Capture ★★★★☆

Review of 'Capture' which can be found here at Virgin Media Shorts. 

Length: 01:48

Written & directed by Liam Treacy

Genre: Fantasy

Date: 2013
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A photographer uses his unusual camera to stop criminals. 

This looks good and it sounds good. I've pegged it as a fantasy though rather than a sci-fi (although it's tagged as being an Action & Adventure?) as to me, the camera has more of a magical power than a scientific one but without reading the logline first, which describes this film, I'm not entirely sure I'd be one hundred percent clear on what is actually going on. That's not a good thing. 

The part that flummoxed me was the wall of previous polariods taken by photographer, Ben Clegg. The camera lingers on these blurred photos. You struggle to read how they're labeled. You strain to see the images. But when focus is finally pulled, there isn't a great deal to suggest that this is a collection of criminals caught in the act. They have obscure titles, some even look like family photos and you don't get long enough for a good look without pausing the video. As this is a fairly short film, it's quite important that information is delivered quickly and clearly. This set-up exposition (nicely delivered in a visual way) isn't giving the audience any real useful information on who this character is or what he's doing. That may be the downfall of this piece. 

As mentioned, this looks good. It's very atmospheric with out of focus perspectives, great use of lighting on a night-time shoot, and interesting shot compositions which pull the viewer's attention into important details. The special effects are done well. The contrasting bright flash of the camera is a good way of highlighting the sfx to its maximum potential. A delicious soundtrack also adds weight to the quality production and the good sound design and sound effects all add to the dangerous mood of the film. 

It feels like there's some important pieces of information missing from the plot so while informed viewers will enjoy this, people without any knowledge of the film may struggle. Maybe re-shooting that one shot would help. 

Best Bit: Special effect freeze frame. 

Worst Bit: Plot unclear unless you read up on it before hand. 

Final thought: Terrible handwriting. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

A Dogs Life ★★★☆☆

Review of 'A Dogs Life' which can be found here on YouTube.

Length: 02:27

Written & directed by Andy Frith

Genre: Fantasy

Date: 2011
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Logline: A guy who's nasty to a dog finds out what it feels like when the shoe is on the other foot. 

My initial thoughts were; good picture quality, reasonable shot composition and editing, naturalistic dialogue and performances, followed by, aw, there's a wee dog in it. I like wee dogs. But then it looks like the production falls foul of the 'don't work with animals or kids' thing as one of the characters, Joe, played by Robert Appleton, starts shouting "Don't move" to the dog who's pretty much sitting stock still. I can see how that helps portray the men as terrible cruel people, which was probably deemed necessary for the plot, but it was a tactic that doesn't really pay off as it will have audiences doubting the concept. And it goes a bit down hill from then on. 

In this comeuppance story, the dog's owners pal, played by writer/director Frith, has a nasty knock on the head or something and experience a body/mind transference with said dog. I had some trouble with the whole being able to open doors and being tall enough to look into the mirror stuff as this is inconsistent with the fact that he's now supposed to be a dog. 

Although it's a fairly okay concept, all these little things ruined it for me. Other than that, production is average to good, the sfx's are a bit scraggly, but both Frith and Appleton work well together on screen and the camera work does well to cope with the limited location. Possibly worth a remake after plot holes ironed out.  

Best Bit: Quite like the sound effects. 

Worst Bit: Inconsistencies in the fantasy sequence. 

Final thought: Why isn't there any carpet on the staircase I wonder?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Worm ★★★★★

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

Length: 10:35

Written by Kerri Sandell. Directed by Ryan Vernava

Genre: Fantasy

Date: 2010
Rating: ★★★★★

Logline: A detective tries to solve the mystery of a missing girl whose family believes she has simply turned into an earth worm. 

Think the Adams Family crossed with the Royle Family and you might come up with something like this grotesque lot. Adam Shaw takes the lead role as the detective but almost fades into the background compared to the ultra absurd secondary characters. The make-up artists must have had their work cut out creating these weirdo's. Of course, their appearance and portrayals all add to the eccentric plot. Tone and atmosphere have as much importance here as any other element as this appears to be all about entering a bizarre world which blends fantasy, comedy and maybe even noir? 

There is has a real feature film feel to it. Vivid colour depth, good camera quality, interesting shot compositions and professional soundtrack all combine to show this was well produced and put together. Compliments also to the set designers and prop people who have really gone to town on creating a unique world. The off-kilter camera work, angled pans and dramatic lighting all aid the surrealist nature of the plot, giving a sense of eeriness and unease to the audience. The hallway shot is a good example of this and where the set design also complements the technical work. 

