"God of Love" is a well composed short film covering the intricacies of love. The film, though we do not know what Matheny's country of origin is, seems French, mainly through the topic manner and the composure of the shots between the love interest and the best friend. The film was remarkably well lit and had consistent contrast throughout the entirety. There were no significant shadows even in the shots in the bar and shots with multiple people, such as when he has a cult following. The sound was not as well made, for some of the narration to me sounded hollow, especially at the end. It might have been intentional to represent the loneliness that the main character feels despite the great joy he causes. The shots were mainly centralized with the character in the middle of the frame staring nearly directly at the camera when they were struck. This and the static shots during the cult gathering were my favorite shots in the film. Overall, it was lovely.
Meg Magee: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny was a cute and clever film about love. The message of this film is that sometimes you have to give up what you want, in order to make others happy. One of the scenes in the beginning of the film sets the audience up for what is to come perfectly. It is evident that Raymond, the main character, loves Kelly, and Kelly loves Raymond's best friend. Although Raymond tells the audience all of this information, there is a scene that shows the awkwardness of the love triangle, and allows the audience to grasp what is going on more fully. There is first a close up on Kelly who is looking over at Raymond's best friend. Then the camera cuts to Raymond's best friend who is clearly trying not to look at Kelly, and is staring off into space. Then there is a medium shot of Raymond singing about being lonely while Kelly is out of focus in the background still looking at Raymond's friend. It is clear throughout to the audience throughout the whole film that Raymond's friend likes Kelly back. However, Raymond is too blinded by getting Kelly for himself that he does not realize he is stepping in the middle of his best friend and Kelly's happiness. The moment of recognition for Raymond was shown through the same shot I described earlier except now instead of staring straight ahead lifelessly, the best friend looks back at Kelly and smiles. Raymond sees this exchange and finally understands. I thought that this was clever because using the same scene that was in the beginning emphasized the point that Kelly and the best friend had always loved each other but Raymond had been too blinded by his own affection of Kelly to see it. All in all this film was an adorable and clever story about love and sacrifice.
Dustin Bennett: Noticeably illuminated and colorless, "God of Love" is a France-by-way-of-New York tale of unrequited love where our main character is stuck in a love triangle with two of the other members of his jazz/darts band. When the meat of the film's premise reveals itself, i.e. that our protagonist has received darts that make someone more likely to fall in love for six hours, I became worried that this short would fall on the side of creepy, with the love interest becoming magically attracted to him through what amounts to hypnotism. Thankfully, this film subverted that expectation for the most part, depending on your views on the love that did sprout between the people he first tried the darts on. While the ending does seem unearned, since it doesn't seem like the protagonist actually learned a lesson so much as had a bad time and found something else to do, it at least ends pleasantly with him making sacrifices and acknowledging that he can't change people.
Anthony Reed: "God of Love" is a very well put together film. I enjoyed the new creative modern spin given to the tale of Cupid. The style of the film is very reminiscent of classical french romance films. Being shot entirely in black and white already gives it that classic feel. I think the style of music the main character Raymond Goodfellow sung, and the even the decision to make his means of transportation a vespa style scooter are little details that were taken from the classics. This movie is a great example of how taking the time to plan every shot and frame set up really adds to the quality of a project. All of the mid and close up shots served their purpose of capturing every emotion of every character. Even without sound there is no confusion about what everyone is feeling at any given moment. Another thing I noticed that we talked about in class was continuity. For example the exchange of the gift when the bartender hands it to Raymond. The angle changes were matched together very convincingly. Another example are the angle changes while Raymond sung and threw the darts and returning back to his singing position. I want to know if the guy who played Raymond is really that good at darts? After first glance i thought all of the shots of bullseyes were cutaways, but I watched again and there is that clip where he threw about four darts in a continuous shot still hitting his mark. Anyway it was a cool film with a refreshing story. I would watch it again!
Molly Hochwalt: “God of Love” by Luke Matheny, was a visually and emotionally pleasing piece to watch. Immediately after starting the piece, I felt that having the narrative filmed in entirely black and white was natural and fitting. The mood it set was classic and romantic, which plays well into the story being about finding love. The lighting in this piece contrasted it enough to make the mood deep and romantic but also was light enough to give an overarching feeling of joy to the piece. I also felt that the music chosen throughout this narrative was very fitting. It stayed true to the romantic mood of the story and also brought focus to the important romantic realization moments in the film. The camera angels were visually interesting and helped provide continuity to the piece. I especially liked the shots where the main character was praying, because I felt like I was there with him witnessing him speaking to the higher power. The scenes felt very powerful. The camera work also upheld continuity throughout the piece. I was very impressed with the many successful shots of objects being passed between characters or especially of the darts being thrown. It was easy for me to forget that those actions weren’t actually happening seamlessly before my eyes. I think overall the narrative did a great job sticking the technical aspects which made it easy and fun to watch the emotional plot play out.
Alex Cherry: “God of Love” is a modern film with a classic feel, giving it an originality that otherwise might have been lacking. The film is shot entirely in black and white/grayscale, with all the shots extremely well-composed and lit. Music is utilized throughout the film to set the tone, both through diegetic and nondiegetic music. The diegetic music, namely of Raymond singing at the bar, sets an older feel with classic jazz tones, which lend themselves to songs about love and romance. The nondiegetic music is often extremely expressive, still following a classic jazz feel, but being very punctuated to go along with the feelings of the characters. It is quite dramatic, particularly in the scenes where Kelly is falling in and out of love, and the music raises the viewer’s anxiety as the audience wonders whether or not Kelly will love Raymond back. Most of the shots between romantic characters such as Raymond and Kelly or Raymond’s best friend and Kelly are medium shots, and sometimes even close ups. We never really get a wide shot when it is just two characters. When it’s the two of them, the shots are intimate, mainly with the characters in the center of the frame. This blocks out the rest of the world around them, giving an idea that they only see each other when they’re in love. These elements pull the film together and help it to express its theme, that, one way or another, we can often be blinded by love.
