In keeping with the movie’s theme, the sound helped to enhance the eerie feeling. Instead of music there were sound effects, which seemed to be a very good choice. In the forest scene, the loud sound of leaves crunching gives a great ambiance. The other sounds - pills being dumped out on a table, laughter, a flickering light bulb, and a ticking clock – were put together very well. Music does pop up briefly in the closing credits, but it’s a perfect fit to the mood and a nice closing touch.
In this particular case, the filmmakers used the camera’s onboard microphone. This is normally a big no-no, as it doesn’t do very well at picking up dialogue, but they are often acceptable for picking up background noise. I worked on a project once that involved a scene of a kid kicking a rock down the street as he went to school. As there was no dialogue in that scene, we used the camera’s microphone, and it picked up the noise of that little rock pouncing along the asphalt well enough to be used.
The film’s $150 budget was spent on editing software ($120) and props ($30). Such a short film certainly wouldn’t have had very many expenses, and it might initially seem like a good amount. But with the number of visual issues, it certainly would have been a good idea to invest in better quality indoor lighting, taking time to make sure that the contrast was right, and even making a few different editing choices.
I don’t know whether this was a first film or if the director had made other projects. If the former is true, it shows both a lot of promise and room for improvement. There are a lot of strong elements, even in such a short film, but the filmmaker really needs a good technical mastery for any future projects.
Of course, what strikes me as the most ironic thing about doing this critique is the fact that, a true Nihilistic filmmaker shouldn’t care what anyone has to say about their movie.
"All truth is simple...is that not doubly a lie?" -Nietzsche
