Title:
Skirt
Director: Amanda Boyle
Year
Produced: 2011
Watched on: Virgin
Media Shorts
This short film contains two characters living
in one flat, one being a male and the other being a female. It would seem that
the flat belongs to the male character and the female character has moved in.
To me, watching this short makes me think that both the characters share
different views on ways to live in a flat, so when one of them is out the other
one does something to torment the other, ending up in them being happy with
each other.
I liked this short film as it contains no
dialogue so a lot is left up to the viewer to decide what’s going on.
Representation:
·
In this short film the social groups of the
two characters are different for both. The male character seems to be a working
class man who goes to work in the day and then comes back at night to see the
female has done something to all his belongings. The other character (the
female) appears to be a lower class woman as she just sits around the house
whilst the man is out. As you can see in the screenshot below she is anxiously
waiting to find out what the man is going to say because she broke his mug
earlier in the day.
·
Also, although this man wears a suit and looks
to be a hard working gentleman, through mise en scene we can see that he is not
living in a very nice area (based on appearance). This suggests to me that the
man has looked for a flat mate to add financial support onto the flat that they
now both live in.
·
Another representation of the characters is
the characteristic of being shy, throughout the whole short film only a few
words are said to each other and that is only “hi” and “bye”. Another
indication on these two characters being shy is that when she smashed the mug
and he realises, he says nothing and just looks annoyed (refer to first
screenshot on Skirt).
·
Throughout the film the female character is
continually represented as a ‘girly girl’. Only wearing flowery dresses and
skirts, even her dressing gown is all flowery. It’s not just her clothes that
portray her to be someone who likes colour; all of her belongings are very
colourful [1]. In comparison, the male characters belongings and
clothes are all very bland and plain colours (grey, white and black) [2].
I think the males outlook on life somewhat changes halfway through the short
film when he wears the female characters bath robe [3]. He starts to
look a lot happier in the film from then on out.
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·
One more
thing it seems to address is the stereotyping of girls being cleaner than boys.
In Skirt, the male character is a lot more organised and cleaner than the
female character, as shown in two shots, one of the male coming back and seeing
all the females clothes thrown everywhere, and then the female coming back and
seeing all her possessions neatly piled up
·
I like that they have done this as they have
gone against a stereotypical generalisation of females being neater and cleaner
than males.
Narrative
- The plot is chronological.
- The chronology of the narrative is linear. The effect of this is that the spectator does not know what will happen between these two people in the end. This is effective as it intrigues the spectator with the description being – ‘Two People, one flat.’ If they were to be shown the ending of the two people being close to each other, the film would have no mystery; therefore the spectator may not be intrigued to watch the film.
Audience:
- I found the film in the 2012 shortlist on Virgin Media Shorts. It says ‘Championing undiscovered talent’. This website is for new film developers for people such as students, or just generally people who are interesting in making a career out of film making. Virgin Media Shorts seems to look like a starting point. Therefore, I would expect the audiences of these films to be new film makers looking for inspiration and ideas.
- Age – In my opinion, this film is aimed at students and young adults more than anyone. Of course, anyone can enjoy the film, but I think the mere simplicity of it is aimed at people who would understand it more. Children and young teens may not really understand it and may just pass it off as something they don’t want to see again, but I thought it was a really good short film and I enjoyed it!
- Gender – In my opinion, this film isn’t really set for a gender. Both characters portray different things and I think that both male and female audience can appreciate what the film is showing.
- You can also find the film here - when you click on this the first two opening paragraphs explain
‘Last November we told you about Skirt – a short film directed by the talented Amanda Boyle. The film was commissioned for a feature in InStyle magazine which asked brands to create a short film exploring style. We’re delighted to tell you that the film has been nominated for Best Fashion Film in the Vimeo Film Awards –please vote! The awards ceremony is part of the Vimeo Film Festival, held in New York in June. The judges for the Best Fashion Film are Nicola Formichetti, Nick Knight and Humberto Leon.
·
To my knowledge the film hasn’t won any
awards, but the director Amanda Boyle has a few projects she is working on and
I will be sure to check them out when she has completed them. And obviously
it’s competing in the Virgin Media Shorts contest.
