Haven't been around much for the last couple years so I thought I'd post an update.  Gonna try to be reading more scripts come March!

My low budget suspense/horror feature Truth starts shooting next Wednesday February 2nd and goes to March 1st.  I'm co-writing, co-producing, and 1st ADing, which is why I haven't had as much time as I'd like to be participating on the boards here.  You can also check us out on our Facebook page.

++++++

Watch the film

Very cool!

This site is getting real busy with produced scripts.


Phil

Chris,

That is awesome!  Website looks great.  

I tried your donation button, but something isn't working right.  

http://web.me.com/philjoustac/Truth/Donations.html

Might want to have that looked it.

Please keep us up to date on the project.

Don

Fantastic!!!

Keep us in the loop!!

What happened to Marigold?

Awesome work! Exciting stuff.

Hey Don,

How embarrassing.  Of all the buttons to not work... :)

Donations can be made here and may I just point out again what a generous and upstanding guy you are!

Thank you everyone and Pia, Marigold is probably going to remain for private viewing only; I'm always flattered that you remember it though.

Quoted from Heretic Hey Don, How embarrassing.  Of all the buttons to not work... :) Donations can be made here and may I just point out again what a generous and upstanding guy you are! Thank you everyone and Pia, Marigold is probably going to remain for private viewing only; I'm always flattered that you remember it though.

Chris,

The button works now.  Been fully tested.  Canadian money is like Monopoly money, right?

Don

Congrats Heretic! Looks good!

Just have one question for you, is that your wife on the pic or some hot chick your banging?

Quoted Text Keep us in the loop!!

Pia. You said something there;)

Sounds awesome, dude. As fantastic as it is to here writers are being produced, it's even more so that they're the ones behind it all. Always inspiring to me.

Hey, this is great news - the website's fantastic and the synopsis sounds really cool, so best of luck with it. Oh, and I "like" it!

Quoted from ajr The website's fantastic and the synopsis sounds really cool...

Hey, I second that, 'Tic -- but is that the picture you are gonna stick with for Guy?  Really?

I don't know.  Of all the good stuff there, something about that particular photo is tossing me off.  Just saying, since I am checking in and all.

I, too, am very pleased at all the activity I see around here.  Quite inspiring.

Thanks everyone again; this really is an exciting time for Simply!  Seems like almost all of the regulars have something on the go.  As it should be.

Hey Bert,

Uhm...no!  It annoys me too.  The design work for our actual posters hasn't come through yet.  But rest assured it will be AWESOME.  Or at least, awesome.

Don,

Proud to say we Canadians now get nearly 97 cents on the Monopoly dollar!

Quoted from Heretic Don, Proud to say we Canadians now get nearly 97 cents on the Monopoly dollar!

Holy Sh*t!  You mean I just donated real money to your project?  Ouch!

Don

With the help of Don's money, cleverly collected under false pretense, The Truth website has been updated and now includes a teaser trailer!

:)

Truth -- The Film

Heretic

As you probably know, I am pretty low on the food chain when it comes to experience in the film world. But I just watched the trailer, and I was very impressed with the whole thing, even though it gave really no clue as to what the film is about. The sound combined with the lighting and the camera angles really achieved a dark and interesting tone. I certainly would have watched more had it been available.

I read the synopsis and the directors vision. Well done, except for the last few lines of the director's vision. The last three lines start telling us what the film is not. I really don't think you should do that, AND, I am saying that even though it sounds like my kind of movie and the director sounds like someone who has a vision I admire. But I think it's best to leave the audience wondering what the hell we'll find in this movie. Tell us what it is, but not what it isn't.

Also, "Truth will be a benchmark in modern horror...". Well, hopefully, but that's kind of a bold statement, so bold it challenges credibility. There has to be a better way to word that.

This really looks like an exciting project. I hope it succeeds, and based on what is in the trailer and on the website, I'm confident it well. Best of luck!

Hey Heretic,

Nicely stylistic.  For some reason it had a Pulp Fiction sort of feel to me.   You are definitely a film artist.  Keep up the good work and good luck with the film.  

Won't play on the iPad!  :(

Hey Kev,

Thanks!  I will pass on your comments to the director (I'm a producer/writer).

Michael, thank you!

Pia, I will pass that on to the website guy and hopefully we can get it figured out...

A new trailer for Halloween!

If all goes well I will be signing off on the completed project Monday, which is really exciting.  We're all ready to start work on a new project...

I like it, Chris. Good luck with the signing.

Looks really good, you must be relieved to be done and excited to see the audience reactions.  

A couple clips from the movie are now available here.  Don't forget to watch in HD!

