Mista Teas

Taking The Mick

For a team that usually takes a lot of care over its world-building and story beats, I felt there were some parts of this that were a bit of a miss.

The reason for having the car was delivered as almost a throw-away explanation and was a real tell rather than showing us how she got it which could have been the opportunity for perhaps a comedic moment or to even show her as a liar - which would have added more to the character. Her change of heart in doing the right thing didn't seem earned enough either as we just didn't know enough about her besides being prone to rash decisions. She actually could have just done one more - namely throwing the box to the side of the road and driving off. Problem solved!

I'm not sure to if I'm on board either with there being no consequences for her actions - she gets to literally just walk away which ties into most of the story just feeling all a little too convenient. I suppose the read you could have would be that circumstances brought them together and they ended up "saving" each other which is kind of sweet.

The performances are strong, the visuals well-executed, the editing is well-timed, the music suitable and apart from a couple of moments, the sound was pretty even. We even got some nice shots of the snow-capped Southern Alps in the background. Beautiful!

The Anniversary genre is one where you really have to add something from another genre to it and "Taking The Mick" does that with its supernatural flavouring. Only, I feel they played it a bit too safe with a relatively well-worn storyline.

Eternal Bond

As always I love this team and the wacky adventures they put out for this comp. "Poultry Pounder 3" is STILL one of my most watched 48HR films.
Loved the no-dialogue approach here and the slap-stick humour. Very Benny Hill in style too and Murphy's Law very much in action. Nice use of the match-cut and just a fun, fun time overall.

More please because you never fail to make me laugh and your two fingers up to the offended brigade is always refreshing.

1-800-GHOST

AJ is correct in suggesting this would have been a popular and successful 48HR film back in the day. Unfortunately, there are too many cantankerous veteran reviewers on this site who've seen it all before and this one does the triple threat of mockumentary; faux-reality TV and infomercial! That said - "You payses the entry, you makes the film you want."

Some positives - the lead is great. So great you could have just built a similar story around him, making it an early episode BETTER CALL SAUL situation where he was working an office out of the back of a salon, struggling and we see one last shot at it - namely the dog exorcism. All played relatively straight, which given the nature of the events would have been comedic.

The guy doing the voice-over sounds a lot like the guy from COUNTRY CALENDAR - excellent delivery. The only issue is, that he then turns up in the next scene as a client and his voice is so distinctive it kind of ruins things. The 80s video vibe is good but given we go between the forms I mentioned earlier - kind of inconsistent. And going back into the infomercial at the end of the film makes little sense given we were in the mockumentary at the time. Weren't we?

You have the creativity in your team to really nail something we'll all really hate you for so don't wimp out by doing another trite mockumentary.

Trespass

It doesn't get much better than this. Obviously made by a team who know what they are doing in every aspect. Love the growing sense of doom that is created through each experience. I completely missed the first "interaction" so this short is worth a re-watch for that alone. Clever transitions between the neighbours; it's all very, very good. That said, not 100% about the ending but I'm not sure where else you could have taken it. Probably should have been a TV finalist, right?

Last Night

A great opening shot that was suitably disorientating. The acting was convincing especially from Michaela Sheehan who easily combined confused/concerned and upset. The general lack of reaction to her dress being covered in blood was perhaps the direction so as to not sign-post too much the later events of the film. However, I would have liked to know more as to why the "Creep" got involved in this and how/why they ended up conspiring together. What happens in the film seemed a really large leap for the Sarah character and while we see the catalyst for this, I'm not really sure I saw enough to suggest she'd be part of what she ended up doing.

I'm a big fan of diegetic-only soundscapes and thought it was mostly well executed here. Probably could have just done with a few more sounds organic to the scene to ramp the tension up further, as some moments felt a little flat.

Overall, a well-executed short with a clear story. Shame about the DQ. Better luck next time.

The Teddy Bear

At a touch over 8 minutes, this "Actor's Cut" could obviously do with a bit of editing. The annoying nature of the unwanted guest is actually pretty well played and it's relentless over the long. long runtime. I wasn't sure how/why the actors were talking to the audience throughout - 4th wall breaking can work but only if it's established in some plausible way early on.

Hunting Pavlov

This is a very economical short from a team I know well in the 5 Musketeers.

I think you had a great spark of an idea, certainly an original set-up, and the opening voice-over sequence is very informative. However, I would have actually liked to see a least a few flashbacks linked in there. Not necessarily a hunting Pavlov down montage but a few quick cuts to what was being mentioned about the demise of the dog and the emotional toll that took. Even opening with the stand-off about to take place and then going back would have added a bit more expectation to events.

Great location, hits a lot of the western genre stylings and is well filmed & edited. I do think the focus was misplaced in a couple of the under-the-gunslinger's arm shots but it's a minor quibble.

And was your lead cowboy LUCKY LUKE? Surely...

Skiddles' Run

Pretty cute and well-executed in terms of telling the whole thing from the animal's POV. The rolling ball was a nice touch and the ambitions of the guinea pig being continually thwarted built decent "will they or won't they" moments.

Overall, a great work-around for this genre. Nice!

HUMAN

Unusual and surprisingly unsettling. I like the way we're led to believe that this is some sort of upside down world only for the reality to be something different. Plenty of creepy shots, one notable jump scare and a very well executed match-cut/reveal towards the end. Nice work!

The Neighbour

Some great action in this, especially the fight scene which is so well shot and choreographed. A number of excellent visuals and the interior setting really gives a claustrophobic feel to it. On the down side the story is pretty light. We learn nothing about the characters, why a single safe is so important or really anything much at all. Still, a mostly effective and well-paced action thriller. Nice work!

You'll Understand When You're Older

I think AJ is right on the money here in his review - I was also sold over by the colander hat. I also really liked the idea of older kids scamming younger kids and their total lack of care factor which was a great set-up for later in the film. I was a little confused by the start as I thought I was watching an infomercial at first, which may have been the way to go rather than the talking down to the kid that we saw. Some nice transitions and overall the pacing of the film is great!

I guess you might have a couple of years left as a school team but regardless try and stay together - you've got the core of what could be a really successful team. And, having someone like the guy with the big Wallace grin is a real advantage in this comp. My main advice is don't fall into the trap of trying to tell adult stories, rather keep doing it from a teen perspective (while you are teens!) as you have done here as it will keep things more authentic.

Framing Love

This is just a whole heap of joy - nice and sweet throughout which is always good to see in 48HOURS. Well made, good effects and overall a pretty slick production. As a fan of non/limited dialogue short films I did appreciate the application of it in this short even if, at times, it may have benefited from it. Was it a choice or a necessity given the lock-down? Well done!

Out Loud

A pretty interesting take on this genre and certainly quite a smart one given the sometimes limitations of a team in terms of numbers or resources. Great to make things work with what you've got and succeed than over-reach and fail. That's not to say that there's any lack of ambition in this film - coordinating a multiverse in the same place at the same time has its own production challenges I'm sure.

The performances are good and there's a lot of dialogue to deliver. I made a film last year with two actors on a park bench that received feedback that not enough happened. I'd say that was the case here too and the film is padded out in places with some unnecessary cut-aways to ducks and flowers.

The dual reveal at the end suits the serious tone of this short and can perhaps, be taken a couple of ways - either a great message, well-delivered; or something not really as such a big deal in 2022. And while they've admitted their secret to themselves it's actually relatively low stakes at that point and we never find out the reaction from their girlfriend. I love an ambiguous ending so it's not necessarily a fault I'm pointing out, it's more that some viewers might shrug their shoulders and think, "So, what?".

Among the ocean of comedies it's always good to have something more serious and for that alone, "Out Loud" will stand out at the CHCH final.

Glendalhorn Academy: Eluvia and the Sprite

Obviously well put together, slick production and convincing effects. It goes hard OTT which will delight many viewers.

When Space Hears You Scream

Ai, ai, aiiii! OK, dammit I'll review (sort of) this film. From the team that has brought you everything completely bonkers in CHCH over the last few years, really the undisputed kings of fuckery in this city we of course have...much, more of the same. And why not? There's no point explaining this film - just watch it when it's available.

A Spanish dub, missing VFX effects, colourful penis spaceships, the return of a fan fav from 2021 and the real highlight - the multiple credit sequences with lyrics that are some of the funniest you'll hear. And the dancing is very hypnotic. That dude is obviously a pro.

You never know with AAP how much is actually planned and how much is just spontaneous but surely a great deal of craft goes into your songs because they are damn catchy. The great thing is that they are a team who have made a mark in the CHCH 48HR scene by doing it their way. Certainly not to everyone's taste and it's unlikely to make finals but I doubt that's the ambition of this team heading into the weekend.

Hardly Working

For me, this is one of the more irritating films I've watched this year - and there have been a few. So, if that was your goal - well done!

A guy with everything in life handed to him on plate, loses that, is forced to try and get a job and then gets everything (& more) handed back to him. Coming-of-age really needs to have some character growth and change and there's really none of that here. Our lead goes through a phase of having to "grow up" and reflect but what does he learn by the end of it? Good things come to those who wait?

Mostly shot in the one room with maybe one exterior shot it's a bit bland too. This genre lends itself to characters going on a literal journey so even a few scenes of the guy pounding the pavement in search of work would have added some variety.

I think you had the spark of an idea here that could have worked but the stakes just weren't that great nor the comedy that funny.

Remote Ctrld

I like the simple set-up in this: one character, a couch, a static shot to establish things and then a great tonal shift when things get freaky. It's a personal thing but I really hate pop-up text on screen and in this case the font & size didn't really sell it. You did show the phone screen a lot after that to convey information so why not with the text messages? Pop-up text just takes me out of a film.
Like the dark ending even if it's not super clear what the motivations are. Nice work.

Emily goes to the dairy and buys some milk

This is one of those films you watch the first time expecting something else to happen but it never does. It's also one of those films you rewatch expecting, for some unexplained reason, something different to happen this time, that of course, never does.

Strangely compelling. Very rewatchable.

The Peeker

A couple of nice establishing shots at the start and the overall tone worked well. However, at times it was really hard to see what was going on. I get the "Even if you don't see it; it sees you" but as an audience we do have to see it! Again, nailed the tone of a horror and there was some decent rising tension established.

Love Machine

I really don't have the patience to do stop-motion so I really take my hat off to Olax for doing that here. The story is very cute with a very sweet-looking musical robot on the search for love and when rebuffed looks to supercharge itself to appeal to at least one of the giggly speakers.

Certainly, the main (only real) musical number is super cool - a confetti-laced croon right out of some Sinatra film, Our robot has become a real heart-throb. I did find things a little slow-paced and everything does hinge on the wonderful song mentioned above. Little else really happens though and what is the message here; being yourself is not enough?

Nipicking a bit I know. This film can't fail to bring a smile to your face and will do so once more in the CHCH final.

The Horror

Cool to see such a family orientated effort with this little horror flick. Some effective tension created in parts and what I appreciated the most was you resisting the temptation to have the character unnaturally talk to her herself or have dreaded pop-up texting on screen. On the flip-side of this the dialogue at the end was not that great and the message delivered probably the most horrific thing in the film.

Permanent Resident

Great atmosphere created here, good pacing, liked the arc shot and some solid acting. Not sure that the police would act quite the way they did but whatever -strange times and all that. Pretty tight production overall. Good stuff!

A Slice of Heaven

A knife in the toaster sends our lead to heaven where they are sent immediately back from the Pearly Gates to complete a final trial.

Well-acted from the lead and I always appreciate a film that runs with limited dialogue but still effectively gets its story across. The camerawork mixes some nice shots with others that aren't so sharp. There are some nice set-ups for the "accidents" and overall it's an interesting take on the COA genre.

Enjoyable and rewatchable. Nice work, Rai Valley Area School.

Séance

Big fan of the BB's "All Hallow's Eve" from 2019 so I guess another Horror was right in their wheelhouse. Good humour in this and a nice set-up to build character within the limited run-time. Good performances and it all gets nice and creepy by the end. Great stuff.

Hitman

This short had some great touches of humour and was well acted by everyone - not always easy to act like you are acting badly. Well shot and edited nicely together, which the stabby bits sufficiently not overly brutal or explicit. Still felt every stab though!

The story is pretty funny with the frustrations of the hitman and matter-of-fact responses from the director a particular highlight for me. If I have a note, it's the blandness of the location. I know this was an audition for a play and so we're in an audition space or on a stage which seems reasonable/logical! It just wasn't that interesting. Coupled with this I felt like I was watching a play rather than a film and/or I was watching the filming of an audition given the previously unseen characters at the end. I guess what we were seeing was from their perspective throughout then?

Overall, a very rewatchable short film with plenty for everyone to enjoy - laughs, action & stabbing! Well done on making the CHCH final.

Treble in Paradise

The idea of people subscribing to a personal musical service is a pretty clever one and certainly not out of character for Dragon V Mouse to come up with something like this.

I've always had certain unshakeable expectations when it comes to 48HR musicals - namely that the music is sustained throughout and as such the pacing moves us along quickly giving the whole thing a lot of energy. For me, "Treble in Paradise" starts that way; the opening song sets things up and is followed by the best track of the film - the firing rap and subsequent shirt joke which was brilliantly executed. So, two songs pretty quickly and then we get quite a wait for the third one which feels pretty similar to the first. I get that musicals had gone from the couple's lives but perhaps them attempting a song (badly) or our musician singing about his plan would have hit the musical thing a bit harder. It just felt a song or two short.

Technically pretty strong, camera, editing, tone, although the volume of the last song seemed at odds with everything else - maybe just my ears.

A crowd pleaser at the heats and should see its way into the CHCH final.

Dice to Meet You

As someone who works within the Selwyn District, it's great to see Rolleston College doing 48HRS. And, by doing as, AJ suggests a 10-minute film done in an episodic fashion they've put something together not seen for a wee while in the comp.

Overall, it's an enjoyable, watchable romp with some Monty Pythonesque moments (the mum) and the occasional interesting pieces of dialogue such as the fashion quips. A lot of the dialogue doesn't really drive the story much, seems a bit improvised and therefore becomes repetitive. Something else to think about are your available locations. The initial meeting between the girl and boy was a bit uninspired - oh look, it's Rolleston College in the background. Being at a bus stop or maybe there was a pick-up point where the two were taken away in hoods would have added a lot to this scene which just came across as awkward. Wasn't helped by some dodgy audio at points too.

