"OFF THE GRID” SHOWS REAL PROMISE!

OFF THE GRID: SEEKING THE TRUTH [Short film]

Directed/Written/Edited by Malcolm Carter
Music by Envato Elements

Produced by MCP Network

Starring Jalal Jamal, Eric Duron, Ahad Thalho, Huberto Villarreal, Malcolm Carter, Brad King, Alexis West, Aaron Phillips, Justin Saxton, and Eric Hunter.

SUMMARY - The opening sequence tells a story of time travel; where a traveler arrives safely into 2018 and then is surprised to meet someone from his time already there. The scene changes to another location where people with masks are trapped in a forest-maze where they cannot escape. One can assume that the people trapped in this 'maze' must align themselves with other teams to survive. 

The first segment is filmed in the dark and the second segment shot during the day; a direct contrast, but something that works with this first installment that could be a nice web series to see put out more information. The wardrobe and costumes are perfect for the story, adding more mystery to the story.

Several posters and ads for this short film have surfaced on the internet and on Facebook that are unique and impressive in a futuristic type of way. It definitely looks like the production team thought out the advertisement sense of this project before delivering it to fans  on Youtube.

PRODUCTION BREAKDOWN

← Lighting

← Camera Work

← Screenplay

← Sound

↑  Use of Visuals

← Time Lapse

← Editing

↑  Rule of Thirds
← Locations

↑  Music

← Ending/Follow through
 
LEGEND   ↑ Excellent   ← Needs Work    ↓ Poor

POST MORTEM - I was truly impressed with the first minute and fourteen seconds of this short film; there was a ominous dark tone which the two actors brilliantly performed to give the start a 'secret feel' of what to expect with the rest of the film. I had a problem that the rest of the film had little color corrections and that the sounds in the background weren't consistently flowing in each take even though there was an apparent attempt to fix it. 

Some of the dialog between the actors sounded 'robotic' and the acting was a little cold in the second segment of the film; there are some serious talented actors cast in this short, perhaps the actors were still feeling out their roles and waiting the proper character development that could happen in due time. Proper training with screenplay can correct this problem and eliminated the 'robotic' feel to the delivery of some of the dialog. Practice makes perfect and this production could easily set a new standard in the Houston Film Scene.

This could be a 'long haul' web series that's in development and there are some interesting variables that could launch this idea into the next plateau of success. The visual effects, opening and closing credits were crisp and totally professional; the music was a nice touch and didn't drown out anything that was happening in the forefront of each scene.

Bravo...and I hope to see more!

⭐️⭐️⭐️[3 of 5 Stars]