Channeling (2013)

Wonderful character development!

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

I wish this story will have more than an influence. As far as I'm concerned it may have a major impact. Social media are showing how antisocial people really are. This pic shows just another way how social media might evolve. "BIG brother is watching you!" as in 1984 (from George Orwell)?! How could George Orwell have known that everybody might be watching everybody else ... as long as there are sponsors. I.e. there's a very thin line between followers and the ones that are paying people to be followed. Not that this is not a "spoiler". It's something to think about while you're watching the cute people in this pic.

Once upon a time, there was Google Glass, which allowed you access to social media via a headband and a projector just above your eyes. It also allowed you to take photo's and shoot videos. The story that writer and director, Drew Thomas, gives the audience is one of the possible progressions of that technology. He crafts an interesting tale that not only shows the positives but some of the many negatives for this type of tech, as it is directed more towards social media. What would you do to increase viewers, ratings, and sponsorship? Especially when more viewers gives the user more sponsorship money...Wyatt Maddox (Taylor Handley) is out to have fun. He and his partner Tara (Kate French) "Borrow" cars for races, which are aired live through Wyatt's eye-cam. During one of these races, something goes wrong and Wyatt ends up dead. This prompts the return of Jonah (Dominic DeVore), Wyatt's older brother who was serving overseas. It's not long before he realises that all is not right with his brother's death and starts to investigate, by pretending to be Wyatt.Though the story is intelligent and gripping there are times when the film falls flat. These are mainly when the movie changes from action mode to drama. I'm not saying that Thomas cannot film dramatic scenes as one of the best scenes stars Skyler Day as Jonah's and Wyatt's sister Ashleigh who has an epiphany about her use of the tech and her followers. Skyler Day is also the strongest actor in the cast, definitely someone to keep an eye on. However, Thomas is clearly more at home directing the action sequences as these are more powerful and controlled, as the trailer proves. I also loved the opening sequence of the fake advert, which would really work well if you were watching on telly.The acting is above average and most of the actors get behind their characters, though there are times when Kate French seems bored and uninterested at being there. This along with the inconsistencies in pace does wound the movie. However, it's worth at least one watch should you like mysteries, science fiction, or action thrillers.

I enjoy films that make you think "has technology gone too far?" Channeling is a perfect example of this. Another example would be the film Her. What makes Channeling especially interesting is that the technology depicted here seems like it could happen in the very near future. This could very well be the next upgrade in social media. The part of the story involving Ashleigh (Skyler Day) made me think about how future generations of people seem to have less and less privacy in their lives. For example, today it's not uncommon to see a post on Facebook of a baby in the womb; that person was never given the choice of how present they want to be on social media. In Ashleigh's case, some of her most intimate moments were live broadcasted without her knowledge.In addition to the thought provoking and sci-fi feel of the film, it also contains a fair amount of action (i.e. car chases), really drawing in the audience. Overall Drew Thomas does an excellent job with this movie. I highly recommend it.

First film from writer/director Drew Thomas set in the not too distant future where people have taken social media to a new level and broadcast their lives in real time through contact lenses which transmit to an app on their smartphones.The film opens with an amusing advert in the style of real Google adverts. The below video was used in a viral marketing campaign and is not the actual one used in the film, but will give you an idea of what the film is centred around.Doesn't seem so science-fiction now, does it? Maybe the not too distant future could even be next week! It does seem like the next logical, if not even more personal step up from blogs, youtube channels, reality TV and sharing of life moments on twitter and facebook. The film starts with a car chase in which Wyatt Maddox (Taylor Handley) is driving accompanied with Tara (Kate French). We then later learn that this car chase ends fatally for Wyatt. The story then continues with Wyatt's soldier brother Jonah (Dominic Devore) returning home for the funeral. On discovering his brother's online existence under the channel name Wyld_Life, Jonah decides to pose as Wyatt and reawaken his channel in order to lure his killers.Meanwhile, while the main story is unfolding there is a sub story in the form of Ashleigh Maddox (Skyler Day) the little sister of Wyatt and Jonah. She is at that impressionable high school age where having recognition and admiration from your peers seems like the most important thing to give you a sense of belonging. She is also a channeler and has her own fashion vlog. Here you see how she uses the vlog for online attention as she sits alone talking to herself in a mirror, but actually casting to thousands. She begins a relationship which she talks about and broadcasts through her channel. She later finds out that her boyfriend has been casting without her knowledge and during intimate times too.Another sub story is about what people do to increase ratings, and therefore get sponsors to give them earning potential. Wyatt's angle was stealing cars, heightening his risk and also simultaneously boosting his ratings. Behind this are the sponsors which sell the advertising space on the casting channels to companies with a relevant product. Furthermore, this bred underground casinos where we saw the shadier side of being able to watch every moment of people's lives. Gamblers betted on people's life events in real time and long-term bets such as if a girl's pregnancy test would be positive or negative, and then if this led to abortion or keeping the baby.This was an interesting film which shows the direction that social media could go and has gone in the past. From 2005 when Andrew Fischer auctioned his forehead for advertising space, to viral celebrity sex tapes, and the increased popularity of reality TV there definitely would be a market for what Channeling proposes the future of entertainment to be and our willingness to share more and more of our lives in order to get our 15 minutes of fame.A Q&A session followed after the film, the distance between audience and director was approximately 5000 miles but through the wonders of Skype we heard the American accent of Drew Thomas as he sat in his car by a mountain in the glorious sunshine in California. Taking questions from the audience Drew said that he didn't feel that social media was to blame but that together with people it can be evil and pervasive. He showed this through the character of Ashley where he wanted to make the audience sympathise with her, however one festival audience member found her character annoying! But then I think that's how some people view social media, I find it particularly annoying when 'friends' of mine post every minute detail of their life – I definitely don't think I'll be tuning into livecasting channels in the near future, well, not unless they are doing something exciting…..