Short Film Analysis

48 Hour Film Project

To gain more of an understanding of how to create the same emotion or effect on the audience through a 10 minute film as you would through a feature length film, I am going to analyses some short films. The 48 Hour film project is a competition where directors and their teams are given 48 hours to write, film and edit their film. They are given a subject or genre to work on and can use whatever resources they have available to them. I have looked at two films from the romance genre.

Seesaw
Seesaw is the entry to the 48 hour film project by Milwaukee. It is 5.23 minutes long. The film is about a couple who have known each other since they were very young but their business is in financial trouble. As a result of this they have to shut their shop and this puts a strain on their relationship. However it has a happy ending and they don’t break up. This seems like a lot to fit into a 5 minute film but they do it very cleverly and I feel you get a very good sense of the whole story. Although the story-line is quite simple it is told in a non-linear interesting way.

The film starts with an argument between the couple. They are in a kitchen, probably in their home. You can tell this from the table and chair and the cupboard at the side. The woman is surrounded by papers, making her looked stressed. This first scene, where the woman shouts at the man, instantly connects the audience to them. The audience get to see a private moment and see into their house. There is then a close up shot of the phone and the papers on the floor as the woman sweeps them off the table as she storms out. The shot is accompanied by a busy tone from the phone. This close up symbolizes their relationship being in trouble.

The film then flashes back to them as children then to them as adults, to help the audience understand the children are the couple when they were young. The next shot is a mid- shot of the man shutting their shop and a close up of the sign he puts up. This scene not only shows the audience what is going on but conveys how he feels about it. The man looks sad and reluctant to close and the scene has no sound except the diegetic sound of traffic, this makes it cold and depressing. At this point non-diegetic music comes in and the shots vary between the close ups and long shots of man walking home and mid-shots of the woman trying to short though papers. The music is a soft acoustic guitar track, it adds to emotion and gives the shots a pace. I really like this sequence as you can see the stress going through both their minds and the music really adds to the atmosphere and mood of the scene.

There is then a flashback of all the good times they had as children with a voiceover by the woman about who easy it was when they where kids. This is a really effective technique as the audience get to understand more of the characters backgrounds and connect with them more. As the audience have just been shown the good times and feel like they are more connected with the characters the argument they had at the being is re-shown. I think this contrast makes it more emotional.

Finally, the ending is on a bench in the park the woman is sat there alone she looks tearful and worried. They then use jump cuts to shown the passing of time. Jump cuts are usually a mistake that you don’t want in your film but these have been purposely used and are really effective.The jumps cuts make the film fragmented which symbolizes the state of their relationship and they show the passing of time. The audience see the woman and the man comfort each other on the bench and it feels like it is a long time. The non-diegetic music that plays near the start plays through the whole rest of the film. I think this is really effective as it gives the film pace and pulls the whole story together. There is also not very much dialog in this film which I like, I think the expressions and emotion that the actors show without speaking is really effective. Another thing I really liked about this film is that it is all filmed in this hand-held, over exposed and slightly out of focus style. I really like this effect I think it makes the film feel romantic and realistic.

Too Dark to see
This film is about a woman who gets kidnapped and then begins to have a relationship with the man who kidnapped her. It is 8.22 minutes long. The film starts form the middle part of the story and the first shot is close up of a woman crying. This is a really effective first shot as the audience are immediately invested in this character because they want to know why she is crying and they feel sorry for her. The close up really shows her emotion. It then flashes back to her getting kidnapped. The scene has dark low key lighting lighting and is in a car park. It looks really sinister and dangerous. The woman is screaming and a car alarm is going off, it is clear to the audience that something bad is going to happen.

Next there is a long shot shows the woman chained up in a basement, the walls are dirty and the audience feel scared and sorry for the woman. They have used a long shot here so the audience can see her surroundings. There is then a conversation between the man and the woman and the man explains why he has kidnapped her. The man obviously doesn’t want to hold the woman there against her will but he has to. At this point the audience connect with the man a little as you see his face for the first time and he is nice to the woman. The editing is slow while the man talks making him seem clam and relaxed and to help the audience relate to him they use a close up. The woman asks the man to put on the radio and he does. The non-diegetic music that plays from the radio plays on while there is a montage. The music is a slow western track which makes the scene feel lethargic and slow, this is to reflect the passing of time. The montage shows the man bringing the woman food and water, a blanket and a pillow and then finally them eating together. This montage shows their relationship growing and the characters becoming closer. It allows audience to see how their relationship develops.

In the next scene the man releases the woman. The man very slowly gets the key out and then there is a close up of him unlocking the padlock and taking of the chains. This close up is tense and almost romantic. The characters are very close together and both close to tears. This shot shows the audience how confused the characters are about their emotions towards each other. The next shot that really shows the audience about their relationship when there is a knock at the door and sounds of the police storming in. The couple jump to their feet and as the man goes towards the door the woman grabs his hand and there is a close up of just their hands touching. The camera lingers over their hands. This shows the audience that although the complicated situation the pair have grown to care about each other. The man does go to the door though and as he walks out the door there is a close up of the woman’s face; she is crying. This again highlights to the audience that she cares about him. There is then a bang as it goes black and the audience are lead to assume the man is shot.

I think this film is effective as the audience get to see the relationship develop. It is also good because of the unique story, it is unusual for someone who is kidnapped to end up caring about the person who kidnapped them. I think the film did very well to develop the relationship between the characters in such a sort time. I think this film shows the relationship between the characters very subtly and I think this is more romantic than just showing them kiss.