Re: __________________

RE: Short Film Festival is an initiative by a group of students from School of the Arts (SOTA). With this event, we hope to encourage participation in our young artistic community, providing a platform for youth to make and share their films. SUBMISSION DEADLINE 19th JULY! We hope to receive unique entries, the event does not restrict the form of the films submitted - the possibilities are limited only by the participants’ imagination and creativity. We eagerly anticipate entries from fellow youths and budding artists. Shortlisted films will be rated and screened publicly at the Studio Theatre in SOTA.

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A cute one-minute film that documents the happenings in what I assume is a school, or a staff room, or an office. All through the eyes of a scanner, whether it likes what its seeing or not.

Shot after shot, each series of shots manage to define the scanner's surrounding environment, without giving viewers a view of the actual environment.

You don't have to show a location to submerge viewers in it.

Ah the power of suggestion.

If you are unable to find the 'perfect spot' for your shot, perhaps you should find another way of establishing the environment?

REgards,

RE Short Film Festival Team

[michonnes-deactivated20161007]

"Dog Eat Dog" is a short film based on the true story of how actor/producer Zachary Quinto finally adopted his first dog in a Los Angeles Animal Shelter. During the events of his hilarious trials in attempting to adopt a shelter animal, Sian Heder, the film’s director was there by his side. Taking notes. [x]

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the sound design and colours in this one are whimsically wonderful

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Childhood of a Circle: Kadavre Exquis

Employing the use of traditional animation, Exquis brings us back to the nostalgic times of our childhood, and features a gentle voiceover coupled with colourful images. An innocent and charming film portraying the life of Archibald, a blue bearlike creature who finds his life turned upside-down upon the arrival of a mysterious circle. 

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The Bloody Olive: Vincent Bal

A film noir that presents a fresh new take on the classic love triangle scenario, whilst maintaining that high-edge tension and keeping to its roots of being a crime film. Excellently photographed, with beautiful cinematic elements that highlight the playful subversion of the genre.

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The Reward

AWESOME animated short!  Fantastic art direction and design, and a good message too :D

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My Happy End: Milen Vitanov

This fast-paced short film is a mash-up of several different animation styles, keeping it upbeat and humorous as it describes the tale of a dog who FINALLY succeeds in catching his own tail - with unexpected results.

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On Departure: Eoin Duffy

A short film depicting the journey of a traveler navigating through an airport. This film is a whimsical union of both visual abstraction and audio - completely free of dialogue. Definitely a creative twist on iconography.

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Bloopers showcase a variety of things: how normal the cast of a film can be, the dynamic between each of them, as well as serving as a comparison between the actor, and the character.  Best of all, it shows how they too can laugh in the face of mistakes, and share these moments so we can laugh along with them. In some cases, such as PIXAR, they go as far as animating bloopers for viewers to enjoy. I love bloopers for those reasons.

(Spider-man 2's bloopers were the first of many I enjoyed. Other blooper reels you could look at would be those of Star Trek (2009), Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings trilogy, or that of Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc.)

Also, having seen the film, the blooper reel shows the funny side of some of what is to be serious scenes. We see the attempt at being solemn/full of rage/remorseful/romantic, which eventually fails miserably. It is part of a record of the behind-the-scenes process to churn out the final product. With that final product in mind, seeing the trials and errors undertaken as viewers allows us to revel in our enjoyment of the final product.

Just a thought: It would be interesting, if a short film were to be styled in the format of a blooper reel, or behind the scenes video. As such, the final outcome that they are attempting to achieve would be left to be pieced together by viewers. Could you see that working?

Explore different formats/structures!

REgards,

RE Short Film Festival Team

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"Mothlight" - An experimental short film created by Stan Brakhage in 1963.

A combination of flowers, insect wings, leaves, and other organic elements were pressed in between two strips of 16mm splicing tape. Produced without a camera.

Interesting execution, and the translucent beauty of the objects is what makes this short film both captivating and artistic. 

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To quote the description: 

"At its essence, great animation is a beautiful marriage of image and sound. And few have done that better than the Canadian Michel Gagné with his monumental animation, Sensology. The film is a feast for the senses—a combination of improvised music and abstract animation."

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Small snippet of a surrealist film, Un Chien Andalou, based on "dream logic". 

A quote which aptly encapsulates the general message of the film: "No idea or image that might lend itself to a rational explanation of any kind would be accepted. Nothing, in the film, symbolizes anything."

An interesting concept seeing as it focuses more on creating aesthetically shocking visuals as opposed to having an underlying theme. 

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Now this short is really creepy.

The Cat Piano

It's disconcerting use of sound and colour, the anonymity of the antagonist, as well as the ominous narrator, really establishes the tone of this short film. And that tone in run-on line is: crikey-me-hairs-are-standing.

The aesthetics of this stylistic piece is consistent throughout, the choices made for this style achieved also enables the film to effectively evoke the intended emotions. Despite the limited colour palette, the varied tonal qualities successfully adds depth and dimension to the animation. This restriction of use of colours brings in a greater emphasis and significance on the colours of choice such as the intensified whites of the cats' eyes and the weight of the brutality portrayed by the splats of red used nearing the end. The film also embraces the use of negative space, which also allows smoother transitions between cuts. Subduing the colour variety also brings in emphasis on the lighting, composition, framing used. The choice of the strong, rhythmic narration, as well as the sprinkle rhyme in the dialogue, engages the audience from the beginning, an example of good storytelling.

