Trying this again (My first poll!)
This event is kind of a coming out party; it will very much be a first impression for the vast majority of those attending. There will be free wine and beer, as well as food, so there will be a little bit of a festive atmosphere. There are going to be a couple of celebrities there. It will also be the launch of our new subscription service, so people need to be convinced that a streaming library of indie shorts is worth paying for.
Let me give you the reasons that my vote is for “The Trident,” for some context.
[ul]
[li]Most people think of “indie shorts” as talky little navelgazing art films. “The Trident” will surprise people into thinking, “Huh, an action flick! Cool!”[/li][li]With David Carradine in the film, I think that likewise people who assume that “indie shorts” means the cast is the director’s friends and parents will also be pleasantly surprised. Granted, Vern Troyer is pretty well known too, but I think David Carradine is a little higher up on that scale.[/li][li]Who knew there was Indian martial arts? How cool is that?[/li][/ul]
My reasons for not choosing “Bit Players”:
[ul]
[li]Disclaimer or not, the language is pretty raunchy for a free crowd in a Starbucks. Good first impression?[/li][li]It’s entirely dialogue driven; not as viable in a crowd situation. People will be standing and drinking.[/li][/ul]
My boss wants to show “Bit Players.” She thinks that “The Trident” is too much of a guy film for a mixed crowd, and that it requires a lot of attention to keep up with what is going on. And that “Bit Players” is funny, which is a plus, and that everyone loves Oompa-Loompas.
I disagree strongly: the guy-film aspect is exactly why “The Trident” is a good choice: people don’t expect that kind of thing from an indie short.
What are your thoughts? This is entirely unnecessary, but please be civil and constructive; I may show this to my boss.
I watched both of these; thanks for sharing them.
I wouldn’t show either one.
Bit Players is boring, pointless, slow, is not funny, and is only notable because the 2 main characters are both dwarves. And at 16 minutes, it’s long as hell to watch.
The Trident was semi-interesting, mostly because of Carradine’s acting skills. But the climactic fight scene was lame as hell. Looked totally choreographed, poorly executed, and performed with a distinct lack of energy. Plus the film was poorly done in a few ways, such as continuity (“I took these beads from the thief I killed”… then why were they on the trident when you were fighting the thief?) and lighting.
Anyway, as fan of short films, thanks again for sharing these here, but I’d find something a little more attention grabbing to show for a public celebration type thing.
Yeah, I largely agree. I kind of overlooked those details on “The Trident” because I enjoyed it so much overall. There are two other films on the program, both with even higher production values. One is a huge downer though, so that’s going second. And the third film is very light and funny; a palate cleanser to finish with. (Neither one is available for free though, so I didn’t link to them here due to conflict of interest/commercial shilling considerations.)
So there will be some variety of quality and tone. I still think “The Trident” goes so strongly against the grain of the presumed expectations that the phrase “indie short” conjures that it will be a good one to include in the overall program. But yeah, the followups both have more polish.
I voted for Trident but just barely. I agree that in a crowd situation where you can’t pay close attention to the film, Trident is easier to follow. Also in a mixed crowd, BitPlayers is a little raunchy. I think those are the determining factors. Trident seemed a bit amateurish though, and might bear too much resemblance to the fan made stuff you find on youtube. Certainly if people (no kids) were sitting in the dark watching and not talking, Bit Players would be a better choice.
On the other hand, Bit Players is a much better film - production, writing, and acting wise. I don’t think it’s any less of a guy film, it might be even more despite the lack of ‘action’. The beginning sequence almost ruins it though, being too convincing a period piece, one starts to wonder if you’re actually watching something from the 1970s. I was thinking of dismissing it immediately at that point until I saw the “1970s” marquee and the modern actors/camera work in the dressing room.
Both films seemed oddly obsessed with smoking.