Tonight, I had the opportunity to view short films done by aspiring movie makers at the monthly Project Resolution film critique and viewing session. Each month, people gather for more than just free opinions and popcorn at the Firehouse Theater. They come to see the latest shorts in the Richmond film scene.
The event was a 3D experience that will be difficult to translate into words. But here goes nothing.
The first film had among the most elaborate use of props and extras. The storyline described a device that can translate an artist's ideas into film. It's the perfect Christmas gift for the filmmaker dealing with a creative block. There's only one catch. The device has killed everyone who used it, and now the government is after the inventor who just so happens to run into his next client. Oops, I mean victim.
The film ends with a SWAT team discovering that the latest client who has his life for his art. When the authorities view the tape to see what the man died for. There is nothing on the film except static.
The storyline was cleaver although it seemed disjointed in spots. It obviously resounded with many in the room. All artists would love to find a way to make the artistic process easier. The device was a chair that the director made. It was stolen during filming. The chair took the guy two months to make. Bummer.
The next film dealt with a guy who was down on his luck. The director used sound and lighting techniques to distinguish between real time action and the thoughts going on in the main character's head. He overdid sound effects, which diluted their impact and made the dialogue hard to follow. He had some decent concepts, just poor execution.
Then came the first and only music video of the night. Although the director used some very class animation techniques, the video lacked a storyline. It seemed too abstract. I couldn't even tell it was a music video at first. She used a window to try to get people to see between reality and the make believe world that she wanted to create. The effect simply didn't work.
You never see the band playing instruments or even get a good look at them. Most of the up close shots of the band were of their feet. One guy said that it reminded him of a shoe commercial at first. The animation could have been used for the make believe world, which I think would have created a more noticeable contrast.
Probably the best film for the least amount of work took you into the demented mind of a guy who suffered from fruit envy. He felt betrayed by an apple who had stolen his girlfriend, which was an orange. The whole thing was ridiculously funny. The guy started torturing different types of fruit all the while talking to the apple. It sounds stupid. But the script had everyone laughing. The apple even changed facial expressions. Using marker to animate the apple was a cleaver idea. The only thing that would have made the film any better would have been a disclaimer at the end that said, "No fruit was harmed during the making of this film."
The only real documentary movie of the evening featured a commentary on the monotony of life and the social distance created by modern institutions and practices. Two 1980s handheld video games were the back for the short while text rolled across the type. I found myself looking at the video and trying to read at the same time. I liked how she used the video game to illustrate the monotony of many things that we do. The script was too long, and the worlds scrolled too fast. Overall, it worked.
The next film featured a guy who slept through his alarm clock. It had a few funny moments. The best thing was the critique just because the director didn't really care what people thought. He was a funny guy who just enjoyed doing something and having people notice him.
One of the best uses of color was a short about a girl who was obsessed over a guy who abused her and dumped her. It seemed like an Obsession cologne advertisement in spots. As she became more and more despondent, the color around her turned from full color to duotone. I liked the effect. As one commentator said during critique, it seemed more like a neat effect looking for an idea because the script was fairly cliché and predictable.
Staying on the theme of bad times, the next film showed how a guy reacted when a leak in his ceiling caused his whole world to fall apart. The idea was funny. But it quickly got old. The best part was during critique when the guy said that the film was based on a real life experience.
Then, John Romeo of romeo-theater.com presented a commercial parody for Costco. I liked how he showed a full version and an edited version. This illustrated the art of editing and how difficult it can be. The dialogue was funny. The film even had unintentional product placement. I like the short version, John. You can see the whole thing, click here.
The best product of the night had to go to a film school student from NC School of the Arts. He had a scene of a movie showing the horrors of war. The lighting and score were phenomenal. Great camera shots of the soldier's face. It lacked a complete story. But that was the assignment for this class. I could see the difference that professional quality production can make.
My favorite short film described what it was like for the key character to go through like with anosmia. That's a serious medical condition where you cannot smell anything. The main character talked about never being able to smell a fart, good food cooking in the kitchen, sour milk, stink bombs, etc.
The script was funny, and the entire thing was very tight. It was the nicest package of the night in my opinion. The stories were based on real life, which made the comedy even funnier.
One director showed a trailer for a movie he was developing. The trailer showed a guy making a basil joint. The entire thing was funny in a college humor kind of way. But it was fairly ridiculous. I enjoyed the trailer a little. But I wouldn't sit through 30 minutes of it.
The most abstract film of the night was "Vanilla Jesus." It was a completely impromptu movie filmed by some college guys on summer vacation at the beach. It was kind of like Monte Python's Life of Bryan meets a drug induced hallucinogenic dream.
The storyline was hard to follow. Basically, a guy gets up and starts having this dream about "Vanilla Jesus." The concept of the dream is not clear except for the guy goes nuts and writes Vanilla Jesus on the sand in front of his hotel. Then he tries to keep the waves from destroying his creation. It was odd.
The coolest part was that the idea came from a Jesus shaped air freshener that he found at work. The air freshener has been in a stage case for years. It smells like vanilla and have never lost its scent. The guy said it was a miracle that the air freshener has kept its scent that long. One of the people in the audience suggested that the director try to sell the air freshener on Ebay.
There may have been a few more shorts that I don't remember. The last film of the evening featured a couple as they met and broke up. The most spectacular part of the short was the acting and the dialogue, much of which was created on the spot by the actors. It had some good camera work on outside shots.
A major drawback of the film was the lack of continuity and direction. Little details and the timeline did not mesh. My favorite line was when the girl comments about how the guy has gotten buff since they last saw each other in high school. She asked his secret. He said, "Yeah, it's Bowflex." The entire room erupted in laughter with that line.
For my first time at Project Revolution, I was impressed. All of the films showed creativity. Some were better than others. The most important thing is that at least they were doing something. They were expressing the art inside of them. I am inspired to go and do likewise. Hopefully, I won't have to sit in a chair that could end in my demise just to get what is in my head out on film.
