Get On With It

Directed by Richard Steele

2020

The fanfare and lights of the classic 20th Century Fox logo is one of my first memories ever of cinema – in front of Star Wars: A New Hope of course. From there, more and more production company logos – the mountain of Paramount, the globe of Universal, the badge of Warner Brothers – flooded into my memory and became a staple of the movie-going experience.

Richard Steele’s new short Get On With It starts with the premise that by the 21st century, the less than clever foxes at Hollywood began adding more and more logos before a film began.

In reality, the old monopolies of the past were actually making way for co-funded productions so every company involved – especially those fronting the money – got their individual logos (now animated too) plonked at the beginning of a screening.

But how many are too many? Well, this Midlands micro-short tackles some of these themes in increasing funny and frustrating ways.

From space to futuristic design, the short even nods to the fact that some are so like film now that they could be confused with the movie actually starting. The logos also echo a Bond-style liquid, giving a shout out to a franchise famous for its opening sequences.

A few barbs thrown in the direction of the absurd nature of these logos also appeared. And ridiculous names and the repetition of the logos in the credits also come in for ridicule.

The short is a wry take on one of some cinema audiences’ bugbear of endless logos but it did very much remind me of a similar joke from Family Guy. It’s one note theme and short run time makes it feel a little like a comedy show skit rather than a fully formed short however. The end when the film starts, or does it, gave me a naughty chuckle though.

In the end (or beginning?) the short is obviously a personal pet peeve from the filmmaker and sends up a subject we can all relate to in a slightly cynical but humorous way.

Michael Sales