'The Last 3 Minutes' is an example of drama because it focuses on the retrospective narrative of the protagonists life at the time of his death. The audience are asked to empathize with him through the continuous use of POV shots and the themes of alcoholism, war and divorce are all communicated through mise en scene. A variety of editing techniques are also used to connect the various scenes together, developing the audience's understanding of the protagonist
NARRATIVE:
'The main character in this short is William Turner, a janitor whose life seems mundane on the surface but as it develops, many interesting layers are revealed.' - synopsis by cinematographer, Shane Hurlbut
The piece seems to challenge the conventions of shorts films as the narrative is quite complex, with a total of 15 settings being used in just four minutes dwarfing the two in Mixtape! However, the audience are able to comprehend the story as the POV shots anchor the change in setting as another part of William's life. This is a great example of carefully choosing shots that convey the narrative
POV shot during 'engagement' scene
In addition, the piece focuses on key events in William's life that an audience can easily deduce. For example, the shot on the left immediately communicates the idea of engagement through the use of mise en scene (the ring) and her shocked facial expression - this is further supported by her 'I do!'
Although The Last 3 Minutes is evidence that short film narratives are not wholly limited to a simple narrative and one or two settings, I feel that our group will create a more successful short film if we adopt Mixtape's approach to narrative, rather then the complexity demonstrated in The Last 3 Minutes
SOUND:
The main purpose of the sound utilized in this short film is to act as a sound bridge. This continuity technique connects the various settings of the film and supports the editing techniques used, such as fades and graphic matches. A key example of a sound bridge in the film is the cut from the placid beach scene to the intense Vietnam scene. The female character is shown splashing water at William - however, an explosion is heard and then the action cuts to the middle of the war
Sound bridge from beach scene to Vietnam scene
The lack of dialogue from William himself gives him an ambiguity and allows a wider variety of audience to empathize with him. For example, if he were to communicate through dialogue with the audience, his accent and manner of speech would develop his identity and could isolate parts of the audience. Chan seems keen to leave William as ambiguous as possible so that his message and purpose of the piece can be communicated to a wide and varied audience
Opening shot of The Last 3 Minutes
However, William's lack of dialogue also isolates him from the audience - in the opening shot, he is shown on his own and isolated from other people (ie. the guy that walks past him and ignores him). In a similar way, Chan's decision to prevent William from offering his own commentary of his life develops his insignificance - the audience can engage with his life without his explanation or opinion
CAMERAWORK / MISE EN SCENE / EDITING:
Close up on William
There are several interesting examples of camerawork throughout the piece. For example, the first close up on William's face signals indefinitely that he is the main character in the piece and the subject of the film's narrative. Lighting is used effectively to draw the audience's attention to his face, generating audience empathy. This is important to the narrative - if the audience lack concern for him, the purpose of the piece is defunct.
A conventional 'interrogation' scene
The lighting also hints at the consequent insight into his life, with the lighting offering connotations of death ('head towards the light') as well as interrogation. In a similar way, the intense light on his face could signal his imminent death to the audience. However, it could also develop into an 'interrogation' of William's life - as he nears his death, the audience are asked to judge the events of his life.
The theme of romance is conveyed through the relationship between Ben and Lily; the use of a mixtape denotes 'young love' and innocence whilst the use of parallel editing suggests a relationship between the two. Sound is also used effectively to communicate the concept of love, with the lyrics of the diegetic soundtrack declaring 'I wonder where my baby is tonight'; it also enforces the parallel editing as they both are shown to be singing to it
NARRATIVE:
'Ben spends his time listening to his Dad's old 70's vinyl and making mixtapes on an old double deck tape recorder. He makes a tape to try and woo the girl next door, Lily, the girl of his dreams' -synopsis from the director, Luke Snellin
The narrative used is simple and relies upon archetypal characters [ie. the shy young boy in love and the girl next door] - this is important as, due to the short amount of time the film has to communicate the narrative to the audience, the audience has to be absolutely sure on each character's purpose immediately
The narrative also covers a short amount of time and is shot in two settings, representing a 'vignette' in the lives of the two characters; this high level of focus on the protagonists communicates to the audience that they are to be sympathized with - this is also supported by camerawork
I believe that using a simple narrative is key to creating a successful short film - in our film, we will look to include stereotypical characters and limit the amount of settings we use! Also, unless we decide to create a thriller short film, we would look to utilize a linear structure to offer the audience as much information as possible from the opening
SOUND:
Opening shot in Mixtape
The use of sound is vital to communicating the narrative to the audience in this film. For example, the plot itself revolves around the idea of a mixtape, a means of sharing music. This is shown in the first shot, accompanied by the diegetic sound of the tape reel recording a new tape. This immediately signals to the audience that the film is all about music, but more importantly, the role of music in bringing people together.
