Studying short films!

In the past few lessons we have been studying and analysing short films in the terms of camera angles, sound, mise-en-scene and edits.  This has given me a really good insight into short films and the conventions that are used in this. I have realised that in ‘dramas’ there are lots of fast cuts and built up music in order to create enigma and build tension for the audience watching.

We watched two short films; 'Gravity’, and ‘Dipper’. Each film managed to shock the audience with a twist to the storyline. This is a really good feature to keep the audience entertained and wanting to watch more and to build up the tension and suspense within the audience. The use of a twist in the storyline allows the audience to expect the unexpected and keeps them on the edge of their seats, curious to see what will happen.

We also looked at Todorov's theory and how this could be applied to these two short films. Todorov’s theory is that every story should follow a narrative of having a beginning, middle and end

‘Gravity’ follows upon the lines of Todorov’s theory however the ending has a twist to it, starting with an Equilibrium (normality) where the little boy is playing on the swing and the little girl goes off on the scooter. There is then a disruption where a gang are arguing over a gun which has been found.  When the boy aims the gun it is a recognition of disruption, and finally there is an attempt to repair disruption where the boys try to repair the situation and walk away. However, there is a twist to Todorov’s theory, as there is a twist in the storyline, and it turns out the little boy on the swing has been shot. This is a shock to the audience and the use of sound and camera shots make the scene even more dramatic. The name ‘Gravity’ is used for the film because it connects to the idea that everything has a consequence and if you shoot a bullet into the air, at some point it must come down.

The film Dipper follows Todorov’s idea of using good and evil characters, however there is a twist as the ‘good’ character is actually bad. There is lots of flashbacks and forwards and quick camera editing used throughout, this really builds a sense of enigma to the scenes. The morel of the film is ‘don't judge a book by its cover.’

It has been really useful looking at the short films, and it has given me lots of ideas of the techniques I will be using in my own film or trailer!