DVC8: Fictional Reality

Hugh DiMauro · May 1st, 2007, 04:48 AM

Feedback thread.

Chris Barcellos · May 8th, 2007, 09:40 AM

Okay, we give up, Hugh, you win......

Edit: (great acting, great scene selection, great camera work, great story,..... on and on and on....)

William Gardner · May 8th, 2007, 09:55 AM

:)

I agree with Chris. Loved the characters and the acting. Loved the camera work (especially the early shots, like the slow pan across the crime scene). Very much enjoyed the premise of the story.

SPOILER ALERT: I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't understand the ending. He was put on hiatus but his fictional character helped find the killer? Was that it? Or did I miss something? I was all set up for a killer ending (no pun intended) and was confused...

Great work, Hugh!

Bill

Josh Johnson · May 8th, 2007, 10:04 AM

Wow, I think this was my favorite of the day, it was well done and the acting seemed good. I too expected a different ending, but overall, I liked it...

Lorinda Norton · May 8th, 2007, 10:09 AM

WHOA!…..My socks blew off at the opening scene and the awe just kept going. I totally agree with Chris—we give up! You win!!!

I absolutely love the rich, big-budget look of this film. Besides that, your story is first-rate, the actors all did great in their roles—it’s just a complete package.

You all should be really proud of this film. I’m going to watch it again; be back with more thoughts later. :)

Greg Boston · May 8th, 2007, 10:23 AM

Nicely done, Hugh! I heard the one actor stumble on his lines once or twice. But other than that, it's flawless, man. Great camera work with angles, movement, and framing. Which camera? XL2?

-gb-

Ronn Kilby · May 8th, 2007, 10:24 AM

Way kewl on all levels. I was expecting a tighter full-circle ending. When he yelled "gun" I thought it would go into a Sam Pekinpah slo-mo blood bath :)

Glad they finally got to light their see-gars in the end - a la "Independence Day."

Kudos.

Brent Graham · May 8th, 2007, 10:52 AM

Hugh,

Very impressive production value. I'm inspired to achieve this quality (some day). I like the concept. Really entertaining, kept we wanting to know what was going to happen to him. The ending felt odd though. But overall, nice.

Hugh DiMauro · May 8th, 2007, 11:36 AM

Gee Chris, thanks! Here’s my secret (at no charge): We had tons of fun making it. And that’s pretty much all it takes. Fun, enthusiasm and plenty of food for the actors.

William, you summed up the premise perfectly! He continued watching as the crime was solved even though he hadn’t been at work to know the crime was solved! He had no idea what was going to transpire because he had been forced by that mean old cactus of a lieutenant to take a restful vacation. As far as the ending, well, who needs sound effects when you see the bad guy getting zipped up in a body bag?

Josh, I am glad you liked it and am beginning to think that maybe I should have shown the bad guy getting plugged full of holes? I guess I didn’t want to show gratuitous violence.

Lorinda, I really appreciate you seeing that “big budget” look. You know, I never had that in mind while I shot it. My “big” budget consisted of a bottle of Jack Daniels, Dole Almonds (in bulk from Sam’s Club), Bookers 124 proof small batch bourbon (I knew Bruce loved the stuff), $5.00 worth of gas to fill up our prop detective car, a sandwich tray, case of generic soda and one hard drive that my sound man accidentally knocked off Mike’s hope chest during the bedroom scene when he tripped over an extension cable.  All in all, I got off pretty cheaply.

Greg, Chris the cactus stumbled over his lines more than that (if you watch the behind the scenes short you can actually see and barely hear him drop the “F” bomb during the opening scenes after he flubbed his lines. A riot!) Chris improved his character by tailoring my scripted lines to better suit his delivery style. I tend to write formally so when these jokers read my lines they came back with “I don’t talk that way! That sounds stupid! This is what I’m gonna say and how I’m gonna say it!” It worked. They had total freedom to improvise. Panasonic DVX 100b in 24pa, DV Rack and some good old, 500 watt Smith Victors with CTB gels to balance the overhead fluorescents.

Ron, <<bowing low>> Your Royal Sphincterness, I always appreciate a fellow Peckinpah fan! I wish you would have told me that before I finished. I would have taken you up on the offer to end the movie that way. Although, if the filming dates stayed the same, I might have been caught in the rain that night because just after the last shot, it started raining.

