New film shows the skills of moviemaking

Making a film, whether it's a lowbudget picture, a studio production with a large budget or a no-budget movie made in the filmmaker's backyard, is a difficult task because there are so many elements that must come together for the piece to work. If one ingredient is sour, the entire picture is in jeopardy.

Charles Randall's 30-minute short film, "Two Weeks Notice," is the filmmaker's second movie, and it gives notice to what seems to be a rising talent.

Story is arguably the most important component in a film, and crafting an engaging narrative is certainly one of the filmmaker's biggest challenges. If the filmmaker starts with a bad story, rarely can even the greatest talent make it work as a fine movie.

Randall, who co-wrote the "Two Weeks Notice" story and adapted the screenplay, had a nice tale to tell, with each scene displaying a change of values and creating nice sequences that, in turn, pieced together a workable story arc.

But a bad director can still damage a good script, beginning with a poor shooting style. Randall delivered again with a fine grasp of the cinematic language, displaying some exceptionally creative shots- some a bit reminiscent of Orson Welles' ambitious work- where large amounts of action and geography are captured from one setup.

Randall has a palpable story to tell and a strong visual sense, but he's still not out of the woods. It's the onscreen talent, after all, that communicates with the audience.

I offer more kudos to Randall and his team, as the cast of "Two Weeks Notice" turned in very good performances, especially the lead, Linden East as Cliff, who really owned his character and brought some wonderful physicality and humor to the part.

The list of challenges that the filmmaker must overcome in the filmmaking process is endless, including the huge obstacle of completing the production. From one element to the next, the "Two Weeks Notice" team did well.

I applaud Randall and company for a wonderful effort. They all should be very proud.

- Michael Picarella