A lot of ambition in this short though but it wouldn't really stand on its own without the second part which is...

Ta Da

I think Buddy is probably right - this is Andrew's competition to lose with his animated "Ta Da". Thanks to the benefits of screen-recording I've been able to watch this several times and have sat on this review for a while. The short story is; it's great.

I really, really like the quiet moments in this film, the world-building that goes on and the whole accusation of "like father, like son" that then plays out, how it plays out. It's also genuinely menacing and downright brutally nasty in parts - that Da is a piece of work. And, his words are naturally the scariest part of all.

Andrew's voice-acting is excellent but still recognisably "Andrew" which adds to the fun. Jingles, music, clever jokes and cool animation - it's all here.

Look, Andrew knows better than almost anyone how to tell an effective story, that leaves a lasting impression on you. "Ta Da" is another impressive solo short from him that he seems to produce rather effortlessly. I'm sure it's not as simple as that - it just feels that way.

My favourite to take out CHCH and also head off to the Grand Final.

Gestalt des Saturn

This "vlogger in the forest" short needed a bit more suspense and action to really fully engage. I liked the message sent on just how contrived these scary vlogs are with the use of the fake blood and the lead played her part well. Just stock-standard what you'd expect from this type of film though so unfortunately no real surprises.

Blood Magic

Loved your team intro - securing that voice over guy was a real coup.

As AJ mentions above such a great location - would have been cool to see even more of it. Your set-up for this story is really good - characters established and some nice bits of character too - Tom in particular smashed it (that role in "Updog 24" was obviously great prep) with just about every piece of dialogue he had. Like AJ I thought you were really going to go hard on a used tampon for the ritual and I was actually shocked when you didn't! (I told you not to feel constrained by being a school team and your SwearyMcSwearFest later shows you somewhat weren't). Loved the Billy Elisih line and when Tom loses his accent. Also the awkwardness towards the end when carefully avoiding Annemieka - so good. My main critique is that there was a lot of characters sitting around in the same two, three or four shot - you needed more variety to make it a bit more visdually interesting. We could see a crew member out the back too just standing around which was distracting. Your ending was a bit cliché so next time (and I know you now have the 48HR bug) go for something unexpected.

A great debut entry! I really do hope you do it again and again like so many of your Lincoln predecessors.

Trolley King

Look, this will be a real crowd favourite and should romp home in the Best Disqualified category. As is standard with this team, it's all technically well-crafted throughout. The music is crisp, well-mixed and the lyrics form a strong part of the narrative - which isn't always the case in 48HRS.

As others have mentioned the story feels like it's missing a few things. What makes him the Trolley-King for example? Just an over-inflated sense of self? There was little evidence at any point. In fact, he was pretty bad at his job by the looks of the stacked up trolleys, lack of attention to safety and the sheer number of trolleys in an empty carpark :)
Unfortunately too his white bitch boss was proven correct about him - he was a thief - making the old switch-a-roo before he made it to the house. So, while poetic justice was somewhat at play on the wallet owner, I could also see him finding the Trolley-King and getting a little payback. And what did our hero learn? Just take the wallet next time and save yourself some trouble. He was/is no hero.

If this was made in just 8 hours it's an incredible effort. I loved the aspect and mood change after he hits his head and imagines the woman. Probably my favourite sequence I've seen this year. Bad luck but great work.

THIRD WHEEL

Engaging story here with both nice touches of humour and a sinister turn. Plenty to like - lack of dialogue, no explanation as to how the doppleganging occurred and some good acting. Apart from one occasion the masking/split screen worked really well. Great stuff!

Last Call

Nicely filmed, acted and executed. Tension was nicely ramped up leading to an effective use of the ramp shot. The plot itself was rather predictable and the replaying of a loved-one's message as if in real-time something that has been done quite often recently. That said, it was effectively played out here! Well done!

Soul Sucking

Loved some of the visual story-telling in this. Well paced, nice touches of humour and there's good acting on display. The In-Control/Not-In-Control Ouija board trope is a well-worn one but at least here it delivers an on point twist at the end. Great stuff!

Herd of Cows?

A woman and her two kids who are running away from something arrive at the family farm.

A bit of a slow burn this one. A great setting and some nice opening shots promise an intriguing film to follow. The two young girls explore while the mum and sister look to reconnect but nothing else really happens that makes too much of an interesting story. Eventually the girls make a shocking discovery and it comes to an abrupt end.

So overall, plenty of promise but not enough meat on the bones! :)

Dice to Meet You 2: No More Mr Dice Guy

...a lot stronger than the first part and certainly has better pacing. The action ramps up and having that great big terrible giant demon in the sky was pretty cool. While I get the multiple reasons you went for a dude dressed up as the mum could this not just have been an older brother or where was your teacher at to play a part?! These things happen in 48HRs where casting can have its limitations but age-appropriate casting really is important.

Overall, overall a solid short from this team I actually think this half would stand on its own given the "previously on" recap we get. We would have been straight into the action, maybe with a few questions, but largely we would have got it and it would have been a creative way to skip some exposition.

Nice work, fellow Selwyn school.

The Quiet Moon

A great kiwi bloke space road trip with a typically twisted end. Nuff said.

Time & Lasers

Short and sharp. Clean animation and some good voice acting. Well done!

Spaced Oddness

Borrowing not so subtly from David Bowie we get a quirky space/alien adventure where the fate of Earth is at risk. Nice use of whatever you could find for your puppets/characters and some good touches of humour throughout.

'Archive'

This team is an amalgamation of two former school teams, right? Regardless, they've been in the comp for a few years now and they're one I always keep an eye out for.

Even though this is quite a generic storyline and doesn't shift at all from its suburban living room setting, (I swear that kitchen looked green-screened at times!) I enjoyed its sweetness and overall melancholy.

Having software that can create an interactive hologram/avatar to communicate with as if it was a real person is something a lot of people would crave. Story-wise, not a lot happens. It's really just a single conversation and is it supposed to be one that happens every day with the same happy recollections that then end with the same sadness? There in lies probably what could have been an opportunity to run in some different directions in this short - perhaps the addiction to using this software, the doubts, anxiety and finally turning it off for good, or not. We just needed more to happen and less chat.

Love a serious 48HR short and look forward to more from this team(s).

BRAT SWAP

From the team that once was "Balloon Dog Incarcerated" this is another fun-filled film.

As others have mentioned there's a good stable of actors here and a range of ages which should serve you well into the future. The concept for this is solid enough and I think a novel way to approach the Swap genre. I do tend to agree that the whole thing being a game show was a little tiring as not really enough happens. Love the Wolfman-esque host and Sonya is equally well-played.

In case you weren't there, (are you based in Nelson?) this was well-received by the crowd at the heat live screening and looked and sounded great on the bigger screen. Nice work!

Tarot's Harrows

A nice self-contained short with some witty dialogue and humourous acting.

Fortune telling/Tarot card reading is quite a common approach in 48HRS but it's handled so comically here that it doesn't feel tired. I'm pretty sure the external shot of the tent had the coverings over a kid's monkey bars and the interior shots looked like they were under a coffee table, which added to the mirth for me. Certainly looked like we were inside from the slightest glimpse of the background via the gap in the tent.

Good fun, well-written and performed. Congrats on making the shortlist.

Journey To Dreams

Taniwha Road has been competing for a few years now and they've produced another quality short here. Going the dance route is a popular choice for teams who get the option and it was a smart choice here. The lead has some dancing skills which helps!

Filming, lighting and sound pretty consistent overall although I felt the ADR work needed a bit more around it to build it into the scene - was a bit too artificial for me.

My major issue is that nothing much happens to make me care. There's no real conflict - our lead practices her dance over and over until it's good and then goes to the contest/audition. There's a bit of doubt in her mind but not really enough to make me care. I thought the security scene at Te Pae was a real highlight - loved the acting there. Watch those reflections in sunglasses though.

Overall, another top effort from Taniwha Road. Bound to push the Schools comp pretty hard once more. Nice work!

Smiling

It's pretty hard not to like this and given it's 90 second run-time it's easily rewatchable. Madness really but the happy and contented face on the lead just means you keep on smiling throughout.

Chromaticity

Not too much more to add that Steelpotato hasn't already covered. While I think the time-period swap was well-executed largely through some clever costuming I wasn't sold on the couple being married given their age. This same swap could have been done with a naive teen from the 50s which could have resulted in even more situations & conflict in the present day. Regardless, I think our lead does a fantastic job in the role, so well done, Emily.

As pointed out, the ending is very abrupt so developing a satisfying conclusion is something to work on next time!

It's About Time

Great costuming and use of locations. Overall though, I'm a little mixed. Some tidy cinematography at times as mentioned above, yet some casual filming/editing in the climatic song where our actors in conflict are on the same side of the shot - 180 degree rule creating confusion. Apart from that song, the others lacked a bit of punch and having a main song running through the background on three occasions (maybe?), made things sound a bit repetitive. The story is perhaps a little hard to follow at times but there's a thought-provoking ending which works well.

Nice work!

My Wife The Pirate

Cute, fun and feel good. Animations were also very cute and a good work-around given the restrictions of the comp. Yeah, ADR was a bit distracting at times but with great enthusiasm from the cast, it matters little. Great stuff!

Pazu Who?

A reality TV show borrowing heavily from The Bachelor. While it does all of those things you'd expect from a parody of RTV there in lies the problem, right? We see so many of these that along with mockumentaries they're kind of tired and there's no real story - his only conflict is battling over who to choose with even his final choice feeling like it was a well-trodden twist. We're just ticking off the RTV tropes. Was there another vehicle you could have told a more engaging story through? Tech is mostly good with only a couple of sound wobbles here and there. I like the match cut but it was also telegraphed so also no real surprises.

Overall, good performances, pretty well-made but just not that rewatchable.

Mind the Void

I really, really like the concept behind this - you've just discovered you're dead & there's a ticking clock for you to find out how. The trouble is that it was more a process of elimination rather than any great mystery as the "manner of death" items were all around. That said, the potential death scenarios were well constructed - loved the speed of death with the jilted girlfriend. Perhaps we needed more of these! Enjoyable and rewatchable!

Cop Out

I've got to say this was brilliant and I respect it for a number of reasons that I'll get to later.

A really clever parody of the old "You wouldn't steal a film" piracy warnings that most of us would use the remote to skip. Some hilarious set pieces are set up within it and it all happens so frantically that rewatching is a must - 'cos you'll definitely miss some things. All of these segments are accurately shot to match some of the nonsense of the real thing and there are also plenty of deliberately tacky other things (like ram-raiding sheep) thrown in. I think my favourite bit was the motorist throwing up during his "event" but, and I hate to say it, the puppy sequence runs a close second. Shouldn't make me laugh but it does... every time.

Yip, this will shock & perhaps offend and I have to admit, knowing some people who were recently the victims of a ram-raid, did make me feel a bit uneasy...the first time through. I think you need to keep in mind when watching that it's all ridiculous and the film does make that point at the end.

So yeah, ultimate respect for making the film you wanted to make and standing by it 100%. That's what it's all about. I'd easily put it in the CHCH final.

Noise Complaint

Surprisingly, I like this. And, what's more made by some ex-Middleton people if I'm not mistaken. As Luke mentioned above "one man against an army" set at a party where the neighbour has had enough. Cool concept and we get some creative kills! The fights are probably just a touch too telegraphed though and needed to be just a touch quicker either in practical effect or speeding the footage up just enough. And, yeah blood. He pulverizes a couple of faces - absolutely pulverizes and zero blood! A bit dark in places and some uneven editing but a whole heap of fun. After quite a few years The Mad Scientists 2014 kill spree "One Man Army" has some competition!

Nice work!

I knew Myself No longer

A nice eerie tone established in this with visuals that keep you intrigued as to the mystery within. The B & W isn't as crisp in all shots but was the way to go. Good integration of a little bit of Poe but I am confused by the discrepancy between your film title on YT and on this site!

Places from the Past

Very art-house in concept. Great use of the location. An intriguing, engaging short that is well shot, acted and edited together. A lot of commitment too in getting the furniture to the location. Worth a second or third watch in order to pick up a few important plot points.

The Intimate Photo Disaster

I think you had the makings of something pretty entertaining here if you'd cut it back a little, speeding things up by ditching some of the dialogue in particular and ramping up the conflict between the couple. The initial set-up was good, (even if the culprit was blatantly obvious from the get-go) and there were some nice touches of humour before it all just kind of ends rather abruptly. An enjoyable watch though, a click-bait thumbnail & actually very rewatchable. Nice job!

Any Portal will do on a Storm

Always so much going on in this team's films! They specialize in high octane action based shorts with extra mini-guns. Loved the split-screening you did, the music and the commitment to the type of film you want to make. Pretty solid composting work and an engaging narrative overall. The voice-over wa really strong. So many toys, Jullian, so many toys.

Poison

I actually think you could have cut this down to just over a minute to tell the same story; book-ending it by all with your exceptional choking and spitting up green goo. (which lasts 30 secs at the start! & we see several times) A kind of life flashing before your eyes but in this case thinking back on what your lead had done to the potential suspects. It reminded me of "THE DEATH & LIFE OF DESMOND WOLFE" which is why I mention cutting it all down. Still, nicely shot, love the music and you know I always enjoy watching your acting.

What goes around comes around

Some nice work done here with cause & effect that I didn't see coming. For me, the music got irritating very quickly but I suppose it tied into the light-hearted proceedings you went for. A few questions around how she got there in the first place & whether you can use that news footage but what the hell - you had a heap of fun and that is the point.

Life Insurance

Love your team name. Fun, quirky, high energy and full of sight gags. I have to admit I was so confused as to the location you were using given the prominent exit sign above the door. Is that typical in some accommodation? Watch you focus next time with some of your shots as there were some inconsistencies in the final product. Great fun!

Touching Cloth

Wow, it seems like it's been a few years since idiotVision have been in the comp. This is a fun puppet driven film with some nicely executed visual effects in the control room. Personally I would have liked a bit more tension and for the whole thing to move a bit quicker but it's still an enjoyable short with a quirky ending.

I want to be a cowboy

Firstly, the Red Zone was an inspired choice for a film such as this. It looked great and was beautifully isolated. As others have said, for a film that's under 2:30 you really can't spend much time on "getting-ready-in-the-morning" which I think is something we've probably all done at least once in this comp.

