Institutional Information:
This short film follows a teenage boy as he tries to come to terms with his breakup by writing an email to his ex-girlfriend. This short film was released September 23rd 2014, it was directed by Anton Sheptooha and Nick L'Barrow and stars Alex Fitzalan and Steph Howe. The short film was edited and filmed by Joshua Hodgman. I found this short film on YouTube after it gained over five million views since it was published by Beyond Tomorrow Films. This short film has the tag line: 'Love at first sight isn't always what it seems, but its perfect while it lasts.'
Shots:
The short film opens with an out of focus shot of an open door looking into a party. All the people that walk out the door or past it are out of focus, however when the protagonist walks into the shot he is in focus, this shows the audience that he is the main character the short film will be following. This is also a mid shot. This is then followed by a mid shot of the protagonist looking over at the girl. The focus also changes from the boy to the girl as he looks at her. This is a clear indication to the audience that this is the girl that the short film will follow. The fact that the shot features a sharp focus on the girl indicates to the audience that this is a love story as it signifies the importance of him meeting her, knowing that she is going to change his life, therefore making it a short film within the coming of age/romance genre.
We then see a tracking shot of the protagonist as he walks over to the girl. The fact that we follow him on his walk over could be demonstrating the importance of her first impression of him and the fact that the shot is slow captures the whole movement could display to the audience how nervous he is to approach her, this is also backed up by the fact he fixes his hair as he walks over.
This over-the-shoulder close up shot is then used when he says 'hey' to girl. This close up is used to show the audience the nerves visible on his face. This shot is also when the voice over starts which again indicates to the audience that this is a love story and this relationship will be significant throughout.
This close up shot is used of them holding hands while they are in the cinema. The close up indicates that this was a significant moment in their relationship, maybe implying it is one of their first dates. This shows that even though it is a small action, it indicates a lot about their relationship.
This scene is followed by an establishing shot which pans around to them sitting by the lake. As the couple kiss, the film cuts to a close up shot demonstrating the intimacy of the moment between these characters.
Two over-the-shoulder shots are used to show the equal relationship between these two characters and that they have an equal relationship. This demonstrates the idea that your first love is always the hardest to get over as they are both as obsessed with the each other. This is also demonstrated by the focus of the shot being on their reactions.
A medium hand-held shot is also used to show the two characters walking down the street drunk, this is obvious as the boy has a bottle in his hand. The idea that the shot is handheld also hints to the audience that they are drunk as it makes the shot a lot more shaky, implying the characters a dizzy and disorientated which is something you experience after drinking alcohol.
This handheld shot of the two walking into the roof of a building creates a fast pace as we see them running up the stairs, this creates the idea of love as exciting. This mid shot also acts as an establishing shot as it shows them stood in front of a a large landscape which gives the audience an idea of where they live. Shots of sunsets are also commonly used in romance and coming of age films as it signifies something beautiful and romantic. It can also be used to give the idea of time stopping and just living in the moment, something that is also related with being with someone you love.
After the fade to black transition, there is a mid shot used of the two which pans out further and further throughout the scene. This scene shows the couple arguing. The toned down colours of this shot greatly contrast the colourful scenes of the sunset which we previously saw. The darkened colours show the shattering of their perfect romance as they argue. This shows love as being colourful and full of life, and as they break up the light and fun is sucked out their life. The panning out of this shot also contrasts with previous shots which pan towards them, these show them building their relationship and growing closer, where as the panning out of this shot shows them growing apart and breaking up.
This long shot is used of the boy as he says goodbye to the girl after they break up. This shots pans out quickly from the perspective of the car the girl is driving. This shot has the character look directly into the camera, displaying their desperation and emotion. Having the character stand in the middle of an empty road signifies how alone he is without her as well as his devastation that she has left.
This high angle mid shot is used of the two lying on the ground as a flashback while she is driving away, this high angle shot makes them seem carefree and happy. The bright colours in this shot also contrast the grey tone of the shots used when they breakup beforehand.
