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watch SchmiCrack

Haha! I love the chick who was saying all mockingly "old people brag about, like, actually going out and meeting their friends." That's a bad thing?!

Jesus, what is this world coming to?! (says the girl talking on the internet)
 
Hey CF! I enjoyed that. I'm an Apple addict and when I recently broke my iPhone (apparently they work less well having been thrown at a wall) I thought my world was ending. Got it repaired in 48 hours though, so sanity was restored. My on/off girlfriend is obsessed with her iPhone to a much greater extent and I spend half my time just wanting to throw it out the window.

The film is really well shot and edited and the sequences with the iPhones and Blackberries are really neat and look like you got an enormous amount of footage. That said, I reckon if you're going to send this to festivals, you could probably shave another minute or two off the runtime. It's an interesting subject and really nicely shot but some of the 'people with phones' shots get a bit repetitive.

But great job and good luck in the doc challenge! Don't give up hope too soon ;)
 
Dreadylocks said:
Haha! I love the chick who was saying all mockingly "old people brag about, like, actually going out and meeting their friends." That's a bad thing?!
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Heh! I don't think that's what she was saying. If it comes across that way, then that's my mistake, as an editor. Stuff flies at you pretty fast in this short doc, and I'm sure it doesn't help that you rarely are able to put a face to the voice. I think all she (Jessica) meant is that texts are no less personal than a letter, and that she thinks people's negative reactions to smartphones are just resistance to change. Later on, Jess says that it can't replace an actual phone call, or a face-to-face visit (but like I said, you don't see her face, so I wouldn't expect everyone to make that connection).

Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed it.

Nick, thanks for the comments. There are three blocks of montage. I think I agree with you -- if I were to re-do this, there would be two bookend blocks of montage, and the middle would be more "traditional" documentary, maybe even with some "expert" interviews. Somehow, I would want to keep the high energy throughout, so I think I'd have to keep the music constant, and the middle section would be fairly brief.

I won't be re-cutting, only because when I'm done with a project, I'm done! :) This was made for a specific contest, and though I'll be sending it off to other fests, mentally, in my head, it's time for the next project.

Cheers!
 
Found myself having to rewind it a few times, to catch all that was said. The background beat & rythymic images were almost hypnotic after a while. :)

How long did you have to put that all together?
 
Zensteve said:
Found myself having to rewind it a few times, to catch all that was said.
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That might actually be the biggest flaw (also noted by Dready's comments).

To answer your question, the contest runs from Thursday morning until Monday afternoon. I actually spent all of Thursday in DC, on a day-trip. During travel-times, I made a bunch of phone-calls and texts, trying to nail-down a subject for the documentary. By the end of the day, none of my leads or ideas were coming to fruition. Traveling back to Richmond, late at night, I had spent pretty much the ENTIRE day on my iPhone, and that is where the idea was born.

The bulk of my money is made on weekends, so I worked Friday and Saturday night, as well as a long brunch shift on Sunday. The interviews were all shot at work, on Sunday, in-between waiting tables! Those are all my co-workers! :) It was actually a busy brunch, but we found times to sneak into a private room for quick interviews during the slower portions of the day.

Confession -- the stark low-key lighting was actually not an artistic choice, but was used to hide the fact that we were in an ugly room, surrounded by stacks and stacks of chairs, and everybody was wearing the same damn thing! :lol:

I edited Sunday night, went out Monday morning to collect additional montage footage, finished final cut on Monday afternoon, and sent it off.
 
Very nice, CF.
I'm amazed at the variety of shots you and your wrangled cohorts were able to obtain.
LOL! I see the problem with trying to get signed authorizations from all involved.
It'd take you longer to do the official paperwork than to film the five second shot (edited down to a 18 frame take)!
Whatta PITA.

Good call and creative solution on the lighting.
Niiiiiice.
 
Funnily enough, i didnt have a problem understanding what was said. Didnt need to rewind it, miss anything or have to rewatch it.

I think this came together quite nicely and hope you have the best of luck in the festivals. I also like that it was a bit balanced with the comment about not using them so much in public that you become rude.

Oh and i think 18 frames was a very good choice. Anything shorter wouldve been too fast and anything longer would make the montages "slow" and boring.
 
Missed this one, just watched.

Very impressed with the amount of footage and number of shots you (Steve & Ernest) captured.

Amazing yet not surprising that smart phones, texting, and being hyper-connected to digital devices is so commonplace nowadays, especially at places like airports where EVERYone is jacked in.

I like to leave my iPhone at home whenever I get the chance and try (try!) to step away computer as much as possible, but that can make it difficult to get shit done. ;)

I do find it extremely difficult to have a conversation with someone who is constantly checking their texts. Doesn't work for me. But others don't seem to mind or care and, well, that's cool. Different strokes!
 
Absolutely brilliant.

I would only critique the interview audio - put more blankets up and put the mic a bit closer! I hear too many room reflections on those voices, boy! :)
 
Very nice. I agree the pace and length of the montages got to be a bit much at a couple points, I think it's maybe just a matter of breaking them up with a couple more shots of the people talking to ground things. I can't believe you got that many different phone shots in the limited time though, that's both ambitious and impressive!

Do you have signed releases for the people in the interviews? If so I think you might be ok on the paperwork, I doubt they'd disqualify you for not having releases for every single person, I just don't think you focus on anyone long enough to be an issue.

See you in Toronto! ;)
 
Thanks, guys! Yes, I have releases for all the interviewees. I just literally couldn't get releases for the hundreds of people in the montage.

EDIT: Good news -- just got an email from Schmoc Schmallenge, indicating that we are eligible for awards. :D
 
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Thanks for the kind words! :)

(Original post edited, link removed, will be fully-online in a few weeks, regardless of what happens with the contest)
 
I thought the change rate in the montage may have been too much for too long. The speed from changing form one person to another talking on the phone probably was not bad but then the montage went on too long. After awhile I started to feel sick from watching it switch so fast for so long. In the beginning in the video I thought it was really good but then near the middle I started feeling like it was too much. I guess maybe it was just me. I think it would have been better to break up the montage in to shorter parts and have longer sections where it shows just one person for a while.

Good idea for for a short film though. Good job.
 
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