What's The Point? - ID# 124

Glenbrook South
Dramatic Narrative
Entry Description

"What's The Point?" follows Steve, an overwhelmed office worker whose mental health rapidly deteriorates after losing a major client and enduring mockery from his colleague . As his grip on reality slips, he suffers from intense hallucinations and nightmares involving cruel "clones" of himself that relentlessly reinforce his feelings of worthlessness Music: M.E-Gary Numan Become the Warm Jets - Current Joys Wave of Mutilation(UK Surf)- Pixies

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/29 12:03 pm - What Works Well: You have some interesting visual moments here. I like the oner follow shot at the beginning that gives us multiple compositions. I like the clone effects. That helps convey the inner monologue of the character. What to work on: I’m not sure the tone works for the big idea. It reads a bit like a comedy at first. This could be fixed with some lighting, performance, sound, and production design. I like the office space but was hoping to see more use of the cubicles to visually represent what the character is going through. This is a tough topic to depict. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, but if the tone doesn't match, the topic might not be given the proper weight.
  • 4/29 10:06 am - Even though this film is mainly performed and produced by students, its ability to maintain a very adult-like environment is impressive. This is accomplished through attention to detail in the set design, as well as the costuming. A lot of this narrative could’ve been lost if it had been filmed in a classroom made to look like an office. I believe that the protagonist works in this office and that the stakes are high. With the help of editing and performance, I am convinced of the overwhelming tone throughout the film. I believe in the anxiety of it all because of the extreme close-ups, layered inter monologues, the crescendo in the score, and the superimposed footage that encompasses the rapid metropolis and civilization as a whole. I wish we could’ve spent just a little more time with the protagonist in the last scene as he’s deciding to close the garage. I want to clearly see the shift in his face and body language. He’s been holding it in throughout the whole film. When does he break?
  • 4/28 10:31 am - Strengths: Opening shots/performances by actors helped to establish the setting and story very clearly. Clear camera work and color grading. Strong acting, though I wonder if there could've been opportunities for each of the "clones" to have a slightly different personality/shade of cruelty. Really lovely camera work and tracking throughout. Clear sound quality. Good use of costuming to reflect the main character's mental state. Haunting ending image. Improvements: The moment of the worker being mocked first didn't stand out enough for me. Would've loved for another beat or two to see how that comment lands on the main character before getting into the clones - I want to see him "before" so his "during/after" can resonate more. I'm not sure of the montage of locations behind the main character was the most effective catalyst for his breakdown/what comes after. What is his relationship to the clones? New development? A familiar, yet unwelcome presence? I wanted to understand that more.
Judge 1

Positives: I thought the lighting throughout was really good (could bring the brightness down a tad in post production) and the framing of the shots was well thought out and set up. I liked the "voices" talking to the man in the office, I think it could have even worked to use other actors as the voices to show he thinks other people think those things.

Improvements: I think the tracking shots had too much of a stabilizing effect on them, it could have added to the story to see it was handheld. Some of the audio levels didn't match - some voices sounded far away and some had too much static, make sure to get room tone when recording audio.

Judge 2

Positives: I really dig the use of clones to show someone's inner critic! I felt like I was losing my mind along with the character as they got more and more aggressive and intrusive. You also have some pretty great frames in here along with solid color grading.

Improvements: Watch your framing; I think this would have benefited with a lot tighter shots considering how actually empty this office was. It was hard to believe that this was a real job. I'd also say that while I liked the use of clones to show his inner mind, spend a little bit more time on your comps and planning for those shots. After about the second or third time one of them lost an arm or completely disappeared, I was distracted.

Judge 3

Positives: I really like how you experimented with several different filmmaking techniques and styles I really think the editing came through on this film. I also think that you did a very good job of visually showing what it looks like when we doubt ourselves more than the outside world. So good job getting that theme across.

Improvements: On the flipside of the things that worked well, I think that having all these different techniques in one project makes your film feel a bit disjointed. It feels like I'm seeing the voices of several different artists and creators and I think it's important that we take a story as it is and figure out what kind of voice and style that story needs, and while it's okay to branch out from that style, it has to be done with intention, not shot to shot but moment to moment. I also think that the office location took me out of the film. I'm sure you're not working with much in terms of resources. But having an office with 30+ cubicles and only three people is a bit distracting along with the fact that all the cubicles are empty, so maybe you could have put your main character in an office or something that you can add a bit more detail to and sell the environment.

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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