Sound also enforces the connection between Ben and Lily; after receiving the mixtape, Lily is shown singing to it, followed by parallel editing showing them both dancing to the same song - this creates the impression of their unity as they are both listening to the song at the same time.
Close up of facial expression used
when Ben leaves the house
In addition, sound is used to generate mood. For example, when Ben leaves the house to give the mixtape to Lily, the soundtrack becomes more upbeat and uses distorted guitar, creating a sense of determination as well as anxiety. This enforces the facial expression shown in the corresponding shot. In a similar manner, the soundtrack used in the final scene implies happiness and romance, supporting the dancing that both characters are shown doing.
CAMERAWORK / MISE EN SCENE / EDITING:
Closing shot of Mixtape
There are several interesting uses of camerawork, mise en scene and editing in the short film. Firstly, I feel the closing shot really emphasizes the narrative concept behind the entire film. It is a form of two shot, but covers two settings, encapsulating the relationship between the two. It also clearly highlights the body language of both characters and suggests that both are thinking of the other. I would like to include a shot like this in our piece as it is a simple shot to shoot yet effective and it contributes a significant amount to the narrative.
The use of the mixtape is also effective. During the film, it serves two main purposes; firstly, it establishes the theme of romance, with it's connotations of young love. However, it also works as a way of creating a link between the two characters, without the need for dialogue or lengthy explanations. This use of mise en scene is an interesting one and is often used in complicated thrillers [such as the diamond in Guy Ritchie's Snatch] to communicate a link between a diverse range of characters. However, by using this technique in a simple setting, it also works as a good way of managing time in a short film.
Parallel editing sequence from Mixtape [Left-to-Right]
Parallel editing is essential to this film; without it, the narrative would become difficult to follow and thus, become less effective. It is a very simple way of creating a link between characters. As a group, we tried to use this technique in our AS product. However, we didn't use parallel editing to inform the audience but to confuse them. It would be interesting to use this technique in a similar way to Mixtape in our film and develop an audience's understanding of the narrative through it's use.
THEMES / REPRESENTATION:
The main theme in Mixtape is that of young love, which is presented in a positive manner throughout. There are no 'heavy' meanings or purposes behind the film and it's main aim appears to be to entertain. It also relies heavily upon stereotypes to convey information about the characters efficiently, which is a technique our group should consider as one of the main criticisms of our AS piece was that the narrative lacked clarity and confused the audience.
Using what we have learnt from “Love Field” we would take the plot twist idea and use that within our own film. A murder is a party not a birth in our plan however.
Here we can see the twist before and after:
oPositive
§Easy to make a “trashed” setting to suggest a struggle.
§Not make settings needed, filming is easier.
§We have worked with thriller conventions so it would be easier for us to revert to working with them again.
§Easy to find a usable location.
§Will allow us to use a variety of shot types for good reason. E.g. Close Ups and long shots which will be good for showing our framing skills.
Examples:
oNegative
§Have to film it all at once otherwise there will be continuity errors.
§Lots of preparation.
§Hard to establish it was a party rather than a murder at the end (the twist).
§It will be difficult to show what we need to show without giving too much away.
§Could be hard to get smooth dolly shots on the ground outside.
