Matthew J Scadden
1 Entry and 69 Reviews
Entries
Mind the Void
TTYL
Reviews
That Mess in Burgundy
This is my pick of the bunch. In my opinon, it is the best film I have seen out of all the entries in Dunedin this year. This is one of the films where I realised at the end that I hadn't written anything down, because the standard was so high I'd forgotten I was watching a 48hours film. Your setting was great, and I loved the imaginary world you had created. Bravo to your art department. Fantastic acting, and characters were supported by some very well written dialogue. Your cinematography was very effective, and your sound well mixed. Well done, hope to see you in the National final.
Sharp Edges
This was an interesting one. It certainly looked fantastic, so bravo on some beautiful camerawork. Likewise it had a very good sound mix, and there was a lot of tension present. However, this film really suffered from a lack of developed story, and there was little character motivation. It lacked serious depth which was a pity given the very high production standards.
With In
Unfortunately the biggest issue here is sound, and it affected everything else. I had very little idea what was going on for a lot of the film because I couldn't understand dialogue. This is a pity as it seemed like this would explore some really interesting ethical questions about whether to turn a human into a cyborg etc. There were also some truly beautiful shots, such as the vignetted scenes by the lake. Some good acting was evident - really the only serious issue with this short was the sound, and it was a pity that it had such a huge effect on the rest of the movie. I would give a higher rating, but I needed a better understanding of what going on.
Roots and Romance
Director's intent was clearly seen, and I think you succeeded. A highly entertaining film was produced that the audience definitely connected with and found compelling, well done. The music was very well done, and while the characters were quite (intentionally I assume) 2-dimensional, they were communicated well, and their simplicity worked to your advantage, giving easy character motivation, and getting the audience on-side. The lip-synching/overdubbing was very evident, and it also would have been nice to normalize your audio - the music was mixed far above your dialogue so we lost a few lines. But Musical is tough genre for 48hours so I think you did a very fine job.
Brush By Life
Good job! This had an excellent idea driving it, and you pulled off the Inspiration Genre superbly. The idea was executed well with good production standards both visually and aurally. The decision to take voices out of it worked, and the effect of the white shirts and the symbolism thus involved was stunning. Not too much to say except well done, hope you get credited for this.
The End
A lot of promise here, and good to see some of the younger generation entering this competition! This film looked fantastic, with some beautiful cinematography and effective lighting throughout. Possibly an overuse of handheld. Beware of using stock music for the scoring, it can be very effective - but they need to be mixed properly. Unfortunately, this film had too many abrupt fades in the music which made fluidity an issue. If you are going to use stock music, pay careful attention to where the music naturally has a cadence, or where it can naturally slide into another piece of music. I also didn't quite feel that the premise for this film gave it a whole lot of scope for a well-developed story. Always try to see things from the audience's perspective. We found it a little hard to follow at times, and didn't find enough depth to really connect with the characters. But there is definitely a lot of potential here, so hope to see this team again next year.
Sleepers Disco
Great work! You managed to both increase your production value, and finally punch out a really decent story. There was effective lighting throughout this, and your nightclub scenes in particular were very well done. Camerawork was a little bland perhaps, but it was solid. Your actors did a good job - suspension of disbelief with regards to your character sure, but it worked with the tone of the film. Bit of splatter, a cheesy fight scene - personally I feel it can be risky to rely on this. I think it worked for the audience this time, but intentional spoofing, cheesiness, b-grade etc for humour may be audience pleasing, but not necessarily memorable, or acclaim-winning. In any case, I think you did pull it off fairly well, and didn't overdo it, so it worked. Well done. Slight subversion of the action/adventure genre, debatable. Great ending. (Oh one thing - the night-time filter didn't look great. Surely given that you were shooting late at night anyway, this wasn't necessary?) In any case - a highly enjoyable, well executed film.
Don't Do The Right Thing
This is that glorious moment, when the team that we've been saying in our reviews "has a lot of potential" for a couple of years, proves what they can do with that potential. This team has definitely been firing reasonably straight for a few years, but this year is without doubt damn close to the mark. So given that accuracy, I won't rely on a misfire saving the unicorn - and hope that this film gets some of the acclaim it deserves. Stellar acting, we definitely got on side with your characters very early on in the film. Production standards were high, and scoring was very effective. (Some dialogue was a little unclear but this is a very minor gripe). It was an entertaining and compelling film that nailed the genre. A strong contender.
