A Question of Time

 A Question of Time -  Radoslaw Sienski

Above: Shot from opening sequence

This award winning short film was made by a student film maker and won Best Short Film at the 2nd annual Soul 4 Reel Film Festival 2011 and was a winner at Campus MovieFest 365, London 2011. I found it on youtube in two parts which can be found here and here.


The story telling in the piece is very clear and you can understand the various moods throughout the film but at times I wonder if the same feeling could be gotten from fewer shots or from less off-screen time because I think that the first half of the film has a slow pace which although it doesn't necessarily detract from the piece, perhaps the film could have been more engaging if it had a faster pace in general. Periods of time are denoted by captions which are suited for the piece dealing with it's time traveling nature and also help to locate the viewer in narrative time, which is particularly important in a short film. The use of on-screen text helps to create a sense of atmosphere because the characters do not have to speak to denote to the viewer at what point in the film they are, so a moody silence can be maintained where needed and I think the director has considered this carefully to the pieces credit. 


An overlaying of images flashing quickly between each and over each other with altered opacities can be seen during distressed periods, the first example is after Oliver is hit by the car and another example is when Mark fastforwards his watch to 25 years in the future. These segments give the effect of disorientation and distress which is strengthened by the change in the music that is present throughout the entire piece which combined with disoriented noises and flashing imagery makes the viewer feel the same as the protagonist. 


Below is a shot from the second half of the film that I find particularly clever. It depicts the watch turning back time as the protagonist can manipulate time with it whilst the clock face of Big Ben corresponds to the protagonists changes. This shot is integral to the piece because it makes the viewer believe that this is actually occurring; it also makes the shot appear as though it is all in one smooth motion and not broken up by obvious time tricks that audiences are so familiar with now that if badly executed can ruin the verisimilitude of a piece. This shot in fact increases the verisimilitude because of how well created it is and the shot also helps denote an obvious setting in the world. 

Unfortunately, the film is let down at times by how distant the voices of the characters sound, which makes the verisimilitude the director has worked so hard to create a little less effective and some of the sound effects aren't very convincing which also lets the piece down. An example of this is the pub background noise in the second half of the film, where the protagonist is sitting there and the radio in the pub comes on but it doesn't sound diagetic along with the general noise from other patrons. It sounds as if it is not located within the scene. However, these are only a few moments in the film and so the viewer won't find this too distracting.


At the end of the film we find out what the inscription means that we see in various close ups throughout the film and it reinforces the point the film is trying to make. I feel that it ties the entire thing together nicely and creates a definite end to the piece whilst also inviting the viewer to think about the film. Overall, I think this short film deserves the awards it won as it is a very well executed concept that is interesting and provokes the viewer to think about it afterward.