8K Radius

This is just one from a series of short films that features people that live within an 8 kilometer radius of the cinema.

All shot with the Canon C300 and edited with FCP X

Gorgeous work, Seanus. Thank you for sharing. Visually stunning, some of the shots are breathtakingly beautiful. I particularly like the man in the glass as she describes her father. Lots of lovely bokeh with lights, glasses, smooth camera movement, focus work, retiming, the sets, art, wonderful. Another sophisticated touch is your music & levels. Too many times people have their music too high in the mix, ruining the dialogue. You've also got a delightful contrast with her rapid cadence of speaking, set against the gentle almost lilting musical & visual tapestry. This combination is magical. There are two shots I'm not overjoyed with. The first is during her description of her lesbianism, we really don't need to end on that big sticker with the word "GAY" filling half the screen. Subtlety ups value, we've heard her story, you've got us on board, we don't want a bludgeoning with the overemphasis of the message by that sign. We get it already. Here, less is more. I'd lose that shot completely.

Secondly, also during that section as she's describing her encounter with a woman whom after the tragic loss of her mother, brings her a deep emotional connection, we see a painting of two women, who appear to be battered & bloody. Not sure if she has abuse issues in her background but I'd still want to tone that image down, in severity & duration. Yes the image is a contrast to the gentle tone & narrative, but it's not the type of contrast that helps the story at that point. Perhaps some other feminine art could work here.

The painting of the Jewish man playing the violin on smoldering embers... Wow! That's a powerful image.

Speaking of art, you've certainly exemplified the form with this film, very impressive. Did you shoot it too? We'd also be curious what you used for lenses.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the critique. No I didn't shoot this one. Shot by a wonderful DOP who also worked with us on The Trainer the video we do that launched the 5D in Australia.

I think very carefully about every image that goes into my stories and for me all were as close to perfect as I could make them. The 'bludgeoning" is there because that's the stigma that it had for Maryska at the time. It's a label, a horrible branding. Interesting view on the painting but I didn't see it that way. Saw it more as two people who had learned to be truly open.

Anyway art is in the eye of the beholder and I love hearing about the way my work affects others. Sometimes it's really surprising!

The lenses used were mainly fast primes and a shift tilt lens.