Sofia's Summer Homework

Short Film “Black Hole” – Media language – write an in depth textual analysis of how the 4 technical codes (Sound, Mise en Scene, Camera and Editing) communicate meaning.
Phil and Olly / UK / 2008

The short film “Black Hole” opens with the title of the film being revealed through a black hole, which creates a connection between the opening and the title. We see an office environment due to the numerous computers, printers and desk chairs. In addition we can heat the sound of a printer, which suggests that there is someone in the office who is soon revealed. This creates quite a mysterious atmosphere for the audience. The camera zooms into the male characters face showing a tired, bored expression. In the next shot we see a close up of a black hole being printed, which seems to confuse the man as we can see by the look on his face in a medium shot. The green light on the printer reflects into the characters face, which may suggest the idea of an inhumanity due to the unusual choice of colouring. The low angle shot seen below shows the man through a black hole, which indicates fear and oblivion. The angle of the shot is used so we can clearly see the man through the hole and the audience feel as though we are looking up to him because he has the power and significance. Every time he puts his hand through the black hole,
the sound changes and a dark, thrilling sound is used to create tension. When the character reaches the safe, the pace of shots increases to build anticipation as he reaches for the large amount of money. Eventually, the character gets enclosed in the safe. The camera zooms out to show the environment around the safe, we can also hear him knocking on the safe, which creates enigma and an eerie effect.

I really liked the use of editing techniques at the beginning of the film as it was a really effective way of introducing the title. In addition, I believe that low angle shots can really show the difference in power and create a hierarchy which I can use in my own short film.

 
Short Film “Silent Things” – Representation – write an in depth analysis about the representation of disability.
Rob Brown 2010  

The short film “Silent Things” explores the reality of disabilities and mental illnesses such as Asperger syndrome. This syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder considered to be on the “high functioning” end of the spectrum. Affected children and adults have difficulty with social interactions and exhibit a restricted range of interests and repetitive behaviors. An establishing shot is used in the opening to show the environment the film is set in which is at the seaside. We can hear the sound of birds, the waves and the sea breeze. Two characters are introduced in a medium shot where we can see them playing with a kite which tends to be used by young children with their parents. However, these two characters are adults but do not seem to be acting in a mature manner. The female is wearing a pink jumper to show her femininity but they both look untidy and dirty. It is unusual to hear no use of dialogue in the opening of a short film, as we need to be connected with the characters immediately to grab our attention. However, the awkward manners of the two characters make them very intriguing to watch. The editing technique of fading to black is used in this short film to take the audience to the next scene.

            A new female character is introduced who looks like a tourist as she is carrying a large backpack. She uses the word “strange” to describe the male character, which may be seen as an insult until she is told that he suffers with a mental issue. However, the two characters end up laughing about the situation, which establishes a more positive, relaxed atmosphere for the viewer. The long shot of the two characters sitting on the sand shows a ferry in the distance, which represents expense and luxury, juxtaposing the lifestyle of these characters. The next shot shows the girl from the beginning walking towards the other characters in a long shot. She seems to be angry as she is fiddling with her hands and she looks on edge. The audience believe that she also suffers from a mental disorder similar to the male as they both share the same attributes.

            The two characters are on the ferry, but the sound changes and we can only hear whispers, which shows that the man can hear voices inside his head, which drives him insane. As a viewer, we feel sympathy towards the character, we want to comfort him. Towards the end of the film, a long shot shows the two characters reunited and back to the sea with the kite and they do not exchange a word. This shows that the two characters understand one another. However, the sky has darkened since the first establishing shot which conveys the struggle of their relationship and the darkness and emptiness they both feel from inside.

I believe that the strong relationship between the characters is a great way to show the effects of a mental syndrome and how it can effect people socially. Within my short film, I believe that by using close ups and shot reverse shots it can really emphasize the relationship between characters and allow the audience to create a personal connection with them.

Short Film – “Mix Tape” – Audience – for this particular film, who is the target audience as defined by age, social class and gender.
Written & Directed by Luke Snellin.

This short film opens with an extreme close up of a tape which refers back to the title “Mix Tape.” Mix tapes are quite an old fashioned way to play music as now we have iPods and smartphones, which are easily accessible and portable. This makes us believe that this film is set a few years ago. At first, we can only see the back of the young boys head, posters on the wall and we can see that he is wearing large headphones by the use of a dolly zoom towards the character. The technique of slow motion is used when he leaves his house and heads towards his friend’s house. The music changes and uses more electric instruments such as a guitar and it is far heavier.  The dramatic music is used to enhance the fact

that he only is travelling next door which creates a sense of comedy. A female character opens the door; she seems to be the parent of Lilly. A hierarchy is created as the female character looks down to Ben, whereas he has to look up. This may show the respect they have for one another, as they are neighbours. The mix tape is exchanged which shows the significance it has to the young boy.

