2009 May | Independent Short Films

Archive for May, 2009

Independent Short Film: Last Day Dream

May 23rd, 2009

I found this Independent Short Film recently and I was pretty impressed.
I should say up front that there is one usage of a word which some might find objectionable.

Here are some bulletpoints as to why I like it so much:

Largely without dialogue
Exceedingly short (It was entered into a 42-second Film Festival)
Shows glimpses of typical life experiences (similar to this short film)
First Person Perspective
Moving soundtrack, in terms of instruments and pace
I’ve confirmed that the man saying the objectionable word is Pauly Shore

One last observation: The composure first shot is almost identical to the final shot, which, although dynamically different, completes the story with perfect closure.

And something perhaps philosophical to consider: Life looks remarkably different depending on where you are in it, whether you are in the swing being pushed, or if you are the one pushing.

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Technorati Tags: adult, birth, childhood, death, family, growing older, Last Day Dream, life, love, parenthood, relationships, teenage, youth

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Independent Short Film: 9

May 20th, 2009

I’ve been toying with the idea of posting this Independent Short Film for a while. With the possible exception of Validation, I don’t think I’ve seen any short film getting passed around as vivaciously as this one. Furthermore, 9 has gotten a lot of buzz among fans and enthusiasts of Tim Burton, who expanded this 2005 short film into a feature that is due in theaters later this year. It’s release date is 09/09/09. How’s THAT for clever marketing? Okay, maybe it’s not all that clever, but it IS convenient.

Anyway, I didn’t want its popularity to be the sole purpose for posting, but due to the fact that it fits so perfectly with the theme of my last post, at the request of numerous subscribers and guests to this blog, I humbly present the strangely intriguing Independent Short Film, 9.

A bit about the future-in-progress ignited by this piece, which was nominated for an Acadamy Award in 2006, 9 the feature has an ensemble cast which collectively has an enormous number of awards and nominations as well as decades of experience. This star-studded cast includes Martin Landau, known for his role on the TV show “Mission: Impossible” and the Hitchcock film North By Northwest, and the Role of Caiaphas in The Greatest Story Ever Told; Christopher Plummer, whose credits include Inside Man (can’t wait for the sequel!), 12 Monkeys, and perhaps most famously the role of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music; Elijah Wood, who you may remember from The Witness, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or of course, the Lord of the Rings trilogy; Crispin Glover, who is probably best known for playing George McFly in Back to The Future; John C. Reilly, who, with Crispin Glover, acted opposite Johnny Depp in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape also worked previously with Christopher Plummer in Dolores Claiborne; and Jennifer Connelly, who was in Blood Diamond, A Beautiful Mind, Requiem for a Dream, Dark City, and Labyrinth. Tim Burton has put his name on the film as a producer, but both the Independent Short Film and the feature were directed by Shane Acker. Focus Features is the production company and is distributing the film in the USA.
Meanwhile, my friends over at iReel.com have just posted a blog entry that describes the plot and some technical details of the feature a bit more, and truth be told, that blog post was the tipping point that caused me to decide to write this one. Don’t thank me, thank iReel.

I don’t want to make any predictions about the feature, but it does have great inherent potential. The teaser for the feature, which can be found in the blog post at iReel, was just as compelling as the Independent Short Film. The music for the trailer is the song “Welcome Home” by Coheed and Cambria, which certainly adds to the intensity of the teaser. Come September 9th, we’ll find out if the film delivers.

Here’s some further reading to tickle your fancy for animated short films:

2010 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films | L’histoire de sa vie – Every year I try to see the Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films. It has been my experience that they tend to be amazing pieces with phenomenal animation, a.
Absolutely Incredible Short Animations That Would Make You Say … – Pingback by here are some really good animated short films « i animated short films [...] Comment by elementc on January 24, 2010 @ 3:13 pm …

Independent Short Film: Gone Goodbye (independentshortfilms.org)
Independent Short Film: Connected (independentshortfilms.org)
Independent Short Film: Destino (independentshortfilms.org)
Independent Short Film: Apricot (independentshortfilms.org)

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Technorati Tags: 9, Arts, Beautiful Mind, Blood Diamond, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Elijah Woods, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, feature film, Filmmaking, Independent Short Film, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Martin Landau, movie, nine, short film, Tim Burton

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The hidden potential of Independent Short Film (La Jetée & Peluca)

May 3rd, 2009

One reason I like Independent Short Films is because of what they represent in terms of influence and impact.

For example, the Independent Short Film La Jetée was made in France in 1962, a good location and era for interesting and creative motion pictures. This 26-minute film was made entirely from still photographs, with the exception of one moving shot. It’s title means The Jetty (or The Pier) which refers to the outdoor boarding platform at Orly airport in Paris, where the crucial scene of the film is set. However, the title also has a revealing twist because it sounds similar to the French phrase “There I was” or La J’Tais.

Itself being inspired from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, this film was the main inspiration for the film 12 Monkeys with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, and many plot elements were borrowed by Terry Gilliam (or rather David and Janet Peoples) for the feature-length film.

Peluca

Peluca was an Independent Short Film made in two days and with a budget of less than $500. It was shot in 2002 and featured in the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival, considered by some to be more “indie” than Sundance. This nine-minute Independent Short Film was then expanded into a feature-length film, Napoleon Dynamite, which was featured in the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and was sold on the opening day of the festival to Fox Searchlight for $3.2 million and later earned $44 million in box-office sales. Thus, it can be reasoned that Peluca was directly or indirectly responsible for the launch of the careers of Jon Heder, Jared and Jerusha Hess, and Jeremy Coon, as well as the aftermath of endless quoting, dancing, and nerd-off competitions around the world.