Carla - 4 Short Films.

Skirt – Directed by Amanda Boyle in 2011. Found the 2.20 minute short film on Virgin Media Shorts.

Skirt is a short film about two people in one flat. The man owns it and one of his friends turns up after having nowhere else to go and moves in. He isn’t best pleased as she leaves a mess wherever she goes and breaks things. However he then decides to play a trick on her and use her bath robe and then they end up playing little games like that becoming happier with each other’s company. The final shot is of the two people just lying in bed asleep.

Representation:

     During Skirt the social group is shown between two people. One woman who is homeless and one who is a working man with a job and wears a suit. The flat is fairly sparse however and the idea given of their class is lower middle class. Both genders are used and their age is similar of about 27.

   

     The genre used for this piece is Drama through the style of social realism. There are only two characters ever shown as it’s all filmed inside the flat. The woman might have been made redundant and can’t pay her rent for example and the man is the good friend helping her out. During the short film, the woman is shown carelessly looking through cupboards where she drops a mug and then hides it and doesn’t tell him. 

     Then when she decides she wants to go out she leaves an absolutely huge mess all over the sofa which she is sleeping on. This stereotypes women as being indecisive about which clothes to wear and then leaving them everywhere and causing a mess.

    

     The man however is not stereotyped; he is shown as a calm character where he almost has a OCD compulsion to clean up after her and neatly stacks all clothes up.

  

    The film synopsis gives very little away, ‘2 people, 1 flat’ leaving it up to the viewer whether they decide to watch. It tells us that the genre is Drama but that is it. However the film was found on the Virgin Media Shorts so the expected audience is most likely to be a person of a younger age perhaps from 17-30. It is based on two young people about 27 and this reflects the audience watching it as they will probably around that age. The setting of the piece is current to this day and may also reflect the audience watching it.

     The film deals with issues of a homeless woman, a man sharing his flat for what looks to be the first time, OCD perhaps, and friendship. The representation of these issues are done very subtly only giving the audience clues and leaving it up to the viewer to make their mind up on the matter.

Narrative:

     The plot is very simple and is just about two people finding they way to live with each other and their annoying habits.

     The story however I would think is much deeper concern as the woman has been made homeless for some unknown reason. He has compulsive tendencies to make his rather empty flat look absolutely spanking clean. They relate to each other well but quite unexpectedly as the storyline is made obvious straight away but then the plot takes a different turn as the two people living together find out more about each other. Their relationship with possessions is what defines them in this Short Film and the film becomes a light-hearted prank war where they both have to deal with each other’s odd behaviour.

     The chronology in this short film follows through time in the correct order and is linear.

     Todorov’s theory of narration works well with this short film here are five stages the narrative can progress through:

1)    A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be) 2) A disruption of that order by an event. 3) A recognition that the disorder has occurred. 4) An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. 5) A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

     The beginning of the film is where she moves in and she breaks his mug and leaves a mess causing dissatisfaction with each other. The middle is when he starts to meddle with her by clearing up after her and leaving a neat stack of her clothes. He then decides to get his own back and wears her bath robe then deliberately walks past her.

 

  

     The end consequences are with the woman creating a massive arrow out of cutlery pointing to his room where she is fast asleep. He lays next’s to her and falls asleep showing his new found comfort with her. This also leaves us questioning what will happen between them due to the syntactic code of affection shown.

Genre: 

     Throughout the film, Genre isn’t massively focused on. The idea of social realism is given though Drama with the occasional hint of dry Comedy.

     Short films typically use Genre to interest the audience into watching their film. The gender is what tags the video and what gives the audiences what they expect to see. Genre is very important to short films because they only have a few minutes to show it. It helps develop the storyline.

     Steve Neale stresses that 'genres are not systems: they are processes of systematisation'. Traditionally, genres tended to be regarded as fixed forms, but contemporary theory emphasizes that both their forms and functions are dynamic. This short film adapts well to his theory.

