I really like all of Hillman Curtis’ films, they are all very unique and very well put together. He makes somewhat mundane things interesting through audio and camera angles. Even though these were short films they still made me want to understand more and pay attention to the smaller details.
There is so much in these films that come from the audio, the first time I watched them I did not really realize what an impact the audio had on the overall nature of the scenes. The first thing I noticed when watching ‘Embrace’ was the girl’s breathing, it was very emphasized and I could almost feel how upset she was just through the sound of her breath. Before they even started speaking her breathing was audible, and it gave me the impression that something serious was happening. Throughout the entire short her breathing was accentuated, and it was always at the forefront of the audio. Without the urgency of her breathing, I am not sure the film would have been so impacting.
The audio for ‘Bridge’ took a different approach, rather than just having dialogue stand alone there was some ambient background music. The piano playing in the background gives the entire scene a lighthearted feel, where as the breathing and the sirens in the background of ‘Embrace’ gives the scene an anxious feel. If the music was not in the background of ‘Bridge’ I do not think I would have felt the same about the movie overall. The music gave the film a feeling of happiness. Curtis carefully crafted the audio in both shorts to convey certain feelings about what was happening in the scene.
The camera angles were really intimate in both films. It gave me a feeling of closeness with the characters, and it made me want to know more about what they were so upset about. Which I am sure was Curtis’ intent. The camera was a little shaky at times (especially in ‘Embrace’), but I did not really notice it in either film until the second time I watched because it just seemed like a natural point of view.
These were really interesting to watch, the amount of time is so short to tell a story and Curtis carefully crafted the details in order to make the viewer feel more connected to what was happening in the story. His short films are works of art in an of themselves and they are each compelling in a different way.