HD Shorts 3 Public Voting

[koolpenguin89]

The time for voting is here! All 9 of our entries are prepped and ready to go, so let the voting begin.

To vote, you must watch every film that is on the HD Short 3 channel in its entirety on Vimeo. If your computer cannot handle HD, then you may watch it in SD, but you must watch all of the films in SD. After viewing every film, you can vote for your favorite*.

*To vote for HD Short Shorts, you must have 10 or more posts in the HV20/30 forums and be a member for at least 2 weeks.[/U][/U]

Thats it. Enjoy the films, and good luck to the contestants.

http://vimeo.com/channels/hdshorts3

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Title: No Girls Allowed
Entered by: Tiny aka Carson Kuehne
Equipment Description: Barebones HV20
Production Description: CampyFilms

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Title:Sleight Of Time
Entered by: Jashan17
Equipment Description: Velbon DV 7000, Jag 35 Static adapter, Canon HV20, DIY Dolly, Canon 50mm 1.8 FD Lense, Rode Videomic.
Production Description: Filmed in one day, edited in around 6 hours. Edited on Sony Vegas 8 and Adobe After Effects CS4. Graded with Magic Bullet. Directed and Written by Bhaveek Makan, Edited and Produced by Jashan Makan.

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Title: Inevitable
Entered by: Stray Dog Pictures
Equipment Description: Bare HV20, Bogen/Manfrotto 316 tripod for one shot, $30 tripod
Production Description: Shot and edited in 10 hours

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Title: Thirteen
Entered by: derkoi
Equipment Description: HV30 - Standard lens. JVC Mic, Car Camera Mount, Velbon Tripod.
Production Description: Filmed over a weekend & edited on FCP, graded with Apple Color, visual effects done in Lightwave, compositing in After Effects

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Title: Safegaurd
Entered By: Sector 8 Films
Equipment Description: Stock HV 30, no modifications
Production Description: Edited on Sony Vegas 8 Platinum.

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Title: The Last Burrito
Entered by: Conrad Faraj (conradstudios)
Equipment Description: Canon HV30, Sony Vegas 8.0 Platinum, Adobe After Effects, Ewa Marine Underwater Housing.
Production Description: Shot and cut in 2 days.

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Title: Freq:
Entered by: John Lewis (ajuk)

Equipment Description: Canon HV30, Libec LS38 Tripod, Home-built 35mm lens adaptor, 28-70mm lens and 200mm lens.

Production Description: This is the first short film I have made in over a decade, I've been planning to get back into filmmaking for years and this competition gave me just the focus I needed to finally get on with it.

The film was planned around the song, which really seemed to need both a highway and some kind of radio focus, so I researched how real-life radio signals are tracked using triangulation and then created a suitable prop triangulation device from an old TV ariel and the shouldermounted vcr from my old vhs camera.

The shoot was a simple one day shoot, and is the first time I have used my newly built 35mm adaptor for-real, which proved very tricky in the field, but the resulting footage turned out well.

The shoot was followed by two days of editing and effects, edited on Premiere Pro 2 and effects created in After Effects 5.5.

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Title: Make Rain
Entered by: Jeshy
Equipment Description: HV20 and a cheap wide angle lens. crappy tripod, hardware store lights, and thats about it.
Production Description: we wrote lyrics for the music track and shot a music video in about 2 days and edited in a couple days in Final Cut. all filmed in my buddies yard and house.

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Title: RePair
Entered by: Chicken Warrior
Equipment Description: Stock HV20, Steadicam 4000 on some shots.
Production Description: It's just a matter of time. RePair is an experimental short about time, order, and human influence.

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http://vimeo.com/channels/hdshorts3

[jeshy]

some people had some good shots

[conradstudios]

Everyone did a fantastic job! :hv20-smilie72:

[tiny]

Really enjoyed the burrito one. Funny stuff. The music video was pretty good too. Good job everyone!

[designbydave]

Really great job everyone! It was really fun to watch how others were able to work the song in.

I think 9 entries is pretty good, especially considering the quality of each film. It's going to be hard to pick one to vote for!

[Lightloch]

Nice efforts on everyone's part. Kudos for getting out there to shoot!

FWIW, for my personal vote I narrowed it down to about four of the entries, but in the end I decided that "Freq:" made the best usage of the song (in my opinion), and I enjoyed the shots/scenes/context/story.

One or two of the entries didn't use the song very much at all, and even though some allowance was made for this, I think they might have stretched that provision just a little too much.

[derkoi]

Some good entries there. :)

Backwards seems to be a strong theme. Weird.

[koolpenguin89]

I don't know if some of you guys are telling your friends to register and vote, or if your trying to cheat and register new usernames yourself to vote with, but it doesn't matter, because you must have 10 or more posts on the forums to vote for the contest. Please don't try to cheat, guys. I can track your ip addresses, and easily find out.

Dylan

[derkoi]

Just watch out for new members posting alot in the next few days. lol

I'm assuming those who entered the competition cannot vote right?

[drapeama]

Definitively, THIRTEEN is the best to me. Derkoi, you're the man!:hv20-smilie77:

[derkoi]

Definitively, THIRTEEN is the best to me. Derkoi, you're the man!:hv20-smilie77:

Oh wow, thanks for that! :hv20-smilie84:

Nice signature btw.

[drapeama]

"Give Caesar What Belongs To Caesar"!
Btw, James Cameron's quote is really the one that inspired me to make movies...or at least try to!

