The story follows a boy named Joe and his friends who turn on a video game and get sucked into the action. In order to escape the game they must complete a series of tasks. Working together as a team, they are able to complete all the tasks and beat the game. This was made by a high school student, Joseph Castellon, from Fillmore High School.
I like that the story revolves around video games, because that is something most kids can relate to. It is also really cool to see them sucked into the game because that is something that would be a lot of fun to do with my friends. I don't particularly like how the story ends, as it does not give much of an explanation as to why certain things occur in the story. There are moments in this film when the cinematography really shines, such as when we see the friends running in the game and it looks and sounds real. Another great cinema graphic moment is when the screen switches to the Mario Kart game and the split screen looks exactly like it does when you play the actual game. This film is set in a high school and appears to have been filmed at an actual high school. When the film switches to the game it is clear that they are playing a well-known game. The background music isn't anything special but the sound effects are fantastic. When they are playing Mario Kart you can hear the actual sounds you would hear playing the game. When one character is being punched, you hear the actual sound of a punch. Switching from real worldview to Mario Kart view is done really well. The transition is seamless and gives the effect that the viewer is also playing the game. Through the use of a cartoon hand, the viewer sees one character being punched when they are not really being punched. Aside from knowing the names of each character, there is not much character development occurring in this film. Being that it is only five and a half minutes long, there isn't much time for any of that to happen. My favorite part is definitely the Mario Kart scene because it looks and sounds so real. It feels like the viewer is actually playing the game and this helps the viewer really get into the storyline.
This film's message is that when you work together as a team, anything is possible. We see a group of friends working together to escape a video game, and they are ultimately successful because they work together. Note that it does show kids doing risky things that kids might imitate. One of the characters is punched repeatedly.
I give The Switch Up 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 18. I recommend this for youth and family film festivals because the story is interesting and there are no concerning or inappropriate behaviors or language used. By Audrey L., KIDS FIRST!
The story follows a boy named Joe and his friends who turn on a video game and get sucked into the action. In order to escape the game they must complete a series of tasks. Working together as a team, they are able to complete all the tasks and beat the game. This was made by a high school student, Joseph Castellon, from Fillmore High School.
I like that the story revolves around video games, because that is something most kids can relate to. It is also really cool to see them sucked into the game because that is something that would be a lot of fun to do with my friends. I don't particularly like how the story ends, as it does not give much of an explanation as to why certain things occur in the story. There are moments in this film when the cinematography really shines, such as when we see the friends running in the game and it looks and sounds real. Another great cinema graphic moment is when the screen switches to the Mario Kart game and the split screen looks exactly like it does when you play the actual game. This film is set in a high school and appears to have been filmed at an actual high school. When the film switches to the game it is clear that they are playing a well-known game. The background music isn't anything special but the sound effects are fantastic. When they are playing Mario Kart you can hear the actual sounds you would hear playing the game. When one character is being punched, you hear the actual sound of a punch. Switching from real worldview to Mario Kart view is done really well. The transition is seamless and gives the effect that the viewer is also playing the game. Through the use of a cartoon hand, the viewer sees one character being punched when they are not really being punched. Aside from knowing the names of each character, there is not much character development occurring in this film. Being that it is only five and a half minutes long, there isn't much time for any of that to happen. My favorite part is definitely the Mario Kart scene because it looks and sounds so real. It feels like the viewer is actually playing the game and this helps the viewer really get into the storyline.
This film's message is that when you work together as a team, anything is possible. We see a group of friends working together to escape a video game, and they are ultimately successful because they work together. Note that it does show kids doing risky things that kids might imitate. One of the characters is punched repeatedly.
I give The Switch Up 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 18. I recommend this for youth and family film festivals because the story is interesting and there are no concerning or inappropriate behaviors or language used. By Audrey L., KIDS FIRST!
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