508 in Color

For the first time since the existence of USC, one out of the the three 508 class made color films. The transition is underway from Black and White to color. Judy Irola is a big fan. I thought some of the color was done well, a lot of the exteriors, however, were super saturated - really bright greens and reds. I think it may have had to do with limited color timing sessions and so forth. I saw two full classes of 508s and the last one from another class. I'll write down some notes on memorable (for good or for bad) ones.

1. Invective (or something like that) - A massive production for a 508. There were 4 "characters" rushing an all black fraternity, there was a "bad guy" the president of the fraternity, and a whole story line, where they have to give up partying for the frat, a romance that gets neglected, and finally induction. Great hip-hop music, a few funny moments. Overall, a very impressive, entertaining 508. (black and white)

2. Halley's Comet - I have no idea what this person was thinking, but there was literally a script for this film, with about 20-25 lines of dialog in a non-sync sound film. Ridiculous. (color)

3. The Secret Hour - This was an odd one, a horror, ghost story, with some hilarious moments. The star, a kid, looked like a complete doofus and is visited by his ghost sister whom his mother denies exists. Good, scary, music which gave me the chills, and this funny-ass part (unintentional) when the ghost sister turns around (a la the Ring, and other Japanese inspired horror movies) with terrible make-up that a 13 year old would wear for Halloween. This was a fun film to watch. (color)

4. Palimpsest - This will be the color film that people will remember. About 3.5 minutes into the film we've seen 4 shots...1) the opening shot of the title written in cursive on a pad, erased, and written in block letters - this apparently is palimpsest, writing, erasing and writing over 2) a shot of a lady walking past an old radio which talks about the 1920s and the fascists taking over in Italy 3) a shot into the kitchen with the radio foregrounded and a lady starts to make bread. 4) close up on the lady making bread. Perhaps my favorite moment for all the 508s is during this movie when I realize someone is making an entire 5 minute movie, spending 1/2 a semester, on 4 shots of a lady making a loaf of bread. The balls. Or the waste, depending on who you ask. The film is shot extremely well.

Then we realize that the news from the radio is going through time, we hear talk of Ghandi, WWII, Cuban Missle Crisis, all the way up to Sept. 10th. She also ends up putting the bread in the oven, going outside and smoking a cigarette. The last shot, she stares into the camera. Interesting stuff. (color)

The next batch of black and white films were on a whole, very good.

5. Return - very professional film about a man who chooses between saving his wife or a baby. Not my style of movie, but well done.

6. Fly - Audience liked this movie, about a gymnist who hurts herself and recovers with the help of a skeleton like bird, who has also injured itself. I didn't buy into this stupid, fake bird, but for those who did, the movie worked.

7. Prom Shoes - a high school chick flick about a cheerleader who loses her shoes. Pretty banal stuff until she walks into what is supposed to be a big basketball game, but instead it's a prom. The metaphor, which is what she was going for, makes no sense...it could almost work as a Lynch-like ellipses, but I'm sure it wasn't what the filmmaker was going for...but the end of this film works well. She meets a guy who plays basketball with her at the prom, but then the guy gets pulled away by another girl and she continues to play basketball at prom in her cheerleading dress.

8. Sisters Lost and Found - This was pretty awesome, a bunch of still long shots of two sisters walking around the desert, having fun, getting angry at each other, getting lost, and then at the end, still being lost, but having found each other. Strong visual storytelling, purposeful framing and believable characters. Solid all around, with a cool ambiguous ending.

9. Motherly - Not so good overall, but a few powerful moments...when a couple with a baby wants to have sex, but are distracted by the baby crying, the dad goes and "handles" the baby, by putting it in the closet (done in a single shot of the door of the bedroom and only using sound). Good moment.

10. Graduation - This movie was pretty nuts. Done by this guy who was my crit studies TA one sememster, he must have transferred into production. It's a meta-movie, about a film student who burns his classmates scripts and watches his neighbors, a sexy girl with a black boyfriend, a young kid with a Clint Eastwood complex...a few zombie-like characters...It's a hard movie to explain, but bottom line, there is a doggy style interracial sex scene interrupted by a zombie father, and saved by a little kid who then gets an erection. Best scene of the whole batch.