Textual analysis of a short documentary for my A level media

1. Textual Analysis 1
My friend Khalid

2. Beginning of the film
- The film starts with a clip of Ellen introducing Khalid on her show. This is done
with no context to the audience which leaves them with a sense of mystery
but also makes them want to watch more to find out why, this works really
well as it engages the audience right from the start.
- We then see Justin giving some context of how he met Khalid and sets up
the rest of the film through his use of voiceover and showing us the twitter
messages, these are both clever tools. Firstly a voice over allows the
audience to be told or shown some context that they need in a short space of
time which is hard in a short film but also the visual screenshots of their
messages makes it even more real and some what relatable to the audience

3. - We then see shots of Khalid and the Director of the film hanging out and
having fun, this gives the audience some context of the film and helps the
audience build an emotional connection to the characters so when he goes
on to say they don't talk anymore it's even more effective as the audience
also feel hurt.
- This technique is called flashbacks and is often used in films to give context
by showing and not telling which is more effective than just explaining.
Middle of the film

4. End of film
- The end of the film then comes to the emotional end that the audience has
been waiting for, this climax has been built up over the whole film as we see
shots of the director and Khalid as best friends and hanging out for 1.5
minutes we see how close they are and then when the mood changes the
audience have an idea of what is to come but are not really sure. Then he
tells us how they don’t really see each other but he is proud, this makes the
audience feel sympathetic towards the director and ends on a sad note which
leaves a lasting effect, this is why i think it is so affective

5. How does he tell the story ?
- Justin Escalona uses several alternative almost indie techniques to tell his film.
- Justin does this by starting where the film ends, not only does this give the film context but it is in
the same style as Christopher Nolan's non linear narrative, however, after this clip he goes to the
beginning
- Escalona also uses a voice over to narrate the film, the way he uses this is and mixes it in well with
the music is really effective, he does not rush the voice over and has long breaks where the
audience can take in and think about what he has said, it is very stimulating for the audience and
keeps them engaged
- Finally, Khalid uses flashbacks, however, it is not the conventional way of doing this as the story is
about the past he uses a lot of old footage, leaving longer flashbacks scenes than usual, which
allows the audience to build an emotional connection to the director and Khalid
- Overall Justin Escalona uses several techniques which are not mainstream and breaks some

6. How does the soundtrack affect the film?
- The sound is key in the film as it makes the audience build the connections to
the characters in the time where there is no dialogue but just music
- The music is also Khalid’s, as the story is about him this is very effective as
we can see what Justin is talking about and how good he is but also his
emotional lyrics could make the audience feel that these lyrics are possibly
about Justin and Khalid
- FInally the way that he mixes the voiceover with the soundtrack is done very
well, in a way that does not break the verisimilitude of the film as he uses a lot
of cross dissolves in the audio causing it to feel seamless but yet emotional
and natural