This mid shot has been used of the boy on his computer. The dark lighting in this shot signifies that this is nighttime, hinting that he is awake when he should be asleep, which could imply he has something on his mind which is keeping him awake. This is also backed up by the next shot which is a close up of an email he is writing to his now ex-girlfriend which links with the voiceover. The audience realises that the voiceover we have been hearing throughout the short film is actually the email he is writing to her after they have broken up. After the shot pans to the right it focuses on the words 'you miss me too' which links to the title of the short film 'I Miss You'.
There are then a series of close ups which are used to demonstrates the characters indecisiveness on whether or not to send the email. The close up of the 'send' button shows the importance of sending that email as there are many different outcomes if he did send it that could happen. He has also poured his heart into the email and sending it would mean becoming very vulnerable. This series of shots are also an example of an eye line match as he see the character looking at something and then we see what he is looking at. The close up of his face also demonstrates the inner battle within himself of whether or not to send the email.
The short film ends with a long/mid shot which pans out. This shows the boy on his own in his dark empty room. This demonstrates how lonely he is now that his relationship has ended. The fact that he is awake at night could signify he is depressed. This is then followed by credits which are laid over the top of photos of the couple.
Mis En Scene:
Some elements included in this short film are very common in coming of age short films. One example of this are the props used e.g. alcohol, cigarettes. In the opening of the short film the first scene is set at a party, a common location for this genre. The actions of the characters also demonstrates to the audience that they like each other as they display certain actions that show us that they want to make a good first impression. One example of this is the the boy drops his cigarette once he sees the girl, and as he walks over he also fixes his hair. Other props include flowers which are common in romance films.
Towards the end of the short film in the scene when the boy is writing the email, you can see he has grown some facial hair where as before he was clean shaven throughout all the previous scenes. This again implies he is depressed now that his relationship is over as he has stopped caring about mundane things which are viewed as normal in society such as shaving every morning.
These teenagers are presented as middle/higher class a few examples showing this are their big houses and the girl owning her own car. This will relate more to the audience who will be watching the short film as they will also need to own devices such as laptops and phones to be able to watch this as it was uploaded online and isn't something that is played on TV in the Cinema.
Editing:
One editing technique used is shot reverse shot which shows the equal relationship between these characters.
Another technique that is used is the fade to black transition. These are used to break up the short film up for example this transition is used between their happy memories and the start of their breakup. Another fade to black transition is also used between their breakup and the scene when the boy rights the email. These are used to signify time has passed between these scenes.
One of the editing techniques that make this short film so successful is the cross cutting used during the scenes of the breakup. There is constant cuts between the scenes remind the audience of all their memories and happy moments together which shows the audience what the boy is loosing with this break up. It constantly cuts between their argument, her leaving him and their old happy memories. One very clever link between these two shots is having the characters act out the same movements but with different consequences, in this example its the boy pulling the girl towards him by gently pulling her arm. In the scene with the argument we see him pulling her arm and her pulling away and then walking away, this flashes to the scene of them while they were drunk as he pulls her she moves in and they hug. This is a clear juxtaposition of the different outcomes of the same action, which shows the audience that their relationship has broken.
Another technique is the eye line match used when the boy is looking at the email he is writing and whether or not to send it, eventually closing the tab. This shows the audience the inner debate on whether to send it or not.
Sound:
The only diegetic sound that appears in the short film is in the beginning before the voiceover starts where we can hear the music playing in from the party and the buzz of conversation. The rest of the scenes in the short film don't include any diegetic sound.
A constant throughout the short film is the voiceover, this begins as soon as we see the two characters meet for the first time and begins with the word 'hey' which links to the scene as the first word the boy says to the girl is also 'hey'. This voiceover ties all the scenes together and makes sense of this collection of memories. This voiceover is played over non-diegetic calming music, this adds a peaceful tone to the short film and makes their romance seem sweet. This music quietens and slows down in the scene when he writes his email, signifying that once he deletes the draft of the email his life isn't sweet and carefree and their breakup has taken that aspect out his life. This music picks up again in the credits and lyrics are added as well.
Summary:
There are different aspects of this short film that I could incorporate into my own, one example being the voiceover, this is a clever way to link different scenes together and is a good idea for a coming of age genre as a common theme of this genre is self-reflection which is easy to incorporate into a voiceover.
No comments:
Post a Comment