3 Depict! film reviews

Three Depict! Short films.

The Fish and I (Babak Habibifar)
“A blind man tries to save the life of his goldfish.”
This short film is about a blind man trying to save his fishy friend from drowning in open air.
This short film is liked by most people as the blind man risks damaging his own (what looks to be) kitchen to save his little goldfish.
This particular film does not need colour and dialogue as actions speak louder than words. It could also be saying that colour has nothing to do with committing a heroic act.
The camera angles in this short film mostly consist of close ups and medium shots as they show emotions in the blind man and how he feels when he accidentally nudged his little friend off the kitchen worktop.
The character for the film is a blind man, we can see this as he has to move his hands around the place of impact in order to find his little friend. We can also tell he is blind because of wide eyes staring into blank space.
The film does not have any special effects not does it have and transitions yet it does not need them as the film alone sends a powerful message.
The tap dripping with water could mean two things;
Time – the man could have been there for seconds, minutes or even hours.
Worry – the dripping tap could have represented the heartbeat of the man as he was worried about his fish.
The end on the short film has the fish swimming into the hand of the blind man as it shows the fish trusts him.
To rate this film, I would give it a solid nine out of ten as some of the camera shots could have been a little bit longer just by two or three seconds as tension needs to build up.

Family dinner (Ashley P Saunders)
“A typical family dinner where the conversation could lead anywhere.”
This is a short film about a family sitting down at a table having their dinner and a “lovely” chat when the boy asks if he is gay.
This film is possibly one of, if not, the funniest Depict! Entry on the website.
A thing I like about this 90 second film is that it was all done in one shot that goes around the table and it is focusing on certain characters they will speak.
The characters are just like ordinary family members when they are around the table. There is always the sister on their phone, the grandparent that doesn’t know how technology works, the young sibling tattle tailing on their older sibling(s). It wouldn’t be a family dinner be a family dinner without all of these.
The angle of the shot is a close-up/medium shot so that facial expressions are visible.
There were some funny lines in the film such as “What the bloody hell is an “e” and why would I read one?”

Catch of the day (Jennifer Sheridan & Matthew Markham)
“A lonely fisherman hooks more than he bargained for.”
This short film is about a fisherman who goes out for some lovely time to himself and fish. But this is quite the catch as this isn’t an aquatic creature.
There is no dialogue in this short film as there is none needed. Again, I will stand by my statement of “actions speak louder than words.”
The use of shots in the short film are quite astonishing as the views are beautiful and so peaceful open lake areas. It is mostly cloudy skies with some sunlight, the absolute perfect weather for fishing.
Some of the shots show more meaning than what a narrative dialogue could tell you such as the bird’s eye view/establishing shot on the man in his little boat. Completely surrounded by water.
I think the music fits this short film in particular as it suits the surroundings. It makes everything seem so calm and relaxing (I am aware I have said that but it really is true). I especially like the awkward silence at the end because it makes so much sense why it would be really awkward.
Some of the shots have a filter on them as the outer corners of the footage are slightly darker than the centre of the footage. It could show us that the focus is in the middle or maybe not. Doesn’t matter if there is a purpose to it or not, it looks brilliant either way.
The music makes me feel really calm and relaxed (composer – Cato Hoeben).
The shot when the hooks are intertwined is rather comical because both of the people think they’ve got a really big fish when in actual fact they just got tangled.