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FADE TO BLACK 3
After sitting through a number of dismal student productions recently, I was dreading FADE TO BLACK. I've said it once, no, make that a thousand times, and I'll say it a thousand more, "just because you've got a story to tell doesn't mean you should." Over the years that quote has meant countless different things, but one thing it's never meant is "don't make a movie." Lately I've been of the notion that it means "if you know your work is dreck, don't subject others to it."The biggest problem with most amateur filmmakers is they have no idea how to visually tell a story. In the end, you applaud the effort, but not the execution. If people can't comprehend what's on screen, then they aren't going to be able to take anything from the film away with them. If someone can't take anything away from a movie, then what's the point in watching the movie.
I'm pleased to say that none of this applies to the boys at Random Foo Productions, a group of filmmakers dedicated to making "quality" films. When it comes to amateur filmmaking, FADE TO BLACK is some of the best narrative you'll find. My biggest regret is not getting to the tape as quickly as I should have.
The core group at Random Foo is Jason Santo, Franke Parker, Steven Sherrick, and Joe Vaccariello, each filling in the various production roles as needed.
The shorts vary in nature from comedy to drama to action and suspense. Last I heard, they have never made a horror film, nor will they ever. The Foo boys are more inspired by the medium of film itself rather than any one particular genre. Although, I wouldn't mind seeing them do a horror piece. They sure have to talent to pull one off effectively
Written and directed by Franke Parker, the first short is titled "The Item." Four mob yes-men are all trying to retrieve the same item for their bosses and collect a bounty 4 times their normal salaries. A seemingly Tarantino-inspired comedy-action story about double-crosses that fortunately doesn't have the trademark Tarantino-ramblings. The short revolves around the concept of Alfred Hitchcock's Maguffin, an object that serves no purposed other than to move the story along. The piece cheats itself in the end by revealing "The Item."
Following "The Item" is "Marisa", the most experimental of the bunch, and easily the most visually exciting. Set entirely to music, the film tells a story about murder and the world of AIDS. Writer/Director Jason Santo, uses mixed mediums to good effect to represent various periods in Marisa's life as she moves from blissful splendor to cracked dementia. Santo deft hand never delves into the political rhetoric surrounding the topics, instead he views the material at an objective arm's length.
Last up is "The Final Sale," directed by Steven Sherrick and co-written by Sherrick and Santo. "The Final Sale" sits somewhere between "The Item" in terms of structure and "Marisa" is terms of moral philosophy. An insurance salesman decides to take his own life after he losses his job to poor sales. He's stopped by an escaping burglar who teaches the salesman the importance of living. The set-up feels like a Hollywood gimmick, but the dialogue is crisp and dead-on.
All three films represent the spirit of indi-cinema, yet retain the high-polished look of Hollywood filmmaking. Never compromising their world views, Random Foo puts quality first. It's just a matter of time before these guys cross over into professional filmmaking.