I really like the concept here - a man looking to put aside the unsatisfying part of his life to find something more spiritual. I have no actual idea, but the animated figure is perhaps one showing the path needed to be travelled but also blocking that path as our cowboy hasn't quite moved through the various stages required to reach his enlightenment.

I enjoyed the performance from our sole character and think you created quite a grand-looking scale with your drone shots.

Perhaps a little too much ambiguity in this. Looked great though and wow, I'm filming there if Last-Person-Left-On-Earth comes up again.

Fairyland

Given its TV final spotlight this short has quickly become the most controversial of the Lock-down comp and naturally is polarizing which was perhaps the intent of the makers - it was always going to provoke a reaction, so well played! To the film itself, it's pretty well crafted - a few strange cuts and varied audio aside. The acting from the lead is convincing the whole working with really young kids well-managed. You do need to suspend disbelief a little as given she had just been at these kid's house - why didn't she just take them back? And how did she not see them to begin with? Anyway, offensiveness is subjective. Bad language for the sake of bad language is a turn-off in film and this one treads a fine line with it. Kids that young do naturally parrot but the joke was kind of double-downed on so, for me, lost its impact. As for the purple monster - it's not really an issue. Full credit for making the film you wanted to though and stirring the comp up. Nice job!

Creature Comforts

I think this is by far the best Puppy Guts film for some time. Great take on the genre with a less than enthusiastic apartment lover in the company of a super chatty trail guide - and boy can he talk. Reagan and Karen are great in their roles and the character switch that happens is so well played out. I had wondered if the wholesome nature of this film was going to continue throughout but this is "Puppy Guts" after all and we get some horror/slasher thrown-in which actually works because character development, right? And, what the hell was that thing in the bush?

Well shot and edited - everything looks great and combined with an effective little story you get a very rewatchable short film. Nice work!

Rob

Dragon V Mouse (out of Auckland but entered in CHCH this year) always manage to produce a creative, imaginative and ultimately city finals worthy short. Their take on invitation as the consequence of a non-initiation exemplifies this.

Everything looks great and the humour is suitably well-timed. I was glad that after the opening line the main character stopped talking to himself in order to set things up for the audience - the conversation was his mum is a much better way to handle this sort of thing. I can't help but agree with other reviewers that while the camera footage look was a good way to go initially, once inside the house it just stopped making sense. The other thing that fell flat for me was the conversation between the two would-be burglars. I get it was setting up the bromance to follow but for me, it went on a bit too long, the dialogue became redundant and again, the camera angle didn't really help us engage as we were too distant from them.

So, creative, well-constructed and a fan favourite. Just not strong on the replay value for me.

Congrats on your awards at the CHCH finals!

Wild West Side Story

Hornby Heroes seemed to have been around so long that I have no idea whether this is the original team or just the 2022 iteration.

I loved the "How are the kids?", "They could be better. They are slacking I've got to say." and then the "Are you playing go fish? With the townies?" exchange. I know your story WAS built on this bit of conflict but I think you could have really gone big on this. More of the card game that then led to the showdown More double-crosses etc. I guess what I'm trying to say is make it a bit more self-contained - but go big! Going outside meant you lost a little bit of control - we saw football fields in the background and the audio was a bit loose. A room and an interesting exterior wall might have been all you needed. The card game was such an interesting set-up that I just wanted more of it! More dialogue, conflict and "who do we actually trust" moments. We got the classic aspect ratio change but again we just needed more! And the silliness of the "go fish" issue was again, a perfect situation.

Sorry, this is a bit of a rambling review. I enjoyed your film and just see some opportunities for you to do more with it!

Elite Genetics

A film with some serious subject matter that I think really had the opportunity to push things further, to not only make us think but really unsettle us.

AJ gives some really perceptive advice in his review as it really would have been great to see the consequences of the action here rather than the kind of debrief/explain yourself interview we got. And certainly more of the "elite woman" type character - she was terrifying in the short time she was on screen. I guess what I'm saying is that there just needed to be more stakes for our lead character, more danger for her and for us to feel that danger.

As it played out I was not 100% convinced by the 4th wall break at the end either. I think a greater impact could have been a nervous/unsure look to the side which would have left us with a more ambiguous ending as to her future and that of the baby she was carrying.

Overall, a pretty engaging film! Nice work!

U-Knighted

Working out the PlanetFoxFilms have been entering 48HRS since 2014 really does make me feel old. The fact that a lot of this team still seems to be together is great too.

Like other reviewers, I'm left somewhat perplexed by the story in this short. It seems that this film was perhaps all quite a personal one but as an audience, we probably had to be in on it to fully grasp it. I can imagine the playing of the favourite video game was something that really happened - I certainly did this once with a couple of my friends after we hadn't seen each other in a while. So, as a set-up, it's a good one but elements of what follows (such as those mentioned by AJ above) just leave you confused. Putting the blame on the girlfriend is also rather dangerous territory in this comp - just saying.

I watched this on the live stream the first time and was chatting to a friend who was also watching at the time. When the characters first turned on the game I wrote "Cue: Crazy weird make-up character" but of course, it never came! I actually think it's a good thing that you made a move away from that, exploring some range which looking at your YouTube channel you certainly have.

Overall, a great-looking film that narratively is just missing a few important pieces.

The Can

This was insane and insanely good. While not the most technically impressive short of 2020, you had me from the opening Gothic scary music to the closing Gothic scary music. Great set-up, some clever word play, fantastic comic timing and excellent chemistry as a cast. Loved the simplicity of the reversing effect. I also love imagining that the spark for the idea for this short came from someone finding a can with no label. Brilliant!

Safety Is Our Concern

Another no doubt Black Mirror inspired Sci-fi about controlling AI that is pretty well put together. The AI voice works well but some of the other dialogue is a bit forced and on the nose eg "I've got to get out of here." Probably better to just show this as you did a bit later. Good music and again a beautiful location. Kind of just ends though. Was there more story to tell?

Him & Her

An ambitious musical from ripfocus with a crazy amount of compositing/twinning/cropping/masking - whatever you did to pull off this one performer, performing multiple roles, schtick.

Also a brave choice to make this a musical, within a musical. We are an audience member watching an energetic stage-show! This does mean a lot of sweeping wide shots which I guess is what we'd take in as an audience member. Quality music and lyrics although putting the lyrics on screen is always a cop-out in my book as it starts to look like a sing-a-long - have confidence in your songs!

My take on the story & ending is that devastated by the end of this relationship this retelling takes place in the theatre-of-his-mind hence his insistence on getting a run-through that is perfect. Could be miles off but I do like that sort of thing.

Probably my favourite ripfocus 48hr film.

Magic in the Sack

A couple look to spice things up in the bedroom with a bit of wizardry dress ups.
Some funny moments but also kind of vanilla in its approach so I don't get the sexually charged comment above! I do get the cringy awkwardness at the start but it also makes this short rather slow with a good chunk of the film taking place in the bedroom - where not a lot happens in term of their conversation or visually. The knock on the door adds some much needed conflict which classically results in a duel, the high point of the film. Not really sure what comment is being being here though - women are fickle? Look to change men into something they're not?
Tech side it's all well shot, edited and directed as was their 2022 film. Not as much "feels" in this one though - just cheap laughs.

Still another shortlisted film from this team, a crowd pleaser I'm sure and likely finals bound.

Stage Four Law

All the tech, acting, direction, choices - top notch as you’d expect.

But yeah, this short might end up being a polarizing and for one, it doesn’t sit well with me. And I think it’s largely because I’m not sure when I’m watching this if they’re playing it straight or taking the piss due to the farcical situation of having a cancer tumor being sued. Is it supposed to be cathartic? Providing empathy towards cancer sufferers and the people left behind? Is the whole thing some great metaphor? Or are we having a laugh here? I know when I saw the tumor for the first time that’s what I did as it was just ridiculous. As such I just found it hard to take any of it seriously. Maybe that is the point?
Such a well-made film though and no doubt finals bound. Personally, I just can’t vibe with it and probably just expected more to happen than the message of accepting that this kind of death is no one’s fault, and we should just let it go. Maybe not as powerful or emotionally connecting as the filmmakers thought it might be because again, I’m not certain on the seriousness of their intent.

Making Connections

A very nice looking short that is overall pretty slick in all departments. Without your description above I wouldn't have noticed what the magazine was about as this sequence goes really quickly. Still, a well-executed film that ties into the genre extremely well.

Gavin In The Woods

As a long time fan of "Limbo" this certainly shares s similar aesthetic. The atmospheric environment and the feeling of isolation is well executed. Probably over thinking it but I wondered how electricity was generated in this cabin, and therefore the point of having that desk light? Just seemed out of place even though, I know, he was imagining things at one point. Was expecting something bigger from the ending too as the culprit has been quite a well-used way to go in this comp. Still, wonderful animation and a slick production as expected from Bork.

Thursday Doesn't Even Start

Love the central idea here of not being able to leave the house due to some teleportation device. The effect was simple, well-executed and the acting from the lead certainly committed. I perhaps would have liked it if the reason for the teleportation was left unsaid and as he was sent just to the backyard couldn't he have left some other way? Like over the fence? Big fan of an ambiguous ending so top marks there!

Sundown

I've watched this film a least four times now and I still don't understand the point of the pavlova eating scene at the start - OK, so yeah, Pav-Western & is the wire reference to the old No. 8? Surely, there's more to it than that! It just all seems to chew up screen time without adding anything. I suppose it does pad out and then intercut with a pretty cool entrance from our antagonist - I really did enjoy the use of whisper here.

Overall, my main grip would be that it's all a bit light on story - he comes, they fight, and he leaves. (albeit by delivering a nice joke). We get hints of a previous relationship but it's all just a set-up for a fight sequence that carries most of the film. And, as is the current trend, the male characters are either rather useless or easily defeated - or both.

As mentioned above, the visual effects are pretty cool in the film, the fight is well-choreographed and if the aim was to land a quirky, awkward kiwi comedy, then it certainly achieves that. Performances are really good as usual from this team and there is plenty that audiences will like, I'm sure.

"Sundown" is another successfully made 48HR short from rip focus. Nice work!

Cheese 'n Bear

A bit of adventure, a bit of whodunnit, a bit of musical and a lot of weirdness. Certainly committed 100% to the concept here which is great to see. Nice work.

A Hearts Desire

Completely invested in this from the start. Well established tone, solid performances and typical/expected PlanetFoxFilms make-up and character-design. The goblin/troll/creature here has the look of characters you've done before which is not a criticism at all! They're amazing!

But, yeah...that ending. Given what had happened leading up to it, it was certainly a surprise - so well done - but also a let down. A dark ending or even something ambiguous would have easily cemented this short as a strong contender to place in CHCH.

Crimson Snow

A fantastic snow-covered location is used in this short about a bounty hunter on the search for a missing young girl. The location certainly adds to the scale, drama and nailing the western "sell" of the film. The story itself is pretty basic and follows all the tropes. We've got a guy doing it all for money who eventually does it for other more noble reasons. I think to answer izadecastro's question above - he does indeed find the girl when he finds what I believed was a dress next to a suspicious-looking mound of snow. This motivates his character into pursuing the "Man in Black".

Really well shot with great use of angles that add further to the grand scale of the film. The final shoot-out is well executed by the actors but I did feel a little disorientated as to where the characters were on the screen - they seemed to change sides. I'm not sure the body falling was that successful as it looked a bit comical but also not an easy thing to pull off.

So, an impressive film just not super original in its storyline. 100% ticks a number of boxes for making finals though.

"Innocence"

A bit mixed on whether this is intended on being a comedy or a drama! I liked some of the initial set-up (the Mustang is of course very cool) and the execution of the TV news segment was good - even if it did raise questions as to why he was reporting from a bedroom! Other technical areas could have been a little sharper (the jump cuts don't always work) but the photograph is an instant classic!

MiMi

A typical Dragon V Mouse production? Kind of. Good script and nice rising tension into a left-field ending with suitably cheesy effects. I could argue that the body of the film lacks a bit of variety but I respect the minimalist approach. Well constructed as you would expect. Were there meta-references? Probably!

Invertemate

Meme Teme reviews are always troublesome for me. I've seen the core of this group go through their angsty teen phase and they have a habit of remembering things I said about their 48hr films from many moons ago - and holding them against me. That, and being forever falsely accused of not teaching them about white balance. A promise is a promise though and so here's Uncle Stu's review of "Invertemate". What an annoying title. :)

This film has a very Meme Temey feel about it. A supernatural worm that strikes up a friendship with the researcher who dug him out of the ground and in the end is capable of Kurt-level philosophical musings. Sheep, other animals, now worms - it's all very Meme Teme. They go the extra level with things. Most of the camerawork is great - especially inside the lab where the lighting has been skillfully crafted with obvious care- the benefit of having an industry pro on your team. :) The story is also very sweet, the dialogue is mostly well written and your lead did a fantastic job working next to a rubber worm (or was it more sugary?) The film is well-edited too and flows along. I do see the point made about the voice-over; it does feel a little too clean and removed from the scene.

Uncle Stu's advice? I think the stand-out character was Erica. I would have based more scenes around her and perhaps the jealousy she has for our lead's relationship with the worm or her being the lead in this and just hell-bent on destruction. Something she's maybe observed on the sly. I think she needed building a bit more to really make the ending pay off. More a battle of wits between the two with the worm at the centre may have given more to the story, given opportunities for greater conflict and even humour! So, even though you claim to be retiring from writing, Samantha, maybe next year strip things back, simplify and concentrate on your characters. Or, go full Swixer on it and break out the whipped cream.

"Invertemate" is a film lots of people rate though which is a pat on the back for the Meme Teme.

Never Ever say Never Ever Ever Again

Mad Scientist films are so distinctive in CHCH - the style doesn't really change,; guns and action. That said, this short is probably a bit slower paced than normal - more dialogue, more scenes, more story. This Bond tribute has a stellar cast and a cool soundtrack. It has its own aesthetic which has a classy feel to it. However, at times, the sync seems a bit out and the edit does feel that there was a much longer film here that needed some trimming to meet the 5 minutes. Once again a huge effort from Jullian and the team with this short - he never fails to deliver just the type of film he loves making. Well done on making the short-list too.

THIRD WHEEL

This a really imaginative approach for this genre. I was initially expecting a kind of goofy comedy but it turned more heart-felt, deep and meaningful! Definitely worth a re-watch to catch everything going on "inside". Well done!