Genre
& Media Language:
- If I had to give this film a genre it would be a Romantic Comedy. A way in which they aim to amuse the spectator is by using stereotypical elements. For example, women are typically known for being indecisive in the morning over what to wear, but also, they are normally clean with their things and tidy up, but in this short film the female left her clothes everywhere to be dealt with by the man of the house. This could be seen as humorous. We are shown this through a low angle shot of the male looking down, slightly to the right of the camera. This is humorous as it is followed by the shot of the clear disorganisation which the female has left in a house which this man owned before and obviously had his own standards. As she had just moved into the flat, you would have thought she would have made some effort to be tidy.
- This is immediately followed by 2 shots, similar to the previous, from the female’s point of view. It shows her reaction (low angle shot) she has a very similar facial expression as the male character did then an over the shoulder shot which shows that the man has organised her possessions as a kind or suggestive gesture. I, as a spectator thought this was unexpected as many people would not make the effort to organise someone else’s mess after a day at work. This in my eyes is humorous and makes me want to watch more to see how the female character will react and what will happen to both of them at the end.
- The kind gesture is what Rick Altman calls syntactic code. Gestures of kindness or affection between two people, in films, often lead to a romance. Therefore, as an audience, this is a syntactic code as initial gestures of kindness or affection are often signs which suggest that a film will involve romance.
·
The closing shot of the film is both of them
lying on the bed looking happy with one another, this suggests that all the
gestures and things that have happened between the two made it correct for us
to assume that a romance was brewing between them.
Title: The Plotters
Director: The Guerrier
Brothers
Year
Produced: 2012
Watched on: Virgin
Media Shorts
‘The Plotters’ is directed by the Guerrier
brothers with writer Simon and director Thomas. The short film was produced in
2012. I found short film on Virgin Media Shorts.
In summary, the film is based on the moments
when Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators plot to blow up the Houses of
Parliament. The film’s description of the synopsis is “Remember, remember… who
are you again?” This fits in with the story line as while they’re having their
discussion they cannot decide on who is going to ignite the gun powder due to
the confusion of which mean is the explosives expert as many of them have the
same forename.
Representation
·
We can see straight away in the opening of the
film through mise en scene that it is set a long time ago, we can see this from
the housing, it looks very dated. Additionally the date is presented in the
opening, so as well as us being able to tell that it’s set in the past, it
tells us so it’s more clear.
·
Also, a subtitle comes up and displays the
sentence ‘London, November 1605’. This is an important message as it tells us
that it’s set in London, not everyone knows the story of Guy Fawkes and some
people may also not know where the houses of parliament are so it’s good that
it’s told us it’s set in London, also as this was set around 400 years ago,
London has changed greatly and it’s a cool feature to be able to see what
London looked like back then.
·
The group of men look to be somewhere between
their 20’s and 30’s. The fact that they are all dressed similarly plays a big
role in the comedic part of the film, but it’s also a keen factor in what
people in the 17th century actually dressed like.
·
The main character ‘Guy’ is represented as a
dominant male in the film, and seems to appear very controlling, so therefore
is the leader of the group.
·
Additionally he also has the most dialogue and
is sitting at the head of the table which is presenting him as the
important/main character.
·
The other men are portrayed to be rather silly
and clueless; it’s as if Guy has gathered an entourage of morons. Between the
men, they cannot remember which one of them is the explosives expert, and this
is where the comedy ensues.
Narrative
·
The chronology of the film is linear as they
eventually come to a decision of who will do the explosives (Guy).
·
The effect of the narrative being linear is
that the spectator will want to know who/what is going to happen in the end.
This is effective as it intrigues the spectator. The film would not make sense
to the spectator if it was non-linear as it would have to explain why/ and how
the houses of parliament has been blown up, in which it is doing so with the
linear narrative.
