Category Archives: Uncategorized

2,901,158 views

Uncategorized

Getting close to 3 million views. Thought that was worth a mention, and a blog post. And yes, I still update here from time to time.

I secretly dream that we’ll get to do a bluray release of the film. It was shot in HD, but uploaded to youtube in SD. The only thing that stopped us was the lack of interest from the festival submissions. But bluray pricing has come down quit a bit, so I may bite the bullet and do it myself… and probably wind up with a couple hundred copies of the movie sitting in my basement… but we’ll see. Check back when we hit 3 million views.

If you didn’t know, Mike and I have been doing movie reviews since lock down. You can check us out at Tony and Mike Watch the World Burn.

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Email issues

Uncategorized

If you’ve tried to contact us, via the email on the contact us page, please try again.  Unbeknownst to us, their was an issue with the info@ email address.  We’ve fixed it, but we don’t know how many emails we missed.

Thanks

 

 

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The First Review for The Year After Infection

Media, News, Uncategorized

Mark L. Miller of Ain’t It Cool News is the first site to review The Year After Infection.

” if you’re a fan of zombie horror, you are more than likely going to find something about this indie film to admire.”

Read the full review here

Advance Review: Currently touring festivals!
THE YEAR AFTER INFECTION (2012)
Directed by Antonio E. Greco
Written by Antonio E. Greco
Starring Trinka, Stan Davis, James Eason, Nichole Fischer, Joe Hammerstone, Ben Bovee, Dennis Dashley, Christopher M. Johnson, Eric Warrington, Timothy Lantz, Rhonda Husak, Julian Thomas, Dereck Krebs, Clark Pearson, Elyse Bertani
Find out more about this film here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug

I’m a dedicated supporter of indie work, be it comics or film. And THE YEAR AFTER INFECTION is most definitely an indie film. Many have difficulty with films such as this because of amateur acting and clumsy editing and problematic pacing of story. All of those things are present in THE YEAR AFTER INFECTION, but still, if you’re a fan of zombie horror, you are more than likely going to find something about this indie film to admire.

Let’s get to the problematic stuff first here. THE YEAR AFTER INFECTION has a lot of pacing problems. Maybe it was because of the amateur acting, but a lot of this film drags like the zombies that star in it. There are huge chunks that I feel could really be clipped away to make a faster moving story. There are a lot of nice elements here, but there is also a lot of meandering between these moments. A snip and slice here and there in the editing room could make for a much more enjoyable movie.

Now, the amateur acting might have been what made this film seem too long. Though I understand it’s hard to get great actors for a low budget film, if you know the actors are not the best, again, editing can cover up a lot of that. Here, despite the fact that these aren’t the best of actors, a lot of time is spent on them and a lot is expected from them. Because of this, the lack of professional acting skill is evident.

That said, I think the stories at play in these four vignettes which are titled by the seasons that pass are pretty fun. One centers on a survivor whose only friend is a zombie. Another follows a group of survivors paddling down a river filled with zombie infested waters. Another features a clinic where experiments on the dead are being made to find a cure. Finally, the best story of the bunch features a loner who finds a young child holed up in a house and must confront his inner demons in order to properly care for him. All of these are winning concepts filled with nice ideas that are touched upon in these short installments. Antonio E. Greco’s stories should be commended for the fact that they are creative stories focusing on the zombie apocalypse, and though the execution is often problematic when it comes to acting and editing, the ideas themselves are strong.

I also have to admire this film for the fact that it chooses to shy away from an outbreak story. So many zombie films focus on the outbreak. It’s a tried and true way of amping up the scares and emotion, but it’s a story so often told that I tire of seeing zombie films because it feels as if that’s the only story people want to tell. Here the outbreak occurs and this is more about adjusting to these changes rather than being shocked by them initially. In many ways I understand, given the walking wounded feel of zombie films in relation to reactions of helplessness to 9-11, but maybe it’s a good sign that series like THE WALKING DEAD and like this film have shied away from the initial shock and focused on what to do next. Though it makes for equally harrowing stories, it also can be said that this is an optimistic way of looking at being a survivor rather than a helpless victim.

Cultural significance aside, the redeeming factor with THE YEAR AFTER INFECTION were the little moments of cool (the canoe riders come across a bridge filled with zombies who drop on the boats from above like kamikazes as they pass under them) or moments of fun (a doctor empties a bedpan filled with blood and bile onto a zombie’s head far below). The ending of this film shows that Antonio E. Greco has a lot of talent in the way he pulls the final moments of story together while giving a nod to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, the zombie film that started it all. Though rough around the edges, THE YEAR AFTER INFECTION redeems itself though clever ideas and fun moments.

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Our First Interview for The Year After Infection

Media, News, Uncategorized

This past weekend I did our first interview for the film with a segment called After Movie Diner.

It was a great interview, and Jon was a gracious host, with some really great questions.

You can listen to the podcast here:
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=110745&cmd=tc

The interview starts at about 12:00, but you should really listen to the entire podcast.  Very entertaining!

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Lessons I’ve Learned #2

Thoughts, Uncategorized

Lesson #2
Don’t Fall in Love With What You’re Creating

Now that might sound like a complete contradiction to Lesson #1, but it’s not .

There have been a lot of hard lessons in this one as of late.  So what do I mean by “don’t fall in love with what you’re creating”?

No matter how good the shot, no matter how phenomenal the performance, no matter how perfect the sound, and lighting are, know when to leave it on the editing room floor.

This applies not only in editing, but during shooting.  Even if you think you got it absolutely perfect in the first take, trust me, you probably didn’t.  Shoot it again, and again if necessary.  I can’t begin to tell you how many times during the course of this project that what I thought absolutely positively for sure was going to be THE shot wasn’t.  Days or weeks or months later when you’re editing, you’ll get to see it the way an audience will see it.  When you sit down to edit, make sure you have choices, and even more importantly, know when a shot is flawed, no matter how good it seemed when you were there shooting it.  A very minor seeming error when you’re shooting will stand out like crazy when you’re putting it all together.

There are plenty of these golden moments that were captured on film throughout the course of the production,  but you can never, ever allow yourself the luxury of forgetting what you’re there to accomplish.   At the end of the day, it’s about telling a story, and it’s about being succinct. When you’re editing it all together, you are never allowed to get indulgent.   Do so at your own peril, because the audience will not be forgiving.

If there’s one lesson that is absolutely impossible to know if you learned, it’s this one.  There are plenty of films both big and small that are guilty of committing this crime.  Films that started off with a great script and a great cast, and fell apart during final assembly.  I could cite numerous examples, but I won’t bother.  Everyone has a list of films they kind of liked, but seemed to drag on, or took forever to get to the point.

If you’re viewing your rough cut, and it feels sluggish or off paced, then you’re guilty of this.  You have to be able to cut a scene down to it’s absolute essence.

Now each scene  should be there for a reason, and sometimes slowing down to take a breath or really explore a moment is vital.  Know when to stop cutting, and know  when to not cut.

Each scene demands different sensibilities, and getting a passing grade on one doesn’t mean you’ll get a passing grade on the next.  The directing doesn’t end on the last day of filming.  Picking the right take is just as important as getting the right take.

And after all that hard work, the only thing left to hope is when you sit down and watch the whole thing together it works.

 

 

 

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