Research 2

Fantastic  -  a foreign short film about a man who committed a crime, whilst under surveillance by an undercover organization. It was set in Denmark, which could be seen from the aerial view of the world, shown whilst the man is being pursued by the spies. It was clearly made with access to higher budget, as the
quality of the picture and the camera was much better than that of a normal camcorder. The camera work - following the subject and the pursuers during the chase was impressive as it was quick without being blurry.

Sound Waves - this was in the style of a documentary and followed the lives of two families with deaf sons.  It is clearly meant to highlight deafness, but develops this by actually showing a simulation recording of what noise sounds like to a deaf person. This, again, includes the audience effectively, and the different style of the film captures the viewers' attention and gives them a proper insight into deafness and the daily life of someone who has to endure it.

Mud Boy - this involved a young girl in the middle of an abusive relationship between her parents. She escapes to the garden one day, and recovers a body. At first, it appears the person is still alive, though the audience later realises that the person is either an apparition or a figment of the girls' imagination fuelled by her isolation and traumatic experiences. At the end, we discover the child is her brother and is in fact dead, though she can't see it. This film was uncomfortable to watch as well because of the issues it concerns but the way the audience is involved, and the twist at the end demonstrates two of the key conventions of short films. This identifies with the type of film I want to make: a thought-provoking drama with a twist or realisation at the end, to keep the audience thinking. Close ups and awkward shots like low angle are used  - to highlight the girls' insignificance as well as point of view shots and long shots to show the garden and the body in it.


The Rules of the Game - This concerned a man who talks about what he would do if he found out his fiancee was cheating on him. This is interesting as he speaks directly to the camera, and therefore to the audience (fourth wall) and even contains humour. It uses shots to follow him and his movements and create a feeling of informality. The close ups show his reactions, and they use imaginary shots to show the images in his mind. This is important as, if you film it correctly (ie. by distinguishing fact and fiction), you can show the viewer the subjects' thoughts which is also useful. It is implicit and even funny in it's black humour - with the man deciding to kill his best man with a crossbow at the end. The man's informal nature and interaction with the audience create the humour and easiness which is sharply contrasted at the end by his drastic decision. This again contains a twist, interaction with the audience and a lot of close-ups which are widely used conventions in short films, and ones I will probably use in my own.