ABE - Rob McLellan (VFX Before and After)

I really enjoyed this short film, it was tense and included an interesting monologue. I'm still in the process of writing my script for this module's film and I'm trying to take note of how effective monologues, or pieces of dialogue in general, work.  This one is in keeping with the character. It's statement and facts, and has a robotic rhythm (which is good...since it's a robot). Though the robot is talking about itself there's a structure to it, it doesn't immediately declare it's intentions, it's hinted at and built. I personally think that this is especially important in human based dialogue especially if you're going for a naturalistic tone. People don't usually speak exactly what's on their mind, they may hint at it or go off topic all together, though there may be important information to give the audience it shouldn't be forced through the character if it is not in their nature to say such things, instead it would have to be illustrated through other means, such as actions and design. Allowing the story to unfold naturally gives scope for speculation from the viewer and allows them to become involved and interested in the narrative.

The tone and design of this piece is eerie and a little melancholy. There's a slowness about it which, though keeps suspense, also allows the audience to empathise with the lead character. The colours are quite clinical, blues and whites, which I'd quite like to emulate. Perhaps the colours would shift as the story unfolds (getting colder each day) to add a eerie tone. This piece also illustrates an importance to have interactivity and reference for an actor even if VFX and CG are going to be used in the final piece. To an extent I think the pre-VFX is a little eerier in performance, probably due to the stillness of the actor, which seems a lot more unnatural as a human than a robot.