[derkoi]

"Give Caesar What Belongs To Caesar"!
Btw, James Cameron's quote is really the one that inspired me to make movies...or at least try to!

Cool! Well that quote has a lot of truth to it. :hv20-smilie03:

[AJUK]

Great to see such a variety of different takes on the same song. Good job everyone! :)

Some really interesting work being entered, and great to see some really experimental editing going on, as well as some Peter Sellers style multiple role casting!




I'm assuming those who entered the competition cannot vote right?

Makes sense for this to be the case. Otherwise I guess a lot of folks would simply vote for their own entries?

[Snazzy Flapper]

Thirteen was head and shoulders better than the others. Higher production quality. Great settings. Great audio.

Hats off!

[derkoi]

Thirteen was head and shoulders better than the others. Higher production quality. Great settings. Great audio.

Hats off!

Thanks, i really appreciate all your positive comments. :hv20-smilie77:

[koolpenguin89]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough before, so let me reiterate. DO NOT vote unless you have 10 or more posts. DO NOT create an account and make 10 posts in the footage section so that you can vote. It is difficult for me to keep changing to number of votes in the poll, and i can't even delete the names of the people that voted illegally, just their vote count. Seeing as so many people are trying to cheat, if this continues, i will have no choice other than to close down this thread and let only the judges vote. I hope i make myself clear.

Oh, and new rule. You have to have been a member for 2 weeks to vote. I swear, its like dealing with small children who don't want to follow the rules.

Dylan

[1]

GREAT entries, some of them! Wow. One in particular I like the best. Stands out IMHO.

Cheating: that's really low. I see some have made separate accounts; I'll probably start banning people soon, if this continues, or if I start to feel like it.
That's really low! Stop it right now!

But kudos to all honest contest entrants; you did one heck of job!

[derkoi]

Yikes, this is getting quite bad. People must feel they did a bad job with their video. :hv20-smilie51:

[jashan17]

Can you vote on your own? lol :)

EDIT: So how does this work, the judges vote is 50% and public's' vote is 50%?

[dWyZaK]

**** yeah, looking forward to watching these once the sun goes down.

[mrblofish]

have watched all....lotta good work done and submitted....

[Mr. Mingo]

People are cheating? That's not cool at all. Cheaters should be automatically disqualified due to lack of character.

[derkoi]

Yeah, it's a sad fact of life that those who don't possess enough skill, cheat.

I don't understand how cheating at a competition like this can feel rewarding.

[mrblofish]

Yeah, it's a sad fact of life that those who don't possess enough skill, cheat.

I don't understand how cheating at a competition like this can feel rewarding.


there are loads of people with skill who cheat....I don't understand the SUPRISE...there are examples all around us...here in the states we have a skilled politician a southern conservative republican Governor...with a liberal penis.... this past Olympics that were held in China...everyday there was a story in the news about how some of the very skilled female gymnasts weren't the correct age.....and can anyone say Marion Jones...how about Flloyd Landys.....also in the states...MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL....STERIODS...lotta SKILLED players were " " cheating...some even showed how far they would take the LIE and under oath before the U S Congress LIED and it was filmed and recorded...whats that blind member of Parliment with the wife and the mistress both more attractive than Camilla Parker Bowles ???..Blunket???/

lol....come on

[derkoi]

there are loads of people with skill who cheat....I don't understand the SUPRISE...there are examples all around us...here in the states we have a skilled politician a southern conservative republican Governor...with a liberal penis.... this past Olympics that were held in China...everyday there was a story in the news about how some of the very skilled female gymnasts weren't the correct age.....and can anyone say Marion Jones...how about Flloyd Landys.....also in the states...MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL....STERIODS...lotta SKILLED players were " " cheating...some even showed how far they would take the LIE and under oath before the U S Congress LIED and it was filmed and recorded...whats that blind member of Parliment with the wife and the mistress both more attractive than Camilla Parker Bowles ???..Blunket???/

lol....come on

Nah, it's no surprise.

However i feel those who cheat doubt themselves. Else they wouldn't feel the need to cheat.

[mrblofish]

Nah, it's no surprise.

However i feel those who cheat doubt themselves. Else they wouldn't feel the need to cheat.


so which is it you never doubt yourself....

or you never cheat???

[derkoi]

so which is it you never doubt yourself....

or you never cheat???

I don't cheat at competitions, and i don't doubt myself when i enter them, either i win or i don't.

If i doubted myself i wouldn't enter. :hv20-smilie03:

[Mr. Mingo]

Nice job Derkoi! Are you sure that was just the bare hv30 you were working with?:hv20-smilie87: You made it work really well here, good variety of shots.

[mrblofish]

I don't cheat at competitions, and i don't doubt myself when i enter them, either i win or i don't.

If i doubted myself i wouldn't enter. :hv20-smilie03:

I doubt myself everyday.....on many different things...usually I work through it... I don't participate in or condone cheating....yet I'm not suprised.... enjoyed your short...well done... I appreciate the attention to detail as well as the effort...

thanks for the inspiration

[derkoi]

Nice job Derkoi! Are you sure that was just the bare hv30 you were working with?:hv20-smilie87: You made it work really well here, good variety of shots.

Thanks!!

Yeah just the bare HV30, my JAG35ST arrived after i'd completed filming. :hv20-smilie119:

I found the HV30's small size helpful in getting the shots i needed, this was my first film with the HV30 having previously owned a DVX100 and an XL1 before that.

