Short film analysis

Lovefield. 1. This is the first shot of the short film and as well as being an establishing shot its also the title. The title then disintegrates and the cameras slowly lowers and tracks thorough the cornfield. These are all medium shots and the positioning and movement of the camera crates meaning as the camera slowly creeps up the sign to show a black crow sitting on the top. The connotative meaning of a black crow is death and this gives the audience the impression that the film is a horror.

A lot of extreme close ups are used in this film not to portray characters facial exprssions but to show aspects of the mise en scene like props. One of the close up shots is of a mobile phone and you can here the digetic sound of a phone constantly beeping because it can’t reach a line, which implies a feeling of desperation. The next extreme close up is of a blood spattered rag and this appears instantly after you see someone’s hand grab the straw as if they were in pain and then you hear screaming which not only confirms the person is in pain but that the audience think that this is a horror. The camera then pans towards the left and you see a person’s foot clenching with pain and you can see and hear from the digetic sound of someone screaming that they are struggling.

This is shot also has narrow depth of field shot, this has been done to make the audience focus on the bloody hand and the aggressive clutch around a knife. As this is a silent film, the digetic and non digetic sound of this shot is really important to reinforce the red herring. This shot does not strictly follow Todorvs theory of the Rule of thirds, as half of the shot on the left is the back of Suspected murders hear and the right side of the shot is of An open field which suggests to the audience that escape Would be difficult and its a very isloated place. This shot is a narrow depth of field shot showing the main character and the crow. This shot shows the link between the two and I think that the crow is the main focus point of the shot to accentuate the meaning of a crow which is death.

The sequence above shows shot reverse shot. The reason for this is to create a tense atmosphere for the audience as the camera shows close ups of the characters face to show his reaction and expression to the crow that is taunting him. The three screen grabs above show aspects of the mise en scene e.g. costumes. The costumes are one of the main factors when trying to represent your character correctly and from the shots shown above this character is portrayed as maybe violent from the blood on his hands in the first shot, intimidating from the second shot from the tattoo’s which are actually misleading as they represent someone balanced and loving as he has scales and below “mom” with a heart. The final image is a recognisable character from quite a few horror films, the middle age, sweaty long haired hill billy.

These 2 screen grabs represent the lighting in the film. The lighting helps to understand the atmosphere and characters feelings. The lighting in this short film does show feelings etc… For example the first image is at the very beginning of the film and from the grey dull clouds you as the audience can tell that the narrative is going to be dark, whereas the second image is at the end of the film an where the audience see the red herring and you can tell the lighting is a lot brighter creating a warmer atmosphere.

2. Signs. This is the first shot you see of the character, automatically just from the position of the camera you can tell that he’s not of much importance and hasn’t got a powerful status as the camera is looking down on him therefore so are the audience. A lot of medium and close up shots are used in this film to capture the main characters facial expression. This helps to represent the character as there is no dialogue in this film to help the audience understand what kind of character he is. The shot above is a medium shot and just from these two screen grabs above you can see that the character is quite timid and shy as he has just been caught looking at the woman on the opposite escualtor.

This shot is where the male character first spots the woman and because the movement of the camera zooms in it suggests that this is another main character which we have just been introduced to and she is of some importance to the storyline. This shot represents narrow depth of field. The main character is the only one in focus which draws the audiences attention to him showing his depressive and sad state which again helps with the representation of the character. The film does use Todorovs theory of the rule of thirds, where the screen is spilt up in to three sections and in the screen grab to the left our character is directly central to the shot making him the focus.

The two screen grabs above show a shot reverse shot sequence. This shows the audience that the two characters will or have a link in the storyline and helps the audience to suggest what is going happen e.g. they will end up having a relationship. The mise en scene is especially important in this short film as the representation of aspects such as characters, props and costumes have to be really obvious as the film has no dialogue to help explain the narrative of the story. The narrative of the story is told through notes written on a piece of paper with a thick marker. The screen grabs above show the woman communicating with the man for the first time and the second screen grab shows how over time they’ve used the same communication technique from the notes props) stuck on his fridge and the fact that he’s kept them means that he obviously has feelings for the woman.

