Denali- Visual Short Film

 



https://vimeo.com/122375452

In order to gain a wider inspiration from various filmmakers, I signed upto Vimeo and began searching the site for visual films. This is a touching visual film about the connection between a man and his dog. I was stunned by the visual in this film and the quality of the slow motion picutres they catured. What really sold this narrative to me was the intwining of a touching story about a dog 'narrating' about his connection with his owner and how he survived cancer.

I really liked the colour grading of the visuals and the frmaing of the shots and it reseonated with me and I hoped to take inspiration with this film. The colour grading takes on bright lighting with blue's to create a calming effect that enhances the beauty of the seaside.

I particuarly liked the use of the seaside and this could be a possible trait for our short film becuasuse our residents is surrounded by Beaches. This has made me more curious about our local seaside and how we can incorporate this into our film.

The cool colours used in this shot help the text to stand out against the rock. I liked this effect as the title rolled with a sunburn effect that made  it look waterlike. the single surfer out to sea is minute compared to the gand spectacle of the natural beauty of the rock.

 

the ending text is framed by the rock at the end. It keeps the text in frame and allows it to have prevelence to the area around it.

 

This crane shot gives a unique angle on the absail as well as making it standut anumgst the other shots in the film. Altohugh iI found this part of the film lagged slightly in plot the overall narrative was interesting that it cut away from the seasshore and engaged in other activites.

 

Because of the length of this shot and the light that is bouncing off the sand gives the shot. The shot feels like we are coming to the end of the narrative and we can tell by the dog's legs our protagonsit is dying.

 

 

as we dip in and out of the sea we see the surfers rising the surf waiting to catch a wave. The slow motion of this shot allows the spectator to immerse the spectator within the sequence as the narrator introduces us to the tone of the film, a lighthearted film.

The framing of this shot allows the van to be the primary source of interest. As the surfer runs back into shot he becomes more in focus allowing us to realise he is relevent in the shot. The balance between the shorline and the car makes for a pleasing shot to the eye.

 

This opening shot is beautiful as it uses the wheels of the van to create patterns in the sand that become diffinate against the natrual scenery. The most impressive part for me was the height of the shot and the quality of the shot. Once I saw this I was engaged with  the narrative as it told me that this would be a well shot film and I was intriqued into the narrative.

 

The underwater shot in the sequence as the narrator is talking allows for the spectacle of the sea to immerse us in the narrative. As the camera continues to cpature the light of the sea

 

The shoreline is highlighted with the natural lighting of the sun. The foam is captured to the right hand side of the frame which graudates over to the left hand side. I particuarly enjoyed this shot because it captures the beauty of the shorline and the power of the waves.

 

the water dripping off the surfboard is a mesmerising shot as the sunlight glistens of the water. Although this shot only lasts for a few seconds the trickling of water allows the shot to highlight the foam in the sea. The tip of the surfboard also allows the shot to be in balance as it just touches the area of the sun.

 

As the dog trots along the sand his form turns into a silouette as he travels along the beach. The sun outlines the rock at the begining of the sequence. The music is reflective as the dog coems to the end of it's days.

The beginning of our planning

 

 

My Shoes

 

My shoes is my favourite film into my analysis thus far. I find the opening a little too corney; but the twist at the end took my breath away. The tale of a homeless boy only wanting to be rich (and gets what he desires) but soon realizes that the rich boy does not have everything; like the use of his limbs. Having swapped places, the richer boy does not care he has lost his money or has no smart clothes; he is just happy his limbs are working.
I thought this was a fantastic moral to appreciate what we have and not to think of others as rich as having it 'easy'. There are many more factors to consider than somebody eles wealth and position within society, and I like that the audience felt bad for the homelss boy and then had thier emotions overturned and feel pity instrad for the wealthy young boy instead.

What I enjoyed about this film is the framing and the plot twist at the end. I hope that our narrative will be as compelling as this short film and the use of lighting will give the shot a beatufiul clarity.
On the other hand, I was not a particular fan of  one of the moments when the homeless boy is talking with his shoes because I felt like they were directly feedng the audience infomation that they could have found out visually, such as having him stare at the boy intentally before closing his eyes for the voice over.

Overall My Shoes has made me think more about the moral of our story and the framing of our film. To improve on this my group and I will continue to search for more framing ideas and the mommentum behind the camera.

The Last Word-Short Film

The Last Word is a captivating and moving peice that holds a very important message to those who are drivers or passengers in a veichle. The driector has used a young boy and his mother to detail the horrors of a revealed car crash that has killed the boy's father. The forshadowing of the boy's broken mobile phone is an exellent prop that motivates the action, as well as bringing in the audience into the background of the story.
The juxapose of evening colour and the dark funeral allows the themes of life and death, young and old and happiness vs sadness to be present on the film. The continuation of these paralells enforces the emotions when it is reavealed that the man died needlessly over a text while driving. It is powerful to see how one small action can have a fatal consequence to not just yourself but others around you.
I felt confused for the first half of the short film, but the climax was well shot and the words that appear on screen give just enough context for the audience to understand what has happened to the boy's father. I liked the soft piano as it felt reflective on the sadness within the video and allowed me to know stright away that this would be a sad message. I would improve this film by not having it as long as it could have been simplified to three minutes.

Memories-Short Film

 

This film had a montage feel to it as an old man wanders around and recalls his memories. I wasn't as keen on this film and the twist at the end of the film I found too cliche. On the other hand the colour grading and use of camera allowed us to immerse ourselves within the protagonists memories and comine the saturated present tense with the bittersweet past.
I didn't like the use of font as I felt it was too cheerful for the message they were trying to get across, also it was very distracting and did'nt help me become immersed in the stoyr.
Overall I was impressed wit hte narrative they told in the amount of time they had, the narrative was simple but it struck a chord about memories and how to cherish the ones you love before they pass away.

Inspiration-LISTEN-short film

This film was the catalyst for our research. With Listen, I enjoyed the narrative and use of diagetic sound because it allowed the audience to calm down before the big reveal of the man's suicide. I found the Non diagetic sound however a bit too conventional and overused. Although it did fit the emotion of the film and allowed the gravity of the moment sink into the audience. In the climax on the film the young man commits suicide but we do not know why, leaving it open to our imaginations as we watch. We feel his pain as he cannot contact his family members before leaving.

I did like the tumbnail for the film and I would take this as inpsiration for post production were we will be designing posters and writing up reviews on our own film. I like the framing and layput of the image and how the letters are incorpoated with the heigth of the wall and the young man.