NEA Evaluation

1. Evaluation 7054 Honey Gawn-Hopkins Alleyn’s School 10802
Short films are commonly defined by their duration. The academy defines a short film as simply
requiring a running-time of ‘40 minutes or less’; subsequently, their narrative and plot remains
undefined, often resulting in imaginative uses of microelements and narrative structure. Within an
educational context, a 4-5 minute duration is more achievable than a 10 or 25 minute film, e.g. Jörn
Threlfall’s ‘Over’ (2015-10 mins), or Nick Rowland’s ‘Slap’ (2014- 25 mins), both of which
influenced my film’s aesthetic. Possessing creative control over my film meant that extensive research
of short films was a necessity. I decided to focus my film around a singular protagonist – Lewis
Arnold’s ‘Echo’(2013) demonstrated the advantages of this. Similarly to these three films, my film
aims to build tension throughout and execute a climatic ending. Due to the shorter length of my film,
achieving these aims required careful consideration.
‘Privileged Information’ follows Lena through her seemingly mundane life as a journalist. As she
begins to report on a mass murderer, its revealed that a photo of the killer has been leaked, wearing
orange clothing. The film ends as it begun, Lena in bed as she smiles towards the camera,clutching
the bloodied orange clothes. This ambiguous ending is similar to ‘The Ellington Kid’ (2012), as
Nathan and Beefy joke about Nathan’s story of murder, whilst a kitchen worker sharpens a knife. This
ambiguity was also inspired by Arnold’s ‘Echo’; we’re unsure of whether Caroline continues to
commit her crimes. I wanted my title to be ironic but also access the themes of the film. As its
revealed Lena is the killer herself, she has access to the ‘Privileged Information’ needed to uncover
her. Furthermore, the title mirrors the themes of the film, using the vocabulary of judicial cases. This
‘double meaning’ is also arguably used in ‘Slap’, as not only is this a colloquial term for ‘make-up’,
(echoing Connor’s unspoken desire to dress in drag), but also references the violence in the film, with
its boxing club setting. I also highlighted the theme of journalism in my use of a ‘typewriter’ font/
sound during the title sequence.
Final shot of ‘The Ellington Kid’ The Boxing club featured in ‘Slap’
Steve Neale determines that genres ‘all contain instances of repetition and difference’, the BFI
concluding that genre is recognised through ‘themes…iconography, characters and certain stylistic
elements’. ‘Slap’ follows a tragic narrative, Connor feeling trapped by masculinity, but ends with
equally shocking violence. This ‘shocking’ ending was something I was keen to incorporate in my
film. I knew I wanted to create a murder mystery/drama within an urban setting. I thought both ‘Echo’
and ‘The Ellington Kid’ were particularly engaging due to their urban environments – this prompted
me to set my drama in central London.

2. Evaluation 7054 Honey Gawn-Hopkins Alleyn’s School 10802
Lena in Whitehall Whitehall
Whilst the aesthetic of my film is naturalistic, emphasising the urban feel, I included various locations
and experimental editing to explore tension. ‘Echo’ too is filmed in various locations; we see
Caroline’s ‘double life’ whilst she navigates her troubled background and her criminality. The
aesthetic effect of my film aims to promote tension – the use of warm lighting when Lena is within
her house is a sharp contrast to the clinical lighting used in the tube sequences – this is meant to be
jarring for the spectator,amplified with the use of a sharp cut-to.
Lena within her house Lena on the Tube
Contrastingly to ‘Echo’, (which heavily relies on flashback), ‘Privileged Information’s narrative is
fairly episodic, following Aristotle’s three act structure,similarly to ‘Slap’. My film echoes Propp’s
formalism; the fabula (plot chronology) is fairly basic; the use of a more episodic structure and a
linear timeline allowed me to be bolder in my cinematography and editing. Whilst there is no
voiceover (VO) from Lena in the film, the VO of a news report plays. This switches from diegetic to
non-diegetic, disrupting the linear quality to the narrative as Lena leaves the kitchen to get ready
whilst the VO continues. I wanted to use a visible framing device in the syuzhet (the order in which
events are told). For this, I used a shot of Lena in bed. In the opening, we see a slow zoom into the
shot. Contrastingly at the end, Lena is positioned similarly but looks towards the camera suddenly
before we cut-to black. This ambiguous ending enhanced the exciting nature of the film.
Following the opening shot of Lena in bed, the film’s first equilibrium is established, using Todorov’s
narrative form. In the shots of Lena’s morning routine (first equilibrium), I wanted to establish a false
sense of security for the spectator. I explored this by composing an upbeat score and using a familiar
setting, contrasted with violent cinematography; for example, a series of close ups of Lena cutting a
banana with a knife. This first section is the exposition, with the leaking of the photography being the
climax of the film, and the resolution being Lena’s return home and reveal; therefore,my film also
arguably follows Freytag’s complex 1863 narrative structure. The final/new equilibrium mirrors the
first, with its use of the same location and type of shot, but is now new to the spectator; Lena is
positioned in different lighting, costume and looks towards the camera. Throughout the film therefore,