Krystyna Kridos: 'God of Love' by Luke Matheny is a very well composed short. The black and white aspect as well as the shots give it a very classical french type feel while being set in what looks like current day New York. The soundtrack for the short was suitably chosen and fits nicely. I felt the script was well written around the plot of how Cupid came to be. The shots are well lit while also being framed properly.
Alex Smith: Luke Matheny's "God of Love" is a uncommonly well done short film made in the black and white style. We are introduced to the main character on his vespa as he smiles into the camera and drives off. We are then transported three months prior in which we see the story unfold. I enjoyed this film in both the way it was shot and the unique mixing of the audio to emphasize the emotions that were going on during the scene. When Raymond realized that the period of love did not work on Kelly, the ballet music took a turn for the sad and even followed us outside when the two awkwardly shook hands and went along their way. The framing was done very well. Areas where we were meant to focus on one character were framed perfectly. We were given a general about them. The references to Olympus and his love darts were cool references that slowly made the title of the film make sense.
Phillip Spain: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a very interesting and entertaining short film that tackles a subject that nearly everyone's experienced - unrequited love - in a way that is intriguing and fun, and concludes with a happy ending despite the main character not getting the girl he was into, and instead realizing that it was better to make his friends happy being together rather than to try and force attraction when there was none. The stylistic choice of making the film black and white coupled together with the choice in music gave the film a very classical feel despite being in a modern setting. This works particularly well given with the subject matter, as love has always been important in various forms of art and storytelling, including film. Overall, the film took a timeless story and modernized it while still maintaining a classical feel, and provided an entertaining and fresh take on a timeless subject.
Luke Matheny's "God of Love" employs some very interesting and effective artistic choices that let the film really stand out. Matheny's use of colour- or lack thereof- allows the story to be more fully expressed without depending upon brilliant visuals and artsy backgrounds. This also allowed the audience to perceive the story how they would without being overly-obvious about the ending. In a story about love, the lack of reds and pinks was initially surprising but helped give a neutrality to the story that allowed the main character to be more fully developed. Matheny's use of close-ups and close shots on faces and eyes was incredibly compelling in telling the emotions and thoughts of the characters. It also established the tone of the film by putting emphasis less on the dialogue and more on the inaudible and nonverbal moments, giving it a more emotionally-charged and philosophical perspective. Finally, the use of music was fantastic in adding to the story and subtly filling the empty spaces where the writer chose not to have dialogue. The music gave what could have been a more tragic story a very hopeful and positive mood and was a nice motif throughout the piece to give emphasis to the character development that was shown.
Cameron Panhans: Luke Matheny both directs and stars in "God of Love", a short film that follows the main character Raymond's quest to make the girl of his dreams fall in love with them. The entirety of the film is done in a black and white style that is an intriguing choice by the director. A lot can be done in film through the use of color, and so to take those options away from yourself when creating a film is a very bold choice. However, this choice allows for lighting to play a bigger role in the portrayal of emotion and action. The sounds of the film are remarkable as well. I thought the choice of the song with the lyrics "all by myself" was rather fitting for the work as a whole. At the thirty second mark in the film the medium-close up of Raymond features very little looking room, which gives the viewer a feeling that Ray is sort of off in a corner, very crowded in his own emotions. This technique is repeated again during the film at the 14:56 mark when Ray is in the street. Once again it is very clear that the character is very crowded or overwhelmed by his thoughts. These cinematic aspects are all pulled together by Luke Matheny in a manner that brings to live the tragic yet beautiful story of Raymond or the "God of Love".
Jesse Tollison: The elgance of the storytelling and the layering of universal symbols to establish a semi-realistic world pulled me into the short film "God of Love" by Luke Matheny so quickly I almost forgot to think about the piece. What starts as an obvious romantic comedy quickly becomes something with much deeper implications the second Ray opens the first box from the Olympus Foundation. This is where the genius of the writing comes to light: by establishing the mysterious package to be from Olympus, the entire audience, at least those only tangentially versed in Greek mythology, the film conveys many possible paths to the character and the story. Furthermore, when the topic has already been established around relationships, the note within the box almost becomes unnecessary. While the film centers around unrequited love, the real story hides just before and after the climax within the growth of Ray's character's view on what the darts should be used for, and by pairing his friends together, he transcends selfish desire and puts the desires of others before. This character growth further echoes into the Greek mythos since he does, in fact, become the God of Love, as stated in the last voice-over, which leaves a poignant end over a dynamic final shot, leaving only the question of his future partner to be desired.
Louis Lartigue: God of Love is a short film written and directed by Luke Matheny that follows a young jazz singer’s journey to understand love. Raymond is a young jazz singer in New York who throws darts during his set; he is in love with his drummer, but she is in love with the guitarist who is also Raymond’s best friend. Raymond prays to the ‘God of Love’ to help in seeking the affection of the drummer. One night he is given a mysterious package that contains several darts that gives a six-hour window where two people have a higher chance to fall in love. After the darts prove to be affective on his bassist and a random woman on the street, Raymond enlists the help of his band to make his drummer fall in love with him. Raymond pricks his drummer with the dart and have a very successful date, but at the end of the six hours she is still uninterested and only has eyes for the guitarist who wont date her because he knows that Raymond is in love with her. Raymond final gives up on his courting of the drummer when he pricks the guitarist with the darts so they can be happy together. He realizes that you can’t control love in any way and that he is in fact, The God of Love. This film attempts to communicate that we cannot control our destinies or the destinies of others and that we should embrace the unpredictability of the world. The film is shot in black and white, which parallel to the binary thinking of Raymond and his thoughts about love.