I don’t think that the lighting in this film is very well thought out as the shot on the left is at the beginning of the film where the character is sad and lonely and the lighting doesn’t represent that feeling, and then the shot on the right shows the character at the end of the film feeling happy and the lighting used is the same as the other shot. This is the title for the film which is shown after it has finished, I think it’s simple black and white font because it represents the simplicity of the film and the whole idea of writing notes for a storyline. Time is represented through following the characters daily routine. The screen grab the left is of the male getting up and getting ready for work and the position of the shot shows the window in it so we knows it morning. The screen grab on the right shows the character going to bed and we can tell its night time by looking at the window situated in front of the main character.

3. Strangers. One of the first shots is a tracking shot of the train, because the train moves quickly past the screen it suggests to he audience that the storyline will be quite Fast paced and also the fact that the location is underground on a train you expect it to be an adventure. A lot of extreme close ups are used to again catch the facial expressions of the characters because this is also a no dialogue film and from the above screen grabs the shot represents a tense atmosphere for the characters and this can be identified because of the close up.

This is a narrow depth of field shot. This has been done to focus the audience’s attention on the Arabic newspaper to enforce its importance in the narrative. It also helps the audience to have an idea on a theme of the film. A lot to the shots in the film are like this which doesn’t follow todorovs theory of the rule of thirds as the screen hasn’t been equally split to create an effective shot. What the shot does show is no location just darkness around the character this can portray a sense of being stuck or underground. This is the location of the film and from the dim lighting and the fact that its underground it shows implications of genre specific elements for an action adventure.

The mise en scene in a non dialogue short film is very important to help the audience understand the narrative and storyline; in this particular film the props are the main aspects that help to deliver the messages and themes. For example the close up of the necklace is of the star of David which is Jewish and the close up of the Arabic newspaper suggests that one of the themes is religion. The same as “signs” the film title is in black and white but I think for a different reason and considering the themes of this film I think that it has a link to do with a racial issue. This title is shown just after the film starts which make the audience think about it and its as if the title its self is a message in the film. The screen grab on the left on the right shows the character now with someone else standing on the platform just after exiting the train. Also I think that the first screen grab represents time in a different way because these two strangers of opposite cultures have just helped each other escape and centuries ago they wouldn’t even of spoke. The way the first screen grab is positioned with the characters standing on opposite platforms just accentuates the divide between them and their backgrounds.

4. Teeth. The first shot in the film is an establishing shot, it is shown for a couple of seconds then fades out into the title. The shot gives nothing away on the genre of the film and even with the music which is slow paced you still can’t identify the genre. A variety of shots are used in this short film. As you can see above one of the first shots shown is an extreme long shot and this is to introduce the audience to the characters and also to shown the location again to set a tranquil atmosphere. The second image is a medium shot of the two men fishing from this we can gather that the characters are friends and also from this shot we can tell the characters are older from their outfits. The last image above is a close up to show facial expressions of both the men and a more personal introduction as we can see their faces clearly now.

Narrow depth of field is shown in this shot, the reason for this is to focus the audience attention on the man facing the screen pulling a prank on his friend behind him. This helps top create humour in the film. The framing used in the majority of the shots is to keep the objective central. This is effective as that’s what the audience’s attention is drawn to as they have nothing else to concentrate in the shot, therefore this film has not followed Todorvs theory. The second image show the “teeth” which is the main aspect of the film central to the shot and its like that in all the shots of the false teeth. An underwater camera is used to capture the false teeth falling into the lake, this also adds to the humour as the men will not be able to retrieve them from the bottom of the lake.

As this film has no dialogue the mise en scene and representation are very crucial in order for the audience to understand the audience. From the props used above we can tell the friends are on a fishing trip and from the costumes, especially the hats we can tell that they are relatively old. Time in this film is shown by the use of fading out on shots, for example the sequence above shows how the character shown in the first screen grab just lost his teeth and his friend continually laughing which then fades out into a long shot of the two back to back.