Thanks for the kind words Kev and Michael.  Michael, I'm definitely looking forward to being able to show audiences a finished product.  We've screened a couple different rough versions to test audiences, which went well and were helpful, but of course it's not quite the same as being able to present something complete.

Hey Chris,

I like the vibe here, feels nicely retro at times.
The credit font and music choices felt very Ti West at times.
The second clip over the fireplace was a little too quiet for me.
But the production looks stellar, best of luck and keep us posted!

Regards,
E.D.

I think that looks GREAT!

Great work Chris!What are the plans for this film?

Like Brett, I was particularly digging on the music choices.  Props to whoever is cooking up that aspect.

Production looks sharp, and while I was not crazy about the actress in the first clip, I had warmed up to her by the second clip.

Very cool how this is shaping up for you, Chris.  I like it.

"With beauty we will live on into the ages... "

I love that. This is: TRUTH!!!  :K)

Sandra

Very nice, Chris!  ;D

Wishing you all the best with this. Keep us posted on what's happening.

Cindy

Thanks everybody!

Brett, I'm really glad to hear you say that.  Trying for that feel with modern (digital) technology and no budget has been...frustrating.  It's nice to hear those words.  And yes, Ti West has been an oft-mentioned name throughout the production.

Pia, basically, sell the sucker!  Our co-producer Michel is in L.A. right now with a package for the film.  We'll do a festival run but we mostly want to get it sold as quickly as possible so we can put some money towards our next one.

Bert, really glad to hear a complement on the music.  It's been one of the most frustrating parts of post and also the thing we've been most frequently uncertain about.  Glad to hear you warmed to Michelle; I was going to make a joke about the fireplace but I shall refrain.

Sandra, thanks!  Always nice to hear that a particular line stuck out...

Cindy, thanks, and will do!

Looks awesome Heretic.

The trailer and the scenes were top notch. Best of luck with this =D.

Wow Chris!! looks great!!! Best of luck! :)

I know there aren't many of you in Vancouver or area but I may as well give a shout out here to our world premiere, which is happening at Empire Theatres Granville 7 in downtown Vancouver on February 18th.

Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/307203595982130/

Exciting times!  The completion and premiere of the film will come just a little over a year from the first day of shooting.  Post production has been an unexpectedly long haul, with the expected setbacks and compromises along the way, but I'm happy to say that even sound has been signed off on and we're basically just working on colour correction now.

Needless to say, observing what of my writing ended up being cut, and why, was an extremely valuable experience, especially through the process of test screenings in which people singled out specific moments, lines, and scenes.

Way to go, Chris!

I so wish I was closer! Damn you, physics!

Whatever you do, make sure you watch the audience enjoy themselves...
And bring tissues, you'll need them. ;D

When the dust settles, I'd love to hear more about post production.
Have you seen Ti West's new one, "The Innkeepers" yet?

Keep us posted and knock em dead!

Regards,
E.D.

Congrats, Chris!

Just watched the trailer and it looks great. Wow! A world premiere.

Best of luck with it mate

Steve

Quoted from Electric Dreamer And bring tissues, you'll need them. ;D

God, what a puss....

Congratulations, Chris.  Well-earned, and great to hear!

But please, enjoy your premier in a manly fashion, and let us know how it goes.

EXCITING!! Wish I was closer.

Is it going to play anywhere else?

Congrats, Chris! Been following it on fb. I’m so happy for you! Have fun at the premiere. Wish I could be there. :)


Breanne

Congrats Chris! The thrill of seeing your work come to life, to say nothing of experiencing it in a theater, must be beyond belief. Enjoy it!

Fantastic news, Chris,

Can't wait to see the finished films.

I wish you all the best.

Excellent news.  Looking forward to hearing about how it all went.

Thanks for the kind words all!  Will certainly post about how the screening goes.  I've no idea what to expect, at this point.

Tech screening on Saturday, which is actually the first time I'll see the film with completed sound (and in theatre).  That's exciting in itself.

Wow, that's awesome!! I can't imagine how stoked you must be:)

So how did the tech screening go? Did you cry? I bet you cried. I know I would've, but then again I'm an emotional little girl, so that's not saying much:)

Congrats!

Rebekah; thanks!  But I did not cry.  Honest...

Pia very nicely wrote me to comment that I hadn't said anything about the premiere!

So this, in brief, is the story.

We arrived at the theatre at noon -- we rented the top theatre, number seven, of a three-level multiplex on downtown Granville St (one of the main downtown streets in Vancouver) -- and screened the film.  The theatre is one of the largest in Canada in terms of number of seats, seating 600.  It's an old heritage theatre and a very cool place, and it's been a very cool experience over the test screenings and the premiere to see our work up on a real honest-to-goodness theatre screen, especially looking through the window of the projection booth at it!