McKenzie Miller: Luke Matheny’s “God of Love” is a well done short film about love. The film starts out with the last scene and then retraces its steps to get back to that point. It took the viewer back three months to get the story of love and why the film is titled “God of Love.” The opening line was a summary of the film, but it left the viewer wondering what happened in the main character’s love life that made him say that statement. Matheny immediately shows the audience that the three characters involved were Raymond, Kelly, and Fazzi, Raymond’s best friend. It is obvious that Kelly is very interested in Fazzi and wants nothing to do with Raymond. Matheny used close-up shots to show Kelly looking at Fazzi. We also see Kelly’s frustration that Fazzi is staying away from her. The story continues on, and essentially, Raymond becomes Cupid. We see him hit people with arrows, and then watch them fall in love. Raymond tries it on Kelly and has the date of his life. But when the time is up, he realizes that Kelly will never love him like she loves Fazzi. The audience can tell both characters emotions after the time runs out and they finish a kiss by the extreme close up shot. The storyline progresses, and we see Raymond’s realization of the line “you can’t control who you love.” Overall the frames were shot very well, and the music shifted well with the different moods throughout the film. I think it was a really cute and unique way to film a Cupid love story.
"God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a unique film all together. The film is entirely in black and white but the lighting and contrast of each shot adds an amazing element to the film that plays perfect.From the opening scene the film doesn't seem like it would develop the way that it has. The film is a funny film about love, to me it shows that true meaning of love. One part that I found to be amusing was the scene of Raymond the protagonist shooting different girls with the love darts. The film uses a natural pan to transition to more and more females that are in love with Raymond. After Raymond's date didn't end the way he expected the films development really begins to show. Raymond develops over time. He realizes what his true purpose is after originally thinking that he was destined to be with that one girl. He later found out that he was supposed to be cupid in a hilarious way. Raymond uses the last dart to make his best friend fall in love with the girl he was in love with. The girl is into his friend and he continues to ignore her before Raymond steps in to save the day. I believe that this a true act of love on raymonds part he realizes what he should do to see both of them happy. He loves the girl so much that all he wants is to see her happy. The end of the film ends with a pan of the jazz joint that Raymond use to perform in everyone seems to be in love and happy but there is no sign of Raymond until the transition to him back on the bike riding. It's almost like Raymond could find love for everyone but himself.
Caroline Builta: Luke Matheny's "God of Love" sets itself apart from the other short films that we have watched thus far in a number of ways. I found the film truly wonderful, but a part of me didn't like it at all - I think that this is because I found the protagonist, Raymond, to be completely and totally unlikable until about 14 minutes into the film. He does redeem himself from his selfish ways by becoming the God of Love at the end and helping other lonely souls find their matches, but much of the film portrays him in an incredibly negative light. However, it was still very enjoyable to watch. The performances from the actors - specifically Fazzi and Kelly - were so compelling. You could tell even from the first time that the two of them were in a shot together that that was the more dynamic pairing of characters. I loved the close-up 180 degree pan on Raymond's face when he was singing. I also thought that the quirky and relatively upbeat music added a different and unexpected tone to the film.
In the narrative "God of Love" we learn about a man by the name of Raymond who is a skilled dart thrower. He is in a band and is also in love with the lead drummer in this band. He is given a special box in the begging of the narrative, containing love darts. It has the literal meaning as cupid's arrow except that Raymond is cupid. He helps his other band members find love but the realizes the potential he has with these darts. Several close up's of the girls that are targeted gives the scene that moody feeling. Shot in black and white gives us an older feel to the film and causes the viewer to be in the movie with Raymond. This is one of those films where love is in the eyes of the beholder.
Maddie Kennedy: "God of Love" is a short film by Luke Matheny, and I found it overall to be a very enjoyable film. Despite dealing with the mystery of love, it was thematically light, with funny moments scattered throughout. It was more silly and lighthearted than most of the short films we've watched in this class, so it was interesting to see a change in tone. Despite the lighter subject matter, it was still a cohesive and professional film--each shot was clearly very well planned and thought out. This expert planning and editing is what really enables the humor in the film, and kept me as a viewer engaged. The black and white was an interesting choice as well, a more serious palette that contrasted with the tone of the film. The film had a satisfying narrative arc as well, with Ray growing and changing as a character, culminating in his new identity as the God of Love.
Holly Hundsdorfer: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a romantic short film about one man and his trials to understand how love works. The film uses countless angles and types of shots from filming over the shoulder, medium 2X shots and close ups. The editing is seamless even when they put 3 angles together in such a short amount of time. Matheny has an excellent way of moving fast from shot to shot in scenes such as the one where he tests the arrow out on frank. Frank and the women talking are never seen at the same time as Ray nealing down. They flash from view to view and it flows easily making it easier to understand who is where in relation to each other in the scene even if its not shows all at the same time. The last scene was a scene that was shown in the beginning making it all wrap up to where the film began. Except this time you know who the man is and you know HE is the god of love.
"God of Love" by Luke Matheny is composed wonderfully and is visually pleasing. Matheny's use of black and white color and different genres of music gives the film the "French romance" feel he was shooting for. The camera angles used within the film allows the viewers to feel exactly what the characters are feeling. From close ups to wide shots, I feel that every shot was heavily thought out and fit perfectly within each sequence. While I wasn't too crazy about the storyline, I feel that the film itself was well put together.
Katy Hale: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a short, but very romantic film. It is about a single man learning the ropes of love, and how it works. There is some mystery involved in the film, that gives it more conflict and makes it more interesting. He deals with the conflict of finding love which brings in the mystery of the film, and where and how he will figure out love. The shots of the film are very detailed. There are multiple X2 shots, in which are from another persons perspective, or over the other characters prop or shoulder. There are a few close ups that represent the importance each character entails, and their representation in the film. Since the film is in black and White, it was hard for me to detect the lighting, but from what I saw, it stayed about the same throughout the film, unless it was a close up shot. The editing was very detailed, and was very well done. Watching this short film has helped me come up with some ideas for the Narrative 2 project, and has helped me shape out my shot list, and what works and what doesn't. The overall cinematography was very well done as well.
