Singularity

As the director, I have a lot to say!
The sound mix drops out towards the end, which sucks.

There's one line reading in there I could have directed a lot better.
I think a few shots linger too long! Gotta keep the pace up!

I think the meaning of the ending is quite obscure. I don't want to get in the way of people's interpretations, but equally, we have our own idea of what's up.

Would have loved to put in credits, but it was so damn down to the wire, we just didn't have time!

Look I have a lot to say about this film, the project itself and the creative powerhouses behind it, so this is going to come off as a bit scatterbrained and rambly. You have been warned!

I was lucky enough to watch this before the heats. It was on the Sunday night, hours after the competition had closed. I had just spent the last 24 hours editing 2 films, both filmed and recorded on a cellphone without a microphone. My footage had no colour grading, and no depth of field, purely in the pursuit of capturing energy and movement (and as a quasi protest against the overly technical road the competition seems to be going down). I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself and my silly little films, and the sleep deprivation was definitely getting to me.

Watching SINGULARITY was unlike anything I have ever experienced in terms of 48 hours. The only thing I can think to compare it to, would be the work of Disqualified Tim, and even now, I think that this “team” has outdone Tim at his own game. HO-LE-SHIT! This film absolutely FUCKS from the moment the title cards come up all the way to the end. I could not BELIEVE what I was watching on the Sunday night, and in this competition, first impressions are everything!

I knew about the concept, and I even knew about the spaceship set (I even helped paint a small portion of it) but NEVER could I have predicted that this “”team”” could have pulled it off. It's worth noting that this film feels HUGE. Like a crew of 20 people put this together. But the truth is, this was made by 4 people (closer to 3 people if you really think about it). Felix, Luke, Rob and Abby. I still can't wrap my head around it. From what I understand, Felix was the DP, Luke was the grip + DP for the minis, Rob made the incredible soundtrack and managed the ADR, as well as being another grip, and Abby was the main actress. That's it. Maybe there was some help from the parents, but not in a way that tips the scales.

Felix, Abby and Rob all worked together on 2024s “God Has Abandoned Us (The Devil Is Here)”, and it's fantastic to see the set up in quality from all of them. Not to say that “God Has Abandoned Us” is in any way bad. I would even say it's great! But the step up in quality in only 1 year is WILD!! The production design in 2024 was great, but this year it's FANTASTIC! Abby's role in 2024 was great, but this year it's FANTASTIC!! Rob’s role in 2024 was great, but this year it's FANTASTIC!! The music in 2024 was great, but this year its FUCKING FANTASTIC!!! And all of the ambition and scale and weirdness and surrealness and BALLS of 2024 is still there, but ramped up to 1000!! (Seriously, go and watch last year's film, the foreshadowing is crazy!) It's also worth noting that Luke has collabed with Felix on a number of smaller projects since last year's 48 Hours (some mad max inspired wasteland short films, a spy thriller action film, and some short genre films) but this is on a whole new level. This is clearly Lukes best 48 Hours work, and I love that his infectious love of space, retro futurism, and set building has maranatied into this project beautifully!

On first watch, I didn't fully grasp the full story, but it didn't matter. I incorrectly interpreted the film as Abby trying to save her childhood VHS home movies before abandoning her spaceship. All of the themes of family and trying to restore the ship's OS were lost on me, but it didn't matter. I knew I was watching a masterpiece, and I was only there to soak up the vibes. The race against time aspect, mixed with the KILLER soundtrack creates such a strong feeling of tension and claustrophobia, that carries the weight and urgence of the film perfectly (This may also be Rob/DJ slieking best publicly available work to date). Fuck this team lucked out with the genre, and im SO THANKFULL! In another universe, with a different genre, they would have made a ‘Starwars Holiday Special’!!

