"Nuit Blanche" and other cool stuff

Last year in my Fiction Field I class, with Steve Gordon, he showed us a series of short films that focused heavily on special effects. One film that changed my perspective on how large of an impact special effects can have on the emotional and visual aspects of a short film, was the short film Nuit Blanche, a Stellar Scene production. The film is directed by Arev Manoukian and focuses on the connection between two strangers and explores their interactions in a fantasy world. I was captivated by the film's ability to display an array of emotions in less than 5 minutes and fully engage the viewer with beautiful music and exceptional special effects. The film is silent and black and white, focusing on the actions of the characters and the tragedies created by their love at first sight.

The most intriguing part of the film is the use of special effects. The first step used to making this film was  constructing the backgrounds and landscapes piece by piece, from a variety of city landscapes and building structures. Each building was carefully constructed and built to portray the dark feelings associated with this story of fantasy.  The director then used green screens the place the actors in these locations. To portray the car accident and glass shattering, each piece of the vehicle was placed in several frames and layered behind the actor. This created a sense of realism and made the car accident very emotional for the viewers. The special effects are done so flawlessly that you believe the accident really took place. The director also altered the lighting present in each shot, creating a dark and dismal look.  

I recommend every film student to see this film. It is an excellent of example of how short films can have an incredible impact on an audience and that sometimes the most powerful films are done without dialogue. Nuit Blanche is an excellent example of extensive special effects and how flawlessly scenes can be created. Manoukain does an incredible job of portraying the emotional complexities of love at first sight and the sometimes unavoidable tragedy. This film is beautiful and proves that the shortest of films can be the most time consuming. Please check out both videos and take the time to appreciate the beauty of this short film.

Enjoy the weekend,

Brie