This was Amazing! I just randomly ran across this watching a couple short films on Memorial Day Weekend. This really stands out high amongst short shorts! Here's a bunch of reasons why: -Sound/effects design. The tree squibs > "crack" > "echoing rifle report" in that order, instead of all at once or in reverse order like a lame 80's action movie. Even the muzzle flash proceeding all others for the first shot. Indicates a filmmaking team with experience with guns, or at least physics :D -The pilot makes the big mistake of lighting a cigarette (accurately hand rolled and filter-less) before fully scouting his location (or at all) thereby giving away his position with lighter flame and smoke. BIG no-no! -Costume design - But it makes sense cause he's wearing the lapel insignia of a Volunteer Officer Candidate who likely is just out of one of the Luftwaffe Air Colleges on his first mission or two. Makes sense that's why he's so shaky and scared during the ground combat too! Small amount (realistic for the 40s) of evergreen garland on the helmet and binocular case indicating the American's combat specialty. -Acting - the PILOT doesn't slowly pull out the stick which would not have worked due to the pain, but yanks it out, which is the ONLY way to get it out. You're just gonna leave it in otherwise. Doesn't overact the panting, pain. Starts slowing down while running and limping a little more due to the pain in his leg. The realistic jerking motion when he's shot in the back and head. The frightened reactions aren't over the top, but are realistic. The SNIPER is slow and methodical in his approach and expression the whole time. A methodical purposed approach and killing. Yet subtly sympathetic in expression to the deceased pilot at the end. Effective transmission of being by both, in a film without dialog. -Makeup - blood isn't gushing or non-existent for all the pilots wounds, just the right amount. the shot in the back through the torso is larger in the exit wound in his stomach due to the bullet ballistics through tissue and him falling forward and moving around. his head didn't explode from the fatal shot, again opposite of some lame 80's action movie. The week old stubble on the sniper indicating he'd been in the field a while before the pilot showed up. Good "German" haircut on the Pilot. -Cinematography - hand-held camera work not overly shaky-cammed like a Greengrass picture where you can't see what the hell is happening. But perfectly jostled to indicate tension/panic while keeping the Pilot in frame the whole time. Perfectly lit and angled so there's no muddy shadowed areas (even in the reflecting pool of water), or blown out brights (even on the sunlit edges of the Pilot's jacket/face. Good color timing/tone overall for a forest. -Editing - Everything timed, nicely and smoothly. So good in fact, that it was not noticeable. It flowed so perfectly that it's not worth expanding on. -CGI effects - Simple shots of the planes overhead, smoothly integrated into the sky and not glitching into the trees at all. Good speed on the planes too. -Story/Direction - wrangling all of the above along with nice touches like the open and close bookends of the shot looking up through the trees in the sky. Opening with a sky of danger/fear. Closing with one of peace. A duel between two green privates, one in a "glamorous" combat role, the other in a "gutter" combat role. The foil of the two, mirroring the attitudes of the respective Armies as a whole during the war (glamorous "supermen of destiny" vs gutter "simple hard working job doers"). And of course the All Quiet on the Western Front-esque ending, where really they're both just humans with families and loved ones back home and deserve respect and beauty, even though they are all wrapped up in the ugliness of much older, much more powerful men in this world. There were some minor touches off like the "rifle" (which was shot angled enough to not notice it's size), and the cuffs and waist of the flight jacket (which was standard for American leathers, but German jackets were all leather throughout.) But you'd have to be a nerd (raises hand) to notice or care. It's a micro-budget RU-vid short, and James Cameron-on-Titanic demands for costume accuracy should be dismissed (in case any other nerds want to weigh in with such criticisms). All in all I'd put this in the top 5% of micro-budget online short shorts. Good job everyone who made this! Gonna show it to some of my filmmaking friends too. Thanks for creating!
great written, I agree very much. The editing is perfect. I like the sound-editing, but I felt it was missing some sounds and it was too "fake" Some ambient would be better. But great film.
I can see how much work you must of put into this and it really pays off! Everything was on point, and as everyone’s saying the sound is just as important as the visuals which really elevated this short to the next level. Well done man 👍🏻
Great job! Great editing. Brilliant sound design and mix. Loved the flash, followed by the bullet, then the crack. More realistic and adds so much more tension to the scene when you realize that, in this scenario you‘d be shot before even hearing the gunfire. Nice work.
Hey!! Loved the overall earthy, calm look, it contrasts very well with the hectic and confusing situation. Also, your fx and vfx work is on point, just the right amount to make it look natural and to tell the story. Hope to see more of your work soon! Cheers from Mexico!
It was dope I can really tell you put hours into the sound. The storyline was good too didn't even have speaking in it. It all explained itself. Which is really good for a film. I fell like the transition was really good as well too. Whoever shot this should actually make a full movie it would be really dope
@@Doctopie you're welcome. 1917 is an Academy Award-winning Sound work and this made me feel the sharp nature of those bullets/ nature sequences. Y'all should really be offered a studio deal after this.
Thanks Mike! Haha yeah... it woulda been a little sketch to use a real rifle so we went with a pellet gun. No one’s mentioned it but you so far 🤷🏼♂️I agree though, looks a little hokey
Amazing short. I think my favorite thing is that you took what could have been a really high concept war film and broke it down into a simple story about people just trying to survive.Very 1917 in the best way. Great acting too.
seems like my comment disappeared. Sorry if that's a double post So I was saying that this is amazing! And that if you ever plan to make more films about aviation, I would love to see one that combines real footage with aviation footage done in the game DCS World. If you don't know about it, look up "DCS movie" on youtube. People are able to get photorealistic footage out of it like for instance a WWII fighter getting shot down. So yeah.. A collab between a talented filmmaker and a talented flight sim videomaker is my wet dream ^^
@@Doctopie Ahhh perfect! Currently got the gh5s with sigma 18-35 and heading in to make my final year student short film with it! Film is also set in a forest, seeing this has given me lots of hope, thank you.
@@terrylong7686 thank you! Although my brother was the DOP on this one and my newest, I’m very involved in the cinematography and for this one we didn’t use ibis except for one shot which was an over the shoulder of him tying his wound up at the beginning
Very good but why on earth would he kill the downed pilot? Downed pilots were almost always captured and taken in, they weren't much of a threat on the ground, and they had great intelligence value. Good though. Sorry for the nit picking.
