It's also like Die Hard in that it is now one of my favorite Christmas movies, and also that helicopter explosion at the end.

Reminded me more of Thor: The Dark World

Having watched your later works first, I could totally tell this was scripted. While this is better than anything I could've come up with during my time at film school, I'm glad you later ditched the scripts altogether! PS: You make me want to do films again

Really loved it. Keep it up man

wow, well done! Love the end scene, speaks volumes!

hahha that was my journey as well now i'm fucjing sad

@@RafaelR-F this is literally me a week ago

Same

hahaha legit me too, I'm hooked

exactly

His dance skills are unmatched

Thank you, I'm glad I could surprise you! I love dancing, just need to find more excuses to do it on camera, hahah!

@@Joel-Haver such as your birthday on instagram ;)

I gotta say some of the acting is stiff and the audio is kind of latent and doesn't match the video but it still is really good p

great analysis man. joel’s films can make me feel a little crazy, but this one in particular really had my brain in knots

what a good comment

That scene is definitely a favorite of mine as well, my dad always kills it. Happy to hear you enjoyed the movie! Thanks so much for checking it out!

@@Joel-Haver HE DID THO HE OWNED THE ENTIRE SCENE LOL

Yea like "did you give her a good fucking"

The reservoir dogs has me dead

I think you expressed some really good points. Didn't think about the name thing but it really works. 'Bud' is like a short-hand for stranger. I feel like the key scene in the film for me is when the girl he barely knew (Laura?) tells him to his face that he thinks he's being subtle but he really isn't and he's just not equipped to hear that in the slightest. It's kind of remarkable portraying someone who's pretty hopeless in a way that the audience empathizes with that character (even losing his balls seems like he is the butt of a cosmic joke) but this manages to not only do that but sow the seeds that he might actually learn from it.

beautiful analysis

I like to think that bud will be better because he managed to cry :,)

Really enjoyed your analysis on this.

Glad you stuck around for the whole thing! Thanks for watching

same here that was so hard to watch but damn if it didn't make me feel something

His films just have that quality where they lure you in and you can't stop watching.

Same

@@janescarfield8104 100%

Yo just did! this was so good he really hooked me with his animated shorts but this was a great short film

Well this feels so good under a thunderstorm.

Made it here, glad I did.

This is only the 6th video I’ve watched on this channel lol. It was a good short, and a great look at this young generations portrayal of emotion. A nice bridge to help me relate and interpret in my own ways

benjamin strate has the best character development i've ever seen

I kinda feel like he isn’t getting the attention on this he deserves though

Thank you so much for watching it and thanks for the lovely comment!! I'm a sucker for wide shots, I think close-ups are so abused in filmmaking. A close-up needs to tell us something, it's hyper reality, it's when we can see someone's emotions clearer than real life. A close-up needs to be special. If every shot is a close-up, no close-up is special. I love the home break-in scene, it's perhaps my favorite scene in the movie. To answer your questions: 1. For this film I used mostly a boom microphone, and for a few scenes I used lav microphones. Some scenes I had to dub in post, but avoid this if possible, it's never as good. Since making this film, I have gotten a tried and true audio set up. and that's just two wireless lav microphones recording into a Zoom H4n sound device. Lav microphones are a godsend, you can frame the shot however you want and the microphones will still be picking up the audio the same. If I knew what I knew now, I would've done lavs for every scene in this movie, would've saved me a lot of pain of doing ADR for some scenes. 2. I don't recall the long scenes being particularly hard. As long as you make it fun and comfortable, and include the actors in the creative process, it'll come fairly naturally. Don't be strict about getting lines perfect, it's more important that the scene flows.This is the only movie of mine I wrote a script for, I strongly prefer improv. Amateur actors do much better with improv. Remembering lines is very stressful and it's easy to lose the intention. Everyone knows how to converse and react, so improv comes naturally, whereas memorization and reciting tends to lends itself to a more logical part of the brain resulting in performances that feel scripted as opposed to real. My film '31 Days in Marshall, North Carolina' is also on the channel, it's a movie I made with strangers in a town I'd never been to. None of them had acting experience but all of them did a phenomenal job, and that's because they were themselves. They had fun, they got to make up the conversations, trying to control everything will often make a film feel fake. PS: As far as other independent movies go, I'd recommended Cody Clarke's 'Bed' and 'Strummer', Dan Lotz's 'Chlorine' and Dax Flame's 'Indoor Garden' (all are free on UKposts)

@@Joel-Haver Thank you for answering my questions! This really helps.I'll be sure to check out all the movies you have recommended.Thank you.:)

I recommend “Neutral” by Nathan Barnett; it’s such as good a indie film as Mr. Haver’s works like this one, it’s so good and he’s a godsend when it comes to physical comedy Nathan Barnett is the guy who created the DAD arg in case you’re wondering too

Thanks for checking this one out! Lots of scenes that hold a special place in my heart. Incredibly grateful to everyone who helped bring it to life❤️

Same story with me 😂

Short films? These are full length...

@@AnotherGuyProductions bro I legit got excited when someone replied to my comment cause that never happens lol and it was just to correct my dumbass 😢

Please explain it to me, the ending i mean

Thank you for giving it your time and thanks for sticking around! Plenty more to come!

Ah it's 6 forgot about the bad guy the wolf and the surprise party

Is that a really elaborate John dies in the End pun?????

@@toastytcg1282 Sure is

@@toastytcg1282 damn i love that book

Why can I hear ear-rape in your comment?

I get it lol