Required short films- Operator

 1st impression from the title- sci-fi, about a man doing a train job, ominous

Incredible acting, off-screen sound and action- keeps project low-budget, allows the spectator to imagine- engages them, incites possibly more fear 

Opening- diegetic sound, panning, CUs, shifting focus- disorientating- spectator immediately engaged

180 degree rule broken- operator transitions from just one in a row of many to the main character- slow dolly-in- attention drawn in, realisation, tension- CU- can see operator's expression

Very long take- realism, tension- cut when woman goes into fire- shift in mood

Gemma hangs up- long moment of silence- relief, shock- from CU to MS- moment to breathe

Required short films- tight jeans

 1st impression of title- comedy about teenage girl

Characterisation and dialogue:

Dialogue is written very realistically, comically, fast-paced and with realistic South London vernacular

Characterisation is clear- dumb one, smarter one ect. 

Characters wear different colours of the same hoodie and jeans uniform- part of the same social tribe- tight jeans kid and tight shirt man are part of different social tribes

Heavy subject matters- sexual politics, slavery and racism- discussed in a light-hearted way, in a mundane story and setting (shot on location)- more effective- mix of comic and thoughtful- "we basically populated this planet bruv", slavery's sexual component, white mother's tokenised mixed children

Very simple cinematography- mostly one long take in long shot, panning from side to side- transitions to CU when "that's why they made us slaves innit"- shows shocked expression of friends, conflict between their views 

Required short films- Slap

 First impressions from title- comedy about friendship

3 Act structure:

1. Connor defending Archie against the homophobes

2. Connor coming to the party dressed as a woman

3. Connor punching Archie 

3 boxing scenes which punctuate the story:

1. Establishing Connor's hobby and friend group dynamic

2. Archie has not shared Connor's secret, Connor does not want Lola
to know

3. Connor in mental turmoil, his friends are no longer there for him

Extremely good acting, realistic accents and vernacular, well-written script

Opening shot- CU on make-up and magazine cut out

Music- opening sequence- intimate, touching, switch to diegetic when Connor's dad calls to reflect the transition from calm, freeing experience to panic as the real world sets in

Mirrors- reoccurring
motif- who Connor presents himself as vs who he really is

• Suspended in the mirror in a moment of panic when his dad comes home
• 
• Looking in the mirror when revealing his hidden identity to Archie
• 
  
  
  
• Broken mirror = fractured identity 
• Looks in the mirror to find the courage to cross-dress to the party
  
• Bathroom- Connor is by himself in the mirror, with alsdk in reality
• Bathroom- Connor cowers over the mirror- ashamed of his identity, as if he is trying to hide himself, vertical lines  of tiles 'trap' him, sickly lighting reflects his mood

• 
  

Shaky camera at eye-level during boxing scene- viewer interpolated 

Jump cuts, rhythmic score, breaking the 4th wall as Connor puts on (and takes off) his dress- fractured identity- mix of boxing (masculine) and dancing (feminine), tension rising 

Archie gets attacked- framing makes Connor seem trapped and shadowy within his home, shadow reveals his double identity- his deception traps him and makes him into a worse person

Literally hiding from the light, society, his friend

Rock music, Connor centre-screen, low angle, tracking backwards, determined look- Connor appears powerful, brave,
spectator is rooting for him

Nina's party- walks into red light, in front of red balloons- danger, is alone in the frame while everyone else is in a group- isolation, vulnerability. People move into the frame from his POV- crowding around him- overwhelming, dangerous, impression that everyone is laughing at him. Slow-motion- emotional, shock, embarrassment, analysis of everyone's reaction. Gentle music plays as Connor spins- innocent, free, vulnerable

Diegetic sound when Connor is crying- realism, real world destroying him

Editing- shot takes of Connor, Archie, Lola as they confront each other- confusion, panic, continuity editing- follows rhythm of conversation

Metaphorically and literally steps into the darkness, away from society and friendship, taking the camera (us) with him. Buzzing noise increases in volume- increasing tension

Melancholy score plays while Connor punches his boxing mate- spectator understands that sadness is the cause of his anger

Required short films- Echo

 First impressions of title- friendship breakup, sad, flashbacks

Plot point 1- gets the call- we believe her

Plot point 2- gets out of the taxi- we question her

Plot point 3- "how did he know about dad"- real event

Reliving her trauma

Mise en Scene- beginning- red catches spectator's eye- red = injury, more attention to main character in turquoise 

Open ending- was the last phone call the real one? Why does she do this? What really happened?

Very good acting

Boy gets on bike and drives away, car drives up behind him- is the boy going to get into an accident? Boy that cried wolf situation?

Required short films- Over

 First impression of title- romantic breakup

Reverser chronology- "I make the viewer be the detective"- spectator is active in the creation of meaning

Opening shot- nighttime, pan at around eye-level- voyeuristic 

MS of flowers- 1st time we realise something bad has happened/death

Intercutting between the neighbourhood and evidence- ominous, mysterious

Lots of long takes, long shots- time to consider, calm, shorter shots feel especially chaotic, man falling from plane is especially shocking

Deep focus- democratic style- can see actions of the whole neighbourhood 

Lack of dialogue- serious tone, confusion

About a true event 

 

Required short films- The Arrival

1st impressions of the title- ominous, sci-fi

Cinematography- 1 shot, camera slowly inching forward (MS to CU), then backing away

Lighting- naturalistic until train sequence- significant moment of decision

Opening- behind a misted door

Blocking- couple, baby

Sound- baby crying, thunder, train 

Influenced by image of woman in coffee shop, documentary about motherhood 

Required short films- The Fly

 Required short films- The Fly

First impressions of title- sad, voyeuristic, ambiguous

Diegetic sound- car, fly, car horn, cuts to bank door- off-screen sound, police siren

Offscreen action- lower budget which seems high, imagination- suspense- lots of cutaways- tension inside and outside

only 1 line of dialogue

Starts with CU (rabbit's foot) to establishing shot

Mise-en-scene- watch often on show

Interesting, tense title sequence

Mask against fly, pull-focus

Slow motion air bag

Pace of editing increases with tension and anxiety 

Required short films- Ellington Kid

 The Ellington Kid (2012)

First impressions of the title- comedy, about a cool kid making a name for himself

What I like:

• Distinct aesthetic
• Smooth camera movements
• Easy to follow framing narrative- parallel time lines
• Effective and controlled violence
• Mixture of horror and comedy- bathos
• Realism- filmed on location
• Clean sound- almost all filmed on location
• Clear characters
• Soundtrack and slo motion to create tension
• Double twist 

Plot:

• Two teenagers in a kebab shop
• Nathan is telling a story to beefy 
• In the story the Ellington Kid is stabbed, and seeks refuge in the kebab shop
• The stabbers chase him into the kebab shop, trying to kill him
• The kebab shop owners lock the stabbers in the shop and there is a suggestion that they slaughter them
• Nathan claims to be joking but the ending is ambiguous

3-part structure 

The movie adheres to Syd Field's three-part structure. In the setup, Nathan and Beefy are introduced to us and Nathan starts telling the Ellington Kid story. 1- The Ellington Kid is stabbed and pursued into the kebab shop by the gang members. 2- The tension between the gang members and owners of the kebab shops. Nathan says "use your imagination", implying that there was a fight. 3- He then implies that the gang members were killed and turned into hamburgers (though he later dismisses this as a joke). This is corroborated when the camera pans to the kebab shop owner, who sharpens his knife and smiles.

The film opens and closes with knife sharpening

Opening CU on knife sharpening- attention grabbing and enigma-creating