LO1: Analysis of 5 short films

1) Disrespect NoBody: "Sexting" (Short Documentary Film)

Narrative: Tobi Lerone (TBJZL) discusses the topic of "Sexting". He talks about the topic and the issues that surround it. He goes out into the public and asks them questions to see if they are aware of it. The purpose of the video is to make viewers and the people he interviews more aware of the issue and address the consequences of sharing "sexts" over the internet.

Characterisation: The characters are all themselves, they don't play any other roles in the video. Tobi is the lead character as it is his video, and he is talking and asking the questions. The other characters are the people that he interviews, they give honest responses to his questions.

Camerawork: There are a variety of shot types used in this short documentary. There are the main shots that focus on the person speaking, Tobi, there are the cut away shots to the equipment he has in his set up such as his cameras, SD cards and computer and there are the shots of the public and Tobi engaging in conversation about the topic of "sexting". The camera is not on a stand, there is somebody holding the camera instead. This gives the video a more personal feel, almost like you are holding the camera and looking through the screen into the video.

Editing: The editing on this video is designed to show the information about "sexting" in a structured and mannered way. All the areas of the topic are talked about in detail and aren't skipped. There are slow jump cuts to the instrumental in the background, there are transparent words that allow the footage behind to be shown through the letters which is a clever editing technique.

Visual Effects: The visual effects that have been used in producing this documentary are colour corrections and colour grading. There are no special effects involved as this is a non-fiction documentary about a serious topic.


2) Never Give Up (Short Sport Film)

Narrative: This is the story of a man who has restricted movement of the legs, and how he is inspired by athletics to start rehabilitation and get his legs to function properly again. At the start he is distraught by the fact that he can't run around with his kids and give them an enjoyable childhood, he lets his anger out at the dinner table in a short burst when he is on his own, this was the wake up call for him to do something about his problem. He starts by making gradual steps, this fast forwards into slower, but proper steps, then into walking but with crutches as support, then into walking properly for the first time. As a result of this he then goes to an athletics track and practises what he's been dreaming of doing, running.

Characterisation: We can see that there is the main character who is the man that is struggling to walk. The only other characters we see in this short film are who we presume to be his three children, who run around a field while he sits in his wheelchair, but that's all we see of them. The video is mainly focused on the man and his journey to walking again.

Camerawork: The camerawork in this short film is excellent. There are a variety of shots types used such as a tracking shot of the main character walking, different angles such as low and high angles are used and camera techniques such as blurs and soft focuses are used to connote the feelings the actor is feeling.

Editing: The editing is very basic. There are cuts but they aren't to the music in the background and sometimes come unexpectedly. 

Visual Effects: There are no stand out visual effects to add to the serendipity of this short film. Colour grading and colour corrections are used on the footage to make it more visually appealing and to make the foreground and background stand out.


3) The Manipulated Living (Short Drama Film)

Narrative: A young boy is woken by footsteps from outside his door. The boy gets up from his bed, sits down in the corner of the room and huddles up, like he's expecting something bad to happen. We discover that child is the hands of this man, who is in fact a child molester. As the drunk man enters the room, the child becomes even more agitated. The man then throws his glass bottle on the floor and starts to move towards the child. The child screams. The man then picks up the boy and throws him on his front. The child is still screaming. As something is about to happen, another slightly older boy bursts through the door and smashes the man across the face with a baseball bat. He then tells the man to never, ever do that to the boy again. The older boy reassures the younger boy that everything will be okay and nothing like that will happen again. He then tells him that he can wake up now. An older man then wakes up in his bed, gets out of bed, walks down a corridor into another room and discovers the older boy that saved him earlier.

Characterisation: There isn't a specific main character in this short film. The video starts off with the younger child, but around halfway, the child evolves into an older man. The other characters in this short film is the 'abuser', the old man, and the saviour of the younger boy/older man.

