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Reflective Analysis (Feedback)

After our short film pitch, we've decided to change and improve a few factors when producing our short upon receiving helpful feedback from the audience.

Setting:
Initially the story is set in the late 70's / early 80's however as expected, it would be difficult to reconstruct our location with props found around those eras. Also, it would be difficult to write a script revolving around the political protests at the time without being historically incorrect. Therefore we have decided to change our setting to the modern era, basing the protest on the 2010 UK students protest. The script will probably be easier to write as it is more relatable to us as students.

Narrative:
We've been told that our short didn't really have a narrative and I agree. Initially the story surrounds 4 characters who are getting ready to join a protest as they make a poster, which isn't really plot-driven. Therefore we've decided to create a conflict between two central characters and have a binary opposition. One of them will be shy, timid and anti-protest whereas the other character will be outspoken, headstrong and pro-protest. With this, we could have conflicts between characters that will definitely add more to the story.

Script:
Originally, in the story we find our characters talking about their views and opinions on why they are joining the political protest. But this is too mundane and tedious therefore I had an idea that instead of basing their dialogue on political views, we could be basing the story on peer pressure but with the protest as the trigger for this i.e. "Jane" who doesn't want to join the protest is being pressured by her friend to join resulting a conflict between the two. I find this subject more relatable to our age group and will definitely be more interesting to watch than two people talking about politics.

Short Film Pitch - Feedback Video

A2 Short Film Media Pitch

Among Giants (Reflective Analysis)

Among Giants (Textual Analysis)

Produced by Rainhouse Cinema, Among Giants is a short documentary film which tells the story of an environmental activist, "Farmer", who tree-sits to protect a grove of old-growth redwood trees in northern California from clearcutting. It was created to bring awareness to the issue of clearcutting and those who work to stop it.

Mise-en-scene

The use of setting, costumes and decor in this short film illustrates the audience of a simple structured informative film of a man's struggle to save the forest. The trees and plants encapsulates what the film is all about - nature. Therefore there is no question why it uses natural high key lighting, although in most cases observational documentaries often use natural lighting. We are also immediately drawn to objects such as the climbing gears, cooking materials and the tent which tells the audience that the man had been living up on a tree.

Cinematography

It mainly uses unobtrusive camerawork. By maintaining the observational mode, the director allowed the subject to forget the presence of the camera and behave more naturally, thereby letting the audience get a better sense of how he really feels about the forest. Most shots are also shown in close-ups with shallow depths of field which direct the viewer's attention and focus on the beauty of nature and also emphasize "Farmer's" expressions. It also used some low angle shots accentuating the heights of the trees which "Farmer" climbs. It can also connote to the strength and stability of nature but poses an ironic element as these trees are in risk of being cut down. As the short climaxes, we see aerial camera angles juxtaposing both the beauty of the existing forestland with the elegiac destruction of logged areas.

Editing

It consists of minimal editing; it immediately straight cuts to still shots of close-ups with shallow depth of fields which almost look like montage of natural landscape photographs. This adds to the slow pace of the short which can also reinforce the prolonged and endured struggle of "Farmer" living up a tree for three years to make a stand about clearcutting of trees. It also used texts to informative texts to educate the viewers on clearcutting.

Sound

The short exists almost entirely without a musical score (only introduces a diegetic background music as it climaxes), opting instead for the ambient sounds of the forest to comprise the soundtrack. The result is serene, practically mediative. The radio at the beginning aids authenticity of the situation giving the audience information about the conservation of the forest and "Farmer's" voice-over gives us his personal insight of his beliefs.

Narrative Techniques (Part 3/3)

Narration (Voice-over)
This is a narrative technique wherein a voice (non-diegetic) is used over images shown on the screen. Narrators can be either an omniscient, disembodied person that sees all, or they can be characters that exist in the world of the movie, sometimes narrating their own story, sometimes narrating others’ stories.




This short film also uses voice-overs monologues by both the father and son. The first monologue done by the son gives an obvious foreshadowing as he tells the audience that "we've always known that our relationship had been fated from the beginning..to end in some bloody reckoning", not only does this foreshadow what is about to happen, it also tells us about their relationship, that they have been in discord throughout their lives. We already know of the father's cynical view of the world and his hatred for his son, however, his voice-over gives the audience a hint that maybe he doesn't hate him as much as he claims it to be. He states "for the first time in my life, I recognized clearly where I'd seen this before" (referring to his son as he gazes upon him lying on the ground). This tells us that perhaps he had seen his younger self in his son, the dreamer who hopes to venture in the outside world. He sacrifices himself at the end of the video so that his son could be freed from him and their house which ties them down.

