Sunday, February 27, 2011

the next step up

The next step up from a "Ryan vs. Dorkman 2" lightsaber battle is... a lightsaber battle that's part of an actual storyline. Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang on "Glee") stars in this short film about a dude who has only three minutes to accomplish... something.

My only critique relates to the camera work: some of the atemi-style strikes should have been shown in close-up shots. They don't look so impressive when seen from afar. Otherwise, great job by the actors: fan-fic lightsaber duels vary from lame to awesome, and this one had fantastic footwork and superior choreography. Just tighten up the camera work, guys! Not so many wide shots! Lastly, mad props to the FX crew for the saber effects, including reflections off polished stone.

"3 Minutes" is a story in several parts. There's something to be said for long-form episodic storytelling using short-form media like YouTube. Kiefer Sutherland is exploring this same area right now with a series of webisodes called "The Confession," about a killer (Sutherland) who confesses past and future murders to a priest (the awesome John Hurt, who gets plenty of praise here), leaving it up to the priest to try and stop him (see Hulu interview here).


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