Hunting Pavlov

The opening narration of this film took me on a bit of a rollercoaster of story expectations. We began with a history lesson about Pavlov and his famous experiment; then we learn that one of the dogs belonged to the narrator. That could have been the end of the setup, but then we learned that after the experiment, the dog starved to death, sad stuff. That could have been the end of the setup, but then we learn that the narrator has been seeking revenge by hunting Pavlov for the past 118 years. That could have been the end of the setup, but then by the time we hit the title card, the hunting has already finished, he's found him, and we're straight to the climactic showdown scene.

Which is all to say that this was an extreme example of the mantra of starting your story as late as possible in the action. And I loved the directness of it, as if the filmmakers are telling the audience, "We're not going to insult your intelligence with some unnecessary hunting montage, we know what you came here to see, so here it is."

Pavlov's wig, beard and accent were appropriately extremely silly, and the dialogue was pun-laden fun. Both actors understood the faux-serious mode of what they were doing, and played the melodrama accordingly. The lonely Canterbury country road was the perfectly chosen location for a duel too.

Probably my only complaint is that the reveal of the bell feels like the sort of thing that should probably be held back until the hero is almost defeated, as some kind of eleventh-hour save (which would strengthen the impact of the final pun line). Getting straight to the climactic scene is great, but don't be too hasty to resolve the drama once you arrive there. Anyway, really fun stuff.

Genuinely loved this film so much. Overall extremely well done and really enticing especially with the twist.

Beautifully shot, hilarious concept, easily the Musketeers best film to date, a massive step up for the team in pretty much every area.

What holds it back is probably it's length - I think it might be the shortest film of the year, and while that's a welcome relief for those of us drowning in films, in a vacuum I felt like everything after the intro was just a bit too quick - the intro is actually probably longer than the meat of the film.

I think NimbleMarmoset has some wonderful points about how to drum up tension in your scene, his note about the bell is genius. In general, I think starting with the hunt already over was smart, but I would have liked to have seen the fight be a little more exciting. Check out another Pavlova Western, SUNDOWN by rip focus for this - lots of action, well choreographed, it's exciting and completely true to the genre.

Still, an incredible premise and a neat little package.

Challenge for next year: I'd love to see your higher quality camera work, editing and comedy in a full length 4-5 minute story. You have story structure down, now it's time to grow and expand.

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...