work

1. FLY: A short film
The Fly (Short Movie) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com › watch
FLY is a short filmthatI lookedat,I choose itas the message hada lot of elementsof comedy,which
contrastedmassivelytothe othershortfilmsIpicked.
At the beginningthere issome dialogue,shouting“3minutes”,we canheardoors slammed,gunsand
thenrunning,whichstartsthe scene as somethingurgent,andthe audience,canhave some background
on the scene before ithappens.The firstscene thenshowsthe driverbehindthe wheel,which
introducesacharacter to the audience andthe focal pointof the scene.The secondshotshowsa lucky
rabbitfooton the driver’skeys,whichshowsthe audience some more detailsaboutthe driver.The next
shotis an establishingshotof the bank,we can clearlysee the banksignon the building,andthe car
rightoutside.Withinthree shotsthere isalreadyaclearindicationtothe audience of whatisgoinginon
the scene,andtheycan beginto assume whatisgoingto happennext.The cameraanglesare mainly
focusedinside the car,asthat is where the actionistakingplace.
All the shotsare erratic,and don’ttendtoflow,whichcan imitate the erraticmovementandunease in
the film,thisisclearlyshownbythe driver’stense,sharpmovements.The editingisusedtosee
differentviewsof the guyso we can see the situationhe isinand everymovementhe makes.A lotof
jumpcuts are usedaswell asellipsisandcamerashots(bankdoors,driver,fly.)Thisfurtheremphazies
howstressedthe manis
For mise enscene,the car settingina side streetcreatesthe feelingof a dodgysituation,it’savery
urban settingandisveryquiet,forecastingthatsomethingisgoingtohappen.The performance of the
maincharacter is veryimportantinthe filmbecause the focusisonhimfor the majorityof the film.The
actor is stressedandshorttemperedbecause of the situationhe isin,whichaddstothe comedyof the
filmbecause everythingisoverthe top.The propsusedare those typical of a bank robberymovie.The
shotgunand masks are verytypical of thisgenre.
The title comesinafterthe fly,whichisa cleveruse of editing,asthe colorsare white andred,which
suggestsa warning,especiallyasthe scene before isquietandnotmuchgoingon,so it isa drastic
change.It alsoflashesandisveryboldandquite irritating,whichcouldbe imitatingthe fly,fromthe
driver’sperspective.
The cleveruse of props broughtcomedy,suchas the toothpick,whichcouldshow he isonedge so by
chewingitisshowinghisstress.The mask,whichseemsoddwhenhe usesit,butistiedinat the end
whenthe three robberscome outin the same masksat the end.Comedyisalsousedinthe cutawayto
the dog, thentothe skyafterthe tooth-pickgoesthroughhislip,playingonthe factthat hisscream
couldbe heard formiles.Thiswascleverasit createda new scene andbroke awayfrom the car fora
little while,separatingthe scenes.

2. The short filmwaslinear,asthe eventsunfoldedinchronological order(beginning,middle,end.) There
are fourcharacters (five includingthe fly),butitcentersaroundone,whichisthe driverandhisstruggle
withthe fly,thenthe othersare the robbers.The protagonististhe driverandthe antagonististhe fly.
The keytheme of the filmisthat some people overreactmore whentheyare underpressure.The fly
mostlikelywouldn’thave beensuchabig deal tothe driverif he wasn’tunderthe stressoff havingto
dry awayfrom the crime.He is clearlypressuredbythe cirumstancessofreaksoutwhenthe smallestof
thingsirritate him.The Genre of the filmiscrime but alsohas lotsof elementof comedy,running
throughoutthe film.
The main conflictwasfromthe fly,whichcreatesdramaand hooksinterest.There isasense of
character development,because atthe beginningof the filmthe manisclearlystressedbutonlyslightly
and at the endof the film,he reallyhasa hadenoughand shootsthe car witha shotgun.The conflict
betweenthe manandflycausesthe man to go insane.
