Short Films Analysis

Short Films Analysis 

About A Girl: Within this film we are introduced to a 13 year old girl, who’s inner self and her exterior shell is revealed through cinematography. During the medium close up shot of her narration, our main characters talks directly to the camera which is tracking backwards as she walks down the canal. The idea that the camera is handheld gives us a care-free and reckless impression of this girl, and as she speaks directly to the viewers, the audience are put in the position of her friend or acquaintance. Consequentially, the audience are lead to feel that she, generally, intends to give this impression off to other people. However, occasionally there will be a contrasting shot, such as the long shot of her sitting on the bridge. As the girl doesn’t seem to break the fourth wall within this shot, and the camera is held still, the audience are given the impression that this is an uncorrupted view of her, without her hard exterior. The use of a long shot makes her look smaller, emphasising her vulnerability, whilst highlighting how alone she feels through the use of negative space. Therefore, by using these 2 contrasting shots, the director is able to present the strong persona she uses to hide her vulnerability.  

Meshes of the afternoon: Within this film, the director presents the interior conflict of an individual whilst emotionally processing an incident. There is a motif of light and darkness throughout the film to present the idea of an interior battle. For example, in the opening scene, the woman is introduced through the use of a shadow, referring to the dark figure within her dream. The idea that the woman’s face isn’t shown in the beginning dehumanises her, implying that the ability to cause harm robs her of making any other choice for herself. Therefore, the use of light and darkness presents the inner conflict between herself and danger. The use of non-diegetic music also presents the idea of a battle. For example, it often starts with a low extended note, referring to a constant underlying danger, reflected through the motif of darkness. This is then accompanied by a high pitch extended note, giving the audience the impression the there is an inner conflict, again between light and dark. A non-musical banging is also added, which increases in speed to add tension to the scene and highlight the fear of our protagonist. All of these elements seem non-musical, giving the film a non-human tone and further presenting a more emotional conflict as oppose to physical.  

Swimmer: This film presents certain elements of modern British life. Initially, whilst the man is swimming, there seems to be non-diegetic dialogue between a man and a woman, using words like “stone” and “paper”. This would remind the audience of the game ‘Rock Paper Scissors’, suggesting that there is an underlying competition between women and men. However, there is then a mid-shot of the couple’s legs, turning the dialogue diegetic. Due to the shot not showing the couple’s faces, it takes away their individuality, implying that this competition is prevalent among all British women and men. There are also some contrasting shots in this film. For example, there is a medium close-up of the swimmer, slowly panning as he moves, followed by a straight cut to an extreme long shot of the countryside, also slowly panning. The long shot creates a calming tone as it presents the beauty of the countryside, contrasting to the intense emotion highlighted through the shot of the swimmer, due to the intimate view we have of him. By using similar camera movements, the director compares the prideful way that people see Britain to the hard work of a British individual. 

High maintenance: The film begins with a couple sat on either end of a table, eating dinner. The only sound is the diegetic noise of them chewing. This noise would bring discomfort to a viewer due to how unnecessarily intimate they become with the characters. By doing this, the director sets an uncomfortable tone to the scene, whilst encouraging the audience to reject the characters, separating them from the average person. The volume of the chewing also highlights the silence in the room, implying that the couple lack chemistry. This lack of chemistry or emotion is reinforced by the brown, grey and white colour scheme. By using bland colours within the set, the director highlights the lack of emotion the couple have in their lives, causing the reader to criticise the effects that modern technology has on people’s ability to experience real life. Whilst they talk, the director uses extreme close ups of the side view of their faces on opposing sides, dehumanising them with the focus on their lack of expression. This introduces their opposition, causing the audience to believe they have different views and expectations of each other, perhaps commenting on the expectations of men and women. The use of negative space in these shots further reinforces the audience’s discomfort.