3. Evaluation 7054 Honey Gawn-Hopkins Alleyn’s School 10802
I mostly conform to Aristotle’s three-act structure,and use rising action and tension, though I don’t
leave the spectator with a strong sense of resolution – this technique is also used in ‘Operator’ (2015),
another episodic film.
The use of editing and continuity editing is crucial in the creation of my film’s tone. Whilst I use
methods such as match on action shots and the 180° rule to create spatial/temporal coherence,I
contrast this with more jarring editing. When Lena is on Waterloo Bridge, I used fast-paced editing
whislt zooming in, to emphasise the tension of the sequence. This contrasts with the lengthier shots
used in the ‘moring routine’ sequence. This more experimental use of editing is inspired by ‘Echo’.
During the ‘real’ version of events when Caroline learns of her father’s accident, Arnold uses fast-
paced editing and repeated shots to amplify the section’s tension. This repeated shot technique is used
twice in my film, as I thought it a creative and effective way to induce an unsettling tone. I also
wanted to use sound in order to situate the spetctaor in the narrative space,recording sound on a tube
near Westminster, before cutting to a shot of a Whitehall street sign. This further positions the
spectator with Lena. Due to the sometimes experimental editing, I do slightly challenge continuity
editing, despite using it as well.
Lena on Waterloo Bridge Caroline in ‘Echo’
As my film follows one protagonist, creating a distinct character was crucial. Relating to Propp’s
‘spheres of action’, ‘Lena’ occupies more than one role, enhancing her credibility as a character.
Whilst Lena is established as the ‘villain’ by the end, she is also arguably the ‘hero’, (until the
moment of climax), using her position as a journalist to report on the killings. Additionally, Lena’s
lifestyle is seemingly ‘normal’ – this was something I was keen to establish, not only to enhance the
shock of her reveal, but also to increase her relatability to an audience, and to challenge Strauss’s
binary oppositions typically found between two characters in film; Lena is not good or bad, but is
both. I wanted to make the character female,as typically ‘villains’ (particularly one of physical
strength/cunning) are male – I wanted to subvert this. Whilst the characters are very different, the use
of a single protagonist for my film was influenced by Caroline Bartleet’s ‘Operator’ (2015). The use
of one character in ‘Operator’ allowed me as a spectator to connect with the figure more. Similarly,
‘Operator’ is episodic, set in one location. Whilst I use various locations, I wanted my film to feellike
a ‘snap-shot’ of Lena’s routine.
Whilst my film does contain an ambiguous ending, (we’re unsure how Lena’s life continues following
her reveal), the audience is required to ‘decode’ (Stuart Hall) the film’s narrative rather little. I
decided to mention in a VO that the leaked photo contained bright orange clothes following a viewing
of the film of my peers. Some said they thought the ending would work better as a twist, a thought I
suggested. Throughout the film, almost every shot frames Lena as the focal point. I wanted to do this
not only to assert her as the protagonist, but also to include a sense of voyeurism into the film,
particularly during the ‘tube scene’ through the use of POV shots.

4. Evaluation 7054 Honey Gawn-Hopkins Alleyn’s School 10802
To conclude, I was inspired most prominently by ‘The Ellington Kid’, ‘Echo’ and ‘Slap’, though I
was also interested in the ways both ‘Operator’ and ‘Over’ used setting and ambiguous vs prominent
characters. Throughout my film we are positioned with one figure as she (and we) navigate the film’s
narrative, ending ambiguously as Lena’s identity is exposed to both us and the world within the film.
Word Count; 1499