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Reviews

Can you hear me now?

A review of no more a rovin'

by taylorfreeland on 05/04/2013

I could not understand a single word said during the entire short. It seems that a short led entirely by it’s narration would focus on sound and clarity, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Sound is one of the most important aspects of film and when quality is overlooked and ignored the rest of the film crumbles apart. That’s the case here. The images shown throughout the... I could not understand a single word said during the entire short. It seems that a short led entirely by it’s narration would focus on sound and clarity, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Sound is one of the most important aspects of film and when quality is overlooked and ignored the rest of the film crumbles apart. That’s the case here. The images shown throughout the short lend themselves to the narration which is indecipherable and thus makes the short unwatchable. If you cannot afford sound equipment focus more on the visual aspect of telling a story through pictures so the entire short does not fall apart as it did here. read

No Adventure.

A review of Young Man's Great Adventure

by Tombola Pictures on 05/04/2013

Young Man's Great Adventure epitomises the kind of One The Road attitude, typical of young (men) in particular. The urge to set loose in the wide world (in a nation the size of a continent), spread your wings and see the world. Usually with some half-arsed plan and up yours to reality.

I Wear Short Shorts!

A review of The Short Shorts of Elmer Lang, Vol. 1

by Tombola Pictures on 05/04/2013

Elmer's works become like a video diary. If he has some musing or form of expression, then up it seems to go here, which is a quite proficient way of social networking. The Short Shorts of Elmer Lang, Vol. 1, gives a well rounded view on the freedoms we take for granted in the West. Yes, there are flaws to our system, though you try living elsewhere!

Middle Child Syndrome.

A review of Middle Ol' Me

by Tombola Pictures on 05/04/2013

I'm a middle child myself, so Middle Ol' Me is preaching to the choir. This short affirms what I have suspected for some time, that the middle child has a unique perspective on the family. Although rather than being a negative thing, sometimes being middle can help you develop fuller as a person.

Where's My Cherry Pie?

A review of (David Lynch's Rubber Duck)

by Tombola Pictures on 05/04/2013

Very David Lynch indeed! Definitely worthy of Twin Peaks. Surrealism is a fine line to tread, you can either come across as pretentious or a lunatic (when I gave it a go, I came off the latter!) This was a good effort here, short, punchy and fun to watch. Well done and keep up the good work.

Puppets!!

A review of Roomies: Confronting Fear

by Tesssa on 05/04/2013

Hey really cool! I'd never seen a puppet video here on TSL and I'm very happy this was the first one. The puppets were really well handled. The voices were good too. I think the story was great, up until the chupacabra's appearance. I like the puppet you picked for it (even if that's not at all how a chupacabra looks!), but the whole conversation about the boner I felt was... Hey really cool! I'd never seen a puppet video here on TSL and I'm very happy this was the first one. The puppets were really well handled. The voices were good too. I think the story was great, up until the chupacabra's appearance. I like the puppet you picked for it (even if that's not at all how a chupacabra looks!), but the whole conversation about the boner I felt was a bit misplaced. It could have been more appropriate if you had made shown that the lenghty conversation served to keep the chupacabra busy until the wobbly fan fell. Appart from that, the pace and the rythm of the story were very good.

Technically I thought it was good too. The editing is very classic, cliché sometimes, but adds to the funny / scary atmosphere. I felt that the way you edited combined with how you handled the puppets made them me at times forget they were puppets.

As a conclusion, good short, but I would change the boner conversation. read

Unsettling.

A review of Avow

by Tombola Pictures on 05/03/2013

I have got to review one of your films after you reviewed mine, Shelter by the Sea. You failed to engage with my short, which, after watching Avow, I find strange, as there were similar themes to these two shorts. Both are a series of images set to one underlying theme. You called the editing on mine manic, so it was too on Avow. Did you realise you were highlighting flaws... I have got to review one of your films after you reviewed mine, Shelter by the Sea. You failed to engage with my short, which, after watching Avow, I find strange, as there were similar themes to these two shorts. Both are a series of images set to one underlying theme. You called the editing on mine manic, so it was too on Avow. Did you realise you were highlighting flaws in my material that are prevalent in your own? I say this merely because you highlighted the editing as a flaw, instead as being a purposeful construct for the narrative, which both films make use of it for. Avow was unsettling and I could see where you coming from, the fragmented mind of one who is haunted by his crime. Although there is a lack in real knowledge that any murder took place apart from in the subtitles. Which one could argue as letting the film down. This is solely objective observation here. read

Beautifully Executed.