The downfall to introducing such an eye-catching environment is that it takes up a fair bit of setup time to establish it on screen. This is merely a mention and not a criticism though as the viewers will hopefully be too involved in taking it all in to really care about the lacking pace at the beginning. Structure is also well considered and the fact that the mystery isn't truly resolved by the end is no biggie. Although the obscure style might not be to everyones taste, this is certainly an excellent piece of work none the less. 

Best Bit: Camera work. 

Worst Bit: Overdone facial make-up on the mother. 

Final thought: Must now go and clean my flat!

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Bee Boy ★★★☆☆

Review of 'Bee Boy' which can be found here on YouTube.

Length: 05:35

Written & directed by Petra Freeman

Genre: Fantasy

Date: 2004

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Logline: A little girl, monitored by her toy rabbits, rescues a bee who's being forced to work in a hive by a large beekeeper. 

This is a mixture of live action, model stop motion and hand drawn animation. Each technique blends in with the other in an okay way, the cute toy animation stands out more though and although the drawing fits the films style, it isn't anything to write home about. The 2D stuff seems more like a visual compromise where it's been the easiest way to portray an idea on screen when using 3D models could have been too difficult and wouldn't have worked. As mentioned, the sketchy animation does blend in well with the other elements and helps add to the kind of 'Bagpuss' tone. 

Madeline Rolt stars as the non-talking protagonist with a mental wig on. She isn't stretched too much but her eccentric outfit makes her a believable character who blends into the fantasy world quite neatly. An ambiguous tale, you're never quite sure if this is to be taken as is or is merely a child's imagination. The story lacks fairytale constructs though as there are no real emotional beats or dramatic complications to the plot. The setup is a little on the long side which could immediately make audiences switch off. 

Picture quality is average but the harsh natural lighting sometimes causes too much white on screen and the lack of soundtrack means that the loud gushing of wind through trees becomes a bit unbearable. Shot composition is also okay but perhaps the use of a tripod for the camera could have been useful. Overall, this is maybe make better viewing for kids rather than adults. I'd personally liked to have seen more of the rabbits and have them actually do something plot-wise, as they were the star of the film but completely underused. 

Best Bit: Cute little bunny rabbits.

Worst Bit: Bleached out lighting and background sound.

Final thought: Why the big wig?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Astonish Me ★★★☆☆

Review of 'Astonish Me' which can be found here on YouTube.

Length: 07:10

Written by Stephen Poliakoff & directed by Charles Sturridge

Genre: Fantasy

Date: 2011

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Logline: A young boy locked in a museum gets the last ticket for an unusual tour.

I recommend watching this high quality upload in full screen in order to fully take in the voluptuous cinematic film. It certainly looks great and is a veritable feast for the eyes. Shame the same can't be said for the dialogue (yes, I know you can't see dialogue but you know what I mean) While there is a whimsical and magical tone to this which will endear probably every child watching, the elaborate plot and patronising dialogue won't impress many adults. The badly written lines don't help the performances of the high caliber actors. Bill Nighy and Gemma Arterton are prominant names but are left looking like twats thanks to the rubbish story. I used to be a real fan of Stephen Poliakoff (think I even wrote an essay on him in uni) but this is a poor attempt at best.

The daft plot involves a museum tour introducing new species to the public but in reality is a badly designed and time consuming one man show. What's the point of sitting in an elaborately constructed chair to view some squid when you're then called over to the side of the room to look at the 'colossal' squid on a tiny iPhone screen? Not to mention this is a young lad, alone, trapped in a closed museum. Why isn't his teacher knocking on the door after doing a head count and realising he's missing? This plot makes me sick.

Don't let the enchanting musical soundtrack deceive you into thinking this is is good. The overall message should have been a powerful one but as the entire film has just explained how there's tons of new species out there we haven't yet discovered, the real message regarding nature conservation and species extinction is a little dampened. Overall, let's remember that this is aimed at kids and they'll probably all love it so it has kind of done its job.

Best Bit: Good idea. But badly executed.

Worst Bit: "Is it going to hurt?", "Course not" - mores the pity.

Final thought: The opening sequence brings back memories of that god awful whale song record we had when I was a kid. It really freaked me out.

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.