Short Film Text Analysis

Love Me or Leave Me Alone-Basic Notes

Love Me or Leave Me Alone-Basic Analysis Notes

Dir: Duane Hopkins

Year: 2003

Location: West Midlands

Length: 15 Mins

Genre: Drama/Social Realism

·         First shot-Medium/Close up-To Camera shot of boy—Eye level, show’s he is 100% sure of his decision to spit on the girl.

·         We see the shot again at the end of the film-Symmetry between the beginning and ending shots. Why?

·         Jump-cut from him spitting to the shot of the girl-shows a disconnection between of the two characters. We get and Emotional and intellectual understanding of this.

·         Girl’s eyes are always in and out of the frame.

·         High angle her, maybe to suggest more of the male characters dominance-Shows his control of the situation at this point.

·         Strong representation of age-Immature, male response/actions.

·         Lots of jump cuts use, shows the girl’s emotional turmoil.

·         Fast editorial pace, implies the violence/ stress and frantic nature of the scene.

·         This emphasises the violent, animalistic teenage relationship-Lack of maturity.

·         Scene of confrontation between the two-hand held camera, swinging from side to side. This emulates the disorientation and sense of unease between the two.

·         Wide/Long shot shows the two apart, with a wide backdrop-shows divide and vulnerability of the two individuals and their relationship.

·         Boy goes into barn/seating area-pitch black-safe haven.

·         When he’s sitting down-wide/medium, to camera shot, however he has changed since the beginning to camera shot: hunched, vulnerable and uncomfortable. This shows his short lived burst of power at the beginning of the scene.

·         He is now isolated due to his behaviour.

·         Wide shot of the girl afterwards mimics his isolation.

·         Close up/medium of boy to show gesture-head falling down, show’s his regret and remorse.

·         Close up of girl. Girl is framed at the front of the shot-faint outline of the boy. This again show’s how he’s animalised, alone in the darkness. She feels hurt.

·         This is emphasised by the proxemics,

·         Photographic shot-Pronounces the emptiness of their relationship even more.

·         They have no understanding of each other and what’s going on between them.

·         Accurate representation of year 10’s (14 and a half to 15 year olds)?

·         We are shown another defined character code from the boy. His hands into the eyes. This show’s his embarrassment, esteem and self frustration.

·         Quick cut as the girl enters where he is and picks up the bag.

·         Shows a decisive, snap reaction- She shows (tries to?) to control, however she has a sense of being lost.

·         Shot from boy’s point of view looking outside: Pitch black where he is,, then bright outside. It shows how black and white his and maybe her outlook is. They see things in simple terms.

·         The shakiness of the the camera shows the underlying edginess and uncertain of what has just occurred.

The Most Beautiful Man in the World-Basic Notes

The Most Beautiful Man in the World

Dir: Alicia Duffy

Year: 2002

Location:  West Midlands

Length: 6 Minutes
Genre: Social Realism/Drama

Initial Notes

Camera:

·         Pan/Tilt up from girl’s legs to top of body, maybe suggestive, foreshadowing the sense of the girl maybe acting older than she is.

·         Medium/Wide shot of the girl and the dog, well lit room.

·         Cuts back to this shot with the mum also partly in the shot

·         It cuts to wide shot of the room; Old carpet, toys and things scattered around.

·         Girl is positioned in the middle of the frame, looking out. Maybe she wants to get out/escapes. Feels caged in?

·         Wide shot of the whole Street, massive open space, houses and fence tower over her. She feels free however may be vulnerable.

·         Over shoulder/Medium shot tracking through the field.

·         Quick cuts-fast editorial pace.

·         Tracking, Medium/Close up shot of her hand.

·         Shot from underwater is positioned high up in the frame.

·         Close up/medium of the man in the field.

·         Tracking shot whilst tilting up follows the man’s hand movement. We get sense of ambiguity and unease. Who is he?

·         Shot down the stairs to the girl-Narrow/closed off. Girl at the bottom of the stairs.

·         End shot is a close up. It shows the girl upset, maybe in a strop.

·         Camera constantly follows the movement of the girl.

·         Shots of man, wide stretching field in the background.  

Shape

·         Area’s defined by their edges within the piece.

·         In-between the pylons- the girl looks small-boxed in. This is a reoccurring representation.

·         Unfocused so it is mainly her we are drawn to.

