Shorts and to The Point Archives

SHORTS AND TO THE POINT: Maja Aro ‘s HOODS hits the bullseye as the complete package in a cleverly conceived and created short film…that could be expanded into something more

By John Wildman 9 years ago

It actually started as a very different script inspired by a video game. I wanted to write something with a badass female lead, then she evolved into this motorbike riding little red riding hood. I love the esthetic of dieselpunk, so the world was heavily influenced by that. It all kind of evolved from there. The world is big, and even though the short is just a little slice of an introduction to it, I didn’t want to feel half assed just because it was a short.

Shorts and to The Point

SHORTS AND TO THE POINT: Sarah Adams and Maggie Rieth Austin are a comedy duo to watch and laugh at as they take us for a bumpy ride in Lee Trull’s THE SERVICE ELEVATOR

By John Wildman 9 years ago

But this particular version of that stuck in the elevator scenario gets an additional boost because it was written, developed, and stars two women who might as we’ll bring back vaudeville, they’ve got their “act” together so honed – Sarah Adams and Maggie Rieth Austin.

Shorts and to The Point

SHORTS AND TO THE POINT: Siena Pinney’s POSSIBILITY is a wonderfully crafted and delicate telling of a young couple facing the decision to have an abortion

By John Wildman 9 years ago

Personally, I don’t think women should ever have to feel ashamed to talk about their abortion stories–it is an experience that so many of us share. But it’s also an experience that can be confusing, sad, heartbreaking, hopeful… I wanted to show that spectrum of emotions.

SHORTS AND TO THE POINT: Pascal Leister ’s LONE HUNTER delivers nuance and heartbreak in a dramatization of a real-life race-related shooting tragedy

By John Wildman 9 years ago

We did extensive research and we watched some documentaries about the case, so we had that as a background. One problem was that to this day there is no clear answer as to who fired the first shot. The details of actual events in the woods are somewhat murky. So we went for our interpretation and took some artistic license to fit it all into the dramatic arc of a short. We weren’t necessarily trying to retell the actual events to the tee but we tried to create an authentic, plausible story.

Shorts and to The Point

SHORTS AND TO THE POINT: Konstantina Kotzamami ‘s LIMBO is a haunting journey through symbolism, gender performance and socialization

By admin 9 years ago

How Kotzamani’s symbols in LIMBO are knit together in a tapestry that portrays the mystery that is woman between burned virgins, male anger, and a whale that loses whole humans in its belly as a pack of young boys ponder it is nothing less than masterful storytelling that equally enraptures the viewer’s emotions and senses.

Shorts and to The Point

SHORTS and to The Point: Jessica Curtright and Santiago C. Tapia ’s IT BEGAN WITHOUT WARNING instantly grabs you by the bloody shorthairs

By John Wildman 9 years ago

We write and edit together – 2 people but like one brain really. We read a while ago that the Coen brothers edit with 2 keyboards plugged into the same computer. We thought, “that’s interesting, why not give it a try,” and it stuck. That’s how we write and edit.

Shorts and to The Point

SHORTS and to the Point: Jennifer Sheridan and Matthew Markham ‘s SET ADRIFT is a sad doggie story that will make you cry in 8 minutes flat

By John Wildman 9 years ago

You also have to know what the correct incentive to use to get the right emotion. For example, if you want to evoke a sense of longing/ pensiveness then use chicken or turkey, but if you need a more alert/ concentrated look- you should use a tennis ball. It’s all about how to get the best performance out of your actor and Bowie is no exception. I’ve yet to try the chicken technique with real actors though.

Shorts and to The Point

SHORTS and to the Point: Matt Mercer’s FEEDING TIME serves up a tasty scares + laughs cinematic snack

By John Wildman 9 years ago

Even if people aren’t chortling their heads off, I think the lightness and quirkiness plays. And the main reason I say my concern was mostly with the laughs is because I think first introducing some buoyancy into the proceedings opens the audience up for the scares later. I think it makes the scares more impactful as the film plays out.

Shorts and to The Point

SHORTS and to the Point: Rob Savage’s DAWN OF THE DEAF has scares for you – whether you can hear them or not

By John Wildman 9 years ago

I’ve seen every zombie movie under the sun, and I can safely say: it doesn’t matter. They both work. Depends entirely on the kind of horror you want to draw from the scenario. Running zombies keep you on the edge of your seat, always alert. Slow zombies can be comedic, until suddenly they aren’t.

SHORTS and to the Point: Marinah Janello ‘s TROLL: A SOUTHERN TALE

By John Wildman 9 years ago

I am particularly inspired by filmmaker Harmony Korine, who in his long and short form narrative works ends up combining his own stories and opinions about living in the South.