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1. Pat
   Crew

   Please post feedback on the 2008 Summer Film Festival. Here's a list of the films with descriptions:

   "2008 Trailer"
   By Bad Larry
   The newest winter footage from the Bad Larry crew. With montage.

   "Billy the Butterfly"
   By Wylie Gladstone
   A failed children's television show.

   "To Build a Fire"
   By Mircea Brown
   A short story by Jack London, about a man trying to survive in the wild.

   "Fine Arts Camp Animations"
   By Arts Camp Students
   A collection of animations from the Juneau Fine Arts Camp

   "Irritable Owl Syndrome"
   By Izzy and Mike Christiansen
   Harry Potter parody starring Hedwig the owl.

   "Les Miserables"
   By Greg Chaney
   A behind the scenes making of the JDHS production of Les Mis

   "Our Backyard"
   By Worldcarve
   An epic tale of the beauty in Juneau's mountainous backyard

   "Four from Dido"
   By Roald Simonson
   Four videos used in the Opera to Go production of "Dido and Aeneas".

   "High Five"
   By Alaska Robotics
   Seriously...high five!

   "Intermission"
   By Brice Habeger

   "And Then They Smiled"
   By Shot by Mike Rainery
   A man-boy finds out what is actually out there in the real world.

   "Bumps Stumps & Hucks"
   By 7 Minute Productions
   Bumps - To knock into a new position. Stumps - Lower ends of trees or plants. Hucks - Launching yourself into a powdery heaven.

   "Spring Cleaning in the World of Warcraft"
   By Alaska Robotics
   This is what spring cleaning looks like in the World of Warcraft. Azeroth never looked so good!

   "Wild One"
   By David Aragon
   Music video to the song “Wild One” by Kold Knights.

   "A Chance for Change"
   By Gabe Strong
   Highlights the changes made by three men after they got out of prison.

   "The Costs of War"
   By Jacob Caggiano
   Young veterans returning from battle in Iraq testify about their experiences and atrocities they witnessed

   "Caller of Spirit"
   By Kyle MacDonald & Dao Strom
   A music video shot last winter in Juneau that is simple, beautiful, melancholy, and easy on the eyes.

   "Pinching Wings"
   By Brice Habeger
   A dramatic short where Ben must face the reality of a relationship gone south.

   "The Big Joke"
   By Alaska Robotics
   Have you ever wondered where jokes come from?

   "Freekin Fungus"
   By Paul F. Disdier
   An infectious fungus makes people go mad. Ha ha ha ha ha! Carpet! Weasels...

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. amidgett
   Member

   Okay, I’ll take a stab at feedback. Feels weirdly hypocritical when I don’t have a film of my own to offer up as one of the punching bags, however.

   "2008 Trailer" By Bad Larry
   It was pointed out in feedback on a previous year’s BLP that I’m not necessarily the target audience for their ski videos. Since I don’t often ski or snowboard, it’s certainly not as easy for me to appreciate the mad-skillz-cut-to-music genre. Still, I can say that I liked the choice of music here. Not at all what you’d expect, and yet strangely fitting.

   "Billy the Butterfly" By Wylie Gladstone
   High-larious! Had me laughing… and appreciating the simple, pastel depth of the chosen style. Very cool.

   (I could go either way with respect to the tie-in to Pinching Wings. When it was brought up and I thought back to this, it sort of took me “out” of the other film.)

   "To Build a Fire" By Mircea Brown
   One of the things JUMP entries typically lack is a solid story, and refreshingly, this had a solid story. Which you’d expect, coming from a writer like Jack London. Interesting idea, taking a well-known writer’s short story and putting images to it. I wonder, has this particular story passed into the public domain? Probably.

   I liked this one, but thought it could have been a little shorter, a little tighter. Cut it down to 6 minutes or so, and it’d be even more engaging.
   By the way, do pine boughs really flare up like that with just a match?

   "Fine Arts Camp Animations" By Arts Camp Students
   Always fun to see what the kids are doing. The story of the boulder was fun, but seemed to fall victim to the time vs. ambition of the artist. Seemed to me he or she had a lot of ideas, but the last half was rushed to the finish. I also liked the visual trick of the kids sliding through the soccer net and the sound effects used in the Lego production.

   Brings back memories. I remember drawing flip books full of stick-figures in combat when I was in seventh grade. It’s amazing the tools kids (whippersnappers!) have at their disposal today. Hopefully we’ll get to check back in on them in 10 years or so, see how far they’ve progressed.

   "Irritable Owl Syndrome" By Izzy and Mike Christiansen
   Funny, but I felt like I wasn’t quite in on the whole joke. Maybe just me, as I haven’t been snared by Potter mania.

   "Les Miserables" By Greg Chaney
   Wow, Greg. Just wow. I think the biggest praise I could give is that, without even having seen the play itself, I was fully engaged for the entire 10 minutes. (Felt like 5.)

   If I were to nitpick (in the interest of offering constructive criticism), I’d say that there seemed to be some awkward transitions – more than one – around the black title cards. Also, and I know this has been brought up in some of your other films, but the placement of the interviewees bothered me… but in a way that bears further explanation:

   At first, when I saw that big, black wall in the background, I longed for both people to have been situated in front of it. The scattered plywood behind the guy bothered me. But then, when I realized that they were actually set in front of the chaotic backstage environment – the thesis of the video! – I wanted the black wall to be removed! I think it would have been even better to see more broken sight lines, more 2x4 chaos behind them.

   Anyway, despite the amount of words used to describe them, minor quibbles. I really enjoyed watching this one.

   "Our Backyard" By Worldcarve
   Another interesting choice of music. I really, really liked the shot of the person carving up the powder right in front of the red sunset. Seeing those wisps of snow swirling away in silhouette – beautiful!

