Short Film Analysis

Margo Lily is a perfect example of a short film to look at the structure of a short and study the model of most short films. Margo Lily is a film about a struggling couple on the precipice of a broken relationship. Although that is one of the main themes the core theme of the short is their unborn baby that the mother wants to bury. If we look at the goal of the film we see that the most important goal of the film is to bury the baby, but on the other hand it is not just to bury the unborn baby, this is a collateral goal to the main goal which is the mend their breaking relationship. We see through the film that the father is not intent on actually burying the baby and see it as being very painful, so he just prevents himself from thinking of the unborn child, this is what the mother resents in him. When they begin to struggle with actual act of the burial the mother is trying her upmost to perform this and the father is trying to forget while not helping. Towards the end of the film, the father then decides to put his pain to one side to help the mother grief for the tragedy, and therefore their relationship is to my interpretation mended. This is clearly a situational narrative to bury the child and mend their relationship.

Our idea for a short film

Over summer, me and my partner Jacob have been discussing various genre and story ideas for this years short film. We thought that the earlier we started brainstorming the better advantage we would have in exploring and developing through audience feedback. So far we have received very positive feedback. Our film idea is about a collapse of a marriage through the eyes of a child. This is a very brief summary of the plot but we have spoken to our teacher about how to improve and eventually develop the idea. We were very interested in telling a story that would stay with the audience after they had finished watching it. We have audience research about divorce and how a child copes when they are going through this tough time in their life. Getting a response from someone who has experienced a divorce is very useful in portraying a realistic view from our protagonists eyes.

Our investment in films is mainly the Art house genre. We were very implicit about deviating from high concept genres. We have already planned a few shots that we are planning on including in our film. We have started test shoots to see what shots will work and could be used. Some of the shots we have tried to include have both worked and failed. By starting to look at locations and different variety of shots it will only give us more time to discuss what will be used in our final product. Having a clear idea including a 25 word treatment will only improve our story and characters.

The subject of divorce is a very common theme that young people experience. A realistic Drama in an Art house form is the genre that we want to use. Me and my partner Jacob have already done research regarding the subject of divorce. 'What Maisie Knew' set in New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle. This is a perfect example of a young girls confusion and insecurity about her parents constant arguing. Her life is very unsettled and never knows who to trust or to see as her real mother and father. My partner Jacob's parents are divorced which gives us an advantage about his view about divorce. With his knowledge and viewing of this film, it has inspired us to get deep into the theme and make it as realistic as possible. 

Narrative analysis

The Narrative analysis is the way in which a story is told. Narrating a story varies from the conventional beginning, middle and end or even starting the film from the end and showing how the ending happened. I am going to discuss the most common narrative analysis in most films.

The story starts with the Equilibrium- The state of equilibrium usually occurs at the beginning when the story is introducing its characters and a brief to their lives. Not much will happen at the start of a film, meaning that there is minimal tension.

As the film progresses there has to be a Disruption of Equilibrium- A character's story is turned due to a new character or situation that makes things difficult. This is mainly due to a problem or argument that has occurred. Another reason is the Protagonist wanting to achieve a goal and having to fight to make this happen. Tension starts to take over the film or the characters mind.

Recognition of Equilibrium- This is when the main character establishes equilibrium again. He/she must find out what caused the disruption in the first place. This makes it easier for the audience to understand why the character wants to achieve their goal in the first place.

An attempt to repair the damage- Once the main character understands why the problem has occurred, they must attempt to sort it out and return to equilibrium.

New Equilibrium- Usually at the end of the film the problem is restored and back to its calm state. The main character has achieved his/her goal and go back to their original equilibrium.

The characters who are usually in a film:
PROPP:
Protagonist
Antagonist
Helper
Heroin
Father figure
Teacher
Donor

A note on audience feedback through analytics

In class we discussed last year's films and how we can improve and develop our ideas. One key aspect of research that we looked at was our analytics on our film 'Unattainable'. We discovered that the majority of the audience only watched up to 0:44 seconds, although it was a two minute opening.