Camera/Shape

·         At the beginning of the film we see equilibrium (In the house, small/tight shots, again emphasising this caged in lifestyle we see of the girl’s home life).

·         We the diseqilibrium outside. However at some points we see her as being more uncomfortable and maybe free when she is out of the house and she finds the man.

·         So maybe it is more disequilibrium/equilibrium/disequilibrium rather than other way round.

Camera/representation

·         Girl acts more grown up than she is the initial pan and tilt shot of the belly represents this.

·         Confined/trapped-slow and boring days at home, we again see this as she’s at the fence. Fence representing jail bars.

·         Shots inside the house emphasis, we see some light in the house, but overall they are grainy, low key shots. Maybe show the dim/ empty lifestyle. Maybe empty due to the lack of a father figure?

·         The outside shots are spacious and ongoing.

Camera/narrative/story

·         Pan/tilt shows girl as more grown up.

·         Intimate setting.

·         Caged atmosphere

·         Outside is very open, which would maybe give a sense of vulnerability, however this is contrasting due to how the home represented.

·         The man, first time we see him he is topless , shown in a close up/medium shot. This is maybe shocking due to the context.

·         Shots show intimacy –ambiguity.

·         Tracking shot of hand, maybe seems beautiful.

Notes/background

·         The film was originally a short channel commission.

·         Funded by the UK Film council and France’s main funding body: CNN.

·         The project paired up British and French film makers making two different films with a similar idea.

·         Very little/minimum dialogue in the film.

·         It had won awards and had various nominations.

·         In 1997 Duffy went to the National Film & Television school.

·         ‘With short films, you have to show quite big things with tiny gestures. But small moments collectively can add to up to something greater.’ Quote from Duffy.  

·         The film encourages us to reflect on what questions we should be asking ourselves. 

AAbout a Girl-Basic Notes

About a Girl –Basic Analysis notes

Dir: Brian Purcieval

Date: 2001

Location: Industrial part of Manchester

Length: 9 Minutes

Background/Initial notes

·         Starts with  a silhouetted figure of a girl dancing in a long grassy field. This already gives a sense of ambiguity to the film

·         It then cuts to the girl (we presume) in a industrial looking estate, in a medium shot, in a documentary/interview style.  It almost fits the style of a celebrity interview, which maybe foreshadows the girl’s dreams or ambitions.

·         White, teenage girl, divorced parents.

·         Close group of friends-she is the leader/head of the group.

·         Working –middle class

·          She has a dream, maybe wants to get away?

·         Age is restricting her, she isn’t allowed her own way or to make a decision.

·         Age is represented; asking one thing from one parent when one has said no.

·         Dim, dull lighting-High angle shots.

·         Long tracking shots.

·         Talking about her aspirations, where she wants to go.

·         Mis En Scene-Girl’s costume: Higher/middle class, more expensive brands, however due to the how the character and the area is shown we assume she is lower/working class, so we may assume the clothes are copies.

·         Form- Walking along the river-Sharp edgy cutting when looking back on events.

·         Spacious shots-emptiness?

·         Neglect: Sitting on the bench outside the pub listening to music on her phone.

·         Use of ‘Bless’ in the girl’s dialogue in the scene, shows how she sees herself as more mature then maybe she is, but how maybe she is actually lonely due to the neglect from her father.

·         Structure: Non linear-The story goes backwards and forwards. It could be seen as a 3 act structure with flashback.

Shot by Shot analysis

·         Starting with a cut in. We witness a small part of a problematic life.

·         Set in the field, it isn’t the industrial landscape of Manchester, maybe it’s hear dream setting, an escape. However she can’t have this due to the lack of opportunities she is given.

·         Image of the silhouette- striking visual with the backdrop of the field.  

·         It’s show from a low angle- Tall, cowering. This is contradictory as she’s still a silhouette.

·         This maybe represents a lack of power.

·         Song at the beginning that the girl is dancing to; ‘Stronger’ by Britney Spears, gives a sense of irony and foreshadows the multilayered story and lifestyle of the protagonist.

·         We cut from her singing and dancing to the industrial estate. This maybe shows a cut back to reality.

·         The narrative revolves around the girl in a documentary style. Maybe some is following her journey.

·         This ties in and follows the genre of Social Realism. As it makes it more realistic for us as an audience.

·         Delivery of dialogue is slightly poetic with the use of rhyme-This starts to show her character.

