Online Film Review: Tinseltown

Posted by Matthew Alexander (matthew@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 31, 2006

One of our own Rejects has created a short and displayed it on YouTube. In an effort to give the guy a helping hand we’ve decided to review it here, but as per Robert’s request, we need to be honest and treat it like any other film. Fortunately, I don’t have to be too cruel. The piece, shy of five minutes long, is nicely done with some strong aspects which don’t get overwhelmed by the weak points.

The film is short enough that I don’t believe a recap is necessary so let’s proceed to the dissection. First of all, the director and DP do a fine job of minimizing the damage done from working with lower grade equipment. It’s obvious we’re not watching the latest in technology, but the lighting is chosen to make the most of what they had. Particularly the opening sequence makes the lower quality images work well.

The shot selection is generally good, again especially in the opening sequence. Depth is used in the shots while good cutaways and angles keep the eye interested in watching. Generally good also describes the editing. Perhaps the best aspect of the short is the writing of the narration, which captures the feel and the style of a noir film. One feels as if one is hearing a 1940’s detective novel being read aloud.

The narrator himself is just shy of adequate. He does not do a poor job, but narration is difficult even for the best of actors, as I have noted before on this site. It’s nothing that can be explained in words; one simply must hear it and judge for oneself. Either an actor infuses a character into written words or he does not, and this particular narrator, though certainly not embarrassingly bad, does not.

The car sequence which connects the opening and the closing scenes suffers a bit from a lack of conception. Though the individual shots are adequate, as a whole the sequence gives one the feeling that it is simply a series of images. The cuts do not match the almost daydream like music, coming too fast and too hard. I think some experimentation with slower pans fading into one another might work better, perhaps interspersed with some more purposive direction from the actor in the car. Also, and I realize that without a permit this can be more difficult to get, we need more of a human element in the city shots to go along with what the narrator has to say about Los Angeles.

The confrontation in the last scene is not entirely believable. The camera is again handled well, with the cutaways to objects done just right. But a director has three basic things to work with: the actors, the camera and the space (including props) they are in. More attention needs to be given to the actors themselves. The dunking of the “douche” did not come off right. That small sequence could have been drawn out more rather than dispatched in such a quick manner. A director must look for possibilities in a moment and then draw those possibilities out. For an example of what I mean, watch Panic Room, specifically the part where the criminals are trying to gas the protagonist but the protagonist comes up with a counterstroke. Look at how many shots and how much choreography are put in to the simple act of Jared Leto’s character puzzling over what Jodie Foster might be doing.

Also, more care needs to be given to the dunked actor. His reactions should be explored more. I got the feeling that they were glossed over too quickly.

Finally, from the standpoint of the story itself, the last part is not entirely clear. Why does the protagonist do what he does? His narration explains why he goes to the “douche” but why is he suddenly satisfied with what he finds? The motivations here are not clear, although perhaps that is a subject for a later chapter.

All in all, the piece is an achievement. I’ve seen well funded endeavors that were worse on many counts, and that’s no lie. The narrator’s voicing is not first rate, but he has a good look to him. The camera is generally handled well. The director should concentrate on the actors and work on handling them as well as he does the objects.

Not a bad piece of cinema and fun to watch! There are points to improve but also points to build off.

Feel Free to Enjoy Episode 1 below:

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