Non Genre Specific Analysis: 1500 Words

Institutional Information:

The short film I am analysing is '1500 Words' by Andrew Chaplin. I found this short film on the website ShortOfTheWeek.com, a website which promotes award winning short films every week. This short film is about Stanley Frank's struggle to keep his marriage together and himself alive after being diagnosed with 1500 words left until until he dies. This film was screened at many different festivals including: The Portland Film Festival and Laughter Comedy fest, and was a winner at numerous festivals such as London Independent Film Festival, the New York Independent film festival, the International Filmmaker Festival of Milan, The Monthly film festival and the Underground Film fest. After touring festivals with '1500 Words' Chaplin went on to make the excellent 5-part sitcom Witless for the BBC. 

Timeline Analysis: 
To learn more about the different filming styles used in short films I analysed the first two minutes of '1500 Words' on a timeline. I focused on the different shots and camera angles used for the short film, as well as the different editing techniques they included. I focused on only the first two minutes because I felt this was the strongest section of the short film. The opening is also key to hooking your audience otherwise they will immediately loose interest in your product.

The genre of this short film is dark comedy. This is obvious as the film deals with dark subjects such as death and break ups in a humorous way. 

After viewing the clip it became clear to me that this opening didn't follow the traditional structure of Todorov's theory. This theory states that storylines in short films generally include three key stages within the film, these are: an equilibrium, disruption and finally restoration. This short film starts with the disruption and follows the character while he deals with this, however at the problem is not resolved it merely comes to an end. This follows a typical stereotype of the dark comedy genre as it focuses on the funnier side of a dark subject and follows the protagonist's story as he deals with it. I think this is a more successful method for a short film as it hooks the audience straight away.  

Shots:

One aspect of the short film opening I noticed was how the title of the Short film is displayed right at the beginning before any of the actual storyline. Some other short films open with a small scene which kickstarts the story which is then followed by the titles. This method leaves the storyline uninterrupted and adds to the continuity of the short film. I think for my short film I will insert the title around ten to thirty seconds into my opening as I think this makes it look more professional. 

This short film displays a clever use of different shots and camera angles to create an interesting and quirky short film. One scene in particular that stands out is the opening scene in the doctors office. For example, the first shot he uses is a high angle shot with the camera located above the desk the two characters are sitting at. This introduces the audience to the location the opening is set in which is an old fashioned doctors office and it also introduces us to the two characters. The mis en scene in this scene gives the audience a quirky vibe and presents the doctor in the scene as almost a mad scientist stereotype which is often popular in fictional films and cartoons. 

For example in the above shot the different props visible in the background add to the more 'animated' personality of the doctor, for instance we see a real scale skeleton behind him, a stethoscope to left of the shot on his desk and he see him wearing a doctors lab coat. These items all correlate with the typical doctor stereotype, therefore the audience is automatically able to identify his profession and understand the relationship between the two characters. The idea that they have also used these props and office background to make him seem more animated and less as a realistic doctor we would see in society today, links with the plot of the short film, as being diagnosed with 1500 words left to live isn't a real disease in the real world. This Mis en Scene also adds to this characteristic of the doctor as the wooden, warmly lit office contrasts to the cold, stark brightly lit doctors room we would see in real life based dramas such as Greys Anatomy or Casualty. 

This close up shot of the protagonists hand slamming the table is used to emphasise the anger he is feeling during his diagnosis. This is also successful because at the time the voiceover is stating the different stages of emotion to character goes through after his diagnosis. At the time of this close up the voiceover states 'Anger' and this links to the motion on the screen which is then emphasised by the shot choice. 

This extreme close up is used at 0:27 of the word count. This extreme close up creates humour within the short film as this number is quickly descending while the the protagonist is going through his different stages of acceptance of his illness. It creates humour as these words are precious as its a countdown of how long he has left to live and he is wasting them as he is complaining. It comes across as humorous as he is going the exact opposite of what he should be doing, which is preserving his words. This shot also adds to the quirky feel of the short film as is it such an extreme close up on such a small object, these aren't used very frequently in films, they tend to only include one or two of these shot types per film, therefore you can tell that this word count is going to be imperative to the plot. The quirky shots and Mis En Scene create a really interesting opening scene which draws in the audience and makes them want to watch the rest of the short film. 