Anyway.  We screened the entire film right through, calibrated the projector settings a few (too many) times, and generally made everything perfect.  The rest of the day until doors opened at 6:00 was spent setting up tables, posters, the ticket booth, etc, and pretending that we weren't nervous.

At 6:00 doors opened.  We had the full lobby outside the theatre, and as filmgoers came up the escalator they were greeted by a smooth jazz quartet (a high school band who were absolutely awesome).  Lots of people -- presumably friends of cast and crew -- were in suits and fancy dresses, and the pre-show atmosphere was very cool.  We had free tea and fair trade organic coffee donated from a local business, and people chatted, networked, and so on.

I introduced the film at 7:00 -- the first to speak to the crowd of ~200! -- and then the director spoke.  Spirits were high.

Needless to say, the film began with no sound, and we were forced to go to the Blu-Ray menu, f*** around, and generally appear unprofessional.  I have yet to successfully pull off a screening...then again, this problem is by no means limited to us tiny guys (ever hear that awful story about Quentin's first screening of Reservoir Dogs?).

Panic-attack levels of nervousness struck when the film began.  The director, editor, and I huddled in the back during the opening credits, shifting from foot to foot, pacing, and swigging from a flask.  The start was awful.  It's always been a slow movie, but watching a movie play too slowly in front of a major crowd is a horrific experience.  The first act felt like such an ordeal that I almost left the theatre.  We were to receive comments after the showing on the slow first act; hoo boy did we not need to be told.  Excruciating.

The second act finally kicked off and things got going.  After a few laughs and a few audience reactions, we started to loosen up, and eventually the editor went and joined the audience.  I hung back throughout the screening, watching the backs of people's heads and just generally enjoying the vibe in the room.  All in all, I think the audience enjoyed what they were seeing, and there were laughs, jumps, and giggles (most, though not all, of which were in the right places).  I had to bring the house lights up after the screening, so I missed most of the applause, but there was, certainly, applause, and some of it more than polite.

After the screening, people actually stayed and talked!  That was very cool.  Coming down from the projection booth, I was greeted by a circle of friends who were actually arguing about the morality of a character's motivations in the movie.  That moment was an incredibly gratifying experience; no matter who I talked to, it did seem that we had succeeded at least in engaging the audience and in raising questions.  I did, needless to say, field a number of plot and plot hole questions, but people, including strangers, actually engaged me about thematic elements.  Our audience, considering their presence at a random indie film premiere, was presumably somewhat predisposed towards a high level of engagement with film, but still, it was a nice feeling.

Then, afterparty.  Got drunk.  Danced.  Some, to Hilary Duff.

I've probably written too much and too little; but I have an exam now and my attentions are somewhat scattered.  Lemme know if there's anything you're curious about!

Sounds cool, Chris. Wish I could have seen it. Will wait for Netflix!

Chris,

I think that all sounds so amazingly fun and exciting! I completely understand about you  being nervous. If it was my film and I was there, I would probably have been puking in a wastebasket.

It sounds like you guys had really planned a really nice event.  Even  a jazz band! And 200 people showed up! That all sound too awesome to me! I wish that had been able to be there. Huge congratulations from me!

What are you guys next step? I am curious because as you know the film I wrote, blackout, they are planning a test screening for that one too.  You telling us how it works helps me a lot to get a better understanding. Are you guys doing film festivals at all?   Or  is it all by connections only? I know the people making blackout have sent copies out to LA to their agents and it sounds like the words are good so far. I'm just curious is all. This business is very tricky, a really insane roller coaster ride with insane competition with other insane roller coaster rides. At least that's what it looks like to me.

I have one more question, you said the theater can seat up to 600 people, you had 200 people show up and buy tickets. Would you have preferred the smaller theater? Would that have made a difference in any, way? Would it have made it a more intimate experience if there were no empty seats?

Anyway, thank you so much for sharing what I think must've been an extremely exciting event. I hope you guys get this film sold so you can get paid for your hard work and time.

I wish you the best,

Pia

Hey Pia,

The theater size; to be honest, all other things being equal, I might have preferred a smaller theatre so that it would seem "packed."  There were a few pretty large logistical factors that led to our choosing the big one -- most notably, it doesn't share its lobby with other screens, which helps when one has live jazz -- but there was also the dream...what if we got 600 people??  Haha.  I do think a smaller theatre would have led to stronger audience reactions...there is just something about a full theatre, regardless of size, that exhilarates.

