Short film 'El Tío' online (english subtitles, 5D Mark III, ML raw)

[Fauxto]

We shot it at 1920*818, with a minimal lighting package. The colors were gorgeous just from the start. For the final grading we used curves, adobe raw, and a mixture of LUTs.

Hope you enjoy it:

You can download the original 1920*818 file at the Vimeo link.

PS: if you experience milky blacks at the vimeo link, you can catch it as well on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Ws1Nms3II

[5D3shooter]

Nice picture and audio quality... Don't know how I feel about the story.

[Fauxto]

Thanks a lot for watching. About the story I would love to hear more.

[5D3shooter]

If it had a trailer I would imagine the same voiceover from Machete, but instead he would be like:

"EL TIO, HE DOESN'T RESPECT THE RULES"

"EL TIO, HE CHECKS OUT THE LADIES"

"EL TIO, HE PRETENDS NOT TO HEAR YOU IF YOU DON'T SAY SOMETHING HE LIKES"

I mean, I know what you were going for, but the fact is: who the hell is EL TIO to just walk into the hospital with his niece and demand coverage with no insurance and then on top of that cut in front of everyone else?  And if they really did just "lose" his insurance card, they could easily call in and get his information, so they're liars too.  He didn't even look sick at all.  If it's an emergency, call 911 and take an ambulance, don't walk into the hospital and be rude to everyone.

After watching I was like.. hmm I would be pissed off and if I was that guy he kept saying he couldn't hear I probably would've cussed him out and told him to get away from me and then complained to the hospital as well.

Just my opinion because you asked
But again GREAT production quality, I just didn't like the story.

[Fauxto]

That was funny. You're american, I guess.

[NedB]

@fauxto: And you are......? Why don't you try answering your critic, whose criticism you requested. By the way, it's hard for a rational human being to disagree with anything the critic wrote. What exactly is your point with this film, if not what 5D3Shooter wrote? The film looks and sounds terrific, by the way, no question about it.

[N/A]

That was funny. You're american, I guess.

I learned a long time ago, if you're going to put out ANY type of original work for the public to see, be ready for harsh and extensive criticism. No need to stereotype or insult, either submit a rebuttal or keep it moving.

[Fauxto]

I'm very used to putting out work and am a much harsher critic to it than anyone else. I may have sounded harsh but I just was trying to point out that in most of the europen countries health care is perceived as a right more than a private service.

In that senese I don't take most of 5D3shooter's text as a criticism, really, but as an interesting cultural point of view. In Spain, until recently, health care was universal and free, and that change of paradigm is precisely the spinal cord of the story.

There are many other flaws to the film, one probably being that the Tio's character isn't too sympathetic. It wasn't meant to be: in his youth the man probably ate a dozen guys like this dude just for breakfast, but there's definitely something sinister about him.

It's really difficult to nail the tone in any film. Moreso when you're dealing with non actors, like the Tio and his niece, but I know it's no excuse.

[Francis]

Thanks for the cultural context but it still doesn't make any sense. No one gets any sense of who the character is and why he should receive special treatment. If you are trying to relate something sinister, skip the soft acoustic guitar music next time.

[Fauxto]

He doesn't receive special treatment, it's just procedure, as the nurse explains. People through emergency skip the line. And I agree there's something off with the tone, but I haven't been able to fix it.

[Broughtonfilm]

Fauxto, it is nicely done. Probably feels more like a scene from a longer movie than a standalone short but who cares.  I like its rhythm, choice of camera angles and focal lengths. Pretty good acting too. I am also glad you took your time to focus on an everyday situation and its dynamics. I think the handheld work could have been little bit more clean but that is pretty obvious.

I have a question regarding your workflow, specifically I am curious what your sharpening settings were. My understanding is that since this was shot RAW you could adjust it while processing the RAW footage. I am asking because it feels slightly too sharp in some shots to my taste, I am not talking about sharpness coming just from the optics but about what feels like a digital sharpening (especially in wide shots, like in the opening shot).

Anyway, thanks for sharing your film.