[derkoi]

I doubt myself everyday.....on many different things...usually I work through it... I don't participate in or condone cheating....yet I'm not suprised.... enjoyed your short...well done... I appreciate the attention to detail as well as the effort...

thanks for the inspiration


Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, that's the main thing & i'm glad to hear it has inspired you too. :) As a film maker i can't ask for much more than that.

[1]

BTW, was a shot from inside the fridge a necessary requirement I missed in the rules?

:)

[derkoi]

BTW, was a shot from inside the fridge a necessary requirement I missed in the rules?

:)

Haha, yeah. I noticed that happened in a few of the films.

I think it's due to the cameras size allowing for that. :hv20-smilie87:

[koolpenguin89]

A note to all users: Conradstudios had been disqualified for advertising his film and then lying to me about it. Let this be a lesson to all the other entrants, i want this to be a fair contest, no cheating, no lying.

Dylan

[Chicken Warrior]

Unfortunately my computer is throwing a lot of stutter at these shorts, but they still look great. Maybe in the future someone could produce an HD Shorts DVD compilation via CreateSpace. How cool would that be? Maybe give us some cred on IMDB?

Because I like to leave things till the last minute (and am indecisive) when does voting end? [Just realized this question is probably answered on the main contest page].

[koolpenguin89]

the 9th.

Dylan

[tiny]

haha - The one I voted for was removed. I was wondering why it wanted me to vote again. I guess my vote now goes to Make It Rain. :P

[dWyZaK]

I really enjoyed watching all of these and i'm so impressed by the overall quality, congratulations to all who made the time & effort of entering, you all deserve a real good pat on the back.

My faves were -

'Safeguard' was outstanding, this cat has so much potential, probably the best piece in terms of interesting and well delivered story for me. Only let down by technical limitations and dodgy acting.

'13' had some great pacing and clean cinematography, suffers from the song inclusion seeming an afterthought.

FreQ:' had by far the best use of 'the song' in terms of a short, and was the best interpretation of the music. Let down by its poorly rendered final image and some erratic editing.

My pick is -
'Make it rain' - in a short contest that has a guide, this one fulfilled every requirement asked of it. Great effort, great interpretation of the song, it was my fave.

[koolpenguin89]

If it weren't for people like you, new rules wouldn't have to be made. Im gonna edit your post, but only to remove the curse words.

Dylan

[HueyNRolf]

Great work... well done everyone.

If I were objective about this I guess 'make it rain' should win, but I allowed my taste to influence my vote. So for me it came down to 'Inevitable' and 'thirteen' both of which I gave a second viewing. I damn near clicked in 'thirteen'... man that shot of the 747 is fantastic! But I have to say that 'Inevitable' pulls ahead with its clean pacing and ironic story.

[drapeama]

Well, whatever conradstudios likes it or not, there's a way to tell his frustration...anyway.
Again, i didn't change my mind, Derkoi you're the man!

[Video Frank]

First off, thanks to Dylan for your hard work putting this together. One of these times I'm going to work up the nerve. Secondly, you all did a great job & it takes something to hang it out there.

Having said that, I really like three of them in particular. I'm going to mull it over before I decide. It's pretty cool what can come from an internet forum, a modest camera & people's hard work.

[derkoi]

Again, i didn't change my mind, Derkoi you're the man!

Thanks dude.

[Knghtmre]

Hey guys, (I typed too much, it's in 2 parts)
Before you feel deterred to stop reading someone who has 1 post (which is the post for this), I wanted to let you know that I am interested in film and I wanted to give my opinion. So be glad that I decided this was important enough to make an account :)
I stumbled across this contest when it still had 3 votes. I watched all the videoes twice now, just to see who I personally thought should win. I obviously can't vote, but I wanted to give my input - most of the time I view my own opinion as fairly critical. I also view the films as how a judge would view a film. Criteria in mind, cinematography, plot, hilarity level, acting, etc.
And since I can't make a vote, I'm going to put a rating to each video. Hope no one takes it personally, although I do wish other voters would check out how I think to maybe gear how they would rate these films as well.
So here goes.

No girls allowed -
I thought this was hilarious. Full usage of the song, perfect. Made me laugh, perfect. Filmed fairly well with a couple of good shots that defines the camera - water had really good detail in it. Acting was good, not much of a part besides playing in water seductively, but that's okay. Although the song was short, I thought it could have been expanded a bit more as a storyline - which is usually crucial in these type of contests - so besides the pluses I 'gave' I took this film with a grain of salt.
5.3/10

Sleight of Time -
I had to watch this one twice to get the full detail/understanding and this short popped out for me! And by the end of the 2nd viewing, I loved it. The song was used fully, and in a way it was revolved around it, with the mysteriousness of the song - perfect. Cinematography was great, had a variety of shots to help define and emphasize the camera. It also had really vibrant colors so that's always a good way to keep attention. Good focusing concepts with the ducks. The banana made me laugh - both the times I watched it. And the plot. Like I said, I had to watch it twice in order to completely comprehend it - but who watches matrix once and said they fully understand it. Although the motive of the thief was questionable, and why he has to do such things was weird, it was incorporated well with the music and the sequence of events. The plot also had the rare aspect in film that made you go, 'OH' after realization at the end. It was a short concept, but it was really well executed. Acting was well done - didn't make me think of the actors as actors, but of characters. Well done overall and it had a variety of what a short film should have. So with that alone, I would rate it higher because it's well rounded.
7.2/10