Hannah Bynum: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is an intriguing romantic short which explores a young man, Raymond, in his attempts to "get the girl". What I found most appealing about this film is it's visual aspects. Matheny's use of black and white gave this piece a sense of being an old film or at the very least set in the 40s or 50s, but it is instead set in modern day. The entire film had a classic element to it, not just because of the entire thing being in black and white. The way the performers dressed along with the old microphone had an old classic movie feel to it. I feel like the style Matheny chose to put this film together was a bold choice and did an excellent job of telling the story.
Mario Cirinese: “God of Love” by Luke Matheny is a romanticized short film that follows a lead singer in a band named Raymond. The film set entirely in a black and white filter causes the audience to truly look into the story and avoid any distraction of color. During the time in which Raymond uses the love darts on the unsuspecting victims the camera is set to close up shots to show the audience the character’s reactions of being transformed into lovers. A large portion of the film captures the characters in either wide angle or medium shots to convey a feeling of closeness with the audience. As Raymond and Kelly’s romantic date comes to an abrupt ending several quick medium close-up X2 shots show an intense sequence of the event. Throughout the film the director implements key moments of music that sets the tone of the scenes that are to come. Overall I thought the film was interesting and an enjoyable watch.
Luke Matheny's "God of Love" is a fun and charming story that is masterfully told through the eyes of a hopeless romantic. One of my favorite things about the short are the characters. Each one has some odd quirk about them that makes them all unique weather it be talking too much, talking too little, showing no emotion or just being blissfully aloof. I also appreciate the black and white as I have a soft spot for the rustic and artistic style of cinematography. The film is clever, contains great dialogue and character development and was a joy to watch.
Taylor Hendrix: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a short film composed entirely of black and white. I believe that since the God of Love was not established until the very end, the filmmakers made the choice of black and white to show the world would be dull without love. Another benefit to having only black and white is that the lighting is more apparent, making the characters look much more dramatic. The audio barely had any natural sounds in it, making the film sound classic because all the audience could hear was the narrator and the few characters speak once or twice. When there was nothing to be narrated, the filmmakers chose to play classical music. Once again, giving the short film a classic vibe. Overall, the plot was very interesting and kept my attention, especially the end because he did get the girl and he was okay with that. I would definitely recommend watching this short film.
Victoria Walker: “God’s Love” is a black and white film that tells the story of how Raymond Goodfella came to understand love. Luke Matheny brilliantly constructed the film in a manner that constantly kept me engaged and entertained. Based on the two opening scenes I thought the film would be about Raymond’s quest to find love. However, I was very happy with the plot twist towards the end of the film. Matheny lead me to believe that the film would focus solely on Raymond’s journey to find love. After watching the entire film I was thoroughly pleased to find out that Raymond turned out to be a modern day cupid and he finally understood the true meaning of love and happiness within himself. Matheny also did a wonderful job of revealing only what he wanted the viewers needed to see. In lieu of that, he still left the viewers to assume at certain times. For instance, at the blank mark, when Raymond and Kelley were on a date and he kissed her as time ran out, we were left to assume that she felt no connection to him. Matheny ultimately tied the film together by using lightening, depth of field, and framing. Hard, low key lightening was used in instances where Raymond was in serious situations or uneasy about something. Hard, low key lighting was used in scenes that focused on him. Matheny may have done this to draw more attention to what Raymond was saying versus paying attention to objects around him. High key lightening was used usually when the mood of the film was upbeat and happy like at the 12:37 mark. Depth of field occurred in instances where Raymond felt uneasy and uncomfortable. Framing was a key element for this film because it ultimately brought the “cupid theme” into context. At the 3:51 mark Matheny framed up Raymond up in a close-up in the lower right corner of the shot to then used a cut away shot of his two friends in order to get viewers to see “love” from his point of view. Matheny also did this at the 14:21 mark but this time it tied the entire film together making it known to the viewers that he is cupid. Overall, this film was very well structured and entertaining. I usually don’t like black and white films, but this instantly became one if my favorite short films to watch.
"God of Love" by Luke Matheny was a masterfully sweet and hilarious short about having the power to manipulate the one thing we all wish we could control. Much of the brilliance in this piece comes from Matheny's writing, mixing in the perfect tone of humor throughout. The film possesses a marriage of classic European cinema and modern American comedy using black and white, jazz and gothic music, and even the character's wardrobes, in addition to the silly, yet perfectly believable plot of Raymond becoming a "god of love". That contrast in cinema style doesn't distract from the story, which makes it a successful aesthetic choice. The classic European style is simply a medium for the story. A similar decision is sometimes made in sitcoms, but plays as a joke to the audience, highlighting the irony of the contradiction. The cinematography is beautiful and well designed, which is always refreshing to see in a comedy. Raymond's character is quirky and seemingly quite self aware, almost reminiscent of a classic Woody Allen type, which compliments the plot nicely, too. All around, Matheny has crafted a lovely film exploring an unrealistic fantasy.
"God of Love" is a romantic short story about a man named Raymond who tries to get a girl to love him. The use of black and white is always interesting, however I think this is the mood that the producers wanted to go for. I thought that the exposition of characters at the beginning was almost too cliche and could have been done different. When he is praying, he explains all the characters and the situations surrounding them in too specific of ways. I could tell the purpose of the prayer was to tell the story. I was confused of the time and setting of this piece, which I think other viewers might be able to relate to. While the it gives off an older french style mood, I feel like most viewers would not know how to feel about the movie due to this uncertainty.
