The Image Maker

[Chaucer]

Well tordenskjold - what did you actually think of the film. Were you one of the sheep who sat there and applauded because you thought you had to - or did you actually enjoy the film and find it good and well made??

[tordenskjold]

Well I wasn't actually commenting on the film. Was just trying to point out that I thought your comments about hoping Ben never makes it were slightly harsh and unnecessary. Whether I liked the film, therefore, is neither here nor there. I think it is fine if you didn't like it, though judging from your previous posts it must be a testament to your own masochism for you to actually have gone. Saying you think something is going to be crap and then going? How odd. At least now you have been able to vindicate your own opinion. How fantastic you must feel. Just leave out the wishes for someone else's failure.

[addiction]

well i thought it was an excellent job, well done Ben. Granted it was hardly a hollywood production, a bit rough round the edges, but given the limited technology available, i think for a student film it was top notch.

[Blanche]

Congratulations Ben!

To have made and screened your own feature film is a huge achievement. Well done to the rest of those involved too. I really enjoyed being able to go see a student feature on the big screen, and I hope that Ben's effort will inspire people to follow suit. Judging from the trailer at the beginning it already has.

I must, however, reluctantly concede that the film itself was just bad. At the very beginning there was an interesting and imaginatively edited sequence, but the film then reverted to a very conventional style, with too many unnecessary establishing shots and some sloppy editing. The music seriously lacked subtlety, as did the overall cheap sentiment, which would have done Hollywood proud. All credit to the principal actors, you were great, but let down by a script that it is no exaggeration to describe as absolutely appaling; unbearably cliche and in parts actually making no sense. There were entertaining moments nonetheless, and the twist in the tale was (reasonably) well thought out.

Ben, don't give up. You had a good idea, worked hard, and are obviously capable of a very interesting style. Just think about getting somebody else to write the dialogue and concentrate instead on the ideas, filming and editing, which you are clearly good at. Thanks for a great evening.

[Quentinfetishwoman]

The Image Maker is, in fact, the title of a 1917 film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176842/

Don't mean to sound rude, but I just thought it was interesting.

Its useful being a film geek;-)

[hr]'In parenthesis, one could discuss their individual feelings but they're clear enough, so let the pictures speak for themselves.'

[Quentinfetishwoman]

In response to what Chaucer said, he does actually have a point. However, even if the film isnt particulary good, he still put a lot of effort into it. Come on, its a first attempt. He can use it as a learning experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

The problem I have, though, is that when some people watch a film they cannot see past the subject matter. You may like the subject matter, but that does not make it a good film. Love Actually is a perfect example of that. It was a sickly, generic, horribly contrived film that was worthy of little merit. The only redeeming features were some of the performances. On the other hand, thats just me and my interest in films. I don't expect everyone to see things that way.

[hr]'In parenthesis, one could discuss their individual feelings but they're clear enough, so let the pictures speak for themselves.'

[Demon_1982]

Blanche I think your comment about the script and the film itself was very unfair. Compare it to the rest of the student crap that has been produced over the years: Tequila, The Bam-Bam Club, The Outing. This film was Oscar worthy in comparison, oh and if you think you could do better I'd like to see you try.

In regards to the editing, i heard the entire thing was done on iMovie so I think he did a fucking good job actually!

[FURY-161]

To write, film, direct and edit a feature length student film is a massive undertaking. To do it and succeed with just half the amount of trouble that was thrown Ben's way is worthy of copious plaudits.

After seeing the finished results, I can only say that I have nothing but the highest possible respect for Ben as a filmmaker. The Image maker was as polished and professional a student film as I have ever seen. Granted, it's not perfect, and there are a few sections where some aspects were rough around the edges, but taking it in as a whole I personally was very impressed.

I will be embarking on a short film in September, and if it's even half as good as Ben's, I'd be very happy.

So good on you ben, and indeed, bloody well done to everyone who had a hand in making the film what it was. Please continue to make equally wothy peices of entertainment in future.

But next time, -and here's my one major gripe- Leave out the intermission. There's really no point to it...
[hr]FURY-161
IMAGE:fire.prohosting.com/fury161/yellsign[1].jpg
"Anything to feel weightless again"
http://fury161.cjb.net

[FURY-161]

[s]FURY-161 wrote on 12:29, 19th Apr 2004:
To write, film, direct and edit a feature length student film is a massive undertaking. To do it and succeed with just half the amount of trouble that was thrown Ben's way is worthy of copious plaudits.

After seeing the finished results, I can only say that I have nothing but the highest possible respect for Ben as a filmmaker. The Image maker was as polished and professional a student film as I have ever seen. Granted, it's not perfect, and there are a few sections where some aspects were rough around the edges, but taking it in as a whole I personally was very impressed.

I will be embarking on a short film in September, and if it's even half as good as Ben's, I'd be very happy.