Inevitable -
I liked this one as well. The song was fully used - perfect. Cinmetography was well done - a bunch of shots that show the detail in the camera. The plot was really well executed but the idea reminded me that it had been done before, which most likely would've been true. With the whole reversal to change fate, but in the end, it still occurs. Besides that, I like the waterbottle concept. Didn't make me laugh til the end with the car, but that's still good. Acting was good - made me thinking about the concept of a "monologue" but in actions, which drew attention away from the story. But that's most likely my own mind wandering - still wanted to note it though. Overall well done.
7.0/10

Thirteen -
Alright, first I would like to point out how I look at most films as an eye from a director/producer. So with that in mind - here goes. Criteria - was not entirely met. The idea of merely using the song as a song from the radio kind of lost it for me after watching the first, 3 other films. I really like the concept of bringing in creativity to film in order to see what perspective some people can come up with. (Although that made me take off some points for this film - I'm not trying to be condescending) Besides that - cinematography. It was cool to see some of the camera placements you had. Such as the one outside of the car while you're driving, and the one outside the window with the reflections. Although it drew attention to where you actually put the camera, it sort of helps show off the camera. Plot - I didn't like this one as much as the others. I don't know why, sorry. It just seems sort of blotchy to see a guy driving, coming home, and getting visions of committing suicide. It's fathomable, but it made me draw attention to why he's doing it. And I may have not had the full functions of my brain, but how did the concept of '13' tie into this? Unlucky day - it was hard to connect? I like the ending where the female drank his drink though! Hilarity - I didn't note much with that. Acting was alright. I didn't pay attention to the credits, but it was the director/filmaker who made it right? I would suggest finding other people next time to help you. I had full attention to how I would have acted it, and there seemed to be an emphasis on trying not to look at the camera - sorry, nothing personal. Although I sound harsh with this, I simply view your film with everything in mind - and I'm judging it critically.
6.8/10

Safeguard - Sorry to the filmmaker, but I have to be blunt and I didn't like your film very much. I lost attention very quickly, and I sort of didn't absorb the full potential of what it could have been. Criteria was met decently well. Although the first thing in film, especially one with a plot such as yours, is that every scene should have a purpose towards the climax. When I first saw your film, the first thing I thought was that you used the car scene as a filler for the song. Which was almost right. You did use it later, but it -felt- stretched. Cinematography was your best aspect I think. But cinematography can also be learned - keep that in mind. Had a few good shots, I liked the pill bottle dropping especially. Plot - it was a very good IDEA. But I think your execution was a bit poor. How I saw your film was more of a documentary, with a really bland voiceover. I'm sure it was your, own so take no offence, but it made me lose my attention span. I know you or your writer also wrote the script for the voiceover. It sounded too poetic in context with the film so it didn't match very well coupled with your voice and my sense of attention. Hilarity - I laughed one short burst when the reporter said "murder" for you. Not enough for the entire film, but worth noting. Acting - You wouldn't necessarily pass as an actor. Actions were done alright, but nothing critical to judge. Your voice still haunts me though, which isn't a good thing. Overall it was alright. It has very good potential, I'll give you that. I think you just need a better actor/voice/scene revision in order to 'win' - sorry.
6.2/10

Continued.

[Knghtmre]

Freq-
This film was - alright. Criteria was probably the best met with this film. Mainly because you did your research and you understood the idea of the using the song part. Although with the level of creativity - comes a consequence, because if everybody had followed it, they would've been all the same. That is what brought you down in my books. And it's closely tied to the plot which I'll get into in a second. Cinematography - was pretty awesome, had lots of wonderful shots. I don't see many shots made out the window of a car, but it was done pretty well. Stick shifting was awesome, made my day for some reason. Your edits for your laptop were fairly good, although I would've liked more matrix looking like stuff on it to make it look like he was important. Plot - it was alright. Definitely meets the criteria, but the general concept seemed almost bland to me. I think it was mainly the characterization and buildup. We understood what you were doing the whole time, and even though there was a 'twist' at the end, there wasn't much to relate it to. I didn't care too much that he lost it was all. Might I suggest that - since you wanted to use the triangulation method, which was part of your research, was that you used a passage of time during your travels. And emphasize why it was important to him. There was essentially no climax. It had potential though.
Hilarity - wasn't the type of film to be funny, so I can exclude that. Acting - was generally well done. Didn't have to say anything so that's always for the better right? I liked how you also hand made your equipment. Generally - the film was well done. I didn't think the vision was very well executed which definitely took it's toll but your technical work was definitely good. I just think your deficits overcede your benefits.
6.7/10

Make it Rain -
For the 'Make it Rain' fans.. sorry to criticize, it's just how I see it. First of all, I didn't really expect a music video. This was supposed to be a film competition? I was really expecting more of shorts films. But with that in mind, I'll rate it with music video-ness in mind - which is a bad thing. Criteria, definitely met, you see them base the whole thing around the BEAT of the music. Which isn't really what I had "creativity" in mind, but that's okay I guess. Cinematography - shots were generally well done. They were mostly clean and well paced and good usage of green screen BUT in the context of a the music video point of view, it was very bland. Music videos are supposed to play more with vibrant moving angles in order to fully accept the upbeat of the atmosphere. But most of your shots were just medium shots. Didn't fit the style as much as it could have been. Plot - obviously, no real plot, reason being that it was a music video. So is it really compatible to be judged as a short film? I was sort of disappointed - sorry. I can't even judge it well because of it's genre. Hilarity - It was okay. Not particularly funny. The lyrics could have made it funny, but it was just a normal music video about money. The singing was pretty horrid - from a Simon Cowell POV. And that would be a major deterrent since your main concept was a music video. The female dancer was not bad - I would cast her in my films. Like I said, I don't think it would've contested well in a contest of my own since it wasn't necessarily a short film. But I guess there are no rules to that, and I may just be biased. Although I'm quite surprised and appalled in a way, that the majority of the votes go to you guys. Kudoz on that alone.
5.0/10