Our next step is to figure out what our next step is.  The aim is to sell the film as quickly as possible -- the dream is a film a year, each made on the profits of the one preceding -- but we're currently assessing which route we think will get us there most quickly.  We will be researching and pursuing festivals and distributors concurrently until we figure that out.  The other two producers are heading to Cannes this year to shop projects, get the word out on Truth, and get a sense of the market climate.  This is pretty new territory for Jason and I, although our third producer, Michel, has more experience on the business end, and thank goodness.  

So...we're basically gonna be doing anything and everything until we figure out what looks like it's gonna work the best.  And when we do figure that out, I will certainly share our experience.  

Hey Chris,

Sounds like a rewarding and enlightening experience.
And I'm sure you'll improve and continue to impress on all fronts.

If you're ever making some noise here in L.A., I expect to hear from you!

Cheers,
E.D.

Like ED, can I just say thanks for sharing, being honest and letting us understand what this meant to you. I found your review very interesting.

I would imagine the whole experience is something you can't learn in a text book and only help with the next ones.

Hope to hear about more projects, and if you sell this film on DVD give me a PM.

Okay!



Well we FINALLY get to release Truth, the film I co-wrote, co-produced, and 1st ADed...on YouTube, of all places! And very soon we will find out if that's a stupid idea.

The film will be released on July 1st, our Canada Day, and will be accompanied by special features including deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes, and full length commentaries.

You can check us out on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Truth/125167567525092?fref=ts

Our favourite part is that it will of course be free to watch, which is exactly the way I think digital copies should be...and I'm pleased to be able to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

This will be the first of two, and hopefully three, of our features to be released on YouTube this year.

EDIT: I lied. Our favourite part is our dashing Associate Producer!

Hey Chris, I'll be watching it! I've been following the progress for quite awhile. I'm always excited to see "old" SS members getting their scripts made.

I have one question though. I know you and I don't share our views on piracy and such, so my question is if that had anything to do with the decision to release it for free on YouTube, or would you have preferred to have it released by a distributor?  

Hey Pia, thanks!

There were a couple major factors for the decision to go with YouTube. First and foremost, we think streaming is the way that distribution is going to go, at least for everything low budget.

As well, though, looking for DVD distribution was frustrating for a couple of reasons. The main one was that it takes a really long time, especially when there are always twenty movies around with bigger stars and more sex and violence. We have two more movies waiting to be dealt with and it just doesn't seem worth spending years of our lives on one. It's not like we're making masterpieces at the moment. As well, distributors generally wanted a couple key changes that the director wasn't really keen on, and we figure we might as well make movies the way we want to now, before there's a budget behind them and final cuts are totally out of our control.

Piracy didn't particularly factor into the decision. Since we retain all rights, we'll torrent the film ourselves. If we had gone with traditional distribution...who knows, a torrent might have turned up anyway... :)

Awesome news Chris! I'll be watching this! I can't wait to see it!

Quoted from Heretic Okay! The film will be released on July 1st, our Canada Day

Fucking Canadians. I wish you best and I will be sure to watch. You will hear my thoughts whether you appreciate them or not.

James.

Dena,

Great! Thanks!

James,

Great! I am expecting lots of severe criticism from y'all.

One of our plans for the film going forward is to set scheduled times where people can join us on Google Hangouts to watch the film "together" over the internet...that way people can question, comment, and swear at us in real time :)

This looks cool.

Looking forward to it  8) :)

Quoted from Heretic Okay! our dashing Associate Producer!

Barf.  Worst Associate Producer ever.  I should have gotten a posting up sooner.

I have a posting going up tomorrow with the trailer and facebook and official site link.  Please do keep me looped in on the 'viewing parties'.  

- Don

Quoted from Heretic First and foremost, we think streaming is the way that distribution is going to go, at least for everything low budget.

I agree.

Quoted from Heretic As well, though, looking for DVD distribution was frustrating for a couple of reasons. The main one was that it takes a really long time, especially when there are always twenty movies around with bigger stars and more sex and violence. We have two more movies waiting to be dealt with and it just doesn't seem worth spending years of our lives on one. It's not like we're making masterpieces at the moment.

That seems weird. FK, my film, was no masterpiece either by far, but it went fast. They got the deal in December, sent in the deliverables in Jan and it was digitally released in April. The physical release is supposed to be July. IMHO, if you want to continue to make films, it's worth it getting a distributor, because on these really low budget films, it's not that hard to make a little bit of money on the films, which come in handy when you go to fund your next one. Also, from how I understand it, they love filmmakers that have more than one film in their arsenal and it sounds like you guys do.

Quoted from Heretic As well, distributors generally wanted a couple key changes that the director wasn't really keen on, and we figure we might as well make movies the way we want to now, before there's a budget behind them and final cuts are totally out of our control.

