Length: 10:24
Logline: An in-debt insurance salesman becomes increasingly desperate and is torn between ripping off his clients and earning enough to pay off his mortgage.
We all know Galashiels is a hubbub of up and coming talent so here is a local effort that someone from work showed me the other night.
Audio quality is lacking and I suspect that the camera microphone was the only thing being used here. A soundtrack over the opening sequence and montage parts wouldn't have gone amiss as the stark silence is enough to make you wonder if your speakers have packed in. Simple things like making sure the camera is in focus, having decent lighting, and using a microphone are easy mistakes for early filmmaking efforts. The most noticeable flaw though, is something which could easily be rectified, and that's the edit. Shot lengths are just too long and don't pertain to the theme or genre. Faster cuts and a quicker pace would go a long way to creating a more dynamic and audience friendly film.
This films saving grace is the plot. Although the detrimentally slow pace makes it quite cumbersome, I enjoyed the flashback payoff at the end which neatly provides three subtly planted options for main character Steven, played by Steven Noble. Dialogue is direct and to the point and for a film that uses non-proffesional actors, it isn't too shabby. There are moments which come across as quite genuine and the normally awful on screen Scottish accent didn't make me squirm. I usually hate ambiguous endings but the cliff-hanger works quite well here and the pace finally gets going in that third act.
For a student film that was went from concept to final cut in three weeks this really isn't too bad but put that into perspective where there are 24hr film competition submissions out there of a much better quality, it goes to show that there is stiff competition out there and that standards are always getting higher. This looks very much like a work in progress but it isn't altogether unsalvageable.
Best Bit: Steven's thoughts about possible consequences and the nicely crafted robbery options.
Worst Bit: The edit and lack of soundtrack.
Final thought: Ha, Debi's got the handwriting of a five year old.
Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.
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