            The next few shots, mainly medium shots, shows the young boy and a young girl singing and dancing to an old song in their rooms which in a typical thing for young children to do. The last show is a split frame so we can see the two characters and the closeness they have. We see them in their spate rooms both doing the same thing, we may interpret this as “young love”. I believe that the target audience for this short film is young children, both genders, from about 10-15 this is because the main character is young so the audience can relate to him.  As it is such a short film, it will be mainly viewed online, as smartphones and tablets are so popular now, anyone can easily access it. 
In this short film, I liked how they used a split screen to show the two young characters singing the same song, conveying that they have a strong connection. Also, the use of the hierarchy, low angle shots and high angle shots creates an idea of the character who holds the most strength within the short film. I am definitely going to use this technique during the filming stage. 

“This is me” - Genre - Altman and “Semantic and syntactic codes”, Neale’s and “Repetition and variation”, Buckingham and “Negotiation and Change”.  
 By Sam Arthur / UK / 2006

The use of heavy breathing to open the short film and semantic codes such as a hospital bed and other hospital equipment sets the scene and establishes where the film takes place. A voice over from the main character begins when a long panning shot of the hospital room and the nurse. At this point, the genre of the film has not been clearly established, as there are no clear indications or conventions of a certain genre such as Horror or Thriller. The film dramatically changes as Hawaiian music is used as the male character is lying in the bright sun. However, the audience is mislead as we believe he is in a tropical country but he is actually in his garden. We now see a sense of comedy come into the film and we can see typical conventions of the genre. In addition, the use of animations in the next few shots is unusual as it creates an immature and school like atmosphere. As we see these animations, happy non-diegetic music is being played which sounds as though it is from a kids TV show. The audience are intrigued by these few shots which grab the viewers attention because it is unusual.  There are many codes and conventions used in this short film to connote the genre of comedy such as the use of satire as the main character is lying in his garden instead of in a tropical country which is what we first believe.  However, the use of Neale’s theory of Repetition and Variation shows that the audience are familiar with and recognise the genre conventions whereas this short film offers something new and different. Without the use of this theory, the short film would not appeal to its target audience.
My group are thinking about creating a short thriller film so we can use the heavy breathing from the opening shot to connote fear and enigma. Also, panning shots are an important way to show the audience the surroundings and conventions of the genre.

Short Film - “Lovefield” – Narrative – watch the film and then apply the theorists and terms that were covered in class.
Mathieu Ratthe

Rick Altman’s theories:

A genre is · a genre is assumed to have some fixed characteristics(conventions) and  a product that is classified as belonging to that genre must then have at least some of those characteristics.

In this short film, there are many typical visual codes of the thriller genre which we call semantic codes. For example, a knife is synonymous of danger and crime. In addition, the sound of screaming increases the tension and builds the suspense because it implies that a character has been attacked. Also, blood is iconic of the genre becau

se it gives a sense of fear and the colour red represents anger and hatred. The image of the crow is repeated through the film because it symbolises mystery as well as mischievousness. The black colour of the bird shows that it is dark and possibly feared by many.  The non-diegetic music is played through the short film until the very end because it gives a sense of enigma as well as a high level of tension. Short films must include these typical conventions as they are expected within the audience and they want to be satisfied in a short period of time. Syntactic codes are conventions of narrative structure and theme which work well with semantic codes. This includes narrative endings, narrative disruptions, typical themes and typical character relations.

Steve Neale’s theory

Steve Neale believed each genre film repeats conventions of the genre formula, whilst also making new variations. In the short film “Lovefield” many conventions of the thriller genre have been repeated such as the sound of screaming, iconography (the knife) and many others. However, the director has used variation as the ending of the film surprises

 the audience due to it being a more positive ending where the main male character is helping the female. We believed he was a villain at first but he is soon revealed to be the hero. Also, we hear the sound of a police car which we link to the genre as it tends to show the equilibrium being resolved. In this case, the police arrive, not to arrest a character, but to take the female character and the baby to a safe and clean place.

David Buckingham’s theory

David Buckingham’s theory states that genres change over time their conventions may evolve, their 'look' (called iconography in film) may evolve, and their themes, issues and ideologies (ideas about the world) may evolve. I believe, that the film has modernised the genre because it ends in a positive manner. We are misled because we believe that the main character is the villain. In thriller films, the villain is clearly presented but in “Lovefield”

the audience feel disorientated. Also, we do not tend to see thriller or horror films in this location because it is during the day and the lighting is bright and juxtaposes the eerie effect dark lighting has. This could also be linked to Steve Neale’s theory.