An African short film

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jelly
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An African short film

Post by jelly »

Hey guys. \:D/ I want to share with you a project I worked on recently. I was in Africa for a month helping to shoot a documentary, and near the end of my time there I managed to put together my own little short film with the help of some of the locals. As most of you should know by now, I'm fairly passionate about film and its ability to communicate as an art form, lending ideas and thoughts through visual staging. So keep that in mind, because for some of you this eight minute film might not seem to make sense at first.. it's fairly experimental and thoughtful in nature. That being said, I really hope you guys would be able to to not only watch it through to the end, but hopefully offer criticism or feedback in regards to pacing, ability to follow the characters, etc.

Fun fact: I shot this only minutes away from where Marvin D lives! \:D/

Click on the image to go to the video:

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Last edited by jelly on Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Christian A. »

I did watch to the end, and I was very impressed. It was very well done--especially the cinematography. :)

But I must ask, you did visit Marvin D. while you were minutes away from him, didn't you? :anxious:
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Post by jelly »

Thank you!

..and no, sadly, I didn't. :( I blame that on the fact that I had no idea how close to each other we were until I got back.
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Post by ric »

Wow, that was very good. Everything was well-done, but since you're hoping for feedback, the transitions at the beginning seemed really fast or something. I don't know, I wouldn't normally notice something like that but I did for some reason. It kind of worked though, with the scenery and the general feel and whatnot.
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Post by jelly »

Thanks ric, I really appreciate that. Proper editing is actually all about what 'feels' right, so if something feels off, it's probably because my editing wasn't as proper as it should have been. :P I'll definitely take note of that.
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Post by American Eagle »

That kid is gonna be out of luck once the battery dies. \:D/

I'm not qualified to be a film critic anymore, so I'll just say that the eight minutes flew by. Realistic. Engaging. And a little confusing, as always. ;)
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Post by jelly »

AE, I'm so excited that you watched it! \:D/
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Say it isn't so. :(
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Post by Shennifer »

American Eagle wrote:That kid is gonna be out of luck once the battery dies. \:D/

I'm not qualified to be a film critic anymore, so I'll just say that the eight minutes flew by. Realistic. Engaging. And a little confusing, as always. ;)
took the words right out of my mouth ;)
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Post by snubs »

I really liked it. I love short films with very little to no dialog. The sound and score/music was great. The cinematography was well done too. It was definitely interesting to watch.

Honest thoughts:
My favorite part was the beginning to after we see him taking the first pictures.
I know you said it was mostly experimental but I would have liked to have seen a little more meaning. I also think you should have shown him taking more pictures and/or the audience seeing more of his pictures. I mean, I thought that's what it was supposed to be about. Him seeing things in a new light with the camera. *shrugs* Lastly, I feel like the girl was a pointless character in a sense. Her character just makes the audience, or me, think her character is going to go somewhere and add to the story in a bigger way....but she didn't. So it made me anticipate something that never happened. I hope that makes sense.
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Post by Termite »

TBH, I have absolutely no idea what just transpired, aside from the obvious. If there's some deep, hidden meaning then I've missed it. :-

I loved the angles, however; the kids were absolutely adorable. \:D/
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Post by ric »

I need to watch it again, but to me the girl seemed somewhat essential to the film.
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Post by snubs »

ric wrote:I need to watch it again, but to me the girl seemed somewhat essential to the film.
Well, she may have been a little. But I was expecting more with her.
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Post by jelly »

Thanks snubs! It's great to get feedback from you. :)
snubs wrote:I know you said it was mostly experimental but I would have liked to have seen a little more meaning. I also think you should have shown him taking more pictures and/or the audience seeing more of his pictures. I mean, I thought that's what it was supposed to be about. Him seeing things in a new light with the camera. *shrugs* Lastly, I feel like the girl was a pointless character in a sense. Her character just makes the audience, or me, think her character is going to go somewhere and add to the story in a bigger way....but she didn't. So it made me anticipate something that never happened. I hope that makes sense.
It does. I appreciate where you're coming from.

It's something I've thought about, and while I can empathize with your anticipation, I really feel like there's two ways to shoot a narrative film. The first way is something I like to call "Hollywood formula". It's what we're typically used to seeing in the theaters.. plot-driven stories that structure themselves around a distinct theme, never letting any moments or characters go to waste and always bringing everything full circle as to give the audience the most satisfactory conclusion possible. When the formula method is executed well, the results can be brilliant! Some of my favorite films are 'formula films'. The problem with this type of film, however, is that it quickly becomes predictable. We all can recognize a bad formula film when we see one.. one cliche leads to another, and you quickly realize what the story is doing and where it's heading. Sometimes you can spot the plot twist from a mile away, because the filmmaker has to make sure that everything falls in place correctly before the girl can fall in love or the guy can realize he's been dead the whole time, etc.