Genre
·
The film that they have made is clearly a
Comedy. The creators have enforced this genre with the use of stereotypical
elements. For example, in the 1600’s the men were all expected to have long
hair and beards and moustaches, and in this film some of which are very
exaggerated to enhance the stereotypical image. (the man on the right in the
screenshot)
·
Another way that comedy is pushed is that the
men are all acting seamlessly dumb, and again, stereotypically the education
that they received in the 1600’s would not have been very good, and this then
pushes the fact that they would not have been very bright to think they were to
have gotten away with blowing up the houses of parliament back then.
·
Neale (1980) believed genre relied on the
“difference in repetition” – i.e. recognition of familiar elements and in the
way those elements might be orchestrated in an unfamiliar fashion or in the way
that unfamiliar elements might be introduced.
·
In Neale’s case, this short film fits that
theory very well as the genre of the film has been created through a familiar
element that we all will know, and has based the humour among
our knowledge
that we already have about the situation.
Audience
·
I found this film in the 2012 shortlist on
Virgin Media Shorts. It mentions that the films are ‘Championing undiscovered
talent’. This is suggesting that the film may well be for new film developers
such as students who are interested in not only watching the film, but the
development and processes involved with making the film. I feel that although
it is on this website, you may also expect others, for example, who are
interested in events from history as it is about a large historic event, with a
humorous feel to it, which could be quite enjoyable due to the shared knowledge
between the film and the audience.
·
For an age range I would say that this film is
suited more towards 16+ years old, again, people under the years of 16 will be
able to enjoy it but as a generalisation I would say that 16 is a good base
year. The film is based on the Guy Fawkes events and I thought it was very
amusing, I understood it and enjoyed it throughout. We as an audience, with
shared knowledge, already assume what the story is about; set in the 1600’s,
main character is called ‘Guy’ (Guy Fawkes) and the conversation topic of
explosives. So we as an audience 17+ understand. However, this may not be the
same situation with the younger demographic so I feel it is aimed at a teenage
audience and above. Additionally, this
film could also suit any gender as an audience.
·
This short film is very new, so therefore is
has not been screened anywhere else, however it has been entered to win ‘Virgin
Media Shorts 2012 People’s Choice Award.
·
The production company for this short film is
the Guerrier brothers - http://guerrierbrothers.com/. With Simon being the writer and Thomas being
the director.
·
The Guerrier brothers’ short films are
described as combining strong, character-led storytelling with visually
arresting imagery. The result is a perfect blend of intelligent, witty,
stylish, drama.
·
Other short films that they have produced are
‘Now Playing’, ‘Rode Trip’ and ‘Revealing Diary’. All of which can be seen here
- http://www.irresistiblefilms.com/directors/guerrier-brothers
Media Language
·
I find this shot very interesting as without
even showing what has happened in the narrative you can straight away see what
has happened. It does not even show Guy trying to detonate the explosives; it
jumps straight to him being hung up by his wrists to show that he (in his dumb
mind) has failed his master plan. There is also a very clear lighting change,
when he was more in power his face was a lot more vibrant, now he is hanging
from cuffs he seems to be drained of all energy and enthusiasm.
·
With the use of the zoom into his face, and
straight away zooming out in a different location this creates a feeling of the
capture being very quick and it has taken no time for him to get caught. This
again, draws up the conclusion and representation that he is not very bright.
·
It’s also interesting to look at the fact that
there are only ever close ups on 4 of the men, with there being 8 in total. Guy
is the main attraction and then the others are merely brushed over. I think this is evident to further construct
the image of all people back in the 1600’s all looking similar and the
characters that are shown easily represent the ones that have not been shown.
Title: A Deafening Story
Director: Matthew Lightstone
Year
Produced: 2012
Watched on: VirginMedia Shorts
Synopsis
Some things given to us we take for granted. We follow a young man named Mike who is ecstatic that he is able to hear, every small noise from the tremble of his feet to the sounds of birds in the sky, blissfully unaware that he will be getting a very stark and harsh reality check. Shot on a Panasonic 371 Edited on FCP Graded on Colour
Representation & Media Language
In the short film 'A Deafening Story' the main issue being addressed is the male characters disability, which in this case is deafness. The plot consists of the male temporarily regaining the ability to use his ears whilst taking a trip to the shop.
