NEA Evaluation

1. Evaluation Johnny Austen Jones 7152 Alleyn’sSchool10802
The Academy1
definesasa‘short’any filmwitharunningtime of lessthan40 minutes.Although
time constraintsmake itmore difficulttodevelopcharactersandnarrative inthe same wayas
feature-lengthfilms,asuccessful shortwill demonstrate whatfilmtheorist RichardRaskincallsthe
‘less-is-more’theory2
.Creativelypinpointingjustone theme,emotionormoment,ashortcan be
packedand loadedandreadyto hititsaudience withsomethingchallengingandmemorable. The
Operator,forexample,focusesonasingle moment- acall witha fire-control-roomoperator–and
usesdiegeticsoundandintenseclose-upstocreate achaotic butimpactful off-screenspace.
Withoutthe needtoappeal to a mass audience andfreedfromeconomicpressures,short
filmmakerscanenjoythe artisticfreedomtoexperimentandtake a more art-house approach.
Accordingto Jane Campion,‘theycanbe more like a portrait,or a poem.’3
OverandThe Arrival are
excellentexamplesof filmmakerstakingamore experimentalapproachtothe subjectstheytackle.
My shortfilmworksina similarveinbyusingadreamlike structure tochartthe passage betweenlife
and death.Followingastabbinginthe openingscene involvingtwofigures - identitiesobscured - we
share in a teenager'shallucinatoryfinalmomentsbeforedeath,exploringhisfear,resistance and
eventual acceptance of hisfate.
The audience followsthe protagonistTravisonhisjourneyhome where he ismysteriouslyignored
by hisfather.Asfrustrationathisapparentinvisibilityrampsup,a phone call fromthe police reveals
to himhisinvolvementanddeathinastabbingincident.Inahallucinatorymomentof confusionand
panic,he beginstobleedoutas the intrusionof realitycutsthroughandhe desperatelyattemptsto
gripon to life.The endingisclosedandunambiguouswithablunt,staticshotof Travis' pale,lifeless
face on the side of the road.It bearsresemblance tothe closedendingof Overwhere the final shot
of a bodyslammingtothe floorfromthe sky acts as the final piece tothe puzzle.The title Surrender
1 Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
2 Dr Richard Raskin, New Theories of the Short Film, MusicBed.com
3 Jane Campion, ‘Get Shorty’ interview with Xan Brooks in The Guardian, 25 May 2006

2. Evaluation Johnny Austen Jones 7152 Alleyn’sSchool10802
workson twolevels,firstlyinconnectiontoTravishavingtoliterallysurrenderhimself tohisattacker
at the beginningandsecondly,inametaphorical sense,whenhe givesuphisstruggle and
surrendershimself tohisdeath.The use of a dual-meaningtitle hereissimilarto Slap,withits
obviouslinktothe actionof hitting,butalsoas a reference tomake-up.
Genre can be definedasa wayof classifyinganddistinguishingfilmsbasedontheirparticular
conventions of contentandform,suchas theirideologies,themes,settings,style,iconographyand
narrative form.The most potentshortfilmsoftenleaninto more thanone genre, upendingaudience
expectationsandsocreatingamore powerful emotional experience.
Fly takesfromboth the thrilleranddarkcomedygenres.Comedystemsfromthe protagonist'sover-
the-topreactiontoa fly,whichhe resortsto punchingandeventuallyshooting.The ‘thrill’emanates
fromthe situation-heighteneddiegeticsound - the growlingof the engine andthe excessive tapping
noises- as bothhe andthe audience restlesslywaitforhis co-conspirators duringabankrobbery.
Surrendersimilarlystraddlesanumberof genres.A large partof the filmdrawsuponelementsof the
thrillergenre –tension,suspense andasense of anticipation - beforetransitioningintosomething
more experimental andabstract.Inthe openingsequence where Travisisstabbed,the darkurban
settingandcostumes,the rapid-pace editing,frequentjumpcutsandnon-diegeticlayeredsynths
buildtoa climax as he hitsthe floor.Anexhilaratingopeningthatgripsthe audience inthiswayis
typical of the thrillergenre.The stabbingsequencein TheEllington Kid sharessimilarmises-en-
scene,usingagrimy,urban night-timesettingtocommunicate the dangerandterrorof the situation
and the associationwithmodern-dayknife crime.