Visually, the film is peak. A beautiful combination of yellows and greens, grain and aberration tie every shot together perfectly. From miniatures to closeups, to fully CGI wormholes, and even miniatures mixed with live action shots, it never once feels out of place. Despite the stunning spaceship set, it's almost never in focus, keeping the visual language LOCKED IN on story, character, and motivation. EVERY. SECOND. COUNTS! I thought I had cracked the code of camera movement, but this film has movement for days! Constant wipe pants, punch ins and zooms that keep the energy alive! As well as constantly changing lighting for each new environment. The lack of green screen is UNREAL!! From what I understand, all of the shots that would have been green screened, are actually displayed on a giant TV, like a poormans volume that ironically looks 1000 times better than anything shot on a volume!! There are STUNNING miniatures that are on screen for only a fraction of a second. There are entire set pieces that hardly get shown. There isnt a single repeating shot in the entire fuckin thing. Other teams would have panicked, and created long, self indulgent shots that show off the miniatures and props long after the charm is gone, but in this film, there's some real ‘blink and you will miss it’ moments. It just KEEPS ESCALATING. Every time you think you've seen it all, these FREAKS remind you that you haven't seen SHIT!

I have no critiques. I can't offer a single piece of constructive advice. I think the sound mix is perfect, and where it ‘dips’ works perfectly as a moment of contrast that quickly ramps back up. Maybe the slow motion shot is the only thing that lacks, but even then its a KILLER style change to end the movie on. Hats off.

From what I have seen from the competition so far, it seems a lot of Christchurch powerhouse teams (roughly 5 teams that make the city finals) arent competing this year, with a lot of other teams either playing it safe, or toning it down. A power vacuum has formed. This is THE YEAR to swing for the fences, to change the hierarchy of power, and I'm CERTAIN that Luke and Felix have done it. WIthout gimmicks, without 3D or a 2 parter or any BS like that, it's just hard work and love of the game on screen for all to see.

This competition is impossibly hard to predict. I often think the judges play it safe, and lean towards films with big casts of actors all bouncing off each other, rather than films of this nature. But I don't care about that, and for me this is as good as it gets. This is peak, and I'm sorry to say for everyone else, but it’s over. It’s done. Maybe you tried real hard, but not as hard as Felix and Luke. Better luck next year.

If you missed this at the heats, it doesn't matter. It's going to the city finals and it's going to look and sound beautiful on that entX screen. I think the odds of this going to Wellington for the Grand Finals are incredibly high, and if the judges somehome overlook this one, I'm going to lose a lot of faith in the competition. This isn't just a ‘good’ 48 Hours film, this is the future of New Zealand filmmaking right here.

Congratulations Luke, Felix, Rob and Abby!

A fantastic film for girls aged 3 - 13.

I too have a lot to say about this film.

Definitely my favourite of the night. I cannot stress enough how good it is when a team embraces every creative aspect of filmmaking and gives it the respect and attention it deserves. From the set design to the sound design, there was creativity oozing from this film and best of all it felt like it was all made from scratch rather than a jumble of your favourite effects from a sound library.
In any case this better be in the finals or I'm revolting.

Oh so good. I was geeking out to see such a well-depicted (yet delightfully cartoonish) black hole. What an excellent set. Excellent effects. Excellent everything. I love the use of VHSs. I love how expressive the computer is. Even the craft that went into your escape pod is brilliant.

Clearly your preparation paid off and you had a great vision of what you wanted to achieve. You've set a really high bar with this one.

After everything, I couldn't quite believe the ending. My heart goes out to your poor space traveller. I hope her favourite song isn't Defying Gravity.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

DUDE! Experiencing this in the venue was insane! *insert Absolute Cinema meme*

This team should be very proud. In a competition where a lot of the teams try to make their settings big and ambitious, this was by far the best way to do it by showing off the skill and talent. When I saw miniature as an element, I knew Luke was going to have a field day but I never expected it to be like this - he has outdone himself by presenting us his greatest piece so far. Instant classic.

Like Scott mentioned, this needs to be in the finals. I need to see this on the big screen. PERIOD!