RePair -
I personally like this film. It was well done and made me think of "why the hell is the dog the only thing that's normal" and "how did they manage to make that work?" That just grabbed my attention alone. I'm also surprised that this has no votes at all. What are our voters really looking at? Criteria was definitely met, although it was revolved around the song, it was the song for the movie. Cinematography was very similar to Sleight of Time in more than one way. The vibrant colors were good, and SHOULD be noted. And you guys had some really "beautiful" shots in a photographic POV - The only thing which was your downfall was that you didn't have the "film" aspect, such as transitioning shots. Some editting between the two different people may have been better - maybe even a simple dissolve would have linked them better? Plot - it was alright. I like the concept of how your name ties in dramatically with your film. With the Repairing of what you took, and the concept of having the "pair" of people. I personally think you could've expanded it though - such as WHY are you guys repairing and why are you doing it in pairs? I know it's a short film based on the song, but nonethless it creates characterization and develops plot. Hilarity - I can exclude that in this sense, although it's always good in a film. Acting - was alright, nothing special since there was no talking / characters. I would cast the female. :)
6.9/10


One thing I want to note about the all the films together. Is that in my mind I basically divided all of them into genres. One was of basing their story on the song itself, so that it revolves around it. One was of having their story, and incorporating the song, and one was of music video.. And Freq had probably the perfect mixture of the 2 earlier genres. With this in mind I can also see that we had a theme of "reverse-ness" most likely influenced by the sample video, and the weirdness of the song. I would definitely like to note that Sleight of Time had a really good utilization on the reverse time aspect and even though the main plot was questionable, the final concept of using the time as portraying the sequence of events that led up to the storyline climax was very well done. And is definitely amendable.

As everyone can see. I barely rated higher than an average of a 6.5 or so. With reason of course. There can always have room to improve and I can see definitely see how I would approach each and every one of these films. Not being biased towards any film, I rated Sleight of time the highest at a 7.2 because I personally see the potential it created and how well rounded it was. Criteria was met, cinemtography was vibrant and appealing, Plot had potential and was able to provoke thought, hilarity was present, acting was not eye-catching, but also didn't need analyzing.

I really want to say that everyone should keep in mind of what the contest was for - utilizing the song as a way to provoke creativity in film making. And that it should be almost the top priority in this sort of a contest - not just as "something spontaneous"

Alright so there you have it. A really analytical criticism from me. I hope that everyone takes my opinion to heart in order to develop their own skills as a filmmaker. I also hope that the judges can read my reviews in an open minded way, but for it to be taken seriously. I'm not in any way a "filmmaker" per say, but I definitely like to help out the process.

Aro

[AJUK]

Those sleepless nights for this contest were basically meaningless now

Wow. That makes no sense at all. The sleepless nights were meaningless because you can't round up your buddies to vote for you?

If it's "meaningless" to do something unless you can win, then life is going to be a long uphill struggle for you my friend.

Personally I'm just glad I got out and actually made something at last, it so easy to keep on putting it off. I definitely got a whole load of learning from this competition, especially on the codec side of things, and the various problems of actually getting anything longer than 20seconds up on Vimeo at all!!! :)

I know my next short is going to be even better Conrad, and as you posted a bunch of times about the issues you had with your colorist, effects guy and codec problems, it sounds like you got plenty of learning out of this competition too. Of course, if that's "meaningless" then maybe the lessons won't be learned.

Thanks to everyone who voted for my entry. Glad you enjoyed it! Best of luck to everyone in the competition, it'll be interesting to see how the voting turns out. :)

[derkoi]

Thirteen -
Alright, first I would like to point out how I look at most films as an eye from a director/producer. So with that in mind - here goes. Criteria - was not entirely met. The idea of merely using the song as a song from the radio kind of lost it for me after watching the first, 3 other films. I really like the concept of bringing in creativity to film in order to see what perspective some people can come up with. (Although that made me take off some points for this film - I'm not trying to be condescending) Besides that - cinematography. It was cool to see some of the camera placements you had. Such as the one outside of the car while you're driving, and the one outside the window with the reflections. Although it drew attention to where you actually put the camera, it sort of helps show off the camera. Plot - I didn't like this one as much as the others. I don't know why, sorry. It just seems sort of blotchy to see a guy driving, coming home, and getting visions of committing suicide. It's fathomable, but it made me draw attention to why he's doing it. And I may have not had the full functions of my brain, but how did the concept of '13' tie into this? Unlucky day - it was hard to connect? I like the ending where the female drank his drink though! Hilarity - I didn't note much with that. Acting was alright. I didn't pay attention to the credits, but it was the director/filmaker who made it right? I would suggest finding other people next time to help you. I had full attention to how I would have acted it, and there seemed to be an emphasis on trying not to look at the camera - sorry, nothing personal. Although I sound harsh with this, I simply view your film with everything in mind - and I'm judging it critically.
6.8/10

Can't please everyone. Either you get the film or you don't i guess. Maybe it's a British thing. :hv20-smilie51:

[Knghtmre]

Can't please everyone. Either you get the film or you don't i guess. Maybe it's a British thing. :hv20-smilie51:

I'm actually fairly curious, can you provide a synopsis - or short explanation for the title, etc?

