“Op. You lost me.”
That’s what one of the characters in “Circles” said. He echoes my sentiments when watching some of Hillman Curtis’ short films.
What was the point of “American Spirit”? Anyone?
Aesthetically, I dig it. I liked the black and white footage and the characters’ all black ensembles. The characters looked tough and gritty like the street they walked on.
It seems that the film was recorded using one camera. There was little variation in camera angles. Mostly wide and medium shots. The close-ups focused on the characters hands or the poster. Maybe that was on purpose.
But why focus on those things? How does “Business As Usual” relate to anything? What did the poster guy say to the two, main characters? Why did the footage turn to color when the children ran into the frame?
If this was some sort of commentary on the tobacco industry, Hillman Curtis, “Op. You lost me.”
However, Curtis’ lack of camera angles in “Embrace” was very effective. For most of this gloomy film, I could only see the characters faces and upper torsos. On occassion, the camera would zoom in for a close-up of the woman’s hand stroking the man’s back. The closeness of the shot mirrored the closeness of their embrace, which was disturbing at times. It was a little too intimate.
The colors were muted grays and off-white. Then the sirens kicked in, increasing the eerie factor. The final shot in which the camera goes above the characters is epic. The woman broke the fourth wall and stared into the camera. Then the film quickly faded to black. Great editing choices for that particular film.
“Circles”, however, used a lot of variation in camera angles. Perhaps, too much variation. I felt disoriented every time the angle quickly switched to a different part of the room to show the characters from the side, from above and at eye level.
But that wasn’t the only thing that was disturbing. The ending freaked me out. Perhaps it was the fact that the music grew louder as the film progressed. There was nothing but ambient sound in the beginning. Then the camera circled around the main character, Michael, and zoomed in on this scary painting on the table behind him.
“Op. You lost me.”
Curtis seemed to find happy balance in “Bridge“. I was thoroughly delighted by this short film.
Again it seems as if it were shot with a single, handheld camera. The footage was a bit shaky in the beginning.
I didn’t like how the characters in the foreground were out of focus in the over-the-shoulder shots. But I quickly got over that because I really liked the characters, especially the man who clearly wants his girl friend to be his girlfriend. The actors were attractive and had good chemistry, which carried the film.
I loved how Curtis changed the setting from the kitchen to the living room area while the lady read the instructions for the bridge exercise and the man looked longingly at her. It was nice surprise.
Curtis surprised me again during the close-ups of the characters sitting knee to knee in the living room. The camera panned in a circle around the characters, then zoomed in on their faces so I could truly feel the intimate moment of the two people connecting nose to nose. How sweet!
I see the makings of a cute romantic dramedy in “Bridge”. Hillman Curtis, You found me.
"Bridge"