This image is a review on 2 short films we watched "Orphanage" and "Note to self". I am now going to review them both.
Orphanage
I thought this short film had a clear narrative in parts however there was a scene where a fire started with no clear idea of how it started to the audience. The genre was pretty clear from the start and the sound at the beginning revealed it was a horror. I felt the camera work was most professional out of both short films, the use of the variety of shots showed clearly it was a horror.
All the scenes were relevant but one slight mistake was the fact we see the orphanage building from the start and it is burnt and derelict. Then later on in the film we see the actual fire happen so the settings muddled the order up. This then made the short film difficult to follow.There was sound throughout and I felt it was slightly unneeded at points. An example is when the girl is walking over the rubble and the sound of her feet on the ground was not in sync with the actual sound effect. I liked the non-diegetic sounds as it really did create a weary, scary effect.
Finally, the use of using a series of match cuts of the diary worked really well to create suspense.
From watching this short film I feel I have gained a wider knowledge of what works well in a short film and what doesn't. As a group we will learn from this and ensure our short film doesn't make the same mistakes. It has made me realise the importance of editing and making sure we do a final check to secure we have made no major mistakes.
Note to self
I found the short film "note to self" clear at the start but wasn't consistent with enticing the audience. It was rather boring at times and when it was all beginning to reveal, it didn't quite all add up. The setting was pretty standard and lacked any creativity as it was all filmed in one home. It was clear that they had not thought everything through as where were the parents?.
The camerawork was not amazing and it lacked any wow factor. However the use of the flashbacks worked really well with the storyline. The music used was very basic which I felt was unneeded, and it didn't fit in at all with the scene. Also there wasn't much editing involved which sadly made it look like it could have been filmed on a phone for example. This made the short film amateur with no climax to it.
Overall I feel I have learnt that using camera techniques and good use of editing is key to a good short film. Acting is also important and I felt they lacked real effort. It was an eye opener to watch as it reminded me how realistic, strong and professional I wish ours to be.