This was an excellent film, a major improvement on last year particularly in storytelling - but the set really does make it. The set is like nothing else in the competition. I hope you are able to film a few more things with that epic set before you have to dismantle it!

This film absolutely blew me away. The set is insane, the cinematography is incredible, the story is amazing and the acting is brilliant. I really cannot emphasize enough how insanely impressed i am with this film, and how proud i am that this comes from a Christchurch team. You guys should be insanely proud of yourselves, this is an absolute standout to me and really shows how much can be done in a time crunch if you have the passion for it

Ambitious to its core. What an incredible achievement and peak cinema. Can see this as the regional winner.

Wouldn't expect anything less from a person whose name is 120% of the word flix.

Seeing this film completed on the big screen definitely made the cold wet days in Vicky's garage worth it.

As someone who watched/helped bring the set to live, There were a lot of challenges during the building but it was all worth it. I'm so proud of Luke and Felix.

I'm blowed away by the film, the first time I watched it. I was lost for words, I think I am still lost for words. This was such a labour of love for everyone involved. I cannot wait to see what ideas Luke and Felix come up with next,

Shout out to Vicky, Luke's parents, Felix's parents (and Buddy for making them clean the set up). For everyone who supported Luke and Felix

Wow, this was great! In terms of overall look / vibe / emotion this one really hit a sweet spot for me. I also enjoyed the sound design (as well as the mixing desk built into the wall as a futuristic control panel!) and it made the film feel quite immersive in the room - and the room, rightly, loved it! Perhaps some trade off between feel and story but that's being very picky, it's 48Hours, right? Of course the jewel in the crown is the magnificent set - clearly a lot of preparation getting that together for the comp and it paid off. Well done!

I have no words for this film. If you told me this was made in 6 months I’d still be equally as impressed! This has been my favourite submission so far and a film you should be incredibly proud of. It is perfectly rounded in all fronts, the narrative showing nice movement and setting the scene while the physical set was both literally and metaphorically out of this world! I genuinely really loved this and am excited to see more of your work! This is a piece of media I will be using in my filmmaking journey as a quality I aspire to reach. 10/10

Guys this was unbelievable. I was wide eyed and on the edge of my seat the entire time.I could not believe what I was seeing.

Visually fantastic. I love the sets and the production design so much. The retro VHS future aesthetic is great, and there was just so much to see in every single frame. All the graphics on all of the monitors, all the blinking lights, the costumes. Bravo.

The miniatures and the composting work were amazing. To do any kind of compositing in 48 is impressive, but to comp onto those awesome space visuals is massive.

The story and script and edit were all working really well, the camera work is beautiful. Your team picked a tone and aesthetic and pointed all of your creative vehicles towards it.
The scale and the scope of this thing is just unbelievable

Now all that being said. I have some slightly conflicted and undecided feelings after hearing you were building the sets in the month leading up to the comp. Obviously the sets are incredible, and they are an unbelievable backdrop to this film that I don’t think I have seen an equal to in the competition before.

However, part of the magic for me personally about 48 hours, is the 48 hours And when I was watching your film I was thinking, “How on earth did they do all this in the weekend how many of them are there?” Then after I heard that you had been building the sets prior I kind of went, “oh.” It was like finding out how a magic trick was done, it took some of the wonder out of it.

The reason I am saying this is that I would love to see you guys attempt something like this again in the one weekend. Now obviously that would reduce the scope of your film quite a bit. But when something like this is pulled off in the weekend it can be really enchanting, and really magic. See JAGBOGS Erik & Leo from 2018 as an example of this kind of thing. Not that it's a different kind of film with a smaller scope, but when that kind of production design is pulled off in the weekend it just feels really magic.

Now please don’t get me wrong. Your film definitely still felt magic. And my feelings about this likely come from an old school 48 hour brain. Back when you would get DQ’d for using anything outside of the 48 hours. That rule has changed, and you guys have shown what can be done if you utilize that. I will probably come around to the idea of that kind of prep work. But I would still love to see your team can do with this kind of production design in one weekend

Within seconds, the set had me hooked, then the story carried me further in. I really love this movie for so many reasons that so many of the previous reviewers have already mentioned. I LOVE the use of miniatures and the retro vibe, plus the superb acting skills. Thank you for giving us all something to aspire to. I hope this does make it to the finals.