The distributor didn't ask for any changes at all to FK other than it had to be at least 70 minutes long. Which is why there is so much weird stuff in it with credits and stock footage. ;D

Quoted from Heretic Piracy didn't particularly factor into the decision. Since we retain all rights, we'll torrent the film ourselves. If we had gone with traditional distribution...who knows, a torrent might have turned up anyway... :)

The funny thing is that the distributor didn't want anyone to have any DVDs of the film for fear someone would upload it online while it was still being distributed by them. Two days after the release, there were already a minimum of 30 sites that had the film streaming.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing it. It looks great.  8)

Hey Pia,

I think you'll see the difference between Truth and Finders Keepers about five minutes into Truth. Truth definitely has narrower appeal :) We could definitely have had distribution quickly if we'd changed a couple things -- from the first distributor we approached, in fact -- but that would have required a change that the director just wasn't happy with.

Truth is "artsy" and our next one, April, is only much "artsier", but when we do our next two, we're gonna go for mass appeal and with that, traditional distribution. We just needed to get these ones out of our system I think.

Hey Chris - the trailer looks good, really professionally done - I look forward to seeing the full film. I heard a lot of people going to u-tube now, but they're part banking on an ad revenue share ... are you proposing to get your capital back or not?

Hey Simon, thanks!

A very pertinent question. This year is our big experiment with YouTube monetization. Because we have three films with exTREMEly small budgets, we're betting that we can do pretty well on making at least our capital. This time next year, I may be singing a different tune. But we wanted to see how it would go...so the short answer is, yes. Breaking even would be nice...especially since the money comes through advertising rather than from viewers.

Congrats, man. Looks good. Will be sure to check it out.

Hey, Chris. Trailer seems to go a little bit overboard with the filters, but it doesn't look that bad at all. I'll try and give this a watch. Will it be available world wide on Youtube?

Good luck on the other films by the way!

Hey Mo,

It will be available world-wide. We had to change quite a few music cues at the last minute -- Canada's relatively short copyright times/loose public domain laws allowed us to use a bit of music that, it eventually turned out, was still years from being public domain in other countries. But now at least everyone can watch it, and we're quite happy with the new music...we've got music from Ireland, France, and more.

Filters, yeah. We really hate the look of digital film haha. There's a constant struggle to hide it any way possible.

Your feature presentation. :)



No pressure at all, but likes and subscriptions always help! That was pressure, so I lied before I even finished the sentence :)

Looks very good, Heretic, congrats! I haven't watched it but deffinitely planning to one of those days - it's summer and my 12 year old is always around :) I started, reached the first f-word and switched it off, but I will watch it!

One thing I noticed - the actors are pretty good!

And congrats on the award too! You're moving forward fast - good going.

Liked the page, but how do I subscribe?

I just finished watching the film and I found it immensely satisfying.  Some folks, I'm sure, will complain about the pacing.  If you stick with it, you will be rewarded.  

Full Disclosure - I am an associate producer on the film.  Other than getting a chubby, I get no financial benefit from the film.


Some of the tracks from the film:

Sleep Fucking by Laura Sheeran - http://www.last.fm/music/Laura+Sheeran/_/Sleep+Fucking

Lupine Rot by Laura Sheeran - http://www.last.fm/music/Laura+Sheeran/_/Lupine+Rot

Repress Excess by Paradox - https://soundcloud.com/paradox-irish-grunge/paradox-repress-excess

La Route Du Rom by Latché Swing https://soundcloud.com/latcheswing/la-route-du-rom

Congrats! Feature films are such huge undertakings. Absolutely delighted for you - and Don - and his chubby - on getting this completed and out there. I will definitely give this a view. Looking forward to it.

I'm only 30 minutes in because I'm watching while at work, but I just wanted to chime in and let everyone know that I am REALLY impressed so far. Chris, you should be so proud! I am super stoked to see some quality stuff coming out from some SS members lately!!!

Check this one out guys. It's worth it!  8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

On my agenda tonight. I couldn't stand it though and watched a few minutes of it already! Nice job Chris. I look forward to it!

Making this my primary watch tonight along with some Ken Russell flicks if I can squeeze them in. Excited.

Hey Chris - I've been as weak as everybody else tonight and didn't finish it, so hopefully I'll see it through tomorrow.

What bugged me on u-tube was you can't download it, so I have to depend on my/u-tube speed (not too sure who's at fault here) - downloadability would be a boon.

so far ... I'm caught in-between -- kinda surprised you did this on a 25k budget (is that right?) so that's pretty impressive - but I'm wondering what camera u used? Half of me feels the cinematography might be a bit off, or too many of the shots where a bit too long?

On the acting so far -- I think it's Benjamin, I really like his performance - Michelle's great, but so far Ben's taking it for me.