This kind of filmmaking is designed to hook into your emotions and give you calculated thrills, joys and tears. It's typically forceful. Think big, sweeping musical scores that exist to guide your emotions in the right direction.

The second way to shoot a narrative film could be referred to as 'art house' filmmaking. It's when the typical, formulaic plot devices are thrown out the window, the filmmaker experiments with different ways to spark thoughts and emotions in the audience without using music or predictable dialogue, and most importantly, he doesn't tell the audience how they're supposed to respond. That's left up to them. Instead of making sure the audience is merely entertained, this filmmaker is more interested in challenging the audience, delivering the unexpected and forcing them to think about what just happened.

Obviously these types of films don't often get the big Hollywood budgets, because people don't want to pay money to think... they just want to escape. ;) But it's why I've fallen in love with independent film, where artists are free to create their stories without forcing formula into their art. It's these types of films that people tend to actually remember the next day. Nobody's going to remember that Adam Sandler comedy next year, even if it made them laugh at the time... but they will remember The Master, Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild (assuming they bothered to see them), even if they were confused by those films at first. It's why history's "greatest films of all time" are the experimental, groundbreaking films that did poorly at the box office but went on to become iconic.

So, yeah, I went on a tangent, but that's why I love film. ;) And it's from that love that I was inspired to craft something that erred on the unorthodox, instead of writing a script that risks flat, two-dimensional characters being forced into different situations with potentially predictable outcomes. I tried to let it flow freely and naturally, striving for realism. I'm not saying that my film is better then other films just because it's subtle, but I am trying to make sure there's not too much confusion regarding what "type" of film I was trying to make.
Termite wrote:TBH, I have absolutely no idea what just transpired, aside from the obvious. If there's some deep, hidden meaning then I've missed it. :-
Don't worry, I wasn't hiding anything. :) I've learned that even life's most simple interactions have the ability to communicate hidden meanings.. usually because they reveal something you wouldn't have otherwise known about the character.
ric wrote:I need to watch it again, but to me the girl seemed somewhat essential to the film.
The girl is essential to the film only insofar as she exists in the world of the film. She's just pushing her bicycle down the street, and we don't know why, or where she's going. We're not privy to that information. What's important to us is how she ends up being a foil for the boy with the camera, bringing out an ugly side of him that we wouldn't have otherwise seen. We're left to watch, along with the boy, as she silently and dutifully tries to retrieve her bike from the ditch, even though it's clear that she's incapable of doing it by herself. Perhaps later on, the painful reminder that he didn't help the girl hits him full force when he tries to lift the tire by himself, but can't. His friends won't help him. His guilt piles on. We might not know anything about the girl or what her story is, but we learn something about how she responds when she's faced with adversity. More importantly, we learn something of the boy's weakness.

I've said a lot of things here, but I'm honestly just thankful that as many of you have taken the time to watch it as you have. :) It's good to have an audience, and it's good to get honest opinions! If any other thoughts or questions cross your mind, don't hesitate to share!
Last edited by jelly on Sun May 12, 2013 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by snubs »

Jelly wrote:The second way to shoot a narrative film could be referred to as 'art house' filmmaking. It's when the typical, formulaic plot devices are thrown out the window, the filmmaker experiments with different ways to spark thoughts and emotions in the audience without using music or predictable dialogue, and most importantly, he doesn't tell the audience how they're supposed to respond. That's left up to them. Instead of making sure the audience is merely entertained, this filmmaker is more interested in challenging the audience, delivering the unexpected and forcing them to think about what just happened.

Obviously these types of films don't often get the big Hollywood budgets, because people don't want to pay money to think... they just want to escape. ;) But it's why I've fallen in love with independent film, where artists are free to create their stories without forcing formula into their art. It's these types of films that people tend to actually remember the next day. Nobody's going to remember that Adam Sandler comedy next year, even if it made them laugh at the time... but they will remember The Master, Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild (assuming they bothered to see them), even if they were confused by those films at first. It's why history's "greatest films of all time" are the experimental, groundbreaking films that did poorly at the box office but went on to become iconic.

