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1. A SECOND A DAY
TASK 2 - ANALYZE THE TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF A
CAMPAIGNING SHORT FILM (INDIVIDUAL WORK)

2. MISE - EN - SCENE
At the start of the video, the little girl has a smile on her face as she is surrounded by her
family and has many candles on her birthday cake. This shot is followed by shots of her
everyday life. the use of these shots help portray her life as happy and perfect. The
audience can relate to this moment which makes them identify with the girl, finding
similarities in their lifestyle.
The electricity cuts and the room goes dark. This is symbolic of the atmosphere in the
room at the time changing from happy and hostile to a dark and dangerous
tone which foreshadows something bad is going to happen. As the ceiling begins to
crumble, dust falls from it connoting they are in danger and they are less fortunate as
their house is going to collapse. The girl's smile shows that she isn't as happy as she
was on her birthday because of the way things are changing. The candles in the
background suggest that there is still hope and the one candle left on her birthday
cake suggests the chances of hope have minimized.
The beginning and the end of the video are contrasts between happiness and
sorrow and also health and sicknesses at the start, she is healthy and well celebrating
her birthday with her family although at the end she is celebrating her birthday in a
hospital with only her mum by her side and she looks dirty an sad. Her birthday cake
only has 1 candle representing how lonely she is.

3. The girl is trying on her mums makeup and hats. In another shot she getting
dropped of at school by her mum. The use of her wearing her school uniform adds
to the setting and Mis- en- scene to let the audience know she is going to school
without actually telling the audience that. This also shows the audience what a
typical girl she is and how normal her life is. The different costumes
show different sides to her normal life and the different aspects of her life.
As we can see, the girl is smiling perhaps because she is happy to be
going school. This shows that she has a chance of education which is
something great. This contrasts the end of the video where she is upset
and isn't able to go to school as going school is part of a fortunate child's
life, presenting that she Isn't able to have her life the way it should be.
The girl has tucked her head into her chest and is hiding behind her hair.
This connotes vulnerability and fear for something going on around
her. She is almost hiding in the corner showing that she doesn’t feel safe
and is exposed to danger. This appeals to the audience emotively as they
want to help her.

4. CAMERA
Most of the clip is stabilized on a tripod to keep the visuals still. The camera begins
moving slowly as the atmosphere is calm although when there is action going on in the
background, the camera starts shaking showing us that there is fear which makes the
audience feel sorry and concerned for her at which point the camera is hand held by the
girl herself to make the visuals look realistic.
Throughout the video, the scenes used are close ups at eye level showing us the girl
and the little things we may not notice in the background. This is to establish the
setting but to also help us focus on the girls facial expression connecting with her
through her eyes as her life progresses building the impression that we are talking face
to face. The close ups help us notice the little signs and messages that we piece
together to find out the message of the video.
In this scene, the girl and her mum are running away from an bomb explosion. The
camera moves with them at a faster pace than normal. This indicates that there is
drama going on and the tone is now lifted and is fast paced. This appeals to the
audience In making them understand how much danger the girl is in. The mother in
the background is place there running after her daughter making it a mid shot to
show how concerned she is for her daughters safety.

5. The camera movement is a representative of the atmosphere. At the start of the video, the girls life is normal
and calm and the camera would move calmly and softly however when the girls life begins getting flipped
around, the camera moves more due to it being hand held which shows the tension within the shots. The
camera never goes away from the girl and she is in every single shot in the video. This gives the audience
idea that everything happening is affecting her life directly.
As the girls life gets ruined, the camera focuses more on her as in each shot, her condition gets worse shot by
shot. This is to show the gradual change. The video being called a second a day adds to the camera showing
each shit for a second saying every second something tragic is going on to someone else and they cant help
their situation.

6. SOUND
We can hear the sound of the news playing in the background. The mother looks
concerned as she watches indicating the news is about something that is happening
in their country. The little girl ignores this because she's too young to understand
what is going on. The audience appeal to this as they feel sorry for her lack of
understanding.
There is a lot of diegetic sound used in this vide The family singing 'happy Birthday'
in the background making the shot more realistic and genuine. From this we gather
that they are celebrating and the tone is happy. Although at the end there is only
one person singing happy birthday to her. we also hear her speak during different
times of the video. This is too add to the realness of the story showing it as if it was
really happening and the audience is actually witnessing it.
When the girl is in danger, the sound becomes more intense especially when she is running away from the
explosion. The car alarm in the background keeps the viewers alert of the constant danger the girl goes through in
the video. We can hear screaming and guns in the background. These scare the little girl even more than she
already is and makes the audience feel sorry for her and want to help.

7. EDITING
At the very end of the video, there is a hashtag and a logo to publicize the charity and to make the video go viral so
everyone begins talking about it increasing the chances of help. There are intertitles used which explains what Isn't
already obvious. This intertitle is used as emotive language to get to the viewers making them think about what
they can do to help. It is also there so they are reminded that it is an ongoing situation.
The first shot lasts about 2-3 seconds long. This is so that the audience can
absorb what they see in the shot and try to find similarities. It also tells us that it
is one of the most important shots and things in her life started
changing quickly. The shot at the end last for about 3-4 seconds. This is because
the purpose of the video is to see the girls life, what she has been through and
the end result of how these things have affected her life over the years showing
how life can get flipped around.