Week 9: OFFF Lille 2012 Main Titles

A showcase of independant creativity, satire and what appears to be general fun while film making. OFF Lille is everything I wish I could create.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/53323000" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/53323000">OFFF Lille 2012 Main Titles</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/offf">OFFF, let&#039;s feed the future</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

The dev's clearly enjoy what they create, and the quality of the effects is impressive. OFF Lille takes a joy in satirising old action movies, Asian cinema and film in general. The overblown cinema noise and grain, heavy sepia wash and flattened depth manage to at once reminisce of films from days long gone and laugh at them.

The energetic initial titles and Multicolour logo reflect the old days when a presenter would announce the movie or studio loudly and Technicolour was a trademark used worldwide.

It only gets better from there. The majority of the film is shot with short takes, quick zooms and dramatic shots that make no attempts to hide the fact that they're being deliberately dramatic. Cheesy audio, confusing Asian villains that at once call up Hollywood cinema and the old Bond series evildoers, and a hero that hardly inspires confidence set the tone to an amused comedy. No attempts to explain the action on scene are made, nor is any character development done. But nonetheless, the sets, action, character customes and film angles constantly reference other cinema creations which those with any exposure at all will see.

Despite the deliberately crude construction, the camera work is slick and smooth, the actors get into their roles and the effects are very proffessionally done. The balance of dark colours and light is just right, the composition of each scene clear and well thought out, and the colour picking has been carefully chosen. Everything was deliberate, from the cheesy grease sound of the hero slicking his clearly not greasy hair to the overblown laughter of the villain who was clearly lipsyncing. 

That's what makes the video so enjoyable. It's carefully prepared by people who clearly enjoy what they do and want to have fun doing it.