'After a drunken night, a hungover young man wakes up to a smashed house and covered in blood. Whilst attempting to piece together the events of the previous night, he stumbles upon a dead girl in his kitchen. Desperate to destroy the evidence before his parents return home, he dumps the body in the shed and clears up the house. When his unsuspecting parents return to the family home, no signs of the hectic night before are to be seen.... until a text reveals to them that the young guy had decided to hold a house party (that went out of hand quickly!) and the girl isn't dead but in a drunken slumber'
The narrative we have chosen is quite complex to communicate to an audience, especially after establishing the piece as a horror, only to undermine it as a comedy. In order for this to be successful, we will have to ensure that all aspects of our film are accurate: camerawork must draw the audience's attention to key props in shots (ie. smashed glass to communicate the idea of violence), a parallel soundtrack will have to be used to establish the genre as horror in order to undermine it as a comedy successfully and editing will have to be used creatively to communicate the sense of urgency in only five minutes!
Whilst discussing our narrative, we decided to focus our film for a working class/lower middle class demographic, between the ages of 16-25. We believe our narrative is better suited for a male audience; despite this, we would not catergorize it as a 'male' film as it will also appeal to females as well (although, not as much as a male audience). The main justification for aiming our film at this audience is the theme of violence - the shock value of films like the Saw franchise and The Human Centipede seem to appeal to this audience, with special focus on gore. However, the narrative twist of a disobedient youth holding a house party and trying desperately to cover it up is a concept that our audience can identify with and one that is common in sitcoms aimed at this audience.
GENRE: horror, comedy, narrative twist
Our main influence concerning genre is Ratthe's short film, Lovefield (set up link to 'Lovefield' research). The main appeal of this film for our group was the concept of establishing one genre and then contradicting that with another genre in the closing section of the piece.
It is an ambitious narrative to attempt to convey to an audience; however, we can draw upon the skills we gained during our AS portfolio, in which we had to create a thriller opening. The research into conventions of this genre can be applied to horror, with techniques that create mystery and suspense allowing us to create 'jumps'.
It is a hybrid of horror, suspense and drama as viewers are lead to believe that a woman has been murdered by use of Mise en Scene, only for it to be revealed as her giving birth at the end. This misdirection is something I want to try do in our short film.
The use of piano, stringed instruments and pace of the music all makes the viewer think they are watching a murder and adds to the misconception of the film
The Mise en Scene in this film is what makes it stand out. By careful use of Mise en Scene it fools its viewer into thinking something terrible has/is going to happen to the woman, when in fact it’s properly her greatest day.
The film uses people’s stereotypical views to its advantage. A screaming woman and a shady man walking away makes the viewer believe he’s done something to this woman when in fact he is trying to help her.
Uncle Jack by Jamin Winans
Uncle Jack is a short action film which cleverly uses narrative and acting to make it feel as though the characters involved are in the story they tell when it is clear they aren’t
The film uses it narrative by making
The music as the fantasy world and makes the story more captivating
Some really good camerawork is involved in this film, especially the shots where the camera is strapped to the steering wheel of the car
It touches on the theme of drugs and the problems they cause.
Noted to death by Rooster Teeth
Noted to death is a comedy thriller with a ‘twist ending’ The music and camerawork show this off the most.
The music helps the audience feel creped out and threatened by Joel
The camerawork is good for making it a thriller, especially at 1:46 and a:54
Uses real people, this is how they actually act in real life
Chronological structure
Conventions
It’s socially possible, main point of social realism
Main culture of the children is easily shown through the apparent dominance of males, even though the girl is a character who can stand up for herself.
Use of camera shots sped up to show the movement of time, I like this because it is a good way to show how long the children have to wait in the cars, and that they have to create their own form of entertainment whilst waiting, this could be why the boy started off the banter with the girl.
Format and Narrative
Show’s a memorable moment of the characters life, perhaps one that has had a particularly large influence, for example this could be the girl he falls in love with and that was his first time meeting her. But perhaps the director found this ring one day and sparked the memory.
