For our A2 Media course we are going to create our very own short film, to do this I will need to do some research on existing short films. There are some areas that I am going to be focusing on including; camerawork, soundtrack, narrative and editing.
Here are the three of the best short films that I am going to be reviewing;
Too Quick to Judge
This short film portrays the message that some people are too quick to judge and that there might be other explanations to a persons behaviour.
There were some editing techniques in this short film that made it very effective. There were a lot of transitions from scene to scene, some of these transitions were to portray the passing of time.
There was also a lot of camerawork in this short film. At the start there was an establishing shot of the girl sitting on the bench which portrayed loneliness and the fact that the girl might be different which foreshadows what happens later on in the short film.
We then see a two shot of the scene when the girl and the boy are both sitting on the bench. The boy looks at the girl but the girl doesn't look at the boy. The scene then follows with a close up shot of the boys face following his dialogue. The girl takes no notice of the boy after he speaks. We can see that the boy is very annoyed at this with the use of the close up shot. We then realise at the end of the short film that the girl is deaf and she wasn't just ignoring him. The sort film is trying to portray the message that some people are too quick to judge and they shouldn't be.
Identity
This short film shows us that a lot of people cover up their true identity and true personality because of what society tells people how to look and how to behave.
In this short film there is a lot of camerawork such as close up shots, point of view shots, tracking shots etc. The camerawork was used effectively in this short film to show the fact that the girl is feeling isolated ad alone, the use of the tracking shot allows us as the viewers to feel and see what she is seeing, for example, when she gets pushed over by the girls the use of the tracking shot allows us to be a part of that and make the viewers empathise with the girl as so many people can relate to the situation.
The zoom also allows us as the viewers to see how alone the girl is because she can't be herself and she is hiding behind a mask which is isolating her from the rest of the world which the use of camerawork does effectively.
The use of editing is good in the short film as well when the action is seen to be played backwards, this gives the effect that the girl wants to go back in time and change her identity and the way she has behaved and she no longer wants to listen to how society tells her t behave.
Hallucination
This short film is letting people know about mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
There is very good use of camerawork at the start of the short film, first we see the camera panning and focusing on all of the tablets that are on the shelf. This shows the viewers how hard and distressing it must be to take all kinds of medication when you have a mental illness.
We then see multiple clos ups of the woman's face, this shows the viewers the expression on her face when she is crying, when she is upset and when she feels distressed or on edge which is most of the time which shows viewers how hard and tiring it must be to live with a mental illness.
The use of editing is effective in this short film. We see the woman slowly disappear like she is some sort of ghost, this portrays how it must feel to have a mental illness, like you are different from everyone else, like you don't exist which is portrayed effectively through the use of editing.
The soundtrack in this short film is very effective. We hear throughout the short film a ringing sound, it's as if the woman is hearing the ringing sound, this sound effect makes the viewers feel like the woman is isolated because of her mental illness.