Narrative Techniques (Part 2/3)

Flashback
The purpose of flashback is to either move the story forward or reveal information about the character. Flashbacks can be used for any number of reasons but its primary purpose is to bridge time, place and action to reveal a past emotional event or physical conflict that affects the character. Sometimes, it gives insight and understanding into a character's behavior or solves a past mystery. A flashback can also be used to reveal why an event happened, or how it happened, or possibly flashforward to an event that may or may not happen in the near future.

will by Eusong Lee is a powerful animated short film about the struggle of a girl dealing the with loss of her father due to the 9/11 incident. The yo-yo giver by her dad acts a bridge to the present day and the flashback to the father but most importantly, later on we see that it mirrors her father falling out the window of the tower. A yo-yo however can be pulled back up, unlike her dad's circumstances. The short also effectively used colours to differentiate between the two timelines: orange tones for the dad (to represent the fiery destruction of the tower) and greens and browns for the girl.

Binary opposites
Binary means a combination of two things, a pair or duality. Opposition, on the other hand means the act of strongly disagreeing with somebody or something; especially with the aim of presenting something from happening. So, binary opposition refers to two opposite things but interrelated or interconnected with each other. In fact the one depends on the other. These exact opposites will often create conflict between characters that will help move the plot forward. The usual example of binary opposite in a film will be a hero and a villain.



The Terms by Jason Lamotte is an award-winning dark comedy short film. A man  father declares that he's going to shoot his son dead after he learns that he set their house on fire but offers him an arrangement: a fifty yard head start and a single bullet in the chamber. This short film displays a good example of binary oppositions: father and son, dreams and reality. The son thinks "it's time they up roots and move on", away from their house whereas the father is "too old for optimism". There is this conflict between youthful dreams and cynical resignation which catalyses sad consequences.

Narrative Techniques (Part 1/3)

Cinematic techniques such as the choice of shot, scene transition, and camera movement, can greatly influence the structure and narrative of a short film. These include technique such as montage, foreshadowing,  flashback, binary opposites, and voice-overs.

 Montage In filmmaking, a montage is an editing technique in which shots are juxtaposed in an often fast-paced fashion that compresses time and conveys a lot of information in a relatively short period. Montages cannot create strong emotions. Therefore they are not used to make the audience feel, rather they make the audience know. Montages inform. For this reason, it is often said that characters cannot fall in love during montages. The courtship and romance would be too bland or dull. However, the short film Roshambo, by boho fashion retailer, Free People proves otherwise.

Roshambo is another name for the rock-paper-scissors game. The game itself is like an inside joke or secret between the couple and is sweetly woven throughout the video. The camerawork is mostly hand-held, this highlights the intense physical interactions between the couple. Also it shows a lot of close-ups shot with a wide aperture enabling the audience to focus more on the couple's expressions and actions without being distracted by the background. It is mostly shot at night, often dark due to natural lighting but this also accentuates the intimacy. Finally, the non-diegetic background music fits perfectly as its upbeat sound adds more to the playful nature of the two.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a literary tool filmmakers adapt to provide early clues about where the plot is headed. It is a narrative technique that, when used skilfully, gets viewers involved and thinking about the plot unfolding before them because they are picking up hints about what may soon happen.

Skhizein by French animator Jérémy Clapin is a short which tells the story of a man called Henry who comes face to face with a meteorite, the aftermath of which causes him to exist exactly 91cm from himself. In practice this means that when he sits down he looks as though he is floating in the air because his visual presence is 91 cm away from the chair itself.

The title itself provides a foreshadowing of the short film. The word “skhizein” is German for “split.” There is one obvious relation to the video – Henry literally splits into two parts. However, “skhizein” also happens to be the first part of the word “schizophrenia,” schizophrenia being a personality disorder. Henry seems to be the only person who realizes that he has been split. He writes out a blueprint of his house, he makes a make-shift desk at work, and he frequently mentions that he’s been shifted over by 91 centimeters. This could mean that Henry being hit by a meteorite is a metaphor for Henry developing schizophrenia. Schizophrenia also tends to develop over an extended period of time, which is shown in the film by Henry getting hit by multiple meteorites throughout the course of the video. Additionally, social isolation is a defining symptom of schizophrenia. Towards the end of the video, Henry begins to shut himself off from the world – he ignores both his mother and his uncle.

Intercom (Reflective Analysis)

Analysis of Intercom short film

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