     Genre codes and conventions are used to prepare an audience for what they are about to see. These give the text meaning and determine the response of the viewer. They can be used as a basis for simple text analysis. 

Audience

      Virgin Media Shorts is a website for film enthusiasts that want their work to be seen and potentially win a competition for it to be shown as well as wining money.

     This means people who are interested in short films will be watching with a round about age of 17-35. Audience should be pleased with this film because it follows a quirky, amusing plot with little dialogue. It is very well filmed and directed.

     Skirt was produced for Mulberry and won best Fashion Short film for Vimeo in November 2011.

     Amanda Boyle is an independent director and has directed quite a few films and 2 episodes of skins.

Dream Girl – Alice Bright.  Found the video on Virgin Media Shorts and is 2.16 minutes.

Dream Girl is a short film about an early morning tube journey that takes an unexpected turn. A man who is travelling alone is joined when the tube stops at a station, and a woman joins him. She is very sleepy and struggles to stay awake. She ends up falling asleep on him where he looks on at other passengers uncomfortably. He moves her away when he has to get off at his stop, and he gets off then to jump straight back on and position the woman against him again while looking very happy.

Representation:

     The film represents two people through different genders and through different ethnicities. As an audience we can’t tell much about their class – possibly middle class.

      The genre used in this Short Film is tagged under ‘Other’. To myself I feel as though it is the start of a Romance and is shown through Social Realism.

      As for gender stereotyping the woman may have been shown as weaker minded as she let herself fall asleep against the man who was the central character.

     The film doesn’t really cover any issues – it’s just a tube journey that ends with a smile. As the film doesn’t particularly have any issues or an outright genre its quite hard to say whether it met the wants of the target audience.

     

       Narrative:

      According to David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson the difference between plot and story is that everything that has happened to the characters in the world of the story, including events we do not see, but infer, or assume to have taken place, before, during or after the period seen in the film. The plot includes only the events of the story that are seen in the film, in the order chosen to tell the story. Events of the story are 'plotted' to create the narrative.

      

The story is about a young woman falling asleep on the man whilst both on their tube journeys. The plot however is from the man’s point of view; it reflects his emotions and feelings. At first he’s slightly irritated that she’s fallen asleep on him but then finds it amusing. 

     Then as his stop approaches he tries to put her head the other way and struggles slightly then manages it just in time to get off. 

However he gets off, thinks for a moment and jumps back on and allows her to fall back against her. This story of the man developing a subtle attraction to her is very adoring.

     Told through a chronological linear this allows us to see the story develop. However there is no obvious closure, as an audience we don’t know what will happen when she awakes. Todorov’s theory is put in to place here for the narrative. 1)   A state of equilibrium (where the man is on the tube) 2) A disruption of that order by an event. (the woman falling asleep on him) 3) A recognition that the disorder has occurred. (the man looking over at her whilst looking uncomfortable) 4) An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. (moves her head and gets off the tube) 5) A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium (gets back on the tube and consciously decides to put her head on his shoulder) We don't know what the exact closure is except that he's made his decision and is pleased with it.

  Genre:

      Genre is a way of categorising a particular media text according to its content and style. This short film is not tagged with a genre as it only hints towards a romance, but if I had to pinpoint a genre it would be romance.

      Short films like this use genre to enable the audience to know what they are going to see. It gives them the chance to briefly outline what they are going to watch.

      The idea of Neale’s theory works here. Neale believed that Steve Neale stresses that 'genres are not systems: they are processes of systematisation'. Traditionally, genres tended to be regarded as fixed forms, but contemporary theory emphasizes that both their forms and functions are dynamic. 

       Mud Boy – Directed by Nick Penrake 2009, 8 minutes, found on the BBC film network. A young London girl escapes to the end of her garden after being caught in the middle of a fight between her mum and boyfriend. As Mina plays with her toys she accidentally unearths her brother’s grave. Failing to accept that he is dead, Mina make-believes her brother Jamie is alive and starts to do all she can to clean him up and bring him inside again. When the police arrive, they find the dead Jamie, but to Mina, Jamie is now roaming free in the garden. I chose this film because it’s a very clever piece of film, made by the young girl, Mina’s point of view. It’s incredibly sad and horrific for the girl to uncover her brother’s body and actually believe he’s still alive.