So, yeah, I went on a tangent, but that's why I love film. ;) And it's from that love that I was inspired to craft something that erred on the unorthodox, instead of writing a script that risks flat, two-dimensional characters being forced into different situations with potentially predictable outcomes. I tried to let it flow freely and naturally, striving for realism. I'm not saying that my film is better then other films just because it's subtle, but I am trying to make sure there's not too much confusion regarding what "type" of film I was trying to make.
Well, when you look at as a narrative type, then you did a wonderful job in my opinion. I mean, it really drew me in and made me want to keep watching. I know you probably weren't trying to have some DEEP meaning in the film, but I personally like films with a lot of meaning. And like I said, I really love short films (especially ones with a lot of meaning. =p). \:D/

Anyways, you are really good at what you do. And if you keep it up, I can definitely see you directing/writing an amazing great movie. *nods* My brother is into filmmaking and he has some really great movie ideas. I know that in the future he would probably like hooking up with you. I mean, I really like your style from what I've seen, and you would make a nice contact to have on hand (for my brother that is). ;)
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Post by bookworm »

I finally got around to watching this.
I’m afraid, like this one, I didn’t get it.

Actually, I’m confused by your whole take on movies like this. Because you must have a message in mind that you hope gets through when you make them, but you keep saying you don’t care if it succeeds that way or not.

It doesn’t make sense. I get that everyone takes away something different, that’s great, but that should happen after they take away what the filmmaker put there. They get the ‘intended’ message, and can then change it to something else if they find something more personally fitting. But I would be rather disappointed, myself, if I had an intentional message in my film and the viewer immediately skipped ahead to the personal interpretation without even realizing there was another.

Anyway, I didn’t understand the overall point of the movie. The girl loses her bike, then gets it back. Was there not more to it than that? I also didn’t understand some of the specifics. Why did he push the bike down the hill in the first place? And at the end why did he give up the camera?
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Post by jelly »

Thanks for watching, bookworm. :)

I understand your confusion because I see where you're coming from. Which is why I would again implore you to look at it in a different light. You're approaching film as though it's a puzzle or a mathematical equation with one correct solution. The only problem is that art doesn't work like that. The purpose of art is to awaken the right side of your brain, unleashing your imagination and demanding that you respond with your own unique passions, desires and experiences. That's why we say it's up for subjective interpretation. Good art employs ambiguity, which essentially means that something can mean different things according to context. Since we each approach life with our own unique perceptions, something that is ambiguous will mean something different to you than it will to me.

I've had the opportunity to show this film to a diverse variety of people. Many of the responses I've received have caught me by surprise. People with entirely different experiences than me have drawn up analogies that I would have never even thought of, made assumptions about the characters that I was pleasantly surprised by, and came up with interpretations that have actually made me look at my own film in a different light.

Art is meant to be collaborative like that. It's not about the artist having the 'correct' answer and everyone else trying to figure it out.

Did the movie have a point? Some people have told me yes. Others have scratched their heads in confusion. Personally, I was interested in sparking a discussion. I was hoping that above all, people would become involved with the characters, even though they're only given a brief snapshot into their lives, and empathize with them accordingly. Why did the boy push the bike down the the hill? Was he trying to get her attention? Was he trying to flirt with her, the way ten year old boys do? Was he mad at her for some other reason?

Tell me! I want to know what you think. :)
Last edited by jelly on Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by bookworm »

Jelly wrote:Why did the boy push the bike down the the hill? Was he trying to get her attention? Was he trying to flirt with her, the way ten year old boys do? Was he mad at her for some other reason?

Tell me! I want to know what you think. :)
But I don’t think anything! You didn’t give enough information.
This is the best I can do:

I have no idea why he pushed the bike down the hill. I know why he stopped her: he wanted to take a quick photo. But pushing the bike down had no perceivable purpose, because it was counterproductive. Obviously she disliked him after that, so her posing was out of the question. At first I had thought it was accidental, he just went overboard trying to get her attention, but rewatching the scene it was clearly intentional, so that’s not it.

As for why he gave up the camera, again I have no idea. I thought the point of the film was that finding the camera changed his life and allowed him to see things in a new way, but if so the he certainly wouldn’t just leave it after that.
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Post by jelly »

bookworm wrote:But I don’t think anything! You didn’t give enough information.
This is what imagination is for. :)

Have you ever felt empathy for someone? Have ever looked past your own interests and genuinely felt the pain of someone who is hurting, rather then only calculating their outward situation based on given information?
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Post by bookworm »

Of course I have. But that doesn’t translate to understanding why this kid I’ve only known for a few minutes suddenly does something with no apparent motivation.
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