The ten SFL48 2009 shortlisted films can now be seen on the Sci-Fi Channel website here. Annoyingly you will have to sit through the same 20 second commercial trailer before you can see each one - thanks SyFy. My personal recommendations are the beautiful and stylish "Minute Adjustment" with its' poignant ending, and "Mark Up" which features some simple but well executed special effects and was placed joint second. In different ways I think both these films push the limits of what you can achieve in 48 hours.
Also at this site are the winner "Tracker" and the other second "Glimpse" as well as the entries from the 2008 competition. "Glimpse" features a lot of running - it's exhausting enough just to watch it! - and while the plot is very basic there's some great camerawork and sound and it has plenty of action movie edge.
[update 7.10.09 - link added to Minute Adjustment without SyFy adverts - thanks Rob]
Showing posts with label amateur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amateur. Show all posts
Monday, 1 June 2009
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Machine Time
something 'bout this crazy world you didn't know before
everyone's a third rate metaphor
The Guardian YouTube challenge shortlist is out. It's an excellent shortlist with several gems and lots of sci-fi influence. The competition was to make a 5 minute film inspired by a short story in the paper.
The final shortlist:
THE BIG IDEA - delightfully silly
DREAMDOG - arty but a bit slow
DRIVE - scenes from the short story set to a cool song
EASY CHAIR - eerie furniture-based ghost story
FAMILY CHRISTMAS - weirder than Easy Chair. Warning: includes sofa giving birth
LAURA FINAL MOVIE - well-made drama about footballs
MACHINE TIME - surreal video montage
MEGA SAVINGS - another piece of silliness
MOTHER - dark and atmospheric drama about televisions
OLD SCHOOL PEOPLE - VIDEO DIARY - film about making a film - how meta
SICK MEANING WICKED - narrative with symbolic video montage, unusual and interesting
SOFA SO GOOD - a mini Twilight Zone episode with references to The Fly.
Sadly our entry Human Touch didn't make the cut.
I enjoyed the music of Drive and the sci-fi touches of Mother and Sofa So Good (I want a big jar of Science!) However my favourite was Machine Time, a clever juxtaposition of H.G.Wells description of accelerating forwards through time with a history of the Internet complete with fake YouTube clips.
everyone's a third rate metaphor
The Guardian YouTube challenge shortlist is out. It's an excellent shortlist with several gems and lots of sci-fi influence. The competition was to make a 5 minute film inspired by a short story in the paper.
The final shortlist:
THE BIG IDEA - delightfully silly
DREAMDOG - arty but a bit slow
DRIVE - scenes from the short story set to a cool song
EASY CHAIR - eerie furniture-based ghost story
FAMILY CHRISTMAS - weirder than Easy Chair. Warning: includes sofa giving birth
LAURA FINAL MOVIE - well-made drama about footballs
MACHINE TIME - surreal video montage
MEGA SAVINGS - another piece of silliness
MOTHER - dark and atmospheric drama about televisions
OLD SCHOOL PEOPLE - VIDEO DIARY - film about making a film - how meta
SICK MEANING WICKED - narrative with symbolic video montage, unusual and interesting
SOFA SO GOOD - a mini Twilight Zone episode with references to The Fly.
Sadly our entry Human Touch didn't make the cut.
I enjoyed the music of Drive and the sci-fi touches of Mother and Sofa So Good (I want a big jar of Science!) However my favourite was Machine Time, a clever juxtaposition of H.G.Wells description of accelerating forwards through time with a history of the Internet complete with fake YouTube clips.
Monday, 8 December 2008
So far, so good
The shoot yesterday was long, surreal and (amazingly) successful - we managed to shoot every required live scene in the script in just seven hours, including setting up and dismantling lighting in three different locations. Early review of our footage suggests the sci-fi concepts actually look OK, no people animals or furniture harmed and no equipment deposits lost. Also we only had to break into one location Ed Wood-style. Our cast of volunteers were superb and very willing to go along with what must have seemed very eccentric directions. I've also learned a great deal about the difficulties, particularly around lighting, camerawork and continuity - if we do this again it will be faster and better (although probably not cheaper).
I don't want to say anything specific about the content of this 5-minute sci-fi epic yet. The submission deadline for the competition is next week and there's still the CGI animation and the editing job to do. There's still time for things to go wrong but I'm cautiously optimistic. I'll post some teaser stills during the week and a YouTube link as soon as we've submitted.
In the past few weeks I've been watching some very low budget film and TV, partly with an eye to this project, and reading up on guerilla film-making. Now I know what it feels like to shoot for a 5-minute project, I have the greatest respect for anyone who completes an amateur, indie or low-budget feature-length film.
I don't want to say anything specific about the content of this 5-minute sci-fi epic yet. The submission deadline for the competition is next week and there's still the CGI animation and the editing job to do. There's still time for things to go wrong but I'm cautiously optimistic. I'll post some teaser stills during the week and a YouTube link as soon as we've submitted.
In the past few weeks I've been watching some very low budget film and TV, partly with an eye to this project, and reading up on guerilla film-making. Now I know what it feels like to shoot for a 5-minute project, I have the greatest respect for anyone who completes an amateur, indie or low-budget feature-length film.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
