really enjoyable just watching it. Second, I really liked the message. The text at the end was sort of like being hit over the head with the implications- sad but I think a good and important message. I have mixed feelings on what others have suggested on varying the camera angles. To me, the way it was shot- both literally, and with a fairly constant camera angle, exaggerated the way he could be perceived as boring by the grandkids. So in the context of this film, I think it worked to create that mood. This was a great film, with an important message.

May 13th, 2007, 10:04 PM	#26
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	Chris, I liked the look and feel of it. Like others have said you had a real filmic look to it but beyond that, the lighting and focus seemed to me to add to the growing isolation GrandPa was obviously experiencing. I'm a Grandpa myself, last year my 17 yr old went with me to a military reunion in San Antonio. The "Society Of Old Backenders" (those of us who operated electronic equipment riding in the "back" of specially configured recon aircraft) met in a small meeting room and began to "swap stories" of outrageous mischief and "bawdy house" visits. Grandson's eyes got wider and wider as it became apparent that I had been a party to some of what was included in the tales. No boredom there... But I did remind him that what happened in Tokyo, Tachikawa, and other places mentioned needed to stay there.