Sorry if I sounded harsh like I said. I think you took risks to attempt artistic moves. Which is always a good thing. But risks are risks.

--May that also be one thing I can suggest to the people who run the contest. If it's mandatory for all contestants to submit a synopsis in order for readers who may be from a different country to understand 'certain concepts' per say.

[derkoi]

I don't think i can provide a synopsis here dude. I think it'd be against the rules.

I think it's unfair to say i didn't properly meet the criteria of the competition. The rules stated you can use the song any way you see fit as long as the film was made to propper include the song. "The Song" is the songs title and it was on the CD that was placed in the CD player & it was also on the CD players text display. When i think about it you wouldn't know the music in the film we had to use is known only as "The Song".

[Knghtmre]

Yeah, I saw the title of the song the first time I watched it. I was actually anticipating it when it showed the CD player since everyone had to utilize the song. That part was subtle but distinct so it was done very well. I also liked the concept of using the volume for the title. I rarely see that sort of a style - so kudoz to that. What I didn't know was if it had tied into the story at all. I would love to see the/a connection if there was one. Maybe after the competition you can reiterate some fine points for me. I always like to come to a realization of what I watch as a short film.

Is it against the rules to provide a synopsis? I didn't know - and I don't know why it would be. But if that's the case, then it's alright. I apologize for any ill sounding intentions because I do appreciate watching your film. I hope you see that, Derkoi. I'm just a pessimist so I look for the bad in things.

[derkoi]

Yeah, i understand that you are giving honest criticism & that's always welcome, good or bad.

I don't know for sure whether it's breaking the rules, but i'll wait until after the competition just in case.

There is a point to the title & i knew when i made the film it needed more to actually get across but i ran out of time.

Thanks for your input.

[HueyNRolf]

I tracked down 'the last burrito' on Vimeo. Wow, what a horror show... Nothing worse than a failed attempt at comedy and the sound is woeful.

I stick with my vote (invertible).

[mrblofish]

Great work... well done everyone.

If I were objective about this I guess 'make it rain' should win, but I allowed my taste to influence my vote. So for me it came down to 'Inevitable' and 'thirteen' both of which I gave a second viewing. I damn near clicked in 'thirteen'... man that shot of the 747 is fantastic! But I have to say that 'Inevitable' pulls ahead with its clean pacing and ironic story.

I agree in that...those are the two I ended with as well....

"no girls allowed" hilarious.... "this song is so GAY"....LMAO.....

"repair" I enjoyed because it confused me.....

"make it rain" nice music video....

"frequency" wish I hadn't read the description before I saw the short...

[tiny]

I'm glad you guys found the homoerotic "No Girls Allowed" funny - Hope everyone watched it through to the twist of an end. :D

[jeshy]

hey thanks for those of you that liked make it rain and sorry to dissappoint those of you that didnt like it. i just want to say that first of all this is our first video ever for the hv20 and we just started getting into this stuff so we are kinda new at this. secondly, we spent 3 weeks straight planning and writing a script and even shooting an entire scene that had a complete story and was creative and all but about 4 days before the deadline we decided to scrap all of it and make a music video. we didnt want to risk it and possibly not finish on time so we only had 1 day to plan our new video. but we had fun making it.

p.s.
thats too bad about conradstudios... it really would suck to put so much effort into something like tis then get disqualified. :(

[jay89]

"Inevitable" did a great job on lighting and camera work. i liked the lowlight shots in the beginning.
Oh and besides that the story was amazing.
I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10.
Great Job on all the other shorts aswell!

[leepback]

I also view the films as how a judge would view a film. Criteria in mind, cinematography, plot, hilarity level, acting, etc.


I hope the entrants appreciate the time taken by you to review their films in detail, even if many may not agree exactly with what your saying it is always good to get audience feedback.

I am not personally involved but I do find it interesting that your list of judging criteria contains "hilarity level". This seems to me to perfectly sum up the way most people watch these films and judge them. They want laughs. Comedy is king.

Sadly an OK funny film will beat a brilliant non-funny film 9 out of ten times. Seems like you're swimming uphill if you enter anything other than comedy in most contests.

[jashan17]

I hope the entrants appreciate the time taken by you to review their films in detail, even if many may not agree exactly with what your saying it is always good to get audience feedback.

I am not personally involved but I do find it interesting that your list of judging criteria contains "hilarity level". This seems to me to perfectly sum up the way most people watch these films and judge them. They want laughs. Comedy is king.

Sadly an OK funny film will beat a brilliant non-funny film 9 out of ten times. Seems like you're swimming uphill if you enter anything other than comedy in most contests.

I agree that viewers must be more critical of the films and not just vote for them based on the hilarity level. It should be based on cinematography, story, art, sound and many other factors rather than just hilarity level.

[Knghtmre]

Ah. It's good you understand my viewpoint on the matter, leepback. But I do want to reiterate why I chose that category.

I didn't think I needed to elaborate my motive on adding humor to the list of what I judge.. In fact, it really shouldn't be a category by itself, but it comes with good reason.

As any of you may notice - when I judged, if it was a film that did not need any humor, such as a drama or thriller in this case, then I said that I excluded the category. Whereas I still left it in for the rest of the videoes.
Reason being is that alot of independent films, especially really horrible ones on youtube, require the "stupid" humor that most people would find funny and rate it high. I on the other hand, really despise this view on film. Stupid humor is really for the 12 year old boys who have short attention spans. And since there are so many of those out there today, I wanted to make note of any "unhumorous" shorts that I saw (which there really was none; a good thing)
My motive was to call on the unnecessary humor which may have been present -by rating it with a "crappy humor"
I did not by any means view comedy as the only type of genre that a film should have in order to win.

