Blog Post 8: Narrative

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0BxrF5Cs8s

TURBO the movie by David Lehre.

David Lehre is an independent video maker/director/actor turned singer from Michigan. He employs a high production value aesthetic to his short films and often appears in his own movies. The genre of this video is science fiction and the style is production forward and faced paced.


David Lehre is originally from Detroit, Michigan, and began making movies in his teenage years with nothing more than a hand held camcorder and a small group of friends. David Lehre and his friends began posting their videos on youtube. He would soon have his first breakout success with Myspace: The Movie. He then started his own film studio and quickly gained recognition through interviews on Letterman, and a 400,000 dollar contract with Fox Studios. While producing various rap and hip hop music videos, he began incorporating ideas and techniques from Korean music videos, as he felt he had exhausted the inspiration locally. After gaining mild recognition in Korea by directing and producing music videos for korean pop musicians, he began his own music career as a popular music singer.

The genre of this film is a mix between martial arts, action and science fiction. It incorporates a lot of science fiction elements such as a futuristic setting, technology that does not currently exist, and the use of a universe with its own accepted paradigms. It also uses martial arts elements as within the video game, players control digital fighters and do combat within a digital arena. There is homage to Hong Kong martial arts cinema through the exaggerated and overly fluid fight choreography. Lastly, it has the "get the girl" motif seen in almost every action movie: The underdog finds his inner strength to overcome evil, and the female protagonist falls in love with him in the process.

The style of this movie is high production value and faced paced. Because it is a short film, character development is difficult and to an extent: limited. However, the primary appeal of this video is the special effects and lighting fast combat choreography. The flashing lights in the background, the glowing "special attacks" inside the video game, and the floating displays, are all incredibly detailed and advanced visual effects that would have been considered difficult even for major film studios, thus it is incredible that an independent artist is capable of creating such elements.