Ghost PTSD

An interesting take on the Ghost movie. It's definitely difficult to picture what life for our loved ones would be like after we're gone and this film had me dwelling. Some great pictures in here too, and awesome work on the wardrobe. Nicely done.

I didn't dig this one; I think if you do not have access to REALLY good actors, it's important to make a comedy!
It's just so difficult to manage a dark tone when the lead isn't fully believable!

This was a difficult watch, a very emotionally powerful film. Well done. Great use of the ghost genre.

My one criticism is that the soldier's announcement of the death did not match the footage of the death. The soldier announced "there's been an accident". But the footage showed the man being killed with intent by a FPV drone. The announcement should have been that he had been killed in the line of duty, and that would have also been a more powerful emotional message as it would reinforce the view of the man as a hero, rather than possibly as a klutz who had a fatal accident.

It's an excellent concept, acted and shot and edited well, but more thought needed to go into the details of the script.

Super interested in the team behind this one.It seems like there's some really good technical stuff going on here. I also think the choice of the soldier getting chased by the drone is FUCKING AWESOME and TERRIFYING!! The underwater shot with the locket was beautiful! I think this film needed to be more of a surreal montage/music video to really land. And unfortunately, the drone death didn't work for me. The sound and visual of being chased by one of those things is absolutely terrifying, and its a shame you didnt lean into that more. Those fpv drones get right up into people before exploding! I think this team did show off that they have all the technical abilities, as well as costume and locations to make something GREAT in the future! I hope to see you guys stick the landing next year

Coincidentally, this film screens immediately after For When You Wake by Screen Qweens, and so we have a film about the loss of the perfect straight dream immediately after a film about the loss of the perfect gay dream.

This film is really well executed. The slow realisation that the dad is present but dead. The way he successively disappears from all the real-life settings, and transforms into the bearer of bad news. "It's like I'm not even here" is a great tipping point for this realisation.

The little boy's performance is a real highlight. So proud of his dad.

It feels odd to have a patriotic military film in a New Zealand context. It begs the question, where did this man die? His death being described as an accident feels sinister, like something is being covered up.

This film is really good! Your actors sold it quite well, and each shot looked really nice! This film really made you feel things, especially in the theatre.

Now, I do have one thing that I think would have improved this film, but it's not a big grip! this is quite minor, but I think it would've just elevated your film that bit more!
I think that this film would have felt a lot deeper if you hadn't gone through every shot shown before and shown him fading out. You built up a sense of mystery and depth throughout the film, making us a viewers have to think and try to figure out what was happening, then you revealed everything to us and sort of shallowed out your plot by laying everything so clear and bare at the end. If you had left out a lot of the shots of him disappearing then it would make the film so much more rewatchable, because (for example) on your second watch you would see the shot of him with his son and realise "Wait... He's not there!". You would still be thinking about it and learning new things about the film with each watchthrough.

That great wall of text is only a minor thought though! All in all this is really well made, and a poignant piece.

I think this film needed to place more trust in the audience.
The big reveal moment when the soldier fades away could have been a huge revelation but I think everyone saw it coming from a mile away. Which is partially due to the genre and title of the film. But moreso from the character literally saying "It's like they can't see me! It's like I'm not even here!".
Hint towards a twist. But don't spell it out before the reveal.
Other than that, it was technically well done. Especially those explosions on the battle field! Wow!!

As part of a team who also did a sad death film in this heat I hope it doesn't sound too self-congratulatory to say I love it when teams take a chance to do a emotional and heartfelt film! As much as I love the comedies that are the staple of 48 hours it is nice to see teams break out from this and have some different stories being told alongside the funny ones. I thought the acting in your film was really good and was strong enough to carry the serious nature of the film. There were some beautiful shots in this one - particularly the locket in the water, and the scenes on the battlefield were absolute standouts. I enjoyed the play back through the scenes with the father fading out as well, leading to the final door knock. One of the things I would've liked to see included in this film is a bit more detail about what the father meant to his family - maybe a montage or some more dialogue could've been used here so that we get more of a sense of the connection between them. I think this could've made the death announcement really hit the emotional note of this final scene even harder. Well done team :)

ScryptTeam returns with another war-themed story! Interesting!

There’s a lot of really great stuff in here. It’s well shot, the lead delivers a solid performance, and the costuming and set are excellent.

Two things to take it to the next level:

The story is a bit light and ends too quickly. Perhaps you had plans that didn’t work out over the weekend and had to cut it short?

Already mentioned above — trust your audience! The biggest drawback is the fading away repeated three times and then the death at the end. We all knew what was happening well before this. Continue to focus on the characters! How does this guy come to terms with what has happened? When does he realise he’s dead? There are so many cool directions it could go.

THE BEST THING: A bold idea with some great set pieces and costume.

THE NEXT THING: Trust your audience to pick up on the subtleties and continue to move the story forward! Please come back next year and we look forward to seeing what you create!