   "Four from Dido" By Roald Simonson
   This one lost me during the opening scene. I (and others sitting around me, judging from the comments I heard) didn’t realize until the intermission that the “story” was based on the opera. Either the film didn’t work, or perhaps we weren’t the audience the filmmaker had in mind…

   Losing the narrative in the opening scene sure made this one painful to sit through, but someone in the audience was drunk and sharing his every thought on the film with us. Normally, that would infuriate me – people work hard on these videos, and we should be sensitive to their efforts – but I couldn’t help but chuckle my way through all 10 minutes. (Felt like 20.)

   "High Five" By Alaska Robotics
   Funny stuff. AKROB certainly excels at the short, punch line format! I also appreciated that this one wasn’t posted on the web prior to the JUMP festival. As an avid RSS subscriber, it was nice to be surprised by something new.

   "Intermission" By Brice Habeger
   Great sweat! A little weakened by the printer punch line, but I enjoy any creative intermission promo. The JUMP Society should think about having an intermission contest. Set some bounds (30 seconds?), offer a cheap-o prize, and hopefully we’ll have intermission bumpers for the next eleventeen festivals!

   "And Then They Smiled" By Shot by Mike Rainery
   After the show, my wife said this about the video: “You know, it’s too bad when the filmmaker has a really good idea, but just isn’t quite able to pull it off.” I agree.

   I really liked a lot of the imagery and symbolism in this video, though if put on the spot, I’d be hard pressed to tell you exactly what it was about. It seemed almost if the narrator was edited in later in an effort to explain things, and the tone of that character didn’t quite match. (Speaking of the narrator, I had a hard time understanding him through the “echo” effect applied to his audio. Could be that the filmmaker pushed that too far, or it could be a problem with the venue’s audio system.)

   "Bumps Stumps & Hucks" By 7 Minute Productions
   This video stood apart from the others, if only because it seemed to have more traditional music. Sounded like something from the Matrix II soundtrack to me, but I might be way off.

   Another ski video! Was this the one with the cool scenery shots that had multi-layered focus points? I thought those were awesome. Obviously, the people behind the camera have an eye for composition. Here with the scenery, and earlier with the sunset shot I pointed out.

   Hmmm… here’s a challenge for the ski videographers out there: Can you put as much effort into every shot? Can you match the skiers and snowboarders’ athleticism and skill with your creative and complex compositions? If you can, you’ll suck in EVERY audience.

   "Spring Cleaning in the World of Warcraft" By Alaska Robotics
   What I said about High Five, goes here, too. This should be illustrative of how easy it can be to create a film for JUMP. Look, Ma – No editing!

   "Wild One" By David Aragon
   Not quite a music video you’d see on MTV, but every independent artist should make one for at least one of their songs. I was distracted a bit by the repeating video segment, more so because it really didn’t seem like the girl was comfortable playing a “wild one.”

   "A Chance for Change" By Gabe Strong
   Look, the flying titles HAVE to go. I don’t care if the client likes them, they have to go. Talk about distracting! I think one pass of the shine filter is okay, but no more animation than that, and by all means, kill the audio, too.

   This looked like a standard corporate video to me. If nothing else, the voiceover made it feel that way. Which is probably what the filmmaker was going for – I’ll bet this was a for-pay project.

   I doubt there’s any other film festival in the entire world that would have accepted this piece. Not to say I don’t think there’s room for it here, in Juneau. I certainly learned about something new and local, and in that respect, it kept me engaged.

   I do think it was a little long – and not just because I was a little taken aback by the corporate tone. Somewhere near the end, the voiceover and interviews started to feel superfluous. I’d have to watch it again, but I think it was a bit before the “people who we interviewed but didn’t have time to show” started flashing rapid-fire across the screen. Music video at the end seemed to fit, but could also have been easily removed for time.

   In summary, a good corporate video… if you tone down the titles.

   "The Costs of War" By Jacob Caggiano
   I couldn’t read the C-span subtitles (curse this damn venue!), so I don’t know who the people testifying were. Was there anything tying them to Juneau or Alaska? Anyway, the home video of the footage from Iraq was heartbreaking. I’m not sure it would have been able to stand on its own – which is probably why it was intercut with television footage – but it sure made its point.

   "Caller of Spirit" By Kyle MacDonald & Dao Strom
   Some breathtaking imagery in the video – familiar to anyone in Juneau, but captured in a way that was somehow new. Film was a little thin on story, but that’s not necessarily different than other music videos. (Also, full disclaimer, I’ve noticed that I rarely focus on lyrics during my first listen. I will assume there was more story there.)

   "Pinching Wings" By Brice Habeger
   I would say this video had the best acting of the festival. Two very believable characters. Script seemed to be more character arc than story. Felt to me like a scene stolen from a movie; a small part of something greater. However, without a little more background into the characters, I found myself unable to REALLY identify with them.

   Here’s a funny complaint. I felt that the audio in this film was – wait for it – TOO GOOD. Seriously, that was the first thing I thought when I heard the two characters talking in the scene with the janitor behind them! How can audio be too good? I don’t know. It was so clear… it was almost like it allowed you to focus on the missing elements. Background music, or ambient room noise, or something. Weird.

   Also, much of Centennial Hall seemed to have a yellow cast to it. White balance problems, or stylistic decision? I couldn’t tell.

   Still, high marks from me for dramatic fiction. That’s never easy.

   "The Big Joke" By Alaska Robotics
   I already gave dem peeps (too much) feedback on this film. If you want to see it, you can dig it up somewhere else in this same forum.