Short narrative shows the message is to the point and clear. Simple to remember.
Chronology always linear so the narrative is clear.
Editing
Mostly cuts at an average pace, this shows that there is no action or suspense in this film, it is just an average day in their normal lives.
Some sequences sped up to show the passing of time, very clever as it could show the children’s boredom.
Lots of camera movement and panning
The whole film is in black and white, I really like this because it shows that this is either a scene from the past, or is a memory.
Themes
Could be based on a specific memory of the director that has influenced him in his life
Shows how children pass their time when on their own and how they make friends and meet people.
Signs:
Genre: romance, drama
Mostly filmed in an office set to give the idea that they are actually in a working environment.
There is very little dialogue in this film. To start with this is to show that the protagonist is lonely and has absolutely no one to talk to; he doesn’t even say much when his parents phone him. Later on in the film there is no need for dialogue as the signs they are both holding up is the only conversation you need to see.
Conventions
The idea of holding up the signs to each other is a very clever and original idea, I like it because it has a humorous side to it, by seeing how shy the man is compared to the woman and how they develop a friendship by the showing of these signs.
Simple and effective, as any short film should be, I think our film should have a simple idea like this.
Format and Narrative
Chronology is linear so the narrative is clear. I think our film should be linear as I think many films that aren’t linear are too complicated to follow and would be very difficult to edit.
Perhaps shows a significant moment in his life, perhaps this woman becomes his lover or wife, and this is where and how they first met.
Based on the man being lonely and finding someone who talks to him and gives him something to look forward to.
Editing
Not much camera movement
Average paced cuts as it is everyday life and there is no real action or tense scenes.
Wide depth of field in the beginning shows couples around him. I really like this because it shows how lonely he is feeling and how he wishes he had someone to talk to.
Themes
Based on love and how it can be found in the strangest ways.
Could be a past experience of the director and the protagonist is based on him.
Mahna mahna killer:
Genre: black humour
Filmed outside in a showy forest, this is because it could be the scene of an execution such as in this film.
Only dialogue is the singing but this adds to the humour of it.
Conventions
The idea of singing just before being executed is ridiculous.
The song is what adds to the conventions that this is a very quirky film
It’s a very simple concept and idea, but this makes the gag that much more effective.
I think the director has tried to make the opening seem like a really serious war film, this is helped by the blood down the man’s face, him crying and the digging of the grave. When he starts to sing, it is the last thing anyone would expect in a serious film.
Format and Narrative
Chronology is linear
Short narrative and very simple, doesn’t really need anything to add to it as it’s so simple.
No particular storyline but it doesn’t need it, it has it’s desired effect without a story.
Editing
The point of view shot at the beginning is very clever, it shows the man blinking and his body being dragged along, he has obviously just regained consciousness as everything is blurry. I really like this and would love to include it in our film somewhere.
Canted point of view shot of the man digging a grave shows a variation of shots.
Regular paced shots apart from a long paced shot at the end of the film of the man filling in the grave.
Themes
Dark Comedy
Shows that some people will do almost anything to stay living.
Filmed in the British countryside to show a realistic landscape of where a couple would be walking.
All three characters have an equal amount dialogue; this is to show that each character is equally important.
Based on real people and how simple misunderstandings can result in death. It’s a very clever idea and even though it is quite dark, the comedy factor is an over protective farmer who kills two people to keep his land. The main comedy line is “actually… I think this was a public footpath…” this is funny as the argument starts with the farmer saying that they’re on private property.
Conventions
Takes a normal everyday misunderstanding and turns it into a double murder. This is a clever idea because things like this have happened in the past.
Shows how overprotective some people are of the things they own.
Format and Narrative
Chronology is linear
Short and simple narrative
Editing
Average paced shots even when the man is shot.
Not much camera movement apart from occasional pans.
2 shots, close ups, big close ups, extreme long shots all used.
Themes
Protective farmers who love their land.
Young men who are looking for a fight and pay the consequences when they lose.
