Short Film Synopsis

Eve, a girl from a distant past, does her best to survive an empty world after the attack. Finding her family is crucial, no matter how hard or how tiring it gets, her family come first. This proves a challenge once her own mind begins to betray her, making her see things that aren’t there, things that shouldn’t be there. Once these hallucination begin to affect her abilities, she wonders whether she can make it back home. Going from place to place, she gathers supplies trying her best to keep her goal in sight. Her father, Luke, has taught her to be strong and resilient, with the know how to survive in any situation. However, what she was not ready for, is the immense loss and grief that follows and torments her. Finding a fellow survivor, both Eve and him become very fearful of each other, running away at a pace faster than ever. Finally back home, Eve hears her baby brother, Adam, crying upstairs through the damaged house. Finding it to be a trick, she lashes out in anger and frustration, but is quelled by a familiar voice behind her.

Stephen- The Gift Analysis

Nigel - Bertie The Budgie Analysis

The genre of this is is quite unclear. It could be a comedy or just have no standing out genres at all, especially with the strange narrative. I'd place this short film into the thriller category because of there is a lot of enigma and conventions which fit into this.

It beings with a kind of sound bridge from a black screen, you can hear the alarm before you see anything. There are several jump cuts when you first see Elsie. These all change shot locations, but are of the same action. This shows that time is passing but also count suggest that she is pretty tired, either this or they just wanted it to flow quicker so the viewer didn't get bored, an attempt at making it more entertaining to watch.

There is an important scene which involves Elsie talking to the photo of her deceased Husband. Her body language tells us that she misses him but is accepting of his death, he strokes the picture gently a few times whilst talking to him (his picture). This body language suggests that he means a lot to him, even now, it is almost as if she is playing with his hair if he was still alive. The photo isn't of them too long from the present, so we don't know how long it has been since he died, it could be a a few months or even a few years, we don't know. She is wearing a colourful dress in the picture which may suggest that it was in her younger years as it is more wild and free. 

The dialogue in this film can be eerie, she refers to just herself as 'we' after looking at the picture. This could be referring to the husband as if he is still there. This adds a greater persona to the character, she has a deeper back story and perhaps she can even be classed as a developed character. She is still the person that was in the photo though, her body language in the kitchen when she is dancing suggests that she is still the fun loving person that she is suggested to be in the photo by the costume, or just perhaps happy.

There are a lot of old props used in the short film, including clocks and the very start, the alarm with the coffee also look old. The bed sheets have an old flowery pattern on them too, these are just making sure we know as viewers that the house is owned by an older person. The decor is the same, these can be pretty eerie because they aren't usual for most of the young generation. This may help make it a thriller, as there is a usually isolated and old setting such as a old building, as the house seems generally old. 

From the cinematography that I have talked about, narrative and even editing, some things can be guessed. It is a possibility she is suffering from an age related disorder, which, with everything that happens in the narrative, may just be true. Having this unsteady character means you cant guess what they will do which may coat them in enigma and make everything they are going to do mysterious, as you wouldn't know what Elisie is about to do etc, although in the end she turns out to not be the mysterious woman we thought she was at the beginning. She is highly effected by her husbands death due to the shot that she talks to him in the photo and wishes him a happy birthday. 

The bird doesn't seem to actually be the subject of the narrative, of course it has a major effect on the audience as it goes up in flames, but the subject still is Elsie. The bird is shown in a few extreme close ups, to try and perhaps show its panic, it could be really unhappy with its owner, of course, by the end its worries were actually put into perspective. The final shot of the bird is quite disturbing, I think this is meant to be like this to try and get a reaction from the audience. 

I believe this short film has a darker meaning; she refers to the husband far too much for him to not be a part of the story, perhaps the darker side is that he doesn't want her to 'replace' him with a bird and there might be a greater force. Although this speculation may be hinted, this is just me trying to find deeper meaning, it could just be about an old lady and her now deceased bird.

Elsie

Elsie

Stephen- Believe Analysis

Directed by Richard Addlesee
Synopsis: A young girl leaves her family for what could be the last time. Where is she going?

