Wallenda

Director VW Schiech set out to tell an old story with new technology. With WALLENDA he certainly succeeded in that goal. The story of a young Karl Wallenda (Marlon Wrede) as he first learns the high wire at the tutelage of Louis Weitzmann (Clement von Franckenstein), is told completely in German with English subtitles. The film is meant to be a completely immersive experience for the audience, and the only distraction from this is that the film actually looks TOO clean. VW may have wanted to take some extra time to add a little bit of film grain to the movie. Shot on the RED camera entire in front of a green screen, the director does what few others do, he creates real environments, sets, and dangerous stunts from nothing. Using digital doubles in some of the high wire wide shots, he keeps his actors completely safe while still being able to show the audience the death-defying acts.

Using new technology such as the Xsens MVN motion capture suit, the director was able to capture realistic movement and translate that information into virtual environments to add production value above and beyond anything that a traditional independent filmmaker is able to accomplish on a similar budget.

The movie has some great tricks and performances by the lead actors, and a special mention should be made that even with all the digital trickery in this short, it doesn’t de-humanize the story. In addition to that, the score makes film feel a part of the time it takes place, and detracts from the foreign dialogue, providing the audience with something more familiar to latch onto. Even with all the digital effects the story is still the first priority and is just as compelling as the visuals that support it.

That isn’t to say the short doesn’t have its faults. As previously stated, it looks too clean and there is a slight separation that is noticeable from the actors and the green screen. The pacing is just slightly off, giving it an old sped-up silent movie of the 1920′s feeling. A little more patience would have sold the high wire suspense a little better. These are small criticisms though when compared to the massive undertaking that this film took to get made. Unfortunately, they are the things the audience sees, and all the time and effort behind the scenes that cinephiles appreciate don’t make up for the time the audience spends in front of the screen.

Apart from any negative criticism however, WALLENDA is a masterful work of digital non-fiction. It shows filmmakers just what can be done with ingenuity and technology, not just throwing more money at something in hopes of getting the shot they want.