   "Freekin Fungus" By Paul F. Disdier
   I remember seeing the trailer for this some festivals back. Then, as now, I thought that the filmmakers really managed to nail some of the finer elements of the horror genre. Lighting, camera angles, and most especially the MUSIC and that great STUTTERING VIDEO segment with the power tool. Also, props for the chase footage – couldn’t have been easy to have kept the camera that steady. Great stuff!

   I think this film was trying to tip-toe that fine line between horror and comedy. Hollywood positively CHURNS out horror films AND comedy films, but the relative lack of movies that are a combination of the two is probably an indication of how hard they are to put together. I think that Freekin Fungus would have been better if they had committed one way or the other.

   That’s it. That’s my two cents. And just like after every other JUMP festival, I’m feeling inspired to create something new for the next. Thanks, Juneau!

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. Gabe
   Member

   Ok, I'm going to make a stab at this one as well.

   "2008 Trailer" By Bad Larry

   I'm not a skier or snowboarder, BUT, there was some nice editing in this piece....and some pretty shots as well. These pieces always seemed kind of like a 'pseudo music video' to me, ever since I saw the first Warren Miller video. Anyways, good job to the local kids on this piece.

   "Billy the Butterfly" By Wylie Gladstone
   This was pretty funny....and yes I actually LIKED the tie in to Pinching Wings. I thought the same filmmaker had done both at first.

   "To Build a Fire" By Mircea Brown
   Now I liked the original Jack London story, but somehow this one didn't totally do it for me. Was it because I already knew the ending,... I'm not really sure, but I tend to think so. But high marks for trying this new approach, and especially for the end where he decides to go after the dog, that part made me laugh. Good location as well, I would have liked to hear a few more 'nats' to really bring you into the 'snowy, cold reality' of this movie.

   "Fine Arts Camp Animations" By Arts Camp Students
   Quite a bit here, not sure I understood any kind of story if there was one. But some good flipbook style animations, and nice effect with the kids going through the net, and the fighting figures was funny too.

   "Irritable Owl Syndrome" By Izzy and Mike Christiansen
   I have to be totally honest here, this one went right over my head. I bet if I asked a 10 year old, they could have filled me in quite nicely as I don't really know anything about Harry Potter except the names of the movies. I don't feel I should comment on films that go over my head, as I have no clue (some might say that applies to me all the time).

   "Les Miserables" By Greg Chaney

   Hmmmm, now I'm going to be fair and start by saying that theatre has never really been my thing. But something about this mini doc bothered me. Maybe it was the reliance on basically two people throughout the entire piece. Maybe it was some of the footage (especially when the applause started.....shaky footage from the middle of the crowd was not what I wanted here, I wanted a good WS showing EVERYONE standing and clapping.) I wanted to see interviews with some of the kids. I wanted....well something more, or maybe something less, as in a bit tighter for the whole piece. HOWEVER, there WAS something about it that was really special too. Maybe it was the absolutely GREAT personalities of the two people you interviewed. Maybe it was showing how they overcame the obstacles in their path, with some ingenious solutions. In the end, this piece really left me torn. There were some technical things I didn't like, but there was also some things that were nice about it....and it left you caring about the people in it, so you know what? When it really comes down to it I'd say...Good job!

   "Our Backyard" By Worldcarve
   Again some absolutely incredible images. These guys take you right into their world up in the mountains....and I really liked some of the scenery shots here.

   "Four from Dido" By Roald Simonson
   Wow, this one REALLY went over my head. Maybe something about opera not being my thing either. Again, I don't think I should comment on a film I don't understand.

   "High Five" By Alaska Robotics
   Good stuff. As usual the AKROB crew knows how to do something funny, and do it quick, proving you only need a minimum of time to engage an audience.

   "Intermission" By Brice Habeger
   I thought it was funny. I was just waiting for the big explosion. But EVERYONE knows you want to clip the red wire in this situation....right?

   "And Then They Smiled" Shot by Mike Rainery
   I thought I understood this movie at first, but then.....it got a little abstract on me and got away from me. There was some beautiful imagery in this one.The ending made me laugh, and I'm not even sure why....maybe it was the image of them both on opposite sides of the door standing two inches apart.....hmmmm maybe it symbolizes men and women and their relationships.....

   "Bumps Stumps & Hucks" By 7 Minute Productions
   This ski video had some nice scenic shots as well. I liked some of the rack focus stuff here too. I'm not the target audience for these skiing/snowboarding videos, but comparing them to the professional ones I've seen, I have to say, our local guys come off pretty decent in comparison.

   "Spring Cleaning in the World of Warcraft" By Alaska Robotics
   Too freaking funny. Again, how to make a point in 10 seconds or less. Sweet job guys!

   "Wild One" By David Aragon
   Not sure I like pieces where there is so much repeating imagery. But other than that, it was pretty well done.

   "A Chance for Change" By Gabe Strong
   Who is this corporate guy ruining our film festival anyways?? I plead guilty as charged on all counts. I originally told the client I'd enter it in the film festival for them, but back then the project was envisioned more as following around some of the subjects for a day...more of a documentary, which I thought would work well. But of course clients change their minds, and I should have stuck with my original thought after it changed....which was 'this probably doesn't fit with JUMP.' It came across very corporate and promotional...which of course is exactly what it was. I think I violated one of the basic rules....'Know your audience!' I hate excuses, so all I can say is...my mitigating factor was sleep deprivation, but I still should have known better. Plus I didn't have enough B-roll, shot sequencing sucked, and should have cut out more of the start and got right to the main characters, and, and, and....