Camerawork: I can tell that the camerawork has been well thought of and planned. Equipment such as tripods and camera sliders have been used to help stabilise the camera and make the footage still. A variety if shots have been used to help convey the story and the emotion of the characters.

Editing: Basic editing such as jump cuts are used in this short film, but that is all that is necessary due to the nature of the story.

Visual Effects: There are no visual effects apart from colour corrections that have been used to help create suspense and make the viewers tense.

4) The Translator (Short Comedy Film)

Narrative: Rachel, a high school student, is reading in the library when a boy called Ben walks in who she seems to fall for. Rachel and Ben get talking, Ben seeming a little uncomfortable with how much Rachel knows about how they sit only two rows apart in geometry class. Then, over her shoulder, he sees a girl called Claire who's by the window reading books. Claire is from France. Ben wishes he could talk to her, but can't speak the language. Rachel does however speak French, and reluctantly agrees to translate for him.  But when Claire and Ben start flirting, Rachel decides to translate the phrases differently to make it seem like they are insulting each other instead. Both Claire and Ben become frustrated with each other that they are being insulted. But Ben realises that something isn't quite right, so he pulls Rachel out of the conversation to beg her to translate properly. Rachel agrees, but by now it's too late to change Claire's mind of him. Claire insults Ben, but doesn't believe it when Rachel translates. Claire storms off in disgrace. Rachel feels bad that she is the reason for this situation to have occurred, so goes over to Claire to admit that it was her that was altering what Ben was saying. Claire then admits that she is a foreign exchange student, and speaks English perfectly well, knowing exactly what Ben was saying the whole time. She leaves it on "It's funny to mess with you Americans sometimes".

Characterisation: The man character that the story revolves around is Rachel, the translator. But the fact that there are only two other characters in the short film make them more memorable and recognisable.

Camerawork: The camerawork is really well carried out. It's smooth throughout the short film and there's no sign of shakiness or wobbles. Sometimes the characters are not in the middle of the frame, but this could be due to how the camera has to turn between the three characters around the table.

Editing: There have been some really cool editing techniques used in the making of this short film. For example colour corrections have been used to connote the mood of different parts.

Visual Effects: There are some fire burns in Rachel's eyes when she hears Ben wants to ask Claire on a date. 

5) Always A Fire | Chad Jones (Short Sport Film/Documentary)

Narrative: Chad Jones is a very talented sportsman. He is extremely gifted and can play American Football, Baseball, whatever he chooses to a consistently high level. He was the number one athlete in the whole of America for his age during his college years. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the 2010 NFL Draft. Things were looking great for Chad. But suddenly, his sporting career takes a turn for the worst. While driving one night after touching down from a flight, in a brand new car, the left hand tyre got caught in the train track on the road, causing the car to spiral out of control and leading Chad to driving into a thick metal pole. With his girlfriend and son inside the car at the same time also, he was concerned for them. Thankfully they only suffered minor injuries, it was Chad who came worse off from the crash. His left leg had been split open in two places, breaking his tibia and fibula in that leg. Doctors considered amputating is foot as the injury was so horrific, but at Chad's request, they kept it, and inserted metal plates and screws to support his leg. This short film tells the story of Chad's recovery and how he is motivated to getting back to where he was in the sporting world.

Characterisation: The main character in this short film is the person who the documentary is about, Chad Jones. The other characters that give their pieces on Chad are his fiancee Jade Newman, his speed and agility coach Derrick Joseph, his strength and conditioning coach Carter Stamm, his physical therapist John Moran and his son, who isn't named.

Camerawork: There are a lot of excellent camera techniques used in the making of this documentary. There are high and low angles shown of the car crash re-enactment and the shots showing Chad's recovery makes you feel like you are there with him while he is doing his exercises.

Editing: The editing is very professional, I can tell that software like After Effects has been used as there are items like presets and colour corrections in the video.

Visual Effects: Visual effects have been used to help enhance the meaning of the documentary and to help portray the story of Chad.