S2S - Short Film Reviews x 3
'Roadside' - Thriller
Review
I really enjoyed this short film, I feel it was simplistic yet told you such a lot in 5 minutes. The opening scene shows a young lady who seems to have been injured or hurt. The character has a sad expression on her face and dirt/blood on her shirt, straight away you can see that the character is in some sort of trouble. After being approached by a man in a car offering help, the male characters gets out of the car in attempt to help. He offers the lady a lift as he can see she is in danger. As she gets into the vehicle and the camera stays in a wide shot, the vehicle starts swaying side to side as it indicated an altercation is taking place in the car. The car stops and the horn is continuing to be pressed which makes the scene quite distressing. You then see the lady character get out of the car, drag the male body out of the drivers side and drive off. Leaving the male character on the floor.
As I mentioned above, for a short film of only 5 minutes, it really is intriguing and has at least 3 moments in such a short space of time. It really has the 'show not tell' factor. For example, the opening scene of the lady character walking, already shows you that she is in some sort of trouble, or is having a bad time. This has influenced me to ensure I do this with my character 'Grace', Grace is a troubled teen and is going though a hard time with a family member, if I can use the same 'show not tell' as they have in this short film, I feel it would be really effective. I have had a thought of showing Grace's frustration in my short film by throwing headphones to the side once she cannot untie them, to show she has no patience, or that she is already at the end of her tether with life, similar to how the dirt and blood on the lady character shirt, shows struggle or trouble.
As I mentioned above, for a short film of only 5 minutes, it really is intriguing and has at least 3 moments in such a short space of time. It really has the 'show not tell' factor. For example, the opening scene of the lady character walking, already shows you that she is in some sort of trouble, or is having a bad time. This has influenced me to ensure I do this with my character 'Grace', Grace is a troubled teen and is going though a hard time with a family member, if I can use the same 'show not tell' as they have in this short film, I feel it would be really effective. I have had a thought of showing Grace's frustration in my short film by throwing headphones to the side once she cannot untie them, to show she has no patience, or that she is already at the end of her tether with life, similar to how the dirt and blood on the lady character shirt, shows struggle or trouble.
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'Deaf' - Drama
Review
I'm unsure on how I feel about this film, I can see the story and the meaning of the film, however I feel unlike 'Roadside', for the time of the video it was not fully utilized. The film is about a girl and a young man, who have not spoken; however they go to the same school. The opening scene starts with the girl looking at the man from afar and partly smiling, the boy then walks over to the girl as if they're about to speak; however, he puts rubbish in the bin next to her and walks of. Later in the video they are also in the lift and in a library, which is a similar situation, the girl is attempting to get the boys attention however he does not speak to her. He later walks off and the girl follows him shouting 'hey' in which the boy does not turn around. As she catches up with him, she realises he is deaf. As he seems upset the girl has run away, she actually is running to get a notepad and pen so they can communicate together. They finally communicate through writing and walk into the distance
together.
Although, I am unsure on the film and feel it is somewhat predictable and doesn't quite have the same character switch as 'Roadside', I do admire how the silence in the film has a big impact on how you feel. The first half of the film is completely silent apart from quiet actions like the lift beeps and doors shutting. I feel this has really inspired me not to be worried about silence in my video. There is a part in my short film where Grace is running through a field after having an argument with her mum, she is really upset and angry which I feel should be silent and quiet, it helps viewers think about the emotions the characters may be going through or the thoughts the character may be having. I feel this was done very well in this short film, it made you ponder about how the characters were feeling which is something I would like to apply to my own short film.
I'm unsure on how I feel about this film, I can see the story and the meaning of the film, however I feel unlike 'Roadside', for the time of the video it was not fully utilized. The film is about a girl and a young man, who have not spoken; however they go to the same school. The opening scene starts with the girl looking at the man from afar and partly smiling, the boy then walks over to the girl as if they're about to speak; however, he puts rubbish in the bin next to her and walks of. Later in the video they are also in the lift and in a library, which is a similar situation, the girl is attempting to get the boys attention however he does not speak to her. He later walks off and the girl follows him shouting 'hey' in which the boy does not turn around. As she catches up with him, she realises he is deaf. As he seems upset the girl has run away, she actually is running to get a notepad and pen so they can communicate together. They finally communicate through writing and walk into the distance
together.
Although, I am unsure on the film and feel it is somewhat predictable and doesn't quite have the same character switch as 'Roadside', I do admire how the silence in the film has a big impact on how you feel. The first half of the film is completely silent apart from quiet actions like the lift beeps and doors shutting. I feel this has really inspired me not to be worried about silence in my video. There is a part in my short film where Grace is running through a field after having an argument with her mum, she is really upset and angry which I feel should be silent and quiet, it helps viewers think about the emotions the characters may be going through or the thoughts the character may be having. I feel this was done very well in this short film, it made you ponder about how the characters were feeling which is something I would like to apply to my own short film.
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'Eden' - Thriller
'Eden' - Thriller
Review
I enjoyed this short film; however felt the ending could have been different and may not have been as clear as what the writer was wanting. The film is about brothers who are in the middle of a disease which has wiped out most of the population, it starts of with the brothers walking through a wired tunnel with just the sound of the little boys stick hitting the wire. The young boy starts coughing and the older male indicates they are trying to find a doctor to cure him. As they search for a doctor, when the older male gets to the hospital he was looking for, he finds that is is derelict. As he goes back to his little brother who is waiting for him knowing that there is no doctor to cure him, he turns round and tells his brother to walk with him; however when he turns round after he cannot hear his brother following, his brother is missing.
I'm guessing from the ending the writer is trying to imply that the young brother was dead the whole time and everything was all in the older characters imagination. I do like this concept; however with such a short space of time with it being under 5 minutes, it is hard to show a concept without telling the story. I feel the dialogue tells you the story to much. With the little boy coughing, it already indicates he is sick; however the dialogue that follows is the older male advising us as the audience he is sick and needs a doctor, which I didn't feel needed to happen. This has inspired me to ensure every part of my script is showing and that I am not spelling my film out to the audience. I want my visuals to show my audience what my film is about.
I did enjoy the opening scene as the young boy hits the stick against the wired fence, as this is the only thing you can hear, I feel like this sets the scene that there is no one else around and the world is silent. Much like 'Roadside' which also uses sound effects very well, I want to ensure I also do this within my short film, ensuring that I'm using sounds like thunder, rain and so on to set the scene that my short film is being set in the cold to indicate further struggle.
I'm guessing from the ending the writer is trying to imply that the young brother was dead the whole time and everything was all in the older characters imagination. I do like this concept; however with such a short space of time with it being under 5 minutes, it is hard to show a concept without telling the story. I feel the dialogue tells you the story to much. With the little boy coughing, it already indicates he is sick; however the dialogue that follows is the older male advising us as the audience he is sick and needs a doctor, which I didn't feel needed to happen. This has inspired me to ensure every part of my script is showing and that I am not spelling my film out to the audience. I want my visuals to show my audience what my film is about.
I did enjoy the opening scene as the young boy hits the stick against the wired fence, as this is the only thing you can hear, I feel like this sets the scene that there is no one else around and the world is silent. Much like 'Roadside' which also uses sound effects very well, I want to ensure I also do this within my short film, ensuring that I'm using sounds like thunder, rain and so on to set the scene that my short film is being set in the cold to indicate further struggle.
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