Xixax Film Forum

Creative Corner => The Art Gallery => Topic started by: JG on October 31, 2010, 05:29:30 PM

Title: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on October 31, 2010, 05:29:30 PM
What up yall, here's a short (http://www.vimeo.com/16352649) I did a couple of weeks ago on the 7d. Its called "The Morning After" and its the first of several shorts that we'll be posting onto that there vimeo page over the next couple of weeks in attempt to raise money for a feature my friends and I are trying to shoot. Compression could've been better, and will be, on subsequent videos. Let me know what y'all think. Wordaap.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: Pubrick on November 02, 2010, 05:37:23 AM
hey that wasn't bad.

i thought it was going to be just because the film started with someone waking up which usually signals amateur hour, but i think the performances saved it. the story obviously is non existent and i guess it's adequate to call it a "short"... just not a short film, more like a short couple of scenes. it worked as an introduction to the characters but i am more certain now it's because the chick has a very unique face that's great on camera.. the guy not so much, but he looks like he could be funny.

only shot that didn't look good was the establishing shot when they're out on the street. it looked cheap and not glossy/cool like the usual 7D footage.

so what role did you play in this production?
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on November 05, 2010, 09:42:36 AM
Thanks for taking a look. I agree, its a slight movie that wouldn't work without out the wonderful performances by our actors..

I co-wrote and co-directed..
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: Stefen on November 05, 2010, 02:43:08 PM
I thought it was really cute. So is this kind of a mini-prequel to the eventual feature?
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on November 07, 2010, 03:58:34 PM
Quote from: Stefen on November 05, 2010, 02:43:08 PM
So is this kind of a mini-prequel to the eventual feature?

yeah. here's our second movie (http://www.vimeo.com/16591906), something like a teaser.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: Pubrick on November 12, 2010, 11:39:23 PM
again it was surprisingly not bad but you gotta stop calling them movies. teasers are more appropriate.

the other thing is the title. does it have to be so bad? not even the voice over guy can pronounce it properly.

it also doesn't tell me anything about the film. the teasers are establishing a cool view of some small characters in a big city but what does that have to do with the title? i'd much prefer something that is in line with what the teasers have shown, which is a movie i'd be interested in giving a chance. but all the hard work of the teasers are wasted when the irrelevant title appears, it's a total disconnect with what you're establishing. if it's meant to be mystifying or enticing it ain't working.

i really like what you did with the observation of people like it was a nature documentary, it's a great tease but the title makes me think of something that is trying way too hard to be interesting.. whereas the footage has a laid back approach that feels natural and unforced. the title just goes against everything your creating.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on November 13, 2010, 10:34:38 PM
once again, thanks for taking a look. i like the title, and am confident that its a good one that fits in with the feature itself. i could talk about why i think it works, but you might be right that these teasers (which, i agree, is a more appropriate term) fail to do it justice.. that is certainly true of this week's tease which certainly has nothing to do with the title..

check out "winding down." (http://www.vimeo.com/16806377) thanks so much for watching!
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: Pubrick on November 15, 2010, 03:22:23 AM
saw the new one and it's good.

i like that they've all been different kinds of teasers. this one suggested a darker film which was interesting and the actor reminded me of a dirty dirty porn star. i was not comfortable seeing his boner in one of those last shots.

on the subject of the title, it's still hard to see the connection between that and these characters. i like the world your creating so i will continue watching the shorts, and maybe steal the final product when it's available.. and i have no shame in saying that cos frankly, we all know the first film is not for profit, it's for cred.

finally, you cannot tell me the narrator pronounced the title correctly in the second teaser. he said "conFOObulators" and not "conFABulators".. was that meant as a joke? it didn't help to make sense of anything.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: Alexandro on November 16, 2010, 12:45:43 AM
the second one is particularly great. I hate how it looks because it looks so fucking great it makes me jealous.
congrats!!
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: ElPandaRoyal on November 23, 2010, 04:42:09 PM
Liking so far. The last one "Out of Gas" looked a little amateurish, but still, it was kind of funny.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on November 30, 2010, 11:40:04 PM
yeah, "Out of Gas" is definitely my least favorite of the bunch.

Here's one more. (http://www.vimeo.com/17270146) Its most likely the last one we'll do before we shoot the movie proper in January.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on April 18, 2013, 09:00:20 AM
so i finished this a little while ago, check out the trailer here (http://vimeo.com/64197196). we're putting it online monday if anyone's interested. its a weird movie.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: Just Withnail on April 18, 2013, 02:30:33 PM
Looks wonderfully absurd. Love the score!
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on April 22, 2013, 06:13:07 PM
all 75 minutes of this movie is now online. here (http://nobudgefilms.com/post/48248658190/the-confabulators) it is if you're feeling adventurous.
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: Just Withnail on May 07, 2013, 02:31:24 AM
Hey, I enjoyed the hell out of this!

Some thoughts:

SPOILERS

The waking-up-Ted scene was hilarious, as was the long take when Ted brings in his stuff, which shows your great eye for comic staging. And I love that you even stage things! There's no run-and-gun stuff here. The actors are really well-tuned to each other's performances, especially the scenes with a lot of things happening at once.

And the small details: the way the boss pisses, the way Scurble (?) touches Walters hair when she walks away, the way the cousin mouths something after saying "c'mon Walter she's happy for you", that little laugh the older guy has after saying "personal reasons" and miming the drinking, the elevator shutting while they hug. You're good at keeping the laughs coming, no matter how small. It could list many more.

Sometimes the cuts seem a little unmotivated. Maybe to cut around performance?

How did you work with the actors to acheive that weird tone?

Good work!
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: matt35mm on May 07, 2013, 09:27:27 AM
I also really enjoyed it. It has a solid sense of its own unusual tone, which I think is the main thing that drew me in and kept me intrigued. It's well put together, with beautiful stolen shots of the city. The only thing that really came off as "low-budget" about it was that the main actors all seem a bit too young and are trying to play above their actual age, but then again, I'm not sure that that's not part of what contributes to the odd tone that works so well (like, maybe Ted wouldn't have such an odd presence if he didn't look like a kid in a big-boy suit).

Anyway, glad to have finally seen this. I'm looking forward to what you do next!
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on May 09, 2013, 06:13:08 PM
Honestly guys, thanks so much for watching!
Title: Re: The Confabulators
Post by: JG on June 07, 2013, 01:19:55 PM
hey, if anyone's in nyc, this is playing at videology in williamsburg this monday, june 10,at 8:30pm. its free, but its a bar, so you could have a drink. i'll be there!

here are some words about the film from craig keller, in the nobudge newsletter (http://nobudgefilms.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0ae04d93ff096f93df2c099a8&id=2f2be4c44c):

Quotea bizarre 'systems-comedy' that channels Pynchon as much as Stillman and Ferrara, a chamber-piece in varying shades of beige and taupe that nevertheless expands beyond the confines of its anodyne Wall Street office-space where a conspiracy-non-conspiracy surrounding something called "the Benson file" percolates into a New Rose Hotel'ish contemplation of the city skyline: the mysteries housed therein and the Kafka-castle-esque dread that its jigsaw outline imposes on those who would penetrate it
also a New York young-marriage comedy classical style: variation of lenses, shot set-ups, smooth travelings
there's a photo withVladimir Putin in a cowboy suit
and a black guy named Cormac
features in a major role Ted Fendt whom you might already be familiar with from his translations at The Notebook of Jean Eustache and the Straubs