This high angle shot is used at 0:31 of the protagonist attacking the doctors skeleton out of anger and confusion due to his diagnosis. This shot is also on a cantered angle which adds to the sense of confusion and the delusion the character is feeling. The Mis En Scene in this shot could also be interpreted as foreshadowing the protagonists death as he is battling the skeleton, it could be said he is battling death, which for him is inevitable. The skeleton is also in the dark on the right hand side of the screen and the protagonist is in the light in the left centre of the shot, this could be the representation of life and death through the lighting. 

At 2:06, this close up is used of the protagonist Stanley. This shot is used to display the character trying to come to terms with this impending death. This shot is also at a cantered angle which displays his confusion. As this film is based on the fact that the character doesn't have many words left to stay and has to stay silent, the close ups of this character are important for the audience to understand what he is thinking, these are used frequently throughout the short film, for example:

At 3:14, there are two shots used between Stanley and his girlfriend: 

The first shot used is a high angle shot of Stanley's girlfriend sat on the stairs and the second is a low angle shot of Stanley while he presents his girlfriend with a word. The low angle show used on the protagonist when he delivers the word could represent the importance of the moment, as these words are precious to him. The high angle shot on the girlfriend could represent the contrast of how little it means to her as she doesn't understand the situation. These shots represent their relationship and foreshadow their breakup later on which is initiated by the girlfriend. 

Several different establishing shots are used throughout the opening to show the different locations, these establish the location for the audience. Some examples are:

During the scenes of Stanley in the forest the shots change to handheld shots where as previously they had been stable and smooth shots. This projects the instability of his life since the doctors visit, the break up and being kicked out his home. The handheld shots also represent how the character has been drinking and is stumbling drunk through the forest. The director has showed the audience that he has drunk a lot through the multiple short timed close ups used of the protagonist opening the beers:

At 4:44 a handheld mid shot is used which circles the protagonist, this could also represent his drunken dizziness and disorientation due to the beer he has drunk.

This shot is used after the screen fades to black when Stanley wakes up and realises he has one word left. The cantered angle could be used to represent how the character is hungover and the realisation of the situation he is in. 

Editing:

The opening shot used is the title sequence. This shows a word count which is counting down and stops at the number 1500. This links well to the short film as the main character owns a word counter. The animation also makes it interesting and hooks the audience immediately which is very important for short films. 

Jumps cuts are used twice throughout the short film. Both times the technique is used it is to represent the passing of time. The first time was during the scene in the doctors office when he is going through the anger stage of acceptance:

The jump cuts are used to imply that a larger amount of time has been passed, leading to him using up lots of his words. This is a successful convention within this short film as it gives a comedic effect, which is the genre of the short film. Jump cuts are also used at 3:08 when the protagonist and his girlfriend are eating dinner. 

Another editing technique that the short film uses is shot reverse shot between the doctor and the protagonist as they are in the doctors office. This shows the doctor busy writing a letter while Stanley sits there clueless with what to do next, this shows the audience Stanley's realisation that he is on his own with this and the doctor can provide no more help.

The transitions used between scenes in this short film are very successful in helping with the flow of the story. The innovative ways scenes transition also help add to the quirky and interesting theme of film. One example of a cleverly planned transition is at 1:47 as the scene changes from the doctors office to street outside. This effortlessly merges the two scenes together through what looks like a swift left camera movement. 

First Scene:

Transition: 

Second Scene: 

Another clever transition used is at 2:23 when Stanley walks into a room and as he leaves the shot it moves to a black screen. This is a smooth transition from a real life shot to a black screen with some animation. I think the transitions are part of the reason why this short film is so successful as it looks effortless and really flows with the film which really helps the narrative.

Shot before transition: 

transition: 

Black screen with animation:

Another editing technique used is overlaying text onto the different shots which isn't visible to characters or included in the plot but which help aid the storyline and what the narrator is saying, some of the different elements added were a reminder to the audience of the number of words he had left and others were percentages which linked with the narrators monologue, examples of this are: 

Another editing technique the short film uses is the constant cutting back to the extreme close up shot of the decreasing word count every time the protagonist speaks, reminding the audience that his days are numbered. 