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

With a plethora of dumb comedies (including really well made dumb comedies) in the 48, it is always great to see teams play it serious. COA have gone this route before and for mine, they are their stronger films.

Liked the very casual line that established the father was cheating, which cemented the reason he took the call outside. A little mixed on seeing the kid drowning in the background during this; while it was convincing, maybe leaving it unseen until he returned inside would have had greater impact. Also, what kind of public pool has no one on duty?!

As mentioned above, the grief was handled really well. A cool little sequence that was nicely acted and cleverly put together. I really liked that this film didn't end well for our lead. And even though it was clearly fore-shadowed, when the self-sacrifice came, it's landing had impact.

Great work, COA.

Toilet Roll Call

Oh, boy there are a lot of these lockdown-who stole/used-the-last-insert thing but this is certainly one of the better ones. Great humour, nicely edited, filmed and characters that you can relate to. Loved the impersonation gag and nod to the truly awful "Knives Out". The mystery wasn't that big but it didn't need to be because the other parts of the film where the real highlights. Always a fan of Mukpuddy so great to see you back in the 48.

Tonight On Extreme Quickfire Trivia

Enjoyed this. Well made, simple, clean animation. I wish I could do that! Love the commentary on reality game-shows too. A polished short that is re-watchable. Well done!

The Construct

I like the concept here and really enjoyed the execution of the Monopoly board figures effects towards the end. Looked great! Some of the other composting didn't look quite as good but huge points for doing so much of it. Keying can be a real pain in the butt. Great to see something really different from most shorts produced in this lock-down. Nice work!

A Quack's Journey

Foreign Objects are usual heat buddies with Everything Sticks so it's always fun to see their latest imaginative, madcap adventure. Their line delivery is something unique to them and there are some great lines in this, delivered just ever so slightly over the edge of dead pan. "That's something I haven't discovered yet" and "Oh, my gosh your life is ruined" being my favourite. It makes for such interesting characters.

Agree with AJ - just keep doing what you are doing, making the films you want to make.

The Janitor

Epically ambitious as usual from CHCH's No.1 crazy action-obsessed "Mad Scientists". Loved the open shots of the elevator reveal and worms-eye from up on the mopping. A voice-over gives us the required exposition dump but I was a little confused as to who in the film was hearing it - an unseen briefing room? The comedy plays well, the error rate is high and I thought the set-up of an assumed/mistaken identity a really good choice. The Janitor character plays his role well and seemed to relish playing with the cache of "Mad Scientist" toys.

Mad Scientists always go at it hard, making an action film regardless of the genre. It's their strength and as the song says - "Don't go changing". Instantly rewatchable.

NOTE: I could have sworn you were a finalist in 2014 with "One Man Army" as I remember it playing in full. Was this just because it was part of the "Incredibly Strange" collection?

EDICT

All pretty slick including effective use of a night shoot. Not 100% on the motivation of the stalker apart from being just that or the woman's lack of care after being pretty cautious up to that point. Anyway, a professionally crafted short that pushes the Level 4 bubble a bit?

Lamb Chopped

Looked nice and great use of an animal cast. The voice acting worked really well too. I think the whole thing could have been pacer though as it lurched a little into just watching a cute dog do stuff, rather than stuff that created suspense or really drove the story forward.

A Yellow Thumb

Quirky, fun and despite its best efforts not sinister at all! Our lead is just too nice which I'm not saying is a bad thing. A couple of cool montages and excellent use of the photo requirement. Great job overall.

The Cookie Crumbles

Man, I love cookie dough. This is a great family produced film and what I imagined would be the sort of thing that would take that prize out - the kids doing their thing. Good script and well put together - love the twist towards the end. Unfortunately this combo - Whodunnit & lockdown is seeing a few of these who ate/stole the thing. But few of them will have a chicken.

The Killing of Bunny White

Great use of noir tropes in this whodunnit through a very well written script. The voice-over is perfect and using any toy they could find in the house a clever solution to finding a large cast. Nice work!

The Gastronaut

A woman is possessed by an alien seeking a phenomenal gastronomic experience.

I loved this. What a great concept for this genre and so well delivered by the cast - my favourite being the flatmate/partner. Their look at the end is priceless. Certainly a bit scrappy in places with a few focus issues that could have been tidied up or given more care too but overall this tells a simple story so easily.

Great work!

Pendulum

This is great. Simple idea that is effectively executed. I'm such a fan of limited or non-dialogue films in this comp as it really forces your focus. Same goes for not having music and only diegetic sound. Loved the literally pendulum we were seeing and hearing. The eerie nature of the visuals raised lots of good questions too in my head about what was happening. Didn't notice the sound issue and have watched it three times! My only slight criticism is I found the camera panning a little jarring - a smoother back and forth would have given it a more organic feel and motion.

One of my personal favourites; rewatchable and recommendable!

Thicker Than Water

This is how you do splatter without just spraying the usual blood around everywhere. Super clever!

All the characters are pretty cliché but that matters not - they're all dislikable and so well cast and acted. All the tech is spot on, it's well written, the comedy is on point, each "disqualification" so good, and there's a nice little twist at the end.

So well done, great fun and instantly rewatchable. Surely this short will go a long, long way in this comp.

Fist Puncher and Foot Kicker

As these characters feature in a series of PSAs on a Fist Puncher & Foot Kicker YouTube channel (started on April 1st no less), it's safe to say that the actors are pretty comfortable in these roles.

There're some moments of humour that land and some clever wordplay, especially during the gate-stealing sequence. Props too for filming at night. While the performances are delivered precisely in the style you were after I feel this doesn't help my main issue with the film - it just feels so damn slow. Nothing seems to be in a hurry, including the fight scenes and so this 5 minute short seems twice that. The deliberately painful dialogue therefore just does not help.

Loved the final shot with the remains of the Spaghetti Monster slithering away and this is a film that will hit the spot for many people as they'll totally dig the awkward kiwi humour. Nice work!

God Has Abandoned Us (The Devil Is Here)

Engaging overall and has the feeling of a much bigger film; in excess of the 5 minutes and once more in a good way. I know real time was the genre but with so many demonic possession films in the comp this year, this Exorcist clone was a little "been there-seen that." Highlight for me was the shift to limbo/hell/where-ever which was the best shot & acted sequence of the film. Our morally-grey Father looked like a kick-ass gun-slinger. I wish we'd got that film with that character, doing shit, on a mission or trying to escape from somewhere or working his way through the location. Tech, mostly good albeit some focus issues and wobbly sound in places. Some nice effects, props and costuming. The acting was genuine enough even with some redundant dialogue - "What's in the case?"; "Relics and shit." Sometimes saying nothing or just showing us has more power.

Can see why the CHCH judges liked it though as it ticks a lot of boxes they typically look for. Bravo.

The Lurhman Brothers

This is great. Really absorbing throughout it's runtime with excellence pacing. While the very flat narration gives as all the details, the imagery from sourced, created and manipulated images really add to the intrigue - it's a fascinating story that has been crafted here.

A very different 48HR approach that will have many people wondering if this actually is a true story or not.

Tale of the Rolling Wanderer

Yeah, I'm with steelpotato on this - pretty tried of the DND style films this year; along with psychics in tents/cabins and wizards with fake beards. Great set, lighting, costumes, props (apart from the modern playing cards) and ears of course. But soooo bog standard even if it does do a fantasy shift to a modern office setting. Not sure if the ending makes any sense either.

Great job in being shortlisted though!

Phoney

An ambitious effort this. I think the initial set-up was good and everything looked great but I wasn't really feeling the building tension as much as I should have. Some of this I think had to do with the audio balance being a little mixed so the phone call, for example, was a bit hard to hear or the music in places drowned out the dialogue. Still, I like the arc of the situation and enjoyed the well-timed touches of humour.

Time Saver

Such a great aesthetic created for this short - it was so easy to get completely immersed in the environment. Top technical work from start to finish but aside from the fact that this was time-travel gone wrong, which created a degree of tension, I had little idea about how this was actually being remedied by the characters - and if they were time-travelling to do it how this actually worked. Looking forward to watching it again to see what I can pick up.

Bloods 'R' Us

You've done some things pretty well in this. The green-screen work and composting suits your style, the acting from the lead is confident and there was an unexpected twist in the tail. A couple of things to think about: there's the slightest frame at the start where your boss actor is saying something not in character; probably in response to "Action" or "Are you ready?"; the start itself comes in a bit abruptly - a fade in or a bit of talk over black would have smoothed this out. Also the bulk of the film is the promotional video (which is fun!) but as such there's not a whole heap of story. That said, it's still an enjoyable short for an audience to get our teeth into!

Old Mistakes

This started out pretty promising - looked great, some nice shot composition, good set-up. Then at 1:30 we got opening credits? Why?! Pulled me out of the whole film. The montage had some funny set pieces but not sure the ending made any sense. Good skill on show though and the lead played his part well.

Deep

DQ Tim films over the last few years have been very much about the spectacle, the grand scale and the sheer ballsiness of it all. As others have mentioned, pulling some of this stuff off inside 48HOURS is something most of us can only really dream of; and aptly the ambition of it all does make me tired.

"Deep" establishes an effective claustrophobia early on and for those of us unnerved by the ocean or even being submerged this film will be pretty uncomfortable viewing. Storywise it's all pretty basic - protagonist in danger; needs to escape. We learn little about the main character or anything really about the events that lead him to be in the situation he's in - it's just his job. This doesn't help me care about him much. Likewise, the creature is just the creature doing its job in a very Limboesque way. The effects and staging in this short are both a strength and a weakness. The opening shots including the initial submersion are awe-inspiring. The scale that is established is outstanding and I found myself sucked into the environment. However, then a ropey-looking jellyfish floated by or I noticed the cars were a bit too toyish or the buildings seemed rather cardboardy, and the illusion was broken. I half expected to see that this was all just some kid playing in the bath with their toys.

"Deep" is very rewatchable, (my main review yard-stick within this comp) just more style than substance. But if you put that aside, "Deep" is once more a phenomenal DQ Tim production within the time, resource & imagination limits of 48HRS.

BAZZAZ BAZAAR

This was really well put together. Well shot, lit, edited and smart doing a one-room film for this comp. Nice to see that slight colour grade to reflect the light from the portal. Acting was a real strength and there was good humour in the dialogue right up until the very end. Great job!

Memories

A pretty cool concept & an interesting way to handle a relationship breakup. Probably needs some explanation as to how exactly the photos have that impact on people. It didn't seem that much of a surprise to the characters. A nice dark ending - great!

Better Come Quick

What I like about this is it doesn't waste a lot of time at the start. One quick suggestive comment and a kind of race-against-the-clock is on with our protagonist then hindered by a number of obstacles looking to stop him reaching what he thinks is going to be a very special occasion. We don't get great dialogue, it's mostly a lot of running captured by some jerky hand-held work and the sound is pretty inconsistent but as Luke mentions above the ending is nailed. Our hero's removal of his clothes before even getting through the door is perhaps a little unrealistic but it is damn funny! What a great decision too, to just capture the expressions of those at the table. Our lead's final look is gold.

Great job!

Chaquita Banana

Quirky...pretty bonkers actually. I enjoyed the animation style and the voice acting was great. A lot packed into the run time though and most of it dialogue explaining things. Good humour as expected and I imagine this will be a popular watch. Nice work.

On The Lam

What I like about this, aside from the cute sheep and well design set, is that it really forces you to watch closely. You could have gone the way of doing "sheep dialogue" but that may have then distracted from the action with too much tell. Short, sharp and to the point. As your first stop animation I'm sure you'll learn plenty from this and smooth things out in your next project.

Chef's Kiss

This is so good. Incredibly well-paced, shot, edited and acted. The comedic timing is perfect. So many things I missed on a first watch - the soiled hand in the bathtub (somehow), the allergy warning on the note. Clever writing and superb use of the genre that doesn't at any point lurch anywhere near the go-to demon possession we typically see. The acting is so natural from our leads and the neighbour character, for only having one line - brilliantly done. Instantly rewatchable and standalone outside of this comp.

Love this and I hope it is a national finalist.

U B U

I actually pretty surprised this wasn't nominated for "Incredibly Strange" as it is certainly pretty strange and certainly mad. I'm not sure I'd even know how to put together a script for something like this. I think AJ is on to something by suggesting you work on providing a more obvious narrative next time. You can still do crazy or arty but give us something that we can recognise and get on board with.

In general, it looked good and you obviously got the performances you wanted so keep your team together and give it all another crack next year.

Eight Thirty

A well shot, edited and acted film. The set-up is pretty good and certainly it's an amusing albeit ridiculous scenario. It's an interesting take on the genre to not actually show much at all of the lovers-on-the-run, instead doing a throw-away news voice-over at the end to perhaps tick that box.

Overall, well-executed but pretty light on story with the twist not as unexpected as no doubt hoped for.

SHELTER IN PLACE

I enjoyed the quirkiness of this. The staring contest when the monkey first arrives was classic as was the fight scene. In the end, surprisingly heart felt. Nice work!

Going Solo

This is the sort of 48HR film that is a real crowd-pleaser. It ticks off a lot of boxes - slick technical skills, quirky actor and uncomfortable humour.

As mentioned above it does have the vibe of "Familiar Feeling" but the difference with that film was how it moved beyond the bar and expanded the world, giving more breadth to the film. "Going Solo" is far more self-contained, not expanding beyond the single location (yes there's a bathroom scene) and that works just fine. It's well-written and the set-up for the ending is nicely handled in a rule-of-three kind of way. Having said that - the ending is a rather low-brow cop-out - a literal shit ending. And do the rules of a universe also apply to someone, not from that universe? That is my puzzling question.

I expect "Going Solo" to do well and make the CHCH final. It's the sort of film that just does! Nice work!

The Olive Farmer

Yeah, an enjoyable watch and lots of credit for doing it solo. Some nice touches of humour throughout and one or two good lines. However, I think it also could have been a lot shorter as there is plenty of superfluous dialogue.

Urine Trouble!

Aarons (insert topical descriptor) have really made this kind of film their specialty over the last how ever many years. They are the undisputed kings of the most "out there fuckery" in CHCH. They also have an unhealthy obsession with AJ but that's probably another film at another time.

So, the songs in "Urine Trouble" are pretty catchy and the robot costuming is awesome. There's some method in their madness somewhere or other, so from an audience POV my advice with this film (and their previous entries) is to absorb, enjoy and pull out those bits that make you smile. Certainly don't dismiss anything. This team are a great example to others - make the film you want to make, stand by it 100% and overdose on the fun.