A review of The one in charge

by Tombola Pictures on 05/03/2013

I enjoyed The One In Charge as much for it's content as for it's highly professional execution. An interesting and compelling theme, combined with impeccable production values and the kids were talented in their acting also (which comprises the golden trifecta of low budget short films). The theme was a good one, a golden moment where a child stands up to a bully, only for... I enjoyed The One In Charge as much for it's content as for it's highly professional execution. An interesting and compelling theme, combined with impeccable production values and the kids were talented in their acting also (which comprises the golden trifecta of low budget short films). The theme was a good one, a golden moment where a child stands up to a bully, only for this insurrection to go unnoticed. Says a lot more about the wider world too in this day and age. Congratulations! read

Great Juxapostion Using the Prose!

A review of Scene from Macbeth

by Jhylton on 05/03/2013

The idea of the high elevated language from a Shakespearean play being brought down to be a comment on this homeless man’s life was very interesting. I often looked like a séance, with the candles, and the graffiti on the walls. I enjoyed it for the most part. Maybe less variation of shots could really work, showing the deep emotions of the homeless man.

Interesting Short.

A review of Till Death Do Us Part

by Tombola Pictures on 05/02/2013

I liked the short. The content was compelling enough to keep you watching and guessing from beginning to end. The twist was an interesting one also (was the guy a male Black Widow? It mentioned his new woman having money also?) It was shot well and acted well, although there did seem to be some excessive ambient noise in terms of sound, but this didn't lessen the enjoyment... I liked the short. The content was compelling enough to keep you watching and guessing from beginning to end. The twist was an interesting one also (was the guy a male Black Widow? It mentioned his new woman having money also?) It was shot well and acted well, although there did seem to be some excessive ambient noise in terms of sound, but this didn't lessen the enjoyment of the product as a whole. read

Good for an AS Level film.

A review of Unknown Number

by Tombola Pictures on 05/02/2013

For a film made for an AS Level project in Film Studies, this was done very professionally (at a greater quality than what I produced as a student, that's for sure!) I enjoyed the story, it was great at building suspense by using very little. Helped by the dark lighting, the closeness of the camera to the subject. The only problems were that you went out of focus on occasion... For a film made for an AS Level project in Film Studies, this was done very professionally (at a greater quality than what I produced as a student, that's for sure!) I enjoyed the story, it was great at building suspense by using very little. Helped by the dark lighting, the closeness of the camera to the subject. The only problems were that you went out of focus on occasion and you didn't see the girl's reactions to the texts until the end. Otherwise, well done! You'll go far if you're already producing shorts of this standard as an A Level student. read

Sorry I don’t get it

A review of Sibling Rivalry

by JITofe on 05/02/2013

Two siblings, brother and sister, the brother is trying to burglar his sister’s house, the sister come back, and She catches the other in her house… And? In my opinion when the real story begins, the film ends. The script avoids the conflict instead of solving it. The actors, the photo direction, the editing is ok. In my opinion the weak spot is the script...
Two siblings, brother and sister, the brother is trying to burglar his sister’s house, the sister come back, and She catches the other in her house… And?
In my opinion when the real story begins, the film ends. The script avoids the conflict instead of solving it.
The actors, the photo direction, the editing is ok. In my opinion the weak spot is the script. read