·         Close up of her behind railings. Shows her being caged in/locked up.

·         Medium/Wide shot of her walking with her mum and sister shows stereotypical packed/tight area-maybe council houses. Tower/flat blocks in the background and the gas holder add to the stereotypical image.

·         When the camera is tracking the girl we see broken, dilapidated and ruined buildings. This maybe connotes the lives of the people in the narrative.

·         The use of ‘I’m not a kid, I’m 13 years old’ in the girl’s dialogue shows she is trying to prove to her dad she can look after herself.

·         In the cafe: Red chairs/Coke can give positive, warm suggestions which are very different to what’s occurring.

·         Intercut Monologue.-We continue to see the broken down landscapes during the film.

·         Quote: “Her stories become more and more underlines by an uncomfortable feeling that the gravity of her experiences does not match her flippant style”.

·         Mis En Scene: Sloppy graffiti, broken roofs, peeling paint.

·         At the football match, she’s hanging on/waiting for her dad. She wants more contact with him, to engage with him and have a relationship.

·         Shot to her on the bench.  Zoom and tilt down, looking down. Shows her vulnerability and accentuates her lifestyle/Problems.

·         It comes from a grown up scene, then into her being in a vulnerable, neglected state of mind.

·         Use of sound mixing and sound-scape help to represent her feelings and the situation going on in the scene/shot.

·         On the bus shot (s)-warm colour pallet, shows she’s happy and comfortable with her friends.

·         Their sharing the dream. It’s all they have to hang onto?

·         Use of ‘organise’, shows she’s in control of the situation-Ironic. Here she has the highest level of importance compared to her home life.

·         In the shop she’s playing around with the woman in the shop, she likes the control and the power.

·         Walking along the canal: Trolleys, rubbish, the canal is a general dumping ground, maybe e symbol of trash/disrespect.

·         Sections when the girl is with the dad, she asks her questions but never gets an answer. 

Gasman-Basic notes

Gasman

Dir: Lynne Ramsay

Year: 1998

Location: Glasgow

Length: 15 minutes

Genre: Social Realism

Initial notes (first viewing)

·         First shot-Camera in close up.

·         Sound-‘Let it Snow’, playing on tinny sounding transistor radio.

·         Camera following movement of the shoe polish.

·         Mis En Scene-very 70’s style carpet, gives cool/cold colour pallet-colour psychology going on.

·         Representing economic class

·         Kids running round

·         Mother swearing-shows lack of control over the situation.

·         Regional identity shown through the accent-Glasgow.

·         Close up   

·         Toy car-salt being poured in: shows imperfection, boredom, tedium. Maybe lack of respect?

·         Salt: poor representative of snow.

·         Sound-grating salt in the wheels represents grating/gritty lifestyle of Glasgow in the 70’s.

·         Suit in bag-only used on special occasions-can’t afford to be used all the time-pedestalled-use of camera angle.

·         Over shoulder shot   

·         Sense of ambiguity.

·         We’re looking at him and he doesn’t know.

·         Adds to intimacy.

·         Coffee and cigarettes show’s he’s not educated about health.

·         Sound emphasises intimacy along with the lighting.

·         Swift movements.

·         Car-movement of child shows boredom

·         It’s about 2:30 into the film until we see a human face. 

Soft - Analysis

Short Film Analysis – Soft

The Drama/Social Realistic short ‘Soft’ was written and director by Simon Ellis and produced by Jane hooks. The film was released in 2007. The film shows the story of a young teenager who gets into a fight with the local gang at school. The teenager’s father then gets into trouble with the gang on his way to local corner shop, meaning the gang follow him back to his home and begin to taunt him and vandalise his house. It portrays the fear of confrontation many people often in have modern day and everyday society and shows the extreme that school bullying can lead to.

Soft was commissioned by Film4 and also funded through the ‘Cinema Extreme’ scheme from the UK Film Council. Since 2007 the film won over thirty eight awards from festivals such as a BAFTA, Best Short Film at the British Independent Film awards and the internation Jury prize at Sundance Film Festival. Since 2007 Simon Ellis has gone on to direct a feature film which was nominated for Rotterdam International film festival’s Tiger award.

‘Soft ‘portrays a 21^st century story of social dilemma and the negative pitfalls of youth culture. The film explores the issues of a father/son relationship and the problems and decisions made when trying to be a correct role model.