The first shot we see is a mid shot of the male character in the centre of attention, he is walking inbetween a set of shops in a failry glum looking town, the noise we can hear is all distorted at first but thenhe stops and the distorted noise transforms into what a non-deaf person would be able to hear, in this instance it's a dog barking and the wind whisteling. As well as the diagetic sound we can hear we can also see distortion around the male character, it looks like the film has been shot with a very mild fish eye lens and effects have been added to make us try to feel what he is feeling with his loss of a sense.
As we see and hear that his hearing has returned to normal, the distorted effects and distorted sound have completely disappeared and he is now in touch with all his senses. The film maker makes it easier for us to connect with how he is feeling by the difference in the diagetic sound and clearing up the blurryness.
This shot is a lot more clear and we can see the look of confusion on his face, this shot is quickly zoomed into his face to let us see a more detailed close up of his shocked expression.
It is made quite clear that he is clutching at his ear as he has regained the ability to hear things again, as this close up shot developes we can see that he is very shocked and confused that he can now hear, looking around frantically as if he doesn't know what to do with himself. The setting and diagetic sounds we can hear back up the social realism that this short film is trying to portray, the film maker is trying to make us feel what a deaf person would be feeling if they had just regained the ability to hear, he is doing this by adding distortion to both the audio and video aspects of the film.
In terms of body language in the short, throughout the film the male character is constantly touching his ears and face, this is backing up the fact that he was previously deaf and is now able to hear normally.
After he realises he can hear again he starts to make his own noises to reinforce the fact that he can hear and to make it clear to himself that he is not just imagining it, from this his facial expression is in complete disbelief, he has no idea how he can hear and is now testing out a whole lot of sounds, he also occasionally makes some quiet laughing sounds which he is then shocked by that he can actually hear.
As the male character comes to terms with his new found ability to hear, we see a mid-long shot of him walking towards a shop with a very fragile step, everything that he is hearing seems to intrigue him and make him exctied, even noises that to people who have normal hearing don't even notice.
As the male character enters the shop door a high pitched, diagetic sound plays that makes the visual aspect of the film distort. The male character shares an eye line match with the female assistant in the shop who is paying no attention to the shop and is just reading a magazine. Whilst in the shop the male character seems to enjoy touching the products as he can hear every noise they make, there is a close up of a chocolate bar and very loud diagetic rustling noises.
As the male character wonders up to the counter to pay for the chocolate bar he talks to the woman and says 6 sentences before the assistant responds. To me, this is interesting as he gets agitated by the woman not responding to him, I'm not sure why she doesn't respond to him but throughout his whole life (considering he has been deaf for a while) people probably have had the same troubles when trying to talk to him, and within 20 seconds he gets angry because someone isn't listening to him. When the woman eventually talks, she shouts to complete his sentense, after shouting the mans hearing appears to disappear, completely vanish and back come the distorted noises he is all so used to hearing.
This is the moment the male loses his hearing ability, it is a mid shot and we can clearly see that his facial expression is shocked and upset as he has just lost his ability to hear after only just gaining it.
We can see that the girl is typically lower class from what the she is wearing, her attitude to work, the way she responds to the customer and her job situation.
Narative
In the film there doesn't appear to be much of a story, all we know is that he suffers from a hearing disability and momentarily gets his hearing back. The short film contains a linear plot, he starts off deaf, becomes able to hear and then returns to being deaf again, although time passes he returns to the state that we first met him in. There seems to be a strong message of appreciating what you have because you may never know when it will disappear, as in this film he regains the ability to hear only to lose it possibly because of a petty outburst of anger at the shopping assistant.
Genre
On the page of 'A Deagening Story' on Virgin Media Shorts, the film is labeled as a Drama and I would have to agree with this only because I cannot think of any other genre for this film to fit under, the only thing I could fit it into would be that it could be an advert to raise awareness. Having said this, it is still rather dramatic as there is an absurd event that takes place (him regaining the ability to be able to hear), the genre of drama is further backed up by a little argument taking place which then leads to another important event of him losing his hearing again. Although this doesn't fit in with the normality of TV and Film dramas, it still fits the genre. The film also tries to push the fact that being deaf is not an easy thing and sympothy should be given, also not taking your senses for granted.