   However, one part of Arlo's comments struck me..."I doubt there's any other film festival in the entire world that would have accepted this piece." Not to come across as defensive, BUT, you are wrong :-)that's all I'll say about that right now. But he does get me thinking..., there is one thing I don't like about JUMP, and I'll get into it more when I talk about the next film, but basically it is the use of copyright materials in your film without licensing(Music, video clips or whatever.) Now THERE is something almost no film festival except JUMP will accept, cause well....it's ILLEGAL! So yes, JUMP does accept almost anything, in a way that's good because it encourages entries which we all want. But, it would be nice to have an eventual goal of showing some of these films at other festivals too maybe? Just a thought.

   "The Costs of War" By Jacob Caggiano
   OK, this was from what I could tell a bunch of recorded footage of C-SPAN interviews, edited together. First, there are the obvious legal issues of using copyright material. Now 'fair use' can be a defense sometimes, but not when the copyright material basically makes up your entire film. Second, I'm not sure what the Juneau tie was either. Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh here, really, and the editing and tying the story together was actually pretty good, but I'd like to see some actual filming by the filmmaker....interviews with local guys....Veterans for Peace or People for Peace and Justice, local military guys, anything but just footage pulled off C-Span. Like I said, I don't mean to be harsh, but using copyright stuff is one of my pet peeves. My stuff might suck, but it's MY suckiness if you know what I mean. You're still my boy though J and hope to see you around soon....maybe at another JWAC meeting sometime! :-)

   "Caller of Spirit" By Kyle MacDonald & Dao Strom
   I thought this was an absolutely awesome music video. Unique, great imagery. Nice job.

   "Pinching Wings" By Brice Habeger
   GREAT production values, good lighting, looked like film. My only problem was....I've seen this story before. Not literally of course, I'm not saying anything was plagurized or stolen. Just I've seen this basic storyline roughly a million times. I was hoping to see the woman come back after the man left and ask the janitor "do you think he suspects anything?" or something like that.
   But high, high marks for production value, lighting, camera work, and audio. I am almost CERTAIN the color cast was a stylistic color 'grading' decision. To me, it fit the film and was another little touch that made this film look really nice. Great job!

   "The Big Joke" By Alaska Robotics
   This one took me a sec. But, somewhere in the basement of my mind, I finally got the joke

   "Freekin Fungus" By Paul F. Disdier
   This one was the highlight of the show for me. Just great, great, have I said great yet? I would never have believed this was a Juneau film...this looked like something you'd see in the theater. Great, awesome camera work and angles to build tension. Great music and sound scoring. Sweet special effects. I really don't know that there was anything that I would have changed. I actually liked the mix of comedy in the horror, I thought it was done just right, especially when the electric chainsaw cord pulled out, and the 'glow of glory' around the alcohol....good funny stuff. This one should be entered in the horror film festival on the east coast.

   That's my take, and it's probably worth less than .02. First JUMP festival I've been to and it was sweet (stupid clients keeping me busy). I've been meaning to come to one for years. Hopefully I'll come up with something to enter in another one sometime. And to everyone else that entered, good job and keep it up. How many other towns the size of Juneau can say they have their own film festival?

   Gabe Strong
   G-Force Productions
   http://www.gforcevideo.com

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. amidgett
   Member

   I realize, after reading Gabe's comments on his own film, that I wasn't able to get my point about A Chance for Change across very well. I liked it! My criticisms of it (and of all the films) were only offered in the spirit of offering constructive feedback.

   Also, I really want this to be clear: My comment about this being the only festival to accept the film wasn't about the film's quality -- it's that because GHS is in Juneau, JUMP *should* be considered the correct audience for the film. My point, if I can have a second shot at making it, is that "corporate videos" aren't normally accepted in traditional film festivals, but this film *does* have a built-in audience here, and therefore a solid reason to be accepted by JUMP. It worked.

   Finally, I agree 99% with Gabe on the copyright issue. In most of the things I've submitted, the group I worked with struggled to create all the material ourselves. (Sometimes we took advantage of Creative Commons material.) I will admit to submitting a couple films with copyrighted music, but always with a guilty feeling. Not necessarily because I fret over the original copyright holder's feelings or finances, but because it was the easy way out when "everyone else" was doing it. It's tough. I realize JUMP sets the bar low, to get people to start creating. If we put up more hoops to jump through (so to speak), who are we going to lose?

   My 1% disagreement on the copyright issue is with your specific example. I believe I read somewhere that C-SPAN, being funded by taxpayer dollars, *can* be used for non-commercial purposes. I haven't had a need to delve into the specifics, but it's very possible (I'd say even probable) that Jacob's use of the C-SPAN material in The Costs of War isn't just Fair Use, it's entirely legal.

   More info here: http://www.c-span.org/about/press/release.asp?code=video

   Posted 2 years ago #

5. Gabe
   Member

   Arlo, it's all good, really, I understood what you were saying and agree with it.
   (Especially about the flying overdone titles....)
   And to tell the truth I cheated a little bit, as there are actually film festivals out there that are corporate film festivals, and that's what I submitted to...kinda crazy but they have film festivals out there for EVERY type of thing you can think of (they probably have a festival out there for films made by Billy the Butterfly). But as my project started to play during JUMP, I was actually like.....yikes that is coming across way more corporate than I intended...LOL. But there is no offense taken as you were 100% right, it was a for pay project that I told the client I would submit, and with deadlines, I didn't have the time to recut everything as I was hoping to make it more of a 'film' and less of a corporate video, as usual I ran out of time, and didn't screen it properly. I'm glad you took something out of it, honestly I was lucky to interview three great guys who I think would have made a fascinating documentary if I would have been able to follow each one for a day instead of 10 minutes.

   As for copyright and C-SPAN if you are right, I apologize. As I said Jacob did a good job with the editing, and I'm not sure where the home video came from but it made the story. I will say, that being funded by taxpayer dollars does NOT make it automatically legal to use, I have worked for PBS stations in the past and know that in general using their material using this defense would get you a visit from their lawyer.