The film starts with diagetic sound of shouting over simple black and white credits. This then quickly cuts to a medium/tracking shot in the style of a low quality camera phone, which straight away  sets a fast pace and mood for the film as well as indicating a younger/teenage audience. The handheld shot shows a group of teenagers in school uniform running down a long, scruffy looking alley way whilst shouting the words ‘Hurry up’, signalling some sort of commotion or action within the scene. As the group come to the end of alley, the shot zooms into a close up of two boys dressed in tracksuits, one dressed all in white and the other  in school trousers with his hood up. The two boys are aggressively holding a younger looking boy in a school uniform up against a wall whilst shoving and punching him. The says to the audience that the scene is depicting a ‘happy slap’, which represents a certain sort of teenage culture, foreshadowing the sort of themes and issues to come in the film. The closed in, squashed frame of the shot could represent the confined and vulnerable situation for the younger school boy, showing the fact he’s powerless in the fight. 

After this scene the camera then cuts to black, then a wider, bird’s eye view shot of a street, in a higher definition quality picture. This shot continues for about 20-30 seconds, showing a car pulling, with a man exiting and then entering in to a house. This then cuts to a medium shot inside of the house showing footsteps down a tight hallway then going back into a bedroom and the man entering the house. The shot contrasts in proxcemics, showing the thin, narrow staircase rather than spacious wide shot of the whole street. The shot also lasts for around 10 seconds, establishing quite a slow editorial pace.

Youth

Film: Youth

Director: Jane Linfoot

Year:2007

Duration: 20 minutes 

Youth is a short film, directed and written by Jane Linfoot. The film is separated into three different sections, telling three different stories of young/adolescent life. For this analysis I focus on the third section, which shows the story of three school boy’s on a bus journey home in the outskirts of London.

The film starts with a bird’s eye view shot which tilts up to show three teenage schoolboys, who look around 15-16 years old board the bus. As they enter onto the top deck they pass a middle age looking man holding a child a child in his arms. As well as indicating the three boys as the protagonists for the film, we are straight away made wary of the other passengers on the bus. Similar to the other two stories in the film, the cold, naturalistic lighting along with the slightly grainy picture quality adds a gritty atmosphere from the start of the film, also fitting with the conventions of Social Realism. After this it cuts to a wide shot of the three boys on the back of the bus, which remains the setting for the whole film. This si common for a short film, as it tells the story through a physical journey as well as a mental journey for the characters. Due to the  style of costume: The scruffy uniforms, hoodies, ear rings etc,  a stereotypical image is starting to build up and represents a familiar image of ‘chav’ or ‘youth’ culture as the film would suggest. In addition as they get to the back of the bus they shout and swear to people outside from the back window.  

From the first few shots we already establish the aggressive nature of the boy in the middle of the three. When the camera first cuts to a mid/two shot of the tow black boys we see him positioned in the foreground of the frame and lower down in the shot, however even with this angle he remains the dominant character and over powers the over boy in the conversation. This begins to represent a want for power and control within the group of boys.  As an audience, we may start to see this character, as the leader of the group.

In the next shot we see the other member of the group, in the corner of the bus leaning forward in his seat. In the shot the leader of the group also begins to ask “How does this boy do this yeah?” which starts to raise the audiences suspicions as to what he’s doing. We then see a close up of a knife in the boy’s hand, which is slightly shocking due to it seeming like a fairly normal situation until this point. The boy spins the knife around in his hand and runs his fingers up and down the blade, signifying that the knife gives him a sense of authority and adds a sense of danger to his persona. However after the boy is asked to give the knife to the other two boys by the character in the hat, the camera focuses on  him being in the corner of the bus. The tight, enclosed proxemics portray the idea of the even though he has the knife, which he may see as a symbol of power or fear, he is the most isolated and vulnerable of the three boys. This relates to the idea that people say carrying a dangerous weapon such as knife makes you seem weaker and more of a ‘Coward’ which is a topic often discussed within the media.  In the shot, after the boy refuses to hand over the knife, the leader repeatedly asks the white boy “are you Rambo?” in which the white is constantly over whelmed by the questions and made completely incapable within the shot. This question “are you Rambo?” over and again shows the theme of hierarchy and dominance, which is often within groups and gangs, which is noticeable also in other short films such as “Antonio’s Breakfast" and “Soft”.