The opening shot has a melancholic piano soundtrack automatically setting the mood in the film to be sad. There is also a diegetic sound bridge of a news reporter speaking; connection several shots together (in and around the apartment complex.) The setting is run-down: with dirt and grime on the windows and on the overhangs, the pavement is  uneven and tiles have obviously been replaced without much care. The long shots of the setting shows in detail how run down the area is; while the second shot shows the tower block at a very low angle- making the spectator feel small and insignificant. This décor and surrounding setting says that there's been problems that no one has put much care into fixing- which is what the story is about. The sound bridge is that of the news report; telling us of something that has caused panic. We hear "Schools have been closed, homes have been evacuated as cars stay abandoned" telling us how wide spread this panic is, though we don't know what it is that has caused this. This news report is an enigma; we're left wondering and questioning what is happening around the world. This news report shows the disruption to the story's narrative; there is no equilibrium

 We get a cut to the inside of an apartment block we see a couple sitting on a sofa watching television, the one that we heard from outside the block- making a sound bridge. There's a dolly movement shot at medium range to show both characters, and their setting, effectively. From the woman's costume it is clear that she is pregnant. The man is comforting the woman, with his body language in a protective stance as his arm is around her. However, both facial expressions show fear over what is shown on the television. The representation here show that both men and women feel fear over the same thing; a positive representation on the equality of gender. In terms of audience, the film would appeal more to the ages shown in the film (early to late 20s) as it hits them the heaviest, especially those with or expecting children. We then get a cutaway to a small girl, the daughter, waving at their parents- the mother halfheartedly waves back. The lack of emotion in this wave suggest a deeper struggle within her; her eye-line is matched with the television and she doesn't change it.This could be a representation of a young mother (aged mid twenties), in a negative light: how she doesn't pay attention to her daughter instead focuses on the television; the same can be said for the father. We're also met with a, as Levi Straus put it, binary opposition between fear and bravery- the parents and the daughter; who's costume shows she's going outside with a backpack to face whatever it is that's out there. In terms of Rick Altman's theory on genre, the news reporter's diegetic dialogue is a semantic code for a science fiction or horror/thriller genre: he's telling us about a disaster that has/will occur; yet we're not told more information leaving us in a restricted narration.

We see the young girl walk through the apartment complex, dragging the bag along with her. We go from an extreme long shot to a medium shot, tilting up to show fully the girl's character: fully showing her costume. We see her wearing a, stereotypical, wooly hat in the design of a koala bear- representing the young ages as animal lovers; a positive representation. We also see her wearing a coat; she obviously hasn't been pestered by her parents to wear one so it's a very positive representation of a child, showing her as a thoughtful person- whilst further enforcing the negative representation of the parents. The backpack could also be seen as a semantic code for adventure, signifying the journey she is going on. At this point she has just gone past her 'Call to Adventure' in Vogler's terms. The extreme long shot that follows signifies her isolation; how she's alone in this adventure- further enforced by the slow paced cuts showing the surrounding, empty, setting.

We then see an empty playground from a birds eye view as the non diegetic soundtrack continues to play; the angle suggests that we are in an omniscient view but we are still in restricted narration; we don't know what will happen next. The lack of other characters in the shot further enforces the feeling of isolation connoting the beginnings of an apocalypse. We cut to an eye-level angle of the girl walking through the park; the playground's frame gives a slitted view giving the impression that we're not only watching her, but also trying to avoid being seen as well. This connoted the feeling that there's people trying to hide from the girl, the 'hero.' So far, most of the semantic codes have defined this short film as a social realism- the playground setting, the apartment complex setting, the homely setting, the soundtrack and the girl's casual costume all  help define social realism. However, with the thoughts of the news reporter still embedded in our minds the settings could also show how afraid everyone is; and the codes are there to make the film more relatable for the target audience.

We get a close up of the girl bouncing her pink teddy bear: a prop used to stereotype both her gender and her age to remind us that she's young and she's the only one brave enough to face the outside world for whatever reason. This also represents the female gender strongly, we are shown a 'girlish' toy which a boy wouldn't go near, telling us that a girl is the one who is facing an apocalyptic scenario and not a boy. 

We then cut back to the setting from the beginning. The mother is still facing the television screen; she is fully in focus and her background is not. As she turns her head (presumably because there's a break in the television screening- no diegetic sound can be heard) she begins to go out of focus- focus pulling on the background. The eye-line match lands on a letter labeled "mummy + daddy"; as it is the mother who sees it this stereotypes the 'mothers instinct' used often when children are in films. There's also a slight pick up in the pace of the soundtrack- an action code- signifying the 'hero's journey' is about to reach a climactic situation (crossing the threshold.)