Our movie features a similar 'pilot in a capsule interacting with the AI' and I was wondering how on EARTH you managed to cobble that together so fast, so I will admit to being thoroughly relieved to discover the set was built prior to the weekend.

Well slap me with a dusty VHS tape - that was next level. I'm a sucker for hilariously DIY film-making. And this embodies it perfectly. EXACTLY WHAT 48HOURS IS ABOUT:)
The DIY nature of the effects worked in its favour. Thats not taking away from the work that would have gone into getting them to look like the end result... thats praise in giving them a vibe. A vibe that oozes off the screen. For me everything worked.
Not spelling out the ending was great and had our watch party discussing the various interpretations. Well done.
Best production design of any film this year Ive seen!

There's essays above which gives much more insight and depth than I'll ever be able to muster so I'll just say this: This movie slaps. Such phenomenal visuals which amplify the story 1000%. I'm impressed more a more each year about what Christchurch offers and this is why. Great work team

Impressive work, I was on the edge of my seat the entire film! The set is soooo cool, was really interesting to hear afterwards about how it all came to life.

A good film? Sure. But the set wasn't even made in 48 hours, not really in the spirit of the comp. As everyone has noted, the set is what this film had going for it. I just wonder without this massive crutch if Felix and team would have delivered a film of the same measurable quality?

What got my attention:
So very impressive the amount of time & energy that went into the set & model building, How did you pull off all that creative mahi in 48 hours? – ha-ha. Reminded me in in a lo-fi way of the kind of OTT effort Disqualified Tim from Wellington does in his mind-boggling 48HR films. Fits the genre; in that in space shit always goes wrong so our lead has to fix it up or escape to maintain her survival – and she’s running out of time. Good acting, sound, effective soundscape and some tension established – although it seems she’s always going to make it or not (why we should care in the next bit). Visual effects are good and the classic talking to the ship is in play. Really well edited, naturally, and it’s a cool little sci-fi flick, if you will. I am a fan of an ambiguous ending too.

Take it or Leave it:
So, as I hinted at above -why should we care about her fate? I don’t think we’re allowed to get invested in her. We don’t learn a heap about her or why she is even there at all apart from those flashbacks about her having a family (even if that's true - more likely they're just created by the OS) and her grasp on the VHS tape (loves the OS). You attempted to create some connection/emotion with the ship computer/microphone but this only puts a halt to the tension, impending doom and thus Race Against Damn Time! “We’re damaged and heading for a blackhole but let’s talk about our feelings for a bit, shall we, and how we only have each other?” Or are you somehow being all science nerd type guys with the theory of time and the blackhole and she’s racing against it? The OS shows her images to comfort her – is this to make her calm in the face of adversity to allow clear thinking or give her some final memories before she burns up? Thoughtful or sinister? I think you could have played into this a heap more by making the OS an antagonist, as really we have two protagonists here – neither who we care about because the stakes aren’t earnt and the characters aren’t interesting. The visual effects and models are well made (cue Newt’s ‘Mooostly”) but at times I was taken out of it thinking “that’s a cardboard ship” and “that sure was a wobbly old asteroid with a mind of its own hitting that ship – was someone at the controls?” And "Wow, those stick controls in the escape pod look a bit flimsy" and Battlestar Galactica might lodge a copyright claim too for ripping off their Viper Mark II. When she’s standing in the black hole I also though we were going full on Cooper in the bookcase crying out “Murrrrphhhhhh!”. She did have the tape at the end so maybe you were borrowing from that pretentious overblown love story, Interstellar. Oh, and ran out of time for any credits? I wanted to see who did what.