"God of Love" is a well composed short film covering the intricacies of love. The film, though we do not know what Matheny's country of origin is, seems French, mainly through the topic manner and the composure of the shots between the love interest and the best friend. The film was remarkably well lit and had consistent contrast throughout the entirety. There were no significant shadows even in the shots in the bar and shots with multiple people, such as when he has a cult following. The sound was not as well made, for some of the narration to me sounded hollow, especially at the end. It might have been intentional to represent the loneliness that the main character feels despite the great joy he causes. The shots were mainly centralized with the character in the middle of the frame staring nearly directly at the camera when they were struck. This and the static shots during the cult gathering were my favorite shots in the film. Overall, it was lovely.
ReplyDeleteMeg Magee: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny was a cute and clever film about love. The message of this film is that sometimes you have to give up what you want, in order to make others happy. One of the scenes in the beginning of the film sets the audience up for what is to come perfectly. It is evident that Raymond, the main character, loves Kelly, and Kelly loves Raymond's best friend. Although Raymond tells the audience all of this information, there is a scene that shows the awkwardness of the love triangle, and allows the audience to grasp what is going on more fully. There is first a close up on Kelly who is looking over at Raymond's best friend. Then the camera cuts to Raymond's best friend who is clearly trying not to look at Kelly, and is staring off into space. Then there is a medium shot of Raymond singing about being lonely while Kelly is out of focus in the background still looking at Raymond's friend. It is clear throughout to the audience throughout the whole film that Raymond's friend likes Kelly back. However, Raymond is too blinded by getting Kelly for himself that he does not realize he is stepping in the middle of his best friend and Kelly's happiness. The moment of recognition for Raymond was shown through the same shot I described earlier except now instead of staring straight ahead lifelessly, the best friend looks back at Kelly and smiles. Raymond sees this exchange and finally understands. I thought that this was clever because using the same scene that was in the beginning emphasized the point that Kelly and the best friend had always loved each other but Raymond had been too blinded by his own affection of Kelly to see it. All in all this film was an adorable and clever story about love and sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteDustin Bennett: Noticeably illuminated and colorless, "God of Love" is a France-by-way-of-New York tale of unrequited love where our main character is stuck in a love triangle with two of the other members of his jazz/darts band. When the meat of the film's premise reveals itself, i.e. that our protagonist has received darts that make someone more likely to fall in love for six hours, I became worried that this short would fall on the side of creepy, with the love interest becoming magically attracted to him through what amounts to hypnotism. Thankfully, this film subverted that expectation for the most part, depending on your views on the love that did sprout between the people he first tried the darts on. While the ending does seem unearned, since it doesn't seem like the protagonist actually learned a lesson so much as had a bad time and found something else to do, it at least ends pleasantly with him making sacrifices and acknowledging that he can't change people.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Reed: "God of Love" is a very well put together film. I enjoyed the new creative modern spin given to the tale of Cupid. The style of the film is very reminiscent of classical french romance films. Being shot entirely in black and white already gives it that classic feel. I think the style of music the main character Raymond Goodfellow sung, and the even the decision to make his means of transportation a vespa style scooter are little details that were taken from the classics. This movie is a great example of how taking the time to plan every shot and frame set up really adds to the quality of a project. All of the mid and close up shots served their purpose of capturing every emotion of every character. Even without sound there is no confusion about what everyone is feeling at any given moment. Another thing I noticed that we talked about in class was continuity. For example the exchange of the gift when the bartender hands it to Raymond. The angle changes were matched together very convincingly. Another example are the angle changes while Raymond sung and threw the darts and returning back to his singing position. I want to know if the guy who played Raymond is really that good at darts? After first glance i thought all of the shots of bullseyes were cutaways, but I watched again and there is that clip where he threw about four darts in a continuous shot still hitting his mark. Anyway it was a cool film with a refreshing story. I would watch it again!
ReplyDeleteMolly Hochwalt: “God of Love” by Luke Matheny, was a visually and emotionally pleasing piece to watch. Immediately after starting the piece, I felt that having the narrative filmed in entirely black and white was natural and fitting. The mood it set was classic and romantic, which plays well into the story being about finding love. The lighting in this piece contrasted it enough to make the mood deep and romantic but also was light enough to give an overarching feeling of joy to the piece. I also felt that the music chosen throughout this narrative was very fitting. It stayed true to the romantic mood of the story and also brought focus to the important romantic realization moments in the film. The camera angels were visually interesting and helped provide continuity to the piece. I especially liked the shots where the main character was praying, because I felt like I was there with him witnessing him speaking to the higher power. The scenes felt very powerful. The camera work also upheld continuity throughout the piece. I was very impressed with the many successful shots of objects being passed between characters or especially of the darts being thrown. It was easy for me to forget that those actions weren’t actually happening seamlessly before my eyes. I think overall the narrative did a great job sticking the technical aspects which made it easy and fun to watch the emotional plot play out.
ReplyDeleteAlex Cherry: “God of Love” is a modern film with a classic feel, giving it an originality that otherwise might have been lacking. The film is shot entirely in black and white/grayscale, with all the shots extremely well-composed and lit. Music is utilized throughout the film to set the tone, both through diegetic and nondiegetic music. The diegetic music, namely of Raymond singing at the bar, sets an older feel with classic jazz tones, which lend themselves to songs about love and romance. The nondiegetic music is often extremely expressive, still following a classic jazz feel, but being very punctuated to go along with the feelings of the characters. It is quite dramatic, particularly in the scenes where Kelly is falling in and out of love, and the music raises the viewer’s anxiety as the audience wonders whether or not Kelly will love Raymond back. Most of the shots between romantic characters such as Raymond and Kelly or Raymond’s best friend and Kelly are medium shots, and sometimes even close ups. We never really get a wide shot when it is just two characters. When it’s the two of them, the shots are intimate, mainly with the characters in the center of the frame. This blocks out the rest of the world around them, giving an idea that they only see each other when they’re in love. These elements pull the film together and help it to express its theme, that, one way or another, we can often be blinded by love.