observations

A review of The Infinite Flu

by DavidSaGa on 05/01/2013

Hi, first of all I want to congratulate you because starting and finishing a film is not an easy task to accomplish. Now getting into details I want to point out things that I liked but also things that I think are not the best. The story itself it's something really common and it has happened to most of us, the excuses. I like the other side, the other point of view of someone... Hi, first of all I want to congratulate you because starting and finishing a film is not an easy task to accomplish.
Now getting into details I want to point out things that I liked but also things that I think are not the best.
The story itself it's something really common and it has happened to most of us, the excuses. I like the other side, the other point of view of someone that is actually really bad but can't get the trust of his boss. I also like the way you played with the telephone, the indecision and how he switches. The dramatic progress was really nice at that time.
What I don't get is if all the apes represents the boss, because I don't know why you took so much attention for them if they are not relevant for the story.
Some directors may differ in this but I like the way how we present the conflict, fight to try to get our goals and see if we succed or not.
I don't see the real objective of the character, what does he want? you may say he wanted to get his boss up to date, or he just wanted to tell his boss he is really sick and already dead. But what next? was it all? did he accomplish his goal?
Another good thing is that you didn't change the the camera from his left side, that gave us continuity and axis affinity.
I don't really like that you presented the character already dead because people get more interested in things if they can't see them, if they have to build in their minds the missing parts. Maybe the character didn't say the truth and was not dead, but that was a surprise or a confirmation.

I guess this is it I hope you can write back.
read

Flipping Awesome

A review of Flip

by taylorfreeland on 05/01/2013

Throughout the entire short, violence slowly escalated and I found myself moving closer and closer to exiting out of the window, and just as I was about to do so... A meaning! A reason for all of this violence. I'm not squeamish or or overly conservative, but unnecessary violence and violence just for violence sake in film is one of my biggest annoyances. I was so glad to see... Throughout the entire short, violence slowly escalated and I found myself moving closer and closer to exiting out of the window, and just as I was about to do so... A meaning! A reason for all of this violence. I'm not squeamish or or overly conservative, but unnecessary violence and violence just for violence sake in film is one of my biggest annoyances. I was so glad to see a coherent story and structure behind it and I found it worked perfectly, from the pacing and escalation of violence down to the simplicity of the animation and spacing of gags, everything lent itself to the story perfectly. read

Shoot the Snitch

A review of Snitches Get Bullets

by taylorfreeland on 05/01/2013

A guy pulls a gun on a kid in broad daylight for standing in the street, then acts like a sexist prick to a girl he brings back from a bar, then does some drugs, then is shot and killed while having sex. That is Snitches Get Bullets. As unoriginal and unnecessarily crude that the story and characters are, it seems like a lot of work and passion went into making this short and... A guy pulls a gun on a kid in broad daylight for standing in the street, then acts like a sexist prick to a girl he brings back from a bar, then does some drugs, then is shot and killed while having sex. That is Snitches Get Bullets. As unoriginal and unnecessarily crude that the story and characters are, it seems like a lot of work and passion went into making this short and it is disappointing to see it wasted on something like this.

In the first scene, a man with a hat covered face explains the situation to his associates and they all prepare to carry out their orders. I was hooked and interested to see what came next, however as soon as the vibrating title cards flashed on the screen, my interest slowly waned. There is no right or wrong way to do anything, but I think that is generally accepted that the title and credits are supposed to be just that. They should not be their own spectacle of changing fonts and colors overloaded with effects, unless they serve some sort of purpose to the film or set some sort of mood in doing so, (Seven, Catch Me if You Can, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang).

Effects and credits aside, the short displayed a wide array of interesting shots and cuts and showed a great understanding of cinematography as well as editing. As I said before, it is clear that a good amount of work went into this film and it is evident throughout. The main problem stems from the story and characters. An unlikable ‘snitch’ gets shot by a rival gang. As a viewer I found no characters that I could connect with or root for and halfway through the short, I was just waiting for the protagonist to get shot so we could move on with the story. There was no more however and I found myself wondering what the purpose was of what I had just watched. To strengthen the story it would have helped to introduce another character or add some sort of twist and not just show us exactly what is said will happen in the first scene. Overall I saw a lot of talent and passion put into this project and I can’t wait to see more. read

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