# Short Film Scored by Daniel James



## robgb (Nov 1, 2019)

@Daniel James Nice job! Would love to see you do a breakdown/walkthrough at some point.


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## WERNERBROS (Nov 1, 2019)

Like it a lot.


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## Michel Simons (Nov 1, 2019)

Agree. Really good.


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## Daniel James (Nov 1, 2019)

Aw thanks man! Anything in particular you wanted me to cover? 

-DJ


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## robgb (Nov 1, 2019)

Daniel James said:


> Aw thanks man! Anything in particular you wanted me to cover?
> 
> -DJ


I'd love to see you go through the session like you do for a lot of your reviews and talk about the libraries you used and the choices you made re: the film and why you made them. What you've done works beautifully with the tone of the film, and that end credits theme is beautiful.


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## Akarin (Nov 1, 2019)

I second that. It's awesome. Loved it.


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## WERNERBROS (Nov 1, 2019)

I 3rd that! Pretty please!


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## Zero&One (Nov 1, 2019)

Daniel James said:


> Aw thanks man! Anything in particular you wanted me to cover?
> 
> -DJ



I 4th that!

For the stream:
I’d be interested what parts of the film inspired certain notes or melodies if any?
Did the ticking clock influence any timings?
And remake that kick ass door scene sound 🙂


loved it, great work


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## Kony (Nov 1, 2019)

I 5th that! 

Excellent work and also loved it. Couldn't help wondering why she didn't call a locksmith though


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## WERNERBROS (Nov 1, 2019)

Kony said:


> I 5th that!
> 
> Excellent work and also loved it. Couldn't help wondering why she didn't call a locksmith though


You know that kind of people who always ask even the simplest questions instead of just using Google? 
She is one of them. I think that's the main reason her husband decided to come back from dead, otherwise she would have stayed locked forever.


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## robgb (Nov 1, 2019)

Kony said:


> Couldn't help wondering why she didn't call a locksmith though


I just assumed she didn't want to deal with it. It seemed she was having enough trouble just existing, considering her grief...


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## Zero&One (Nov 1, 2019)

i took it as her own prison, she didn't want to leave. Kind of thing... in her head


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## Kony (Nov 1, 2019)

I thought it was a great short movie though - I'm just being picky/been watching too much CinemaSins. A point could also be made why someone doesn't instantly dial 911 when hearing knocking at the door at 3am


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## WERNERBROS (Nov 2, 2019)

Kony said:


> I thought it was a great short movie though - I'm just being picky/been watching too much CinemaSins. A point could also be made why someone doesn't instantly dial 911 when hearing knocking at the door at 3am


Because it's a horror movie.


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## robgb (Nov 2, 2019)

WERNERBROS said:


> Because it's a horror movie.


Or because, when it comes down to it, most people wouldn't.


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## Satorious (Nov 4, 2019)

WERNERBROS said:


> Because it's a horror movie.


I was also thinking after the first proper "jump scare" - she is also right next to the light - why wouldn't you turn this on after a big scare like that? Actually why don't you turn lights on before going downstairs in the first place? Ah, scrub all of this - it would completely mess with the atmosphere!  Nicely done!

I think the main constructive comment I would make to any aspiring Short Film makers reading (and this is with my Short Film Festival director hat on) - is that end credits in a short film need to be a lot shorter than this (even though the music and visuals are utterly lovely). The general audience is less forgiving than we would be (hey we're composers). A surprisingly common issue - but space is a premium at these festivals and an extra two mins can make a big difference to whether you are selected or not! The end-credits for this take up over 20% of the actual film run-time. Did I hear Action Strings at the end btw?


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## robgb (Nov 4, 2019)

Satorious said:


> Actually why don't you turn lights on before going downstairs in the first place?


Isn't she already downstairs? I'd have to rewatch.



Satorious said:


> I think the main constructive comment I would make to any aspiring Short Film makers reading (and this is with my Short Film Festival director hat on) - is that end credits in a short film need to be a lot shorter than this.



It's my understanding that this is merely a concept short for a feature film, not something that's intended to be submitted at film festivals. In fact it's made by Ryan Connolly, who has an immensely successful Youtube channel called Film Riot (1.5 million subscribers), and this is one of a number of short films he has made over the years. He also does behind the scenes tutorials, etc.,

Anyway, I would assume that the end credits would be much longer in a feature, and I suspect that was the feel they were going for.


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## Satorious (Nov 4, 2019)

Hi robgb - yep, aware of who Ryan Connolly is. It was more a general observation which hopefully helps others if they want to increase their short film festival selection rate (apologies - I've been watching + programming most of the day - so these things are perhaps more pronounced to me at the moment).

I can't remember about the downstairs thing (editing + film geography is a wonderful thing) - suspect you're probably right - I just remember the staircase featuring rather prominently in many of the shots/video poster image! If this is the case - and I don't want to spook anyone out here - "what's upstairs"?


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## Andrew Wox (Nov 4, 2019)

I would love to hear from you how you actually started sketching down some ideas and what inspired you for that cue!!! Its wonderful!!!

great job Dan!


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