Making Up Lost Time
Probably my pick of the night. This film had really excellent sound design which definitely set it apart from many of the other films so far. All of the dialogue was clear, and there was great use of sound-effects and minimalistic but successful scoring. Editing was also very tight, and gave the film urgency where it needed it. The police uniforms were a little jarring, and took a little bit of the impact away from the finale, and the anonymous antagonist on the radio had a bit of a cheesy, 'villain voice', which was a pity as the dialogue was generally well written. The story was extremely successful, and I think you delivered a very charged drama with a lot of emotional punch. Excellent engagement from audience with the film. Genre was definitely backgrounded - debatable how successful this was in the 48hours setting. But in any case, a very good short.
Discord
Veeery interesting film. I definitely liked your decision to foreground the genre. Your cinematography, particularly your lighting was very effective throughout, and a good soundscape was created. I did feel that the story was slightly unclear at times, and perhaps tended a little weak and slow-paced at times. But there was definitely a good premise here, and for the most part - I think you carried it out well. Bravo.
404 - Friend not found
This had some very good acting in it, and the characters were formed beautifully. Fantastic exposition, which got us fully onside with you, and we had complete engagement with your main character. This was a major success in the film. Having a believable, well formed, well acted character at the centre of it did a great job in making this film compelling. The story was quite good, and in general production standards were pretty good. I felt there was possibly more you could do with your camera work at times, and you could've played around a little more with your sound design. Nice makeup effects! At times the film did feel a little abrupt - fade outs etc. Also personally I didn't think the twist at the end was wholly necessary, and fell a little flat in relation to what was overall a pretty good story.
Forever Friend
Well done on some stunning images! The time lapses worked wonderfully, and you had some very nice lighting at times. The story was quite simplistic, but it did allow you to communicate your idea very well. Your actors did a very good job, and a highly entertaining film was produced. Some dialogue was a little unclear, but no big issue. Unsure about the possible subversion of the genre, it was creatively done, and made an interesting take on the genre, but could be seen as too significant a deviation from the norm. Did not in my opinion quite meet the requirements for the Immobilised genre to work. Nevertheless some good work.
THE HOPELESS LIFE OF SNOZ MEYER
I think the director's intention was clear, and well communicated. Well done for absolutely persuading me that I was listening to a funny and emotive speech at a funeral. Production standards were high (although some of the dialogue could have been a little clearer), and most importantly - you entertained us. Perhaps the premise for the film didn't give a whole lot of scope for development, and possibly as a short film it came across as maybe a little underdeveloped? There was no real tension built in the short, and it lacked a bit of structure. However - you did produce a really good short, and there were some brilliant gags. It also had some really solid characters which the audience was able to engage with.
The Gardener
WOW! An incredibly professional film, that impressed the whole theatre to unprecedented levels. Your cinematography was excellent and I hope you will be rewarded for it in the Finals. We had our breath caught the whole way, and even though it was a simple idea, it excited the audience and came across brilliantly! Your camera work was very professional, with very competent management of DOF, and excellent composition. You picked up clear, noise free sound which was a nice change to some shorts in the competition. Your actors carried the parts well, and I think the whole cinema breathed out together at the end. Editing was concise, and the music fitted well. What a BEAUTIFUL film. Best one I've seen so far this year. Good Luck, and good job.
All Roads Must Go Somewhere
Score guys! Awesome film, that while maybe not meeting the traditional genre requirements was very original and clever. The film was a very amusing one, and I fell it might have perhaps been more so with a more extensive script which I felt was lacking. Some of your scenes likewise could have been a little better lit, as some of the scenes were a little bland sometimes. However, a very jocose story and idea that came off well!
Perfect
This was a good short. You took a very nice take on the Crime genre, and I thought it worked quite well. There were a few audio problems, and at times the speech was bordering on incomprehensible. Visually however, it was of a very professional standard. It was lit beautifully, and the shot choices were superb. Acting and costuming were subtle and appropriate. Your story idea was definitely a good one, and the tone of the film was very appealing. I thought the shooting was overused - it became bland and confusing, I thought it could have been more inventive. Nevertheless, it came across well, and I was impressed by the film.
Travellin Boozeman
First thing that struck me was your camera work which was excellent. This was followed by some quite reasonable music which was well done. Unfortunately, after this, one had to notice that the levels (particularly between dialogue and music) were massively out. The story was also perhaps overly simplistic which let down a film that clearly had a lot of potential. Sorry - this was a film that never convinced me to engage with it.
