5.1       Review and critique at least one short film production

The short film that I am reviewing is the Virgin Media short film 2:20 by Jason Wingard which was made in 2011. The outline of the story is that a mysterious woman puts a pair of glasses on the protagonists table, the glasses when the man puts them on give him lots of confusing information that appears to overwhelm the man. It appears to be how long everyone has to live. The man puts the glasses on and there is a countdown which is fast approaching 0, the man goes into the road to check the reflection of a car where he is hit by the bus that presumably the girl he is meeting is on. The film to it’s great credit has you on the edge of your seat. The concept of the film is brilliant and truly original. It is rare to find a short where it is completely clear of the vision and intentions of the filmmaker behind it due to the short amount of time an audience has with the story, characters and setting. However, this film it is completely clear what is going on and makes you want to rewatch the film over again to see the relive the suspense of it and to see if you have missed any fine details.

The short combines elements of a thriller with science fiction. Sound was used to build suspense which puts the audience on the edge of their seat because as a viewer, it leaves you feeling gripped as you are given the impression something major is around the corner, something most likely bad due to the tone of the music. The camera work was great in showing really quick shots of the surrounding area to give the audience an impression over how the man was feeling. The camera work gave the audience a sense of dread and panic as he desperately seem to search for answers. The editing was impressive too as the transitions between shots throughout the film were seamless and the short shots were extremely effective in help conveying how the man was feeling. One way the film perhaps could have been improved is if more of the quick shots were used whilst the man was searching for answers. Also at this moment perhaps some wild camera use would have been effective because even though the audience did get an idea of what the man was feeling if the camera was wild, it would make the audience feel overloaded with information and maybe even nauseated. The film was set on what you would imagine was in a town or a city as it was lively. The man was sat outside either a takeaway or café. I personally thought the setting added to the intrigue of the whole piece.

Anyone with a love for cinema will thoroughly love this, you are in for an absolute treat. It is a common discussion in the film industry these days, about originality in films or the lack of it, however this film is completely original which is part of the intrigue of it as you have no idea what is around the corner. I highly recommend watching it and I would love to know the budget of the film because the effects that are in the film when the man puts the glasses on would not be out of place in a feature film. I believe the film’s greatest strength is how the idea is in essence quite complex however it is completely clear to the audience what is happening all way through. That is not an easy accomplishment by a filmmaker as the idea is executed to perfection. For the sake of just over two minutes, you would be foolish to not watch this. Ahead of making a short film with the BFI film academy, this short is full proof for me that even with a short running time, it doesn’t mean films should lack imagination and clear direction.