oh wow. nice gh1 footage!

well done!

That lady looks bit more crazy than thak geeky guy... is so passive just reading books.. imho videogames are better than just reading some stuff who he's not understantd :D is dowgrade lvl.

awesome vid! But very important to note, that the problem isn't with the "adult" video games, but with the parents, when they just can't controll their son. (sry for my english)

excellent satire of gamers!

well done in the technical aspects, too. whatever lens that comes with your camera as well as a fast 50mm is all anyone needs.

You should have stuck to making a simple doco about your lads addiction, this is what is interesting. Two weeks filming could have been better spent. This boy is getting a double chin and he must be barely into his teens. He's a couch potato; will he turn into one those large John Candy unexercised americans that eat nothing but coke and popcorn? I wanted to know more about this boy, There is great potential here. It was filmed and put together well. Some great ideas. Loved the slowly opening blinds. An interesting watch.

'i really am a changed man'. classic! that kid is great.
very nicely done. the close up shot of his eyes darting around while he's watching the tv screen says it all. hate to say it, but i knew it would end with him playing a video game. nevertheless, awesome short!

One thing that is must have accessory with these DSLR cameras is a better mic. Some of that sound was just horrible, and took it from a film look to your average youtube video.
Other than that I loved it. The colors were great and I love this camera.
You know this may be a joke but my brother acts pretty much like that. Wakes up plays video games and then sleeps. Its really sad.

Hehehe they never change

Haha, I loved this short. Great stuff. The basis of the plot can apply to so many things in our world like politics and such. Kind of a powerful video if you look at it in those terms. Great camera work. I'm loving all the video capabilities of the new video DSLRs, especially with the 50mm 1.4 and stock lens combination.

good story - slight over acting in some spots, but great if that's your untrained kid!

Hi Jake, do you know which recording of Clair de Lune you used at the end? Thanks.

I can only imagine how much fun you guys had making this short.

That one part reminds me of the video where this kid got his WOW account cancelled =P
Guess this was your intention^^

Genius

A superb short for our times.

For me it was the cinematic nature of the photography and tight pacing that kept the whole film real.

Great work all round.

The part when the kid says he is into classical music was epic. It fits perfectly. Great shots, great audio, more please :)

PS. i love that it seems to be a documentary in the first half, sort of like District 9.

awsome!!!

that was prolly the coolest vid ive watched in a while.

Did you use the onboard mic to capture sound?

Very, very, well done :)

BRAVOOOO!! BRAVOOO!!! that was genius!

I like almost all of it. The music at the end just reminds me of Oceans Eleven though.

Thank you for all the great comments guys, just to clarify it is my brother in the movie and not my son. :)

Amazing video. I loved every bit of it.

THAT. was just great...from the music selection to the colors... its no surprise that your video made the staff pic!

Very nicely edited and thought-out video Jake. You lost me a little bit around the 4min mark with the badly acted tirade, but you had me pretty engrossed with every other moment. Well done.

I'm sort of lost in trying to decipher the message from this video. Can anyone help ?

Great video Jake, quick question about that canon FD 50mm f1.4... how much of a difference did that make from the stock lens? And do all of the Canon filters work? Thanks.

Very well done! How many camera's did you use? Or is it played?

realy good !
I want to know if you are a amator ?

The following is a review by Eienne Fusz, written as an english class assignment for students from the Graduate School of Industrial Logistics, esli.fr :

"As non-native english speakers, here is a french understanding of this movie, reviving emotions for those who have already been attracted to video games, as a drug.

It would seem at first glance that a film dealing with addiction to video games is no easy thing, as it is difficult to translate the lack that alcoholics or smokers can experiment through filming. However, this movie is a small cinematic feat showing unplanned expressions, captured directly on the set, combined with the innocence of a pre-teen already addicted. Imaginary Hero is the second short film directed by the talented director Jake Kulagin from Chicago. IH has since been widely praised by homemade-film-fans, due to his professional quality with carefully framed shots and exciting sound effects.

Besides the quality of the selected scenes and the wide color range make this kind of documentary alive, the two talented and credible actors make us feel a very close paralel to our children and their fast-growing addiction to virtual games.

About the outcome, you should not be suprised if you did think of it before the end. We are convinced that the film director is still able to surprise us, in the way that he cleverly reflects scenes from everyday-life, featuring everyday-characters like us. Obviously, this is no professional achievement, and the whole film is not flawless. Yet, despite some mistakes of unstable framing or perfectible sound recording, it has to be said - to be fair - that most shots hoisted that work among the best achievements viewed on Vimeo.

According to us, there is not much more to say about that movie. Every movie has positive and negative aspects. However we should make an opinion on everything to be able to react if we face it. Thats why we are advising you to watch it. Be particularly attentive to sound effects. Hoping you will be captivated by this 9-minutes story of our lives, enjoy and comment!"

i totally love the story. and the acting of that kid is priceless.
awesome colours, focus and shooting. great dude!

:) Well done. That was entertaining.

Funny and creepy!

vimeo.com/7093147
vimeo.com/7339043

Good thing the kid hasn't discovered MMORPGS yet.

Is this mostly natural lighting?

Liked the Electric Ladyland sample, quite fitting. Thx

Sweet!! Loved it and the footage came out good.

This isn't a great video -- the kid acting out his frustrations throws it off. But it's sincere as documentary, it looks good, it's emotive, and I will perk up the next time I hear Jake Kulagin is on Vimeo.

really enjoyed this short piece - video games for many are such a private obsession and I think you're shooting style (closeups, natural lighting, etc) conveyed that well.

I find it disturbing. A kid who lives his life through videogames, whose emotions are the ones that he gets from a virtual world, while he cheats on the real world to make his virtual emotions endure.

I don't know if you really want to take a side on this or the form you choose doesn't match the content. What I am saying is that by "the form" the content seems sadly frivolous.

I recommend you to watch a film called "Benny's Video". It's the same subject matter but from a very different side.

Hi Jake,

Initially I've to say that I really liked the narration and captures. I'm also planning to get a Canon FD 50 mm f/1.8 lens to Panasonic GH1 and also planning to make a documentary with it. As far as I know, via Canon FD lenses, GH1 loses it's AutoFocus feature. I really wonder that is it really difficult to focus manually while you're recording? In this context, do you advice to get a Canon FD lens for GH1?

Hereby I want to ask one more question. Which adapter did you use for adapting Canon FD to GH1?

Regards.

Aykut.

Fun short -- I really dug the hybrid between your documentary and narrative storytelling. I loved it the kid -- thought he did a great job throughout the film ... while scripted and natural.

Keep it up!

did you use lighting in this or was it mostly natural?

Video game addiction fascinates me. I don’t understand it. All of my friends play at least 2 hours of video games a day. They have online Call of Duty parties all the time. I touched on the subject a little bit in my music video, but not to this extent.

Overall the video was pretty good. I thought the creepy therapist and dorky classes at the end were a little to much, but other then that, well done.

I like the film. I was wondering if you'd recommend the camera. I'm looking to buy one and I've heard good things about the Lumix.