The document provides a textual analysis of the short film "The Struggle." It summarizes key shots and scenes from the film, including establishing shots showing the London setting, a close-up of the main character searching for food, and an interview shot. It analyzes the film's average shot length, purpose of addressing gang culture, settings, costumes, and sound design. The document aims to break down cinematic and narrative elements of "The Struggle" for analytical purposes.

1. The Struggle (2014) Film Textual Analysis
I decidedtowatchanothershort filmthatI
feel mayhave a similarstyle tothe shortfill I
am planningtomake for myfinal project.
The name of thisfilmis,“The Struggle”,
whichisabout a boythat is reallyhavinga
toughtime providingforhimandhisfamily.
He endsupapplyingforschool toget his
qualificationsinorderforhimtoprovide for
hisfamilybutinsteadof waitingfor the offer,
he wasn't patientandendedupfollowingthe
gang culture of drug dealingtomake fast
money,howeverhischoice todothishad a massive effectonhimlaterashe waspart of a murder
whichultimatelyleadtohimgoingbehindbarsandnotbeing able tofulfil hisdreamof goingto
school and providingforhisfamily.Idecidedtofindthe average shotlengthof the filmandhow I
done thiswasI dividedthe lengthof the filmbythe numberof cutswhichgave me a total of 7.9.
Thisscore showsthatparts of the filmmaybe intense withahighcuttingrate and otherparts slow
as to more dialogue.
Shot Types
Whilstwatchingthe film,Icame
across differentshotsthathadan
impacton howthe filmgotacross to
the audience.The establishingshots
was a shotof flatbuildings,acage
park, anda fieldwithtrees.This
aware the audience thatthe film
wouldhave a Londontheme.
Thisis a close upone of the
characters lookingintohiscupboard
for foodthat he doesnotfind. The
audience cansee hisfacial
expressionsandcanautomatically
tell he isdepressedandhungry.

2. This isthe overthe shouldershotof
the maincharacter havingan
interview withthe college he wants
to applyfor.Thisshowsthe
audience thathe clearlywantsto
provide forhisfamilyandthathe is
serious.The shotshowsthe
perspective of the interviewerwhich
isveryeffective.
Thisis a wide shotof Malcolm's
family,thisgivesthe audience an
insightof Malcolm’sstruggle and
the poor backgroundhe isfrom.
This isa mediumshotof Malcolm
meetingupwithhisfriends,the
audience knowautomaticallyhe isa
social personandcouldeasilybe
drawnin bythe wrongcrowds.

3. Thisshot isveryhard to see because
of the lightinginthe scene,however
thisisa longshotof a drug deal
takingplace and one of the
characters islookingfromthe
balcony.Youcould also saythisis a
pointof viewshot.
This isa highangle shotof one of the
characters gettingshotat the end.
Thisshot iseffectiveaswe therefore
are able tosee the perspective from
the victim’spointof view.We are also
able to geta clear understandingof
the killer.

4. Cuts
The cutting rate in thisfilmwasslowthroughout,howevertowardsthe end,the speeddidstartto
buildupas the maincharacter had justbeensetupandwas aboutto die.The cuttingrate hadto be
fastfor thisscene so itmakesthe audience feel the tensionisrising.Inmyfilm, there will be tenser
so therefore mycuttingrate wouldhave tobe fasterthan thisfilm.
Purpose
The purpose of thisfilmwasto give the audience amore
in-depthrealityof gangculture,howpeople endupin
gangs evenif Iwas withouttheirconsent,how theymay
be forcedintoit, andotherthingsthat happenbehindthe
scenesthatotherpeople maynotknow. I thinkthe film
reallyaddressesthiswell.Inthisfilm,mostpeople would
say that the maincharacter had a choice but didhe really?
He almosthadno choice but to be a dealerdue tothe
circumstancesof hislife andthat'sthe message theyare
reallytryingtoget people thinking.
Mise En Scene
Settings& Props- In the establishingshot,aswe see thatthere are manyblocksof flats,a cage park
and trees,the audience isaware thatthe filmistakingplace inLondon.Inthe firstscene,both
characters are in the Kitchenandtheybothestablishthat there isnothingtoeatapart from the box
of CrunchyNut.In the nextscene,Malcolmwalksintothe kitchenwherehismumanddadare
eatingbreakfast.There isatable witha flowerpotontop, cupswithjuice,plates,forksandknives
and evenawashing upmachine whichisvisible.All thesepropsestablishthattheyare alsoina
kitchen.Malcomisalsowearinga JD bag as he comesin and leaves,thistellsthe audience thathe is
off to school.Inthe nextscene,Malcolmcomesface to face withthe gang leaderinwhichhe gives
himcocaine to delivertosomeone.Tomake itlookas real as possible,the filmmakersusedrolledup
piecesof tissue soitcouldbe fairlysimilar.A phone isusedtohelpsetdealsupbynumerous
characters.In the final scene,agun comesintoplaywhenthe gang memberdecidestopull the
triggeron an innocentvictim.
Costume,Hair and Make-Up-Throughoutthe course of thisfilm, the majorityof the charactershad
a dresscode of an urban style whichwouldrepresentthe youth.These were suchast shirts,
tracksuits,earrings,trainers,beanie hats,caps,pouchesandjackets.Althoughof this,there wasa
seenwhere one of the characterswas attendingainterviewsohadto weara poshsuit.Alsointhe

5. final scene,there was acharacter dressedupina police officerattire tonotifythatshe wasthe
police andnotany otherordinarycharacter.
Sound and Audio
Throughoutthe film,there are multiple soundtracks,instrumentals,non-diegeticanddiegetic
sounds.Inthe beginningthere are diegeticsoundswhenone of the charactersisopeningupshelves,
cupboardsand movingitemsaroundinthe kitchen.Shortlyafterthisscene thereisashot of Ashley
walkingtoTrevone,the instrumental inthe backgroundisasort of urban grime.Thissignifiesthe
youthculture.WhenAshley’sgoesforhisinterview,there are diegeticsoundsof the interviewers
writingdownnotesona piece of paperand typingona computer.Thisbringsthe realnesstothe
viewers.Inthe final scene,there are non-diegeticsoundswhenRage punchesAshleyandwhenhe
alsoshootshim.