The man is representedasa toughguy at the start, butwe thenfindout that he isunstable whenhe
meetsthe fly.The flyisrepresentingthe pressure thatthe guyhasto stay calmin the situation,almost
as If the flyisthe man’sanxietyinhishead,causinghimtobreak.
The lightingisverynatural,andrealisticdaylight.Ithinkthisiseffective,asitdoesn’ttake awayfrom
whatis goingon inthe scene and justhelpstoportraywhat the time of day is,and whatis goingonin
the scene.
The soundincludes,keysoundeffectsthatare significantthroughout,suchas,screaming,banging,gun
shots,the fly,etc.There isn’tanymusic,until the creditsat the end.There isdialogue fromthe
characters whichgivesexpositionandsetsthe scene.Yetagainnothavingto manysoundeffects,just
makesthe audience focusonthe eventsunfoldinginthe carand doesn’ttake awayfromthe acting.
The filmfollowedathree-act structure (Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution.)
The firstact wasthe manin the car and introductionof the fly.
The secondact wasthe main conflict,e.g.the toothpickincidentandthe manshootinghiscar.
The third act was the resolutionwhichwaswhenthe robberscome outand the car is brokenandpolice
sirensare near.
It endswithsome closure,asthe flyfliesaway,butitisleftwitha lotof questions,suchas,doesthe
man that got shotsurvive?Dothe police catchthem?Will theydrive away?Andwhatwill happentothe
money?Thisiscleverasit makesthe audience thinkoverthe wholefilmagainandcanbegintoimagine
whathappenedafter.
Arrival:A short film
The Arrival on Vimeo
https://vimeo.com › Zen Design Studio › Videos

3. Mise en scene:the settingisina dimlitcafé whichisa verybasicsettingformeetingsomeone.The
performance of the actressinthisshort filmwasveryimportantbecause she doesn’thave anylines
exceptfromwhenshe talkstothe waiter,sothe charactersfacial expressionsreallytell the audience
whatshe isgoingthrough.The coffee beingfilledtoomuchandoverflowingwasusedtoshow the lady
had so muchon hermindthat she wasn’tconcentratingonwhatshe wasdoing.
The main thingthatI like aboutthe shot typesandcamera anglesandthe movementishow the whole
short filmisdone inone take.Ithas a continuousfeel toitandit focussesonthe character inthe centre
of the frame and alsosome distractionsinthe background.
The genre is drama.The keytheme islove andhappinessbecause the womanistryingtotell herself she
shouldgetridof the babybut she is alsothinkingshe couldfall inlove withthe man,youcantell all her
emotionsare overwhelming,andshe isgoingbackand forth on all the positivesandnegatives.
The shots didn’tmove aroundmuchat all,andthe camerastayedin the same place at the same angle
for mostof the film.Thiscontrastswiththe thoughtsgoingoninher head,showingthatshe lookscalm
on the outside butinside she isfreakingoutoverthe situation.
There wasno musicin the background,andsoundeffectsincludingthingssuchascupsand platesbeing
pickedupand murmuredchatter.Thisaddsto the overall atmosphere anddoesn’ttake awayfromthe
effectfromthe voiceover,insteadcomplimentsitandsometimesshe isdistractedbythe soundeffects,
and theychange herthoughtpattern,such as whenthe babycame in,it sentheron a wave of new
thoughts.
The firstscene was interestingaswe see the womanfroma blurredfaraway perspectiveandtothe
audience,she lookscalmandrelaxedinhersurroundings.Whenthe dooropensthe firstthingwe hear
is“I should’veorderedadecafe.”Straightawaythe audience cansee thatshe isindecisive andis
stressedaboutwhatisgoingon. The use of the voiceoverthroughoutthe filmisveryeffective,asit
clearlytellsthe audience whatisgoingoninthe scene withoutthe womanhavingtoexplaininthe
scene,thisallowshertoshowhowshe feelsthrough herbodylanguage.