Audience
As with the majority of the films of Virgin Media Shorts, the film attracts the age range of 18 to 30. It will attract a whole range of watchers from students to asprining film makers.
It could also be said that the Audience it's aiming for is one that is needing to be informed about deafness, the film could be used as an advertisement for hearing disabilities or just used to inform people on the difficulties that deaf people face.
This film has not been awarded any awards.
Title: A fter School Then
Director: Duane Valentino
Year
Produced: 2012
Watched on: Virgin Media Shorts
Synopsis
School can be a tough place at times and for our reluctant hero, it's about to get a lot more tougher. If only he had a help in hand...
Representation & Media Language
From the first shot of the film we see a mid shot of two school boys standing against a wall dressed in their school uniforms, this enables us to have a rough idea of their age straight away. We can also hear their accent which sounds to me like an East London accent, this, along with their clothing and location enables us to make a guess at their class which to me seems to be that they will come from a working class family.
This is then followed by the two main characters walking past talking about the fight, this is typical of a working class teenager, also the aggresive attitude talking towards the group of girls telling them to 'shut up' backs up their working class apperance.
In the short we see that neither of the male teens want to fight, this goes against the normalities of media conventions as the male representation is prodominantly stronger and want to fight to prove their worth. I'd say the representations of masculinity and femininity are very modern in this short as the male doesn't fight but the female does. This isn't the normal convention for a film that involves males, females and fighting.
When the male character is actually faced with the fight scene, it is very child like, there are two groups of boys and there are girls chanting 'Fight, fight, fight, fight'. This reinforces the fact that the two boys are still only young and probably shouldn't be fighting. The young male tries to handle the situation in a very traditional way, trying to talk his way out of the fight, trying to avoid the fight. But when this doesn't go to plan his younger(?) sister is the one to step in and break everything up.
The main female character in the film challenges the normal conventions as she is the one who ends up in the fight and winning it, this goes against the normal female who conventionally is the one who needs to be rescued, this female portrays traditionally very unladylike attributes which enable her to be the perfect actor for this scene. This scene also has a low angle facing up at the girl who just interupted and put an end to the fight to save her brother, this goes against the normal media conventions as it is showing the female character to be the dominant one, not a male.
The majority of shots in the short are eye level and there is a very long two shot throughout, at first showing the two males preparing for the fight ahead, then at the end to show both the males fighting. There are also a few point of view shots which help the viewer feel emerced in the action.
Narrative
The film contains a linear narrative as it has a start - them talking about the fight, a middle - the confrontation and an end - the actual fight and twist.
Todorov's theory of classic narrative could be easily applied to this fight, the first equilibrium being the build up to the fight, then there is the disruption of the actual fight, followed by the new equilibrium of after the fight when we find out that the sister ended the fight which was unexpected. Also, Claude Levi-Strauss' theory can be applied where the main character of the male is good and the other male who wants to fight him is the evil villain.
Genre
Stated on the page on Virgin Media Shorts, this film is infact a comedy, and quite rightly so. The unexpected twist at the end backs up the fact that it's a comedy. Before the twist at the end it could be thought to be a drama as there is no comedic value in it, but after the clever ending, with help of the editing and sound we see that the boy wasn't involved in the fight as the sister took charge and ended the fight. Also, the last line that the male character says to the female character was 'I could have had him sis' was very funny and added great comedic value.
Audience
To me this film would appeal to a younger audience than the rest of the films that I have analysed, I think an age range of around 12-17 would appreciate the film most, but of course everyone has their own taste so it could be for anyone. It's easier for people the same age as the characters in the film to relate to what is actually happeneing and the matters and issues raised throughout. It will also appeal to students like myself and potential aspiring film makers may enjoy it.
Good work Harrison - all 4 here.
ReplyDeleteGood strong analysis, with reference to theory.
ReplyDelete