FILM: Researching other short films

We visited, http://www.youtube.com/ to watch a variety of short films, in order to give us ideas and more of an insight into how they look.

The first short film that i viewed was called 'Strangers'. I particularly liked how the music built up tension. This is the effect that i liked for our short film - for the music to relate to the film and emphasise the plot/ what is happening on the screen. The use of close ups on the characters eyes create a mysterious atmosphere and as the audience, i wanted to continue watching, even though there is no dialogue. This film proved to me that a short film doesn't have to contain a lot of dialogue to tell the story. This can be told through the media technology such as certain camera angles/movement and the aims of the director such as choice of sound, lighting, mise en scene. I specifically liked the symmetrical shot at the end, as the men have helped each other get off the train so the shot represents the fact that they are equal. The train track is in the centre which shows that this is the cause of the situation.

When watching this short film, i really liked how a topic that isn't catching for an audience, such as a picnic, is made interesting through different shots and effects. This made me realise that for a short film, you only need a compact storyline, which can me made interesting and successful by the media language and technology. I liked how every item such as food, drink and cigarette was focused on with a close up, as this created tension because we didn't know what was going to happen. Not only does it create tension, it also creates questions for the audience, making us want to continue watching because we want to know what is going to happen e.g. is he going to find something? The coke can was the cause but what i particularly liked was the fact that this wasn't made obvious, as we were keeping a close eye on all objects he had, wondering which one is going to be the complication or climax to the film due to the camera shots deliberately used to make us do this. I really liked the shot when we were made to feel we were inside the picnic basket. In contrast, we were also made to feel like we were in the hole. This is a comparison, as we kind of know what a picnic basket contains, however, we was unaware what was down the hole. It made me feel as though i wanted to climb up, just to see what was down there. When the main actor realised what was going on, the chosen music was very effective as it became fast and louder, creating further tension. We were able to feel how the actor feels, as it creates a sense of panic. The quick cuts to his arm on the other side of the grass and him also created fear and tension due to the fact that he couldn't release his arm, he didn't know what to do and what was going on. Earlier on in the film, long shots were used. Within a long shot, you can see the surroundings and setting. As a result of this, we could see that there was no one else around, no one to help. The ending is effective as there was a contrast because it slowed down. It leaves the audience wondering what has happened to the boy.