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1. Short Films
Connect
Connect is a 5-minute short film that was directed by Samuel Abrahams in
2010 that has been nominated for a lot of awards including a Bafta. The main
premise of the short film is a woman who feels isolated from society goes on a
commute in London and wants to connect to the people around her. Her
inability to confidentially socialise however leaves her using more of her
imagination to occupy herself as she ultimately fails to find someone to accept
her. This film is a silent film which I believe was intentional as a big part of
socializing and ‘connecting’ with people has a lot to do with verbal
communication. The fact that there are a high number of characters for a short
film, yet none have lines of dialogue speaks volumes about how the main
character feels isolated and alone even though she is surrounded people and
in the largest City In the country.

2. The master shot of Connect is a dolly-in shot that gets closer to a side profile of
the main characters face. This is to establish her as the main character and that
she is important to the story. This is supported by the camera’s shallow focus
onto to her face with the background being a blurry image of the street and
bus stop behind her. Her side profile I believe is purposeful as it feels like the
camera is almost walking up to her on the street and waiting for the bus next
to her. This scene is shot lasts a very small amount of time but uses different
techniques to communicate information to the audience without telling them
directly which is a big part of the codes and conventions of short films. Being
able to use this kind of subtlety when making my short film could be incredibly
beneficial to creating a professional and well-made short film that is enjoyable
to watch. Along with this, the camera is also positioned at eye level with the
main character to make the audience feel at the same level as the character.
This makes us want to support this character as along with the audiences POV
being on par with her own, their circumstances in this first shot are very
relatable with public transport is a daily occurrence in most people’s life.

3. The transition once the bus arrives is a of the main character looking at the bus
arriving at the bus stop still at eye level with her and then back to an over the
shoulder shot almost as if the camera is peering over and looking for the bus as
well. These first few shots are all about the audience feeling as if they are with
and going through the same things as her and creating a ‘connection’ with her.
This is why what happens next creates an impact on the audience. when the
bus arrives, the main character tries to get onto the bus but when the doors
open she is pushed aside and towards the back of the queue despite starting at
the front. This creates sympathy for her and a dislike for the other characters
around her for their rudeness. While this is happening the camera switches
between a shot from behind the bus doors and back to the original camera

4. position it was in during previous shots showing her struggle and eventual
failure to get on the bus.
Boiling Point
Boiling point is a short film that was directed and written by Philip Barantini,
who won Best Director at Lift-Off Global Network in 2020 for the film, and stars
Stephen Graham as the protagonist. It was released in 2019 and is available to
watch on BBC iPlayer, the most notable thing from this film is that it is all
recorded in one shot as there are no jump cuts or transitions during its 21-
minute run time. The Film is about a busy kitchen during Christmas time and
how stressful things can be while working in a kitchen and how the head chef,
Stephen Graham, tries to cope with his job by using drugs. The amount of
stress in the film is also portrayed through the handheld camera recording
everything at an eye level shot with the protagonist so the audience feels they
are right there with him in the kitchen as well as the shakiness that leaves you
with a sense of urgency and nausea.

5. Immediately the audience are thrown straight into it as we see a medium
close-up with a shallow focus on Chef’s, Stephen Graham, face with his
manager being blurred out and only being able to see half of her face. This not
only sets the tone of the short film but establishes Chef as the protagonist. As
seen in this screen capture, we can see that Chef is drinking from a white
bottle. He drinks this throughout and it’s a great way to show that this piece of
mis en scene is important to the story with it being one of the first things you
see. Along with that through the dialogue and body language of the two
characters there is tension between the two which eventually builds to a
climax by Chef aggressively telling her “You’re talking s***!” before letting it
go as a member of his kitchen asks for his help. While this argument/brief is
happening, the camera lacks behind them trying to catch up and shaking all the
while to represent the tension between the Chef and the Manager.
Once in the kitchen, it’s a busy environment with a lot of moving parts. This is
of course intentional as it subtly communicates that the location on screen is