With this mixture of choice characteristics of the film hodge-podged together, a dark and disturbing story is created, and has been truly, effectively executed.

This short film is an exceptional exemplification of how making use of one characteristic of choice (in this case, a limited colour palette)  opens up a huge chunk of possibilities, showing how the film works around it and embraces it.

REgards,

RE Short Film Festival Team

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BLA BLA: a film for computer by Vincent Morisset

 blabla.nfb.ca

        This is the first film for computer I ever encountered. It's a great film that plays with user interaction within a very neatly designed universe of animation and musical paths. It's plotless, but comes in 6 chapters that each invite the individual on the "other side" to explore an aspect of human communication. It isn't this that resonates deeply, but having the slight illusion of control in the piece. While exploring the possibilities of user interaction in art, as intended, the film retains a charming aesthetic with a ton of really exciting mixed media:

“BLA BLA uses xerography, drawing on paper, ActionScript-generated animations, puppet stop-motion combined with real-time 3D mapping, etc. I am inspired by projects that feel free aesthetically. I wanted BLA BLA to feel hand-made, imperfect, fragile, so we forget about the technology.” 

       Vincent Morisset is a pretty cool guy, and you probably know him from his collaborations with Arcade Fire (more below). Obviously he's not the only dude on the team, and the website is worth checking out for details on all the work that went into this (brilliant!) project.

http://interactive.nfb.ca/blabla/press.html

                                                       BLA BLA in 129 words that aren't my own:

"For BLA BLA, an interactive tale that explores various facets of human communication, the viewer is integral to the work. Mouse clicks guide this story in six chapters, populated by endearing characters generated using a variety of methods, from traditional to high-tech. Made with the support of theNFB, this latest online production by director and creatorVincent Morisset (whose credits include the documentary MIROIR NOIR and the interactive music video for Neon Bible by Arcade Fire) stands apart in its emphasis on achieving an emotional response in the viewer. Through the very format of the work, Morriset also addresses the challenges of telling a story with the spectator as participant. BLA BLA is a one-of-a-kind experience that bears his hallmark: re-imagining “once upon a time” for the digital age."

       How can you create a film that is unique to its environment (the SOTA black box), or takes advantage of what it offers in terms of location, arrangement, and capacity? Interacting with a theatre-full of people is very different and possibly more limiting than with an individual with a trackpad/mouse ...Or is it? :P

      Hope this was inspiring.

       REgards,

RE Short Film Festival

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Sometimes, it is up to the first few minutes of the film to establish the tone and setting. In that respect, some opening sequences could easily stand as short films of their own.

A prime example of an excellent opening sequence would be the first 12 minutes of first Star Trek movie of the rebooted series from 2009. In the span of 12 minutes, stakes are established, lives ended and saved, and the good guys win?

(Then again, as a character later on in the film states, it "depends on how you define winning".)

(The 2nd film of the reboot series, Star Trek Into Darkness, has an excellent opening sequence too. However due to legalities, I am unable to find or post it :'( pity)

Perhaps, if you have far too grand a story to stuff into the short time span that the definition of "short film" allows, try instead, of crafting the opening sequence to said story. Establish the tone, setting, and stakes of that story into a short film.

(For another opening sequence, you should check out that of Inglorious Bastards)

  REgards,

RE Short Film Festival Team

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Perhaps you can't think of anything original.

One should not worry about that, as a wise young man once tweeted: "No such thing as original thought. We are shadows of stars that burned before our time."

But if you are still unable to think of something from scratch,then why not draw inspiration from existing things? This animated short film is based of the book of the same name, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce.

The animated short took the illustrations in the book, animated and brought them to life. As someone who has read the book, it was not only delightful to see the images move, but too see the images flow into each other, whilst retaining the rich colour of the book's illustrations (even in the black and white scenes).

Check out picture books, or books which utilise illustrations. They are a great source of visual inspiration if your noggin' is feeling a bit blocked.

Also, the short film is silent. It heavily depends on it's several renditions of "pop goes the weasel", the colour, and the expressions of its characters to deliver the mood. Keep in mind that dialogue is not your only tool. ;)

REgards,

RE Short Film Festival Team

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For all the media arts students out there:

About Larry, whose face is in space. A dude called Tom Jobbins made this experimental multimedia short for his graduation thesis film from the National Film and Television School in the UK. 

I thought it was great visually and the golden record story is such an awesome starting point for a short. The film itself didn't have much in the intellectual stimulation department for me though. But animation is the greatest.

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/

REgards,

RE Short Film Festival

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Trailer: A short film?

  The "iconic" trailer for Alien (1979) was ranked #1 of all time by both Screen Watch and IFC (and definitely others). What gives it entertainment and/or artistic merit? It is suspenseful and atmospheric, has a unique soundscape, and creates a specific expectation for its feature-length counterpart, but doesn't really give anything away. 

And here's a damn stylish trailer I thought was as good as the film or better. Who's seen Django Unchained?

A trailer can be a short film in itself- playing with the idea of suspence and anticipation, short and highly concentrated bites of style, action, cinematography.

  REgards,

RE Short Film Festival Team