Knowledge Of The Cone

This fun surreal short by Israeli artist Eran Hilleli was made during his studies at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. It uses minimalist staging, a crowd, two singled out characters and presents a mystery to the audience.

The short places an emphasis on objects (cones) and assigns some enigmatic meaning to them. A stylized aesthetic is used with a palette of few colors, the aesthetic itself is actually inspired by the work of neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, who produced an artwork with the same name as the film, and was chosen by Eran Hilleli as a starting point to create the short.

Good effort is dedicated to sound design, which is used together with varying shot sizes to create contrast. Special effort is also dedicated to building a crowd that swarms around the main character. Camera shake, zoom ins, tighter framing and increased motion within the frame are effectively used to increase visual rhythm and pace.