One of my biggest frustrations with big-budget Hollywood films is when you watch them and ask yourself, “Where did that $250 million go?” (Case in point: the latest Superman movie, which could only have gone through so much money if they hand-grew the Fortress of Solitude out of man-cultivated crystal!) It’s much easier to stomach a $200+ million budget for, say LOTR or Titanic, because you can see that the money was spent in the quality of the film; at the same time, $200+ million is a LOT of money.
The latter is how I feel about Oops!: you can see exactly where the money was spent, and it was spent in all of the right places. Of the $8,000 budget, $3,500 went to the crew (including DP, audio, grip, gaffer, and camera/steadicam operator), and $2,000 went for audio (including score, foley, audio cleanup, and ADR). That’s almost 70% of the total budget going toward hiring professionals and/or making necessary technical improvements in post! (The remaining $2,500 went for other necessities such as equipment, location, food, casting, etc.)
While a part of me balks at the price tag (“$8K for a film that’s less than 6 minutes!”), the other part of me sees it as totally reasonable. As many filmmakers have experienced firsthand, it’s better to pay professionals to help you with an important project than to enlist friends; friends may be cheaper at first, but the amount of time and money you’ll likely spend making corrections later can end up costing you more. If you have the cash, better to pay to have it done right the first time than to lose time and money after the fact.
Oops! takes a scenario that could potentially be painfully awkward, and gives it a lighthearted, creative twist. This is a short film that viewers will definitely get a kick out of and which I won't mind showing to friends and rewatching myself.
Oops! is very well-written and well-acted, although the ending needed to be drawn out a little bit more to enhance the humorous twist at the end. The lighting and set design were great; I would suggest including a few shots that show the passage of time, so that the audience has a point of reference. The audio is excellent, with much care obviously taken to make it that way; however, the hostess’s inaudible dialogue needs to be corrected, as it stands out compared to the quality of the rest of the film. While the budget seems sizeable for so short a project, it is appropriate because the money spent on technical expertise and improvements are clearly visible in the finished product. The humor in the film is creative, and can be appreciated by a wide audience. It is refreshing to see short films that not only manage to tell a good story successfully, but that also do it well. I tip my hat to Mr. Marino on a job well done!
