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One
thing that I found interesting –in a good way, mind
you—was the fact that in certain places, you can sometimes
hear the ambient sound above the music. In places where
the music is particularly soft (or where the ambient noise
is more pronounced), you can hear the shuffle of Adam’s
feet as he runs along the stone streets, or the soft chink
of glass as Eve prepares the absinthe. It is a subtle effect,
but very nice. It does not occur often in the film, and
it might take awhile to notice it. But because the only
sounds that are noticed tend to be the important ones (the
absinthe glass shattering when it’s dropped, the clink
of the pocket watch as it falls into the street), it highlights
these events, making you take more notice of them. I don’t
know if this was intentional or not on the part of the filmmaker,
but I really liked it and thought it was quite effective.
Use
of Budget
Initially, it seems that just over $3,000 is a bit steep
for a project that’s just 46 minutes long. Then I
found out that it was shot over the course of two years…
at the rate of one day a week! For anyone who’s shot
on an extended, drawn-out schedule, you know how much it
can increase your budget, especially if extensive travel
is needed. Such was the case here: about 2/3 of the budget
was spent on transportation and food alone. Transportation
can eat into a large portion of the budget (even just for
a cast/crew of two), especially when considering that gas
prices in Europe are often over double what it is here in
the States! The remainder of the money was spent on purchasing
clothes, props, and the car. The camera and editing equipment
were obtained for free. Taking into account the extended
filming schedule with the budget, I’d say that the
director did very well.
Lasting
Appeal
The lasting appeal of this film is somewhat limited by the
fact that it is a rather niche piece. But even though this
film would appeal to a rather limited audience, it is still
good. I don’t usually like abstract, “artsy”
films, but the quality and presentation are so good that
I would watch it again. For my friends that like esoteric
art films, I would definitely show this film to them. The
visual and audio creativity that is utilized, as well as
the interesting (albeit a bit hard to follow at first) storyline
make it a surprisingly rewatchable film.
Overall
Comment
Needless to say, Dead Serious is not a film for everyone;
if you are not interested in artistic auteur films, I would
not recommend this film. That being said, the story is interesting,
well-developed, and well-told. The layout and use of locations,
layout, and perspective are fantastic examples of visual
creativity. Although the film was silent, the effective
selection of good background music helped add to the look
and feel. Additionally, the occasional rise of important
ambient sounds above the music helped to highlight certain
events. If you are a person who enjoys visually creative
and abstract films, you will definitely enjoy this film.
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Content
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8.5
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Visual
Look
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9.0
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Use
of Audio
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8.5
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Use
of Budget
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8.0
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Lasting
Appeal
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7.5
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Overall
Score
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8.3
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A
powerhouse in management, Kari
Ann Morgan successfully produced a feature length film before
coming to work at Microfilmmaker as Assistant Editor. In addition
to writing for the magazine, she's been successfully working with
various distributors to get microfilmmakers the chance for theatrical
distribution. |
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