Many of us aren’t aware that there is a section of cinema which is dedicated to making high-budget VFX-heavy content, setting high standards for the way short films are made. While it delights us to know that premium technology has been amping up the story quotient in the west, we hope more filmmakers take a leaf from the brilliant work artists are churning out in the form of short-films.
Here is the list of VFX-laden short films that we ferreted out of the depths and corners of the internet and found absolutely thrilling:-
As You Command
Media Design School’s As You Command is a story of a wayward painter who is given a new chance at life when he smashes a wall and discovers a genie who grants him wishes. The painter asks for the fulfilment of his childhood dreams instead of riches and realises that he has messed up. Finally realising that his life was much better before and that he hasn’t outgrown his own incompetence. VFX work is impressive in terms of the CG wispy appearance and blue shades of the young wish-granting boy. Movements are seamless with a flowy pattern trailing off as the genie moves. Forced perspective technique for the rooster on the rooftop packs a pretty funny joke.
Future Boyfriend
Future Boyfriend by Bell-House Productions: Stuart and Kaylie are enjoying their third date until Stuart reveals a secret that threatens to derail their budding relationship. Future Boyfriend combines VFX with storytelling brilliantly. VFX in mainly used in the form of a hologram that serves as a monitor. Through a monitor, the woman is given a shocking glimpse of her life in the future. It’s only upon realising the prospect of changing the future that she shifts from being glum to ecstatic in the end.
AGARTHA
AGARTHA by ISART DIGITAL features a biologist who explores a deserted city full of vegetation without a single sign of human life. In this mysterious place, he discovers a VFX-laden magical world that will sweep you off your feet.
Blink
Live Action VFX Short film Blink features an anxious cello player in the middle of a brutal car accident frozen in time. With the help of the visual effects techniques, French VFX artists have explored the possibility of how things would be if the time was paused. VFX has allowed the team to paint and calibrate a crash scene in a way that can be accessed by a person while its stuck in time. A commendable effort and a stirring idea indeed.
A Drop
In the vertical skeleton of an aborted and abandoned megalopolis, a man stands on the edge of the void. The only escape from this forsaken place is through the depths of the unknown. VFX techniques with the help of a chroma screen and apocalyptic atmosphere as the character falls are stunning.
We hope like the list of VFX-rich short films that demonstrate the extent to which storytelling can be enhanced with the help of visual effects techniques. We will continue to keep you updated with the advancements