The film then cuts back to the girl who is walking under a bridge where we finally see other characters in the outside world; we have a person running with a trolley cart and another carrying a prop television box- both are semantic with an 'end of the world' genre such as science fiction, thriller or horror. In Vogler's theory this could be the testing of allies and enemies; how two people are running and thieving in the eyes of the apocalypse and then there's another two people, the allies (the girl and the homeless man), facing it with courage and fear respectively. The girl reaches into her pocket and hands the homeless man a lollipop; a simple gesture that has left the audience heart-warmed- making them wish to have their child do simple gestures as shown. We are shown here a representation of the child's mind; how she shows no fear unlike all the other characters and she offers to comfort people where others should. We're also met with the binary opposition of young and older; and two very different representations of both; leaving the old to be the ones under scrutiny from the audience.This gesture is certainly powerful and I'd like to mimic it in our short film in order to make the audience react more to the film. The man's body language- his grip on the handle as well as the slight movement as if gazing at it- shows that he is emotionally changed because of this gesture; something that reflects onto the audience.

From the extreme long shot we are shown the city that it is set in; with high rises dominating the city scape. From this we can see a cheap cost of living; perhaps explaining the rogue-like behavior shown from the previous scene. This is a representation if city-dwellers; of how it's always the children who have to fix things.

As we approach the summit of the hill there's a low angled tilt showing the girl's body language- it shows that she's determined in whatever she's doing. It's also a camera angle that's often used in sports programmes; when a cricketer is walking down the pitch and we get shown his body from toe to head- perhaps foreshadowing a future event. The protagonist then takes her hood off; letting her hair flow free in a very adult-like manner; perhaps, through the entire film, the roles have been reversed and she's the only mature person around and the adults are as immature as their children are. 

We're then shown an extreme long shot showing the girl as just a speck compared to the rest of the screen; this is our first glimpse at what might happen. It is a forewarning that there will be an event that includes the hill and the city. As we cut back to the hill we are reminded that the girl is still just a child; as she puts her pink teddy safely in the bag.

 

As she unzips the bag we cut back to the original domestic setting; where the mother is reading the letter. Her facial expression shows deep concern; something we've not seen in any of the character's facial expressions. The father, who is sitting down instead of leaving his pregnant partner to rest, shows concern as well- which is shocking considering how little concern he's shown through the film. This represents men as being lazy, fearful and- overall- not stereotypical, creating a much more eloquent and unique film in the process.

We get an eye-line match on the letter that the daughter wrote: it shows her family and what looks like a smiling sun with the words "dont worry love AMY" written like a stereotypical letter from a child would be like. We get a brief understanding of what the disastrous event will be; a meteor crashing to earth. The childlike manner in the letter suggests that Amy doesn't truely understand what's happening; but she still wants to help in any way possible.

We cut back to the hill where we are shown a close up of the inside of the bag. We see props used to show a sports bag; a baseball glove and ball- but there's no bat. We know what the girl is now planning. We know it won't work; but we still believe and hope that it will.The quick pan and tilt reveals that we were right and the girl is holding a purple handled baseball bat- we're still shown the representation that she is a child by the colour of the handle when she's the only one who's trying to save the city.

There's a small slow-motion effect as we tilt to her head; then we cut to an extreme long shot (would have been just a long shot if she was adult height); signifying that she is still a child. The small white light- presumably the sun- then erupts in a burst of light. This post production effect shocks the audience, who weren't expecting such a display of colour. We cut away, back to the girl, as she wipes her forehead- an adult mannerism that she is mimicing; the final adult representation of a child. The lighting in these scenes are much brighter compared to the dreary greys in the city; showcasing her heroic actions. This is also were we first meet the antagonist; a binary opposition to the human- nature.

There's another slow motion effect, showing clearly how prepared she is to face the incoming meteor.The soundtrack drops the eerie piano tunes in favour of the guitar strings; making the scene even more dramatic. The meteor is then showed hurtling towards the city; its size immeasurable compared to the girl. 

Finally, we see the girl swing the bat- only for a cut to black to occur once we hear the diegetic swinging sound. The title shows; saying "believe"- so we are truly left believing that the protagonists' plan worked- that she saved the city. This dramatic cut leaves the ending up to the audience; though they'd all wish that she survived. This is another thing that most short films have in common; the lack of a new equilibrium- how that is up the viewer. This is something that we'd most likely end up using in our film; how the ending is up the viewer.