The Hunted

This is a high-octane action flick with extreme chases and lengthy fight scenes. Props too for shooting in the dark. It all mostly works. I liked the casual way the swap was handled and overall the pacing of the short worked really well. The overhead shot to show the massive fight scene that unfolds was a smart choice.

Tighten up your focus, cast everything appropriately, continue to be ambitious and you'll produce something even better in the future. Nice work.

Spector

Cool concept here with some effective lighting, transitions and general use of close-ups. The voice-over is always an interesting call as it raises questions about who the voice is talking to. The audience? Another unseen character? It explains the story to us which may not always be the most effective choice. Still, an intriguing short with lots of high points.

Doom Comes to Mars-Town

As expected, this is a fun ride from Mad Scientists - lasers guns, armoured troops teleportation, alien monsters and a big action sequence. Great sets, typical MS green screening and an enthusiastic cast. It's a heavy dose of 1970s Doctor Who really.
Couple of things for me - 1) I found the start a bit slow...too much talk setting things up as we went from a minute of the "Help us" footage to nearly another minute of "getting the troops ready". 2) We didn't really spend time with any one character so I found it hard to know who's story this was.

Still, there was a great teleportation set-up and gag which is nicely played. Nice job, Mad Scientists!

Pirate Adventure

Great music choice and nice Lego animation. Loved the uncomfortable silence at the landing on the island. Plenty of good sound FX used to support the action but it maybe needed a few more at the start to nail the environment and the dialogue audio could have been crisper. Sweet ending as well which in many ways was another uncomfortable silence! Top work, lone musketeer.

Toasted

The question you should ask yourselves is "Could we have told the same story without making it a mockumentary?" By dipping into that style you also fall into many of the trite trappings of it - awkward off camera glances, boom in shot, flashbacks. Unless you film it all as a single continuous shot there really is nothing fresh about it and you have to really nail the humour or risk it becoming rather tedious. Acting was solid and I liked a lot of the camerawork but those skills could have been applied to a very tight, self-contained origin story about a normal guy finding out one morning that his superpower is making toast.

Gluten Free

Wow! Mildly concerned is right! Huge respect for making a musical & I think you nailed the Urban Fantasy genre perfectly. Nice touches of humour, committed acting and the flour bag faces were great. Probably could have left it at the end with her just eating the bread as an act of ultimate revenge but I totally get the final twist you went with. Nice job!

Hide N Seek

An engaging short with a concept not far from my own 2020 film. As a fan of the use of close-ups whenever possible I enjoyed yours and as mentioned above they were the strength of the cinematography. Full of intrigue; I liked it!

And Good in Everything

Three guy friends meet in a bar (after 4 years? or is this a yearly catch-up?) to explore what they've been up to. One's got a shirt 'n' tie job, one's going to be a dad, and one is thinking about giving up on his dream. They flashback to times they've had together where each of them has exhibited the skills/attributes that allay fears they might have about their current or pending situations.

For me, this felt more like a coming-of-age story than necessarily an anniversary-heavy one but what are you going to do? Anniversary is one that needs something else attached to it. As such, this is a well-written script, obviously, dialogue-heavy and while the situations of the blokes are pretty cliche, the actors do a great job in delivering the material. It's all very sweet and devoid of any real conflict outside of personal uncertainty. The guys have each other's back though which I guess is a refreshing change to see in this type of film - certainly they're no dickheads. It's just a bit too saccharine for my tastes.

Camerawork, lighting, direction, editing and sound are all very deliberate and someone certainly likes a bit of lens flare. I'd expect to see this go further in the competition. Well done!

Gloria al Bravo Pueblo

Arghhhh...I want to like this kind of crime film but I find split screen heist/caper/people on a mission film sequences right up there with Edgar Wright quick cut montages; eye rolling and so over done. This is not to say this short is not well executed and by now you expect this from serial CHCH finalists, award winners (and Auckland based I guess) Dragon V Mouse. Nicely shot, well edited and acted and typically funny in places. The change in mission directive was funny albeit ridiculous and not unexpected as it had been foreshadowed earlier in the film; still really well done though.

I think a film which does get better on subsequent viewings. I just wish it had more of a point-of-difference from other tropey crime films.

Under Control

Nice work pulling off filming in multiple countries? Some solid acting and a good idea with the people controlling app. The audio was a little jarring at times when cutting between scenes but I appreciated the movement of the characters through the scenes, which worked well. Always interesting when a character talks to themselves in a scene as your did at the start as it does a smack of tell. Could you have found a way to show this and get the same message across?

Overall, a good take on the genre.

Carparking through the Multiverse

This film had possibilities. I think the idea of the chase through the multiverse of the car park was a good plan. Where I got confused was that the car park so obviously changed where I was under the impression that they were operating in the same car park. I think if it HAD played out this way with us seeing differences in that car park the whole thing would have felt a lot tighter. Near misses by the chasers could have added more tension or even if the attendant was the actual villain of the piece. And, yeah not really sure of the intended meaning of the final line.

Most have mentioned the syncing of the ADR and the other thing to watch out for is the shadow of your camera-op. Certainly an unusual short so keep that up in the future!

Dick, Actually

Unfortunately, this genre lends itself to a safe, vanilla path if you want to achieve a level of success. So, you tick the genre boxes and hit the beats. SJGR are great at doing just this, in this short of requited love where the jilted does his upmost to disrupt the perfect relationship of his flat-mate. Well-written, acted (of course) and everything looks pretty nice.

Not a lot really happens though. The pranks are kind of bland (and surely defendable as not reality) and there are no meaningful stakes for us to get behind our anti-hero, and rally behind his actions. He doesn't change at all by the end of the film and so overall he is just a dick. That's the point, I suppose.

Another rewarding effort though from a very consistent CHCH team.

RUN.

A lot jammed into this which perhaps complicates things a little. Some impressive effects and editing, good use of music and rising tension. Not sure if the voice-over at the start really works - who are they talking to and why? Still, a well-constructed short that keeps the pace moving.

Cataphora

This short is full of surprises. It's easy to be deceived at the start into thinking this was going to be a fairly predictable story of our lead being repeatedly dejected by their seemingly unaccepting workmates in an attempt to hit the audience over the head with "a message". But it didn't go that way at all. First, we get a film within a film - a funny, well-acted infomercial. This leads our feline friend into some astral travel. We get clever songs (this is also a musical!) and we get an ending where everyone just gets on with the mahi - with zero fuss. In general, consistently shot, effectively edited and a solid, humorous story arc is achieved.

One of the better films from this region. Great job!

Graffitical

A different approach in this short from what we usually see with this genre. Essentially a tour around the city's street art by our protagonist while being followed by the "Gatekeeper of social standards". It's a solid idea but not a great deal happens. Unless I missed it, we don't really know until the credits what the motivation of the gatekeeper is as they kind of randomly turn up. It may have been better if there was a lot more made of the chase/hide-n-seek nature of the film. There seemed to be very few stakes which given the sweet ending is fine, but for me, there just wasn't enough conflict to care that much. Nicely shot and edited with excellent coverage and some nice use of shadows.

I appreciate the imaginative take, we really do see too many procedural crime dramas in this genre, so nice work!

I dunnit

Some nice shot choices in this - in particular the mirror shots at the beginning and end, the upside down transitions and also the back-lit silhouette. Not a fan of the title cards as they told us things we could just see and were jumpy-grainy while the rest of the film wasn't. If you were going noir then maybe a hard-boiled detective voice-over could have worked better then the text on screen which also slowed things down. Liked the story twist and the general feeling of being one step behind that was portrayed. Good stuff!

The Performer

A sad, yet ultimately warming musical effort with one central song the carries the film. And it's a quality song, well performed and mixed. It's just the usual story though on whether or not one song a musical makes. I really wish the opening monologue had been a song too as this would have been a better sell during the "Talking-to-yourself" in the mirror trope. It really does pull me out of a film when I see this done in what really should be an internal monologue. The film could have also come to a close with for example, a refrain, to round things off.

Nicely filmed and edited, so well done!

One For All

Something this short does really well is making it a quite uncomfortable watch. Whether it's some of the dialogue, character reactions and interactions or just the situation that's happening it kind of works in bringing the cringe. Or maybe it's because of the nipple rubbing. Yeah...

Performances are good - especially from our promiscuous lead who does a lot of the heavy lifting moving from elusive, to sexy, to evasive, to panicky, to bewildered, to ultimately deflated. Early on there's a partial 4th wall break which I think you should have gone 100% on as a) it would have been funny and b) as it currently is, looks like an editing mistake. That aside, the general edit of some nice-looking footage is fairly consistent. I do think that once the secret girlfriend arrives they should have headed straight for the bedroom to move things along - sitting on the couch drinking wine didn't add much apart from allowing you to play with a bit of focus.

As Steelpototo mentioned above, the type of ending you went for is pretty 10 years ago and not much of a twist. That's not to say that it doesn't work as an ending - it's just fairly obvious. The question to ask is where else could you have gone with it?

I think you've got an interesting team with people who have skills, trust each other and who are prepared to do almost anything. This is a real bonus for you and if you can stay as a threesome you'll produce some great stuff for this comp in the future. :)

Broken Tracks

This is a fairly strong effort from a talented High School team. Strengths lie in the cinematography, which for the most part, produced a range of highly effective shots; and in the performances of our two leads, who strike up a decent amount of chemistry. Initially, I was OK with the age appropriateness of the casting - it didn't seem too far of a stretch that one of them was a sheriff. However, when the criminal mentioned his wife and then it transpired the sheriff also had a family you lost me a bit. Could you have told a similar story where these two found themselves chained together without the police/criminal angle? Something to think about for another time. There were some solid dialogue scenes, especially walking along the tracks and the passing of time was well played. That said, the leaves, the leaves, oh the rustling of the leaves! So noisy! I imagine you had many feet tracking along that shot. An external mic on a boom would have helped here, or recording a stationary wild track that you could have synced. Just drowned out the dialogue in places. Story-wise, it's a simple unlikely buddy flick but I couldn't help but wonder if their relationship had developed enough or if they'd been through enough to lead to the ending that transpired.

Overall though, a well-made 48HR film. Shame about the DQ - late or was your film too long?

Sit Tight

A lot of love for this film in the reviews. I'd agree that much of the camerawork is really well done and the edit is also well-paced. Most of the film looks really good. However, it is a very static shoot and perhaps judges were looking for a bit more variety there.

A major thing that does let this film down is the audio, which as mentioned above was down to a broken recorder. That may be the case but work could still have been done on better-balancing things and removing some noise. More criminal though are the two pieces of off-camera direction/comments that are clearly heard.

The acting is good but I would question the age-appropriateness of the casting. Are we really to believe that we have a trained and respected psychotherapist/psychologist here with a long list of clients? And the couple have been in a serious, very adult relationship for at least a year? It nearly works.

The story itself is fine, if not overally surprising by its end. I found the voice-over a bit distracting and there's really way too much talk, too much explaining and telling, rather than showing.

A strong effort from a school team though and plenty of skill on display. Just make stories about your age group if you can't find actors that fit the roles better. Well done on being a regional finalist!

Bad Therapy

The idea of an inner critic was actually a good one but having it all play out in a therapy session did get a little tiresome. I think this is mostly because we got the same medium close-ups for a big chunk of the film so it just felt repetitive and not so interesting.

Full marks for the dialogue-driven script though and the overall message delivered about how much we should or shouldn't listen to our inner voices. A question I'm left with is whether you intended the therapist to be actually helpful or not - he clearly was irritating in his approach but ultimately it was a successful session and worth the money!

A solid enough 48HR short just not very ambitious in its delivery.

Thicker Than Water

Liked the non-linear story telling in this - cause an effect manipulated nicely. Well shot & edited. Given the frantic, action-paced start the conversation that filled the body of the film seemed a little slow and non-eventful. Still, a well crafted short from at least some of regular finalists Jovial Entertainment?

Student Exchange

From the team behind 2020's National Lockdown Runner-up, "Pupper Paleolithic" we have another excellent animated short. It has a really simple yet effective set-up with two equally bored characters agreeing to a mutual swap, albeit orchestrated by a mischievous spirit. The animation is crisp, clean and colourful, it's well-paced and the music suitably fun. I appreciated too that the expected "Be careful what you wish for" message was given a bit of a twist in the end.

A real shame about the DQ as this would have pushed the other animated entries up and down the country pretty hard.

A Bad time in real time

A gentleman who has been wronged comes into town demanding satisfaction.

Cute little animation here and some fine voice work. The story itself is nothing out of the ordinary - confrontation and stand-off - but at least there is a slight quirk in the end. Effective match-cut too. Nice work.

Red Flag

SPOILERS FOLLOW:

There's no doubt at all that this is a professionally made film in all aspects - cinematography, sound, acting, editing, direction; it's all a slick combination that will see Apple Fork if not just winning Auckland but going hard once more at the National Final. And story-wise, what's not to like - a dark, unexpected beginning, quirky characters, funny moments and a general darkness hanging over the whole situation. In many ways, it's a "so typically winning 48HR film". If it weren't Apple Fork making this it's something I'd expect to see from THE EH TEAM/SNACK TO THE FUTURE. And, it poses a few questions too...

Unlike, Steelpotato I don't see this situation as a random set of events, wrong place/wrong time, or unexpected situation. Why does he kill the boyfriend in the first place? Why does he head to the cafe/bar and not GTFO of there? Why is he really unsurprised when the woman of his dreams heads to the car? All of this seems rather premeditated albeit amateur in approach - I mean how much evidence did he leave behind in the car? Yes, he was surprised to find himself at a speed date evening, but I don't think it was accidental that he went to THAT café/bar. To be clear, I think all of this is great - deeply sinister but great!

And on that, we have seen quite a few films this year with sinister/selfish motives - almost unbelievable crimes of passion where we have to buy into the actions taken being a plausible reaction to some perceived or real wrong. I mean, what did the boyfriend do wrong in this film? He was on his phone and then about to leave? Why was he killed if not for some ulterior motive rather than a random act of violence? The “fuck you” is also surely a further signal of this. And I’d also assert that the exchange of numbers strongly suggests that our lead knew of this woman – otherwise why would he be certain of “things changing”? (I do realise she says to a friend that her ride is waiting)

Speed dating is right up there with self-help/counselling groups as well overused in this competition, so I did a slight groan when this started. The montage of dates is pretty stock-standard - "the over-talker/offended"; "the sexually aggressive"; "the spiritual one" before the perfect one. It’s all done exceptionally well though.

