The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah kicks off this weekend and Eric will be blogging live as he covers the best in the Short Film Program. Check back throughout the holiday weekend for reviews, links, and some of the actual shorts themselves posted right here! This blog is also a part of the live coverage over at DigitalContentProducer.com, where Eric works as an associate editor. Head on over there for a podcast with Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine,” “Be Kind, Rewind”) and more…
This year, 45 of the 83 short films in the 2008 Sundance Film Festival are available at for viewing and/or download at iTunes, Netflix, and Xbox.com.
“It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.”
-Mum
Next Sunday is a long time to wait to watch the short film Spider streaming for free on the Sundance 10 Shorts 10 Days site. If you’re like me and you want to open all your presents early, the entire movie is embedded at the end of this post, courtesy Director Nash Edgerton and the millionaire boy geniuses who invented YouTube.
Something must be in the water Down Under because this is the second shocking black comedy from Australia in as many days. (the totally zombi-fied I Love Sarah Jane was covered yesterday.) Shot on location in Sydney, Spider was filmed on 16mm stock in 1:2.35, and later transferred to 35mm. Edgerton himself plays Jack, who is in the midst of a pretty serious fight with his girlfriend Jill (Mirrah Foulkes) while she’s driving them both around the city.
The camera’s POV stays with Jack as he heads into a convenience store to buy some things in hopes of placating her. Watching him scan the shop quickly is like actually seeing the thought processes of a typical male (not that I would know anything about that). Since this is a short film and we don’t want to ruin the ending, we’ll just stop any mention of plot right there.
Edgerton is unique among film directors in that he’s been a working stuntman (on some pretty big films—Mission: Impossible 2, The Matrix, Star Wars: Episode II) since 1993. This certainly prepared him for one particular moment in Spider, which is all I can really say without ruining anything. Edgerton has just completed filming on his first feature-length film, The Square, which was co-written by his actor brother Joel. You can find their production company, Blue Tongue Films, on the Web here.
Here is Spider in its entirety:
[youtube Zdj9vMH4BfQ Spider]
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of Scene-Stealers.com, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and contributor for The Pitch. He’s former President of the KCFCC, and drummer for The Dead Girls, Ultimate Fakebook, and Truck Stop Love . He is also the 2013 Air Guitar World Champion Mean Melin, ranked 4th best of all-time. Eric goes to 11. Follow him at:
{ 14 comments }
wow, intense, poetically ironic. how did they do that?
wow, intense, poetically ironic. how did they do that?
I just saw this in short film program at Sundance, it was the best film that I saw out the set.
“film dude” and anybody else wondering how they did this should check out fxphd.com or fxguide.com and listen to/watch their podcasts, the guy who was in charge of the effects is named Mike Seymour and he did an awesome job!
I just saw this in short film program at Sundance, it was the best film that I saw out the set.
“film dude” and anybody else wondering how they did this should check out fxphd.com or fxguide.com and listen to/watch their podcasts, the guy who was in charge of the effects is named Mike Seymour and he did an awesome job!
This is the type of short films that inspire you to keep getting better. The special effects doesn’t get any more real than what was portrayed in this short. EXCELLENT JOB!
This is the type of short films that inspire you to keep getting better. The special effects doesn’t get any more real than what was portrayed in this short. EXCELLENT JOB!
In my boyfriend I started to sidewalk her. I can refuse the optional auto of his breath.
In my boyfriend I started to sidewalk her. I can refuse the optional auto of his breath.
By feature film standards, this short is spectacular: Well written, economical (we didn’t have to listen to explicatory dialogue about the first joke that pissed her off) and genuineness of emotion. When she talks about chocolate, that is priceless character building and tells a lot about their relationship.
I could sense the second joke going wrong, but the filmmaker teases with the obvious and delivers an unexpected punch.
The problem with most feature films is they should be short films. Cut away the fat and waste, and most blundering features might make a fine 6-minute film — but this is certainly one of the best! I describe it to friends as “Shock and Ha-ha-ha.”
By feature film standards, this short is spectacular: Well written, economical (we didn’t have to listen to explicatory dialogue about the first joke that pissed her off) and genuineness of emotion. When she talks about chocolate, that is priceless character building and tells a lot about their relationship.
I could sense the second joke going wrong, but the filmmaker teases with the obvious and delivers an unexpected punch.
The problem with most feature films is they should be short films. Cut away the fat and waste, and most blundering features might make a fine 6-minute film — but this is certainly one of the best! I describe it to friends as “Shock and Ha-ha-ha.”
Best. Ending. Ever.
Best. Ending. Ever.
An absolutely brilliant piece of work….Fab and ironically Surprising! I loved this!
An absolutely brilliant piece of work….Fab and ironically Surprising! I loved this!
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