'Neil' by New Granary Productions

(London, UK) First Edit

New Granary Productions is a group of 5 actors currently training at Drama Centre London. We've made 5 films for 50 Kisses: The Moment, Neil, Enough, Jealous Making and Nothing Ventured. This film was directed & edited by Sophie Francesca, produced by Simon Haycock and featured Liam Hughes as Neil and Safiyya Lea as Rita. Fabio Guglielmelli was DoP - shooting on Canon 7D, Francis Cullen was on Sound, Martin Sarreal was Grip and Soo Jong Park was Makeup Artist. We're also really grateful to Chris Paton, Robert Waller and Matt Wieteska for their help during the production.

Read 'Neil' HERE

First cut: Producers notes for the filmmakers

  • Nicely played – like the glitches
  • Don’t like the heartbeat, though that’s a creative choice for you
  • Could be trimmed
  • Cant read notes on paper at the end, if important, reshoot

First Cut Comments... have YOUR say!

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Comments: 8
  • #1

    Stephen Cooper (Tuesday, 06 November 2012)

    Good performances, great look for Neil. Seemed to be a few odd flashes in some transistions, not sure if thats on purpose or something with the edit. Feels a little long but not as long as the other versions.

    Not to sure about the heart beat. Am interested in what others think about that. Good film though, just maybe trim a bit and look into the edits to make sure there aren't single frames remaining.

  • #2

    Suvasis (Wednesday, 07 November 2012 18:18)

    Liked the sound track and the whole thing

  • #3

    Geoff Paine (Thursday, 08 November 2012 02:26)

    Agree with Stephen about the look; Neil has a simple artificial look, and I assumed the small jumps/flashes are like a glitch in the Matrix. The trouble with the heartbeat is it's a little confusing as to who's it is, and I often feel a heartbeat foretells death (always waiting for it to slow down).

    Having seen two of the other versions of this script, it highlights the different choices filmmakers make about when to reveal the twist and the payoff. I quite like the earlyish reveal that he's not real I must admit.

  • #4

    Mark (Friday, 09 November 2012 15:38)

    Most realistic of all the neils The actor looks flawless and wouldn't that really be how a robot would be created. Well acted too.
    This was easy to understand and coherent.

    What I'd like to have seen is an older actress that shows a mismatch between them. The question I obviously would ask is its a little much to believe a young girl as pretty as the actress would have enough life experience or need to be in love or need the services of a robot.
    When we first see Neil there is a long time before we see the girl I'd like her introduced much sooner before she sits down.
    There is a bit at the last frame that smudges I would get rid of that.
    Also the full screen shot at the computer would look better if we seen the screen and a little more of the environment Probably after she has left.

  • #5

    Kate (Sunday, 11 November 2012 21:50)

    I agree that the heartbeat is confusing. It could use some cleaning up as I feel at times that the editing was jumpy-- if it's meant to be a glitch in the matrix, make it more so, otherwise smooth it out. This is my favourite of all the neils I have seen. I actually disagree with Mark about the girl being young. I think if Neil was a case study robot they would probably test on all ages so that didn't bother me at all. Great job and great little film. I love this script!!

  • #6

    Alison (Sunday, 11 November 2012 22:07)

    Cool SciFi...loved the robotics.

  • #7

    Pia (Sunday, 11 November 2012 22:12)

    Absolutely authentic robot! (If there can be anything like an "authentic" robot i.e. ...) I watched all the other Neils, too, and this is my favorite.
    Pia

  • #8

    Shaun Bond (Tuesday, 13 November 2012 22:12)

    A VERY well acted 'Neil'. I would propose that the whole thing be sped up a bit with quicker cuts, especially at the point where she gets up to leave, as it slowed down a tad too much for me personally. I would also lose the 'Did they tell you to say that' line, as it feels out of place in all of the Neil films I've seen so far. I understand that this is a key moment where Neil may form real emotion in receiving an honest compliment from someone, but it always seems to stand out like a sore thumb for me. I enjoyed this though, well done.