the analysis and deconstruction of the short film "Mixtape".

1. Short film by Luke Snellin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J7Ak5uOMpI
An entertaining and light-hearted short film that depicts the romantic struggles of a
boys young love and how the barrier is defeated through the power of music.

2. Director Biography
•Luke Snellin is an English screenwriter and director working in film, television, music
videos and commercials. He is known for his distinctive use of cinematography and
music as well as often employing light hearted themes, romance and nostalgia.
•He has been featured as a new director in Shots, called "Markedly Talented" by The
Telegraph, he was also named as one of Screen International's "Stars of Tomorrow" in
2010 and one of Broadcast's "Hot Shots" in 2013.
•His 2009 short film Mixtape (2 mins) was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Short Film
and won the Virgin Media Shorts competition.
•Snellin has directed music videos for notable artists such as Get Cape, Wear Cape,
Fly, Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler, Young Rebel Set and Australian Music
Prize Winners Cloud Control.
•Won 6 out of 10 awards he was nominated for different works and various film
festivals.

3. Reception and Audience
The film was very well critically acclaimed as it had won the Virgin
Media Shorts 2009 Grand Prize, Purbeck Film Festival Best
Film, Landcrab Film Festival Best Filmand furthermore even
garnerede a BAFTA short film Nomination.
The film has not reached tthe mainstream audiences,as it only reached
around 3,200 views on youtube, however it has been has had popular
standing in the short of the week website and a solid 7.0 rating on
imbd.
The short film is very precise and smooth, getting straight to the point
and keeping the audiences constantly engaged through its boyish
charm.- anonymous reviwer

4. Setting:
The short film starts off in a young boys room and never goes beyond the next house,
showing the connection he has to the person in it. The small yet significant world the
director creates is enough for a short romantic comedy to have an impact on the audience.
The opening song already gives the audience what to expect as it is and old-school romantic
which is translated onto the genre. The boys bedroom also reveals that he is the typical 80s
kid with the recorder and the amount of posters in his room, however as they are not in
focus we can only see his passion for music at the start.
Costume:
The costumes are not very important in this short film as they do little to reveal something
about the characters besides them being the typical representative of the 80s suburban
American style, which is the time period in which the setting takes place. Setting:
Lighting:
The lighting reflects the tone of the film as it its kept very bright throughout the short film,
except the beginning when the audience was not aware of the main protagonist intention.
Editing:
The editing is kept continuous until the dancing sequence is order to progressive the
narrative of the story. Then it switches to parallel editing until the two main characters are in
the same shot , in order to show their separate behaviors which are actually very similar to
the song.
Short Film Analysis

5. Figure, expression, movement:
Through this we learn a lot about the boys personality, as he shows he is a bit clumsy when he
misses his pocket with the mixtape and reveals his shyness through his interactions with the
girls mother through his facial expressions. We also get to see a surge in his confidence after
he hands the mixtape over and at the end of the film when he believes a connection has been
established with the girl. The dancing scene shows the behavior of two regular suburban kids
to the music of their time, with them just having fun with it.
Music:
The music is appropriate to the time period as it uses some of the biggest rock bands of the 70s
such as The Kinks and Heart.
The first use of music is diegetic as the character hears it through his headphones, and it is
used to set the mood for the film and symbolize the completion of the mixtape made for the
boy to win over his crush.
The next use of music is non-diegetic as the boy dramatically turns around and exits his
house, here it is used to inspire confidence in the boy and show the audience his
determination. The music style of this song can also represent a classic showdown where he
wishes to exit victoriously.
The last song is used to signalize the relationship between the boy and girl, and how their
bond is created through music. This is an energetic song through which both can relate to and
the lyrics also shows us mutual wondering about the other.
There are not impactful diegetic or non-diegetic sounds that are not part of the soundtrack.
Short Film Analysis

6. Camera work:
The films starts off with a tracking shot behind the main character while he is listening to his music and
working, and followed up by a close-up shot of him, so we can immediately get introduced to him, his
surroundings and his preferences.
The close up of the of the mixtape is there to signify its importance to the boy and to the film as it is the
bridge that connects him to the girl.
As the boy is leaving the house with the empowering music, the camera goes from close-up to medium
shot tracking to show us the confidence of the boy through his facial expression and body movement.
The follow up long shot takes away the confidence the audience had in the boy as he is just going next
door, showing the comedic nature of the film. The long shot is also balances as the boy is right in the
middle of the two houses which empathizes his journey and struggle.
The sequences between the girls mother and boy is displayed through close-ups of both showing that
they already have sort of connection and familiarity, however the nature of that relationship can be seen
through the angles as he is portrayed in a high angle to show respect and she is in a low angle to show
adult understanding of the situation.
A medium long shot tracking out is used while he is on the bed to show his being pulled away from his
magazine by the music he is hearing.
Throughout the short film tracking shots are used instead of hand-held to show the stability of the
characters, and because they are more genre appropriate and make the film much more light-hearted.
A medium shot is used when he goes to the wall, as the audience can see the picture which is positioned
first in focus so the sound of the music is visible as the picture is shaking, switching focus pulls from him
to the image, with a eye-level angle so we can identify with the boys happiness.
Then there is a high angle close-up of the girl so that the audience can immediately identify with her and
also present her as vulnerable to the boys music and affection.
The two of them are dancing in long and medium-long shots to show the freedom they have gained from
the music , doing signature dance moves and even the girl moving in slower motion at one point.
The last long shot is the most important one as they have been symmetrically placed in the shot with the
wall symbolically separating them, as they had overcome the obstacle through music.
Short Film Analysis

7. Character analysis
Ben:
• Romantic
• Sweet
• Clumsy
• Nerdy, due to music
posters
• Shy
• Dedicated
• Innocent
• Boy next door
Lily:
• Cute
• Girl next door
• Sweetheart
• Understanding
• Awkward as Ben is
• Also innocent