Going to get the rest in tomorrow (re-watch of Sex Drive got in the way - forgive me, I love the 'tree of shoes ...') -- but this is a career in progress if I've got that right? Budget into account, this is impressive.

Awesome, I'll try and watch it tonight.

Hey Chris,

Just finished a few minutes ago. I have to say I was very impressed. There were elements that reminded me of Antichrist as well as The Shining though this is clearly its own thing. Regardless, I loved the look of the film, the pacing, the sense of portent that seems to be absent from most horror-ish films nowadays, and the sound design. I thought the music was a little intrusive at times but the quality of music wasn't too bad so I didn't mind too much. I feel like the music and text are the two things that are almost universally terrible in films of this scale so it was refreshing to see that was not the case here. Some of the editing choices were a little jarring but I'd say they were more peculiar than anything inherently negative.

The writing was more or less strong throughout -- a decent balance of word-smithing and natural sounding and the actors handled their roles well. I enjoyed the story for the most part although I wouldn't really call it horror. I think it was more of a drama with horror and surreal elements and, again, a lot of portent. But of course, that's just one opinion among many.

All in all, congrats. I think this came out really well. Not a bad choice for a movie night.

Hey, Chris.

Just watched it. Like James, I'm impressed and I also felt a little Antichrist vibe throughout the film. I liked the style that you used, the subtle angles and the like, it kind of reminded me of Take Shelter. I hated the low saturation though, did not work with me at all sorry to say. I think there might have also been a film grain layer added in the film, and if there was, IMO the opacity wasn't low enough - or maybe it just looked like that because of Youtube's encoding process. I can't be sure.

And again being honest, a few small segments were also edited poorly, one specific one stands out from the others. Right when that piece of paper leads her to shed, there's like some frame rate problem and it stalls as the papers fly towards her. There were a few more like scenes. And then some repitition of scenes which looked like they were used on purpose but I couldn't be sure.

The acting was pretty solid though, some good stuff there.

Not a fan of the ending, but I can't complain. Done on a 25k budget as well? Wow, some great stuff here then.

Overall, the film was definitely engaging. After a slow start, I got really into it. Will keep an eye on your other films, man. I'd be happy with what you have here.

You are all really kind. Many thanks for watching and I will hopefully have a chance tonight to respond to everyone individually. Thanks and thanks again!

Hey Chris - just finished watching it - it's a sold piece, so hats off to you on that. I think in large part, the music worked well, and you've got some really good performances from those guys with the acting.

I liked the work with the light myself. A couple of minors - not too sure if was me or not, but there's a couple of scenes where I though dubbing could have helped -- and there's some nice work with close-ups around 45mins that I think was missing here and there in earlier scenes.

But apart from minor gripes, and as a whole - very worthwhile - looks like a lot of effort and thought (and skill) has gone in to this - well done on getting this out there.

First, let me say a BIG congratulations to you Chris and your team!! Seriously!! Excellent work!!

Thoughts as I watched and I'm no filmmaker so I just watched it as a regular person and a writer.

Why did you decide to go with such bleak colors?

A little heavy with the spook sounds on occasion, BUT you did get me there around the 19 min mark. I actually jumped!  ;D

21 minutes in and I was wondering where the guy went. She was in the bedroom at daytime and now she's checking out the cabin at night. What is he doing at this time? Nice music, btw.

Why would she not let him read the book?

At min 41, I jumped again! Wished you had shown the bird. It didn't have to be real, but I really wanted to see something there. You do later, but it should've come at the time they looked out the window, IMHO.

I'm currently49 minutes in and I'm having issues with Becka. I don't like her...

Nice work in the tent!  8)

My over all  thoughts were Impressive!

My only issues were that I didn't really like the character of Becca. I thought she was a bitch, to be honest. The music, although good, was a little too intrusive at times, like James said. I also thought that you started out with a spooky kind of thing and the jump scare at min 19 really set the tone for a suspense/horror type of film. But it didn't deliver on that set-up. Instead it turned more into a drama and as someone who loves horror/suspense films, I felt a little bit like you didn't quite give me what you had promised. Also, just like Don suspected, someone will come along and mention the pacing. I guess that will be me. Nothing big, just on occasion, I thought it could've moved along a bit quicker, but have ADD so....  Those were my only complaints. You did a great job! A big ostrich feather in your hat!!  ;D

PS. I loved the negative scenes in yellow and black.

PPS. I watched Blackout today. If you saw FK, I can happily report that Blackout was lightyears ahead of FK. :)

First of all, a big thanks again to everyone for taking the time to watch and comment. Nothin' like SimplyScripts.

I'll do my responses all in one post, I hope that's not obnoxious.

