Episode 2 of Critics now online!!

Zacuto

Yes you asked for it to be more frequent so here it is…episode 2. A bit longer than episode 1. I hope you enjoy it and it introduces you to new film makers. Please leave comments at www.zacuto.com/critics as well as here!

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8 comments

  1. Video 1 : Okay, pretty scary like a dream.

    Video 2 : No description, as mentioned, but good
    shots. I think there should be 3 clips
    rather than 2 though.

    Video 3 : Could promote violence, but powerful
    video, not as ‘Original’ as it could be
    though.

    Steve Certainly loves his ‘Beginning, Middle, End’ technique. I have to agree though, with NO Ending, it leaves a mystery … known as a Cliff Hanger, and I’m not particularly a fan of Cliff hangers.

  2. I’m with Philip on the violence piece. I’ve seen this all too often here in the UK. I spent many years in the States and though it’s a violent place, (where isn’t) with too many firearms and capital punishment etc., I never felt the simmering tension that is all to present in England and the UK as a whole.

    That film caused me to feel very uncomfortable, as it likely did Philip and so is very successful for that alone in my opinion. Good short films don’t always need the narrative structure that Steve talks about. The ubiquity of video and broadband means that people are really shaking things up in visual media. It’s utterly fascinating.

    Paul Treacy

    http://paultreacy.com

  3. The last clip has a clear beginning, middle and end.

    B. Man at mirror training.

    M. Man on street explaining emotion, hit other man.

    E. Man at mirror again concludes dialogue.

  4. this is the typical difference between American and European mentality what you have there with Mr. Weiss… sad but true, the Americans don’t get it; period. not that i am European nor American but when it comes to the point of making a statement, the more cerebral you go the more offensive they tend to find it because of an incomprehensible perception of things flat out in their literal meaning. no contextual interpretation whatsoever. “i find it offensive and i don’t want to see it.” amazing!

    1. Please don’t say that. That is Steve’s mentality because he is anti violence. Many Americans are very violent and so your argument doesn’t really stand. Don’t categorize us under one “American mentality”. You would be surprised by how few of us have the “American mentality”. For all the things you don’t like about America, there are dozens of millions of Americans who don’t like it either.

  5. I thought Episode 2 was a step forward. You and Steve looked more comfortable and, whilst the banter in Ep1 was fun, it was clearer this week the difference in your artistic and cultural sensibilities.

    The rowing film looks like there is some amazing footage but Steve is right about the edit being critical. It put me in mind of a film about Ellen MacArthur in the Vende Globe.

    Steve’s choice was very powerful – though more for the sound than the visuals. I think this play quite differently to a US or UK audience. I think we would be more shocked by this kind of oratory but perhaps we would be less affected by the setting for the visuals. I think America has a stronger connection to the wilderness, a vestigial pioneer spirit, which give the setting for the visuals deeper connotations for them.

    Lights was a bit lost on me too although I am not in Steve’s camp. My experience of Vimeo is about 95% 5D2 based and there are lots of videos on there which have been done by talented photographers new to video. This means there are a good number of visually stunning films which don’t really have a narrative to them. I don’t feel this detracts from my enjoyment of them.

    I don’t know what to make of Confidence. I know you knew Steve was going to hate it. It was powerful and challenging. What you tried to explain to Steve I understand – I felt safer in New York on a Saturday night than I do in Chester these days. I just couldn’t work out how ironic it was trying to be. The lead actor either had an accent that slipped or was he skillfully playing a middle-class wannabee hard lad? How significant was the presence of the girl? It was though he expected her to be impressed when her reaction was the more natural utter horror, which made him look a bit sad.

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