6. fast-paced and stressful for the characters in the scene. I believe this subtlety is
more effective as it doesn’t directly spell out to the audiences how they're
meant to feel and instead just makes them feel the intended emotion making
the scene and, to an extension, the film more impactful and memorable. This Is
also paired with the previously mentioned hand-held shakiness of the camera
emulating the feeling of nervousness as the camera follows Chef’s every move,
all the while either looking up at Chef or keeping at eye level. The purpose of
this is to demonstrate the Chef has control of the kitchen and is in a position of
power in charge of the other people around him while also still keeping a
connection between him and the audience.
After another confrontation with one of his employees, Chef is asked to go out
to the dining area to talk about the dishes by a waitress. Before leaving the
kitchen, the camera stops with Chef before heading out. He is at the left side of
the frame and appears to snot and look around the kitchen a bit frantically
before opening the door and going through it. In these short seconds there is a
lot to digest. Firstly, Chef being on the left side of the frame instead of the
centre indicates that something is wrong with him or something is wrong with
the situation. There is nothing to really guess at so far in the story as to what
this could be but Chef snorting his nose is foreshadowing events that come at
the end of the film where he is shown using cocaine. This shot, like the first
shot of the short film, is in a medium close-up so the audience has a clear view
of what is happening with chef and asks themselves questions as to why that
was specifically shown. These types of scenes are important for viewer
retention as the longer they are intrigued in whatever they are watching the
more likely they are to watch until the end and think highly of the film.

7. Later in the film, after continuous stressful confrontations with almost every
member of staff including the front-of-house staff and docking someone 2
hours wages for being late. One of Chefs’ employees sheepishly asks him to
have some time off to spend with his wife. As we can see from the still frame
he is wearing a Christmas hat which would explain his nervousness to ask chef
as well as chefs explosive reaction. This is a great use of mis en scene to
explain important points in the story as without this visual queue it would not
make sense as to why Chef finds this request so outrageous. During this telling
off, the camera mainly focuses on the unnamed employee and shows his facial
reactions to what Chef is saying to him before steadily transitioning itself into a
two-shot of the employees shocked and disheartened face as well as Chefs
pure anger and animated body movements. This is the only times this happens
when Chef is talking to someone in that manner. It really shows off how much
worse Chef has got as the film has progressed and how this has affected
everyone working for him. During this argument Chef goes a step further with
him actively trying to embarrass his victim as he stops what everyone in the
kitchen is doing to let them know that he wants time off calling him “Little
Dorothy Gobsh***” he also sacks the employee in front of everyone and once
the employee tries to reason with Chef saying that he “hasn't seen her in ages”
Chef stamps over as the camera is now back at a medium close up and screams
“I HAVEN’T SEEN MY KIDS!”. All diegetic sound that could be heard before goes
quiet as we come to learn more about Chef and his problems the
confrontation ends with Chef pointing his finger in the employees face and
telling him “Just play the fu***** game, will ya?” and hm quietly responding
“Yes Chef...yes Chef sorry” and with nothing more being said both parties
return to their stations.

8. In the last shot of the film after the camera follows Chef into his office where
he is seen filling up his white water bottle with vodka and taking a line of
cocaine. The camera follows him back out again this time extremely slowly
matching Chefs movements and stops with Chef at the door that would take
him to the kitchen as he takes a long slow swig of vodka. After this, the camera
stays still behind the door as Chef stops in the middle of the Kitchen, collapses
and has a seizure on the floor as the camera watches on through the window
in the door, the screen cutting to black. This is the first time the camera does
not follow Chef almost as if the camera has given up on him and sees him for
what he is, the window acting as a physical divide now between the audience
and Chef. The audience’s previous perception of Chef shattered and with now
no idea who Chef really is it ends with the audience still wondering what is
going to become of him, Its an amazing cliffhanger leaving the audience still
thinking about Boiling Point a long while after it finishes.