Self Portrait

Proving that shorts don’t have to look shoddy, Zeb Lamb’s film oozes style.

Burton (Ivan Kaye) is a portrait artist, committing life-like images of his clients to canvas – but he has been waging a secret rebellion for years and now he wants to share it.

The story is strong and – unlike many shorts – avoids the all-to-common clichés. More importantly, though, is the excellent direction. The lighting is lovely and, as the film moves from black and white to colour and back again the quality never wavers.

Lamb uses clever camera technique to help the story along, but despite being clever – from its unsettling angles to extreme close ups and beyond – his direction never gets in the way of the story, just helps it to move along, framing it beautifully – like Burton’s pictures.

Overlaying the action is Kaye’s mellifluous narration, which finds a power behind the words. Picture perfect.