Milwaukee's 48-hour Film Fest

I'm guessing your genre was Western, that's a given. And your character was 'Roger Lanvin Baker'...

What was your prop and line?

I thought the look of the film was good--the lighting overall was pretty decent. There were a few shots I thought were too dark, but in general it was satisfactory.

I think there was too much shaky hand-held. It was distracting. Many of those shots would have benefited from a composed shot on the sticks. Don't get me wrong, there are some pretty cool shots, no doubt. I like the opening jib-style shot for sure...and the shot at the desk when he takes a swig of his drink...there were some quality frames there.

The showdown scene didn't work for me. It wasn't necessary. There had to have been a street that traffic could have been either held off for a few moments, or timed just right...or you could have gone to another street and cheated it being outside the actual bar. The still and composite work wasn't slick enough to pull off. I suppose it could have been stylized and made to look groovy, but in this case it fell shy.

I think the acting and script was pretty weak also--there was no real energy there, and nothing really felt at stake.

I know I'm being harsh, especially for a 48hr, but I never give critiques unless I'm asked. I just don't believe in sugar-coating my opinions about a production--I don't think it helps anyone in the long run.

Now, was this version cleaned-up at all? Or is this the exact version that was submitted to the committee?

Thanks for listening.

I believe that this was the exact version that was submitted. However, it didn't get submitted on time. They said they "Didn't want to sacrifice quality to get it there on time." I am not sure what that means but I have my own thoughts.

I actually agree with pretty much all of your critiques. Again, I had no control over anything except the lights, which even at times were out of my control. I also agree with some shots being to dark but the director wouldn't let me re-light so there you go. It was frustrating because I can do so much more with lighting but never was given the chance. But thems the breaks.

Thanks for the critique I appreciate it.

And what was the prop and line of dialog?

"I never thought I would see that."

Prop was a regular telephone.