 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
randy
Member
|
Posted: Mon Mar 13th, 2006 08:29 pm |
|
Well, i had some problems with this episode. Some of this i am sure has to do with the viewing media (not a QT slam this time, any vid on a computer would make this difficult for me), and some my personal lackings . i have a difficult time with blond women .. no not that kind of problem! Because scandanavian/northern european women all share such features as blond hair, blue eyes and delicate features; at first blush 'they all look alike to me'. Now we are introduced to two such characters in rapid succession (Debra and the mentally regressed woman, it did help that the 'target' woman was in pigtails though). Add to this i didn't realize the 'running girl' in the opening shots was Katie, until the last scene of the episode (that is definately a viewing media problem) so i was kind of scrambling to remember all these charchters. Being that this is an i-net broadcast though, it would have helped to have a brick wall on my head tying the Katie character as the sedused running girl. On rewatching the episode it did make more sense to me.
So, we learn that Cody is a predetory jerk, Claudia is a tramp, and Katie is an Alcoholic! i was a tad confused that when we last saw Cody and Claudia there was no love lost. Now we see Cody whispering sweet nothings in Claudia's ear, and Claudia not really making much effort to stop him. i appreciate that there is a bit of backhanded teasing and manipulation in all this, but it seemed like they were going to get naked and do it right there. Another small bit of critisism, with the four lighters there with the target woman, no one seems to be paying any attention to her at all. If the whole point of them being there is to help her, it seems there would be more attention being paid to her perdicament. Katie, look around! This guy is kind of rich? That wine was probably $75/bottle and you swig it like it was cheap whiskey! i think the black lights need to do an intervention. By the way, awesome acting on the 'getting doped'. That is something i am sure is hard to do convincingly, and you pulled it off perfectly.
There are two scenes with Travis in the backyard on the ground, first with Weston, and next the aftermath of Merona and Debra. Being that the two scenes were so similar it makes me think there was a connection between them, but on reviewing i cannot find it.
Merona and Debra, it is the first time we see the Glass Eye's abilities. If i was more aware of those abilities, i think the scene with Travis and Debra would have been easier for me. It was only on later thinking that i realized this was Travis's doing, not Debra broadcasting from the afterlife, nor Merona making a non physical appearance; but a scrying of history by Travis. That does add a bit of reality to it all though as in real life things happen and no one is there to explain exactly why.
The Portland Strangler, sorry i do not know your character name yet. Awesome! scared the daylights out of me!
Perry and Weston.. hrmm .. still have not seen enough of you for my tastes. For what little i have seen, both your characters have grown on me. i like the newbie quality Perry has, seems a little too eager and happy to please like a puppy, and probably your going to get stomped on later. Weston seems a much better choice for a Glass Eye as he is much more a 'screw it, let's do it' figure and not as tempted by self doubt (which is no doubt why he ISN'T the Glass Eye). Ross tells me i will get more exposure to both your characters in EP4. .. ok, i will wait *fingers drumming table*
Tiera and Brian, not a lot in this episode. Brian my favourite character, but Tiera i also have grown to really love. The chraracter of Tiera seems like such a conglomeration of all my women friends. Someone you may just meet but feel you have known all your life.
Travis, as an actor (who plays Travis) and the character himself, i had the most intial problems with. i first thought that the hesitations, and self doubt was just less then secure acting, i realize now that this is the dilema of the character with the loss of Debra, and the responsibilities of being the Glass Eye. With the scenes with Debra, and Merona i really grok it now, and it ties up what is going on with the chaos in the white light camp.
The mentally regressed woman did a flawless job! i think that is another tough act to pull of, and it was beautiful.
This is not as strong an episode as the previous two, but as i was mentioning to Ross; the middle story is always the hardest i.e. The Two Towers (both book and Movie), The Empire Strikes Back were both my least favourite from those respective stories. But it did move the story forward, and a lot of new twists seem to be awaiting *ahem(Merona)*
Great Job! now i seriously cannot wait for ep4!!!!!
|
Cody
Member
|
Posted: Mon Mar 13th, 2006 10:04 pm |
|
HEY! Who you callin' a preditory jerk? 
I somewhat agree about the Cody / Claudia thing... Looking at it now, I think it almost makes sense that he would initially start with the "2 can play at this game" approach. Then once he has her on the hook, turn it off and show her how it feels...
A little bit about Cody's history might help to clear things up a bit....
