Film Analysis'

Analyse 5 short films and write a brief analysis of how the film covers:

Narrative
characterisation
Editing
Visual Effects
Camera Work



72 KG - DRAMA


The narrative of this short film is  based around a homeless man begging on the street, another young man sees the response from the public (giving him small donations) and believes he can give the man a real purpose in life. Instead of giving the man money, he gives him a weighing scale which in turn gives him a job. Passers by then pay the homeless man to see their weight, meaning he no longer relies on the occasional donation. At the beginning of the film, the scene is set using Mise en scene, particularly costume and location to help the viewer make relation with the character of the homeless man - we are immediately made to feel emotional for the character as he looks frail and cold, wearing  little clothing and with uncut hair, this makes the viewer think of the stereotypical helpless person on the street, this inferiority is also reflected in the camera angle taken by those filming, showing passers by towering over him from a low angled shot makes him appear vulnerable. The majority of the short film shows hard cuts and straight shots which allow us as the viewers to follow the narrative and understand each character , toward the end of the film, we begin to understand the character of the business man's intentions as we see cross cutting between him and the homeless man - given we see at the beginning the business character  looking at the homeless man, this begins to stitch the events together. When the man gifts the rough sleeper the weighing scales, the shot type changes to a two short. Both men are in shot which connotes equality between the two of them and we are no longer made to feel that the Homeless man is inferior with low angled shots.
Because of the nature of the short film and the means on which it was shot, there are no dramatic visual effects, all meaning was conveyed through camera work and mise en scene.

The ridge - Action/sport


The Ridge shows the journey of a man (Danny Macaskill) using his mountain bike to explore The Cuillin mountains which at first he believed may be inaccessible for his sport, we see him perform dangerous stunts across the stunning Scottish mountains. This footage is overlapped by the playing of Gaelic folk music and the sound of the FreeHub attached to the bike itself. Danny Macaskill himself is an internet sensation, well known within his sport therefore choosing him to take part in this short documentary adds an extra dimension and broadens the audience reach. At the beginning of the documentary and several points throughout there are establishing shots of area to remind the viewer when the cyclist is performing his stunts, this adds to the exhilaration throughout and draws the audience in further. Drone shots are used to show the remoteness of the Isle of Skye, this allows the viewer to see something which otherwise would be inaccessible. From a helmet mounted GOPRO we get to see the action as it happens as if we were the one on this bike, this gives the viewer a personal experience but also a view into what the trip was like for the cyclist himself which is also important for those who are watching the short film because of their interest in the sport.




Sheffield, Another Angle - Documentary

 This is a documentary surrounding Sheffield and showing another side to in close relation to the Peak District and the wildlife which live there - We see a male narrating the video telling us facts and figure about the Peak District and its inhabitants which is signature of this documentary style format as the main purpose is to educate and inform the viewer about a chosen subject. There are considerable amounts of drone footage which show the landscape which geographically places the narration and possibly even creates a sense of familiarity with the audience as this is potentially something they have seen before. The editing throughout is seamless and calm with no fast paced or harsh cuts to music - there is also a calming instrumental which is intended to connote the serenity of the peak district and how close the documentary puts you to nature. The documentary has a title sequence to introduce the footage , this helps the viewer establish the location and then relate it as mentioned before to the drone footage which makes up the majority of the screenplay . Drone shots are effective to document a location as you get a better overview of a location from above as opposed to on the ground. It is clear that some hand held footage has been used due to a lack of stabilisation however these are what makes the footage appeal more to the audience as it feels as if this is a personal account of somebodies day in the peaks.



Sight - Sc-Fi

The Narrative is based around a world of people with ocular implants which allow them to access a variety of applications much like a smart phone  would. The main male character is one of the leading software managers for this company which supplies these implants therefore has the ability to manipulate the software of his and others around him at any given time. A new application 'Wingman' is installed on the male characters implant which he uses on his date with the main female character - at the beginning of the date, the female character is disinterested in the male therefore he employs the wingman app to give him guidance - eventually he wins the woman round and invites her back to his apartment. There are some heavily edited parts of this film using animation - this connotes the futurism which the short film focuses around - this clearly outlines the genre which is an impressive addition. The camera work for this film is steady and shows how shots have been thought out to carry meaning for example animation and graphics are played over the close up shots of the main characters face to show the audience what he is seeing in his augmented reality futuristic world.