Semblance is an interesting film in that it uses no dialogue, only one location and one actor. Despite being a simple film it’s still has fantastically eerie aesthetic to it.
Our lead character is relaxing and enjoying the summer sunshine at his villa in what looks like the South of France or possibly Switzerland (or somewhere equally as beautiful). However, underlying this tranquil scene is an ominous dark character. In the 6 minutes of the film our character utters not a single word, yet you will feel compelled to follow him on his journey as his mind slowly unravels.
What really makes this film stand out for me is the use of audio to create scenes. When faced with a limited environment, like a holiday villa, trying to spook people is a challenge. The use of music perfectly shows how by reaching out to our different senses can completely distort out perception of a scene. Even their use of the scrapes, chinking of glasses as he puts them on a table and the movement throughout the villa all add to the desired effect.
Reza Productions are based in Switzerland and have shot four short films in total. Check them out here.
The last Freddie Wong film that I posted on this blog was Light Warfare. A brilliant film that uses light exposure to create a battle between two gangs of people. That film blew my mind as well as the mind of a huge host of YouTube fans and garnered rave reviews along with millions and millions of hits.
This film, is better!
Although on Freddie’s blog he talks about some of the problems they had when producing it I really, really love this short. I think using the 70s and flower power hippy-esque style as a theme is very clever. More importantly the execution of the project is perfect.
I think Freddie has to be on the verge of big things, I’m following his career closely!
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to Bafta in London Piccadilly to see the official premiere of the “fan” made Streetfighter film. I say “fan” because although this has been penned and directed by die hard followers of the computer games (Joey Ansah who coincidentally is a stunt man who fought Bourne in the final Bourne films), the production values that have gone into the making of this film are definitely of the professional variety.
Backed by Streetlight Films (known for their fantastic commercials) and Executive Producer Anthony Waye (Executive Producer of the Bond films) the aim of trying to get this turned into a feature film is certainly a serious one. But does the film live up to it’s lengthy credits list would imply?
Most certainly it does. At almost 2 million hits this three minute clip is certainly making waves in the online world and it’s easy to see why. Rather than being a cheesy adaptation the production tries to remain as faithful to the original characters as possible. A huge amount of effort has gone into making sure the costumes look right, that the moves the fighters perform are accurate and that the words they use are all faithful to the Street Fighter canon.
Immediate comparisons are going to be made with a similar fan film made recently for Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat Rebirth. I reviewed that here about a month back and have to admit I was blown away by it. That film took a different route with the gaming franchise. Making the whole thing seem more like the grisly Saw series or Se7en.
Which is actually better? It’s difficult to say as they’re both so different. From a commercial point though it’s a no brainer. Street Fighter Legacy has already got Capcom on board and if rumours are to be believed a series of the films is set to be delivered onto the Xbox 360 as exclusive bitesize pieces of content. The Mortal Kombat Rebirth film however appears completely dead in the water.