For example, I'll use conradstudio's short film. He had some funny moments, but I found the idea of the burito, sort of unappealing. This to me would've been un-humorous - where I would've focussed on the "hilarity level" category. If there wasn't that category, I couldn't necessary focus on the story because they were just trying to create the "stupid humor" that many people find appealing. No offense.

Basically - I just wanted to make it easier to portray how I viewed things, which by no means, are limited to the categories I created. Hence the exclusion of the category for certain films.

--- It's also good to hear some people take the time to read my "review"

[1]

I deleted certain posts that complain about my changing of conrad's avatar, and all the follow-up messages.

Now back to your regular scheduled competition...

[leepback]

Great work everyone.

I've finally watched them all but haven't yet voted.
Can't make up my mind because there's a number of them I'd like to vote for.
Will have to watch them again and make a tough decision.

[HueyNRolf]

Careful, Leepback.

The Song can get lodged in your head, difficult to purge.

[Knghtmre]

Careful, Leepback.

The Song can get lodged in your head, difficult to purge.

I second this notion.

[Lc001]

song is killer :)

i liked all movies, nice works...
if i could i should vote for make it rain :) funny one.. made me smile a lot :hv20-smilie81:

[jeshy]

song is killer :)

i liked all movies, nice works...
if i could i should vote for make it rain :) funny one.. made me smile a lot :hv20-smilie81:

yayyy!! im so glad you liked it. it feels better to know that it made you smile than to know i have your vote.

[JohnnyDiamond]

Well, I may not have more than 10 posts, but I have been a member since the HV20 came about. Sorry I missed that part.

That said, I really enjoyed "No Girls Allowed", but visually, it was "Freq" that I went with. "Make it Rain" did nothing for me artistically, and even tho there was no dialogue in "Freq", it told the best story. The elements just seemed to work.

Good work all!

Edit: I have 22 posts! ha-

[Ian-T]

LOL...there's more drama in this thread than in ANY of the shorts. I vote for this thread...LOl

ANyways I have to say that I enjoyed everyone's input....seriously!! My personal favorite was "Inevitable." I thought everything was well done, well acted, looked good...adn it made me laugh even before the climactic ending (it was the new water bottle). But this was a tough decision...Thirteen, No Girls Allowed, Make it rain..etc.. They were all good. I feel stupid for not entering.,...again.

[StrayDogPictures]

Sorry for being late to the commenting party, been away.

Thanks to HueyNRolf, Knghtmare, mrblofish, jay89, and Ian-T for the support and feedback. Glad you all liked it.

sorry for being late to the commenting party but I just got back from a holiday so that being said.

Thanks to everyone for checking out the videos and I enjoy getting feedback on "Inevitable"

Good or bad it's always helpful to hear what people have to say, good to gain some perspective.

Kudos to everyone else for their shorts, good stuff.

just realized I kinda doubled myself there, sorry about that.

[Jack Frost]

wow, I'm impressed. I watched every one of them. I haven't voted yet, and need to watch them again.

What really got amazed me is this, the imagination you all have, taking a song, and turning it into very creative ideas for a short film. Just brilliant !

And to think that many kind of poo-pooed the idea of a song being the main theme of this new contest.

I think it has brought out some brilliant and creative film making !

Bravo !

Dave

[Jack Frost]

you are the only one that had "the song" appear on their radio, I thought it was that was great, I never thought of that, and when I saw it appear, I thought yeah that's good ! :)



"The Song" is the songs title and it was on the CD that was placed in the CD player & it was also on the CD players text display.

[derkoi]

you are the only one that had "the song" appear on their radio, I thought it was that was great, I never thought of that, and when I saw it appear, I thought yeah that's good ! :)

Glad to hear you liked that. I spent a little while with no idea of what to make, then it all came together.

[dcmhutch]

Thirteen was the best short hands down. I was actually drawn in by the dramatics, camera shots and sound effects. I forgot it was a short film not a real movie. Great job!!

[derkoi]

Thirteen was the best short hands down. I was actually drawn in by the dramatics, camera shots and sound effects. I forgot it was a short film not a real movie. Great job!!

Thanks! That's great to hear. I do try and have a cinematic style when making my movies, it's nice that you enjoyed it. :hv20-smilie84:

[Jack Frost]

Hi derkoi,

did you by chance use this for your outside looking in shots taken while you were driving the car ?

Spider Pod suction car mount:
Ebay link : http://tinyurl.com/msur2k

or maybe this one ?
Ebay link again, but different vendor
http://tinyurl.com/ksj2vt

I found the exact same suction cups at a car parts shore last year, but haven't been able to find the little adapter part that clamps onto the handle of the suction cup.....

seems like you must have used something like this though for your footage, am I maybe right ?

Dave


Thanks! That's great to hear. I do try and have a cinematic style when making my movies, it's nice that you enjoyed it. :hv20-smilie84:

[derkoi]

Hi derkoi,

did you by chance use this for your outside looking in shots taken while you were driving the car ?

Hi,

I used this one (http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_double_suction_mount_sm4.htm)

It's used by the BBC for top gear, so i figured it'd be good.

[Jack Frost]

Ah great stuff !

Looks very sturdy, thanks for the link !



Hi,

I used this one (http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_double_suction_mount_sm4.htm)

It's used by the BBC for top gear, so i figured it'd be good.