Stephen- The Device Analysis

Directed by Claude Lee Sadik
A mysterious device is about to shake a young man's life...

In the opening shot we are met with an ordinary looking character drinking coffee; this is supposed to represent us- the spectator. His costume consists of a coat that many people wear on cloudy days (the lighting suggests that this is the case), he's also wearing glasses to show that he's, again, just like us. His hair is a bit messy: showing that he's just woken up; and the coffee also reinforces that, as it's typically used as a 'wake up' drink. From this introduction to the character we know what type of person will be represented: an ordinary (male) human being.  We can also see that this is the audience being targeted as well to make the film a more socially realistic piece; making the viewer believe that this scenario could happen to them.At this point and from henceforth it is unclear whether this character is a protagonist or antagonist; he's nonetheless the 'hero' of the plot as defined by Vladmir Propp.

There's then a diegetic off-screen sound of a device 'beeping' which gets the man's (and our) attention. This contributes to the restricted narration that we are in, creating an enigma that we want answered. Furthermore, due to the sound being an enigma we're led to one of Rick Altman's syntactic code for a thriller, leading us to believe that this will be an emotionally dark film. We're tracking the shot as the character moves his head; showing to us the pathway so we can see the setting. The pathway looks like any back alley you'd see in a built up city building up a feeling of social realism; as this could happen to anyone. It's at this point we can see a perfectly normal world; in Todorov's terms this is the equilibrium. We cut to a new camera position which shows the characters facial expression as he turns around the corner; showing curiosity to what is causing the sound.

We get a low angle as the character walks around a corner whilst the diegetic sound grows louder; the very low angle gives the character a powerful stance; done so we can tell he will not be in danger in this alleyway (taking away some mystery in order to set the later scenes.) It can also be seen as he has power over his decisions: he's decided to investigate the sound.This shows representation of a man and one of his age; curious and incautious. This representation is both a good and a bad thing; it shows that men are curious people- a good thing- but lack any caution when it comes to acting upon something- a bad thing. This representation also makes the film more engaging for the audience; whom will be of the same spirit as the character.

As there's another fade between the shots, a transition which is often used to convey time passage,  the character approaches the device that was causing the 'beeping' diegetic sound, now on-screen. The transition could convey that the character has spent time looking around for whatever was making the beeping sound, and has put effort into actually finding it. There's also a bright white light emitted whenever the sound plays. This is a semantic code for a sci-fi; a device that emits light and sound at the same time often conveys an alien artifact. Because of this semantic code we can define this as a science fiction short film as well as a thriller- due to the enigma that the device is. Additionally, as the character picks the device up there's a beam of light that shoots up his arm; an extraordinary experience often associated with science fiction. This is Todorov's disruption in the film; as he knowingly picks up the strange device.

We get an over the shoulder shot of the character observing the device; the OTS shot makes it feel like the spectator of the film is judging the character based on the decisions he has made in picking the device up. At this point the diegetic noise has stopped and all that is heard is the ambient noise along the road as cars drive by; perhaps the beeping was a homing beacon? This sudden stop in sound might go unnoticed, however it connotes the semantic science fiction genre; as if this man is actually the owner of the device and it responds to his touch. As we cut to a different shot again we're at a low angle- the device has given the character power; though from his facial expressions he doesn't know it as he is still confused and uninterested. This, again, is a representation of the early 20s male being indifferent to things that others may feel are exceptional things.

////////The scene then fades again to the title; italic writing with boldness applied to the "device"- giving it emphasis. The background is that of the galaxy- a semantic code for sci-fi again, to further convey the idea of the device being out of the ordinary. /////

As we fade out from the title sequence we are shown a new setting; that of a home. The décor is bland, with whites being the stand-out colour; perhaps telling us that this character is bored of his ordinary life. The sofa prop is clearly planned; as it shows that he's been sitting there frequently due to the creases in the pillows.We cut back to the character in the doorway as he picks up a letter that has gained his attention; the words "check this out" come into focus while the rest of his body and the background has been focus pulled out of focus.

The camera tracks and tilts following the character's movements as he sits down. His body language suggests that this is a common routine that he follows so we're further shown the boredom that surrounds this characters life. As a diegetic sound of the device beeping occurs again there's a match-on-action to show him pulling it out his coat pocket. As the camera tilts up again we hear the diegetic sound of rustling keys; as well as seeing them in the frame when the tilt is complete. This further represents the male gender to not care about items that are likely of value. 