   As for his movie in question, I would still have liked to see some local interviews, I know there are people in this community who would have given some GREAT interviews on this subject, and having something other than stuff off C-SPAN would have broken it up. I would have liked to see more footage like the video from the back of the truck with the guys holding out water bottles. This is a minor quibble of course, as I know the 'budget' didn't allow for Jacob to fly over to Iraq, and he had to find what he could. But, solid job on the editing, I know from experience that it is hard sifting through tons of footage to try and make the interviews tie together to make a story, and you did an absolutely great job with that. Consider my critique payback for you tapping on my mic that one time at my JWAC shoot :-) No seriously good job J, I bet you sifted through a ton of interviews to make this story.

   Copyright is a crazy thing these days, and is changing all the time. But you can now license popular music from several sites at a decent price. As for fair use, there is a set of guidelines posted by the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers and the Independent Documentary Association and others. Now C-Span apparently has looser restrictions on the use of their stuff, but this is a good place to look at.
   http://www.current.org/doc/doc0521fairuse.shtml
   To be fair, I've talked to entertainment lawyers and have been told that following these guidelines will not save you and in fact you could possibly lose a lawsuit even if you followed these, but it is interesting to look at them.

   I also realize why JUMP allows this, they are a festival as Arlo says who accept what other places wouldn't to encourage submission. That is actually a good thing in a lot of ways, as a matter of fact, I would almost venture a guess that without this policy we'd have a lot less submission and JUMP wouldn't be what it is, I hope I didn't come across as slamming JUMP for doing this. Just wanted people to be aware that JUMP is unique this way and if you want to submit to other places....be aware of the following:

   If you ever plan to submit to other film festivals, you need to secure appearance releases, and license releases for footage you didn't shoot as well as music license for music you use and even location releases in many cases for locations you shot at, for most festivals to even accept your film. Most film festivals take this stuff seriously and YOU have the burden to prove that everything in your film is legal! Ok, end of rant.

   Again, great job everyone. It continues to surprise me how much talent there is in this town in so many areas, art, music, and even filmmaking!

   Gabe Strong
   G-Force Productions
   http://www.gforcevideo.com

   Posted 2 years ago #

6. Brice
   Member

   I just wanted to write a few things, nothing long winded because I really don't have much to say. Why not throw my hat into the pile.

   To all filmmakers, read the post then go out and there make some more films!

   "2008 Trailer"
   It felt inspired. I know that all snowboard movies are shots with music on top, but there are some that are totally cherry and not just because of the riding. My favorite filmmakers are the Absinthe crew because they make snowboard FILMS and not just videos. Not that every snowboard film has to actually originate on celluloid, but I like to think that snowboard movies that are shot on film require a lot more care and thought. They are more than just videos, which is what you get on youtube. Youtube is videos, tons and tons of videos. This trailer felt like something with thought. I appreciate care and craft, and look forward to the real flic. Plus I love the whole community of snowboard/filmmakers thing that work together to make the film happen, it comes across and makes snowboarding seem fun. Which it totally is.

   "Billy the Butterfly"
   I directed this and I also directed Pinching Wings. Jason Shima is a bad ass. Nathaniel Habeger, my brother, is a total pimp.

   "To Build a Fire"
   Pacing was a little sluggish. It's tough to drive a balance between the narrator giving all of the information and the image giving all of the information. Personally I believe that the image should always give out all the information and if the narrator sucks you turn him off and he doesn't ruin the film. That is to say, that the narrator better be really interesting and worth listening to. But the narrator wasn't at fault here.

   "Fine Arts Camp Animations"
   Pat is instilling genius in the minds of Juneau's future. Good for him and double hurray for all the young filmmakers! Plus that Indiana Jones lego movie was way better than Indiana Jones 4.

   "Irritable Owl Syndrome"
   Izzy, you are a clever little guy. I applaud your efforts. One thing there, Izzy, think about how long a commercial is and decide whether you want to make a commercial or a short film. But keep up the good work! I wasn't a little film making wizard when I was your age, and you have so many years to be the best film making wizard around.

   "Les Miserables"
   That show blew me away and the doc only worked to solidify my belief that some good things are going to happen with those who could put together a HIGH SCHOOL production like that with the resources available, that includes teachers as well as students.

   "Our Backyard"
   Don't quit snowboarding and don't quit film making. Tighten up those edits and get clever with those shots. I am totally biased towards Bad Larry crew, so take that into consideration.

   "Four from Dido"
   It was really all about the music and you have to look at the films that I submitted to the festival to understand where I am coming from, spend some time making the shots pretty and you can make it about the visuals too.

   "High Five"
   I always get a real enjoyment out of the AK robotics films. I didn't like this one as much as the BIG JOKE, but it was still quality. I love simplicity and if you can milk a HIGH FIVE for three minutes than I say go for it, but it wouldn't have worked without the little "explosion" set up. I am the worst at giving high fives. I think I suffer from high five retardation syndrome. I always end up slapping the wrist, or the fingertips, or the person in the face. So high five to that!

   "Intermission"
   A great filmmaker once said (paraphrasing), "To make a good film all you need is to grow a good mustache, and the rest is easy." Actually I made that up, but Jason Shima did have a good mustache. Plus, Phil totally deserves an Oscar or at the very least a drink from every lady that sees him in the bar and digs his talent.

   "And Then They Smiled"
   Mark Rainery shot my film and did a very good job. I would like to offer some public props and say that this film looked very good. The story reminded me of my own film, and I think there might sort of a trend among young male filmmakers to make films about the love we can never quite seem to obtain. But Mark will go far because I know that he loves film making, he loves snowboarding more, but I understand and think that he will do just fine with both.

