'Archive'

Great acting! Natural and heart felt.
Love the videography too, Clever but doesn't get in the way of the story.

One of my favorites.

DW

So there's really something to be set about playing it straight, playing it serious in 48 Hours. It's genuinely hard to do let alone do well. I think the team largely got their tone right and whilst very much taking homage from HER, my main issue with the film is that this is a story that has been told countless times in this competition.

Now that might sound incredibly harsh, and I'm not going to get into spoilers territory here, but essentially what has been told here is a story where a woman represents her trauma or grief, and by the end of the film we realise their struggle to let go or move on or let go has just been visually shown to us on screen.

Case in point, the Bay of Plenty winner from last year or to a lesser extend the 2nd place getter in Gisborne. However yes the team did give things a Spike Jonze-lite type spin, and we were on the verge of seeing the connection that made her want to hold onto her love, but it just didn't quite elevate into original territory enough, for mine. Technically sound and performances good I just personally put a huge weight on story and in particular new stories in this comp.

Story: 1.5/5
Technical: 3/5
Elements: 2.5/5
Overall: 2/5

This one has a great mood to it, particularly with the set dressing adding to the futuristic feel of the setting. The visuals are strong and I think it has a really heartfelt story with sincere performances.

Some nice shots and special effects in this film - and a confident script which is performed well by the actors - though is that a phony American accent I'm hearing???

I agree with Steelpotato above - I feel like this story has tended to be a go-to for a lot of teams over the years, right up there with films set in a rehab center or mockumentaries - and I think coupled with a rather uninspiring location (a modern 21st century home which feel designed to look bad on camera but feature in SO many films this year), this film just left me wanting something a bit more.

The bones, while a little overused, are good. I would like to see this story act as the subtext for a more action-packed external adventure, where characters are moving and the locations are varied, instead of sitting on a couch explaining how they feel.

Still, some very solid work all around and I look forward to seeing what this team makes next.

Challenge for next year: Take me on a journey, go outside, get a character from point A to point B and give me a satisfying and exciting adventure as well as giving me emotional closure.

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).

Looking forward to seeing more from this team, you guys have growing technical prowess and the chops to tell a good story. Similar to what others have already said, my main suggestion for growth would be just expansion on the details, even in small ways, to shape the characters and create more connections to the audience. Take the time to give your characters a little bit of history and it'll shine through in both performance and driving the story forward.

First, can I just say that I loved your team introduction. It is absolutely amazing.

With regards to the film, I thought it had some nice cinematography, the sound was crisp and clear, it was nicely lit and I liked the special effects of the materialization.

I'm afraid I wasn't a big fan of the story. It felt more like an "overcoming grief" film than a "coming of age" story and I found it a bit melancholy. I would have liked to see more happening. I thought the cinematography was much more interesting at the beginning as the character moved around.

I thought the acting was good but limited by the storyline. If that was a bit more expansive I think the actors would have carried that through.

Having said all of that, I thought it was well done. Look forward to seeing your next outing.