A little bit mystery... (with english subtitles)

(I must apologize I was unable to see the subtitles)

Your opening shot is so breathtaking, the perspective, clouds, coloring, music, you really set us up for a masterpiece. Unfortunately the next 2 shots go downhill, the first has coloring that doesn’t match the exterior light which was so futuristic & dystopian. Ok, we’re inside, but the filmic theme is broken. Then the next shot with an angled perspective on her, doesn’t match the coloring of the preceding shot. These people are colored far too brightly for the tone you set in the opening. There’s way too much white, & the white is too bright. Our opening exterior shot had toned down all whites with a greenish blue hue, where did that go? These people are sitting in an upstairs window, that’s the same light cast on them… so where is it? We went from overcast clouds to the light of a bright sunny morning. Ok, so maybe it’s a different day, but that opening day was far more interesting…

The black & white works well, bar scene nicely lit. Wouldn’t mind a slow dolly track to the left on that shot. Or some slight focus move from him to her. Next, the swirling hair & torso, gotta love that. Then him on his back, why does he look so bored & uninterested? Is this how Germans make love?

Not sure if I’m missing something in the narration as I don’t understand the language. Maybe the announcer is saying “Even while making love, Fritz couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom.”

Back to the bright morning breakfast in color, it’s still not working for me. Again the black & white is welcomed, although there is too much white, his shirt, it’s all too much. Contrast that with the next shot where they’re drinking wine, dressed in black. Artistically this shot is fantastic in B&W, perfect light balance with the brights behind them outside. Love it.

Sweet touch with the light leak around her forehead, nice camera movement. Then more lovemaking, those horny Germans. I could do with slightly more subtle lighting in these shots. It’s a bit stark & again too much white, the walls, sheets, it detracts. Not to mention making the skin tones very unflattering. Compare to the B&W skin tones in that wine shot, less light, more rich.

Now we get into the drama. Of course I can’t comment on the dialogue, but there is an odd cut you make during her opening speech, where you jump in closer. This doesn’t work & jars the viewer. A slower zoom & slight angle reduction towards his perspective would accentuate the intimacy as she gets to her bombshell statement.

As she’s saying goodbye at the curbside, I’m beginning to get the feeling your opening shot was representing the storm clouds over their relationship, though I was really looking forward to German cyborgs from the future rising to battle humanity. Ok, back to the soap opera…

Though she’s engaging, his acting comes across as a bit wooden & emotionless. Nice use of music in this scene, effectively swelling at the appropriate time. Not sure if we need that medium closeup profile of his face, his acting conveys emotion better in the next shot, when we see him drop his head from the back.

Later, wow, 4 months time has aged the colorization perfectly, I like this look. That’s an ogre-like expression he makes while checking the mail outside. Interior, not overjoyed with the lighting at the table. Absolutely love the insert shot of his hands & the letter, as well as the medium closeup following. I think it’s because both those shots show depth of field, whereas the long shot doesn’t, & great expanse of white wall detracts.

Next shots are nicely colorized, car & church, the sound of the wind thru the leaves is amazing. But then we go from slightly overcast to bright sunlight on the conversation with the priest. That could be toned down a notch or so. We’ve lost some of our rich colorizing into the slightly overexposed range. Their faces are too hot, so the skin tone color is gone.

This scene gets worse with a serious continuity error. The priest is reading the letter, hasn’t moved a step, but suddenly his face which was in direct sunlight is in the shade. Very amateur, sorry, but you can’t have shots like that. On the good side, his face manages to convey emotion, we believe he feels some genuine concern.

The shot of him from the back opening the door is another jarring break in colorization. The shot is over exposed, but comes into correct color when the doors open to reveal the darker interior. Technically, I’m not sure how to fix this shot, some of the experts here might tell you that you can keyframe lighting & colorizing adjustments to change when the doors open. Or maybe that’s one of the features we’re waiting on. Otherwise I’d break the shot in two with an insert of his hand on the door, or our man’s face, then back to the open door shot which is great. This way the 2 segments can be color matched.

The rich colors & textures, on the back of his head & coat, walking into the lighting inside the church, the music, wow, suddenly this is art.

And... it’s gone. Man, that next shot, doesn’t match. Again with color & light intensity. I had to rewind it a couple of times, because that’s the same coffin & candle we see in the establishing shot as they walk into the church. With gorgeous wood tones & heavenly light coming in thru that window. Next shot it’s almost unrecognizable. Another jarring stab to the eyes with too much white, & the mood is broken.

I love the very subtle church bell chime as the priest bows to genuflect. Nice touch. Although as you did that there is an imperfect fade out of your background music. Those 2 audio tracks needed a better mix for them to blend seamlessly.

As the priest turns to face the camera, backed by the altar, we’re back the the beautiful rich color again, if only that sandwiched between shot matched. The green marble behind him looks gorgeous here, as does the subtle blue in his costume, but his face is a tad hot. Church bells on the cuts is a bit cliche, the brightness levels on the two faces don’t match.

The coffin scene is interesting, we finally see a bit of emotion from our hero. Before that, the removing the lid, has some brightness issues, but she looks beautifully serene at rest. That’s a lovely shot. However, the next of him from her end of the coffin, has a nasty red-light cast on the window frames behind.

The laughing was a bit confusing, but the crying believable.

All in all, it’s very ambitious project, serious drama is one of the most difficult to do convincingly. First, even writing believable dialogue, is extremely difficult, even for pros, then to be able to actually act it so it seems natural, is no mean feat. Not being able to comment on the dialogue, I can only go by what I saw, & for the most part it seemed fairly authentic or realistic. The slights I mentioned will alter how your audience receives the piece as continuity problems impact the viewer on subconscious levels as well as cognitively, so the emotional thread is broken.

Your use of music here was stellar & really accentuated each scene perfectly. Very professional.

But I’m still waiting for the movie that goes with that opening shot & titling style… when can we expect The Rise Of The Machines From The Audi Plant?



J. Matthew
Global•Watch•Media•Consulting
www.GWM2.com

Thank you for your detailed comment. It was very helpful.