Virtually Normal

Wes Anderson is treading on our turf, an exploration of Virtual Production in shorts, and links that caught our eye in this week's edition.

Author

Jason Sondhi
December 01, 2023

December is here and we’re in the stretch run of 2023. Are you excited!? As a business owner, it’s a bit of bummer having to think about taxes, balance sheets, and 2024 strategies. As a curator and cultural consumer? Hell yeah, bring on all the Spotify Wrappeds, Top Ten lists, and yearly retrospective think pieces you can. We’re putting together our annual Staff Favorites feature, so stay tuned for that.

We’ve got lots of shorts that are worth your time and attention in the meantime though. Let’s get to them!

📅 This Week on Short of the Week

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Salmon by Mattis Heurlin

When a budding chef secures a prime opportunity at a Michelin-starred restaurant he's pushed to his limits.

It’s Whiplash meets The Bear in Mattis Heurlin’s impossibly tense Danish short, Salmon. However, you might not find yourself rooting for the young protagonist and his underhanded behavior. Rather than glorify the abuse of a high-end kitchen, Heurlin hopes that his film, “highlights the importance of a healthy work environment by showing how bad habits and negative behaviours can be passed down to the fresh faces.”

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For the Safety of Theo by Christopher Macken

When casual hook-ups become too debilitating, a man suffering from OCD seeks out different ways to purge himself of the consequences from the night before.

A novel portrait of obsessive-compulsion, Christopher Macken moves past stereotypes of the disorder in a dark and funny short. Serafima is smitten, noting that “…the titular character isn’t just another thinly-sketched ‘clean-freak’ that we are invited to laugh at. Theo (brilliantly played by Darragh O’Toole) is extraordinarily ordinary and his anxieties following a one-night-stand will be shared by many.”

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Sentinels by Derek Knowles & Lawrence Lerew

An immersive observational film that follows a small group of young environmental activists as they undertake a tree-sitting campaign to stop a large logging company from clear-cutting a northern California forest.

Derek Knowles and Lawrence Lerew’s 25min short is not ideal for the internet, but Adam’s poetic review will, hopefully, persuade you nonetheless. With a slow, observational pace, and almost first-person feeling in its depiction of committed activists, the tone of the film is a match for the majestic nature of the film’s titular redwoods.

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Dirt Devil 550 XS by Rolf Hellat

A discussion about a new vacuum cleaner turns into a poetic & humorous exploration of group dynamics, daily routines, and democracy for a group of housemates.

Céline tackles this incredibly sharp and funny short from Swiss filmmaker Rolf Hellat. The appeal is how fast it can spin out from its simple premise, but as wild as it gets, it’s no surprise to learn that it is rooted in the director’s lived experience, having once lived with 16 roommates. As Hellat confesses, “When we actually decided to buy a vacuum cleaner, the discussion went on for over 45 minutes and became very emotional.”

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Flite by Tim Webber

Using state-of-the-art virtual production techniques comes one of the most technically impressive sci-fi shorts of recent memory. A world-champion hoverboarder finds herself imprisoned in a luxury skyscraper apartment by her controlling manager.

I wrap the week by writing about this impressive sci-fi short that won “Best Genre” at Hollyshorts. From Tim Webber, Chief Creative Officer of the VFX powerhouse Framestore, the short utilizes cutting-edge virtual production approaches to produce an ambitious story that doesn’t skimp on visual thrills.

🪐 Shortverse Collections

Our monthly roundup of new releases on Shortverse that captured our team’s fancy, including hi-profile shorts like the one pictured above, from the Oscar-winner at Breakwater Studios.

Inspired by our coverage of FLITE, the team produced a short collection of notable films that employ virtual production techniques. From 100% animated shorts utilizing Unreal Engine to compose shots in real-time, to live-action productions employing real-time environs on LED “Volume” style backdrops, here are some of the films and filmmakers bringing new production techniques to the world of shorts.

Go deeper into the world of shorts by joining our Discord community! Share your work, get advice, ask support questions, and hang out with talented creatives from around the world.

📖 Stuff We’re Paying Attention To

Wes Anderson is coming for us! In partnership with American Cinematheque, Netflix will showcase a collection of short films curated by the quirky auteur.

Clermont-Ferrand, arguably the world’s most important shorts-only film festival confirms that its 2024 edition will be significantly reduced, due to a previously reported 50% cut in government funding.

They got rejected by the Runway AI Film Festival so they started their own AI Video company earlier this year—now it is valued at over $200M

Speaking of AI video, the initial wave of interest has settled somewhat, but the tools keep getting better. See examples in this X thread

Kodak 1014 lovers unite! A brand new Super 8 camera is going into production, with a digital viewfinder and other modern upgrades. Just…don’t look at the price tab. 😅

Georg and several members of our Discord have been digging the new Peter Biskind book, which is a predictably entertaining yarn on the rise and fall of “Peak TV”. Check it out!

🎟 Coming soon that we’re excited about…

Shoes Off | Shortverse

When Rick asks his buddy to take his shoes off if he passes out, the night takes a weird turn as his friend obliges and embarks on a caring spree that seems to have no end.

www.shortverse.com/films/shoes-off

We’ll close things out by teasing you on one of next week’s releases. From S/W alum Joel Jay Blacker (Let’s Do It) comes this 7min comedy which is incredibly, outrageously, uncomfortably…sweet!? A tonal tightrope, see how he pulls it off in Shoes Off — premiering Dec 7th.

That’s it for this week, next week we’ll be back with more picks as well as a big Shortverse product update we’re eager to share. See you then!