The gradual zoomisclever,asit captivatesthe audience ontohermovements.Italsosetsthe scene and
establishesthe shot,sothe audience have anunderstandingof where she is,andthenitstartsto zoom
and the shotis focusingon heremotions.
The props are basic,thingssuchas menus,cups,lamps,booths,portrayingasmall local café,this
doesn’ttake awayfromthe main focal point.
The womanis alwaysgoingbackon her thoughtsandherbrain isskatteredsuggestingshe isstressedby
the situationandisn’tsure onwhat to do,she is convincingherself whatshe thinksthe manwants,she
istryingto ignore herown opinions.Itisaconstant battle betweenwhatshe wantsandwhatshe thinks
the man wants,whichmakesthe audience feel sorryforthe woman.
The filmislinearasthe eventsunfoldedinchronological order.There isone maincharacterwhichisthe
woman,andthenthe waiterandcustomers.The womanisthe protagonistandthe focal pointof the
film.
The lightinghas a dull look,andthe room isnot well litexceptfromthe lampsonthe table,thishelpsto
setthe moodand atmosphere,italsomakesusfocusinonher and the voiceoverinstead.The lighting

4. changesto dark lightingwhenyouhearatrain goingpastand the thoughtsthe womanhas start to get
deeperandmore emotional.Thishappensrightaftershe hearsasomeone come throughthe dooryou
can hear a babycrying,she gets distractedandstarts todriftoff, she over pourshercoffee andthe
scene switches,rightafterthe traingoesby,almostasif she hadcomplete new thoughtsandhada
wave of “what if”possibilites,asshe startsto switchherbabiesappearancesandcharacteristics.She
getslostin thought,thisisbrokenbythe waitercomingback over,the lightingstartstobrightenagain
showingthatshe has come out of her thoughts.
The door opensandshe smilessuggestingthe manshe waswaitingforhas arrived,she asksfora decaf,
contrastingfromthe beginningwhenshe made adecisionforwhatshe wantedanddidn’tworryabout
caffine andsugar,but whenthe manwalkedinthischange suggestingshe maynotbe a strong character
and heropinionscanbe changedand manipulatedbythe manshe ismeeting.
I wouldn’tsaythere isa setstructure to the filmunlike FLYwhichwasa three-actstructure,this
replicateshowthe womanfeelsasthere isnoreal structure of thoughtinher head,everythingis
messedupandher thoughtsare all over,and she skipsbackand forthto differentthoughtsthroughout
the whole thing.
I wouldsaythat filmdoesn’tendwithclosure,andshe isstill very indecisive,howeverthe factthatshe
wentback onher inital decisionandwentfordecaf althoughitissmall,suggestthatshe will be swayed
by the man andagree withwhateverhe says.Itmakesthe audience askquestionssuchasDoesshe
keepthe baby?What doesthe man say?Anddoesshe endup withthe man?
Fauve : a short film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbnUEoRKdOk&t=147s
Fauve is the last short film that I looked at, I choose it as it had a complete different structure to the others
as well as a different meaning.
At the beginning
For mise en scene the setting is in some sort of mining site, with deserted railways and big mining sites,
which greats a gloomy feel, but is something that the boys seem to be comfortable with, suggesting that
they grew up here. The film was linear as all the events unfolded in chronological order, and flowed one
after each other, we follow their day.
In this film it followed a three-act structure.
The first act (the setup) was when the boys were running around and competing with each other on the
train as well as outside.
The second act (the confrontation) was when they saw the truck and ran, getting stuck in the sinking mud.
The third act ( the resolution) Although there wasn’t a resolution as such, as the boy lost his best friend,
there was some resolution in the woman taking the boy home and being worried about him.

5. No music Is used throughout the film, I think this is clever as we focus on the two boys relationship, but
also helps to show how quiet the place they are in is. You can understand that the boys are somewhere
they shouldn’t be, as the railway is like a ghost town, where no one is.
