___ "the Power" is finished!!! ___ (TF.N's favorite son is back!!!)

JediTAC

--I believe I have yet to receive your insightful review... (or was it too horrible to warrent comment? lol!)

 

Okay, the movie was...wierd but cunsidering that is was shot in 6 hours it okay.


-Mulacki

 

Darth Mulacki

"the movie was...wierd"

--LOL! I'll take that as a compliment(?)!

--Actually, that WAS the intention, to pull the viewer into this 'mightmarish, sith mentality...' And based on what many have said, IT WORKED!!!!!



"but cunsidering that is was shot in 6 hours it okay."

--yeah, and "pre-production" was done by me, myself, and I... 2 weeks before the shoot, working NIGHT shifts in Children's Hospital in D.C.!

--Going by what I've read about most other Fan Films, if they had my schedule, they wouldn't even have finished a script by the time I FINISHED THE WHOLE FILM!

 

Grover, you need to go back to the little kid boba fett icon because now you are starting to look wise with that yoda icon. I personally liked reading your posts thinking you were a little 14 year old with a 'KiDs rUlE!!!!!!!!' attitude

 

WhisperingDeath

"I personally liked reading your posts thinking you were a little 14 year old with a 'KiDs rUlE!!!!!!!!' attitude "

--LOL!!! it took me 5 minutes to stop laughing after that one!!! holy moly.

--as soon as my icon mysteriously disappears (it does every several days) I'll revert back to kid-Boba...IF I CAN FIND THE CURSED THING! (couldn't find it last time I looked!)

p.s. --apparently, you never noticed my nasty diatribes against the teenage jedi/sith "masters" in fanfilms

p.p.s. --I've actually recently realized that the beef I have WITH SO MANY HOLLYWOOD FILMS, AS WELL AS FAN FILMS is that I can no longer suspend disbelief enough to FEEL ANYTHING from someone that I KNOW in real life one of my students could wipe out in 30 seconds... without breaking a sweat...!

 

Ya, try watching Gladiator after going hard core into filmmaking and choreography on these boards... I just realised how not great that movie really was.

 

You know, so many movies nowadays, I swear, it's like they have a TEMPLATE, and they just fill in the blanks for this and that scene, this or that type of dialogue, ...then output the product...

Totally formulaic, with NO heart or guts or soul WHATSOEVER. And the movie CHANGES NOTHING!

It's bad when you watch a flick, and you know pretty much what's gonna happen, why, what you're SUPPOSED to feel at every moment, and how stupid they much think we are (and going by Gladiator's box office, we are). It's insulting, really.

Interesting that Crowe doesn't win for 'The Insider...' but does win for...(can't bring myself to say it)


Also about Gladiator's FIGHT SCENES: (only saw it once, don't remember much of it now, thank God) is the TOO CLOSE CAMERA ANGLES, CHOPPY, UNREVEALING EDITING, and the SIMPLISTIC, NO-TALENT energies involved... Fits well with the rest of the flick.

 

I must say, after watching the trailer, my expectations for the feature were probably too high (not unlike that of most movie trailers).

Like you had mentioned, the opening score of the feature didn't quite mesh with the film. The rest of the soundtrack was sufficient though.

Despite the obvious choreography and attempts at preventing actual contact,the fight scenes were some of the best I've seen in fanfilms and recent mainstream movies. As you had mentioned about the "TOO CLOSE CAMERA ANGLES, CHOPPY, UNREVEALING EDITING, and the SIMPLISTIC, NO-TALENT energies involved..." with movies like Gladiator, Braveheart, and L.o.T.R to an extent, I appreciated the full shot action sequences. Are you considering entering tf.n's choreograpy competition?

The story itself was OK, but the way it was presented made for the most entertainment.

Although not having a budget was a point made several times over, using a cardboard box with the address blackened out to house "the power" was ridiculous.

Overall, I was enjoyed the film, and the choreography deserves recognition.

 

keynutsack

--Thanks for the feedback...


"the fight scenes were some of the best I've seen in fanfilms and recent mainstream movies."

--THANKS!!! Yes, I was just in Philly this weekend, and with 5 minutes choreography, put together a fight scene that BLOWS AWAY most so-called 'realistic, street-fighting' fight scenes, even in MAJOR MOTION PICTURES...
It's almost as though they've substituted fancy-smancy stylistic directing and editing (and egotistical actors) IN PLACE OF legitimately MASTERFUL fight exchanges where one can FEEL the ability of REAL WARRIORS...