So good on you ben, and indeed, bloody well done to everyone who had a hand in making the film what it was. Please continue to make equally wothy peices of entertainment in future.
But next time - and here's my one major gripe-, leave out the intermission. There's no real point to it...
[hr]FURY-161
IMAGE:fire.prohosting.com/fury161/yellsign[1].jpg
[i]"Anything to feel weightless again"
http://fury161.cjb.net
[/i]



[hr]
FURY-161
IMAGE:fire.prohosting.com/fury161/yellsign[1].jpg
"Anything to feel weightless again"
http://fury161.cjb.net

[Ben Hecking]

The Intermission was in there because it was too long to fit on one DVD. That was the sole purpose. To those of you who enjoyed the film, I am pleased that I made something worthy of your interest. To those of you who thought the film fell down in places then, likewise, I hope you were able to at least enjoy some areas - and it would appear most of you did.

Blanche, I would be really interested in listening to your opinions on the script. This was my first feature film, so any advice that anyone can give me to make the next one better would be much appreciated.

The film was the best I could do in the time, the best I could do with the equipment I had access to, and was provided with and for a film edited on iMovie I think the end result was ok. I hope it might have inspired some people to give it a go.

Regards,

Ben Hecking

[Blanche]

Hi Ben.

Please don't get me wrong, there are aspects of your film that I thought were good, and I'm really looking forward to your next effort, as I'm sure there'll be one. Whoever it was that posted saying I wouldn't be able to do any better is absolutely right; considering the technical limitations, parts of the film looked very well. I do think, however, that I could have written a better script, so, for what it's worth, here is the advice you asked for.

One of the good things about The Image Maker was the small scale of the story; being set in a small University town and having a group of ordinary students as its focus. This meant that you could combine the conspiracy plot with with the fairly ordinary lives and loves of the main characters, making them much more interesting and not simply foils for the action. What was annoying about the script was that it did not match this 'local' feel at all. Instead the characters talked in a much too grandiose and cliche manner as if they were trying to pretend they were in a big thriller movie or a soap opera. For example, the conversation about dating between the lead lady and her flatmate ('when are you ever going to find someone') seems a bit over the top given that they aren't really talking about anything too serious. Even when the topic is serious, such as whenever the two main characters discuss what they have found out, they come out with a lot of formulaic lines and raise their voices a little too much, whereas I would expect them to be more reflective or even flippant about it until the gravity of the situation actually sinks in much later. It even seems in parts that formulaic conversation takes over so much as to render what the characters are saying meaningless. The scene in which the lead lady makes a long speech exhorting the guy to go and do what's right and then he turns to her and tells her 'that was awful' would have been funny had it not been for the fact that a lot of the film contained dialogue that was equally unnecessarily melancholic.
The overladen emotion was not helped by music that was perhaps a bit too sentimental in parts where the mood needn't have been, although the choral piece from the end of the movie was great.
There were perhaps a couple of points were the dialogue seemed on the verge of something that struck the right balance between poetry and naturalism. For example, the scene between the two of them waiting in the car and trying to force conversation ('how many brothers and sisters do you have') is quite amusing and well observed from reality. On a different note, when the guy's mother tells him that his father has been out at work for just over a year is funny because it's slightly surreal but believable. If the rest of the film had followed either of these styles, the whole would have been both more entertaining and more realistic, without sacrificing the seriousness of the film's subject matter.

I hope my criticism is constructive, because I think with improved scriptwriting you could make a really great film. I realise I have been a little vague in parts, but I would love to have a read through the script to be able to furnish you with more examples. Well done again Ben for a promising first effort. If you'd like to discuss anything more e-mail me through The Sinner or post here again. Best of luck.

P.S. Is the secret document passed to the students actually a copy of The Big Issue? Nice touch!

[Aureliano]

[s]Blanche wrote on 14:02, 19th Apr 2004:
I hope my criticism is constructive, because I think with improved scriptwriting you could make a really great film.


I agree with most of what Blanche has said, Ben.

What made me slightly cringe was actually some of the simple transitions that cut the mood of the film. What I mean is that knowing how much pain-staking time and effort you put into perfecting one or two sequences, and seeing how beautifully they turned out, it was unfortunate that other 'simple & easily modifiable' bits seemed somewhat unpolished. For instance cutting abruptly away from a moody shots to exterior ones with a little too much background hiss/noise.
But I suppose that once you eventually run the entire thing through further audio cleaning software, you'll end up with an even more presentable cut. In other words, had Saturday's cut been a little smoother round the edges, it would have more readily 'take you away' and suspended disbelief.

The balance between poetry and naturalism that Blanche talks about is a very hard thing to capture, and I think that you pulled it off decently enough. The verbose dialogue did not bother me that much because there was enough grounded naturalism in there, and most of the actors were able to sink their teeth into said dialogue and have fun with their roles. Furthermore at the end of the day the Image-maker I assume is meant to simply be a fun, enjoyable student thriller. Rarely in even top-notch Hollywood action/thriller scripts do you see dialogue that would be repeated in real-life - they are just polished and produced enough to get away with it.