Final thoughts:
Look, Singularity is good, right? A bit Ripley in places but a well-made short film that looks great and has lovely models. Well done Felix and Luke (LHS represent!) – you achieved what you set-out to do so props to you both. I think it plays best in front of a live audience with a full cinema experience so I bet people dig it at the EntX. Good luck to you, chums.

*As aside I was intrigued by Felix_Elliot, Ace Reviewer, and his epic four-word “Not for me, Chief.” review of my film ‘Burnt’. I stayed up late pondering what you meant by that and in particular your usage of “Chief”. Is it cultural appropriation? Consider me a ‘boss’ or a ‘superior’ – a term of respect? Or is it one interpretation I read that puts ‘Chief’ into a mildly rude/put-down category of ‘Good on you, champ’ or ‘mate’ when you really mean “c*nt”? As a bit of a teaching moment the phrase is really known correctly as “Not for me, Clive” and was attributed to & popularised by football co-commentator Andy Townsend, as essentially an alternative way of saying “I don't think so”. Football commentator Clive Tydsley titled his book with it.

“Here endeth the lesson” (Anglican Book of Common Prayer)

Pushing every single review out of my view whilst I write my thoughts here on SINGULARITY. Please I implore you all to read the organiser's advice and do not use the reviews as a comment section.

For a self-proclaimed remake of INTERSTELLAR this was a pretty bland story. Ship hit by asteroid and there is an upcoming event horizon triggering a need for an escape pod. With moments of precious family memories thrown in that looked nice and touching but didn't exactly give the character much depth unless you have nostalgia for early 90s shot on home vhs footage of playgrounds.

But my goodness did it have style, with a colour palette eerily reminiscent of The Nostromo from 1979, with an analogue vibe to match. Though to be honest apart from the really well framed cinematography I did get RED DWARF vibes at times as the film teetered from jaw dropping sets to budget fx and noticeable cardboard. I honestly struggled to recover from the MARS ATTACKS/Ed Wood inspired opening shot with the asteroid and ship looking so low budget but am glad you quickly got onto the heavy lifting with the beautiful interior.

Lights phenomenal and interesting to see the use of scope for a film trying for a claustrophobic tone. However for the most part it looked great. The bokke of the anamorphic coming to life with textured corridors and corners placed so beautifully.

Sound design I'm torn. Again for the most part phenomenal sci fi foley and layering to give spacious design. But not perfect by any stretch with some dialogue mixed far too quietly for my liking, and then some pieces of ADR for the computer/robot not really matching the placement on screen (I'm watching in a properly calibrated home cinema).

Ultimately I liked the film. A staggering achievement in set design for the most part. And your lead actress is great! But when its plot is a mix of Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott and Paul fucking Anderson (as much as I adore HELLRAISER IN SPACE as much as the next person) ideas done better already its hard to love a film with nothing new to say. And story is king in 48 Hours.

Felix and Luke (and team) find themselves in a similar position to Rabid Aunty Jean in 2024 - the team with the most nominations of anyone, only to experience what I imagine must have been a fairly brutal awards night tally, before pulling off runner-up in Christchurch. That is no small achievement, and it’s awesome, and you should be super proud! Underdogs I say! A deserving reward for a team that pulled a massive creative hail mary and it worked, it freggin worked!

When we came to visit you over the weekend, walking onto that build was the closest I’ve felt to walking into Disneyland since the last time I went to Disneyland. It was remarkable. And knowing the heart behind it - the homages intended to previous competitors, the commitment you had to your location choice no matter what genre got drawn - it’s no exaggeration to say it was one of the most memorable things Christchurch 48 has seen in a long time.

