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HeadHunting, Inc.
Film Baby // Unrated
List Price: Unknown
The Movie
Short films as a practical device have been around since the dawn of cinema, as the first experiments in filmmaking were very brief. Short films as an art form have existed for nearly as long, as shorts were exhibited in theaters. Many avant garde filmmakers site the 1929 short Un Chien Andalou as an influence. Today, short films still abound, but they aren't as readily available to the general public. These films are often screened at film festivals, shown between programs on cable channels, or viewed on-line. Empty Street Productions has taken a more direct approach to getting their shorts to the masses, as they have released their latest, HeadHunting, Inc. to DVD.
Max Shippee stars in HeadHunting, Inc. as Stanley Telemacher, who works for HeadHunting Inc., an employment agency. Stan has been under a great deal of pressure at work and has been dreaming of a bobbing-drinking bird. While his boss (Bob Bielecki) and his co-workers are off to Vegas to party, Stan has been charged with the task of finding a new project development employee for Disney. Things get very awkward with Stanley must spend his weekend interviewing the parade of oddballs who apply for the job. Can Stan handle all of this pressure?
According to their website, Empty Street Productions "is a small but dedicated, cool yet passionate, smart while still goofy group of filmmakers in Los Angeles." This all becomes quite evident while watching HeadHunting, Inc.. This 13-minute has a nice idea and a very clever twist ending. There are a couple of visual gags in the movie, such as Stanley's red stapler, which is a nod to Office Space. Stan's dream sequences are filled with vivid special effects. HeadHunting, Inc. was directed, scored, edited, mixed, and visual effects by Pat Ortman, who is clearly a talented and creative person to have handled all of that. Along with all of this, Ortman gets some good work from his cast, none of whom come across as amateurish. Max Shippee displays the kind of nervous energy that certainly lends itself to this kind of material.
I would love to say that HeadHunting, Inc. is a short-and-sweet film that left me chuckling. The part of that sentence that wouldn't be true is the short part. Even at only 13-minutes, the movie feels as if it is dragging at times, especially during the dreams. One gets the feeling that this was done to display Ortman's talent rather then to move the story along. The central idea in the film is, once again, well done and had some of the extraneous material been excised, this would have been the kind of thing to show friends when they come over.
Video
HeadHunting, Inc. is hired on DVD courtesy of Empty Street Productions. The movie has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The short was shot on digital video and the transfer looks pretty good. The image is sharp and clear, showing basically no grain or defects from the source material. There is some mild artifacting at times and I noticed that Stan's skin looked waxy in some shots. The colors are good and the image is never overly dark.
Audio
The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio track. The quality of the track varies throughout the short, as the dialogue is clear at times, and muffled at others. I found that I was constantly adjusting the volume. The audio does come to life during the dream sequences and we are treated to some nice stereo effects, as well as bass from the front channels.
Extras
There are no special features on this DVD.
I would say that I'm a casual fan of short films, but I rarely have the opportunity to see them. I like the idea of shorts being released directly to DVD and while I had some problems with HeadHunting, Inc., I enjoyed the experience.
Short films as a practical device have been around since the dawn of cinema, as the first experiments in filmmaking were very brief. Short films as an art form have existed for nearly as long, as shorts were exhibited in theaters. Many avant garde filmmakers site the 1929 short Un Chien Andalou as an influence. Today, short films still abound, but they aren't as readily available to the general public. These films are often screened at film festivals, shown between programs on cable channels, or viewed on-line. Empty Street Productions has taken a more direct approach to getting their shorts to the masses, as they have released their latest, HeadHunting, Inc. to DVD.
Max Shippee stars in HeadHunting, Inc. as Stanley Telemacher, who works for HeadHunting Inc., an employment agency. Stan has been under a great deal of pressure at work and has been dreaming of a bobbing-drinking bird. While his boss (Bob Bielecki) and his co-workers are off to Vegas to party, Stan has been charged with the task of finding a new project development employee for Disney. Things get very awkward with Stanley must spend his weekend interviewing the parade of oddballs who apply for the job. Can Stan handle all of this pressure?
According to their website, Empty Street Productions "is a small but dedicated, cool yet passionate, smart while still goofy group of filmmakers in Los Angeles." This all becomes quite evident while watching HeadHunting, Inc.. This 13-minute has a nice idea and a very clever twist ending. There are a couple of visual gags in the movie, such as Stanley's red stapler, which is a nod to Office Space. Stan's dream sequences are filled with vivid special effects. HeadHunting, Inc. was directed, scored, edited, mixed, and visual effects by Pat Ortman, who is clearly a talented and creative person to have handled all of that. Along with all of this, Ortman gets some good work from his cast, none of whom come across as amateurish. Max Shippee displays the kind of nervous energy that certainly lends itself to this kind of material.
I would love to say that HeadHunting, Inc. is a short-and-sweet film that left me chuckling. The part of that sentence that wouldn't be true is the short part. Even at only 13-minutes, the movie feels as if it is dragging at times, especially during the dreams. One gets the feeling that this was done to display Ortman's talent rather then to move the story along. The central idea in the film is, once again, well done and had some of the extraneous material been excised, this would have been the kind of thing to show friends when they come over.
Video
HeadHunting, Inc. is hired on DVD courtesy of Empty Street Productions. The movie has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The short was shot on digital video and the transfer looks pretty good. The image is sharp and clear, showing basically no grain or defects from the source material. There is some mild artifacting at times and I noticed that Stan's skin looked waxy in some shots. The colors are good and the image is never overly dark.
Audio
The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio track. The quality of the track varies throughout the short, as the dialogue is clear at times, and muffled at others. I found that I was constantly adjusting the volume. The audio does come to life during the dream sequences and we are treated to some nice stereo effects, as well as bass from the front channels.
Extras
There are no special features on this DVD.
I would say that I'm a casual fan of short films, but I rarely have the opportunity to see them. I like the idea of shorts being released directly to DVD and while I had some problems with HeadHunting, Inc., I enjoyed the experience.
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