Cody grew up hating his powers. Since he was a little boy, his mother told him the his powers were an evil thing. He began to hate everything associated with the life. Cody's parents were not Lighters, and did not have any powers. So Cody always saw his powers as the thing that stood in the way of what he wanted... To have a normal life, like mom and dad....
When Cody was in college (for accounting of all things), he met Janey. Janey was a White Light, and was under orders to win Cody over. She was not allowed to tell him that she was a Lighter. Instead, she was supposed to get close to him... Get him to like her.... Maybe even love her.... That way, he would want to join the White Lights just to be with her. Cody had already been approached by several other lighters by then, and would have nothing to do with them.
Things didn't go as planned... Cody did fall in love with Janey, but she fell in love with him as well. She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she was a Lighter, and as their love grew, it became an impossible task. By the time Janey was forced to tell him the truth, she had become the love of his life... She new his parents, came home with him for holidays and family gatherings....
When she finally told him, he was devastated! He thought he was finally going to have his hearts desire... A loving wife, and a happy family! Instead, the thing he had loathed for his whole life had taken away his happiness again!
Cody is an up front person, and honesty has always been one of his expectations... He hates manipulation, lies and deceit.
After Janey dropped the bomb on him, he spent about a year trying to pick up the pieces. He finally came to a point, that had had enough! So he left Texas. He thought he could run away from the "Life"... Find happiness in a different world....Portland.
When he meets Becca (Claudia), and is realizes that she was doing the same thing that Janey did, he has had enough. He is no longer running!
In episode 3, he initially toys with her. He wants to show her how it feels to be played with... He is hurt, and he is going to start returning the favor...
Cody is pulled by both sides of the Life. He is neither a White Light, or a Black Light.... He's both! He just repressed his "evil" Black Light tendencies. The problem with that is.... When they come up, they are very hard to keep in check.
He has it in his mind, that all Black Lights are evil, hurtful, bad people. Yet he is strangely drawn to them as well...
I hope this helps you to understand him a little bit more! Let me know if there is anything else you want to know about him!
Joshua Burson
"Cody"
|
Steve K
Member
| Joined: | Tue Feb 28th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 8 |
| Mana: |  |
|
Posted: Wed Mar 15th, 2006 05:24 pm |
|
I must disagree with you Randy. Cody and Katie look distinctly different. And VIVA LA DIFFERANCE!!!!!!
|
randy
Member
|
Posted: Wed Mar 15th, 2006 07:50 pm |
|
Hey Joshua!
Thank You! that does put the character Cody into better focus for me, especially the scene with Brian and Claudia/Becca in the bar (ep2).
as i have mentioned to Ross, it is difficult to have to re-think characters especially given the condensed time allowed in these epsiodes. both Cody and Becca were introduced as very sympathetic characters, and well.. you know what they say about first impressions, just would rather not see the other side.
thanks for the insight!
-r-
|
randy
Member
|
Posted: Wed Mar 15th, 2006 07:52 pm |
|
Steve K wrote: I must disagree with you Randy. Cody and Katie look distinctly different. And VIVA LA DIFFERANCE!!!!!!
true enough..however we have not seen Cody in a hot little miniskirt 
|
Cody
Member
|
Posted: Wed Mar 15th, 2006 09:32 pm |
|
You are very welcome Randy!
It will be interesting to see which side of Cody will win out in future episodes.... His good natured side...or his darker side. I guess that is the challenge for all of us... We all have the propensity for good and evil. We chose to live by one, and suppress the other!
Joshua Burson
"Cody"
|
SeeNoEvil
Member
| Joined: | Wed Mar 15th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 3 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Wed Mar 15th, 2006 11:59 pm |
|
| removed at posters request. Last edited on Fri Mar 17th, 2006 11:37 pm by ross
|
Steve K
Member
| Joined: | Tue Feb 28th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 8 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16th, 2006 12:22 am |
|
| Interesting take. I recently had a discussion (today) with Laurel Smith the pre-eminent acting coach in Portland and a professional casting director from LA. She said she was extremely pleased with the production and that it represented a definite step up for Portland. But maybe that's your point. But I think that it's great that someone reknowned in the industry for their ability was impressed. I would be curious to find out what you consider to be a good project that has been produced in the area without the assistance of a large LA budget. What's your comparative baseline?