I’ve perhaps over-scrutinised the story here but for me, there’s just too much coincidence otherwise. It’s a film that easily stands on its own outside the competition. It has a clear structure and a satisfying (albeit selfish & deceitful) ending. The Anniversary genre aspect is a bit of a throw-away given that it’s tacked on at the end rather than driving the story but as I’ve mentioned in other reviews, it’s a genre with limitations.

Instantly rewatchable and bound for glory.

How to Fix a Broken Heart

Top of the range technical work with this short, convincing acting and it's all really well paced. I was pretty engaged throughout, and despite what I felt was a slightly odd design of the "heart" space (I would have preferred something darker rather than just messy) you certainly had me invested in how it was all going to end. Like a few of the other reviewers above the fact you went with the hired pro essentially using his inside knowledge to hook up with the client makes it all a bit creepy in that he was again, essentially playing on the vulnerable.

Home Invasion

Typical mad stuff from PlanetFoxFilms and using puppets was a slick move given the lock-down conditions. Personally, not a huge fan of puppet films but this was of course fun and had some nice touches of humour. I think it could have moved a bit quicker as it dragged somewhat through the whole transfer set-up. Also, how did his glasses transfer? Overall, good stuff and keep doing the 48 your way!

Artificial Selector

Typically slick production from Chillibox. Agree, the use of video conferencing had a natural fit/feel to the story which in itself, last ship out of earth, wasn't super original. I'm a big fan of an ambiguous ending but wasn't convinced that it was the best approach here. I took a different approach to the characters too - I felt little for them as they were all essentially in it for themselves. That said, Chillibox do good work and this is further evidence of it.

Expansion

I think a script would have benefited you greatly in this as it seems from the outside looking in that a lot of the dialogue was improvised. That's fine to do (and I love TheRealClose's tip) but you need some sort of skeleton so it doesn't come across as unnatural or in the case of this, a feeling of repetitiveness as if each character is saying the same thing in the same way that was just said!

With your age group, coming-of-age really does give you a lot of possibilities and as AJ suggests pair it with something else - my team's 48HR films are never really just one thing and this is, of course, true of a lot of teams. Do it no matter the assigned genre!

On the tech side - try and lose the jump cuts unless they have a cinematic purpose and take time over your focus. It seems you have a nice tight team and you're almost veterans so use that experience!

The Fountain of Youth

The setting is established nicely and a well-timed little jump scare near the start gets the heart racing. Great location and the look of this film overall is top-notch. An effective sound design adds to the horror/splatter vibe perfectly - creaking doors and squeaky floorboards. Acting is solid throughout with some really committed performances - especially at the end. The story is classic horror and has notes of "Get Out" and "X" to it. So nothing truly surprising with it and as you would expect there's an untastefully gross ending to round it out.

Probably will do quite well in Dunedin so great job!

The Lay of Lament

Visually this is pretty cool. Our wounded knight/warrior, being pursued by monsters real or imagined looks great and his trek through the bush is well captured. The environment appears very untouched and wild, and his journey is an absolute struggle at times. An ethereal voice-over poetically tells us everything we need to know. But nothing really happens in this. He makes the journey and then we get a pretty average fire breath SFX, and a baffling out-of-place logo in the corner of a cabin. Is this all a metaphor for the comp? Is it an advertisement? Who is possessed again? Musical, what?

Sometimes if I have to think too hard I just don't bother so I may have missed your point. Overall a great build up that leads to nothing. Probably a CHCH finalist though.

Baby Bear

Like the aspect ratio and the retro feel. Love the living poster & photos effects. Absolutely love the creepy and unsettling vibe that just ramps up as we go through. Full of surprises throughout. Brilliant stuff and up there as one of my 2020 favourites.

Shaved: The Harry Lippman Story

Yeah, nicely done. Enjoyed the same people playing different parts which really is in the spirit of using what you have in the Lockdown. Good little mystery too with mockumentary used effectively as the style to deliver it. Again, a solid option given the Lockdown.

Neptune's Bubble

A cute, animated short complete with original music & nice touches of humour. Solid voice acting and I liked how you worked in the photograph. Well done!

Nowhere to Hide.

Pretty slick overall production work here. Looked great, nicely edited and also smooth integration of special effects. Your single location worked well as did the high stakes cat 'n' mouse action. I wasn't a fan of the footsteps Foley at the start - it got rather annoying in it's repetition. Likewise the ADR dialogue seemed a little unnatural. Limited in story but high on adrenaline, this is an impressive effort to get done over the 48.

Vlog #48

Inventive take on this genre. Interesting choice to include shots outside of the vlog content as well as it raises a few questions as to who was filming! Nicely put together though and great to see a different approach.

Zero Mum Game

Interesting comments about this one being a stock-standard 48hour film. It has that quirky, silly, situational feel to it sure but I don't think the film-makers set out to achieve anything more than making a very well made, directed and acted film about an irrational want, and it all speaks more to a growing trend to reach out to gurus for help we just don't need. I don't believe there is any great message here and equating the "women in comedy" issue to this short I think is unfair - it's just that this character isn't funny and like a lot of us starts trying too hard. The irony is of course that Monique Clementson is hilarious in this role. Go figure.

If I have a critique, it's that I didn't like the dismissive look the daughter gives the first time her mum isn't there at breakfast - I did think that was a little mean-spirited and unnecessary to the story because she obviously did care. The ending I think is great. Personally, I don't think she needed to put anything right - she was never at fault. Her frustration at the end was a satisfying and funny way to end.

Look, I hate dad jokes and every lame joke being labelled as such. So, I didn't really enjoy the concept of this film on a first watch. But it is really well crafted and paced and is very rewatchable. Could easily win CHCH and go on nationally. Great work and don't stop making films the way you want to make them.

You've been Trumped

Good fun and an effective Trump impersonator who got much of the cadence exactly right. It all probably went on a touch too long and as it's all focused on a single zoom call there was a lack of variety in proceedings.

Misogyny And Magic

A fun little adventure complete with in & out-of-place costumes and fake beards. I liked the way you handled the dragon scene - showed a bit of the old 48HOUR imagination. Lots of nice looking shots in places and the story was a complete structure.

That said, I was left unsure as to what your message was here in regards to misogyny or sexism. In the end it was a motivating factor for the secretary who despite looking disgruntled every time she was marginalised actually had a premediated plan to see all the males dead, and she saunters away when the job is done. So does this film fall into the "female revenge" trope? Or, is it just a light-hearted adventure not to be taken seriously?

Unlucky with the DQ 'cos this is the sort of film that gets short-listed.

Say Chess

There are some really good moments in this - the arc shot, the photo transitions, the freezes. There are also lots of questions - why did he need a torch when it was daylight outside? How did he not see the dude in the hallway? Who is the dude pulling all the strings? Why is he doing all of this and why to this particular group of people? If you hoped to leave your audience puzzled then mission accomplished!

Death drop

This starts as a well-parodied homicide investigation. We have the clean-cut rookie detective and the slightly more seasoned veteran. Some great banter between the two and although it takes some time (and we had a few previous hints) we finally get to the dance part. This is where we lurch into some sort of Lynchian sequence - complete with smoke, random characters and yup, dancing. Loved the freestyle solos and the general weird, surrealist vibe of it all. The location is great, as is the costuming. I also liked the flat, brown tone of everything although I couldn't help thinking that you should have used what looked like a fairly decent cine lens attached to the photographer's camera for filming this short! Only the filmmakers will know.

Fun, enjoyable and instantly rewatchable. Nice work!

Final Bell

Lots of bloody action in this short set smartly in a school on a day when you wouldn't expect many students to be there - Saturday detention. The cast does a great job - especially the manic reliever. Excellent soundtrack and blood effects plus the use of classroom items as weapons was especially inspired. While the visuals were really good some work-ons for next time would be your editing - which cuts dramatically at times. Maybe shoot some more cutaways or just get more coverage so you can match that continuity. Horror/Splatter tropes are used well but the ending kind of limps towards the exit before an abrupt conclusion leaves us a bit unsatisfied.

Overall, a fun, effective short that would have done pretty well if not for the DQ.

Internet Interrupted

Cloning is proving a very popular effect with this Lockdown:48, especially with the Urban Fantasy genre. Nice little set-up here with the dreaded "did my payment go through or not?" dilemma. Like that it didn't push out the running time any further. Good job!

Coeur de Lion

There sure are a lot of animal films in this 48HR: Lockdown and many attached to this genre too. A noir inspired effort here with suitably smoky French voice-over. Effective music and assorted noir tropes. Nice work!

For Generations

A typically in-ya-face short from Squint Eastwood that nails the Sci-fi genre and pushes commentary about tech and generations. Nice that it had a critique of millennials as parents opposed to the standard boomer targets. I enjoy the harsh animation style we see from Squint with the deliberately vivid colour palette. Some of the audio is a bit noisy in transition but overall a polished film. Great job on the win!

Exam in Session

A team from Marlborough Girls' College that has competed before giving the musical genre a fair crack in "Exam in Session". I really think your concept is a smart one - students drifting off into a musical fantasy during an exam with varying consequences. A lot of potential with it that got my mind ticking. It's obvious that you put a heap of effort into the musical numbers but they're probably not strong or catchy enough to really grab an audience. Some of the lyrics stand out, especially in the third number but I would have really liked to see the personality or fears etc of the characters really come out from their songs. On the technical side of things, I thought it was a quality short. The tracking shot worked well and your match cuts were awesome. Overall, it probably could have been a bit quicker paced but then you might have needed more music! I usual dislike school films set in schools but this works great because the set-up made sense.

The musical is a real chore of a genre but you did a great job with this. I'm in for a rewatch.

TASTE THE HAPPY

Upbeat and well-executed in typical Toowit style. Love the trippy nature of it, the effective animation and catchy tunes. Love to that it's all wrapped up really quickly. Nice job!

S I S

In a competition were generic and safe (if we're being completely, completely honest) really does consistently win the day, The Cant Shack's "S I S" is a fantastic point-of-difference. The blurred lines between what is stock-footage and what isn't really does mess with your mind. And the clever thing is that despite the stock footage we still get a coherent story with a "well-played" ending. The narration probably is a cop-out but the reality is, what else could you do aside from more superimposed lips?

The humour is well and truly nailed in this and the short-run time is perfect. Replay value is extremely high.

My only fear is that the success of this short will encourage others to emulate your style and flood the market with inferior product!

Overall, really well done! And honestly, you should have made the CHCH finals.

Strawberry Fears Forever

Obviously a lot of fun has had in the making of this short. Loved the strawberry puppets and the changes in expression/character worked well. Like a few films this this I'm pretty sure you could have told the same story in less than two minutes. It really does take a long time for the strawberries to get into the house as one example. In my mind they could have been "picked" and take inside. Also, the lack of human interaction/reaction lowers the stakes quite a bit and we have to fill in the gaps as to why the strawberries are reacting the way they are. Like I said, great fun though!

I Could Fly

This starts well with a funny set-up complimented by a couple of cool songs, the second of which nicely shows the dilemma the two lads are faced with. For me, I think they should have taken off there - rather than introducing the sister character. Things got a little slow with too much time spent on the side of the road and the songs started to feel a little flat, lacking zip. The ending didn't really land for me either and I think if this had become a genuine cat-n-mouse chase (which could have better used the sister character) or a Fargoesque cover-up with two guys completely out of their depth the story might have been a bit punchier.

Well filmed, edited and it all sounds great. I do prefer your 2021 musical "Him & Her" for shear energy but once more you've landed a probable finals worthy film. Nice job!

PowerDown

A self-contained superhero origin story where our hero discovers he has the power to make things happen/grant wishes when he gets angry enough. Certainly, the old "With great power comes great responsibility" rings true in this short.

Nice chemistry between the leads led to some genuinely funny moments and the film is well-paced. Some of the camerawork and sound is a little rough in places, with the sync being slightly out. Some of the transitions between scenes could be a little smoother too.

It's good fun though and instantly rewatchable. Nice work.

Birdy Nom Nom

A solid short film that while a little rough in places went down really well with the audience at the screening. Well acted and has some genuine albeit random funny moments like the pool cleaning scene. Never really a fan of puppets in films myself but a clever way to deal with this genre. Nice work.

Something, Anything

Great use of your own stock footage. Simple story, executed well. Nice split screen work and time-lapse effect. Felt the isolation with this!

Soapernatural

Yeah, this is great. Would have been up there for me as a Best Family Film. Huge fan of limited dialogue films and this film is an example of why. The visuals do the job and the two children deliver excellent performances without needing to explain anything that they are doing through some unnecessary chat. Loved the timing in some of the scenes - the Playstation controller for one and the fourth-wall break at the end was perfect. Awesome job!

The Negotiation!!!!

This reminded me of a lot of games I used to play on various early Windows OS back in the mid-90s on extremely overpriced desktop computers. As such, it also reminded me of how frustrating that experience was so "The Negotiation!!!!" is one of the more irritating films I've watched (and rewatched) this year! But that doesn't mean it's a bad film of course!

Good humour that is oh, so typical of Toot Toot and the overall silliness is rather infectious. Certainly, when snippets of your film played in the various categories at the CHCH final I'm pretty sure a lot of people were thinking "Why didn't we see that one tonight?! It's better/funnier than some of the finalists!"

Overall, for me, it just felt super long and rather repetitive. I totally respect the very intentional work that went into it and as always, a team that first and foremost makes the film they want to make in the competition rather than make a "competition film" will always have my love. Your style is something a lot of people really look forward to so why change it?

We're Dead and Gay

This is a fun little film with really good performances from the two leads. Love the opening sequence showing us the effect of something before we dive into the cause. Happy too that there is an attempt to deceive the audience although not sure it 100% works as it relies on outdated thinking that even a cynical Gen Xer like myself put behind me probably 40 years ago. But, you probably didn't intend for it to be a big "gotcha".

Yeah, the set is a bit lame.

Well-paced, good humour (if there are "right" people to make fun of then I guess you did it) and you made a commitment to the "bit" which is to be applauded.

Great work making the shortlist!