      Representation:

 Through the film a lot of controversial issues are covered such as domestic abuse, alcoholism, child abuse, neglect and murder. The tagline allows us to see it’s located in London, however we wouldn’t have known that otherwise.                                                            

     The social groups covered are alcoholics, step-father, mother and children portrayed through a middle class background. They live in fairly big detached house but its tatty inside and outside showing the lack of care towards it.

 The genre covered is thriller but it was done in a non-naturalistic way as Mina digs out her brother and believes he’s alive and interacts with him but through her imagination. This is a use of paranormal as it is beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation for the short film. 

 The step-dad is represented in a really bad way. He is abusive, an alcoholic and a bully. He intimidates his girlfriend and the children to such a level they are all scared of him. This could be seen as a stereotype as the mother had chosen the wrong sort of man after her previous husband as she may have wanted more fun and fallen for the ‘bad guy’. He is shown as a stereotypical step-parent that the children dislike. This is a negative masculine representation of the step-dad/boyfriend with the use of patriarchal ideology that he is better than her.

 The mother is shown initially as a stronger character than expected, in relation to the very angry boyfriend. She is arguing back and not backing down and even resists when he hits her and hits him back. This shows a strong sense of femininity. However his strength eventually overpowers hers. This would initially show her as breaking stereotypes and not being shown as a vulnerable cause of domestic abuse but ultimately she does fit the stereotype of being a woman who suffers from domestic violence.

     Narrative:

     A plot is a series of events deliberately places to cause drama and emotion. A story is simply a series of events in chronological story. The story is that the brother got murdered and she uncovers his body and then the boyfriend gets arrested. 

      The plot is that she is scared because of all the fighting her mum and him are doing so she runs outside bored and starts playing in the mud. She then finds him and believes he’s alive. She then tries to clean him up and play with him. 

Obviously very traumatised, she chooses to ignore that he’s dead. Eventually a police officerturns up and the boyfriend gets arrested.

This sort of structure is linear with closure. It’s in chronological order and it happens as we see it. The use of an action code allows us to guess what may happen by the way the adults are discussing the missing boy then the girl runs outside and starts playing in the garden and digging around when she finds something. We automatically guess its something to do with her brother.

      The narrative for this piece doesn’t follow the norm of Todorov but takes a more defined approach and doesn’t exactly set out a problem to be solved but an issue that is meddled with. The idea of Claude Levi-Strauss and binary opposition works well here. The use of good versus evil is very clear and coherent showing us exactly what path the storyline will take. The bad (boyfriend) is nasty and abusive at first and thinks he’s winning but eventually good comes out on top, and he is arrested. 

This is the closure to the short film. This sort of structure works well because if it did follow Todorov’s theory it would mean the young girl would be trying to solve the problem of her brother being dead and that wouldn’t have the same effect. The fact she instead finds him and is happy just to see him, give the story-line and plot a completely different feeling and gives it a rather chilling but sad edge. 

 The Black Hole – Directed by Phil Sansom and Olly Williams. Found on the Virgin Media Shorts Website lasting 2.38 minutes.

An unmotivated, tired office worker accidentally discovers a black hole through a piece of paper which comes out the paper copier which has some abnormal qualities to it and he begins to experiment with it. He realises the hole goes through whatever you put it against and gets a chocolate bar by simply placing it against the glass. Eventually greed gets the better of him and tries to steal money from the safe but gets inside it and the black hole on paper falls down off the safe, leaving him trapped in the safe with all the money on the outside.

Representation:

The social group represented in this short film is male middle class office workers. This is a very stereotypical representation of an average working office. It’s also a stereotypical representation of a man fed up of work. He’s very tired and just wants to finish so he can go home. As he’s the only character we can only base our judgment on him. This is seen as a negative representation as he doesn’t have a positive attitude towards his work. The office working environment is dark, with dull colours and very unimaginative furnished to suit a basic office.