5. The Job. This is the first shot we see, its both an establishing shot because we now know where the location of the film is set now, and a long shot as at the same time we are also introduced to two of the characters who are dressed in suits links with the title of the film “ the job”. The camera positions that are used mainly in the film is level, so it doesn’t show characters any less powerful or less equal than others therefore suggesting to the audience that everyone has a fair chance of getting “the job” The camera angles that are used a lot are medium shots, these are used In this film to show the relationship between all the characters, their outfits and body language.

Unlike most of the other films “the job” doesn’t use narrow depth of field. It uses wide depth of field to make sure that everything in the shot is in focus, so not one thing is more important than the other. The rule of thirds is followed in this film, for instance the shot to the left shows one of the characters as well as the location of the film. The film uses shot reverse shot sequences to keep referring to the character on his own and his importance to the narrative of the film. Again the camera angles used are medium shots.

Because this film has dialogue the mise en scene isn’t as important for films that hasn’t. This film is an example for that as the costumes are suits which does help with the representation of characters but one of the main props is a piece of paper which defines who gets the job and the audience don’t even get to see what is written on it, making no significance to the audience. I think the title reflects on the narrative of the story. Clear and simple but effective.

6. Wrong side of the bed. These are the first few shots that the audience see, and already we can gather what the narrative is about as we follow the characters daily routine in split screens. The camera angles of these are medium shots to show the character and his surroundings to help the audience relate. The screen grab above shows a tracking shot, this is done to make the audience feel as if they are apart of the characters situation as they entail on his jourey with him and therefore it also make the character more relatable.

Its hard to tell whether this film follows the rule of thirds as it is constantly split into two screens, and without pausing the film to look closely at the still image its hard to identify the framing as you have two screens which you have to concentrate on in order to understand the narrative and structure of the film. I think the target audience for this film is large and could possibly be from the age of 10 and over because the term “ the wrong side of the bed” is commonly used to refer to someone that’s in a bad mood and a lot of people hear their parents say this to them. Also it shows the difference of having a good day to a bad day which everyone has once in a while. This film has no dialogue, so digetic sounds help to accentuate the surrounding noises to create a more realistic atmosphere for the audience, e.g. the two screen grabs above are of an alarm clock and a toaster which can be heard in the film.

7. Inside. This is the first shot the audience can see, the camera angle of this shot is a medium one and the reason for this is to capture a wide shot, so to get the white door, white walls and the blurred figure through the small central window. The camera postioning on this shot makes it very effective as it helps to represent the character as We now know that he is in an asylum and feels lonely And isolated from the way he is sat in the middle with Nothing around him. Also the way the camera is Towering over the character makes him seem powerless. The sequence above shows vital camera movements that introuduce the rest of the characetrs that just appear as the first characters is leaded down a creepy dark hall way.

This shot is represenatative of Todorovs theory of framing, “rule of thirds” as you can see to the left you have the assumed psychiatrist and central is a desk which is seperating the doctor from the patients and then to the right you have the supposed pateints. The mise-en scene of this shot helps to reinforce the role of a doctor in an office. You can tell this from props and costmes. The filing cabinets and lamp in the right hand corner of the room make it appera formal, and the woman in the shot is wearing a white gown which is linked with doctors. The sequence of shots above both show time and lighting. This creates a creepy atmosphere because the way in whichthe lighting moves up and out the window on the left to the window on the right shows that the two charactets must of been sitting in the same position for along time.