[Fauxto]

Yeah, I know. It was an unsharp mask in the adobe raw settings. Something like 0,5 radius and around 80 in strength. I agree it feels too sharp in some of the close-ups.

The raw module with the 5DM3 camera provides really defined images that don't need much sharpening.

And thanks for the nice comment. I agree about the handheld work, it's very rough: the rig was very basic and the lens had no stabilization. Also, we didn't have a focus puller. It was more a learning practice for the people of the workshop than a real production.

We had two lenses: canon 24-70 and 70-200. We ended up not using the long one because of the unwanted vibrations.

[Broughtonfilm]

The raw module with the 5DM3 camera provides really defined images that don't need much sharpening.

Thanks. Would it be possible to see a side by side comparison with and without sharpening? A still grab in the original resolution should be enough. I am interested in the opening shot and maybe one of the close ups. Thanks.

[Fauxto]

Sure, I'll do that tomorrow.

[Indianac]

Great camera work and sound design. Good color as well. From a story perspective, I got everything up until the very end.  If Tio is meant to be someone who was kind of a badass, the reactions from the others laughing as Tio messed with the guy kind of killed it.  It set an "uplifting" mood as opposed to one that is "threatening".  For me, I think it boils down to tone and music choice that caused a confusing message. Thanks for putting yourself out there.

[arrinkiiii]

Very good short !!! Love the colors !!!


They let you film in the hospital??  Or is not an Hospital??

Gracias =))

[arturochu]

me encanto el corto! una historia concisa y directo al grano, el diseño sonoro muy bueno, buena eleccion de lentes; en la parte en la que esta la sobrina hablando con la recepcionista iluminaste con kinos? me dio esa impresion.

una cosa inverosimil pero medianamente bien oculta es como cuando el tio enfrenta al señor sentado, la sobrina se queda parada sin hacer nada, si yo fuera ella le diria "ven tio no les hagas caso" o a lo mejor le ayudaria a encararlo, pero no me quedaria parado viendo que pasa con mi tio viejo.

lo malo es que tuviste varios skipped frames, me desconectan un poco de la historia.

[Fauxto]

Where did you see skipped frames? There shouldn't be any.


Arrinkii, it's an 'ambulatorio', kind of a clinic.

[N/A]

As far as tone, I think it could use a little more tension in the shots. Maybe holding a couple shots of tio just a second or two longer, having the nurse be slightly more argumentative, and the guy with the kid raising his voice while tio adjusted the hearing aid. I liked it a lot, though. Great example of raw capabilities and good acting as well.

[5D3shooter]

That was funny. You're american, I guess.

In that senese I don't take most of 5D3shooter's text as a criticism, really, but as an interesting cultural point of view. In Spain, until recently, health care was universal and free, and that change of paradigm is precisely the spinal cord of the story.

You must not read the news, I guess.  America is also facing a huge health-care reform because of people taking advantage of the "FREE" health care... Nothing is free in this world, someone ends up paying the bill.  It's about time everyone has to do their part and pay into health-care.

I don't need to be from Spain to relate obviously as even the character in YOUR short film says "enough milking us dry!"

This is a problem everywhere, not just in Spain.

But anyway, GREAT PRODUCTION!!!  Apply the same treatment to your future projects and you will definitely be successful with your films.

[Fauxto]

I'm sorry I'm late.

Here are two comparisons, with and without sharpening, set in the Adobe Raw Module. When used, the sharpening settings are circa 70 amount, 0.5 radius and 25 detail.

I've left our most of the CC to show a more neutral image and the results are much more different than I expected, to be honest. Keep in mind that the Canon zoom lens is extremely soft when wide open, which was the case of the first opening shot. Also the sharpening makes more evident the little native aliasing of the camera. Look for it in the car of the opening shot.

Here's a link to both full hd comparisons:

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6864/q0pa.jpg
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9672/phjk.jpg

[Broughtonfilm]

Thank you for posting the comparison, very helpful!

[andy68]

Fantastic job!!!!!!!!!!!