|
Brian Aiden Reynolds
Member
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16th, 2006 06:29 am |
|
| removed ... questions? email ross Last edited on Thu Mar 16th, 2006 11:42 am by ross
|
SeeNoEvil
Member
| Joined: | Wed Mar 15th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 3 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16th, 2006 06:39 am |
|
| removed at posters request Last edited on Fri Mar 17th, 2006 11:37 pm by ross
|
SeeNoEvil
Member
| Joined: | Wed Mar 15th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 3 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16th, 2006 06:48 am |
|
Last edited on Thu Mar 16th, 2006 06:54 pm by SeeNoEvil
|
Steve K
Member
| Joined: | Tue Feb 28th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 8 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16th, 2006 03:30 pm |
|
Mr SeeNoEvil,
Chill out. I'm a fan. I'm not on the show. But I'm also in the industry.
First point. You're on a public message board. That means you are speaking to everyone and opening yourself up to the same sort of critique that everyone else is. If you don't like it, then go play in someone else's sandbox. I'm using this and other forum's to try and get a feel for what the Portland community is like regarding film industry. I found your post interesting because it was fraught with negativity. It was a doom and gloom post followed with a half-hearted supporting comment. I was trying to determine what your expectations were and what others might be given the scope of the project.
Second point. I'm familiar with In the City They Fell. No I haven't seen anything other than rough footage so I'll reserve judgement. My suspicion is that it will be very good. But to offer as a comparison something that no one else can see is not helpful.
Third Point. If you are in the industry and are supportive of the Portland community and wish for it to do better why don't you contact the director and offer genuine constructive criticism rather than griping on a public message board. If you are not the same kind of whining "Oh Portland will never be good enough" baby that I normally here then you will do so. Otherwise your are part of the problem. Be part of the solution.
Fourth Point. The majority of your comparisons were to much larger budget LA productions. Specifically what I was trying to avoid. But seeing this production and knowing it took place on weekends and evenings, used some of the best talent that Ryan Artists and several other agencies had to offer, was more than likely done on a shoestring budget, involved professional actors volunteering their own time to train in martial arts, has had 3 twenty minute episodes to explain a new universe in the sci-fi genre, include animation, introduce a large number of characters and several subplots, original music, choreographed fight scenes (by a guy who doubles Chuck Norris no less), and was filmed and out of post in less than a year. Well, I think that's an grand and agressive undertaking for an independent film maker. There has rarely been a television sci-fi show that all makes sense in the first 3 episodes. So I'm impressed by the scope of the project.
Fifth and final point. You are viewing this from the wrong perspective. Film making is a business, plain and simple. The goal is to make money. The idea is to sell into distribution (hopefully not directly to DVD which can be the kiss of death in LA or New York) or by attracting investors who recognize that you have done very well with very little and suspect you could be great if you had more time and resources. You yourself recognized potential. What is the next step for a successful film industry in Portland? Establish the appropriate contacts with those who are serious (obviously these people are) and start building relationships. Your post is an exercise in stepping on your own ya-ya. It certainly isn't relationship building.
Attachment: m6EHicVY8P9BK927Fu5za7rEv8Ve.jpg (Downloaded 32 times)
|
Brian Aiden Reynolds
Member
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16th, 2006 06:40 pm |
|
Haha, good point mate.
Everything I wanted to say- minus the swearing.
|
Cody
Member
|
Posted: Thu Mar 16th, 2006 11:29 pm |
|
SeeNoEvil,
There is a concept that they teach in most business management classes, and it is the standard in the professional world....
"You praise in public, and discipline in private"
I invite you to do just that... joshuaburson@comcast.net
We actually do have fans here, and I would like to keep them.
You are certainly welcome to your opinion, and your do have a few valid points. I look forward to your e-mail.
Joshua Burson
"Cody"
|
Tiera
Member
|
Posted: Mon Apr 3rd, 2006 09:00 pm |
|
Wow, I haven't been able to check-in for a while...looks like a good thing, too! There will always be people who are very vocal with their opinions and have trouble expressing it appropriately. I, for one, am very happy with the all the hard work we put into the show (cast and crew alike), and I am glad there are people who are enjoying watching it. In my mind, we're a success! For those who disagree, please let us know what should be different, and help us to be even better! Just be aware of the fact that what goes around comes around (that is, after all, one of the themes of our show), and that when you are respectful of other people, you will receive the same treatment.
Cheers!
~Tiera
|
Current time is 11:03 am | |
|
|
|
|