   "Bumps Stumps & Hucks"
   Sorry, I am a Bad Larry fan. But you might be able to win me over with some quicker editing and some more personal flava flav.

   "Spring Cleaning in the World of Warcraft"
   So simple. Genius.

   "Wild One"
   Ummm... objectifying women times a thousand. Oh wait, it's a wet dream, it's cool then. Did the filmmaker have a total boner or did he really have to make it last like six minutes, which is like five minutes longer than I last.

   "A Chance for Change"
   Not much more to add to what's already been said, but the lighting was a little over the top for my taste. I like simple and natural. I am reading Nestor Almendros biography right now and I would suggest a reading. Not that you can't light, but it is a tough sell for a red and blue gel for an interview. Unless you are Errol Morris and you keep the mood throughout the entire film. Like the darkness "suggests the past" or something like that can justify a dramatic lighting choice. I say totally give me corporate videos, that's how Robert Altman got his start, but make them feel unified. Again, I like simple.

   "The Costs of War"
   Nothing to say about this one. The short was made by cutting and I am not an editor.

   "Caller of Spirit"
   Some of these shots were balanced perfectly. A little Aronofsky perfectionism in there. Not all the shots made alot of sense to me, but I still like a pretty picture and the music was very good. Very touching. Also DAO if you read this, I am in need of some original music to end my film PINCHING WINGS. Something mournful and country ballad sounding. Would you at all be interested? If so please contact me at bhabeger at hotmail dot com.

   "Pinching Wings"
   I lit this film with par cans on a 1k variac dimmer. The orangish hue was from dropping the voltage so low to match the existing light. We totally messed up on that and the white balance was worst than a decade old arm pit stain, but that was completely my fault and I take full responsibility. I sort of made it work in post. Also, I mixed the sound myself and dropped the ambience and presence way too low. I will remix and bring up those tracks by a couple of decibels. I have to give all the credit to my actors and my crew! Corin, Kylie, and Jerry each brought alot to their roles and listened to each other and to what I had to say.
   I underutilized the skill of Mark and rode him a little too hard during the shoot, I apologize for that. Alicia was a beautiful person to have on set, and really helped my articulate my thoughts. Tim was just a plain 'ol bad ass for picking up a microphone and capturing sound that was TOO GOOD. Props to all of you guys!

   "The Big Joke"
   I love that moment were the two writers turn to each other... good exposure, good costumes and overall great scenario!

   "Freekin Fungus"
   This guy makes me angry! Paul, I read your script in its entirety and I am jealous of you. I think this short worked perfectly. It was money sauce. You are a visionary and you will only get better. I am angry at you because I can see that you are an attention grabbing visual filmmaker, something that I am not. Your placement of characters within the frame was totally right on. That shot where your character is looking into the cave (I think that is the one) and he is in closeup and rest of the image falls away behind him was was nicely done. Ok, I am done swinging on your nuts. Please email me. We have to work together. I was totally in the wrong when, after reading your script, I thought you couldn't pull it off. It's not a feature, but not bad at all...

   Posted 2 years ago #

7. Houdini
   Member

   Here's some feedback: If your name is Wade and you are well over six feet tall - QUIT SITTING IN THE FRONT ROW. Thanks for ruining it for everyone sitting behind you!

   Posted 2 years ago #

8. Third eYe
   Member

   Hey everyone. This is Jacob - I made "The Costs of War" this time around.

   There's been a lot of interesting discussion on this board and I want to address the issues that have been raised so far with my film, as well as some issues that haven't been raised yet.

   But first I'm going to post my reviews of everyone else so here we go...

   "2008 Trailer"
   By Bad Larry

   I understand people's feelings about ski or snowboard videos. Sometimes I feel the same way, where I know I should be appreciate what I'm seeing because I understand the tricky maneuvers being performed are quite challenging, but over time, the tricks get redundant and depreciate in value.

   Also regarding what Gabe said about being a "pseudo music video," I agree in the sense that it's hard to stop oneself from thinking it was easy for the producer to just slap on any old song and call it good. But choice of music is extremely important, and there can be many days/weeks/months spent on trial and error if you truly want the right song.

   I liked the music and the feeling kicked off the festival really well and got me really revved up! It's great to see my fellow locals getting out, getting active, and documenting the good times and madness.

   "Billy the Butterfly"
   By Wylie Gladstone

   Hilarious. Great job maintaining your pseudo identity Brice, and tricking everyone, including me.

   "To Build a Fire"
   By Mircea Brown

   Definitely could have been half the length and equally as enjoyable, which coincides with my general philosophy that films should be as short as possible without being too short. Although the cutting could have been tighter, part of me enjoyed the slower pace and the patience that was required for this film. I also felt a trickle of sorrow at the end when our humble protagonist lost his struggle against nature and keeled over (but why did he keel over twice?).

   Good job. Oh by the way, how many takes did it require to get those pine needles lit? I couldn't believe it worked! When he first pulled out the matches I thought it was a joke and there would be no fire.

   Plus you scored one of the best laughs in the whole festival when he was plotting to kill the dog and uttered the line - "Come 'ere!" (not to mention some good gasps as well!)

   "Fine Arts Camp Animations"

   Great job arts camp kids. Did you use a still camera or a video camera??? It seems like nowadays it would be easier to snap stills with high image quality and sequence them together on the computer, rather than turn a video camera record button "on" and "off" really fast.

   Love the special effects and respect the time it takes to make them.

   "Irritable Owl Syndrome"
   By Izzy and Mike Christiansen

   I don't follow Harry Potter but I don't care, I laughed with this one. Besides Izzy & Mike make a great team and I love to see kids being creative. Obviously there was some technical issues and I would suggest spending some more time with the audio and microphone quality of the narrator, but who cares good job! Plus I have irritable bowels myself, so I fit your target audience.