That's one of the things that is going to be interesting about the production of our short-film 'Swings & Roundabouts' once it gets underway in the months to come. We've been trying to simply capture realistic everyday student dialogue, but drive a fairly extensive story through the use of just a few scenes. Argh. It will be interesting to see how/if we can make it happen.

Nevertheless it was a great evening, and the Image Maker was well worth the scope of the its premiere. Very decent acting all round. So congrats for finishing off this project of epic proportions. Get some more sleep! You deserve it.

[Demon_1982]

May I first congratulate the makers on a wonderful film - the amnount of time and effort that went into making it was apparent to everyone apart from the most idiotic people on the Sinner.

Could I also repeat something I overheard in the Union last night - thanks must go to the lead actor and the guy he was talking to - I agree with this opinion wholeheartedly.

The problem many people have had with the film I think, is that they don't know where to place it. It isn't bad enough to be your typical student film (or at least the drivel that has been produced here in the past MASS, The Bam Bam Club, The Outing to name but a few) It was HOWEVER let down on certain aspects, the sound etc which meant that it can't really be viewed as a professional film - even though the script (which I really liked and was a GOOD script), the acting, the shots, the editing were very professional. So it falls into this awkward position, where it's not one but it's not the other - so what are we supposed to judge it against? Crappy student films which it clearly wasn't, or films with bigger budgets (even a couple of grand more would have seen them right!)

So Mr Hecking, I think you should be exceptionally proud with what you have achieved. You produced a highly enjoyable, entertaining piece of film that, with the exception of some on the Sinner who clearly think they can do better, was a superb film.

At the age of 19-20 you have produced something that some film directors search for forever (that may be a bit excessive but you get what I mean) You used the lowest quality camera, sound and lighting equipment. You used student and amateur actors, you used iMovie to edit it on (were you insane??), whilst juggling a degree at the same time. People in St Andrews are apathetic - and always good to say that they could do better. The thing you have to remember is that no one has.

Far from being a terrible debut I will look forward, with considerable interest to the rest of your work. If you can produce something of that quality now then I wish you all success for the future - you will get it and deserve it. Ladies and gentlemen, in summing up, I believe that we have seen something tremendous - the first feature from a future Oscar winner and by God that's what england needs.

[Blanche]

At the risk of getting off the topic, I have to take issue with your idea that we must to be able to do better in order to qualify to criticise Ben's film. Not all critics are filmmakers and they shouldn't have to be.

You make a very good point though; Ben's film simply isn't in the same category as what's gone before. Part of the disappointment was that I expected a student film to be experimental and original, whereas The Image Maker was actually quite conventional. But then, if Ben wants to be a mainstream director that's the direction to go in and we should wish him luck. Experiment and originality doesn't always make for a good film, after all.

[Quentinfetishwoman]

A good film maker will make films for themselves as well as the audience. It does not matter if the subject matter is conventional. It is about how you approach it and, later, shoot it. If you take everyone from Martin Scorcese to Steven Spielberg they all make films with this primarily in mind. In this sense their films are rarely generic. If you end up making films solely for the audence then, in my mind, you fall into the trap of being conventional and boring. Michael Bay is guilty of this. Besides, you can never assume what the audience will like. Woody Allen, for example, has said that he has written characters that he assumed the audience would love but as it turns out, they ended up hating the character and loving another one instead. I don't know if this relates to anything at all but I just thought I'd make this random point for, well, the sake of making a random point!:p

[hr]'In parenthesis, one could discuss their individual feelings but they're clear enough, so let the pictures speak for themselves.'

[Ben Hecking]

Blanche - as you will notice from the email I sent you, I dislike this pigeon-holing of me into a director who is going to do "conventional" mainstream films - do you know me? Do you know my interests? How do you know that I don't have a hundred quirky film ideas in my head at the moment?

I wanted to make this film for me as well as the audience - not because it was mainstream and that's what I want to do, but because I wanted to make this film. Until you know me - don't cast aspersions on my character.

Quentinfetishwoman - I didn't quite understand your point in regards to me? Am I someone who is or isn't conventional?

[Ben Hecking]

And why do student films HAVE to be experimental and original. Where does it say that if you are a student you HAVE to be experimental and quirky? Is there a law I don't know about?

[Demon_1982]

Expect the unexpected.

[Blanche]

Ben.

Fair point. I should have restricted my criticism to your film and not to the direction of your filmmaking overall, as I do not know you. You're absolutely right, student films do not have to be particularly unconventional, that's just what I expected, and what I like. You should of course make the films that you want to, and if this includes films of a different nature to The Image Maker in the future then I look forward to them. Since you seem to be pleased with your script as do many of the others who posted here, whereas I did not like it for reasons that I explained, then this is the point (I hope) at which we simply agree to disagree, although feel free to let me know of any further points you feel you should make. Sorry to have given offence.

[curious]

I never saw the film. Whens the DVD out.