Not A Teddy Bears Picnic ★☆☆☆☆

Review of 'Not A Teddy Bears Picnic' which can be found here on YouTube.

Length: 08:53

Written & directed by Damien Swaby 

Genre: Experimental?

Date: 2012
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Logline: A teddy bear and his best mate have a fall out. 

Filmmaker Swaby wrote to me asking for his short to be reviewed (all films welcome btw) but sorry mate, I don't think you'll be overly pleased by what am about to write... 

First off the bat, I had difficulty in pinpointing which genre this should come under. The opening sequence is really abstract so I've shoved it in as experimental to cover that but this is more likely to be intended as a comedy as by three and a half minutes in you're thinking this is just plain daft. 

The editing is unique. The use of sliding opaque coloured rectangles is a bold choice. A distracting one, but a bold one. Having to read text instead of hearing dialogue when unnecessary takes the viewers eye away from the on screen action too. I wanted to hear the banter between Swaby and fellow performer Paul Bamgbose as it would have added a more comedy and realism to the piece. Static camera shots and stills was probably a wise choice, the camera quality is decent and the tint over the external shots gives it a better look but doesn't quite cover the fact that shots are being reused. 

The dialogue in those text overlays immediately throws the audience into an obscure and ridiculous plot. There's a bit of a 'made up in two seconds' feel to this production. I really hope alcohol was involved, if not, it should have been. Would be interested to know what audience this was aimed at and the intentions of the film. On the whole, although the concept is daring as it strays away from traditional story telling, the weirdness of the plot and the (can't say it enough) terrible decision to have text on screen, means this scores low. Saying that one or two lines did force a chuckle and the title's at least an accurate description. 

Best Bit: Some of the music was good.

Worst Bit: Text on screen forcing you to read poor lines.

Final thought: Sorry Damien. Don't hate me. What do I know, eh?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Strike! ★★★☆☆

Review of 'Strike!' which can be found here on Vimeo.

Length: 05:00

Written & directed by Nadia de Castro

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2010
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Logline: Visual representation of a guy remembering things. 

Actually, the filmmakers loglined this as "The search for a lost memory in one man's mind, told through visual metaphors", which, beside the inappropriate use of an apostrophe, probably explains the film it a bit more but I'm not sure it's something I would've picked up on without knowing that before hand. Either they've written a rubbish logline or they've failed to clearly present their concept. 

I've categorised this as experimental even though there's a linear story line to it. It all seems to kick off when Marc Barnes, who stars as the man whose head we're in, asks himself a question "What does the stranger say?" and then proceeds to rack his brain for the answer. I quite liked some of the simple representations of someone searching for a thought but also found it hard to follow. I barely heard the question first of all as the music soundtrack is at a higher level, then lots of small words on bits of paper, a magazine which I wasn't sure what the relevance was and some gibberish dialogue at the end doesn't exactly make this straight forward viewing. It all left me thinking I wasn't clever enough to understand this inside joke. 

Saying that, it's been shot well. There's nice camera quality, dynamic transition shots, good lighting, set design, and edit (if pacing was a little on the slow side). Unfortunately, even though this is supposed to be an glimpse into an inward world, with Barnes pausing a lot to consider things, his thought process remains pretty much internal and not on screen as I think was intended.  

Best Bit: Camera work, shot composition, lighting. 

Worst Bit: Hard to make out what's going on, visually and audibly. 

Final thought: I'm thinking it but I'm not going to tell you it. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Ex Nihilo ★★★★☆

Review of 'Ex Nihilo' which can be found here at Future Shorts.

Length: 03:20

Directed by Sophie Rautenbach

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2012

Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A montage of fascinating sciencey imagery put to extracts from a Lawrence Krauss lecture on the universe.

A moody and atmospheric ‘Air’ track immediately sets the tone for this visually and audibly stimulating piece. Three elements are combined extremely well here; high quality images, simple geometric wipes, and an intellectually appealing voice over. To be fair, the dialogue may require some level of concentration from the viewers as although the astro-physics stuff has been pretty dumbed down for an everyman audience, it can still be a bit too much at points. The on screen visuals however, can quite easily be absorbed and enjoyed without strain. Saying that, you’ll quite often wonder what it is your looking at as a melee of wondrous solids, surfaces, liquids and wavelengths are displayed.