   "Les Miserables"
   By Greg Chaney

   I loved this one!!!

   Wow I wish theater was that cool when I did it in High School!

   I overcame the glitchy transitions and somewhat jarring b-roll jumps for the fact that the story was so engaging. Plus you had a great pair of interview subjects. They clearly loved what they do, and the interaction between the two was amusing, and their hard work and appreciation of their hard work emanated quite well.

   Also love the fact that someone took the time to preserve a piece something ephemeral, like a play. Great for the kids to look back on when older in life.

   "Our Backyard"
   By Worldcarve

   Congratulations Worldcarve, this was my favorite of the 3 mountain sports videos.

   The music was smooth and the groove meshed well with the art of carving snow. Plus good title name "Our Backyard" made me feel proud to be living in Juneau.
   Also great compositions as mentioned above, loved the memorable shot of the whispy snow over cliff into the sun.

   Here's my suggestion to all the sports video creators:

   If you want to win over a crowd that is outside of the participating community, i.e., old farty adults, or even people your age who don't do extreme sports, you're going to have to do more than impress them with your tricks. You need to make them feel emotionally attached to the experience, and also want to tap into nostalgia, arouse the inner longing inside all of us who don't have the gusto to do what you do and live your lifestyle.

   This one did that for me. My favorite action shot was just when the guy came down the hill, reel nonchalant and elegant like, and did the no-handed cartwheel jump into the snow. That looked so fun! Even though the trick wasn't very complicated, it made me want to escape my chair and go back in time and be a teenager on a snowboard in Juneau's beautiful mountains. Plus that panning shot of the two characters with the mountains in the background was cool.

   "Four from Dido"
   By Roald Simonson

   I'm sorry but this should have been wayyyyyyy shorter. In fact, you could have just submitted some of the interesting raven shots and kept the music and titles and left it under 2 minutes and I would have enjoyed it.

   Also, consider a tripod and go easy on the zoom. Less is more.

   "High Five"
   By Alaska Robotics

   Great opening and closing credits! You guys show off your veteran pro-ness quite well when you introduce yourself and your brand.

   Although I laughed and enjoyed seeing you guys do your thing, I am going to be honest and say that the high-five joke was a little too reminiscent of a Seinfeld episode involving a "high-five guy"

   But still, glad it was there and gave the house some laughs.

   "Intermission"
   By Brice Habeger

   Hilarious! I love the idea of seeing more of these in the future.

   "And Then They Smiled"
   By Shot by Mike Rainery

   I really liked this one, even without a concrete plot. I got a little distracted trying to figure out whether or not it was filmed in Juneau. Not too crazy about the keyed out green screen narrator either.

   My favorite thing in this film was the simple but thought-out arrangement of Grandma's kitchen. One solid color container that said FLOUR and another solid color container that said SUGAR. genius! If only life were really that simple.

   "Bumps Stumps & Hucks"
   By 7 Minute Productions

   Decent shots good stunts cool music. Loved the "Gods" shot with the two gentlemen.

   It's tough being the 3rd video of this genre, so maybe that affected my opinion of it, or other people's opinions of it.

   "Spring Cleaning in the World of Warcraft"
   By Alaska Robotics

   SHORT! SWEET! HILARIOUS!

   My first dorm roomate in college was exactly the same.

   Bummer the titles were unreadable to half the crowd, but appreciated that you matched the game font.

   "Wild One"
   By David Aragon
   Music video to the song “Wild One” by Kold Knights.

   This one started kind of funny got redundant real quick. My favorite part was the enjoyment the guy got shooting her, and was hoping for some comedic situations between the two. Maybe doing photoshoots at a kids birthday party, or bar-mitzvah, or something.

   "A Chance for Change"
   By Gabe Strong

   Gabe I knew this one was yours.

   Although I'm not a fan of corporate videos (who is???), I appreciated the localness to it, and appreciated that the characters were willing to open their lives on video.
   Could have been shorter but wasn't unbearable. Also the sound levels were off, i.e. the sound for the change in the cash register was way louder than everything else, but these are things I'm sure you know so I won't pick into details.

   I highly agree with amidgett, those flying titles have to die a painful death. Same with the sound effects, though it wouldn't have been as bad if there were background music. Just because you have the skills to make something, doesn't mean it fits if it's distracting. Similar to why one should never use any of those goofy effects in a Powerpoint presentation.

   However Gabe, I am curious...did you design the lower third entirely yourself or was part of it a template??? I didn't recognize it from LiveType or Motion.

   Either way, I learned something about my community, despite that it was slanted heavily in favor of GHS. Also you managed to get some good soundbytes out of your interview subjects like "When I wasn't high all the time I was down all the time, there was no life to it." It would have been interesting to go into detail and show b-roll about their lives before and after the change, but maybe there were privacy and personal issues involved that prevented that.

   Also Gabe, I know what it's like to have a vision for a documentary like film and have it turn propraganda. I had the same thing happen to me when I slaved myself in college to make a free video for the International Rescue Committee for school credit. I wanted to document the lives of refugees who fled war and ended up in Seattle, and instead made a commercial for the organization - which turned out fine but not as I hoped. It's online here:

   http://www.fishbowlescape.com/nonprofit.html

   Overall good job Gabe! There's a reason why you get paid.

   "The Costs of War"
   By Jacob Caggiano

   This one is mine and I have a lot to say about it and will do so in a future post. I am preparing a defense for my fellow critics so please stay tuned.

   "Caller of Spirit"
   By Kyle MacDonald & Dao Strom

   Great job JUMP team for the thoughtful placement of this film in tandem with the previous one. The music was calming way to give people time to process the imagery and information being shown and said about Iraq.

