Narrative
What is the film’s Beginning – Middle – End?
The beginning of the film is established after the fade out.
A wide shot shows a group of friends arguing and resolving to one of them
hitting another. There is a voiceover which accompanies the beginning. It is
supposedly done by the boy who has been hit.
The film then goes on to show how the buy could have reacted in two
different ways and therefore has two separate endings- the good one and the bad
one. The first shows the bad outcome where the boy becomes angry and goes on to
take it out on others. The ending of that one shows all of those people he
upset ganging up on him. After that there is a fast cut to the initial
beginning shot and the story follows in an identical manner but with the boy
forgetting his anger and going on about things in a better way. In that ending
he finds his friends and they make up. The beginning could be considered to be
the switch between the two stories.
What is the issue in the story and how is it resolved?
The establishing shot shows a group of friends arguing and
resolving to a small amount of violence. The clip shows two ways of resolving
the issue. It follows the boy who has been hurt and how he reacts to the fight
in a bad and a good way. The bad way shows him taking out his anger on other
people and acting very rude. In the end all the people he has upset gather
round him and threaten him silently. The good way however ends with him finding
and forgiving his friend and they both make up. In short, the clip conveys the
message that you shouldn’t be led down to the same level as the initial
offender and that it’s always better to resolve conflict in a rational and calm
way.
Titles
Titles
How do the font, transitions and colours of the titles say
about the film and how do they complement the narrative?
At first the titles have only two colours- red and white.
The red titles are significantly smaller in font size and are written in lower
case while the white font is much bigger, bulkier and is in caps lock. This
could have been done to reflect the message the short film conveys, about how
the ‘good’ outweighs ‘bad’ as the colours red and white carry those
connotations.
The titles have a simple transition of just appearing one
slide after another. There is a short break of the establishing scene and then
the title appears. The title of the short film is in the same block, white
letters as the titles at the beginning. Then underneath in the red font there
is a subheading which reads ‘Every action has an equal and opposite
reaction’. This line could be used to
summarise the entire plot the story shows.
This line appears in a much more complicated manner than all the other
titles. It appears in a continuous string of random letters and symbol and then
becomes brighter and the letters change to form the title. This line of random
letters could represent the various events that happen to us and the final
title could be the consequence of the choice we made. On top of that there is
an effect which, momentarily, makes the letters turn in to a rainbow colour one
after the other. Those colours are quite optimistic and could further reflect
the message of settling on the ‘good’ over the ‘bad’.
Sound
How is the soundtrack(s) used to complete the mood, tone and
style of the film?
The very first track is a soft guitar background song which
plays over the titles. It contrasts the first scene which is a lot more
violent. However, it complements the second ending of the film. This track
continues to play over the beginning scene when it is joined by the voiceover
of an also soothing voice. When the
title appears, the track has an additional electrical guitar. The song still
remains calm but with the added guitar it is as if it’s building up towards
something. The boy appears on the screen and the voiceover says something which
could be a reflection of his thoughts.
The music fades out when the boy walks out of the room
looking determined to do something. This is the beginning of the ‘bad’ scene.
As soon as the initial soundtrack ends a new song begins. This one also has
guitar elements, so it fits well with the last one, however it is a lot more
upbeat reflecting on the boy’s mood. There is a quick shot of the boy’s feet
and his steps are in sync with the beat which further portrays that the music
complements his mood.
When the ‘bad’ scene ends and the boy turns around to see
the angered expressions of the people he irritated, the music ends. There is
silence until the voiceover and the new track starts at the point in which he
walks out of the room. Again, music is used to portray his feelings based on
his decision on how to act. The melody is very soft and simple. Once again the
leading instrument is guitar which fits with the other chosen tracks, it is
accompanied by a harmonica. The consistency in the choice of music may have
been done to show that it is still the same person; it’s just that his moods
are different. The music carries on to the end titles. Maybe it was done to
portray that the choices we make stay with us even after the ‘event’ has
happened…..
What sound effects been added in afterwards – why and to
what effect?
Some sounds are added on top of the music. For example, the
first additional sound added is the sound of a punch when the boy gets hit.
Another one is used when he can’t get the information he wants out of one of
his friends and also hits him. And another one when he hits the friend that hit
him first. These could have been added to put more focus on the minor violence
in the film.
Other sounds were added to compliment the diegetic sounds
such as the ripping of the paper or the rustling of the sweets’ wrapper.
Camera
What is the range of camerawork used in the film? – list as
many as you can spot and then analyse the effect of 3 different types
*Establishing shot- an establishing shot is essential as it
introduces the plot. In this case it introduces conflict between the friends.
It is then clear as to what happens later on- the boy goes on to resolve it in
two opposite ways. Without an establishing shot a story would be much harder to
follow, and although the clip has to open with some form of a clip, if it’s not
thought out it may end up confusing the audience and the meaning may not be
fully conveyed.
*Medium shot
*Two shot
*MCU- the MCU is used after the others leave and the boy
speaks in to the camera. This type of shot is used to show expressions and feelings
the character is going through. In this case the boy seems somewhat distraught
and uncertain. This is important because he is about to decide on the course of
action he will take as to his friend hitting him.
*Long shot
*Low angle
*over the shoulder
*POV shot
*reverse/forward tracking- the tracking allows the audience
to follow the boy and also, as for a large part it’s a long shot too, it shows
his demeanour. In the first one he is tense and determined while in the other
he is a lot more relaxed. His body language reflects his mind set (and the
music complements it).
Editing
How does the editing impact the mood, tone and style of the
film? Give three examples of edits used between frames and analyse impact.
The editing in the short film helps to make to story easier
to follow for the audience. For instance, if there was no seamless editing
between clips that fit well together to tell the story, foreign audience would
not have been able to follow the story as easily. The seamless editing in the
clip also portrays how the boy is nearing the consequences of his action. He
makes his decision and then acts on it, if there were more abrupt cuts then it
may not have been as clear as to what he is doing.
However, cuts are still used, mainly to emphasize the differences
between his and his friends’ opinions as well as the two endings. The obvious
cuts happen between each time he ‘hurts’ someone’s feelings and acts in an
aggressive manner and when the clip jumps back to the beginning.
*Seamless editing- makes everything flow smoothly and hence
makes the video more pleasing to watch and the story easier to follow.
*cuts- cuts are used to show different scenes, most
importantly to show the disagreements between people, and to signify the switch from the ‘good’ to
the ‘bad’
*fade in- used to introduce the beginning of the video is a
smooth way.
MES
In the establishing shot the light is a lot darker than in
the rest of the video. It matches the mood that is conveyed at that point. Also it could be significant because it is
the event that has the potential of making the boy act out the ‘bad’ events and
lead to a negative ending, although it could be dim because no one is sure as
to how he will react. When the MCU is
used when the boys’ thoughts are voiced through a voiceover, the shot is a lot
lighter. The boy has made the decision and so it is clear what he will do- he’s
enlightened. The dim and brighter
lighting is similar to how the titles were red and white and the ‘good’ and
‘bad’ choice. Also, the lighting is a lot brighter for the majority of the
video portraying the fact that the ‘good’ is more important and better that the
‘bad’ and there is more benefit in the positive thinking.
How do props help to tell the story, especially as you can’t understand the language?
The props are most important in the first part of the video
as we understand the boy’s’ anger through him destroying them and pushing
people around. He has no regard for the things he destroys showing the audience
he isn’t thinking about the consequences of his actions.
If there weren’t any props in the video it may have been
harder to understand what he was doing. For example the audience may have taken
him as a thug that has fights and pushes people around rather than as being
angered by his friend’s actions.
Post by Renya Szczodrak
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