ReplyDeleteKrystyna Kridos: 'God of Love' by Luke Matheny is a very well composed short. The black and white aspect as well as the shots give it a very classical french type feel while being set in what looks like current day New York. The soundtrack for the short was suitably chosen and fits nicely. I felt the script was well written around the plot of how Cupid came to be. The shots are well lit while also being framed properly.
ReplyDeleteAlex Smith: Luke Matheny's "God of Love" is a uncommonly well done short film made in the black and white style. We are introduced to the main character on his vespa as he smiles into the camera and drives off. We are then transported three months prior in which we see the story unfold. I enjoyed this film in both the way it was shot and the unique mixing of the audio to emphasize the emotions that were going on during the scene. When Raymond realized that the period of love did not work on Kelly, the ballet music took a turn for the sad and even followed us outside when the two awkwardly shook hands and went along their way. The framing was done very well. Areas where we were meant to focus on one character were framed perfectly. We were given a general about them. The references to Olympus and his love darts were cool references that slowly made the title of the film make sense.
ReplyDeletePhillip Spain: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a very interesting and entertaining short film that tackles a subject that nearly everyone's experienced - unrequited love - in a way that is intriguing and fun, and concludes with a happy ending despite the main character not getting the girl he was into, and instead realizing that it was better to make his friends happy being together rather than to try and force attraction when there was none. The stylistic choice of making the film black and white coupled together with the choice in music gave the film a very classical feel despite being in a modern setting. This works particularly well given with the subject matter, as love has always been important in various forms of art and storytelling, including film. Overall, the film took a timeless story and modernized it while still maintaining a classical feel, and provided an entertaining and fresh take on a timeless subject.
ReplyDeleteLuke Matheny's "God of Love" employs some very interesting and effective artistic choices that let the film really stand out.
ReplyDeleteMatheny's use of colour- or lack thereof- allows the story to be more fully expressed without depending upon brilliant visuals and artsy backgrounds. This also allowed the audience to perceive the story how they would without being overly-obvious about the ending. In a story about love, the lack of reds and pinks was initially surprising but helped give a neutrality to the story that allowed the main character to be more fully developed.
Matheny's use of close-ups and close shots on faces and eyes was incredibly compelling in telling the emotions and thoughts of the characters. It also established the tone of the film by putting emphasis less on the dialogue and more on the inaudible and nonverbal moments, giving it a more emotionally-charged and philosophical perspective.
Finally, the use of music was fantastic in adding to the story and subtly filling the empty spaces where the writer chose not to have dialogue. The music gave what could have been a more tragic story a very hopeful and positive mood and was a nice motif throughout the piece to give emphasis to the character development that was shown.
Cameron Panhans: Luke Matheny both directs and stars in "God of Love", a short film that follows the main character Raymond's quest to make the girl of his dreams fall in love with them. The entirety of the film is done in a black and white style that is an intriguing choice by the director. A lot can be done in film through the use of color, and so to take those options away from yourself when creating a film is a very bold choice. However, this choice allows for lighting to play a bigger role in the portrayal of emotion and action. The sounds of the film are remarkable as well. I thought the choice of the song with the lyrics "all by myself" was rather fitting for the work as a whole. At the thirty second mark in the film the medium-close up of Raymond features very little looking room, which gives the viewer a feeling that Ray is sort of off in a corner, very crowded in his own emotions. This technique is repeated again during the film at the 14:56 mark when Ray is in the street. Once again it is very clear that the character is very crowded or overwhelmed by his thoughts. These cinematic aspects are all pulled together by Luke Matheny in a manner that brings to live the tragic yet beautiful story of Raymond or the "God of Love".
ReplyDeleteJesse Tollison: The elgance of the storytelling and the layering of universal symbols to establish a semi-realistic world pulled me into the short film "God of Love" by Luke Matheny so quickly I almost forgot to think about the piece. What starts as an obvious romantic comedy quickly becomes something with much deeper implications the second Ray opens the first box from the Olympus Foundation. This is where the genius of the writing comes to light: by establishing the mysterious package to be from Olympus, the entire audience, at least those only tangentially versed in Greek mythology, the film conveys many possible paths to the character and the story. Furthermore, when the topic has already been established around relationships, the note within the box almost becomes unnecessary. While the film centers around unrequited love, the real story hides just before and after the climax within the growth of Ray's character's view on what the darts should be used for, and by pairing his friends together, he transcends selfish desire and puts the desires of others before. This character growth further echoes into the Greek mythos since he does, in fact, become the God of Love, as stated in the last voice-over, which leaves a poignant end over a dynamic final shot, leaving only the question of his future partner to be desired.
ReplyDeleteLouis Lartigue: God of Love is a short film written and directed by Luke Matheny that follows a young jazz singer’s journey to understand love. Raymond is a young jazz singer in New York who throws darts during his set; he is in love with his drummer, but she is in love with the guitarist who is also Raymond’s best friend. Raymond prays to the ‘God of Love’ to help in seeking the affection of the drummer. One night he is given a mysterious package that contains several darts that gives a six-hour window where two people have a higher chance to fall in love. After the darts prove to be affective on his bassist and a random woman on the street, Raymond enlists the help of his band to make his drummer fall in love with him. Raymond pricks his drummer with the dart and have a very successful date, but at the end of the six hours she is still uninterested and only has eyes for the guitarist who wont date her because he knows that Raymond is in love with her. Raymond final gives up on his courting of the drummer when he pricks the guitarist with the darts so they can be happy together. He realizes that you can’t control love in any way and that he is in fact, The God of Love. This film attempts to communicate that we cannot control our destinies or the destinies of others and that we should embrace the unpredictability of the world. The film is shot in black and white, which parallel to the binary thinking of Raymond and his thoughts about love.
