Some of my 7d short films.

[JOSHardson]

Here are a few highlights from the short films my friends and I have shot with my 7d over the past year or so. Some contain offensive language, so viewer discretion is advised. I'll take any suggestions and comments you might have back to the drawing board for our future projects.

 

[JOSHardson]

 

[JOSHardson]

 

[JOSHardson]

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Artificial]

I only watched The Big Job, but I found it to be put together well. Everything about it was great. I'm glad that you have a grasp on making the audio decent. That's something a lot of people over look.

 

[Derrel]

I watched The Santa this AM and thought the opening sequence was excellent! Overall, I liked it, but just wished it was longer. I am probably gonna watch the other two.

 

[ryanwaff]

I watched "The Santa" and found it to be well scripted and had a logical flow to it. The audio was good quality and lighting was authentic as well.

Some things that stood out to me:

1. Sometimes I felt some of the scenes dragged on a bit and could have been cut down. for example, when he leaves the bar, walks to the car and then is driving, those three scenes take almost 30 seconds, and that could probably be condensed to 15 seconds, with 5 seconds per scene. Your viewer will still get the idea of what's happening and won't lose interest as fast.

2. Most of your shots appear to be handheld, and you can see when ever the camera man takes a step, which I think works when he leaves the bar - it adds a drunken feeling to the scene- however, it became a bit of an annoyance when it happened throughout the entire film. perhaps you should think of doing something like this: [video=youtube;da4dTGk-G6g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NDsEFy5Iww"]DIY Steadicam[/URL] or [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da4dTGk-G6g[/video] Making a steadicam will just give a bit more dynamism to the shot, as well as giving it a more cinematic feel, and remove the 'handheld' look.

3. Maybe it was intentional on your part, im not sure, but I felt that there were too many shots of the camera man walking behind him. Try switching up your angles a bit more, like have a low angled shot, where the camera is static on the sidewalk and watches paul walk away, or track him from the other side of the street etc.. Just to switch it up and keep the viewer more interested. I personally would have liked to see more of the front of paul (at least I think he was paul lol, but the santa guy) - but again it may have been intentional on your part.

Overall, i really enjoyed it. I will watch the other two just now and give my thoughts on them once I have done so.

 

[OfMikeandMen]

I watched The Santa, as well, I liked it. You should keep at it. I'm know nothing about film, but I found it enjoyable. I do write from time to time, so I do have some suggestions. I don't really know where you're looking for criticism, whether the filming, or the entirety. Some of the acting between, what I believe to be his ex, could have been better. The car he was driving should be more beat up. It seemed really nice for being a Santa Claus. I realize resources may have been limited, so maybe there was nothing you could do on that end. The ending of it could've been resolved a little better. I am definitely one for dark comedies, but it needs more character development. Maybe as Derrel hinted, make it longer. The character doesn't seem to really change throughout, which, since it is a character driven story, he needs to change for there to be more of an attachment. Maybe have him get better, or have his son come visit "Santa." It would feel more resolved if he improved, and then have him get worse again with the same ending. I don't know. I liked the ending, it just seemed to come too soon. As far as the actual filming goes, I thought it was good. I love independent movies, and it definitely gave me that feel. I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Then again, as I've said, apart from being an avid independent and dark comedy movie watcher, I don't know anything about film. Nothing wrong with the audio, either. I'll watch the others.

 

[JOSHardson]

I'll heed these suggestions. Thanks for the great feedback. The handheld look was very deliberate in The Santa. If you've ever seen The Wrestler, that's what we were riffing off of. Also the long walking shots were in that same vein. Thanks again guys. We also have a new one that is just more dumb comedy. Check it out.