"Initial"-Action/Drama for 72hr Film Competition

Daftman909

Active member
Hello all!

Recently, I partaked in the 72 Hour Film Shootout by the Asian American Film Lab. The goal of the competition (which is standard) was to write, shoot, and edit a film with a 72 hour time span while incorporating a given theme. In addition, the film had to be five minutes or less. The theme this year was "a first goodbye".

If anyone has seen my most recent films, I am very keen on doing atmospheric romances but my team and I decided it would be a good change of pace to do an Action/Drama. Something stylistic, fast paced, and as potent as we can make it.


Cast and Crew:
Sarah Yu as Sammi
Jun Naito as Nakayama
Wayne Chang as Timothy Lau
Eddie Wong as Sammi's Boss
Eddie Lebron Sr. as Nakayama's Boss
Hugo Salazar as Earpiece Officer
Eddie Wong as Lau's Client

Written by:
Eddie Lebron, Sarah Yu, Jun Naito, and Wayne Chang

Cinematography, Edited, and Directed by:
Eddie Lebron





Synopsis:
"For two different purposes, a hitwoman on her first assignment and a overly loose canon detective both target and pursuit the same individual in Manhattan's Chinatown. As these events transpire, it becomes more clear as to why the hitwoman has decided to finally make her first kill."



Stills:

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The Film:

Embebdded, HQ version:
http://www.eddielebron.com/initial.html

YouTube Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PzywuOdeNM



I must say, I am EXTREMELY pleased with how the film came out. If anything, the 5 minute restriction we had tested my editorial abilities and intuitions. In such situations, you have to cut out and let go of anything unnecessary which is hard when you are married to all the footage you shot but it's important to learn if you want to pace everything correctly.

Please comment and thanks again!
 
Hey i just wanted to say i really enjoyed the short, i thought it was nicely shot. Its nice to see some asian themes coming out of nyc (where i live) as well. great job!
 
Well shot, good editing. It got off to a slower start, but built up nicely. Thanks for sharing.
 
Really interesting use of the theme, and appreciated it a whole lot more than the typical storyline in this kind of genre film which is the "I'll do this one last job" cliche.

Actively shot and performed well enough but the narration was just not doing it for me in regard to the story. Some of it was the staged delivery, but I wonder if you could have said more by explaining less in the voice overs because it may have better supplemented her actions latter when she admits her motivation near the end of the film.

For instance, I feel it'd have been a more interesting revelation for the audience to not know the man is a cop until he confronts her in the warehouse. That way our connection to her becomes stronger simply by identifying with her as we don't know who's who until she does.

Just a thought.
 
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