The Plan (2008)

An award winning dramatic short film about a man who goes to Vegas and loses all his money in search of starting over in life. The short is 100% written and produced by Matthew Kalish, an independent filmmaker. The short film seem to be mid-budget (which would still be very small for a short film).

The story is told in black and white, although it is unclear as to why, however this decision does allow for some even more striking wide shots. Overall The Plan has a very simple narrative that at points I felt wasn't quite enough as the film became a bit slow at times. However what the producer of this film did well was allow for locations to be reused, and for some parts of the narrative to not have to be shown (e.g. the casino scene).

I feel what let this short film down most was the narrative as it simply wasn't strong enough, however in terms of the way it was produced, a short film such as this would be plausible to make as a student with limited resources.

An Ordinary Day (2010)

A self-funded short film about life for ordinary people and what it really means, made by a student.

The short is a drama that through the use of a voiceover discusses how mundane ordinary people's lives can be, however what it is in our lives that creates memories and moments. The narrative is clever as it has so many options open to it in terms of what to include and develop in the film.

The way the film is constructed works well in that the footage is quite repetitive however the audience is not bored by it because of the narrative and other aspects of the film such as sound. However because (especially at the start) there film was almost repeating itself, this would have meant that the film would have been easy and very cheap to produce.

Overall I really liked this short film as it had such a surprisingly powerful narrative which was very well carried by the voiceover. I felt for a student film this was impressive as it seemed as if it was easy to produce but still had a quality to it due to the narrative.

Point Of View (2010)

This short film is produced, shot and edited by Doug Smith who is a film student. It is self-funded and doesn't cost much as it uses cameras he owns and doesn't use any extra props.

The film is a sort of 'day in the life' type film which is shot only using POV shots. It is extremely simple as there is no dialogue, one soundtrack and only 2 actors at most. The narrative is not interesting as there aren't any events that take place, however this was not the aim of the film. The audience is involved very directly in this short due to the use of the POV shots, this is a powerful way of filming however it isn't used to be powerful in this case as it is more of an experimental film.

I liked this short film however when making a short film I would like to have a clearer narrative so that the film can follow more of a story. However this short has shown me that using different methods of camera work definitely makes the film more interesting for the audience to watch.

The Barberless Barber (2010)

This short film is produced by The Middle Coast Film Collective and Tree 9 Films, and distributed by Future Shorts. The film looks as if it would have been produced on a relatively small budget, provided most likely by Tree 9 Films who are an independent promotional film production company.

The short is a comedy about a man who is desperately trying to smarten up for a job interview, and ends up at a 'barberless barber'. The majority of the film is made using stop-motion. The way in which this short is filmed enhances the comedic elements in a comic sort of way.

The soundtrack partially establishes the genre in this short film as it is a very fast paced, and light hearted track. As the film is stop-motion the speed of the soundtrack helps keep a quick pace that reflect the stop-motion style.

To add to the comedy in this film the character often interacts with the audience directly, for example at the end when he winks into the camera.

I really enjoyed this short and especially its unique "quirkiness" throughout. I thought the narrative worked quite well but the film was brought together by its comedic way of filming and constructing.

Gone Goodbye (2009)

Created in 100 hours by Keith Rivers Films, LLC for the Film Racing Grand Prix 2009 based on a theme (privacy) and surprise element (a balloon).

Awarded Best Film of the Film Racing Grand Prix 2009.

I can be difficult to find a short film where the director has so successfully managed to craft together a series of beautiful shots into a short film that has depth, meaning and a sense of solemnity, however for me this film does just that. The first shot lasts 1:40 a slowly tracks along at a high angle following a car down the road. In reality this first show is actually quite dull, although it is made interesting by the voice over that covers the film. One of the aspects I enjoyed most about the film is that you only realise towards the end that each shot is form the point-of-view of the balloon itself, which is why each shot is so smooth and slow.

The soundtrack also fits perfectly with the film. Just like the video it provides a beautiful, rhythmic and moving tone, that also serves to keep as certain steady pace throughout. The titles as well, although very subtle, fade in and out perfectly without lingering unnecessairly on the side of the screen, and aren't at all in your face.

The locations used in this film are (just like the rest of it) beautiful and so calm, and all credit goes to the director of photography who has done a rather stunning job of composing each shot so carefully for maximum effect.

However, hands down the most impressive part of this film is the thing that is hardest to understand, the voice over. A voice over which - as evidence shows - can so easily ruin a film, has been perfectly executed in this case, but it is the meaning behind it that makes it so powerful. Comments that people have made on this film showed me a glimpse of the long debates people have had over YouTube on what it all means. I have to say though after listening to the film at least 4 or 5 times I came to these conclusions. The letter/voice over is written by the balloon, if you listen carefully to the choice of words this becomes clearer:

"I'm drifting"

"You've sucked the air out of me"

and my favourite, "There always a string attached".

What the letter says are words I think that the main character has wanted to say for a long time, but he can't quite do it alone. However the balloon, which is almost a part of him or his conscience, has put his thoughts into words for him. Interestingly though, it seems as if even when he has the letter there he can't bring himself to give it to his wife, he drops the letter at the end.

The best part I feel is that there are so many different interpretations people can have of this short, and so many aspects to it that allow for that. The whole short revolves around the theme of privacy. This is shown through the narrative - the balloon is almost telling him how he feels, which reflects the pressures he is under - and contrasted with the fact that he is alone throughout the film, however the balloon has a certain presence as if it is watching him.

