Data Management and Security Training

Far out, it's so refreshing when a team takes an aesthetic like this and absolutely nails it. The sound, cinematography and editing all feel exactly how I imagine retro workplace instructional videos to be. The cherry on top is the two leads carrying the piece home with some great dead pan humour. Nice job team.

Casey and I had a back and forth about the moment when the boom pole came into the frame - Casey says "What a silly mistake" and I was like "No, it's definitely an interesting creative choice - I know this team wouldn't make a silly mistake like that"... and then we both clocked it... It was THE ACCIDENT! How the fuck did I not think of it like that in the first place?!

Anyway, even though last year's entry was *cough* *cough*... robbed of a spot in the city finals - this was definitely more compelling and like what Luca has already covered, a refreshing concept that nails the mark both crew and cast side.

Yusss. Love a great PSA film. The humour, setting and tone were spot on. The use of "SLOMO" as an acronym was such a clever choice and I dare say the most unique use of that element I've seen heats wide.
The hints at a B-story unfolding behind the PSA, which if developed and given more relevance would have pushed this to my favourite from all of CHCH.
Definitely worth multiple watches!!
A team with great ideas - great execution and one to keep an eye on.

A very slick Severance style short film about a sinister retro future company. Theres a lot to like here, and the films creepy creepiness creeps up in a satisfying way. HOWEVER, and I say this in the best possible way, I was left wanting MORE. More creepy vibes, a bigger creepy set, and more mystery to be revealed. I think this team got unlucky with their genre, because I know that they have all the toys camera wise. I want to see PIE FACE unleashed, with a super slick gorgeous film, shot in a beautiful Christchurch location, with a big team of actors. If anyone can pull it off, it’s these guys.

This was quite tame!
There was a really beautifully lit shot of these guys walking down a corridor, and I wish every shot looked like that!
The inspiration is there, but something is holding the creatives back! They seem embarrassed to really commit to the bit! There's an interest in the aesthetic of a wacky, interesting, sinister movie. By there is NOT commitment!

Obviously, the technical elements are flawless... Which in this case is bad! I wish this movie was shot on a shitty camcorder! I wish the lighting was always as bold as I know it can be!! I wish the performances would go crazier!

So, a good foundation! A good concept! I just want it to go harder!

Technical prowess but very unconvincing casting of two intermediate age youngsters as corporate high-flyers.

You guys nailed it. Not the only 90s-ish VHS aesthetic of the competition, but so so good. The medium might have been vintage, but the subject matter was oh so modern. Data management is a beautifully niche goldmine of material to geek out on.

It takes great skill to satirise corporate politics well, and you did it perfectly.

Delightful dialogue. Salaciously inappropriate workplace behaviour. Sinister even. I love it!

What got my attention:
The opening graphics and music. Great.

Take it or Leave it:
There’s a lot of love amongst reviewers here for how well this has created training videos from the (90s?) time period. As someone who had to watch these myself and show other people them while managing a major pizza chain in the 90s I can tell you they were nothing like this. There were production values, pristine uniforms and set-ups that were so carefully constructed that while cheesy, would present the companies values in the best possible light. You wouldn’t see a boom in shot (& if that’s your accident as suggested it’s pretty lame). You wouldn’t see sight gags in the background. The presenter wouldn’t look off camera. They weren’t mockumentaries. You’d also see a presenter with some status and authority. Or there would just be a voice-over. As noted by a previous reviewer the casting in this just doesn’t hit it. They’re too young so lack that suave, calm persona of someone that’s warm, caring and wants you to be “the best employee you can be”. You wouldn’t see an actual new employee in these employee vids – rather someone pretending to be one – and certainly not surprised by anything. Everything should be intentional and obviously scripted. Suits that don’t fit. Sloppy dressing – not employee training accurate enough. It’s also not really played straight enough to allow the comedy to naturally come through for the sake of this comp. I’m not sure why you didn’t ditch the training video vibe (akin to mockumentary/reality TV/Self-help group over use in 48) and maybe just make a found footage film? Could have been the same general sinister corporation but just based on a camera crew who went in there to make a training video and stumbled upon more -eg the kidnapped people! Or an undercover reporter delving into the company with a hidden camera. I mean why would they film the tied-up and bound employee and his wife and then make an edited employee training video with it? I think you had options that weren’t simply an over-parody of an instructional video.

Final thoughts:
Made the CHCH finals so well done! I suggest checking out https://www.48hours.co.nz/screening-room/2004/auckland/jesse-mcleod-the-journey/ It's the granddaddy of how it’s done.

#justiceservedforthesexwizards

Boy oh boy did you have us sweating at first. On the initial watch, we honestly thought this might flatline and crawl into the shortlist - but the more we revisited it, the stronger it got. And the judges clearly felt the same, praising its consistency and clarity of vision. You chose your course and committed, and it paid off.

The performers did a solid job with the material but uhhhh yeah, it was pretty hard to ignore that they kinda looked like kids in oversized suits. Funny to be telling an adult team to “act your age,” but here we are. Both your actors are great - there’s no doubt - but casting characters more in line with their presence would have taken this up another notch - particularly the experienced worker, make em look worn down. Sometimes the right face in the right role is the whole game and we wonder whether that may have been a thing that knocked you down a few spaces this year.

That said, what you did achieve is no small thing. The aesthetic landed. It’s rare to see a team really nail that retro-corporate training video vibe with so much style and technical polish, and the “SLOMO” acronym was so fun, and a great way to dodge using actual slow mo to ensure you don’t break consistency of the style.

The intensity and absurdity of the story is fairly steady and then has a pretty sharp ramp up at the end, it left us feeling a bit lost and took a few re-watches to soak that in. We’ve talked a bit about that ending already - maybe a cut or a zoom of that writing on the hand would have been *handy*, but how does one achieve that without breaking consistency? A tough nut to crack.

Lots to celebrate, lots to try out next year. Pie Face is a team that has been robbed historically, so it’s nice to see you receive more recognition this year for your talent.

THE BEST THING: The clarity of vision. A consistent aesthetic, sharp direction, and a concept carried confidently throughout. Also those credits were awesome.

THE NEXT THING: I think Pie Face could really do with bringing in a writer that is able to turn the dials up on everything a bit more. Take a page out of the absurdity of MO Productions or rip focus 2, maybe a dash of Cactus? Or An Evening With. You’re on the cusp of being able to tell a story that really hooks us in and what we really want more than anything from Pie Face is to be able to really get behind a character and see them achieve - or fail to achieve - a goal.