The next cut takes us to an eye-line view in front of the character; we see him touch the device before a stereotypical blue translucent display appears- a semantic post production effect for science fiction films. We now know that this device is not of this world as previous shots established technology like this doesn't exist yet. This shot and post production effect is definitely something I'd like to try in the short film we create; as it's not only professional but it wows the spectator as well making them enjoy the film more. Seamlessly the shot flows to reveal that the character has disappeared- and we now know the device is a teleporter. 

We then see a shot covering the garage where cars are parked- presumably the character's apartment's garage. Suddenly, there's a shock as the character appears in the frame with the blue glow surrounding him for a half second. The shock on the spectator is that of the same shock the character surely felt, and still feels, as evidenced by the body language he shows: lying, cowering, on the floor. 

As the character begins to get up from the floor there are jump cuts to enforce the uneasiness and discomfort the character feels:

There's also a break in continuity editing as the 180 degree rule is broken; with the camera panning and jumping back a few degrees with jump cuts. This further shows the discomfort and shock of what has happened- as well as the quick pace between transitions. 

The GIF shows as much as it could record of the above sequence:

 The character then proceeds to push his unlock door key on the car keys; causing the car behind him to unlock: shocking both us (the diegetic alarm sound) and him. His body language clearly shows he wasn't expecting to be in his own garage. As he walks around he puts the keys back in his pocket (shown via match on action) and pushes the button on the device again- only this time he doesn't teleport, much to his confusion (facial expression.)

As we change settings to the outside of the car park we see the character nervously bite on a train ticket- a representation that men do get nervous. As he studies the ticket he pulls the device out of his pocket and presses the button: causing the semantic blue glow to appear again. We now know what makes the device teleport.

As we change settings to a train station we witness another change in facial expressions and body language. This time we see him stare in wonder and amazement at his surroundings; finally sensing that he's free from his previous life of boredom. This is almost a socially realistic piece, delving into the spectators own thoughts on what would happen given this situation- instead of a far out theory. In doing this it make the entire piece flow fluently and effectively; making the spectator question what the character will do with his new found device and if they'd do the same thing if they were in his situation. It's at this point that we begin to see that the director was telling us about the human condition; how we all want things and will go to extreme lengths to get them- only to have it thrown out of reach at the last hurdle. 

His next change in scenery is definitely something we'd all wish to happen- from the city station to a beach. The pan that takes place not only shows the setting but also the character's twisting emotions: he's overjoyed. The change in lighting is also evident, from a dark dreary and boring place to a much more bright place with non-saturated colours. 

As the character is overjoyed he goes back to his apartment, jumping in a show of happiness. He tosses the device onto the sofa. Here we are, again, shown the representation of the male not caring where he puts his things- no matter how precious they are.

The protagonist (we can call him that now seeing as he's in a much lighter emotional state, he's shown happiness as opposed to anger and hate) retrieves map and travel brochures; something that the audience would all relate to having in the dreams of going to those places. There's montage editing showing all the different locations that he dreams to go to; alike to the audiences own dreams. This makes the audience wish they were in his position. 

The protagonist then notices the note from earlier: his curiosity evident on his facial expression. The soundtrack is still fast paced, as it was during the montage, often used as an action code- so we know something is going to go wrong.

From the back of the paper we can see what looks like a picture of a galaxy; so we begin to see where this is going to end. He sits on the device; clearly not paying attention to what he was doing in all his excitement- as anyone in the audience would understand. His facial expression is almost comical as he realises what he has done; as the blue glow starts to form around him. It is now that the resolution occurs; as the conflict is taken away.

The soundtrack suddenly goes eerie; reflecting the mood perfectly. As the paper floats to the table, we pan to see what was on it: as expected, it was in outer space. This, overall, represents the average human: we get so excited about something we throw all logic and sense out the window: in his case he threw it on a sofa chair. It makes the audience evaluate their own thoughts during the short film, something i'd like to make happen in our short film, and it hopefully makes them question whether they'd do the right thing with the device. The new equilibrium opens now; in a world without an alien device. 

The end credits are flashy and well edited, intended to keep the directors name vividly in our heads. Both the opening and end credits are in the same format, but nonetheless they're both extremely well edited and the post production effects were in good taste.