Overall I really enjoyed this short simply because the more times you watch it the more you can squeeze out of it in terms of what it means and represents.

Delmer Builds A Machine (2010)

I found this short film to be extremely thought provoking about what its real meaning is. For example the ending which shows the death of 'God', combined with the title suggests the value that 'machinery will kill religion' (figuratively speaking of course), however the fact that the machinery is built and powered by a young boy could show that the youth of today will 'kill religion'. However I also found that having  watched the film a few times, I began to notice more and more subtle aspects to the film. Such as the fact that if you look at Delmer's machine upside down it actually looks rather like a face, and the fact that the letters NY - as in New York City - are featured pegged to the outside of the machine. Whether these aspects are intentional or not is entirely questionable, however I'm sure that there would be some kind of method to the making of the machine itself when the film was made and this would include a deeper meaning.

The style of the film is very appealing and childish, it uses a colour palette that consists of bright colours. It is made even more childish by Delmer being dressed in a Bob the Builder style with the toy hard cap and dungarees. This childish, playful style creates an ironic situation when we as an audience realise that he has killed God, the style suggests innocence, when in fact he has done something very awful.

The audience is made to like Delmer. From 0:30 to 1:00 the film is made up of quick cuts of shots of Delmer "constructing" his machine, however none of the things he does could really help build the machine, for example he is sawing with a toy plastic saw and tapping randomly on a toy cashier machine. It makes the audience wonder how on earth he built the machine and pushes the preferred reading to the audience that Delmer is just an innocent young boy. Probably the funniest and most touching scene is Delmer eating his lunch, especially as he starts by retrieving his soft toy - a bear wearing a hard cap too. Delmer eating his lunch is just made up of one shot filmed handheld, where Delmer just chews away at his sandwich and finishes by flicking something off of his lunch. The shot is timed in the middle of the film and serves as a break between the quick cuts where the film - and Delmer - pauses for a second.

The ending of the film however is what makes it so interesting, and mildly controversial. Once Delmer fires the machine we see a low angle shot looking up at the machine as if from Delmer's point of view, then we see two different shots that show Delmer looking up at whatever he has just shot out of his contraption. These shots hold for an unusually long wait of at least ten seconds before we see a splat of blood and Delmer's shocked expression. The camera then tracks across to show the face of 'dead God' and Delmer, still in shock, runs out of the frame. In the credits the character I have called God is credited as "Him", however at the end of the credits we see copyrighted the "God Killing Machine". Overall I loved the quirkiness of this film and that through all its innocence, it is actually quite dark. However, I also thought the best part of the short was that it had such a deeper meaning than one would originally think having just seen it, and that the more you watched it the more layers you found.

The Black Hole (2008)

This short film is about a man whose greed gets the better of him and the editing, sound, camera work and mise-en-scene are very important in displaying this. Since there is no speech in the whole short, the film relies heavily on these aspects to portray its ideas, and I feel that it does this successfully.

Sound is played with a lot in this film, it is enhanced and distorted to reflect the obscurity of the film and the 'sci-fi' nature to it. For example from the outset we are meant to instantly see that this character is a very tired, bored office worker and to show this the first sounds we hear over the titles are the monotonous sound of the photocopying machine and then the worker's loud sigh as the camera focuses on him. To also reflect his boredom and how tired he is, from when we first see him in shot he is not in focus, however once the camera has stopped tracking and settles on a mid shot of him, he comes into focus, just as if he were waking up from a daydream. Finally the very blue/grey, drab and dull colour palette that is used shows the typical office scene and also reflects the worker's mood at the beginning.

However once the black hole is introduced the camera work becomes much more interesting compared to the slow tracking and eye-line mid shots which reflect the worker's boredom. For example a point of view shot is used from the point of view of the black hole, this shot provides variety to the shots and catches the audiences attention because it is so different from the very boring camera work previously. The audience is also caught out by this shot because of the sound effect that cuts in and out with it, the effect is a very distorted, sci-fi like sound which shows the audience that something is different. The low angle we see from the black hole's point of view is also a different angle than we have seen before (previously we only see straight, eye-line shots).

The variety of camera work and unnatural sound effects increase in number from this point, reflecting the character's emotions as he becomes more awake and interested in the black hole. We also see a change to high speed editing and a larger variety of camera angles, positions, and movement to make the film more frantic, for example the close up at 1:31 which creates intensity and highlights the character's expression.

Throughout the entire film the sound of the photocopier continues, this helps the continuity and flow of the film, yet is also slightly creepy as it is a tedious beeping and whirring sound.

The ending of the film consists of very quick cuts and high speed editing to reflect how frantic the character is being while he is collecting the money. The sound is also enhanced to increase the intensity for the audience. At 1:51 we first see a shot through a door frame into the room that he is in, this camera composition frames the character to emphasise that his greed is taking over his morals. The final shots are 3 shots which are the exact same apart from they cut to a further zoom each time, with a jump in the sound on each cut. These shots fragment the film and highlight the disaster that his greed has led him to.

The film presents the values and ideologies that greed can get the better of anyone, even your average joe office worker, and that if you let your greed take over then it will lead to a bad ending. I feel that this film presents these ideas well since it does in such an abstract and interesting way that engages the audience and in so different from anything else, yet develops from a very normal situation.