Quoted from Forgive What bugged me on u-tube was you can't download it, so I have to depend on my/u-tube speed (not too sure who's at fault here) - downloadability would be a boon. ...but I'm wondering what camera u used? Half of me feels the cinematography might be a bit off, or too many of the shots where a bit too long?... Going to get the rest in tomorrow (re-watch of Sex Drive got in the way - forgive me, I love the 'tree of shoes ...') ...But apart from minor gripes, and as a whole - very worthwhile - looks like a lot of effort and thought (and skill) has gone in to this - well done on getting this out there.

The movie is now available for download by torrent at this link, if that works better for you!

The film was shot on a Canon 5D Mark II, with a few shots taken on a Rebel T2i (for example, the montage during which Guy walks alone in the woods and Becca listens to records and reads the journal; all of the shots of Guy outside are T2i). We were impressed with how well this turned out for us. We were reluctant to use it for anything more than quick B-roll stuff and only did so because we wouldn't have made our day otherwise -- we sent our sound team out with Benjamin and they took all the shots themselves while the main crew shot another sequence inside with the 5D. But in the end, I think the T2i stuff looks great.

I love Sex Drive too. Own that one for sure.

Thanks for watching Simon and I'm glad you enjoyed!

Quoted from James McClung Just finished a few minutes ago. I have to say I was very impressed. There were elements that reminded me of Antichrist as well as The Shining though this is clearly its own thing. ...I thought the music was a little intrusive at times but the quality of music wasn't too bad so I didn't mind too much. ...Some of the editing choices were a little jarring but I'd say they were more peculiar than anything inherently negative. I enjoyed the story for the most part although I wouldn't really call it horror. I think it was more of a drama with horror and surreal elements and, again, a lot of portent. But of course, that's just one opinion among many.

You know, I saw Antichrist well after we had written this, but well before we shot it, and I warned the director about it -- he hasn't watched it to this day, for fear of being influenced by a Von Trier film with a similar setup. Now that Truth's out, we can finally sit down and watch Antichrist. Anyway, those are the exact two films I'd have you mention out of any films, so, thanks!

Music...we had a hell of a time with the music. As I think I mentioned above, we had to replace a lot of it at the last minute when we discovered that, though public domain in Canada, many of our songs were not public domain worldwide. This thing was down to the wire, with the last music cues completed on the 30th by the director himself, just in time to export and upload. I mention all this mostly because I think it's a shame...we had a very tight sound mix done initially with the original cues that might not have seemed intrusive. Ah well! Such is life.

There were definitely some editing gambles, some due to the director's idiosyncrasies, some due to typical low-budget "make it work". We're always looking to do something different, so "jarring, more peculiar than negative" is great to hear. Thanks James for watching!

Quoted from nawazm11 I hated the low saturation though, did not work with me at all sorry to say. I think there might have also been a film grain layer added in the film, and if there was, IMO the opacity wasn't low enough - or maybe it just looked like that because of Youtube's encoding process. I can't be sure. And again being honest, a few small segments were also edited poorly, one specific one stands out from the others. Right when that piece of paper leads her to shed, there's like some frame rate problem and it stalls as the papers fly towards her. There were a few more like scenes. And then some repitition of scenes which looked like they were used on purpose but I couldn't be sure. ...Not a fan of the ending, but I can't complain.

I'm not generally a fan of low saturation myself, but I did more or less like the look our colourist (and editor!) achieved here. It was a strong choice and I'm glad that it's polarizing :) Fair enough hating it!

Good eye. There is a layer of film grain and it doesn't exactly look perfect. At anything less than Blu-ray quality, the grain's caused us significant problems, and YouTube encoding in particular wreaked havoc with it. There was definitely discussion about leaving it off altogether.

The papers and the frame rate...I never liked that either. I think the choice was try to sell as stylistic what was really just covering for an idiotic moment on the production end -- we just could not get those damn papers to fly upwards. What you see in the finished film is someone just throwing a clump of them up from below frame, and the editing choice was what was needed to catch them long enough that we could tell at all what was happening. Definitely not our finest moment, on all fronts! Haha.

The ending...well, I won't comment too much yet, but yes, I'm not surprised to hear you say that.

Thanks for watching and critiquing Mo!