"but the way it was presented made for the most entertainment. "

--Yes...it's interesting that most who notice/appreciate this, primarily seem to be people who are film-saavy or even in film school... (I've even gotten some private messages here and feedback on the site who say 'the Power' is one of the best fan films they've seen... Yet many others, who may even complain about hackneyed themes/look of fan films, say nothing more than "too much 'this' or 'that'," or some other blurb.

"using a cardboard box with the address blackened out to house "the power" was ridiculous. "

---HA, HA, HA!!! Yeah, I know. It was supposed to represent some sort of power holocron... oh well.


"Are you considering entering tf.n's choreograpy competition? "

--no, i'm finished with fan films for awhile... I've got other projects I'm working on, and which I plan on doing ACTUAL, SERIOUS, PREPARED effors with.
(however, based on what I read in that thread a few weeks ago, it sounds like many of the techniques used on the Power have already influenced what may be seen in the competition, according to what a few said they're doing!)

--anyhoo, thanx for the feedback


p.s. rewatched 'Game of Death' original footage, as well as old Morihei footage, (and other master-level martial arts/combat footage, boxers, etc...) and feel more than ever that the current, pop-culture, phony balony choreography is nothing less than a SACRILEGE...!

...and in time, I'll prove it. (but by then, it'll already be gone...and some other nonsense will have replaced it, I suspect)

 

Been out of commission for a week or so...very busy.

Anyhow, THIS IS ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE PROJECT GREENLIGHT COMPETITION.

I entered the DIRECTOR'S competition. Since I didn't have any of my other projects completed, I ENTERED PARTS OF 'THE POWER.'

The rules were thus: submit a 3-minute "scene" in quicktime format, under 10MB in size.

I emailed SUPPORT for PG, and they said a TRAILER would be fine. So, I threw together a collage of scenes, like a big TRAILER, to fit the 3 minute time frame.

LONG STORY, SHORT: I had 16 reviews on the short. Everyone either LOVED IT or HATED IT!
Those who loved it, while giving high scores, still gave constructive criticism, and DID NOT give it perfect scores....(i.e., they were still being 'honest' and unbiased.)

HOWEVER...those that HATED IT, REALLY HATED IT! Their rankings and 'comments' were so blatently bitter, angry, hurt, and cynical, AND SEVERAL CRITICIZED EVEN ENTERING A FAN FILM!!! (they read like some of the 'whiney bitch' replies to my posts here on these forums!)

There was also one person who gave it all HIGH MARKS...YET DIDN'T RECOMMEND "YES" TO MY ABILITY TO DIRECT ---because they said you can't tell that by watching a TRAILER for a FANFILM!!!

Actually, I wasn't all that surprised; the questions on the review form make it nearly impossible for a TRAILER to win. WHY DID TECH SUPPORT TELL ME TO SUBMIT ONE?!?

It's interesting... The main page of PG said something like, "Looking for an independent vision to helm the project..." yadda, yadda, yadda.

Well, I actually reviewed 3 of the top 250 (that made round 2), grudgingly recommended all 3...ONLY due to their technical grasp of the camera. Each of the 3 had NO INSPIRATION OR ORIGINALITY WHATSOEVER (totally formulaic) And I reflected this on the individual scores. (I wonder if all film schools 'program' their students, so that all they do is rehash the same old techniques and methods of story-telling? ---just joking--- many of you in film school have appreciated 'the Power!')

Also of note; one of those used AN EMPTY WING OF LAX, HAD PROFESSIONAL LEVEL CAMERAS, AND --GET THIS-- WELL KNOWN SAG ACTORS!!!!! This was supposed to be an amateur competition! (can you say 'USC film school?')

 

I downloaded the large WMP version.

It's a really interesting looking film. I like the black and white grainy look.

However, about 6:45 in, WMP gave me this message:

The given data unit is corrupted, badly formatted, or otherwise not valid.

So alas, I couldn't finish watching it!

 

Semaj Ovured

"However, about 6:45 in, WMP gave me this message:

The given data unit is corrupted, badly formatted, or otherwise not valid."

---Strange. Someone said they got this error a while back. But no one else has received it. When I get a chance, I'll upload another LARGE .WMV FEATURE just to make sure.