We Run The Night
Its always a good sign when I see the credits of a film, and I have written down nothing. This was the case with this film, because I was too enthralled by this stunning short. Beautiful premise - and you carried it out fantastically. There really isn't a whole lot to say, except that you had a great idea, ran with it, threw in some good production standards, and produced a fantastic film. If I'm going to be picky, I feel that it could have been shortened down a little. We got the film, we got the whole reverse thing, possibly if it hadn't been drawn out for quite so long, the ending might've had more impact?
Mitchell Henderson
This was an excellent film, that did a great job of the One Room genre. It was centered around a nice crime, and had the audience guessing throughout it. It came to a satisfactory ending and was very cleverly written. Well Done. The acting was good, with all five characters playing their parts well, and speaking clearly (well done to the sound crew for picking up nice sound too). It was subtly and effectively lit, with a nice tint over the film. Overall the cinematography was beautiful, and the film looked lovely. Good job guys.
The Fever
This was a very clever film that came across nicely. The storyline was nice, and it looked very much like a documentary. Well done. There were several areas where you could improve - namely lighting and sound. However, these were minor setbacks in a very clever film that came across nicely.
Roots and Romance
Director's intent was clearly seen, and I think you succeeded. A highly entertaining film was produced that the audience definitely connected with and found compelling, well done. The music was very well done, and while the characters were quite (intentionally I assume) 2-dimensional, they were communicated well, and their simplicity worked to your advantage, giving easy character motivation, and getting the audience on-side. The lip-synching/overdubbing was very evident, and it also would have been nice to normalize your audio - the music was mixed far above your dialogue so we lost a few lines. But Musical is tough genre for 48hours so I think you did a very fine job.
Skit
I thought this film was excellent. The storyline was nothing short of pure genius - a schizophrenic having a revenge war on himself; priceless! I thought that while maybe the cinematography, lighting etc was fairly average, this was covered perfectly well by an excellent script that was acted well. Well done guys - you were my pick of the night by far.
Harvest
There were some very good points to this film. Camera work was competently managed, and it was edited together well. You certainly achieved many aspects of the horror genre, giving tension to the film. Sadly, the sound was quite poor and hard to understand which made the film quite difficult to understand at times. Story could have been very interesting, but it needed to be tighter. You stayed for far too long on your final shots in the kitchen, so that the twist lost most of its impact. The film obviously had a lot of potential, but it didn't quite carry through sorry.
One Brick, Two Brick
This was certainly a very visually appealing film - your cinematography was extremely nice, and the manipulation of light in shot was done well. DOF was managed well too, and camera shots were well edited giving great fluidity. Unfortunately, I think your levels and Iris may have been off a little, as there was some quite serious glare, and white-out of many shots particularly of the actress. Perhaps this was intentional? I didn't find it worked very well in any case. There also seemed to be a few audio problems - it was peaking on a number of occasions, and seemed quite high in the treble. Fortunately all of the audio was still comprehensible, so it didn't seriously detract from the film. In terms of your story, I think I found that simplicity excelled. You had a very simple, but good idea, and had a nice wee twist at the end. Enormous kudos for the rhyme, the poetic narration was very brave, and you pulled it off nicely - it added significantly to the film. All in all, it was a good film experience, thank you.
Escalation
One of the things I love about films like this, is that small amount of time when half of the audience is in hysterics and the others are still trying to figure whether the comedy is intentional or not. Fortunately the audience did relax into this film fairly quickly and we all found it highly entertaining. Some really great gags, and this was an excellent story which you executed very well. Your characters were great - suspended our disbelief yes, but we were fully engaged with them Some of the dialogue was a little unclear, particularly at the beginning. Otherwise well done, this was a great audience-pleaser.
Making Up Lost Time
Probably my pick of the night. This film had really excellent sound design which definitely set it apart from many of the other films so far. All of the dialogue was clear, and there was great use of sound-effects and minimalistic but successful scoring. Editing was also very tight, and gave the film urgency where it needed it. The police uniforms were a little jarring, and took a little bit of the impact away from the finale, and the anonymous antagonist on the radio had a bit of a cheesy, 'villain voice', which was a pity as the dialogue was generally well written. The story was extremely successful, and I think you delivered a very charged drama with a lot of emotional punch. Excellent engagement from audience with the film. Genre was definitely backgrounded - debatable how successful this was in the 48hours setting. But in any case, a very good short.