Brent, when you have fun on the journey, your results will surprise you just as my results had surprised me (well, not totally surprised since I used DV Rack on all interiors and knew what I was getting. But you get the idea).

I guess my ending needed a bit of tweaking. Thank you all for taking the time to watch and be sure to check out the behind the scenes short. You can see Bruce drunk, belching and angry at me for plying him with the almonds that he feared just might constipate him the next morning!

Mike Horrigan · May 8th, 2007, 12:21 PM

LOVED IT!!

The ending was too abrupt and kind of caught me off guard, but overall this was a VERY strong piece of work.

It really kept my interest and the characters were great!

Very nice work!

Mike

Bruce Foreman · May 8th, 2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh DiMauro

I guess my ending needed a bit of tweaking. Thank you all for taking the time to watch and be sure to check out the behind the scenes short. You can see Bruce drunk, belching and angry at me for plying him with the almonds that he feared just might constipate him the next morning!

Naw....No tweaking necessary. The title and your approach gave you tremendous leeway and I think the ending wrapped it all up just fine.

I have to echo all the things everyone else said, in one way your film had a "gritty" reality to it with just the right touch of the surreal that your actors pulled off great. It was good to see "The Rod" again and what a job all of your actors did!

I really liked it.

Bradley L Marlow · May 8th, 2007, 12:27 PM

Bravo Hugh! If it's sh#* or get of the pot, I'd say you had a major dumper!

This was an absolute joy to watch. The cinematic quality and production values were fantastic. You put a lot of thought into this piece and it shows.

I enjoyed the outtakes too. lol.

Please tell Bruce, Michael, Christopher and Brian they did an excellent job with thier roles.

Now - help a little hick from the sticks out and define the following words (as they mean in street terms): "Bac-a-la" and "Stu-gatz". :)

John Brickner Jr · May 8th, 2007, 12:45 PM

This was fantastic. I was glued to my monitor the whole time. I was alsp confused by the ending until you explained it. Such a great a film on all aspects great job!! My favorite thus far.

Anders Risvold · May 8th, 2007, 12:56 PM

That was a contest killer !

Too good production value. Take it as a compliment, but when I'll review the entries for my scoreboard, I'll consider the resources you had at hand and 'demand' surperior everything. :)

Hugh DiMauro · May 8th, 2007, 01:25 PM

Mike, thank you. The characters just made this movie. I am so proud of these guys.

Bruce, you fell into the same trap as many people: The Rod wasn’t in this movie! Many people mistake The Rod for Chris Possumato and vice versa. When these two guys sit together at a table, everybody thinks they’re brothers! Personally, I think they look nothing alike. But, that’s because I know them so well. The Rod was actually pissed he wasn't in this movie but heck, who told him to go out of town for nine days? The putz! Thanks for your kind words.

Brad, your compliments are much appreciated since I have always found your cinematography incredibly stunning. Thank you! As for Chris’s street slang Italian, Baccala is rock hard, dried salt codfish. You soak it first before you eat it. Plain and simple. Stugotz is Italian slang roughly translated to mean getting shafted, or screwed or not getting what is expected. “I get stugotz!” I get crap, I get the short end of the stick. I certainly didn’t get stugotz with this bunch. Thanks again, Brad. You looked like you had a ball in Vegas. I recognized your prop glasses from the Memories DVC theme!

John, thank you! There have been so many excellent entries thus far and I know more to come.

Anders, believe it or not, the resources were pretty simplistic. I guess when people see police cars, they think “big movie” because how often do us independents ever get to use such things? I will do my best to refrain from such use again in order to guard against exploitation. Here’s the thing: It was an easy setup because we’re all cops. I want to give credit to those guys in my movie. They seemed genuine because they’re the real deal. Bruce is our lieutenant in charge of our homicide unit. Mike is a detective in our homicide unit. Chris is a retired Atlantic City Police detective and our young, shotgun toting criminal is a second generation Atlantic City Police officer (and a saint to agree to get zipped up in a body bag! Yeah, once he slid inside we made the obligatory "pre-use" jokes). So the real challenge is to get these guys to play plumbers in my next movie. Actually, I finished writing my next movie. Chris is a bartender, Bruce is a former Eastern Airlines pilot and Mike is a real estate agent. I can’t wait to start filming.

Thank you all.