---If you get the chance, check out the smaller .WMV file, as it's the same film, just lesser quality. (actually, it may be greater quality, in that it doesn't have the TEXT SCROLL!!!)

 

Update/Tidbit...

I was involved in the "Philadelphia 48 Hour Film Project," around 1 month ago.

For reasons I'll not get into, I choreographed a fight sequence in the short, and HAD ONLY 10 MINUTES TO DO SO.

Well, I found out it won the Fan Favorite Award, but that's about it.

As for 'the Power,' I thought that 2 hours of choreography was too short! Try 10 minutes!!!

 

Okay Grover, you asked people to 'rip into' your film, I'm not going to 'rip into' it but I'm going to give you my honest review.

Surprisingly, the mood I write this in seems similar to the tone of your review which sparked so much debate a short time ago, and one thing has nothing to do with the other.

First and foremost I take into account the very little time you had to plan, choreograph and shoot the Power and applaud you for taking the time to do so. I am presenting you with constructive criticism so I hope you are not offended.

However, I did not like the Power. I like artsy films, but I did not enjoy this.

The characters were very two dimensional. The film was short so this is understandable. However, the actors didn't seem to fit into their characters very well. They seemed quite rigid and what few lines there were sounded a little unnatural.

I did like the sepia look of the film, I felt it accentuated the situation of the Sith lord.

I also felt that the choreography wasn't as mind blowing as it was made out to be. Quite the contrary actually. It's obvious you have talent as a martial artist but the moves of the Jedi were ill-timed and this degraded the quality of the fighting I believe. But again I think this comes down to choreography. Perhaps next time try shooting some footage of your fight and review it to see how it looks. If it looks good and you're on track, great, keep practicing. But if it doesn't look so good, practice harder that's my motto. I think the biggest problem with the choreography not being up to scratch is that it makes the Jedi look like amateurs and takes away a lot of the realism from the characters.

As you've already acknowledged the music was hehe not spectacular but that doesn't matter that much.

I didn't like the Power but you should give fan films another go I think. You seem to have potential but I think this proves beyong any doubt that further production time in future is essential.

Well, I can't think of anything else at the moment. It's late and I'll be off to bed soon but yeah. That's just my critique. I think it's great you made a fan film and are contributing to the Star Wars universe and I hope I didn't offend you.

Thanks
Shoveler

 

Shoveler

Thanks for the feedback, i agree with much of what you say, although for somewhat different reasons.

Actually, I think 6 hours IS enough time to shoot a fanfilm...IF all locations are relatively close, AND EVERYONE is very prepared. Obviously, we weren't. Also significant, this wasn't even supposed to be a film when the majority of the footage was shot... Just clips for a personal demo reel.

I like artsy films, but I did not enjoy this.

I wonder what defines an 'art' film? What do you consider an art film? Others (and myself) have commented on this as well. Seems ambiguous...

The characters were very two dimensional. quite rigid and what few lines there were sounded a little unnatural.

I agree with the lines being rigid, and this not helping characterization any. The main thrust of the Power was to convey an overall mood and feel, first and foremost, and characterization and plot secondarily (again, due to limitations). (In fact, I almost wanted the mood to be a character in itself; the Sith's nightmarish aura, permeating everything) However, something I've noticed in general to feedback I've read about other fanfilms, (or folks here commenting on mainstream feature films) is that many seem to ONLY CONSIDER CHARACTER'S DIALOGUE when percieving the depth of that character. To me, this is the cheapest, shallowest way to convey anything. I mean, any character can SAY what's in their heart/mind...but it's better (and MUCH more masterful as a filmmaker) to SHOW or CONVEY this through action and unfolding of plot? (not that I'm implying that I did this---I obviously didn't!!!!)

As for the choreography... As per the plot, the SITH is UNBELIEVABLY POWERFUL, (due to 'power holocron'), and thus STEAMROLLS through the Jedi. Some agree this works and think the choreography is some of the best they've seen in a fanfilm. Others, like yourself, don't. I defininely learned alot about filming fight scenes, that's for sure!

I didn't like the Power but you should give fan films another go I think.

Actually, I've got several other projects for winter/spring, that I'll devote serious planning, etc., on. Perhaps, in the DISTANT future...?

Hey, thanks again for the feedback!!!!

(also, which size/file version did you download and watch?)

 

Grover,

I'm pretty sure I downloaded the smallest size wmv version, I'm on dialup

Shoveler