ReplyDeleteMcKenzie Miller: Luke Matheny’s “God of Love” is a well done short film about love. The film starts out with the last scene and then retraces its steps to get back to that point. It took the viewer back three months to get the story of love and why the film is titled “God of Love.” The opening line was a summary of the film, but it left the viewer wondering what happened in the main character’s love life that made him say that statement. Matheny immediately shows the audience that the three characters involved were Raymond, Kelly, and Fazzi, Raymond’s best friend. It is obvious that Kelly is very interested in Fazzi and wants nothing to do with Raymond. Matheny used close-up shots to show Kelly looking at Fazzi. We also see Kelly’s frustration that Fazzi is staying away from her. The story continues on, and essentially, Raymond becomes Cupid. We see him hit people with arrows, and then watch them fall in love. Raymond tries it on Kelly and has the date of his life. But when the time is up, he realizes that Kelly will never love him like she loves Fazzi. The audience can tell both characters emotions after the time runs out and they finish a kiss by the extreme close up shot. The storyline progresses, and we see Raymond’s realization of the line “you can’t control who you love.” Overall the frames were shot very well, and the music shifted well with the different moods throughout the film. I think it was a really cute and unique way to film a Cupid love story.
ReplyDelete"God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a unique film all together. The film is entirely in black and white but the lighting and contrast of each shot adds an amazing element to the film that plays perfect.From the opening scene the film doesn't seem like it would develop the way that it has. The film is a funny film about love, to me it shows that true meaning of love. One part that I found to be amusing was the scene of Raymond the protagonist shooting different girls with the love darts. The film uses a natural pan to transition to more and more females that are in love with Raymond. After Raymond's date didn't end the way he expected the films development really begins to show. Raymond develops over time. He realizes what his true purpose is after originally thinking that he was destined to be with that one girl. He later found out that he was supposed to be cupid in a hilarious way. Raymond uses the last dart to make his best friend fall in love with the girl he was in love with. The girl is into his friend and he continues to ignore her before Raymond steps in to save the day. I believe that this a true act of love on raymonds part he realizes what he should do to see both of them happy. He loves the girl so much that all he wants is to see her happy. The end of the film ends with a pan of the jazz joint that Raymond use to perform in everyone seems to be in love and happy but there is no sign of Raymond until the transition to him back on the bike riding. It's almost like Raymond could find love for everyone but himself.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Builta: Luke Matheny's "God of Love" sets itself apart from the other short films that we have watched thus far in a number of ways. I found the film truly wonderful, but a part of me didn't like it at all - I think that this is because I found the protagonist, Raymond, to be completely and totally unlikable until about 14 minutes into the film. He does redeem himself from his selfish ways by becoming the God of Love at the end and helping other lonely souls find their matches, but much of the film portrays him in an incredibly negative light. However, it was still very enjoyable to watch. The performances from the actors - specifically Fazzi and Kelly - were so compelling. You could tell even from the first time that the two of them were in a shot together that that was the more dynamic pairing of characters. I loved the close-up 180 degree pan on Raymond's face when he was singing. I also thought that the quirky and relatively upbeat music added a different and unexpected tone to the film.
ReplyDeleteIn the narrative "God of Love" we learn about a man by the name of Raymond who is a skilled dart thrower. He is in a band and is also in love with the lead drummer in this band. He is given a special box in the begging of the narrative, containing love darts. It has the literal meaning as cupid's arrow except that Raymond is cupid. He helps his other band members find love but the realizes the potential he has with these darts. Several close up's of the girls that are targeted gives the scene that moody feeling. Shot in black and white gives us an older feel to the film and causes the viewer to be in the movie with Raymond. This is one of those films where love is in the eyes of the beholder.
ReplyDeleteMaddie Kennedy: "God of Love" is a short film by Luke Matheny, and I found it overall to be a very enjoyable film. Despite dealing with the mystery of love, it was thematically light, with funny moments scattered throughout. It was more silly and lighthearted than most of the short films we've watched in this class, so it was interesting to see a change in tone. Despite the lighter subject matter, it was still a cohesive and professional film--each shot was clearly very well planned and thought out. This expert planning and editing is what really enables the humor in the film, and kept me as a viewer engaged. The black and white was an interesting choice as well, a more serious palette that contrasted with the tone of the film. The film had a satisfying narrative arc as well, with Ray growing and changing as a character, culminating in his new identity as the God of Love.
ReplyDeleteHolly Hundsdorfer: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a romantic short film about one man and his trials to understand how love works. The film uses countless angles and types of shots from filming over the shoulder, medium 2X shots and close ups. The editing is seamless even when they put 3 angles together in such a short amount of time. Matheny has an excellent way of moving fast from shot to shot in scenes such as the one where he tests the arrow out on frank. Frank and the women talking are never seen at the same time as Ray nealing down. They flash from view to view and it flows easily making it easier to understand who is where in relation to each other in the scene even if its not shows all at the same time. The last scene was a scene that was shown in the beginning making it all wrap up to where the film began. Except this time you know who the man is and you know HE is the god of love.
ReplyDelete"God of Love" by Luke Matheny is composed wonderfully and is visually pleasing. Matheny's use of black and white color and different genres of music gives the film the "French romance" feel he was shooting for. The camera angles used within the film allows the viewers to feel exactly what the characters are feeling. From close ups to wide shots, I feel that every shot was heavily thought out and fit perfectly within each sequence. While I wasn't too crazy about the storyline, I feel that the film itself was well put together.
ReplyDeleteKaty Hale: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a short, but very romantic film. It is about a single man learning the ropes of love, and how it works. There is some mystery involved in the film, that gives it more conflict and makes it more interesting. He deals with the conflict of finding love which brings in the mystery of the film, and where and how he will figure out love. The shots of the film are very detailed. There are multiple X2 shots, in which are from another persons perspective, or over the other characters prop or shoulder. There are a few close ups that represent the importance each character entails, and their representation in the film. Since the film is in black and White, it was hard for me to detect the lighting, but from what I saw, it stayed about the same throughout the film, unless it was a close up shot. The editing was very detailed, and was very well done. Watching this short film has helped me come up with some ideas for the Narrative 2 project, and has helped me shape out my shot list, and what works and what doesn't. The overall cinematography was very well done as well.
