Textual analysis of 6 short films

1. Textual Analysis of Short Films

3. Strangers The sound used is all diegetic as you can hear the train and the noises it makes, the mobile phone and the turning of the pages of the newspaper. As the men start running down the train trying to escape a non diegetic piece of fast paced music is introduced to show pace and rushing. The mise en scene is on a train showing that it would be hard to escape. The props are the Arab newspaper which reveals that the character is foreign jus t by that little detail. The clothes are casual travelling clothes. The baddies are bald, many piercings and tight shirts to show their muscles to show that they are intimidating. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpjHSiQLPmA The camera work all works towards creating suspense and tension in this short film. The shot from behind shows mystery of the protagonist and the close ups reveal little hints about the two main characters for example religion. The camera angles face down as the big group of men sit down as if they are superior to the Arab protagonist trying to be intimidating. The audience for this short film would be teenagers plus as you have to follow the film carefully to understand what is happening and to realise the different signs and hints. Also this may be scary for a younger child as it seems like it will end up violent

4. Memories The film is in black and white just like a camera film would be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HDu87TGy0&feature=related The audience for this film would be anyone as there is no specific genre to this short film. Everybody has memories and this short film will remind people of any age of their past memories. When the protagonist opens his memory book the images start to fade away enforcing the message that you should remember and not forget. The camera work starts with a long short of a man walking across a zebra crossing this introduces the main character,. Many close ups of the mans facial expressions are shot when he finds the different memories on the film he remembers. In one shot there is a tear in his eye showing happiness and him remembering those times. A tracking shot is used to show him walking along the street with a long line of films behind him showing that those are the memories of his past. The mise en scene shows the location as walking along the path along side roads to the mans house, where he opens his book of memories. There is diegetic sounds of the cars in the background and non diegetic sound with a man whispering lyrics. The tempo is slow and dynamically light to show happiness

5. The Plan The mise en scene starts of at the location of his house packing up his stuff and then moves to Vegas. The camera is one of the main props as he finds the girl again through a picture of him she took. The audience would be teenagers plus as everyone goes through a time where they want change or look for change. The film is in black and white to show how simple the film is and how simple change can be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OGX8iYBBCE&feature=related The short film starts with an establishing shot of a long free road representing freedom. Close up reveals the mans characters and hobbies, like photography and music. Shot reverse shot is used when the girl steals the mans camera and is taking pictures of him chasing her showing her then him then her again. Close ups of him face near the end showing his emotions that he has lost everything but then realises the picture of him on the board it ends with a long free road as he goes and finds the girl. A voiceover is used to tell the mans plan and feelings. Dialogue is used when he is speaking to the girl and then asking for directions and diegetic sounds are noises of the streets making the film realistic. trapped freedom

6. Noise http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7VjYuKeowM&feature=fvw The narrative of this story is a boy who has a bad car accidently and loses his hearing. The message to this short film is clear ‘don’t take anything for granted.’ at first the shots show him in his normal life going to work. Medium close shots are used to introduce his character. Photography of items that make noise are then slide showed while a voiceover explains that everything makes a sound. A long tracking shot is used to show the ambulance speed by which is significant because that's the only thing that you can see in the shot making it a main focus and showing its importance to the storyline. A medium shot is used to show the boys frustrating when he can’t listen to his music in his CD player so throws the stereo and rips off his tie. Sound is used a lot in this film as it is the key focus. Non diegetic slow paced music is used to represent tragedy and a voice over is used to explain the story. Diegetic sounds are used to show that everything makes a noise which is the point the main character is trying to make. The target audience would be teenagers plus as it is quite a strong message.

7. Noise - Horror http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orDC_RfjItQ The sound is a creepy non diegetic piece of music, that gets dynamically fuller when suspense is being built or when there is an opportunity for something scary to happen. Diegetic sound is used when the girl answers the telephone butt the girl doesn’t reveal who it is, the audience assume a friend. Also diegetic sound from the television etc, makes the scene more realistic and normal to the audience. The target audience would be teenagers plus as the face at the end may scare younger children and they might not understand the story. The narrative is about a woman getting continuous bad headaches. It shows her every day life and then when she goes to bed, a face faintly appears from behind her cupboard/door. There isn’t much action in this short film but a tense atmosphere is achieved. It is achieved mainly by lighting and sound. The lighting of the filming is dark and grey, showing mystery and a typical creepy setting. The fact that the main character is an alone woman adds to the suspense even more as woman are seen as more vulnerable targets and are often the main victims in horror movies.