Quoted from Angry Bear Why did you decide to go with such bleak colors? A little heavy with the spook sounds on occasion, BUT you did get me there around the 19 min mark. I actually jumped!   Why would she not let him read the book? At min 41, I jumped again! Wished you had shown the bird. It didn't have to be real, but I really wanted to see something there. You do later, but it should've come at the time they looked out the window, IMHO. I'm currently49 minutes in and I'm having issues with Becka. I don't like her... Nice work in the tent!   My over all  thoughts were Impressive! My only issues were that I didn't really like the character of Becca. I thought she was a b****, to be honest. The music, although good, was a little too intrusive at times, like James said. I also thought that you started out with a spooky kind of thing and the jump scare at min 19 really set the tone for a suspense/horror type of film. But it didn't deliver on that set-up. Instead it turned more into a drama and as someone who loves horror/suspense films, I felt a little bit like you didn't quite give me what you had promised. PS. I loved the negative scenes in yellow and black. PPS. I watched Blackout today. If you saw FK, I can happily report that Blackout was lightyears ahead of FK.

Hey Pia,

Thanks so much for all your support with the film :) Very kind.

The colours...two thoughts, perhaps. One, to achieve a look that was at least a little bit distinct from the average digital low/no-budget horror film. Two, to hopefully get at a look that was a little more like film and a little less like digital. This might come through more clearly if you were able to see it on Blu-ray (which hopefully, at some point, you will).

Heavy with the spook sounds...that is definitely true. I think this is probably to compensate for what you eventually discovered...that we were going to let you down and give you a relationship drama. Haha! I'm glad we got you to jump a couple times though!

She wouldn't let him read the book because she's a bitch, of course!! Kidding...but I'll jump ahead  now to your comments on Becca. This was a major, major problem with the film from the very first edit (well, probably from the script stage, really). Some people can get on the same page as her, and some people hate her from the get-go. To quote a close friend of the director's, "When the movie started I was like, 'Who is this bitch and why am I watching her?'" It was a good, stern reminder for us that it's easy to forget the simple stuff like, y'know, having a likeable protagonist.

Haha the bird...we forgot to talk about this in the commentary, but what was hitting the window in that scene was a ball of socks. The bird wasn't ready at the time we shot that scene, unfortunately, though we were happy with the work Art got together when the bird was finally film-ready. But yes, I think you're right that we should have seen the bird then. The bird was originally a much more significant motif, and we saw it a couple more times, but that was all cut down.

The tent! I'm glad. I don't know if you knew this but that stuff was actually filmed in my bedroom in Vancouver. We shot the tent scene on the very first day of production, with a full tent set up in producer/actor Michel Duran's (Jasper's) basement. The tent was super cramped, with the actors and me and the camera jammed in there, and the results were...not good. So a couple months after production, we reshot the scene, this time in my bedroom with a tent build.

The other big comment you made is about the lack of horror payoff, and that's very true. There was originally quite a bit more horror stuff near the end, but for a variety of reasons it was cut down, and the end result was that we definitely let people down on that front. It was always the director's intention to set up a standard "cabin in the woods" horror scenario and then surprise people with a relationship drama, but we definitely had scripted and shot more horror than makes it into the finished film. Soooo...sorry! Haha. I'm glad you enjoyed it overall, though.

I haven't seen Finders Keepers yet, what a jerk. But I'll tell you this, I'm not gonna pirate it! I think myself and the director of Truth will sit down and watch it next week. Glad to hear you're impressed with Blackout though and can't wait until that one's available.

Chris,

First off, congratulations. Overall, a job well done all the way around.

It's a little plodding. I think more could have happened sooner, but the pace was consistent.

I also agree with Pia about the main character. She's not very likable from the beginning. I like the actress's performance, though. I think the other actors did really well also.

I didn't care for the saturation, but otherwise I generally like the direction and think the director made some interesting choices.

Petty grievances aside, there's a lot to like. It has a uniqueness that's refreshing in a climate where so many filmmakers use the same jaded techniques.

Oh, and the writing is pretty good too. :)

Solid work. Strong impression. Compliments to all.

Thanks so much Breanne and I will pass your comments and compliments on, too!

That reminds me...would love to hear from anyone/everyone what the obvious story/script fixes are for the film. The start is definitely slow...what should have happened, I wonder? What would have made Becca more likeable? Etc... If anyone feels like pointing out how the script could easily have been fixed up, I'd love to hear it!

Quoted from Heretic What would have made Becca more likeable? Etc... If anyone feels like pointing out how the script could easily have been fixed up, I'd love to hear it!

I think for me it was that she was always whining and complaining. Blaming Guy for everything. Wasting two years of her life etc. She didn't seem like she even wanted to try to make their marriage work. Almost the opposite. He might not have been God's greatest gift to women, but he seemed genuine and that he really wanted to make this work. She never showed any kindness or love towards him at all and then when we find out that she lied about him hitting her, that was like ultra low. IMHO, it might have work better (for Becca's likability) if she had started out as really wanting to try to salvage their marriage, but then she encounters the ghost. Maybe that's how you had it written, it just came across as she didn't even want to try. Does that make sense?