ReplyDeleteHannah Bynum: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is an intriguing romantic short which explores a young man, Raymond, in his attempts to "get the girl". What I found most appealing about this film is it's visual aspects. Matheny's use of black and white gave this piece a sense of being an old film or at the very least set in the 40s or 50s, but it is instead set in modern day. The entire film had a classic element to it, not just because of the entire thing being in black and white. The way the performers dressed along with the old microphone had an old classic movie feel to it. I feel like the style Matheny chose to put this film together was a bold choice and did an excellent job of telling the story.
ReplyDeleteMario Cirinese: “God of Love” by Luke Matheny is a romanticized short film that follows a lead singer in a band named Raymond. The film set entirely in a black and white filter causes the audience to truly look into the story and avoid any distraction of color. During the time in which Raymond uses the love darts on the unsuspecting victims the camera is set to close up shots to show the audience the character’s reactions of being transformed into lovers. A large portion of the film captures the characters in either wide angle or medium shots to convey a feeling of closeness with the audience. As Raymond and Kelly’s romantic date comes to an abrupt ending several quick medium close-up X2 shots show an intense sequence of the event. Throughout the film the director implements key moments of music that sets the tone of the scenes that are to come. Overall I thought the film was interesting and an enjoyable watch.
ReplyDeleteLuke Matheny's "God of Love" is a fun and charming story that is masterfully told through the eyes of a hopeless romantic. One of my favorite things about the short are the characters. Each one has some odd quirk about them that makes them all unique weather it be talking too much, talking too little, showing no emotion or just being blissfully aloof. I also appreciate the black and white as I have a soft spot for the rustic and artistic style of cinematography. The film is clever, contains great dialogue and character development and was a joy to watch.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Hendrix: "God of Love" by Luke Matheny is a short film composed entirely of black and white. I believe that since the God of Love was not established until the very end, the filmmakers made the choice of black and white to show the world would be dull without love. Another benefit to having only black and white is that the lighting is more apparent, making the characters look much more dramatic. The audio barely had any natural sounds in it, making the film sound classic because all the audience could hear was the narrator and the few characters speak once or twice. When there was nothing to be narrated, the filmmakers chose to play classical music. Once again, giving the short film a classic vibe. Overall, the plot was very interesting and kept my attention, especially the end because he did get the girl and he was okay with that. I would definitely recommend watching this short film.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Walker: “God’s Love” is a black and white film that tells the story of how Raymond Goodfella came to understand love. Luke Matheny brilliantly constructed the film in a manner that constantly kept me engaged and entertained. Based on the two opening scenes I thought the film would be about Raymond’s quest to find love. However, I was very happy with the plot twist towards the end of the film. Matheny lead me to believe that the film would focus solely on Raymond’s journey to find love. After watching the entire film I was thoroughly pleased to find out that Raymond turned out to be a modern day cupid and he finally understood the true meaning of love and happiness within himself. Matheny also did a wonderful job of revealing only what he wanted the viewers needed to see. In lieu of that, he still left the viewers to assume at certain times. For instance, at the blank mark, when Raymond and Kelley were on a date and he kissed her as time ran out, we were left to assume that she felt no connection to him. Matheny ultimately tied the film together by using lightening, depth of field, and framing. Hard, low key lightening was used in instances where Raymond was in serious situations or uneasy about something. Hard, low key lighting was used in scenes that focused on him. Matheny may have done this to draw more attention to what Raymond was saying versus paying attention to objects around him. High key lightening was used usually when the mood of the film was upbeat and happy like at the 12:37 mark. Depth of field occurred in instances where Raymond felt uneasy and uncomfortable. Framing was a key element for this film because it ultimately brought the “cupid theme” into context. At the 3:51 mark Matheny framed up Raymond up in a close-up in the lower right corner of the shot to then used a cut away shot of his two friends in order to get viewers to see “love” from his point of view. Matheny also did this at the 14:21 mark but this time it tied the entire film together making it known to the viewers that he is cupid. Overall, this film was very well structured and entertaining. I usually don’t like black and white films, but this instantly became one if my favorite short films to watch.
ReplyDelete"God of Love" by Luke Matheny was a masterfully sweet and hilarious short about having the power to manipulate the one thing we all wish we could control. Much of the brilliance in this piece comes from Matheny's writing, mixing in the perfect tone of humor throughout. The film possesses a marriage of classic European cinema and modern American comedy using black and white, jazz and gothic music, and even the character's wardrobes, in addition to the silly, yet perfectly believable plot of Raymond becoming a "god of love". That contrast in cinema style doesn't distract from the story, which makes it a successful aesthetic choice. The classic European style is simply a medium for the story. A similar decision is sometimes made in sitcoms, but plays as a joke to the audience, highlighting the irony of the contradiction. The cinematography is beautiful and well designed, which is always refreshing to see in a comedy. Raymond's character is quirky and seemingly quite self aware, almost reminiscent of a classic Woody Allen type, which compliments the plot nicely, too. All around, Matheny has crafted a lovely film exploring an unrealistic fantasy.
ReplyDelete"God of Love" is a romantic short story about a man named Raymond who tries to get a girl to love him. The use of black and white is always interesting, however I think this is the mood that the producers wanted to go for. I thought that the exposition of characters at the beginning was almost too cliche and could have been done different. When he is praying, he explains all the characters and the situations surrounding them in too specific of ways. I could tell the purpose of the prayer was to tell the story. I was confused of the time and setting of this piece, which I think other viewers might be able to relate to. While the it gives off an older french style mood, I feel like most viewers would not know how to feel about the movie due to this uncertainty.
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