Short films are hard to pull off, that’s for sure. I know I’ve tried and failed many times to make a good short film. And so has Hillman, I think.
I like his approach to the art, but I don’t think he quite pulls it off, or he’s being too deep (read: pretentious) for me to really get what he’s trying to say with his art. I think that there’s a lot that can be done with a short film. And they should give you pause at the end. They’re short after all, so they need something to make it memorable. Something to make it worthwhile.
I watched American Spirit a few times. I still don’t know what to make of it. I think there’s a lot of symbolism, but too little time to get it all out. And I think that there’s a lot more that Hillman could’ve done to make the film work a little better. Or maybe it worked exactly like he wanted it to. I have no idea.
I think that Blow Up was a little better at delivering a message. And after Blow Up, I stopped and thought about it. It ends so abruptly, but at the same time, you carry the rest of the conversation on in your head.
I think that I want to make some short films before the end of the program. And I learned a lot from Hillman Curtis on what you need: a script, a camera and a couple of willing participants. That, and good audio.