I expressed no small amount of doubt when word escaped that Ben Affleck was contemplating signing on to direct an action thriller that would be shot entirely in point-of-view perspective, like a 1st-person shoot video game (or the recent Spider-Man teaser sequence). I listed plenty of reason in that piece for my skepticism, and I remain anxious about all of them, but I have to say I’m now a little more hopeful about the project all because of a small independent action short sent to me by a CHUD reader.
His name is Ilya Naishuller and he directed this piece, which is a high-concept, high-octane short film that is seen entirely from the view of a gentleman escaping from an office building while pursued by faceless, suited-agent types. It’s shot entirely with a shallow, bordering-on-fisheye lens and it has been pieced together very convincingly. Take a look, it’s short and extremely exhilarating…
Color me impressed. I can only imagine the amount of work that went in to blocking out this sequence, and making this such a convincing POV piece. That’s it’s also clever and funny is a bonus. What really shocked me though, was that I found myself fully immersed in the action here, and actually held my breath at a few key moments. That’s not something that happens with any random web short.
In any event, if this really does shed any light on how a feature-length film in this style could be accomplished or not, I’m proud to count Ilya among CHUD’s reader. Clearly he’s a talented guy, and I can’t wait to see what he does next. Make sure you spread the video around if you dig it.
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