After this, the camera cuts to a medium/two shot of the two black boys, which eventually goes silent apart from the diagetic sound of the passengers and the noise from the bus. Then a group of a girls, slightly older , dressed in beautician’s uniforms, implying that they attend beauty school or college, sit down on the top deck. Along with the diagetic sound of the previous shot, this makes us aware of the passengers on the bus and the realism of the situation, making us think back to the knife and the possible consequences and risks of this.  It then cuts to handheld shot in which the leader of the group becomes engrossed with the girls, prompting the other boy to make fun and taunt him. Eventually the white boy remarks “Nah he’s gay” resulting in the two arguing. The camera is panning side to side, in a continuous handheld shot. This builds a intensity and a growing sense of unease between the three boys, making the audience still think about what’s going to happen. This atmosphere is emphasised by the constant movement of the bus, meaning that the shot the narrative and plot is always developing. The boy with the knife is once again shown as enclosed and maybe trapped by the use of space and proxcemics. The constant diagetic sound and the repetition of “Shut, shut up” from the boy in the hat also portrays the crescendo of pressure within the scene.

The white boy is then grabbed by the boy in the hat, down into a headlock and being pushed down by the other boy. The fact of it still being a handheld shot represents the frenzy of all three boys, which is all emphasised by the changing editorial pace and the speed of cuts, and shows the struggle of the whit eboy, as he continues to be pinned down. We then see the white boy from a high angled shot, still in a cramped confined space, which makes us think back to the vulnerability of his character, adn the lack of dominance he has had since the start of the film. A phone begins to ring which means the boy is released from the headlock. It cuts to a shakey, handheld close up of the white boy, making us see his disorientated state of mind at the time. As the camera cuts between the two other boys and him, the camera follows his arms down into his bag to reveal him bringing up an inhaler, which automatically signals asthma to us as an audience. This adds to the impact of the situation and continues to add pressure and seriousness to what’s happening. In addition due to the way that the inhaler was bring up by the boy, we assume that the other two characters do not of his condition, which we presume to be asthma.

After this series of shots we see the knife again, which could be for many different reasons, and due to the significance and symbolic nature of the inhaler, starts leading the audience to think something drastic could happen, building the gravity and seriousness of the situation. The camera then cuts to a passenger near the back of the bus, looking round at the three boys, with a nervous and suspicious expression. The occasional shots of the passengers reaffirm that the film is set in a public place and reminds the audience about the realistic nature of the situation, adding to the verisimilitude. It cuts to a medium shot in which the white boy is out of focus compared to the leader, maybe representing his reluctance towards the scene and again show’s his separation from the other characters. He’s then asked by the leader of the group to use his knife against the men as he leader says “you’re Rambo, so I’ll call him down here and you do him...Rambo”.. Again the repetition of Rambo comes back to the issue of gang mentality and the idea of having to prove yourself within these sorts of groups and lifestyles. We then start to see a look of panic and nervousness enter the boys face.

After the leader of the group attempts to attract the man’s attention by shouting out “guy with the problem, don’t ignore me” he picks up a can and violently throws it at him. The man looks round with a surprised angry look towards the boys. The leader of the group and the other boy move straight towards the window, separating the characters into groups; the two boys and the boy with the knife. The two boy’s look round and starting blaming the other character for throwing the can and saying things like “psycho!”. They turn and begin to look out the window which then draws the other boy’s attention towards them. As he gets up and walks over to the two boys then turn around and pull him back down, as the camera goes back into a frenzied, handheld style, reinforced by  a quickening editorial pace. As this happens, the man stands up and gets off the bus, with the diagetic sound of the boys still being heard. From this, it cuts back to a shot of the two boys putting a plastic bag over the white boy’s head. These immediately adds fear and panic into the scene for the audience, asweel as there being dramatic irony as we know of the boys condition, whereas we can are led to believe they don’t.

The camera then pans down to show the boy bringing out the knife. At this point the frenzy and unease that has built throughout the whole film reaches it’s pinnacle. This is also due to the jolly and jokey nature of the other two boy’s contrasting with the imagery on the screen. As the man reaches the end of the bus, he looks to the back of the bus which makes the audience wonder if he has noticed the knife, making the ending of the film more ambiguous. This is finally emphasised by a focus pulled shot of the empty can rolling down the bus, with all other diagetic sound fading out.