There are two main character both the boys, swell as the woman who comes in, this shows that where
they are hardly has any living there and the boys have a lot of free space.
The camera work at the beginning would move around a lot and follow the boys, showing their light-
hearted play and the fact that they have a lot of fun together
The genre is drama and the overall theme is friendship and the bond the two boys have together, we see
how well they get on, and must have been friends for a while, even though they are swearing and making
fun of each other. We see how much the boys care for each other when one boy gets stuck in the mud and
cannot get out the other is trying to help him and was deeply upset when he couldn’t.
The scene when the boys are running away from the truck is effective. It used a long shot and the camera
was shaking, mimicking the boys running, it shows how stressed they was and wanted to get away from
the truck, suggesting that they shouldn’t have been there. The shots are long, showing that the boys are
chill at the beginning and are just having fun.
When the boy is stuck in the mood it has an extreme long shot to show how small and helpless the boy is
in the mud. One really interesting shot is when the shot moves further and further out emphasising that his
scream can be heard for miles. The shots start to become more frantic as the scene progresses,showing
that the boy is getting more and more stressed and anxious.
Once the boy is walking away from the mud, fades are used, to show that he had been walking for a long
time and over a long distance, showing that he is distraught by what just happened and is walking to clear
his head, but can’t think straight and justify what happened. He probably feels guilty and to blame about
the whole situation.
The first sign of life other than the two boys is when the woman pulls up in a car,showing that where
they were not many people would go, emphasizing that they shouldn’t have been there.
I would say that there was closure for this film, as although we didn’t see the boy disappear under the
mud, we can guess that he must’ve as he couldn’t get out. Although it was left with questions, as in why
was they there? And will the boy be found? This is because we didn’t get much context about the boys, or
where they are.
All 3 of the short filmsuse cinematographyandeditingtoengage the audience.
To conclude all three shortfilmsdohave some similarities,aswell asalotof differences.The overall
theme/genre forall three shortfilmsare verydifferent.Inflyithasa lotof comedywhere-as,the arrival
and fauve follow aseriousplotanddeliveraseriousmessage.Botharrival andFLY follow one character,
and we see thischaracter’sjourney,we findoutalot aboutthem and go alongon the journeywith
them.InFauve the plotalso followsajourney,butitfollowsthe journeyof twoboysandtheir
friendship,the moodinthe beginningIslightandfriendly,butitshiftstobe more tense,foreshadowing
the fate of the boys,itmakesthe audience think.All three shortfilmsleavealotof questionsinthe
audiencesheadonce ithasended,astheyall endleavingoutsome information,suchaswhathappens
to the burgularsinFLY, or isthe boy deadinFauve,or doesshe tell the maninThe arrival,thisiskeyto a
goodshort film,asit engagesthe audience andmakesthemthink.

6. All three shortfilmsunravel inchronological order,astheytell thatindividualsstory,thisallowsthe
audience tocome alongon the storywiththemand understandhow theyfeel,creatingmore emotion,
bothsad and happy.BothThe arrival and Flyfilmedinsideandtheystayinthe same location.For
example FLYisina car and The arrival isina café,thisshowsthattheyare adultsand goingabouttheir
days,whereasFauve ismostlyoutsideandthe locationisconstantlychangingthisshowsthattheyare
youthful andfull of energy,itreplicatesthemplayingandhow close the twoboysare together.
All 3 short filmshave differenttexts,Infauve itistextbetweenthe twocharacters,whereasinThe
arrival it isa voiceoverthe whole waythrough,andinFLY there isnotext.All of these are effectivefor
the filmsastheyhelpto portraythe story, inFLY no textiscleveras itmeanswe focusin onthe actor,
whereasinFauve textisimportantasit helpstoshow the relationshipbetweenthe twoboysandsets
the scene.InThe arrival the voice overiseffectiveasithelpthe audience understandwhatisgoingon
withoutthe characterhaving to talk,and insteadwe canalsounderstandwhatisgoingon by reading
herbody language.