SHORT: Job 3(a) - A film.

[Shauno]

Here is my first short Job 3(a).

Would like some informed opinion on it. Was shot over a period of 7 days, and used a Gh1, with two crew, with me as sole creator. Had a food/expenses budget of £60.

Wanted to make it an experiment, as well as a Psychological thriller, and a criminoir. Inspired heavilly by the works of Mike Leigh, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Truffaut, Tarrantino... As well as others.

Used mostly Community Actors, guys who had no previous experience in film, (aside of Derek)... And tried to keep it as minimalist as possible. I don't expect it to win any awards and I'm pretty positive it doesn't suit people's tastes, but we had fun making it and at least I can say I've created a short.

https://shootingpeople.org/watch/113993/job-3-a

 

[Tolin]

If you set it up like that I'm not even sure I want to watch it.
Don't mention your budget if it's tiny and you "dont expect to win any awards".
Stand up straight and say "Here's my first short. I tried my best and I'd appreciate any feedback and tips on what to improve for my next one".

A lot of "big" movies, and award-winning ones have had lead actors and actresses with no prior acting experience in film (Take one of my favorite movies, Dancer in the Dark with icelandic singer Björk in the lead role). If you are unhappy with your actors performance and want to blame it on someone; blame yourself for casting them and / or not directing them well enough. If they're not good at what they do then you dont cast them, and what you definitely dont do is cast them and then use them as an excuse for poor performance. Now I haven't actually watched the film so their performance might be award winning for all I now, but just think about how you present yourself and your movie

Considering it's your first short I hope you had fun and learned a ton!

 

[Shauno]

You misunderstand mate, I am not unhappy with the actors. I'm merely pointing out that this is an allround "amateur" film. Actors included. There's a difference between declaring a film for feedback on a forum of other filmmakers, and declaring a film for viewing to the public. Anything mentioned in here on this forum is to contextualize the film as a whole.

I'm not one for blowing a nickel trumpet and pretending it's brass. I'll leave that to others mate.

Thanks for the feedback on my post nonetheless.