[Jack Frost]

I was just watching this video on the Hague SM1 suction cup kit, and I am sad that these kits are not available in North America

YouTube - Hague Camcorder Suction Mount SM1 - Instructions

I'm actually quite amazed at the HIGH quality of this kit. Beautiful stuff !

They should be available in North America.

Dave



Hi,

I used this one (http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_double_suction_mount_sm4.htm)

It's used by the BBC for top gear, so i figured it'd be good.

[1]

Few things re: mounting hardware:

1) This should really NOT be posted in this thread.

2) These are technically Vacuum Cups, not Suction Cups.

3) Filmtools sells this sort of stuff: http://www.filmtools.com/sucuvcu.html

4) The manufacturer is: http://www.powrgrip.com/cgi-bin/powrgrip/equipment_accessory_mounts.html

[derkoi]

They are good, i recommend them. Although, it's sometimes hard to get a hold on surfaces that are not straight like the door of a car, you have to ensure there's no gaps else it wont grip.

[Jack Frost]

oops, sorry for that "1", I will refrain from talking hardware in this
thread, but also, thanks for being generous with the info / links.

Dave



Few things re: mounting hardware:

1) This should really NOT be posted in this thread.

2) These are technically Vacuum Cups, not Suction Cups.

3) Filmtools sells this sort of stuff: http://www.filmtools.com/sucuvcu.html

4) The manufacturer is: http://www.powrgrip.com/cgi-bin/powrgrip/equipment_accessory_mounts.html

[Video Frank]

Just out of curiosity - why does the number of votes not equal the number of names of people who've voted? For example, for a particular entry you may see the vote count as 1 but there are three names listed as having voted for that entry.

Just asking.

[koolpenguin89]

The number of votes listed is the correct count. The other names are people who voted illegally (i.e. they don't have 10 posts). I can delete their vote, but not their name, its a limitation of the software. Its actually pretty difficult to keep track of the correct number of votes, but as of right now it is accurate.

Dylan

[Video Frank]

Thanks for the answer. I figured it was something like that.

[jashan17]

The number of votes listed is the correct count. The other names are people who voted illegally (i.e. they don't have 10 posts). I can delete their vote, but not their name, its a limitation of the software. Its actually pretty difficult to keep track of the correct number of votes, but as of right now it is accurate.

Dylan

When will the winners be posted? 12 midnight tomorrow?

[koolpenguin89]

Whenever the judges get all of their results back to me. Hopefully by tomorrow, but i can't guarantee it.

Dylan

[StrayDogPictures]

The poll close at 9:47 P.M.? Isn't that kind of random?

[mrblofish]

The poll close at 9:47 P.M.? Isn't that kind of random?

arbitrary maybe...but random???? nah sound quite precise..9:47

[Jack Frost]

LOL, that's exactly what I was thinking, 10:00 pm is random, in the sense that everyone says it. "oh I drove over to the store about 10 pm " ... hmm, was it really 10 pm ? or was it 10:03 pm ? .....

9:47 pm is far from random, somebody thought about that before deciding on that exact time. :hv20-smilie81:

but yes, I know what you mean.... perhaps the gentleman was just trying to be creative with the time, perhaps to get everyone's attention, and it looks like it worked.... we are talking about it :hv20-smilie110:



arbitrary maybe...but random???? nah sound quite precise..9:47

[1]

...and maybe the poll finishes EXACTLY 10 days (to the minute) after it was started.

[StrayDogPictures]

ah but the 29th to the 9th may seem like ten days while it is actually 11 since voting was open on the 29th and the 9th.

Ok I mis-typed when I said that 9:47 was random, it is precise but arbitrary. I man it would be 11:47 P.M. in a different timezone. maybe in Iceland?

[Chicken Warrior]

Hmm, maybe there should be a separate deadline for Icelandic residents. And for people that work full time, because they have less time for leisurely activities. And maybe for people with the best user names? Cause they put more time on that, and deprived themselves of valuable voting time.

At any rate, time is ticking and it's getting close. I just need to double my support by 2000% or so.

:)

[1]

ah but the 29th to the 9th may seem like ten days while it is actually 11 since voting was open on the 29th and the 9th.

That logic is SERIOUSLY flawed!

http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html

[StrayDogPictures]

That logic is SERIOUSLY flawed!

http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html

It is ten days if your adding from the 29th to the 9th BUT since the poll was open on the 29th and the 9th you have to count both the beginning and ending days in the tally which makes it 11 days!

29,30,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. 11 days. I rest my case.

[koolpenguin89]

Straydog, the way the pole system works is it asks how many days to leave the pole open for. Each day is measured as 24 hours. I set it to run for exactly 10 days, which is what it did.

Dylan

[Erik Bien]

29,30,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. 11 days. I rest my case.

June 29th, 9:47pm — voting opens
July 9th, 9:47pm — voting closes

Glad you are neither my secretary nor my lawyer! :hv20-smilie29:

[StrayDogPictures]

I shall admit defeat. technically.
But now that it has been 10 days to the minute of voting I shall be interested to see what all the judges have to say about the films.

[CycleWriter]

June 29th, 9:47pm — voting opens
July 9th, 9:47pm — voting closes

Glad you are neither my secretary nor my lawyer! :hv20-smilie29:

That is 10 days time spread across 11 days on the calendar. The only way to have it be exactly 10 days in both time and calendar is to start at exactly 12:00 am.

[derkoi]

lol. you guys do talk a load of tosh!

[Rumple]

The "make it rain" video stings of SNL.
But freQ was the definate winner there...