Work, Life, and Death - ID# 44
Lyons Township
Movie Trailer
Entry Description
This is a trailer for "Work, Life, and Death", a short film trilogy about a person who struggles to find meaning in life and his place in the world.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/26 11:53 am - Great opening sequence using mostly tight shots at different angles that connect us emotionally to the main character. Music bed is perfect for the opening, and the transition to the 2nd music bed works well!. Shot variety & composition are excellent! The transition to the point where you begin to reveal the conflict is well-executed, and JUST enough is revealed that it makes the viewer want to see more. Great work!
Judge 1
Positives: The trailer for "Work, Life, and Death" makes the story intentionally vague, and that works in this case - it creates a sense of mystery and intrigue and uses visual language to show what the character is experiencing. The use of "Little Person" by Jon Brion is inspired, and really helps set the tone. This is one of the more beautifully lit trailers/pieces in the competition - the use of color and bokeh is outstanding.
Improvements: Though the narrative intent of the trilogy/pieces are intentionally hazy, the piece could be improved by providing a few additional story beats just to give an idea of what to expect. The title treatment/font at the end of the piece could be improved to give that extra touch of detail and make it match the tone of the trailer.
Judge 2
Positives: Whoa! Editing, colors, soundtrack, special effects, violent story twists... a binky?! I loved just about everything. Who was the new guy in the beginning?! I love the unanswered questions.
Improvements: I'll give you the same note I'm giving pretty much everybody. Say more with less. This could have been just as effective without twenty seconds of redundancy. That's just good advice for every project, always, forever. Keep shooting. This has so much potential.
Judge 3
Positives: Very effective editing. Every shot tells something new. Each shot is on screen for just the right amount of time. The montage sequence that starts at about 40 seconds works great. It has energy and creates interest. I would watch the entire movie based upon this part of your trailer. The composition of many of your shots is also very effective. There are several shots of the main character in the office where the composition reinforces his feeling on not knowing why he is there and what he is doing with his life.
Improvements: Look at the lighting in some of your shots. Compare :30 to :15. One shot is dark and moody. It's obvious that you took care of lighting it. The other shot appears to be using natural lighting. Even if the look you are wanting to achieve is a natural lighting look you can still enhance that with a little backlight to create some subtle highlights. Balance to colors a little more. The shot at 11 seconds looks great. It's sharp and the colors are rich. Compare that to the shot at 1:01. Even if you want to have your character in a dark room you can still add some highlights that, if done properly, will still feel like your character is in a dark room. It will have a richer and more professional look.
Judge 4
Positives:
Improvements:
Judge 5
Positives:
Improvements: