by Jillian Butler, Ampersandology
The short film is, to use a technical term, a sticky wicket.
In an impressive reverse of logic, the short film has acquired a dismissal order by the public at large---much like the short story, rhyming couplet or haiku, your average moviegoer regards the form as 'half-hearted' or incomplete---a mere training ground for 'real' filmmakers until they get their act together and manage to make a feature.
It probably doesn't help that the field is crowded at the moment---the democracy of the internet and computer software has widened the film so that strangely, the freedom leads to a lot of navel-focused, indie-soundtrack films that may or may not accurately reflect the filmmaker's childhood.
But the short form has it upsides: sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for an idea is keep it sparse. Make your point and then make like the wind.
Enter Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?
This is my platonic idea of a short film: I discovered when it came attached to the then-newly invented McSweeney's venture Wholphin, and I've never forgotten it. It was written by oddball darling Miranda July and features John C. Reilly, and asks only one question: are you anybody's favorite person?
It's simplicity itself. It makes its point. Then it makes like the wind.
From the YouTube description:
So ask yourself (or not): are you anybody's favorite person? Do you have to be? And do you have one yourself? I have my own answers, obviously.
The short film is, to use a technical term, a sticky wicket.
In an impressive reverse of logic, the short film has acquired a dismissal order by the public at large---much like the short story, rhyming couplet or haiku, your average moviegoer regards the form as 'half-hearted' or incomplete---a mere training ground for 'real' filmmakers until they get their act together and manage to make a feature.
It probably doesn't help that the field is crowded at the moment---the democracy of the internet and computer software has widened the film so that strangely, the freedom leads to a lot of navel-focused, indie-soundtrack films that may or may not accurately reflect the filmmaker's childhood.
But the short form has it upsides: sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for an idea is keep it sparse. Make your point and then make like the wind.
Enter Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?
This is my platonic idea of a short film: I discovered when it came attached to the then-newly invented McSweeney's venture Wholphin, and I've never forgotten it. It was written by oddball darling Miranda July and features John C. Reilly, and asks only one question: are you anybody's favorite person?
It's simplicity itself. It makes its point. Then it makes like the wind.
From the YouTube description:
This is a simple, poignant short film, shot on a budget of $150: a man with a survey stops passersby and asks them, "Are you anybody's favorite person?" What a heartbreaking question, for somebody who DOESN'T come first in somebody else's heart! Miranda July, who wrote the short story this is based on, had just finished shooting ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW and made this film in the week between shooting and editing the first rough assembly. Miguel Arteta, who directed, was still in love with her at the time, and in an interview with WHOLPHIN said, "The shoot was painless but sure enough, by the time I started editing, we were broken up. This little short is like a rear-view mirror that survived a fabulous, painful crash."
So ask yourself (or not): are you anybody's favorite person? Do you have to be? And do you have one yourself? I have my own answers, obviously.
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