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watch The Island (2010)

Gonzo_Entertainment

Gonzo_Entertainment

Alright, several of you saw the set photos for this movie, and watched along with the construction process, well here it is.

http://vimeo.com/17683897

Quality is decent, took a 4GB .mov down to a 493 MB MP4 for vimeo, turned out OK.

I'll never act in my own movie again. My performance is actually pretty good if I do say so myself, but I had to trust the DP and 1st AD more than I am comfortable with, and they didn't always come through on the level I feel I could have myself.

Password protected because even though many festivals don't care, a few do, and not ready for it to be freely available on the web yet.

Password: tomandkatie
 
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GAH, I've been looking forward to this for MONTHS! Wish I was at home where my computer has audio. Can't wait, thanks for posting!
 
2001 Productions said:
Great job, Gonzo! I enjoyed that thoroughly.

Kept wondering where the power for the lights was coming from, though. :hmm:
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Good one. In the original concept he ran everything off the batttery bank you briefly see him charging with the bike. In the final design we added the master switch on the wall that would lead one to believe there is a power source outside he has tapped as well.
 
Gonzo_Entertainment said:
In the final design we added the master switch on the wall that would lead one to believe there is a power source outside he has tapped as well.
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Yeah, that was what I assumed was the intent. Just seems unlikely that there'd still be a working power grid under those conditions. Hmm...maybe solar panels? :cool:

Also wasn't sure why he'd bother with the batteries if he has an A/C power supply...

No matter. Good flick. Best of luck with it.
 
Great job, Gonzo! Loved it :)

I truly don't believe this is only your second short. It reminded me of Moon. Nice acting, too, btw.
 
I decided to do The Island justice and watch it as I would something from Netflix.

theisland.jpg


Fantastic job, Nathan! Set design, camera, lighting, sound... etc. Acting, too! So cool that you played Tom. Really dig the 1 exterior shot of the graffiti. :) What camera rig did your DP use?

That last song sounded like a John Prine tune. Any homage there?

Actually had a few bits of humor that made me smile.

What's next for you?
 
Thanks for all the kind words guys!

There's a thread in "On the set" I think that shows various stages of construction. I'll try to dig it up tomorrow. The side walls, the cinderblock, are "real", the walls with the door and with the boxes are false walls. We made a 12 X 15 room out of a 12 X 20 room at a mini storage warehouse. That set is 100% constructed old schoool style. The boxes are actually removeable to expose a panel that lets you get behind that wall. though we wound up not using many of those shots.

Shot it on an HVX200a with a redrock micro adapter for nikon lenses at 1080i, 24P. Probably my last film on that camera. It's pretty good, but not quite the look I want. Time to upgrade.

Thge closing song (and all the music) are just local bands here in the Nashville area. Don Coyote that does the closing credits song is a "junk band" they do very cool lo fi stuff. That's probably the most "produced" thing they have ever done. All the music was recorded by us, for the film.

I'm about 40 pages into the first draft of a feature script. This spring starts the search for financing, as I really don't want to try a feature for less than about 50K.

I actually started as an actor, and in the right roles I'm pretty good, but doing both sucks balls. Just not possible to review every shot, too busy worrying about my lines for the next scene, so I had to tell them what I wanted, and trust they were getting it. Sometimes they did, sometimes not.
 
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Nathan, you are brilliant! As mentioned before i was amazed at your set design but it would seem you are a master of all the arts! Fantastic acting (reminiscent of Hugh Laurie in House) as was the story, dialogue, sound and camera.

Would love to see a feature adaptation of this.
 
NathanH said:
Nathan, you are brilliant! As mentioned before i was amazed at your set design but it would seem you are a master of all the arts! Fantastic acting (reminiscent of Hugh Laurie in House) as was the story, dialogue, sound and camera.

Would love to see a feature adaptation of this.
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Thanks for the kind words, I can't help feeling if I could have concentrated on one thing rather than being pulled in so many directions it would have been a better film.

I think there probably is a feature in the story if I ever wanted to do it. Expand Katie's back story, make the period inside the shelter a couple of days instead of one night, etc... The first rough cut was 40 minutes without credits, and the final movie is 25 with credits.

My DP was about two weeks from his wedding when we shot this. I don't think I got his best work, he mailed it in a little bit. Now he is a VERY talented guy, and him mailing it in is better than 70% of the guys out there (willing to work for what I could pay), but if I'd gotten his best work this might have been a top tier festival level short. As it is I view it as a very good second short film. I corrected a lot of the problems from Beyond the Wall of Sleep, but of course made more mistakes I have to correct on the next one.
 
Gave it another watch, tonight. Such awesome-sauce. I love the lighting, especially.

Very reminiscent of several TZ & OL themes, as well. Love it.
 
Freaking amazing. Post apocalyptic movies are my favorite! Science in action magazine improves the Science skill by 1 (by 2 with the Comprehension perk) in case you guys didn't know. This movie reminds me of fallout. Oh how i dream of a world without people. Good job.

Im kinda disappointed though because i had plans in the future to do a movie that took place in a fallout shelter. you beat me to it.
 
HEAVY Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Gallery influence. To wrap my head around writing a short that's kind of how I had picture it in my head. Also, a stylistic thing I love is that kind of constructed set. It's really well done (if I do say so myself), and allows you to suspend disbelief, yet you also know on some level it's a set. It adds to the unreal, or other worldly feeling.

A major clue to what MAY be going on outside is on the cover of that "Science in Action" magazine.

I hear from a shit ton of festivals right after the first of the year, so fingers crossed. So far it's had two acceptances from smaller start up type festivals, and a no from Slamdance (to be expected). We'll see if I have any luck with the Nashville, Atlanta, Phoenix level festivals. I have entered some genre festivals where I probably have a pretty good shot as well.
 
Cracker Funk said:
Ah-Hah! Looks like I got my internet back, in the nick of time.

Solid work. Job well done.

Is it too late to change things, though? If I could recommend one (easy) fix, I think you should world-ize the music.
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VERY interesting you mention that. I am a fan of it myself. My sound guy talked me out of it. You'll notice the music from the record player does have pops and hiss that was added, and it's EQ'd not to sound "too good". It becomes very evident when the credits roll and the music kicks in full throat.

This was my first trip into a sound design this complex, and the sound guy is a co-executive producer who worked for free, so I gave in to his opinion. In hindsight, I agree with you 100%, it would be bettter, and it was my original thought. I'm a "it's time to put the brush down" guy. When it's done, it's done. It is what it is, I learned a lesson there, but I'll take it forward, not look back.

Edit:
The DVDs are already in for 20 of the probably 30 total festivals I'm going to enter, editor is in another state, etc... not worth it at this point.
 
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This is really terrific...a killer genre, my favorite influences (The Shelter is probably one of my top 5 Twilight Zone episodes, and The Day After continues to spook me long after its '80s television debut), even my preferred short film length. You do a great job setting the routine of monotony in the opening five minutes. I had no problem with the electricity; you can clearly see the cables running from the bike to the battery.

That armor piercing light from the outside whenever he opens the peephole is brilliant.

And a slew of original songs, too. Fantastic.

Very nicely cut...a real simple look, reminiscent of the best of '60s anthology television. No fancy self-conscious camera crap, just a great look. A great story, well told.

Please let me know when DVDs are available for purchase because I'd like to be your first customer.
 
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