Overtime – Short film
Forced to work an all-nighter, a young man deals with paperwork… and demons!
I’m actually kinda proud of the way Overtime turned out, so please watch if you get the chance.
Shot over two nights, approximately 3-4 hours a night, plus one morning shoot for about an hour, Overtime was created for Bryan Enk’s Sinister Six film festival. Special thanks to Chris Radtke, for making the cameo happen and a FANTASTIC performance to boot, Tod Emko as the sales guy/demonic presence with a heart of gold, Brian Jacks (in a, regrettably, unnecessary) role as the guy over the wall, and most especially, Adam Swiderski as Adam, who is so magnificent at anything and everything he does.
In total, the budget was about $97.00, all of it purchased at the Halloween Adventure store the day before shooting and not all of it used (I have a great iron hook on a chain that unfortunately didn’t have a place). More comments to come.
OpenCritic
LOL, this was ambitious and clever and fun. Great shots and very well editied. Only critiques – takes a little long to get to the bathroom stall, recommend trimming the boss dialogue because he says “Thanks” twice, etc. And monsters should never, ever, under any circumstances, wear jeans and socks.
Performances are good and the idea is strong, I like slowly realizing what’s happening to him, and the overall comedic tone, especially in the montage. Again, great editing and camerawork overall. Maybe not the best idea lighting-wise to put your lead in an ivory white shirt – it helps him stand out in dark rooms, but is also too bright. Lighting for video, especially moody lighting, is always a challenge.
Great work here, Eckstein – super fun. Detected small crackles in the audio, not sure if anyone else had the issue.
NOW SINCE YOU ARE PLUGGING ERICECKSTEIN.COM I EXPECT TO SEE SOME CONTENT THERE! At least link to all yer youtube videos.
That intro video on your page is so damn good I watch it all the time.
xo
Ashcan Pete
I love the surprise cameo!
Hey, did anyone ever think of putting “Cameo” in a cameo? Did that ever happen? Remember “Cameo”? Who was Cameo again? Why do i only kind of remember Cameo? Cameo sang, right? Whatever he did, i really hope someone thought to use him in a Cameo. Back then i mean. It wouldn’t really have the same impact these days. But back then. That woulda been somethin’.
I thought Cameo was a female porn star? I’m totally confused by whomever Cameo is. And I love Ashcan Pete’s breakdown, lots of good criticism – if only Cybergosh had the time to give me a similar take, I would love nothing more than to be torn apart by the no dot list.
OH man – how could i forget who you were, Cameo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7Kp_TapA4
Great editing and sound design. Takes a bit long to “get to the dinos” as we used to say.
Creatures should have been more mysterious. Although i guess the way they were in jeans could have been part of his nightmares…that his co-workers are all out to get him. This could have been hinted at in opening scene rather than them all getting along. I Liked Brian Jacks. I would have loved it if, at the end, he was somehow behind it all as revenge for being snubbed about going out. Adam can jump up pretty high.
LOL, I too marveled at his high jump – it’s like he was born to do that John G Avildsen freeze frame.
Thanks you all—yep, always room for improvement and I agree with a lot of what you’re throwing out there. I edited another version for TheLot that was close to 5 mins, which is probably too short to be effective, but in the process, I made a lot of the build-up better and faster. I also scored it myself via sampling, which I don’t love, but whatcha gonna do?
Yeah, I was kinda screwed in that I didn’t have time or the talent for the makeup effects or costuming, so just relied on capes and Halloween props to make the “demons”. In retrospect, I should have done something about the feet, cause it’s not so much the jeans as the sneakers that bug me.
Again, it’s the balance of pulling off something fun and the amount of time invested. If I had spent a month on this, I’d have different expectations, but considering I woke up one day, wrote the outline, bought the props and started shooting the next, I’m happy.
But please, the rest of you, weigh in. Even if you hate it, I’m here to share and learn. I won’t take anything personally, except from anyone who thinks that “Hiro” from “Heroes” is a well-done character. That stupid tardish caricature.
I really don’t think Hiro is worth all the venom. And that’s coming from me, someone who hates almost every character on Heroes except for Claire. (GREAT show last monday, btw.)
I trained for months for that jump. But on the landing, I completely blew out my knee and have been in a wheelchair ever since. Eric didn’t mention it because he doesn’t want me suing him for all the profits. But I will have my revenge. Remember, revenge is a dish best served cold. And it is very cold…in space.