Short Film Marathon! Film #3

The Man at the Counter from Brian McAllister on Vimeo.

One thing many of you may want to do with your stories for CAP Hollywood is use narration (voice overs) in your films. This can be very helpful for a number of reasons. First, we do not have quality microphones that allow us to capture quality audio when filming. The audio is sufficient IF you have the camera close to the actors. But you may want to consider integrating narration (voice overs) throughout your film with actual dialogue from the actors. Second, narration can help fill in the gaps in your story if needed. Maybe if there's a flashback or if you need the audience to hear what one of the characters is actually thinking.

However, IF you decide to use narration (voice overs) and dialogue in your film it's very important that you carefully plan everything out beforehand. The narration should be carefully scripted along with any dialogue.

Questions:

1. Why do you think the filmmaker uses mainly narration (voice over) in this film? Do you think this is a good choice? Please explain.
2. Pacing and tempo is very important in film, especially short films. Just because it's a short film doesn't mean it has to feel rushed. The BIGGEST CHALLENGE for our CAP Hollywood project is making sure your story is clear and understandable. Write a short summary of this short film. Describe the beginning, the middle, and the end, focusing on some of the major events or scenes that move the story along.