A couple of weeks ago it was the CEMRIAC Spring Festival at Derby, and these are the comments on Nuneaton’s entries by the judge, Tim Stannard.
Firstly, ‘Tall Order’... “Although the film is set up simply, we still get a variety of shots of the characters singly, in pairs and as a threesome at the beginning which tells us the relationships between the three. The dialogue sets up the situation extremely efficiently. The two shots of the truck either side of the shot of the two men looking at the tree (shot from below so it looks suitably impressive) is an equally efficient way of telling the viewer what has happened. The shots of the two men moving the tree into position is both surreal and hilarious. Technically the effect is well done even though we know cannot be real. The fact that we can only see the men's heads above the bush may have been to make editing easier, I don't know, but it adds greatly to the humour. We think the story is over and the film could easily end here (and make a great one-minute entry) but after a bit of breathing space where the woman examines the tree in her garden we have the second gag as the men determine to collect their reward. lmage quality isn't fantastic and audio suffers from varying background noise - especially in the dialogue at the beginning where different clips are cut together. Sound of the truck and the sound as the tree is being manhandled across the garden help tell the story. But it is the editing that makes this film. As an example in how to get a story across in as few short shots as possible, this is hard to beat.”
Next, ‘Bright Sparks’ This is the perfect length for a film about the geeks who are fascinated with HT voltage. Nothing fancy is required with the shots - the sparks speak for themselves. The script is on target throughout. Not a word is unnecessary and it covers everything the casual observer might want to know, and every comment is illustrated with matching shots. Whilst a detailed scientific explanation of voltage and current might not be appropriate for a general audience, a brief explanation as to why no-one gets killed at these events might have been of interest! lmages were a bit soft and obviously hand held. This is understandable due to the lack of light and of space, but it did detract a little from the film. The voiceover is clearly spoken and well recorded. Music at the beginning and for the light show at the end was suitably "electrifying". Whilst the apparatus itself is fascinating, I was left rather wondering why people are driven to do this. A few lines of comments from some of the participants might have given us some insight to the sort of people who get a kick out of generating 30,000 volts.
Thirdly, ‘Medicine Man’. This film comfortably wins the prize for the biggest number of groans in under 2 minutes. I doubt any of those involved imagine this is worthy of an Oscar, but despite some dubious acting,slightly less than perfect green-screen, and jokes older than the hills, the film works, and here’s why.... 1. Location - the exterior and interior background shots inform us exactly where the action takes place. 2. The cast - the white coat immediately informs us who is the pharmacist. 3. The sound - whilst not perfect, it is certainly clear enough - plus we generally see the actors speaking the lines which helps reinforce what we hear. Most important, the cast must have had a lot of fun filming this in an hour. Fun - isn’t that why we do it?