At 4:43 a Dissolve is used as Stanley gets drunk in the forest and is spinning around, this is used to show the audience that time has passed and he is very drunk as it replicates the dizziness the character would be experiencing. These clips of Stanley in the forest are edited into a montage, this is then summarised by the narrator. This then eventually fades onto the word count to show he has one word left. The audience then knows that Stanley has passed out due to the narrator emphasising that stanley has 'drank and drank' and also by the way the screen fades to black and the music ends. 

At 5:19, there is a eyeline match as we see a shot of Stanley looking at a picture of his girlfriend in his wallet, we then get a shot of the picture. There are also multiple examples of match on action in this short film just one of them being at 5:35 when Stanley runs towards the phone booth and it cuts to a different shot while it still seems one fluid motion from the character on screen, this helps with the continuity of the short film. 

Sound: 

In the opening scene of the short film in the doctors office, the non-diegetic background music is a classical instrumental, this helps add to the doctors character and the fact that he is a professional. At the same time the classical music fits perfectly with the idea that this doctor is quite old fashioned due to the Mis En Scene of his office in this scene. The music also has a sad tone to it which fits with the plot that the protagonist has been diagnosed with 1500 words left to live. During the scene, while Stanley is talking we hear the constant clicking of the word count in the doctors hand, this helps the audience remember he is using up his words which creates humour in the scene. 

As the scenes change and he is no longer in the doctors office the non-diegetic music changes to a more quizzical tone while we tries to figure out what to do. In these scenes we also hear diegetic sound such a the clicking of the projector and the sound of a car driving past. With the scenes about Stanley and his girlfriends relationship the music changes to a more heartfelt and upbeat tune, however this slows down and has a much sadder tone as the lighting gets more cold toned during the lead up to their break up. At 3:54 when Stanley is kicked out there is sudden non-diegetic church organs which could signify the death of their relationship as they are generally played at funerals. The  quick change in music is very sudden for the audience. The sound of the organs also works as a sound bridge as the sound continues into the next scene which shows Stanley outside of a church. 

As the scene changes from the church to the forest the sound changes very abruptly with it. The sound goes from loud church organs to loud bird noises, this represents the clear change from the industrial setting into nature. The music then picks up again in the scene in the woods with an upbeat tune which contrasts with the impending doom the character is facing therefore complying with the comedy genre. This music then cuts as the scene fades to black as Stanley passes out. In the final scene in the film as it fades to the credits we hear the sound of the phone dropping and hitting the floor, this tells the audience that Stanley has died.  

Throughout the whole of the short film a voiceover is used to narrate the plot, this is a successful as the storyline is about a man with limited words which means having a voiceover can fill in the blanks for the audience where normally the characters speaking to each other would drive the storyline. The narrator can also be used to create humour throughout the film, an example of this is the way the narrator talks about different word groups and types as Stanley is drunk in the forest, this is comedic as the storyline is based off of the theme of speech and words, this can also relate to the script as during the scene where Stanley and his girlfriend break up she starts the conversation with the line 'we need to talk'. 

Mis En Scene:

As mentioned previously, the Mis en Scene works to create the character of the old fashion doctor/scientist through different objects placed around his office, e.g. the skeleton and the scientist lab coat. 

The protagonist, Stanley is presented in this short film as a very average, ordinary guy. this is presented through his clothing, he is wearing very normal casual clothes, jeans, a top and a checkered shirt. This helps the audience sympathise with him and relate to him even in his odd circumstances. He also lives in an average sized house in quite a nice area which is fairly common, making him a very relatable character. 

Setting the scenes were Stanley gets drunk inside a wood is a stereotypical location in film conventions where characters would go when they need time alone. For example in horror movies characters tend to go to this location, it tends to be a place of self reflection as well as a place characters go when they are delusion. As this is a comedy they have used this stereotype and twisted it to make it funny by making the character get drunk by himself in this isolated area. It also suggests that he is alone with this problem he is facing and has no one there to help him after being kicked out the house by his girlfriend. The location of the phone box also signifies that he is alone and has no where to go as now a days we tend to use mobile phones or landlines and it is very rare to see a phone box used, this hints at a tone of desperation, almost like a last resort which are the exact emotions the character is experiencing as he is down to his last word before his life ends.