Snap Starts with medium shots of everyone in the street showing surroundings. A medium close shot then reveals the main character sitting in the restaurant. Then a close up of the mans facial expressions as he see’s the family taking pictures over the road. His facial expressions show cunning ideas. Tracking shots are used to film the men running around the streets chasing after each other starting to reveal the storyline. http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =NmxX2r-uD8I The only dialogue is at the beginning when the waiter speaks to the protagonist and the protagonist takes a picture for the family Location – In the streets of America Props – A camera and the items blocking the way e.g. Buckets of water, posters etc Costume – Casual clothes for the photographer, smarter clothes for the family This short film would be suitable for all ages as it is easy to watch and understand what is happening even though half of the film is in silence. The audience would be able to relate as the man picks on an innocent family trying to have a good time but end up having a disaster but then it turns out it was all a wind up and that’s how the main character (photographer) captured his work.

Memories http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =85HDu87TGy0&feature=related The camera work starts with a long short of a man walking across a zebra crossing this introduces the main character,. Many close ups of the mans facial expressions are shot when he finds the different memories on the film he remembers. In one shot there is a tear in his eye showing happiness and him remembering those times. A tracking shot is used to show him walking along the street with a long line of films behind him showing that those are the memories of his past. The audience for this film would be anyone as there is no specific genre to this short film. Everybody has memories and this short film will remind people of any age of their past memories. When the protagonist opens his memory book the images start to fade away enforcing the message that you should remember and not forget. The mise en scene shows the location as walking along the path along side roads to the mans house, where he opens his book of memories. There is diegetic sounds of the cars in the background and non diegetic sound with a man whispering lyrics. The tempo is slow and dynamically light to show happiness The film is in black and white just like a camera film would be

The Plan http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =3OGX8iYBBCE&feature=related The short film starts with an establishing shot of a long free road representing freedom. Close up reveals the mans characters and hobbies, like photography and music. Shot reverse shot is used when the girl steals the mans camera and is taking pictures of him chasing her showing her then him then her again. Close ups of him face near the end showing his emotions that he has lost everything but then realises the picture of him on the board it ends with a long free road as he goes and finds the girl. A voiceover is used to tell the mans plan and feelings. Dialogue is used when he is speaking to the girl and then asking for directions and diegetic sounds are noises of the streets making the film realistic. The mise en scene starts of at the location of his house packing up his stuff and then moves to Vegas. The camera is one of the main props as he finds the girl again through a picture of him she took. The audience would be teenagers plus as everyone goes through a time where they want change or look for change. The film is in black and white to show how simple the film is and how simple change can be.

Noise http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =N7VjYuKeowM&feature= fvw The narrative of this story is a boy who has a bad car accidently and loses his hearing. The message to this short film is clear ‘don’t take anything for granted.’ at first the shots show him in his normal life going to work. Medium close shots are used to introduce his character. Photography of items that make noise are then slide showed while a voiceover explains that everything makes a sound. A long tracking shot is used to show the ambulance speed by which is significant because that's the only thing that you can see in the shot making it a main focus and showing its importance to the storyline. A medium shot is used to show the boys frustrating when he can’t listen to his music in his CD player so throws the stereo and rips off his tie. Sound is used a lot in this film as it is the key focus. Non diegetic slow paced music is used to represent tragedy and a voice over is used to explain the story. Diegetic sounds are used to show that everything makes a noise which is the point the main character is trying to make. The target audience would be teenagers plus as it is quite a strong message.

Noise - Horror http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v = orDC_RfjItQ The narrative is about a woman getting continuous bad headaches. It shows her every day life and then when she goes to bed, a face faintly appears from behind her cupboard/door. There isn’t much action in this short film but a tense atmosphere is achieved. It is achieved mainly by lighting and sound. The lighting of the filming is dark and grey, showing mystery and a typical creepy setting. The fact that the main character is an alone woman adds to the suspense even more as woman are seen as more vulnerable targets and are often the main victims in horror movies. The sound is a creepy non diegetic piece of music, that gets dynamically fuller when suspense is being built or when there is an opportunity for something scary to happen. Diegetic sound is used when the girl answers the telephone butt the girl doesn’t reveal who it is, the audience assume a friend. Also diegetic sound from the television etc, makes the scene more realistic and normal to the audience. The target audience would be teenagers plus as the face at the end may scare younger children and they might not understand the story.

Short film analysis

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