SHORT: The Trophy

My couple cents.

First off every shot looked great. The lighting was not something I questioned or would have any feedback on. I also loved that you went for a positive message! AND although I didn't catch it in the film, the bowling pin bokeh idea was magnificent!! That said, Bowling to me is an inherently funny sport so taking it seriously off the bat with the dark mood in the beginning was a stretch for me, I think I needed more time to get there. The transition from the older man to his younger self was clear. I got it. Acting wise I would say one of the biggest notes I have is sometimes you have to direct people to be less ernest. Ernestness comes off as condescending to the viewer because we know that the actor or character is smarter than what we are seeing on screen. Mostly this means the actor needs to know what they are saying, not how to say it. I also think you could've taken more time with the kiss, made that more of a big deal since that was the pivot point in the story. For example, girl was first on the guys at the bench's side, she then makes the transition to standing and coming up to him to kiss him, which is what you did, but I think you could have been way more deliberate with it and taken a lot more time with the actual kiss and then having the actor really register before he bowled that she was the reason that he got the strike. Great job!!! And good luck with that contest!
 
My quick reactions:
-Some really excellent shots in the bowling segment.
-Agree with Strobel's comment that this sets up like a comedy. All zeroes on his scorecard? That's comedy turf. I was kinda disappointed when it played out straight.
-There's an incongruity in the hard-luck loser getting promoted to VP. The guy who goes through life saying he's "never won anything" and the guy who makes VP aren't the same guy in most people's conception of reality.
-Not in love with the very dark lighting of the end scene. Set aside whether it's appropriate for the story...it's also brutal in compressed formats, as we fall out of the story and can't help but notice macro-blocking and choppy gradients all over the place.
-Acting. Agree with Strobel's comments. I know good free acting is a tall order, but acting is definitely not the strong suit of your film.

Thanks for sharing and good luck.
 
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