The high picture quality, excellent colour depth and the various intriguing shapes and forms made by the subject matter juxtapose well against the back background and sharp, clean edges created by the wipes in the edit. It looks smart and crisp and the smooth transitions keep the easy pace. Overall, while this may just look a bit like a fancy powerpoint presentation, the well merged elements combine to create a fascinatingly stylish film which is both educational and surreal.

Best Bit: Simple stylistic editing.

Worst Bit: The technical jargon risks audience tune out.

Final thought: Doesn’t go down too well with a hangover. I kind of feel none the wiser.

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

She ★★★★☆

Review of 'She' which can be found here on Vimeo.

Length: 05:28

Written & directed by Craig Murray

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: Part music video, part obscure narrative revolving around a human/sea monster?

Not sure how accurate the logline is on this one as the film looks pretty open to interpretation. There is a mixture of live action, stop motion animation, speed manipulation and effective editing in this evocative piece. The best I could fathom is that the story is possibly shown in reverse (although it works fine as is) and centres round some pulsating sea creature who can transform into a human in order to kill men in toilets. Either that or it's just some nut job with the ability to tolerate the freezing cold.

Pivotal to the work is the unknown actress who throws herself into the role wholeheartedly and carries off a continual 'WTF?' look as well as going at the naked writhing on the floor in a rather gung-ho fashion. If that wasn't professional enough, she then allows herself to be smothered in a grubby old poly bag on the baltic beach and covered in what looks like alien innards. You go girl!

Amid the frequent soft focus shots, picture quality is high and the edit is done to a competent standard with clear structure and tonal shifts. Saying that, some sequences lingered too long for me and pace suffered marginally due to that. The visuals are complimented by a great soundtrack which carries a forceful mood throughout and matches the ambiguous imagery. Overall, highly experimental and provocative without being boring and overly obscure. 

Best Bit: Trying to figure out what you're watching.

Worst Bit: The bits of glass on the girl looked a bit naff. 

Final thought: I felt freezing just watching this.

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Still Life With Smoke And Mirrors ★★☆☆☆

Review of 'Still Life With Smoke And Mirrors' which can be found here or on the BBC Film Network.

Length: 03:40

Directed by Graham Young

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2009

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Logline: A computer generated exploration with light, shadow and perspective.

This gets a low rating purely due to my still lack of understanding regarding experimental and art house films. Trust me, I've tried. Three solid hours of experimental short films at this years EIFF had me wanting to gouge my eyes out but it was interesting listening to the filmmakers talk and finding out about what the whole genre is. I tried to evaluate the films on a more emotional level and rated on originality and overall satisfaction. Experimenting with film is fair enough but I was still left wondering about the need to exhibit the end product and what exactly audiences get out of it.

The above film is a prime example. To me, it's slow, it's meaningless, and contains no enjoyment for me whatsoever. That's personal taste of course. Yes, there's craftsmanship in the production, construction and composition and there is a certain degree of achievement in just that. Make up your own minds, as usual.

Best Bit: Camera panning out?

Worst Bit: Dunno what this is about.

Final thought: Enlighten me!

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Still ★★☆☆☆

Review of 'Still' which can be found here on YouTube.

Length: 03:54

Written & directed by Robbie Fitz

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2010

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Logline: A photographer explores the sights of Blackpool.

I struggled to see the point of this short. It could possibly just be a basic exercise in shooting and editing, in which case it's alright. The distinct lack of plot makes it a hard watch though and it becomes fairly monotonous rather quickly.

The film is entirely comprised of shots of Andy Gimson who plays the serious photographer, deep in thought, with Nikon to the ready. There is a varying degree of shot composition, static camera and hand held with movement. Also included are moody focus pulls, fade transitions to show time passing, a shift from beach to urban setting, and the very occasional still photo that Gimson is taking is sometimes mixed in too.

The acoustic guitar strumming by Andy McKee has been well chosen and suits the dull weather and the drab action. The visuals don't tend to complement the differing tempos or tones of the soundtrack which was one of the reasons I categorised this as experimental rather than music video. Unlike the music, the film doesn't change very much in any way. We are simply watching a passage of time with a person doing the same actions repeatedly. Without any plot or character conflict to follow, it is hard to engage with and as you continue to watch, hoping something is going to happen, you're left disappointed as ultimately, nothing does.

As an experiment in camera work, simple editing and composition, this works. As an absorbing and interesting short film, it doesn't.

Best Bit: Audio track.

Worst Bit: Nothing happens.

