Little Rainbow Boy - ID# 500

Highland Park

Dramatic Narrative

Entry Description

This film is about a boy who struggles to express his own femininity to his mom.

Copyright Info

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Recent Teacher Comments

• 3/16 8:09 pm - Your actor did an absolutely excellent job in silence telling the story you wanted to tell which can be a huge risk, especially when you are working with a child actor. I think of the scene from 1:20 to 1:40. That is so much time on just one shot, that normally I would say is too long, and yet between his movement, and a little bit of camera movement I get lost in the shot. I really see and feel what the boy is feeling. You did a really good job. I found all of the scenes very authentic, his looks, the tone in his voice, until he had speaking lines to his mom, which was the climax of the video and I didn’t feel like it lived up to what you were building to – his lines to his mother just didn’t seem as convincing as all of his other nonverbal communication or thoughts that were going on in his head. Your music is spot on, and your editing is just right. It is amazing to me how such you were able to build so much suspense in such a simple story, and it was nice to see the suspense being built by something other than a scary creature in the dark. Great job  
• 3/10 12:07 pm - Positives: Beautiful story that depicts the happiness the boys feels when he's in his own world, and the angst he struggles with when thinking about telling his mom; excellent job directing a young actor; creative angles and camera movement as the boy lovingly looks at his made-up face and thinks that he likes what he sees 1:22 - 1:40. Areas for improvement: Don't rush into the credits; let the title sit there for a bit and have its moment before moving into the scrolling credits.
• 3/9 7:44 pm - love the storyline; some shots would be better if the focus was on the boy instead of the wall; audio of boy is staticky

Judge 1

Positives: Well done, showing the arc of the story rather than telling it... this film deserves a wider audience and a slightly longer narrative to show his struggles with himself. A young person's struggle with 'identity' and is nicely illustrated. I would encourage this filmmaker to expand this into a 12-15 minute short film. The subject matter would be welcomed in the festivals. Sound (music) is very purposeful and appropriate. Nicely accomplished in terms of the setting.

Improvements: A 360' view of the room showing his struggle between traditional expectations of 'boy' vs 'girl' would have been nice. That way we could instantly recognize the 'world' he lives in, the expectations placed on him and the fight to express his desires (narratively speaking and production design resolved). The boy's narration could have been accomplished in a more subdued manner; the 'interior voice' seems a little too 'outdoorsy.' The narration should be differentiated from his inner voice and his declaration to his Mom.

Judge 2

Positives: Simple, yet effective narrative. The use of close ups helped pull in the audience.

Improvements: The tone shift would have been more effective if the beginning was edited quicker and the felling was that of a carefree party. Then an abrupt tonal shift to panic when his mother knocks.

Judge 3

Positives: Strong message. You did a good job developing the conflict within the main character. You also created an emotional piece that will get some people to think.

Improvements: You spend about 40 seconds of the main character looking themselves. There were only three shots during that time. Consider shooting eight or nine shots for the this scene and dissolving from one shot to the next. Include some closeups after the mom call the main character to dinner. You can build some of the tension they are experiencing through editing with a variety of shots with varying compositions.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: