Emergency Key

This is how cool people end a 48 Hour film

This was exactly what I was expecting from this team!
Is that good or bad? Nah.

I wanna see you guys push further technically! Find a film school that gives you access to lots of equipment, then use it as much as you can! Practice!

You have the sauce, you just gotta work on how you cook the steak!

Samuel Wallace Productions, this was one of my most highly anticipated films, and I hate to say it, but this is a step backwards compared to last year's entry. I want ACTION!! I want VIOLENCE!! I want a bunch of boys throwing hands, and I KNOW you can do it! I'm a big fan of your feature length movies, so I know you can deliver! Next year I want to see you go all out, and blow the competition away!!

A surreal action chase with unclear motivations through some iconic Christchurch locations.

I particularly liked the shot of the guy being pulled backwards away from the camera through the sand.

It felt a bit weird and light on story, but I believe you made exactly the film you wanted to make and achieved the vision you were going for.

Good work on having the tension there while in the car. You guys looked like you had fun making this film.

A consideration sometimes when certain camera tech is out of reach could be using object tracking in post: something easy like After Effects. You could achieve a sense of urgency if the camera movement was tracked to your runner's mid section. Little tricks like this can elevate a sequence quite heavily. Check out the escape sequence in Guy Ritchies King Arthur or RocknRolla on the railway for how it could look/mimic attaching a camera to someone.

Looking forward to what you guys come up with next year. Well done.

I think the decision to give the pursuer a head torch was a great one. Lighting a nighttime scene is time consuming. And it is even moreso when the characters are in constant movement between locations. But this problem is solved by having the light source attached to a character. It also creates some very nice silhouetting of the chasee in a few choice shots.
Ofcourse you did also have the occasional fill-light attached to the camera but I find this flattens the image as it eliminates any emotive shadows from side-lighting.

Creatively, I think this is a step down from last year's Noise Complaint which was a constant feed of unique and interesting kills.
Meanwhile Emergency Key has long stretches of time which are just people running. The high-adrenaline energy that you capture so well takes a dip when it doesn't change up, innovate, build on itself. Which you do of course in moments like the car chase and the beach fight. Just needs more of that.

A night-time shoot is hard to pull off, but really works for the tension in this story. My favourite shot in the film is when our character gets into his car and we see his opponent suddenly illuminated in the dark running towards him - I knew it was coming and it still gave me a jump scare. With this film we start with a great action filled opening of the main character jumping into frame and sprinting away from camera - very captivating! However, there isn't much change up from this in tone or pace from this point - I wish there had been a bit more variety here or perhaps the film could've been shortened to help it maintain impact. I did really enjoy the scenery during the foot-chase though - particularly the stunning backdrop of Christchurch lit up during the hill part of the chase.

A man is on the run to find the emergency key, and unlock his *true* destiny. Hopefully.

What an energetic film! Right from the get go with that opening shot I knew we were going to be in for a fast-paced time! What a move shooting in the night too! Was that on the Friday or the Saturday night?? Loved the end reveal of what they were running for too - and like Meesh.M noted, that shot of the opponent suddenly light up in the shadows, absolutely gripping!

One suggestion that might be worth considering could be in developing the story a little further - as some other reviews have noted, there isn't a huge amount of change in variety in the tone or pace of the film, it's go-go-go from the start, and doesn't let up. Allowing for a bit more story elements to bleed through the high-intensity may help to build in some ebbs and flows of the story, and help slowly reveal the context of WHY he's running! I had that 'oh of course!' moment in the reveal at the end, but you could have slipped in some subtle story hints in earlier that may have helped build that audience intrigue and investment.

Overall, a fast-paced race against both time and the limits of the human bowel system, great work!

Bahhhhhhh guyyyyyysssss!!!!

Look — it’s a great film! Lots of fun, with some great choreography and moments of tension. Plenty of strong feedback above about all that yadayadayada. Given we know who you are and what you’re capable of, we’re totally grading you on a curve here — haha — but please hear our cries and take the notes below with all the love in the world:

Your night shooting days are over! We lose too much in these dark scenes with torch lighting, and it cripples the quality of your shots. You’ve got it in you to smash out some excellent choreography, action, and story — but the night scenes are killing that potentiallllll.

A great twist here, but it’s just too long. This would have landed better as a shorter 2–3 minute chase to get to the point faster. Story is king! We want to know why we should care about this lead and his precious key. Give us more to chew onnnnn.

THE BEST THING: Another great action flick from a dependable team on that front.
THE NEXT THING: If the moon is in the sky - you're writing, editing, or sleeping :P That is all!

This film just didn't work for me for one simple practical reason, which I have been reluctant to point out but nobody else has alluded to so here goes!

In real life, if you were actually busting for the toilet in the desperate physical state evidenced by the sound effects at the end, with your only possible toilet miles away - but were starting in a setting containing both parks with trees with deep shadows under them that are jet black in contrast to the streetlights in the background, and private houses... Are you really going to go running on some insane long mission fighting past other people to get to a public toilet miles away (and risk finding after running 20 steps that you had something dripping down your leg)? Or would you just use a tree? Or knock on someone's door and ask to use their loo?

Honestly, I'd use a tree or knock on someone's door.

So for me, the twist at the end didn't make the story make more sense, it actually made it make less sense, and made the preceding 5 minutes feel rather pointless, as the reveal of the problem showed there had already been two simpler solutions right at hand at the very beginning. The twist should have showed why the running was necessary, instead it showed there had been no need for it.

As others have said, just put a bit more thought into your story next time. Bear in mind I'm a farmer so I do look at things differently! :-)