Now, visiting the set was a treat. I wouldn’t trade that experience. But I do think it meant our expectations of the final film were skewed. As soon as we saw the world you’d built, we started imagining what it might become. Then the screening came, and while Singularity was obviously still a massive achievement, it didn’t line up with the version we’d built in our heads. That left us feeling flatter than we expected on first viewing. But that’s on us, not you, so don’t feel bad about that, the good news is none of the judges visited your set to suffer the same consequences hahaha

Speaking of judges though, unlike the majority of the reviews here singing your praises - the judges were polarised. As the scores came in, you were pendulum swinging the whole day. Some said “How on earth did they pull this off in 48 hours?” And then when given the full context of the mahi they went, “hmm, maybe not so excellent then.” But then others judges came to your defense very strongly - who actually cares? They cried. Teams overprepare all the time. There’s no penalty for loving this competition enough to pour your time and energy into it. I think that passion should be celebrated. The scale of what you pulled off here isn’t a trick; it’s a testament to loving this competition.

There’s also an argument to be made that preparing a set for three months means you end up mentally preparing for every possible outcome. How will we tell a Christmas story? How will we do a musical? How will we do the standard on a dessert island movie? (lol imagine if you got that, perhaps I nominate that as a genre next year to really mess with some people) The mental work that comes with building a set like this is impressive in its own right, but was it worth it? Now that you’re on the other side of it all, I wonder how it all feels. Will this set and the enormous effort required to make it happen haunt you like a kind of filmmaking PTSD, every blinking light and cardboard panel reminding you of sleep deprivation and looming deadlines? Or will you look back fondly, proud of the madness you pulled off and the legacy it leaves behind? Personally, I hope it’ll be the latter! Time will tell I suppose.

Honestly, Singularity so fascinating. On one hand, it’s full of absolutely jaw-dropping moments: miniatures, compositing, analogue effects, lighting that feels both claustrophobic and cinematic, an actor who holds the screen with poise and vulnerability, and an overall look that would be impressive even for a short shot over six months, let alone a weekend. On the other, it leaves just enough cracks — in story clarity, in pacing, in polish — that you can’t quite call it untouchable. Which is probably why, despite so many nominations, it wasn’t able to clean sweep.

Okay, I hate to do this, because I do love this film a lot, but it would be dishonest to leave out the gripes that appeared for me the more I watch it. To be clear, like we do with all the top tier films, I’m grading you on a curve here, and Singularity invites that level of scrutiny because of how great it is. There are just little things: a shot that lingers just a beat too long before “what are you, my therapist,” and other little moments that either seem to just slightly drag, or just slightly rush (Am I being that asshole from Whiplash right now? I think I am)

Speaking of rushed though…While the edit is mostly tight, and the score and sound mix was very well designed and impressive, I have an eagle eye and an eagle ear(?) and on first viewing I thought to myself...something's wrong with the lead’s movements, she's moving funny, is it just me or is she just pushing forward ever so slightly in the frames? and further to that, something is up with the sound export, did they crunch the high end frequencies intentionally? Was it a stylistic choice? And then, at a later date, it was confirmed that there was a little trickery to make sure it was a qualified film ;) and that may or may not have required some maintaining of the audio pitch, which then would have crunched the track in a way that made it sound the way it did. Most people maybe wouldn't notice that, but I did! - or at least I think I did, perhaps I'm wrong! Feel free to send me a copy of the first render before you did the thing you had to do, I'd be curious to know how if I did indeed catch that, or if I just didn't actually like the sound mix that much hahaha

For me, the little things add up, and it makes me feel like the set maybe is doing more heavy lifting here than we are all willing to admit. But it doesn’t diminish the achievement. This is one of the most ambitious, audacious, and technically impressive films ever to come out of Christchurch. It forces other teams to think big. And it puts Felix and Luke in a lineage of competitors whose love for this comp completely transforms what we think is possible.

THE BEST THING: The little robot hahaha. Actually I do want to call out a specific shot, the moment the escape ship leaves the mothership is possibly the best looking thing in the competition this year, absolutely outstanding.

THE NEXT THING: Whatever the hell you want. I know you love this comp more than most in Christchurch, and you made this film this way because it’s what you wanted to make. Next year, you can make whatever you want, make it good, make it bad, make it the national winner or make it a shitpost. Whatever you make, make it yours.

Almost as good as a Disqualified Tim film.