   Also some beautiful shots of Juneau, esp. the rainbow finish. How fortunate to have caught that on video.

   No visible storyline to me but that's okay.

   Also great to see something local and professional. I was in a highly peculiar emotional sobbing state on opening night while my film was running, and it provided the catharsis and relief that I needed and deeply appreciated.

   "Pinching Wings"
   By Brice Habeger

   I saw the ad for actors and was glad you found some decent ones! Or maybe you were just good at directing them.

   Got some laughs, Got some feeling for the characters, liked the reference to BtB, and like that we have talent in Juneau!!!!

   "The Big Joke"
   By Alaska Robotics
   Have you ever wondered where jokes come from?

   Awesome concept, pulled off perfect! Wouldn't change a thing, you guys rule.

   "Freekin Fungus"
   By Paul F. Disdier

   YES YES YES!

   Laughs, Blood, Drugs, and Thrills!

   Great closer for the fest. The audience all took a ride together.

   Awesome lighting from Patty! Especially the night breathing. Good job, how long did it take to make this!!??!!

   Once again, I'm going to take a break and then make a new post to address some production decisions made for my submission, regarding issues of copyright, as well as some other things.

   Please stay tuned for that.

   Posted 2 years ago #

9. Gabe
   Member

   Jacob,

   Looking forward to your next post. I will say that I am not a big fan of pulling material off TV to make a documentary (just my personal opinion), but at the same time, it appears that CNN may be making their material freely available so I was probably wrong about the copyright issue. I know what you were trying to do, and you did it well, we don't exactly have budgets to fly over to Iraq here. I'd personally had a idea that I would like to do exactly that and my brother in law is a commander over there, I thought it would make for a great documentary, and I had some ideas of what I'd want to try....
   Anyways,I am sure you probably didn't have the time (I know how that goes, trust me) but just in case....I know from doing a earlier video there are a LOT of people who were in the military or are involved in active protest, that live here in Juneau that would give you some GOOD stuff for your piece. Shoot they were having 'die ins' outside the capitol building by the courthouse for awhile if I remember right.

   By the way, I just saw your fair use piece online. I thought that was funny as I had just talked about the copyright issues. Good piece, and I pretty much agree with what you said there. Believe me, I do NOT agree with the stupid copyright laws and the music and movie companies really tick me off with their restrictions. When you are doing video for pay though, it gets kind of hard because clients are used to seeing copyright music in videos, used to seeing clips from movies and TV in videos, and just assume that I can do that for them. It is hard to explain all this stuff and half the time I don't understand it all myself. Then of course there are people who will do it for them and just hope 'they don't get caught'. It makes for a tangled mess to try and explain and understand, and to be honest, it seems even entertainment lawyers have differing opinions on a lot of it. There are a couple places out there that will license popular music for decent prices, and I hope the trend will continue, as I can build in an extra $100 or so to a video or even a short film that I may want to show at a big festival. I don't have a problem paying a 'reasonable' amount, to the original copyright holder, shoot, I get paid to create stuff and I wouldn't like people ripping my stuff off either. On the other hand, if someone was doing a low budget film, and wanted to use some video of mine, I wouldn't try to charge them 100 grand either....and that's the problem. The big music and movie companies try and treat EVERY situation and potential user the same as a big Hollywood blockbuster. Anyways, I hope you know me enough to know I didn't mean anything bad about you with my original post. As a matter of fact, feel free to contact me for help on any of your projects if you ever need anything, or just want to BS around some ideas for stuff to shoot.

   As for the questions on my piece. Ya, the flying titles were overdone, one of the things I was planning to change. Unfortunately I finished the video for the client at about 10pm and only had until the next morning to cut it down to the right time (ya the original version is LONGER) and change things. About 1am I said screw it and fell asleep at the edit desk. So it didn't get fixed as much as I was hoping. But I made that lower third myself.....I poked around livetype and motion but nothing really fit. Actually what I usually do is make something up, and use one element from a livetype or motion template (something that I'd have a hard time making myself), so it won't look like something everyone else uses. Then you know, save it as a template and just change the name and title for every person.

   You hit the nail on the head, I screwed up the cash register sound...I forgot to bring down the audio by 6db or so on that nat. I had like 20 audio tracks and missed one...DOH! I think it was the only nat that was way too loud, but it was out there. Also you were right on thinking what would have worked.....showing some before and after B-Roll. I wish I could have done that, I would have even settled for following each of the three around for a day. The problem is permissions, you have to get permission from GHS to talk to any of their clients as well as get client permission. Not a problem for someone that is out now and clean, but try getting permission from a guy still using drugs to show him in a video like this....assuming he wants to get a job and all, probably not going to happen, and even if you could, I'm guessing GHS would not want to give permission for that.....(hmmm wonder if anyplace sells stock footage of people abusing drugs?) Plus the client wanted to interview like 20 people in 2 days or so, so I was lucky to get 5 minutes of B-roll with a few of the clients. As usual you start out with an idea, and it isn't what the finished product is. If you are lucky, it still kind of has the same general idea. But I won't complain, I worked with some great people who really want to help people change their lives, got to interview some people who did an awesome job changing their lives for the better, and got paid for it....as far as I'm concerned that is pretty cool.

   Gabe Strong
   G-Force Productions
   http://www.gforcevideo.com

   Posted 2 years ago #

10. jrat
    Member

    hey thanks for the feed back on Our backyard and Bumps, Stumps & hucks i didnt have enough time to add that 7 minute productions made both films, just forgot the "in association with" on our backyard. It did seem like there was 3 differnt prductions, my bad wotn forget next time. thanks for the input on the differnt transitions and how to make them alitte more livly.

    Thanks: jrat

    Posted 2 years ago #

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