This made us realise that our storyline was not interesting enough to hold an audience' attention. This feedback is extremely useful for making sure that we think through our idea and continue to develop ideas as our tests shoots start. Our short film is between 5-8 minutes, meaning that to keep the audience captured for the entire film, we have to make our idea relatable and of course interesting. For this years film we are going to include dialogue and more than one main character. Hopefully this will keep our audience engaged and watch the entire short film.

Clichés of short films

These are a few of the most common mistakes that students make in their short film. This is very useful research for us as we can now rule out all of these techniques and make sure that we wont be going down a dark road before we've even started filming. Below are a list of the most common mistakes made in students films. Looking at previous student films I have witnessed these conventional ideas used in nearly all of them. This is probably from a lack of planning or not being able to come up with a interesting storyline that will engage the audience. This is a wake up call to make sure that none of these mistakes are made in our short film.

Dolly Zoom
Tortured Artist Film
Dream Sequences
Time Elapse Montage
Bad Audio
Wake Up Scene

The website below shows many filmmaker mistakes that are usually applied in students films:

Filmmaker mistakes

Textual analysis

These are the essentials for a short film:

Audience: Who watches short films?

Institutions: Who makes short films?

Representation: The way something is shown. Ideology: What someone believes- How is that shown in the film: Represent a character in a different way.

Forms: Construction. MES, camera, editing, sound- Narrative, Genre, Media language.

About a Girl

Mis en scene:

The setting is particularly bleak throughout, which reflects the social background of the characters and her feelings.

The majority of the shots are filmed along a canal, with the girl constantly walking along. This may give the audience a sense that they are getting a ‘tour’ of the area and form an opinion on the location.

Many of the buildings are boarded up and represent the ‘estate’ life. This adds to the social opinions the audience may have of the character.

Camera:

All shots where the girl is speaking directly to the audience are handheld, which makes the audience feel like they are walking along with her.

These handheld shots contrast the controlled shots used when the girl is not speaking to the camera. This may give the impression that she does not wish a viewer to see these parts of her life.

Many of the shots help portray her loneliness e.g at the beginning she is seen as a dancing silhouette on her own, as well as shots of her alone on a park bench etc.

Most of the shots throughout are very close and personal. At the end however, a crane shot is used to pull out from the canal. This may represent the audience’s detachment from the situation, following their false feelings of attachment.

Sound:

The use of Britney Spear’s song ‘Oops I did it again’ and lyrics such as ‘I’m not that innocent’ aid in hinting the true nature of the girl, whereas an audience may assume she is simply singing because she is a teenage girl etc. The sound of her singing is quite eerie and unsettling, foreshadowing the nature of the narrative.

The loss of foley sounds when the camera has an underwater angle puts focus onto the floating baby, adding to the disturbing nature of this scene.

Her intonation often changes from playful and amusing to serious, which shows the conflicting nature of her personality.

Editing:

All of the shots are jump cuts.

At the very end, the shots become less bleak and some colour is shown. This may be representative of her relief following the dumping of the baby.

As the girl speaks of a certain event in a particular, false manner, there are often jump cuts to the reality of that scene.

Long shots with cuts are often used when she is not speaking to emphasis her loneliness and pace the piece effectively.

Conventions of short films

When making a short film it is essential to include the codes and conventions to make a successful film.

Characters: 
Usually in short films there are only 2-3 main characters. Unlike a feature film the time on screen is very valuable in a short film. Having 2-3 characters is easier to develop a back story that the audience will engage with. For example 'The Desk' has one main character who features throughout the entire film.

Budget: 

Short films usually have a low budget. Many short films are made by young filmmakers who want to establish themselves in the film industry. Having a low budget will limit the actors and locations. The Independent market is usually defined by the budget that is available and the storyline. For example 'The Black Hole' uses only one main character and is set in one location. 

Length: 

A maximum length of a short film will range from 30-40 minutes. A film longer than this would be considered a feature film. Our short film will range from 5-8 minutes. This is the conventional time that many short films are. 

Storyline:

Short films usually show an everyday situation that when coming to an end surprise the audience. This makes a short film interesting to an audience as they can relate to the main characters situation. For example 'Office Space' shows a man working in a boring office job however there is a twist.