Final thought: Only watch if you're a fan of the musician.

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Seascopic ★★★☆☆

Review of 'Seascopic' which can be found here on Daily Motion.

Length: 01:37

Directed by Paul Windridge

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2009

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Logline: Kaleidoscopic sequence of sea and sound.

Time for me to shred another experimental film to pieces. Or not. This one is reminiscent of the stuff we used to do in the editing rooms at art college when first playing about with the software. Find an effect you like and apply it to anything you can get your hands on. It also throws a flashback to the type of video you'd get projected onto walls at raves (showing my age here, you younger readers will recognise this closer to iTunes visualisations) and shares that drug fuelled dream like quality of repetitiveness, hallucination and distortion.

Be careful as you could get drawn into staring at this for hours if you set it to repeat. The colour change gives water the appearance of flame and like gazing into a burning fire, this has a hypnotic feel which is complemented by the moody techno beat and increased by the overlay sound of sea waves crashing onto the shore.

I like this film in that it's easy, fluid and a no brainer. To what it's original purpose and audience is, is another question. Of course, with experimental, does it really need one? Purpose no, audience yes. Otherwise what would be the point in creating it. This does feel more like part of an installation than a stand alone film and that combining it with some other element will help bring meaning. Otherwise, a nice play with colour, pattern and form.

Best Bit: Colouring.

Worst Bit: Unknown function.

Final thought: Your eyes are getting heavy, VERY heavy.

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Lost Soul ★☆☆☆☆

Review of 'Lost Soul' which can be found here on YouTube.

Length: 01:50

Directed by Russell Lee Ford

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2009?

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Logline: Experimental merger of music and video effects.

Beware: Don't press the play button unless you really want to waste some valuable time. As you know, the 'Experimental' genre isn't my fave, this is a good example of why. We have a music track, two terrible video shots, some editing effects and a title which is the only comprehensible element. That adds up to not very good.

I'm never quite sure if these type of shorts are meant for an audience or are simply the editor playing about on the computer. The fact that it's been posted online, unfortunately points to the former. Who will watch this and what they will get out of it, I'm not sure. I was certainly left feeling robbed of time and effort. (Yet here I am writing about it??)

I don't know how many different ways there are to depict a lost soul, this may be quite accurate for all I know. I struggle to view stuff with no narrative but if the point of experimental film is to make the audience think, I can't help but think that the title alone on a black screen would have been more effective than what is presented to us here.

Saying that, the music track is evocative and moody. Composed by alternative band 'Went To The Forest' which may be worth a look. I don't mind repetitive, melodic audio, it's just the repetitive, boring video I hate.

Best Bit: The music track.

Worst Bit: Fast forwarding through it and finding nothing worth watching.

Final thought: What was the motivation?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Sleepless Nights ★★☆☆☆

Review of 'Sleepless Nights' which can be found here at Daily Motion.

Length: 05:22

Directed by Alan Taylor

Genre: Experimental

Date: 2005

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Logline: Someone in the middle of nowhere shoots some footage of not very much.

I'm glad Taylor had the sense to describe this as experimental as if it were in any other genre, it would lose a star for being really rather terrible. Being "experimental" is probably the saving grace of many a bad movie. Another reason this didn't score as low as it could was I felt sorry for the poor guy who had, whether against his will or not, filmed on location during a holiday on a farm near Hawick. At least he was able to stave off mind numbing boredom by producing a mind numbingly boring film.

I'm presuming Taylor is also in the early stages of film production as this piece is a little incohesive with shoddy camerawork and dodgy cross fades in the edit. Be prepared for endless shots of trees, fields and the inside of an empty cottage. Some good music is dubbed over but although atmospheric in parts, is not always in keeping with the tone. There is a mixture of static shot, camera pan, real audio, black & white, tint, and no image at all. Don't get your hopes up when we get a squeaky door opening, nowt happens. Also feel free to go and put the kettle on when it cuts to the shot of the log fireplace. It's excruciatingly long, and if you look closely, can see that there is actually a fade transition in the middle??? Cut to the next shot man! Ironically, the very last shot is the best one. Sod's law, isn't it.

I think this film is best left for Taylor's eyes only. Either that or possibly police evidence relating to a series of murders that occurred in that area roughly around the same time.

Best Bit: The Willow Creek Pictures logo sequence.

Worst Bit: The black and white fire sequence.

Final thought: Nice out of date font usage also.

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.