on November 22, 2009
It’s amazing what you can do with $300 (about £180) nowadays. Here in the UK you could buy 60 pints of Stella, 360 packs of Monster Munch, or, in Uruguay, finance an action-packed, effects-filled short movie about a giant robot invasion.
Like Alive in Joberg, the 2005 short from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, this feels much like a calling card, showcasing the creative talents of the director Fede Alvarez, who, along with fellow animator Mauro Rondan, were responsible for the impressive digital effects. The opening sequence of the boy playing with his toy robots as the giant machines begin their deadly attack is pure cinematic genius. Within the opening 30 seconds of this almost 5 minute short, when the colossal robots emerge from the fog, you can tell you are witnessing something very different and something very special.
As the film progresses there are no punches pulled nor any distractions used to avoid showing this breathtaking assault. There are no Cloverfield tricks at play here, this is a full-on action sequence, giant robots crash through landscapes and city streets and, accompanied by dozens of attack ships, they proceed to destroy Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo.
This is a film that relies on careful planning, inventive shooting and most importantly, unforgettable digital effects. Looking at the amount of money cinema throws at visual effects in modern times, it’s quite astounding to think this was created for such a minuscule budget. After shooting principal photography in 2006, the film took 6 months of concentrated effort spread out over 2 years to complete, but in doing so the team behind Panic Attack have pulled off the rare and enviable achievement of creating an effective, believable science fiction short, that at times can put many of Hollywood’s attempts to shame.
Add your vote!
Loading ...
[...] I kicked off my first spot as a ‘full-timer’ with a little bit about Fede Alvarez’s special FX laden short – Panic Attack. [...]
As a short film, compared on an equal footing with all other shorts, “Panic Attack” is pretty good, but nothing really special (being just an effects sequence). However, when judged on the basis of quality for cost (i.e. the way all discussions of “Clerks” end up), this may be the greatest film ever made.
Good point Matthew.
Panic Attack is most definitely a shining example of money well spent
I love a happy ending. The world blew up ,what’s my motivation to keep watching?
Good short, but I’m not sure I buy this… I’m a filmmaker, film, not DV, and I know what it takes to make a film, at a “no budget level,” and I don’t think the budget of the short is accurate…
http://vimeo.com/7093147
http://vimeo.com/7339043
I think the much ballyhooed figure of $300 is accurate, it’s just misleading. What did the computers and the software cost? What is 2 years worth of labor from skilled animators worth?
I think Jason hit the nail on head here, the budget of Independent film can really be made to look at big or as small as the filmmakers decide. The one thing many filmmakers often forgot to put a price on is the time and dedication they’ve put in. If it took 2 years to make, what about the 2 years of electricity, 2 years of food and drink, 2 years worth of medical treatment for RSI, 2 years of presents to make up for time away from family and love-ons etc!
[...] 300 it ~_~), and in the 18 hours since I first posted this, The Gift has been getting a lot of Panic Attack-style buzz. Johnny Hardstaff’s Dark Room is also entertaining though distractingly [...]
[...] Over the last several months Reign of Death has been a viral hit disguised as a festival film. Or did I get that backwards? It has been touring the UK’s film festival circuit, most recently playing Sci-Fi London, however with its easily digestible length, showy VFX, and cult-fave leading actor (Dr. Who’s Noel Clarke), I can’t help but feel its manifest destiny is to dominate the web in the tradition of recent short film internet faves, The Raven, The Gift and Panic Attack. [...]
[...] huge numbers of YouTube views and unprecedented amounts of virtual column inches to films such as Panic Attack!, and Pixels. One may grouse about our propensity to continually reference these films, which by no [...]