With minimal dialogue (and none between the two main characters), Davidson manages to tell a complete, complex, compelling and compassionate story within a very small time frame. He initially entertains the viewer by masterfully crafting a concise screenplay that contains a surprising twist and an even more surprising reversal. And then, just when it isn’t expected, he astounds us with a stunning resolution.
“The Lunch Date” is filmed in black and white because of budget constraints but has obvious symbolism to match its theme and content. Black and white also has connotations of earlier decades and gives a timeless feel which creates the central issue of the film. This period (1940’s/50s) was a period when train travel was more ‘glamorous’ and perhaps the central female character would feel more comfortable in.
The central theme of the film occurs in the diner where the woman accuses an African-American man of taking her lunch: ‘That’s my salad!’ The audience becomes involved in the situation as Davidson cuts from one character to another as they both consume the same salad. Diegetic crunching sounds and lack of music heighten the tension and captivate the viewer. When they are both finished the black man gets up and walks away, only to return with a cup of coffee for them both. After a sip or two the woman gets up and walks toward the exit. Just before stepping out she turns back and discovers that her own meal was on another table all this time. While the audience expects the haughty woman to change her ways, Davidson has her laugh heartily, engaging us with her humour. This gives the film its sense of realism.
The “Lunch Date” is a rare short story which can both entertain the viewer and carry important message of prejudice. “Vincent” is another short film through where its various, brilliant techniques demonstrates just how much short film genre has to offer.
“Vincent” is a written, designed and directed by and Rick Heinrichs. Shot in stark black and white in the style of the German expressionist movies of the , Vincent imagines himself in a series of situations inspired by the / films that had such an effect on Burton as a child. This included experimenting on his dog and welcoming his aunt home, while simultaneously conjuring up the image of her dipped in hot wax. Vincent Molloy, the main character in the film bears a striking resemblance to himself.
The film is a tongue-in-cheek melodrama, a cartoonish pastiche of B-horror movie motifs and Vincent’s angst, with his exaggerated movements and chiseled facial expressions played against the mellifluous voice of Vincent Price. Using Price for the voiceover cements Burton's pastiche of the literary and the cinematic. The film also uses the writings of Dr. Seuss and Edgar Allen Poe.
The film's combination of 2D and 3D methods is foregrounded by its use of black and white. Without the use of colour to establish spatial separation and define areas of screen space, the combination of 2D and 3D spatial representations is distilled and clarified. Black and white also reinforces the binary juxtapositions throughout the film: Burton effectively opposes light or high key scenes for Vincent's normal childhood with dark or low key scenes for his imagined torments.
Throughout the film, Burton mainly uses match cutting to visualize Vincent's identification with Vincent Price, which provides a series of trick transitions between Vincent-as-himself and Vincent-as-Vincent Price. Each of these cuts appear temporarily continuous, but as Vincent transforms between himself and Price, the filmic space fluctuates between spatial continuity and discontinuity. The film goes in and out of Vincent's own reality.
In conclusion, short films have the true ability to revolutionise the world of cinema as we know it and are therefore so much more than simply short. Not only can they be funny and quirky, but the can also be both intriguing and beautiful. Short films are one of the last forms of artistic freedoms and play a crucial role in our society.
By Anthony Sakiris