Studentfilmmaker’s 2nd Annual Summer Shorts Competition, sponsored in part by Abel Cine Tech, received over 70 entries from around the world. The winning film was EVOL, written and directed by Chris Vincze. 

Chris Vincze shot EVOL: Love in a Backwards World  in only one day, just off Oxford Street, one of London’s busiest shopping streets. The 5 minute film tells the story of a couple who spot each other across a crowded street and fall in love. Although everyone else in the world around them moves backwards, the couple moves forward as they find each other.

Chris Vincze, who describes himself as a self-taught director, developed the story because he wanted to make a film that experimented with a backwards effect. The effect was achieved by having the two lead actors perform everything backwards, from the end of the story to beginning. The film was then reversed in post production, with the result that the leads’ actions would appear forwards, while everyone else, who had been moving forwards in the in the background of the shot, would now be living backwards.

Chris workshopped the film and actions of the two leads extensively. Some of the film’s most memorable shots, including the ones with the origami, the spoon, the juggling and the teacups came out of this process. In addition, the actors spent a lot of their free time practicing daily activities backwards. Vincze explains, “When I had finalized the script, we rehearsed everything down to the minutest detail. The hardest part was in understanding and maintaining the correct flow of thought, the chain of motivation and internalization, because the effect comes before the cause, and the reaction before the action. It required an incredibly technically accomplished performance, but Rick Warden and Lucy Barker did such a brilliant job that at times you completely forget they are acting backwards, or don’t realize it.”

Still, on the day of the shoot, not everything when according to plan. The crew had to work with overcast conditions and a light rain that continued on and off all day. They made the best of the situation, however, using the darker lighting conditions for shots where it suited the mood.

Because of the location and the need to move quickly, the film was shot with a small documentary style crew. The low-profile unit had no tripod, dolly or lights, which was necessary for the production to get permission to film in the streets. Still, passers-by would spot the camera and avoid stepping into the shot, which was something Vincze actually wanted them to do. At times, until the street got very busy, he had to actually usher pedestrians into the frame.

EVOL was shot for a budget of approximately $5,000 using an Arriflex SR2 Super16 camera and Kodak 7245 stock. The production made extensive use of a Steadicam, which gave them much needed flexibility for shooting in a crowd.

To learn more about Chris and watch EVOL, visit www.chrisvincze.info/evol.
To view all the entries in the contest visit, www.studentfilmmakers.com/summershorts.