Hamburger

Self Crit on Hamburger

I am extremely proud of this piece. The process, which was squeezed together into a two week period, was intense; orchestrating 5 actors who are all students, during finals week, was crazy, but some how we pulled it off. The talent was wonderful to work with, and Stephanie and I made a very good team in the way of getting things done. Our idea, which admittedly started as an inside joke, evolved into a 9 minute long monster that had to be wrestled to the ground like the monolithic grizzly of  an edit it was. But, we did it. Is it perfect? Fuck no. Was it fun? Did I learn anything? Hell yeah.

To start on whats wrong. The audio is downright terrible at times, i.e. the looped presence for the kitchen and master scenes and Aaron's quiet dialogue in the Rec scene. We also lost footage in translation, making us build a house with rotting wood in some areas. Color correction is hit or miss, mainly because every scene needed to be touched, and we simply did not have the man power to film, edit, and compress in enough time to make it perfect.

What works? Well, we experimented with slowing down and speeding up shots. And it worked brilliantly. Our challenges have become more epic, and the plot is absurd. It's a fun piece that achieves what it's main goal is- to entertain. I love it while hating it at the same time. But for now, it's due. And I think the fact that I accept it is enough for myself.

Humorous Reading of the Script

Very very funny lol. We weren't tired and punch drunk or anything.

Summary of Hamburger

A girl ventures into an alternate dimension, going through a series of battles, in search of her one true desire - COW MEAT!

Themes and intent of Hamburger

In this film we are main intent is to amuse and entertain our audience with an absurd story that leaves the viewer asking questions about what they have just seen. Then coupling the absurdity with well shot, well edited, experimental sequences to draw in our audience. So in short by experimentation and absurdity we create interest. This is a narrative piece structured in a video game like sequence inspired by the short experimental films by Maya Deren.

Our main themes are obsession and absurdity.

Obsession because of the extreme lengths that the main character will go to just to retrieve a simple hamburger that could easily be replaced.

Absurdity because not only is the situation, the dialogue and the characters absurd but so is the determination to get just a hamburger.

Plot Breakdown of Hamburger

The plot breakdown is fairly simple, the girl goes into the cabinet, where she meets up with four other characters in different situations, each involving (besides the last) a test of skill and determination. Upon confronting the last character the girl ends up waking up on her kitchen floor and once realizing she did not gain the hamburger that she had sought after she leaves in frustration. But then a hand reaches from the cabinet and puts the hamburger back in it's original place.

Production Design Statement

The aesthetic use of transitions will not only move the story along further but will also create visually pleasing moments. Many of the outdoors shots will mainly consist of pathways or passages which will show progression and the other transitions will be initiated by the opening of a door.