3. Evaluation Johnny Austen Jones 7152 Alleyn’sSchool10802
Elementsof the psychological thrillercanalsobe seeninTravis'dissolvingsense of realitythrough
the course of the film.There isalsothe characteristicplottwist/reveal asbothwe andTravisbegin
to realise he isinfact dyingandisnot where he thinkshe is.The unexpectedchange indirectionis
meantto both‘thrill’andsurprise the audience.
Towardsthe endof the film,Idecidedtoleanintoa more experimental type of filmmaking,drawing
uponelementsof magical-realismtoenvisionTravis'final momentsbeforedeathandtoplace the
audience evenfurtherintothe mindof the protagonist.Thiscanbe seeninthe final act, where
Travisruns throughthe forestand where hisemotionaljourneycomestoa liberatingresolution.He
stopsand turnsto lookat the glowing lightbehind,agesture whichactsasa visual metaphorforhis
acceptance of death.I useda highexposure andanorange tintto create the ethereal backdrop,
accentuatingthe impressionof adream-like passagebetweenlifeanddeath.Thisact worksto
create a dichotomybetweenthe firstandfinal actsof the film - the contrast betweenlightanddark
as he transitionsfromfearto acceptance.

4. Evaluation Johnny Austen Jones 7152 Alleyn’sSchool10802
The narrative of Surrenderisessentiallyanemotional journey,drivenbyTravis'changing mental
state and it isthistransitionfromignorance anddenial toacceptance whichdrivesthe narrative
forward.The audience isplacedfirmlyinthe mindof the protagonistthroughthe use of micro-
elements.AsTraviswalkshome throughthe brightlylitstreetswe are comfortedbythe normalityof
the situation.Butonarrivingback home,we are struck by the way everythingseemsoutof kilter.
He’sthere and yethe’sbeingignored.Anditisthroughthissense of othernessthatthe tension
buildstoa climax.Asthe camera lingersonthe image of the mobile phone,we sense itwillplayan
importantrole inthe film’sdenouementandwill somehow be linkedtothe painof the two people
on the scene. Raskinstressesthe significance of characterstouchingparticularobjectsandallowing
themto be ‘chargedwithmeaning’.‘Inthisway,innerexperience andouterobjectscanbe
connected…enablingthe viewertoworkoutwhat the characters mustbe feelingorthinking.’4
Micro-elements alsoplayanimportantrole inexpressingthe confusion,panicandterrorthat Travis
experiencesfollowingthe phone call.Ashe looksdown,we see the bloodiedshirtthroughhis own
distortedpointof view.The tensionispalpableasthe camerajolts,tiltsandpans,mimickinghis
everyheadmovement.Large areasof the frame are alsoblurred and a blinkeffectisusedtofurther
the sense thatwe are quite literallyseeingthe world throughTravis’seyes.
4 Dr Richard Raskin, New Theories of the Short Film, MusicBed.com

5. Evaluation Johnny Austen Jones 7152 Alleyn’sSchool10802
As hispanickingescalates,the cameraexplodeswithfrenetic,handheld movement,jumpcutsand
close-upsonhisface,emulatingthe sheerconfusionandterrorof the momentandultimately
situatinguswithinhisowninternal experience.The soundtrackalsoplays acritical role inescalating
tension,withhighsynthsbuildingtoa climax andfadingoutas Travis himself fadesout too. The
cinematographyof these scenes canbe likenedtothatof Slap whichsimilarlyusesshaky,handheld
camera movementtoconveyboththe panicof the protagonistandhisfragmentedmental state at
that pointinthe film.Both Slap and Surrenderalignthe audience closelyandpowerfully withthe
emotionsof its characters.
Accordingto Aristotle'stheory of narrative, all storiesfollow abeginning,middle andendstructure
which,overtime,hasledto ‘SydField'sparadigm’,proposingthatstoriesconsistof aset-up,a
confrontationandan eventual resolution.Althoughmanyfilmsfitthisstructure,the wayinwhich
the story isorganisedcandiffer,leavingroomforcreative innovation, particularlywithinshortfilms.
Over,for instance - the story of a manwho fallstohisdeathfroman airplane - is toldinreverse
chronology,whereasthe events of Surrenderare toldoverone dayinchronological order,yetboth
followthe same conventional narrative structure.
I showedmyaudience twopossible endings,one whichincludedthe ‘redemption’scene inthe
forestandone whichdidn’t. The large majoritypreferredthe first, sayingitaddingagreatersense of
resolutionandbecause ithelpedto ‘bind’the storytogether.
However,despite the emotional closure atthe endandthe feelingthatthe protagonist’sjourneyis
complete, Surrenderstill playsgentlywiththe ideaof chronology.Travis’sstabbingatthe beginning
of the filmisarguablythe endof hislife,whereashisdeparture intothe whitelightcouldbe

6. Evaluation Johnny Austen Jones 7152 Alleyn’sSchool10802
construedas hisnewbeginning –an ambiguitywhichwasmuchdiscussedbymyaudience andhelps
explaintheirpreference.
1500 words.