Content
The Shadow Effect storyline is really well thought out and does a great job of looking at two age-old adages: “The grass is always greener on the other side” and “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. The way the film is laid out reminds me of a rather strange mix of the laidback pacing (not to mention the crucial infomercial) of Requiem for a Dream with the rather cutting commentary on general society of American Beauty.
The acting is quite solid throughout this piece, with a strangely believable performance from Harold, despite the fact that he says absolutely nothing during the entire film. (We have no reason to believe he’s mute.) The editing is so tight that we always enter a scene right after Harold might have spoken and leave it right before he might speak again. The fact that they were able to make a character really compelling, who says nothing without any narration, is truly amazing.
The ending for this film is very creative and as it doesn’t need to be fixed, I won’t ruin it. Suffice it to say that it is open-ended enough to provide some interesting discussions, without being so open-ended that a second or third watching won’t provide a pretty strong case for what the directors’ concluding points are.
Visual Look
Art director Josh Inch did a great job of determining the well-composed arrangement of this film's sets, props, and overall look, while DP Damian Acevedo did a great job of choosing camera angles and shot layouts that were effective and attractive. A specifically nice camera setup is from a hostess tray on the hood of the protagonist’s car, which does a lovely job of showing Harold’s state of mind as he is about to drive his red convertible off a cliff as the other Shadow Effect victim comes screaming by in his own red convertible. Follow up, slow-motion shots were a thing of beauty , as both drivers eye one another in the dreamy space that exists in the realm of extreme paranoia and competition. The amount of dolly and motion shots in this short is truly impressive, with every movement chosen to draw the viewer into the drama.
The gaffing team of Brian Fisher and Jared Hoy, created an excellent lighting atmosphere, with clever uses of shadow in certain key locations, that tied in with the name of the film. Additionally, their lighting abilities were shown off nicely in times where Harold’s face was illuminated by a simple lighter or when it was believably lit by a flickering television set.
Editor Nimrod Erez did a great job of blending the moving and static shots in this film seamlessly, while keeping the pacing extremely tight and smooth. The creation of the amazingly realistic soap opera scenes that propel Harold through the film is also a testament to Erez’s skills, as well as the skills of both the DP and gaffing department. The lighting, camera look, and editing of these segments is spot on.
Use of Audio
The audio for this film was very nice, with excellent dialogue recorded by Brian Sorbo and Ian Boyd. Sound designer and mixer Brad Dujmovic did a nice job with the film’s mix, as well as creating the slightly tinny sound to the soap opera dialogue for “Treasure Trove”--which really captured the feel of those single speaker televisions we all grew up with.
The original score, composed by Aaron Drake,was polished and fit the mood of the piece nicely. While not as compelling as the score for Requiem for Dream, it did a very nice job of lending a unique audio fingerprint to the piece.
