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Short films


Devon Malcolm

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In the last few months I've become really interested in short films. I think it actually started when Mr. Seven (where's he gone?) recommended La Cabina a few months ago on here, and since then I've tried to squeeze in watching short films as much as possible.

 

It always strikes me as something of a thankless medium, because they almost never, these days, get much publicity and almost never make any money. They are quite often made purely as a CV stuffer, so that filmmakers can quickly showcase their talents before hopefully going on to get a feature film debut. But you do get some filmmakers that are genuinely interested in short film as a medium rather than a means to an end.

 

Earlier I watched this fantastic short from a guy called Don Hertzfeldt called Rejected:-

 

 

It was nominated for an Oscar back in 2001 and it's absolutely superb. He's a fascinating bloke, actually, and there is a great Wikpedia entry about him and his work here:-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Hertzfeldt

 

Another one that was really interesting was Earrings, released earlier this year:-

 

http://vimeo.com/46372044

 

This one has flaws but there is some serious talent on show here.

 

Oh, and for those unlucky enough not to have seen the poor Spanish bloke stuck in a phone box, here's La Cabina:-

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04cbvdiPyMQ...;feature=relmfu (1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU3TvpTa3dA...;feature=relmfu (2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpx8tOnq-2k...;feature=relmfu (3)

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I've got quite a bit of respect for people that make short films. I've been involved in filming one and I've written a couple of scripts that I need to get around to producing and it's a difficult form. I think people assume they'd be easier because they're shorter but in reality I don't think it works like that. Creating something that can be told in ten minutes but also has some depth is pretty difficult. To be honest, more than just a CV stuffer (which it inevitably is) I think it's quite important experience. Sometimes when I see a film that's clearly too long I do start to wonder if the director's had any experience in short films and how much that would help them.

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Earlier I watched this fantastic short from a guy called Don Hertzfeldt called Rejected:-

 

 

It was nominated for an Oscar back in 2001 and it's absolutely superb. He's a fascinating bloke, actually, and there is a great Wikpedia entry about him and his work here:-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Hertzfeldt

 

=relmfu"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpx8tOnq-2k...;feature=relmfu[/url] (3)

 

Don Hertzfeldt is awesome. There's loads of great stuff knocking about by him. It's all gold.

 

Here's a few of my favourites from my time studying an Animation Degree:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzTKu6wvQBs

 

25 ways to quit smoking - Bill Plympton. (Can't find the full film, this is just a short clip, there's loads of Plympton stuff if you want to find it.)

 

 

Seiltanzer - Raimund Krumme (There's a better one he did called Crossroads but can't find it anywhere, some of the best animation you will ever see is by this guy)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS-jLM75xuU

 

The Monk and the Fish - Michael Dudok (This won an Oscar I believe)

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Kenneth Anger - Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

 

Anger's pretty well known for his short movies and i think this may actually be his longest, it's also my personal favourite.

 

 

It's definately a stepping stone to bigger (and longer) things but his first short student film was still very impressive.

Edited by Merzbow
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Well, he:-

 

a) Hates Lord of the Rings and all that kind of stuff

 

and

 

b) At the same time as it, and before for that matter, the makers were working on a PROPER horror film called Human Residue. Instead of concentrating on the proper actual film which would have maybe made money and not been a fucking fan film which money can't be made on, they devoted their time to the shitty fucking fan film. End result? Human Residue never finished, fanboy film completed. Nerds suck. He blames them for him not getting an equity card.

Edited by PowerButchi
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Merbow and Chilly McFreeze - I'll be sticking them down on my watchlist, ta! The Tarkovsky one particularly interests me, The Killers is a fantastic story.

 

Just watched this one this afternoon, a 1984 Japanese animation called Jumping. It's only 6 minutes long, really fascinating:-

 

 

Also, for anyone looking for a pretty comprehensive list of short films to watch, this is a fantastic fan-made list on IMDb:-

 

http://www.imdb.com/list/bPqLTtv-zHw/

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