Incognito

Plenty to like about this. It's an obvious slick production all over. A heap of work put into too, like all the little touches such as the YouTube thumbnails etc. A couple of things weren't so convincing, such as the police/detective dialogue and is it really that easy to hack so many different sources? I love me an ambiguous ending but not 100% that this one landed. Still, a really impressive production overall that would have done very well in the regular 48HR let alone this Lockdown edition.

Killer Paint Job

A pretty tidy animation here in a tale with a very kiwi character. Loved the echo bit and the voice acting was great. As mentioned above, I was probably expecting a bit more from the ending given what had been set up. Still, an enjoyable and re-watchable film.

Doom Raiders

Lots to like here. The improvised exotic bar location was cool, loved the flashbacks, great comic timing, classic touches of humour and some fun action scenes. Well done!

CAT A Musical Whodunnit

High energy (and volume!), looked good and the cat(s) were well directed! Not sure how much exactly was a whodunnit mystery but you got extra credit for making a musical when you didn't have to. Nice work!

Chill Out

Very cool concept that was well executed. Loved the one sided conversation and the sinister ending. Appreciated too, that you didn't cheapen the action with any music; dramatic or comical - diegetic rules! Also, the run time was just enough - good work not pushing it out more.

The Fifth Wave

Great looking film that through the visuals, dialogue & music creates a very atmospheric tone. Some of the cut-aways I don't quite get the point of but I guess they contribute somehow to the overall meaning! Nice work, in a beautiful location.

The Interrogation

As a big fan of in-ya-face close-ups I really liked this. Suitably disorientating and unsettling. Simple concept, executed well.

Pray, Love, Eat

Yeah, that's pretty disturbing and a long, long 3 minutes! It's one of those that you don't want to watch but can't take your eyes off of it. Funny, nicely shot and some great voice-acting. Plus "Sarah's Story" above is equally disturbing. Great stuff!

The Claw

Good little story here with obvious hints to "Toy Story". Well voiced and I guess to save time & stress having limited movement of the Lego pieces was a good choice! Nice touches of humour, especially at the end.

Meet Heath

The huge amount of uneasy tension developed in this short really signposted that all was not what it seemed. This looming sense of dred was well played out largely due to the chemistry between the two leads. And even though there is a giveaway in the film's title I didn't expect the action taken by one of the characters to be what it was. How I feel about drastic that action was - I'm not sure.

Apart from one scene near the start that I thought was a little over-exposed, the cinematography was very sharp and there were some effective wide shots. The dialogue was a bit drowned out in the car conversation by other vehicles but the acting sold the situation despite this. The second half of the film is its strong point with editing, camerawork and acting all in synergy leading to the dramatic conclusion.

CHCH On AIr are veterans in the comp and have produced one of their stronger efforts here. Great job!

Basket Case

Yeah, liked this. Well shot, acted and based on a very simple, very recognizable concept and our sometimes over-complicated response. I'm loving all the non-dialogue shorts coming out of the lock-down. Others may have gone the way of having the character here talk to herself - but who does that in reality? Let the visuals speak which is exactly what they've done here. As usual, a beautiful little soundtrack to accompany this short. Nice closing credits too.

And Then There Were Crumbs

I think we might see a few of these this year: Lockdown with a group of flatmates+whodunnit genre=who ate/stole the last (insert thing). On the whole this short was well-constructed and and the arc-shot smoothly integrated. Photo montage was good but were they supposed to be a little more candid? A couple of times your lead fluffed her lines or at least started to which didn't come across natural in the moment. In the 48 sometimes coverage is challenging! A very unsettling ending too which I didn't see coming. Nice!

And watch out for Strang Entertainment's ruthless legal team (see "Steak n Cheese Lies" from 48HRS 2014)

Killjoy

Fun little concept here that starts really well - great match-cut and then some really nice establishing shots in heaven. The frustration of the serial killer with his new surroundings and the people in it builds nicely through some fun comic sequences. The audio mix struggles a bit at times, battling with the windy afternoon but overall the technical side of this short is fairly competent. For me, I would have liked to hear more from the serial killer in terms of dialogue and driving the story from earlier in the film. It's not until near the end that we get a bit of a hear to heart. We met a collection of characters, mostly there to annoy, but it would have been great to know more about our main character. A bit split on the end message - so ultimately he was just doing God's work?

Overall, well put together and a heap of fun. I look forward to seeing it at the heats.

Eligible Maiden

Liked the poke at Reality TV tropes, especially the standard sob story/previous tragedy that everyone seems to have. Yeah, a bit more varied camera-work would have added a lot and a tighter edit. Excellent make-up for Scag'norg and the fight scene was a riot. Well done!

Animal Whisperer

A fun take on those animal reality TV shows. Good commitment by the lead as we only really hear from her during the film. Some things to do for next time - 1) white balance/exposure; a lot of your shots were blown out. 2) Audio; if you're using the camera mic then you need to get a lot closer to get better audio. Animals were nicely under control. Well done!

The Haast and The Furious

Meme Teme, and Samantha in particular, are huge fans of 48HRs and have been doing the comp since their school days. Their 2024 short really is their best yet and feels much longer than the 5 minute run time in a good way - there's just a lot going on! Good plan to do an animal adventure without actually seeing the animal - sound did the heavy lifting here along with some well used drone shots. So technically very good and I think I only saw a lapel mic once near the end. For me, I think I'd have liked more of a dynamic between the leads, more conflict, more cat-n-mouse over possession of the eagle - really playing into the comedy aspect. Apart from that I think it was a good little story and the wheelie-bin prop was inspired.

Great job! So proud once more of you people.

The Adventures of Shart Boy and Larvae Girl: 3D

Heroes and villains collide in an epic 3D battle.

Obviously an easy fan favourite, there's visually quite a bit going on in this high-octane battle scene between good and evil. We spend a good minute or two on clever character introductions which while funny doesn't really create much story apart from exasperating our leads. And no doubt story is secondary anyway in this short which is all about the visuals including camera splatters, exploding heads, exploding buildings, hot swords, piñata treats - you name it; it's probably there somewhere. Looks good, sounds good and it's classic Herms in terms of fast paced editing and humour. 3D was a clever quirk - always like getting some 3D specs.

So overall, it's a bucket-load of fun and a good time had by all. Just not too much in the way of story if that's your thing.

Sexy Men: Behind the Sex

Classic 48HR mockumentary style in play here. Good humour, some nice recreations of band history and all the typical tropes of band films. Probably needed to move a bit more beyond the talking heads or at least vary the shot compositions. That said, the virtual fireplace was very warming, and a good sight gag given there was a real one in the room as well. Great stuff!

Escape

Yeah, I'm a simple soul really so this made my brain hurt. Super short and too the filmmaker's point I'm guessing. Comments on consumerism and existentialism? In a gaming wrapper? I really don't know.

No Woman No Cry

I have a soft spot for films that not only have Death as a character but also play around with life/death choices. I think you did some great things with both of those concepts in this short and ultimately produced a sweet story of reconnection.

But...perhaps a little too sweet though as the decision is a bit too easy to make with as AJ suggests few real stakes. I would have liked a bit more grim, a bit more of an unsettling tone and perhaps some trepidation on the part of our lead. Death is played pretty typically so mixing that portrayal up a little would have added a point of difference too. But these are more about my preferences so you should, of course, be happy with the choices you made.

One thing I can't look past though is the driving on the right-hand side of the road, which is confirmed in the rear window during the interior shots. (I've watched this closely a few times!) I'm assuming this was shot in NZ!? You are in a right-hand drive vehicle, right? Later in the film, you switch to the left. The orientation of all of this does make me doubt myself!

Overall, a polished film that is an easy one to rewatch. Nice work.

Lookey Luke

Probably wouldn't be 48HRS without JAGBOG producing another off-the-wall mockumentary/Reality TV/YouTube style short. Nailed the style perfectly, well acted, nice on screen graphics and of course a couple of dark turns along the way. Good stuff!

48 Hour Challenge- CORONA VS BOY

Lots of effort put in here by pretty much a solo team by the look of the credits. Some good visual effects and nice touches of humour. Gets a bit weird towards the end and yeah, work on your sound. Really good that you committed 100% to your idea. Keep it up!

DOGZILLA

Very hard not to smile at this one. Nicely crafted using an obvious vast collection of porcelain etc dogs. The casting was great! I thought the pacing and energy was great through the first two thirds before the climatic battle kind of slowed things down somewhat. Great use of some typical monster movie tropes and well done to the voice actors for contributing to an entertaining short.

Cooking Up Something Special

If you are looking for a classic old school 48HR film then this is 100% it. Heart wipes, unusual shot composition, jump cuts and a mad cap concept. "Stick it next to the toilet to finish" is just one of the highlights. Great humour and worth a rewatch.

EMILY

A man possessed by grief attempts to deal with the death of his wife.

Always an extra challenge to make a 48HR film that deals with some serious subject matters and this team has pretty much pulled it off. There are some strong moments to begin with, setting the tone and communicating the scale of grief. For me, the choice to take the magical crystal approach didn't quite land and while that sequence starts with a cool match cut the rest seemed a bit disjointed. I guess you were trying to put the audience in the lead's shoes in terms of a bit of confusion but I think it could have been more jump cutty and used more angles and close-ups to further settle us. The audio gets a little choppy at times and it's either tripod or camera noise that distracts a bit towards the end.

Once again nice to see teams taking a serious approach. Nice work!

The Univited Guest

Despite some rough bits due to obvious haste at starting really, really late, I enjoyed the concept here. (even if cloning/twins is everywhere this year.) Intriguing conversation pieces and I could totally relate to the need for a gate during a pandemic! I think you could have made it even easier for yourself by limiting it to the wide two-shot through the entire film and maybe slowly pushing in to a tighter composition at the apex of the conversation. Half expected a dead neighbour to turn up at some stage too. For the time you had a re-watchable, enjoyable short. Nice work.

Wine and Die

The strength of this short was within its first half. The dinner successfully created a lot of uneasiness and built intrigue. The performances at this point were really strong too and aside from the unnatural competition nod "Who made you the gatekeeper of punk?" line (and this was nothing to do with the delivery, just a personal bug-bear of mine in the comp this year that reminds of the days of the compulsory line and how jarring they could be), the dialogue was also successful in adding to the tension.

For me, the film loses it a lot in the second half as not only does the technical quality fall away a bit there're just a few too many things that happen out of convenience. I wish you'd sustained a more serious tone throughout. The little moments of humour like the light-switch bit seemed at odds with what was really transpiring in the film. It seemed like it was lifted from ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING. The accidental ending is also somewhat comical and the husband's reaction is somewhat at odds with who his character was previously. Leaving things a little more ambiguous may have had a greater impact. I know he drinks the wine but is he drinking "the wine"? And telling someone in person that they've left a letter for you explaining something in the very house you're in seems a bit strange - wouldn't you just leave it and wouldn't a more likely reaction be "just tell me now?" Or, would that be a message sent later on? I suppose the answer is we only have 5 minutes!

On that note, this must have really been pushing the time limit as you had no credits? Maybe cutting down or out the opening argument would have allowed a bit of breathing space. Again, I think the dinner established everything going wrong with the relationships at the table.

As mentioned in other reviews, the film looks great around the dinner table and is edited during this scene to show subtle reactions to the conversation. At this point, a lot is left unsaid that is plainly obvious, and I love this approach. The timing or placement of a few scenes did leave me confused - they're suddenly going home and then it fades down and up into the presentation of a contract? Just didn't fit.

Overall, a pretty solid film but its slightly inconsistent tone left me somewhat unsure about a place in the CHCH final.

A moment of your time

Great location and as mentioned above, a multi-genre short. Some nice touches of humour and well acted by the young cast. Sound is something to sharpen up in your next project. Good stuff!

Make Like A Tree

UNE are a team I always keep an eye out for. Loved their one-shot long takes in the past, their simplicity in execution and their quirky story-telling. Getting Real Time as their genre was completely in their comfort zone. "Make Like A Tree" is well-written, voiced and the simple animation style works very well. Certainly too their are some neat little messages contained within the narrative.

Nice work!

THE CHALKER

Let me just say the idea of focusing the story on a crime-scene chalker was a novel one. I too like films that are based on something trivial. However, I have to echo much of steelpotato's thoughts here - mockumentaries are so tired in this competition and I feel I've seen a lot of them already this year, along with vloggers, Reality TV, influencer vids. of The Office clones. That said, as usual, you pays the entry fee you make what you wants!

"The Chalker" is well acted, shot and edited - all of the tech stuff is great. But nothing really happens. He tells his story interview style and the detectives argue the merit of his work. I feel all of this could have been done without the mockumentary style even if the whole film was based at that single crime scene and showed us the ensuing conflict between the Chalker and "real" police work. We don't really get to root for The Chalker because he's just not doing anything or overcoming anything.

Overall, a great spark of an idea that falls a bit flat.

VR ALL ONE

You really need to concentrate while watching this as there is a lot going on. The effects are great and the VR really well executed. The soundtrack is relentless - reminds me of Blade Runner. Perhaps the story could be a little stronger, with a little more character investment that would have really given some impact to the ending. Nice work!

Murder on the Game Board

Liked the method used to create movement with the pieces and the voice acting was really good. A lot of dialogue though which I guess is typical of Whodunnits. Clever manipulation of some of the squares on the board and an unexpected ending! Nice work.

Sheol

A very absorbing watch. Disorienting, intense and completely captivating. Perhaps the dialogue audio could have had a bit more depth to it but even so, it held my focus. Great job!

Targeted

A very slick looking and sounding animated short. Some nice touches of humour and a cool little story. Could there have been more of it? A few more conflict scenes? Maybe. Love the splatter effects though and the way the characters look. Great job!

Huia Gonna Call

Impossible not to feel good about this one. Good music, full of adventure and great at showcasing a bit of NZ nature! For a split second I thought you'd got Dave Grohl in your film too! Nice work.

Monday, 12:03

This is great. Appreciated the simple set-up and doing a repetitive loop is a smart idea for this particular competition. Looked great, sounded great and it all made sense to me! Visual effects worked well and overall a tightly made short. Well done!

The Picture of Catherine Grey

Nicely shot, edited and acted. Good atmosphere created through an appropriate original score. A few questions around why the photo at the end was the way it was, yet the lead hadn't changed but it all still works I suppose. Great job!

Miracle Cure

Wow, a nine-minute epic adventure! Some effective shot choices in this and nice changes in colour grade to go with the action. The steampunkish spider creature was a surprise and leaves me full of questions. Overall, a cute film that will no doubt serve as a wonderful family film to look back on in future years.