May 1st, 2007, 04:48 AM	#1
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,207	DVC8: Fictional Reality - Hugh DiMauro Feedback thread. __________________ Interesting, if true. And interesting anyway.

May 8th, 2007, 09:40 AM	#2
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	Okay, we give up, Hugh, you win...... Edit: (great acting, great scene selection, great camera work, great story,..... on and on and on....) __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

May 8th, 2007, 10:04 AM	#4
Josh Johnson Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC, USA Posts: 53	Wow, I think this was my favorite of the day, it was well done and the acting seemed good. I too expected a different ending, but overall, I liked it... __________________ Josh Johnson http://www.carolinaflicks.com

May 8th, 2007, 10:09 AM	#5
Lorinda Norton Wrangler Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southwest Idaho, USA Posts: 3,066	WHOA!…..My socks blew off at the opening scene and the awe just kept going. I totally agree with Chris—we give up! You win!!! I absolutely love the rich, big-budget look of this film. Besides that, your story is first-rate, the actors all did great in their roles—it’s just a complete package. You all should be really proud of this film. I’m going to watch it again; be back with more thoughts later. :) __________________ Lorinda

May 8th, 2007, 11:36 AM	#9
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,207	Thank You Gee Chris, thanks! Here’s my secret (at no charge): We had tons of fun making it. And that’s pretty much all it takes. Fun, enthusiasm and plenty of food for the actors. William, you summed up the premise perfectly! He continued watching as the crime was solved even though he hadn’t been at work to know the crime was solved! He had no idea what was going to transpire because he had been forced by that mean old cactus of a lieutenant to take a restful vacation. As far as the ending, well, who needs sound effects when you see the bad guy getting zipped up in a body bag? Josh, I am glad you liked it and am beginning to think that maybe I should have shown the bad guy getting plugged full of holes? I guess I didn’t want to show gratuitous violence. Lorinda, I really appreciate you seeing that “big budget” look. You know, I never had that in mind while I shot it. My “big” budget consisted of a bottle of Jack Daniels, Dole Almonds (in bulk from Sam’s Club), Bookers 124 proof small batch bourbon (I knew Bruce loved the stuff), $5.00 worth of gas to fill up our prop detective car, a sandwich tray, case of generic soda and one hard drive that my sound man accidentally knocked off Mike’s hope chest during the bedroom scene when he tripped over an extension cable.  All in all, I got off pretty cheaply. Greg, Chris the cactus stumbled over his lines more than that (if you watch the behind the scenes short you can actually see and barely hear him drop the “F” bomb during the opening scenes after he flubbed his lines. A riot!) Chris improved his character by tailoring my scripted lines to better suit his delivery style. I tend to write formally so when these jokers read my lines they came back with “I don’t talk that way! That sounds stupid! This is what I’m gonna say and how I’m gonna say it!” It worked. They had total freedom to improvise. Panasonic DVX 100b in 24pa, DV Rack and some good old, 500 watt Smith Victors with CTB gels to balance the overhead fluorescents. Ron, <<bowing low>> Your Royal Sphincterness, I always appreciate a fellow Peckinpah fan! I wish you would have told me that before I finished. I would have taken you up on the offer to end the movie that way. Although, if the filming dates stayed the same, I might have been caught in the rain that night because just after the last shot, it started raining. Brent, when you have fun on the journey, your results will surprise you just as my results had surprised me (well, not totally surprised since I used DV Rack on all interiors and knew what I was getting. But you get the idea). I guess my ending needed a bit of tweaking. Thank you all for taking the time to watch and be sure to check out the behind the scenes short. You can see Bruce drunk, belching and angry at me for plying him with the almonds that he feared just might constipate him the next morning! __________________ Interesting, if true. And interesting anyway. Last edited by Hugh DiMauro; May 8th, 2007 at 02:18 PM.

May 8th, 2007, 09:55 AM	#3
William Gardner Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 216	:) I agree with Chris. Loved the characters and the acting. Loved the camera work (especially the early shots, like the slow pan across the crime scene). Very much enjoyed the premise of the story. SPOILER ALERT: I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't understand the ending. He was put on hiatus but his fictional character helped find the killer? Was that it? Or did I miss something? I was all set up for a killer ending (no pun intended) and was confused... Great work, Hugh! Bill

May 8th, 2007, 10:23 AM	#6
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Nicely done, Hugh! I heard the one actor stumble on his lines once or twice. But other than that, it's flawless, man. Great camera work with angles, movement, and framing. Which camera? XL2? -gb-

May 8th, 2007, 10:24 AM	#7
Ronn Kilby Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Fletcher Hills, CA Posts: 211	Way kewl on all levels. I was expecting a tighter full-circle ending. When he yelled "gun" I thought it would go into a Sam Pekinpah slo-mo blood bath :) Glad they finally got to light their see-gars in the end - a la "Independence Day." Kudos.

