Use of Audio
The audio was very clean and clear. Ironically, the mix was actually quite a bit louder than standard volume and should be lowered for the entire film. (The current production standard for dialogue is that it should normally be recorded around –12 db and the rest of the music and sound effects should be appropriate to that level.)
The overall music and score is good, especially in the use of the aforementioned bongo sequence, where it weaves with the beat of the drum quite nicely. With that said, there were a couple times where rough music edits caused disparities that need to be sanded out. This is most noticeable early in the film when the son drives home in his car and his rap music is blaring over the score. In this situation, we just need to not hear the sound of the car’s music, which distracts from the overall mood.
Use of Budget
While $5,000 is not terribly inexpensive for a micro-budget short film that is less than 20 minutes in length, Mr. Maurino used it to actually pay everyone who worked on this film, rather than having them work on deferment. If you have the money to do that, that’s an awesome use of budget. Additional budgetary costs went for rental of equipment, transportation, and food for the cast and crew. However, Mr. Maurino didn’t spend money if he didn’t have to, and used some really creative ways to get things for free. For example, he talked a local coffee bean company into donating coffee and then he personally pre-cooked meals for the cast and crew the week before the shoot, storing them in his next door neighbor’s extra refrigerator and freezer. All of these added up to an excellent use of budget for this film.
Lasting Appeal
While Trigger Finger is well-constructed, it’s rather one dimensional message is a hit or miss affair for both watchability and rewatchability. Folks who disagree with the idea that every war is evil will likely tune out the entire film due to its unidirectional message, whereas folks who agree with the director’s beliefs still may not respond to the film due to the film’s lack of deeper character development.
Overall Comment
Trigger Finger looks at the question of war and the question of how to prevent war on a personal level. While it has some issues with how it delves into this subject, it’s definitely clear that Mr. Maurino is refining his craft as a filmmaker to deal with deep subjects in the future. I think that that will serve him well, so long as he tries to look a bit more objectively at the subjects he explores and tries to more deeply explore the hidden motivations of the characters in front of the audience.
