I really loved the Hillman Curtis films. The first one I watched was Soldiers. I come from a military family and even considered applying to The United State Military Academy at West Point instead of Elon at one point. I loved that this film was short, yet pulled at the heart strings. I actually got a little teary eyed when I realized that the soldier was dead and he was seeing his mother at his grave. I thought it was brilliant that Hillman Curtis had an actor play the dead soldier and had the mother totally unaware that her son was there. That is how he demonstrated to the viewer that he was dead. I also loved the other soldier in the background that did not speak at all. You could tell that the young boy had recently died and that other soldier was bringing him to his grave site to see his mother. The fact that he didn’t speak meant to me that he had a higher status. It was very powerful and definitely had a powerful impact on me. Especially since we have been in a war the past ten year, I felt I could relate to this video. It is a clear demonstration that a little says a lot.
I love his use of color in the films and his use of close up shots. He also played with the element of slow motion in his film American spirit. I loved how the film was in black and white when the focus was on the two smokers and then it bled into color when the children ran by at the end of the film. To me that was a powerful message about the innocence of children and how their futures are bright. Don’t dim that future by choosing to engage in drugs of any kind. It was a clear juxtaposition of the two.
I know I will take inspiration from these films in future videos that I create.