The film is based on social realism but with a twist to it which makes it fiction and un-naturalistic. There is also element of political thought to the piece as it contains a strong message about right and wrong.

The short film deals with issues of gluttony, first of all towards food then money. It also deals with the issue of morality and the fact the man does not even consider his actions to be wrong, before acting on them instantly. This lack on conscience is worrying. This shows a lack of respect towards his workplace, also dealing with his poor attitude to work giving us the idea he doesn’t like working there. The traditional idea of a man working in the office is shown but in modern day settings. However this still means the idea of masculinity and patriarchal ideology are pushed through into the film. It also touches on the issue of what extreme lengths people would go to when placed in paranormal situations where there is no explanation to what he’s found and the powers it’s capable of.

The expected audience for this probably hasn’t really shaped the representations, as this film can be watched by anyone and immediately understood. The man gets consumed by his own greed and pays for it in the end. This gives the audience a strong moral message about behaviour and could suit anyone. If the expected audience had to be pinpointed it would probably be targeted at young adults who have a passion for film. They may expect office workers to be stereotypical as shown, so possibly. The expected audience may expect traditional office workers to be ‘boring’ and ‘plain’ with no thought for anyone so when the film was being directed, the directors may have reinforced this to create a really stereotypical view with a touch of dry humour as we laugh at his expense.

Narrative:

The plot for The Black Hole is chronological and in linear order, which keeps the narrative easy to follow, and allows the audience to see different events unfolding through unrestricted narration however it is left without closure.

Todorov’s theory can be applied to this short film: the equilibrium at the start when he is just paper-copying work, then the disruption, where he discovers the black hole sheet of paper with powers. Followed by the confrontation, where he uses the black hole to steal from the vending machine and then when he gets into the locked door to the safe. Finally, the new equilibrium is recognised as he gets trapped in the safe but ends on a cliffhanger without closure.

This links loosely with Barthes theory of enigma codes, as it leaves a mystery for the spectator to answer, but because it is at the end it does not necessarily encourage the spectator to engage with the text throughout.This quick succession of stages allows the short film to be successful, as the stages are clear but short, so even with the condensed amount of time which the short film offers; the events are able to be understood.

Genre

    
  There are multiple genres which are identifiable in this film. The film in itself could be considered a comedy, with an over-dramatized view on what happens to those who are too greedy. Then there are crime and science fiction, which are also identifiable through various codes and conventions.

Short films are often hybrid genres, as they cover many of the technical codes used in different genres. They use these technical codes and conventions to allow a spectator to guess what will happen in the narrative. Without the spectator being able to have slight background knowledge into what may happen, some short films may not work in their intended way, as it is these conventions that are crucial to the way the film is watched.

This film links to David Buckingham’s theory that genre is a process of negotiation and change, as this is a hybrid genre film and therefore uses codes for multiple genres. Though a comedy, the more common codes and conventions are not visible here.

Using genre codes and conventions appeals to audiences because it allows them to understand elements of the film that they may not otherwise understand, and means that certain events can be put in context. Comedy usually works best with speech, so in this sense this film does not fit the usual conventions of a comedy. It does use codes and conventions typically associated with crime drama, with props like the safe and money, which help the audience understand the setting. The black hole is a more obvious code of science fiction films, which makes this film a hybrid genre film.

Audience

I believe the audience for this film to be young people with an interest in short film, particularly experimental, based on where the film is hosted.

I think this audience would find this film interesting because of the un-realistic element of the black hole thrown into the very everyday setting of an office. This element of abnormality helps to add a lot of suspense to the film, as there is an element of mystery surrounding it that makes the audience want to know more.

The film has also been screened on the BBC film network and is hosted on Youtube as well as Vimeo.

The film was produced by Photoplay Films, and the director is Diamond Dogs.