Jump Start
Sadly this film had a few issues with the levels, which made us miss various parts of the story. However, this did not seriously detract from what was otherwise a very good film. Obviously there was an element of “B-grade” and cheesiness, which you stuck to, and worked excellently. It made a very comedic film that seemed to do exactly what it set out to do. Well done!
Sugar Rush
This was a very good effort, especially for a first time - unfortunately a few crucial areas let it down... Your shots were generally well edited, and camerawork was competent. Your story was quite funny, although it sadly petered out, and relied heavily on a twist which wasn't fully clear to the audience. Handheld motion was a bit distracting at times, remember that what looks fine on the LCD may sometimes not be appropriate to a very large screen... My main bugbear was the sound I'm afraid. Please try and get a proper boom mic, as it makes a lot of difference to sound quality, and will mean we can understand the actors and thus understand the story. This film had some very promising aspects to it, please keep on making film, but I would seriously recommend looking into a boom mic.
Shelfman
This film excelled with a very clever and amusing script. The storyline led to many laughs and was a pleasure to watch. Unfortunately, sound quality was fairly poor throughout the film and it was difficult to hear a number of the lines which was a pity as they were frequently funny. Lighting likewise was lacking, and many of the scenes were too dark. The cinematography was fairly ordinary too, and this led to a very semi-professional look to the film. However, well done on an excellent story, that made for a very entertaining film nevertheless.
Closing in Five
Definitely my pick of the night - a beautiful film in all respects. The lighting in particular was very successful, and your audio was far clearer than most of the other films heard in this heat. There was some excellently written and performed dialogue, which made up a compelling and entertaining film. Ending was a little flat, but was otherwise a great film.
Steel Mind, Gold Heart
Normally I don't review disqualified shorts due to incompleteness, but this film was clearly complete, just late I assume. Massive step up from last year! Camerawork was good although perhaps some more attention could be paid to lighting. Sound was pretty clear for the most part. Most importantly, you delivered a very entertaining story. Yes there was some cheesiness, but it worked in your favour and the audience clearly enjoyed this short. The final gag could've been executed a little more cleanly. Editing could still tighten up. Actors generally did a pretty good job. Your villain was caught suppressing a smile a few times - always make sure to stay in character the whole time. But definitely a good attempt and I look forward to seeing what this team produces in the future. Please try to get it in on time next year!
Vigil
Sadly, the dialogue was unclear in this film and we missed the exposition which led to a great deal of confusion as the story went on. Obviously some of this confusion was part of the mood of the film - and there was definitely a nice style about this film. Some very solid acting, and good makeup. Camerawork fitted your mood - and was very effective. In general your production standards were high. My main reason for not giving a higher rating, is the unclear storyline, and too high a level of ambiguity. While I recognise the director's intention, the audience still struggles with being in the dark for large portions of the film. Well done though, some good stuff in here.
That Mess in Burgundy
This is my pick of the bunch. In my opinon, it is the best film I have seen out of all the entries in Dunedin this year. This is one of the films where I realised at the end that I hadn't written anything down, because the standard was so high I'd forgotten I was watching a 48hours film. Your setting was great, and I loved the imaginary world you had created. Bravo to your art department. Fantastic acting, and characters were supported by some very well written dialogue. Your cinematography was very effective, and your sound well mixed. Well done, hope to see you in the National final.
Tasty Pain
The audience reaction was hilarious for this one - first few minutes it was "what the...?" and then we all relaxed, settled back and enjoyed ourselves. This was actually very very funny. The story was certainly out there, and it was very brave - I think you pulled it off. Well done. I don't think I really need to say to much except that it was highly amusing. Technically you were very competent as well, I don't really have any bugbears with the film at all. So good job, keep at it. EDIT: This wasn't noticeable in the theatre, but the audio channel is clearly mono and not duplicated in many situations which is very distracting...:(
Mental Note
Nice - probably one of the better musicals. Very good concept here which was for the most part carried out well. Personally I found the split screen a little jarring, and perhaps something more belonging in a music video, but I respect the artistic decision. I couldn't understand the lyrics for a few of the maladies which was a pity as the ones I did hear were very well written. In any case the texture that we ended up with was very effective. Being a musical it is good that you were able to write some really nice music for it. Production standards were high throughout, and acting was solid. The final male lead possibly didn't have as strong a voice as some of the others. As sadly demonstrated by the efforts of Russel Crowe in Les Miserables who acted Javert very well yet had a quite a weak voice, sometimes in musicals it may be wiser to teach singers how to act, than to teach actors how to sing. Nevertheless, this is a feared genre, and you did an excellent job, so well done.