WriterLois

Nadir

This and EOD... man I really liked the horror films we got this year. This has definitely got to be my personal favourite from Christchurch, though.

Really reminds me of "Other Side of the Box", one my my first introductions to short-film horror and definitely still a favourite of mine.

Woof, I can't describe the feeling I was left with at the heats. Pretty sure my jaw was on the floor.

Bravo!

Family Game Fight

Wow wow WOW!

This is one of the only films this year (adult teams included) that really scratched an itch for me. Really reminded me of Edgar Wright, specifically Scott Pilgrim vs The World with that fight game break. Some really incredible filmmaking here, I'm so happy this one won Best School this year.

"Action sequences are actually sick – especially as a one-take (big fan)" – a real quote from my notes

May or may not have noted down the director's name as someone to keep an eye on in the future. Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with next!

Dead Colour

Great vibes, great visuals, great music choice.
This was one of the standouts in the school teams this year just in terms of style. You guys really took the noir genre and ran with it. Committed completely and that really shows.
"Oooh nice makeup FX" – a quote from my notes on this one
Your ending landed pretty well seeing as, as other people have mentioned, the plot is a little fuzzy. Next time the script possibly needs a little more TLC...
Anyway, really enjoyed this film and wasn't at all surprised you guys got nominated for best school team. You seem pretty committed to the comp so I hope we'll be seeing you next year :)

The Deadumentary

A pretty great mockumentary, this one.

Style choices for the titles ended up looking sooo good. Give the editor a pat on the back for that one and maybe let them out for some fresh air.

Audio is hard for school teams working with very little equipment but this was especially crunchy. Next time, using phones to record audio or renting/borrowing a cheapo mic would definitely be worth it.

I can tell you guys had a blast filming this and that's a must for 48Hours but part of the fun is getting everyone in on the concept and being able to laugh at the fact you made a pretty good film with these ridiculous moments.

Overall, I hope you guys come back! You could have a really cool future in this competition with your own distinct style (think Herms Heroes). Hopefully see you next year?

The Clock-work killer

Fantastic sound effects, fight choreography, and a healthy amount of fake blood. The flashes for the gunshots definitely made me sit up and go "ooh".

Joel tells school teams to "act your age" every year and I'm not saying he's wrong but I get how annoying it is to hear it when you very rarely see short films made in the noir genre that fit your age range. I'd recommend you watch Sub-Par Cinema Society's submission this year. Reputation does a really good job of fitting the noir genre whilst being accurate to the age of the team. Don't be discouraged, team! Creativity is one of the few things that thrives when you lock it in a box with no sunlight (like an editor)

"Great job team" – a quote from my notes on this one.

I sincerely hope you come back next year and blow our socks off.

Extermi-Nate

Right off the bat this film ticked one of my boxes that school teams so rarely tick – it has style. Direction, editing, writing, all work together to make a film that doesn't feel like a cheap knock-off but a genuine parody. It's just a shame it got disqualified.
Curious to see what you guys get up to in the comp next year.

Room of UR

Nice banana shirt...
Anyway, a great film with some genuinely Mr Bean-esque funny moments. I love a good cut-off scream and the ending was just weird enough to work.
The only issue I had was the fourth-wall break to explain the Room of UR/Rumour joke, trust the audience to put the pieces together on their own and if they somehow don't get it they can have a Fridge Brilliance moment later.
Fabulous to see another MGS team going all out and getting nominated for best school team, LET'S GO TEAM! Look forward to seeing what this team makes next...

Ain't It Grounded

Fun film folks!
Every year Joel gives school teams the same advice: ACT YOUR AGE! Great job for doing that.
Shot choices were really good. I particularly liked the dutch tilt with the heads popping round the doorframe. And the stuff with the red light was super fun and stylistic.
The lock picking gets a good laugh out of me every time! Your Fake Award win for Best Worst Lock Picking was well won and you should've heard the collective cackle it got!
Entering as a school team is tough, you can feel like a small fish in a big pond, but I encourage you to come back next year and blow our socks off. Don't be afraid to go weird with it, and if there's one thing that automatically improves a 48Hours film: effort. You can tell when a team has gone all out and committed fully.
My advice for every single one of you is to go all in with the idea, throw everything at it, and don't discredit yourselves just because you don't have the nice equipment or locations of other teams. Find the things that you've got and the other teams don't have and figure out how to make it your advantage.
This film shows real promise for a school team. I look forward to seeing what you guys make next!

The Deadumentary

"Brodie is my favourite character ever" – Lois during the first watch

404: Adrian Not Found

Let's go team! Great job Bethany!

There is nothing scarier than Mark Rickerby wearing a hat...

The Host Unknown

In a year of pretty bog-standard found footages, your take on it took me by surprise. Not sure if you guys have seen the endlessly memed Unfriended film but this holds a somewhat similar premise of a found footage using a video call, which I'm surprised didn't get super popular during COVID lockdowns but that's besides the point. I liked the in-universe excuse for having multiple angles (like the final fight of Chronicle, okay I'll stop with the references).

The monster hand looked genuinely so good, it got me wondering if you guys just had that lying around somewhere or if you bought it specifically for the festival.

You guys pulled of your premise with such unwavering confidence that my only real suggestion would be that the plot was a little confusing. Other than that, bravo team!

Wanted

Some really good shots and great music selection – really fit the genre.
The location was a breath of fresh air. You really made the most of it with that plot twist at the end and the "car" chase.
Respect for all the dubbing, I remember doing a film for a middle-school class years ago filmed on my parents' trusty iPad and we made the executive decision to scrap all the audio and dub it over. It's harder than it looks! But, yeah, next step would be to work something out to avoid all that fuss, whether it's hiding phones closer to actors or borrowing/buying a mic.
Overall, a pretty solid film. You really seem to get the silly, wacky, and slightly strange vibe that the 48Hours community here loves. Best of luck for next year!