Visual
Look
The visual look was absolutely amazing. The colors were
bright and sharp, with excellent saturation of the sunny
areas he roams through. There are a few really nice shots
in this film that show off depth of field nicely, usually
timed to correspond with narration about zoom lenses,
which have a very narrow depth of field. In addition to
these other elements of camerawork, the camera motion
was very stable and really professional. The editing was
clean, with some rather clever flash dissolves, designed
to look like color photo snaps, timed to intersect with
the motion of the sun through the trees as the main character
walks underneath the forest canopy.
The
short looked so lovely and detail rich that I thought
that an HD camera had been employed. As such, when I found
that they had used an XL1, I was shocked at how much color
range and clarity they had been able to finesse out of
Canon's rather unwieldy camera. Very impressive, indeed.
Use
of Audio
The narration was clean and easy to understand, with the
right amount of bass for a good voice over and the right
amount of warmth to really make you listen to it.
The
sound effects are good, though always kept soft to give
the film a somewhat dreamlike feel which further shows
the main characters separation. However, I would have
liked to have seen a few of the sound effects louder at
times, specifically when he's nearly bowled over by the
rushing car. As it is right now, it's too soft and over
too fast to carry the sort of peace-shattering intensity
that it would have for someone who hates the sound of
man-made noises at any time. An increase in the duration
of the car's Doppler effect and its volume would solve
this problem.
The
single song that was used in the film worked well, creating
an almost dirge-like intensity that mirrored the bitter-sweet
feel of the entire film.