May 8th, 2007, 10:52 AM	#8
Brent Graham Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 222	Hugh, Very impressive production value. I'm inspired to achieve this quality (some day). I like the concept. Really entertaining, kept we wanting to know what was going to happen to him. The ending felt odd though. But overall, nice.

May 8th, 2007, 12:21 PM	#10
Mike Horrigan Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ottawa Canada Posts: 755	LOVED IT!! The ending was too abrupt and kind of caught me off guard, but overall this was a VERY strong piece of work. It really kept my interest and the characters were great! Very nice work! Mike __________________ My short films... The Interview & Calls From The Führerbunker

May 8th, 2007, 12:27 PM	#12
Bradley L Marlow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Central Wyoming Posts: 484	Hi Hugh! Bravo Hugh! If it's sh#* or get of the pot, I'd say you had a major dumper! This was an absolute joy to watch. The cinematic quality and production values were fantastic. You put a lot of thought into this piece and it shows. I enjoyed the outtakes too. lol. Please tell Bruce, Michael, Christopher and Brian they did an excellent job with thier roles. Now - help a little hick from the sticks out and define the following words (as they mean in street terms): "Bac-a-la" and "Stu-gatz". :) __________________ Best wishes~ Bradley

May 8th, 2007, 12:45 PM	#13
John Brickner Jr Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tiffin, Ohio Posts: 77	This was fantastic. I was glued to my monitor the whole time. I was alsp confused by the ending until you explained it. Such a great a film on all aspects great job!! My favorite thus far.

May 8th, 2007, 12:56 PM	#14
Anders Risvold Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 72	wow That was a contest killer ! Too good production value. Take it as a compliment, but when I'll review the entries for my scoreboard, I'll consider the resources you had at hand and 'demand' surperior everything. :)

May 8th, 2007, 01:25 PM	#15
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,207	Mike, thank you. The characters just made this movie. I am so proud of these guys. Bruce, you fell into the same trap as many people: The Rod wasn’t in this movie! Many people mistake The Rod for Chris Possumato and vice versa. When these two guys sit together at a table, everybody thinks they’re brothers! Personally, I think they look nothing alike. But, that’s because I know them so well. The Rod was actually pissed he wasn't in this movie but heck, who told him to go out of town for nine days? The putz! Thanks for your kind words. Brad, your compliments are much appreciated since I have always found your cinematography incredibly stunning. Thank you! As for Chris’s street slang Italian, Baccala is rock hard, dried salt codfish. You soak it first before you eat it. Plain and simple. Stugotz is Italian slang roughly translated to mean getting shafted, or screwed or not getting what is expected. “I get stugotz!” I get crap, I get the short end of the stick. I certainly didn’t get stugotz with this bunch. Thanks again, Brad. You looked like you had a ball in Vegas. I recognized your prop glasses from the Memories DVC theme! John, thank you! There have been so many excellent entries thus far and I know more to come. Anders, believe it or not, the resources were pretty simplistic. I guess when people see police cars, they think “big movie” because how often do us independents ever get to use such things? I will do my best to refrain from such use again in order to guard against exploitation. Here’s the thing: It was an easy setup because we’re all cops. I want to give credit to those guys in my movie. They seemed genuine because they’re the real deal. Bruce is our lieutenant in charge of our homicide unit. Mike is a detective in our homicide unit. Chris is a retired Atlantic City Police detective and our young, shotgun toting criminal is a second generation Atlantic City Police officer (and a saint to agree to get zipped up in a body bag! Yeah, once he slid inside we made the obligatory "pre-use" jokes). So the real challenge is to get these guys to play plumbers in my next movie. Actually, I finished writing my next movie. Chris is a bartender, Bruce is a former Eastern Airlines pilot and Mike is a real estate agent. I can’t wait to start filming. Thank you all. __________________ Interesting, if true. And interesting anyway.