Capsized

This is great. Super cute animation and great touches of humour. I really like how it's short, gets the story done and gets out. Many 48 films feel they have to fill the time limit. There are a couple of slightly rough parts when compositing the animation with real life but overall great job with this fun film!

The Immortal

I thought the start of this was excellent. I love being thrust into action already in progress! An ambitious film in many respects and I actually like how it started rather grand and then went small and talky. Maybe going all "Lighthouse" on it and shrinking to a 4:3 aspect ratio would have given as a more claustrophobic feel on the boat - but that's maybe not what you were after. I actually disagree with some of the comments on too much dialogue - this is character driven piece that needs this level of exposition. Otherwise, I think we would have been left to filling in the blanks a bit too much. Nice work.

Prick

As AJ mentions Dystography have been in so many CHCH finals and last year's GF that you just expect them to be there. And, we've shared a few heats over the years which they've emerged successfully from.

It's fair to say that I didn't really vibe with "P.R.I.C.K.". The idea of a clipboard-wielding H & R guy visiting a crime in progress is just a bit too Flying Circus for me. Now, there is clever dialogue, the performances are good and the situation is so ludicrous that it is humourous - but there is just very little to care about. Everyone is rather unlikeable or just not present. Perhaps having a couple of bickering burglars, one over officious would have been a better way to go. AJ mentioned the lack of reaction of the female hostage and this includes when the break-in first occurs - she seems really unsurprised which I thought might have led to something. Technically not as typically sharp with a few harsh cuts, that flash-frame and some audio inconsistencies.

Still, it appears to be the 16th best film in CHCH this year which I'm sure is equally good to hear and incredibly frustrating for you!

The Animal

The strength of this film is in the second half. The night sequence was particularly effective - well shot, edited and acted with an effective soundscape that nicely put us on edge. Before that, the café scene was a bit awkward and the speed at which the former neighbour starts going into a conversation about a possible serial killer was more convenient than natural - "Anyway, have you heard about this whole serial killer, animal thing?" We actually already had because the radio news report had just given us the details! But could our past neighbour be the killer? Likewise the scene in the office wasn't really needed apart from giving us a creepy acting and sounding male boss stereotype - could he be the killer? I would have liked more outside, in the dark, as after all the set-up, the twist ending comes all a bit too quick.

The thing is that this is a really well made film but it just doesn't really have much story to it and at just over 3-minutes it feels short of a few interesting character moments that would have really help land the ending.

Steamworld

Cool concept and a pretty ambitious film overall. Loved the train set and impressed by the amount of planning this must have taken with all the coordinated movement that was going on. I wasn't as much of a fan of the speech bubbles. No time to do the other voices? I suppose you already had enough to do! Good stuff as usual, COA.

Maurice

Meme Teme have been in the 48HR game for a few years now and I believe "Maurice" might just be the best film they've delivered. Well-acted, some nice cinematography (especially to begin with) and some solid writing that led to a few genuinely funny moments. I am in the camp that suggests the injured walker was a shot at redemption for our protagonist and so it might have been nice to see this actually play out. Or was there actually no coming back?

Overall, the execution of this short is efficient and also shows an emerging degree of confidence by the film-makers.

By all accounts Samantha Robertson wrote, shot, directed and edited this film. It is therefore a bit of headscratcher as to why this, at least, didn't earn her a WIFT nomination when others seem to get it for a lot less creativity & control.

Oh well, great job in cracking the CHCH shortlist this year.

Paper, Scissors, Rock

Lots of energy put into this from all involved taking a simple everyday situation and adding a quirky catalyst to turn things awry. As such, the genre was well adhered to, we saw some good performances and many of the effects & humour landed. 3:50 excluding your outtakes is really the issue here. When your heart is in a project it can be difficult to know what to cut out but for me a starting point would have have been both of the Paper/Rock montages which account for a minute of the film. You also had another unwanted guest during your arc shot - a splash of camera-op shadow. Regardless, you pulled off an entertaining short. Nice work!

The Third Factor

This is a nicely constructed film and as others have said it looks and sounds great. Libby does a fantastic job delivering all that information on the Soul Validation and is an extremely convincing infomercial host. You should do training videos!

At only 2:30 run time there really was a heap of space for something else to happen that would have actually delivered a story we could grasp hold of. The premise was intriguing enough but we just got a little lost in the ad. There's a definite level of dark and sinister at play - a shame we didn't get to see more of it.

Pupper Paleolithic

Pretty hard to fault this short as it's clearly from a talented and experienced animator. Cool story & perfect adherence to genre. Visuals, music, sound FX and all the touches of humour work perfectly together. Probably could have quite easily won the whole thing. Well done!

Your Worst Enemy

After the initial frantic opening, settling into a long-take was an interesting and smart choice. Love the animated brain and the whole notion that the unwanted guest is in your head (& with it all being done in a humourous rather than dark way), was a novel twist. Well done!

S(p)lash

Yeah, I'm not really seeing what this was all about - way too much thinking involved that I can't be bothered applying myself too. A lot of natural sounding chat from the group had in a kind of "Nomadland" feel to it - is this real or scripted? As mentioned above a lot of shots of red herrings that just serve to further confuse but must have a purpose.

Looked pretty cool but not what I expected from seeing the thumbnail and given the genre.

Coming Soon

Wonderful original music and an engrossing film throughout. Loved the black and white higher contrast shots - they were a real strength. Pretty deep and dark in terms of concept. Loved the no-dialogue approach which once again draws you in to the visuals.

qk

This is probably my favourite Rip focus associated film even if I'm not that enamored with the PTSD subject material - CHCH quakes are still pretty raw, man. And I if it is earthquake related I have questions around the train & monster in the cupboard? Metaphorical? I just couldn't see the fit in the context of what he was experiencing. That said, the short keeps you engaged, is visually impressive (ropy wall cracks aside) and is well acted. Wasn't a fan of the dinging montage at the start but did appreciate the call back to it at the end. Nice work.

*Ben Close is obviously a huge fan with an objective voice. I see you.

Criminal Wanted

I thought the set-up for this was good - a botched robbery results in our hero criminal deciding he needs to find a new partner. Plenty of scope there to go in interesting directions. For me, a montage that showed our criminal actually trying to work with each of those who were trying out would have been more interesting than the very trite "failed auditions/next!" sequence that we've seen many times before. The film also lurches hard into being a rom-com complete with a "getting to know you" montage. I think for the ending to really pay off we needed to feel more for the lead character. He's a bit of jerk and that's all we really see until the end when he suddenly has an epiphany about what he's putting his new partner through. This was a thoughtful bit of writing but I just don't know if it was fully earnt.

The film-making tech was pretty slick - camera, sound, and editing all done with a degree of confidence. Nice job making the shortlist.

Stuck With Yourself

Great concept and a lot jammed into the run-time. Pretty good use of lighting, the editing was effective and we got a complete story arc. Well acted and executed overall.

The Gathering

This was really good and one of the stand-outs from Heat 2. Great set up with our magical nerd initially out of his depth in the presence of some real magicians before managing to prove himself. This sequence was a fantastic arc shot around the table accompanied by an impressive musical choice. The acting was great, the writing good and it's all well shot and edited, with only the ball trick becoming a little unstuck as we can see the string at a couple of points. My only notes would be the over sweating was a bit out-of-place and the ending falls a little flat after such a cool build up.

Great job though and should be in the discussion for Best School film for CHCH.

Tractorius Vehiculus, bringer of destruction

Lots of fun in this farm-set splatter fest that has a healthy does of kills cleverly played out off-screen. The rigging of the sheep's head to the front of the tractor was an inspired choice and got a great reaction from the crowd at the screening. Love the forward roll from one of the early kills and his very understated "Oh, no!" as the tractor closes in. Things to work on would be some of your sound and while some of the fourth-wall breaks were intentional others were that quick unintentional look into the camera. Maybe a final stand-off would have been more satisfying than the ending we got but because it was largely unexpected it worked!

Got a vote from me so great job!

Sam Spractical and the Lost Treasure of Captain MacGuffin

An engaging cutout, cardboard animation. The sequence inside the cave was great - good sound effects and clever use of light. And a left field twist at the end. Very cool.

Mixing Spirits

This could have worked really well if you'd been able to cast age appropriately or just told the same story from the perspective of younger characters. For example, instead of the brother being married (really?) he just needed to be the upset brother facing his own guilt. (which was a great character point) The exact same experiences could have happened to them but by trying to deal with it as teens the whole film would have been more plausible. If we'd seen more of the guilt faced by the driver then this would have led better into the 2nd & 3rd acts as she achieved redemption. The scene with the friend was fun and all but kind of a tone breaker. Likewise, I loved the doctor but his delivery meant he came across a bit more humorous then I'm sure the intent was, so this scene could have been cut completely.

Please don't shy away from doing serious 48HR films. You have the advantage of being younger so tell your stories from your perspective without trying to bring adult characters into it if you don't have the actors to play them.

Ghoul's Night In

A pretty typical CRAB CRAB entry with outrageously B-grade make-up and costuming, original catchy music and fun performances. Borrows somewhat from imaginary buddy-buddy films like JOJO RABBIT and DROP DEAD FRED, and throws in a few references to other horror/supernatural films as well.

Things move along nicely, there's a clear story arc and there's some genuine heart in places as well, as the impossibility of the situation is explored by our goulish lead.

I wasn't totally sold on the ending which while funny and well-delivered raised questions for me. Did they bury her? Was it supposed to be hidden? If so, why did it have a grave marker? I know it's just an absurd comedy.

Audiences at the screening really enjoyed this and I imagine it will be a bit hit at the CHCH final given how many desirable 48HR boxes it ticks. Nice work as always, CRAB CRAB CACTUS?

Office Dispute

This is a fun ride through some of the worst elements of office culture all wrapped up in the tropes of a western.

There are strong performances all around - from our Murrayesque boss, to our ambitious colleague, to our fish-out-of-water cowboy, to our mysterious mentor.

The first half is really well-paced, the humour lands and things feel like they're setting things up nicely. By the end, the dick references are wearing a little thin and the final confrontation is a little bit, well, soft for my liking.

Certainly, the Moorehouse overbridge has never looked better and there's a lot of nice cinematography going on. The aspect ratio change for duels/gunfights is so, so common in the competition this year and thus really cool the first time you see it (as was the case at the live screenings) but a bit tired by the time you've trawled your way through the screening room.

Overall, this was loved at the live screening and will be a fan favourite at the CHCH final too. It has the necessary ridiculous scenario that is loved in the 48HR comp. Great job!

The Reserve

A mum and her son go for a walk through the woods and when they become separated he stumbles across something he comes to regret.

Nicely shot and edited with an eerie tone throughout. The acting from Josh is really good when he finds himself alone with some great reactions to the situation he finds himself in. My critique of the story is that not a great deal happens. There's walking and more walking before Josh meets an unexplained and unseen creature that's dying. We learn little about Josh either - he's a bit of a complaining teen at the start and annoyed at his mum who herself has little to do in the film apart from not being there. Perhaps a chance lost for the two to bond over whatever is in the forest? What happens to Josh after the events of the film is perhaps more interesting than what we got.

Overall, well presented but just lacking in any great conflict that needs solving.

The Goat

This is a quite clever take on the genre (although I've seen a few of these people turning into animals films already this year) with some funny moments and a whole heap of silliness. The goat conversation was super painful but that was probably the objective. Nice work!

Creature Comforts

I think this is by far the best Puppy Guts film for some time. Great take on the genre with a less than enthusiastic apartment lover in the company of a super chatty trail guide - and boy can he talk. Reagan and Karen are great in their roles and the character switch that happens is so well played out. I had wondered if the wholesome nature of this film was going to continue throughout but this is "Puppy Guts" after all and we get some horror/slasher thrown-in which actually works because character development, right? And, what the hell was that thing in the bush?

Well shot and edited - everything looks great and combined with an effective little story you get a very rewatchable short film. Nice work!

Front Yard

Yeah, this is great. So simple in it's approach, it is a great lesson for everyone in less is more. Yet there so also so much going on - great dialogue, well acted, brilliantly use of silence, technically so slick looking. The tension is great but I love a film that has a sense of dread (there's no real joy here); and an ambiguous ending. And this has both. Are they really into "that" or are they just craving a human connection? Or just in denial. Life is complicated I guess is the message.

I really hope this goes a way in the competition. A serious film with some depth and actual story - something that has gone missing a bit in the 48. Set to be one of my all time favourites. Superb work!

The Switch

Huge kudos to you for making a 90sec film and getting your story across - I wish I'd done that! Really enjoyed your cat "effect" - pretty clever and the music worked well with all the action. Also respect your choice for running with no dialogue - your film didn't need it as the "show" did the work. Well done.

Read, are the tea leaves

Having watched your 48HR stuff over a number of years now, I'd really put this short up the top as my favourite. Loved the overall look, the voice-over and general vibe. The visuals kept me engaged throughout and it felt a lot longer than its 2:20 run time but in a good way. Super intrigued by it all and it earns a rewatch or two.

Cosmic Cadet Continuum

This was pretty cool. Liked the being pulled into the TV effect and also some of the practical effects you did when inside the game. Well filmed since it was on an iPhone & you made some good choices around colour grading. Perhaps it needed a little more added to the story, just a bit more going on before the final reveal. Looked like most of the family was involved so great stuff!

The Crowning

This film is pretty insane.

Location, costumes, gear, vehicles, the skills of a huge cast and crew - insane. More then ever (& this is true of CHCH this year too) there's a real obvious growing gap between the haves and have-nots in this comp. Shrugging one's shoulders and putting that aside though, this is such a highly polished short film that is so engaging throughout and instantly rewatchable. Incredibly well-paced, we feel a growing sense of dread that leads to some tender moments and then wraps up with something unexpected. The ending does cheapen everything just a little and can come across as pretty comical. That would be my only criticism apart from the light switches being to modern!

The very definition of "How did they do all of that in 48HRS?" Surely a Wellington and National finalist. Surely.

Whoosh Wizard

An infomercial for "Whoosh Wizard" a more interactive video conferencing service. Some good humour in this and a lot of the overlapping action in the split screens worked well. As so much is going on at once it does force you to watch several times to pick up everything. Nice. Some of the casting wasn't necessarily age appropriate but what you going to do when you're forced to work with what you've got? The very abrupt, dark ending was an intriguing surprise!