WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

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Dave Watterson
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WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Dave Watterson »

Almost all the British one-minute films I have seen in the last few years have been basically verbal jokes.

All too often these are given only the skimpiest visuals: husband and wife chat, two guys in the pub chat ...

At its best this form of film can use images to tell great stories. Think how much information a TV advert can convey in that time. My favourite is not online, so I cannot show it here ... A workman high up a ladder is using an electric angle-grinder. He wears sweat-pants and a mucky vest. A fag hangs loosely from his mouth. Cigarette falls and gets stuck in his vest. He reacts. The ladder rocks. He crashes to the ground but seems OK. Then he opens his eyes and sees the grinder still going, its wheel dragging it inexorably straight at his head. As it comes within a hand's breadth of his face, we see its power cord pull the plug out of the socket and it stops!

That is visual story telling.

Frankly these days a joke that is familiar from the internet and told on screen without much attempt at acting it out is just dull.

There is a motive in my WANTED notice. UK regularly does well at the UNICA World Minute Movie Cup Competition ... but not if we have to plaster subtitles all over the film or try to translate a pun. We need visually witty movies.

Do you know any? Can you shoot one soon?
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John Roberts
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by John Roberts »

I read your post with interest Dave, because my next effort is a one-minute film. It doesn't follow the usual trend, but it is however based on a rhyming poem so I'm not sure whether it will fit your 'lack of subtitles' criteria. I can guarantee it will be different, though!

Oh, one thing it won't be is soon! :lol:

John
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TimStannard
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by TimStannard »

Dave Watterson wrote:My favourite is not online, so I cannot show it here ... A workman high up a ladder is using an electric angle-grinder. He wears sweat-pants and a mucky vest. A fag hangs loosely from his mouth. Cigarette falls and gets stuck in his vest. He reacts. The ladder rocks. He crashes to the ground but seems OK. Then he opens his eyes and sees the grinder still going, its wheel dragging it inexorably straight at his head. As it comes within a hand's breadth of his face, we see its power cord pull the plug out of the socket and it stops!
And that is basically "The Drill" by Bob Lorrimer http://www.theiac.org.uk/movies/biaff20 ... drill.html
Which came first?
Tim
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John Roberts
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by John Roberts »

TimStannard wrote: And that is basically "The Drill" by Bob Lorrimer http://www.theiac.org.uk/movies/biaff20 ... drill.html
Which came first?
I was reminded of Bob's film as well, Tim. I haven't seen the film Dave W is referring to, but even if it was an earlier film, the ending to 'The Drill' seems much more developed, with an unexpected 'double whammy' in the very closing seconds. Dave W's film description doesn't seem to convey any 'bite' to the ending, it's just 'a relief'. Bob very cleverly followed the relief with a shock, and the ending was far more satisfying :-)

John
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Dave Watterson
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Dave Watterson »

Snag is: the drill is 2 minutes long!
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Kevin Pritchard
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Kevin Pritchard »

Dave, I've sent you a PM.
Chichester Film and Video Makers.

https://www.youtube.com/No33films
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TimStannard
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by TimStannard »

Dave Watterson wrote:Snag is: the drill is 2 minutes long!
I wasn't suggesting it as a submission, Dave!
Tim
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Dave Watterson
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Dave Watterson »

I know you were not suggesting The Drill as a contender. In fact it went to UNICA in 2009 and was popular with the audience but did not get a medal from a fairly tough jury that year.

My point was that even a movie by the genius that is Bob Lorrimer took more than 60-seconds to play out its plot twists.

This one is a fraction over 60-seconds by my count but the sort of thing I have in mind:

[youtube2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iVNoZAOKw[/youtube2]
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Dave Watterson
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Dave Watterson »

Surely someone has seen a good and strongly visual British one-minute movie in the last year or so ...
Jill Lampert
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Jill Lampert »

I can't match that wonderful film! And I haven't made any comedies. In fact I haven't made anything that is near the sort of standard you're looking for. But I am interested in the One Minute Movie. I love the challenge of telling a whole story in 60 seconds. Here are two (which have no dialogue) that I've made in the past year or so. I'm afraid "Handover" doesn't really work, because I find I have to tell people the story in order for them to understand it.

The Night Garden:
[youtube2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13LesCKWyWU[/youtube2]

Handover:
[youtube2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDyKBA7aegM[/youtube2]

Maybe these will inspire someone to have a go?

Jill
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Dave Watterson
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Dave Watterson »

Thanks, Jill. These are certainly much more visually oriented than most I have recently seen.
The horror film works quite well, though sadly the nature of our own Mini-Mermaid and UNICA's public vote World Minute Movie Cup means comedies do better.
I like the concept of "mime plus sound-effects" but I too must join the people who are not really sure that it is all about. And when does the whisky hit that glass?!

Any more, folks?
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Stephen
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Stephen »



Had a good laugh doing that with my fellow actors!
Stephen

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It's much more important than that.
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Mike Shaw »

I remember seeing that - was it at a Mermaid? - and laughing my head off. Brilliant! And, why didn't I think of that!! :roll:

Great to see it again - thanks!
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Stephen
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Stephen »

thanks Mike !!

cannot remember if it has appeared in the mermaid

glad it made you laugh....

took 30 mins to shoot (can you tell!!) ....

1 hour on the edit pc and viola!

hopefully more to come...
Stephen

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Bob Lorrimer
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Re: WANTED: 1-Minute Movies with visual action / stories

Post by Bob Lorrimer »

The DRILL does have similarities to the one minute film as outlined by Dave Watterson......and The DRILL itself is loosely based on Gerard Hoffnung's speech to the Oxford Union back in the 1950's......and his speech too came from an earlier shaggy dog tale.

The genius of Hoffnung was his gift of delivery and comic timing.....a Speaker confident enough to allow the audience to 'see' the next line for themselves thus resulting in a laugh of expectation followed by a roar of satisfaction when the line was finally completed.......and even then it's not over.......as the 'barrel of bricks' continues its journey up and down from ground to pulley heaving the luckless writer with it.


I could have made the DRILL shorter....it sags a little in the middle...but sometimes a little, tense expectation does no harm as the audience try to work out the sequence of events.....however the double whammy at the end of the DRILL is very cathartic....and it took me a month of Sunday's to tease it out of my mind.


****

JILL's film reminded me of a weird 50's children's program in which a pair of white Hands against a black background would fold paper....origami style....We were easy to please!


I think Dave Watterson has a more cinematic construction in mind such as this brilliant Iphone movie which manages to be both thrilling and vibrantly cinematic:



I will try to come up with something......although we did this at Huddersfield some years ago you may recall:
[youtube2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYXrYDAGirs[/youtube2]
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