Our short film conforms to codes and conventions as it is less than 55 minutes, it has a small set of characters and has been produced on a low budget. We experimented with different filming and editing techniques and decided upon stop frame animation and we aimed to make it abstract and be as creative as possible with the storyline. There were no boundaries on our short film and it is quite controversial as it is a very mature film with an element of immaturity due to the teddy bear reference. It is not at all cliché and doesn’t have a specific genre; this allowed us to work more freely. The pace of our film was also quite fast as we didn’t have enough time to build tension or a storyline as a feature length film would. We didn’t work with professional industry equipment and we worked in a small team.
I have previously blogged about films that have influenced our short film. They have been teddy bear based as from the beginning we wanted to mix the themes of childhood and adulthood. The use of camera was influenced by a short film we had watched by previous students who has done the same unit as us. It was completely in photographs and we felt this was a different approach to short film and adapted it into our own. A mainstream film that we took our idea from was Toy Story, as we had recently watched it, it was fresh in our minds and proved that a person’s childhood always stays through them throughout life and it also displayed the transition between childhood and adulthood. Our target audience is very niche. It is for those who enjoy abstract films and over the age of 15. It is slightly humorous so could possibly reach out to a slightly wider audience. We have reached out to them using adult reference, a range of emotions throughout the short film can be exposed, humour, it is very relatable and the idea of innocence that is shown in the teddy. I would like to exhibit my short film on youtube as it is a very famous video website so it could be easily accessed. I would also put it on vimeo as that site is visited and used by breakers into the media industry. Short film competitions and festivals are a good way to get my work out there and to watch other short films for further inspiration.
Friday 17 December 2010
Editing So Far
So far, editing has gone successfully. We have most of our footage edited and our voiceover is completed. There have however, been a few changes to our original idea. We wanted to do things such as make the teddy walk in stop frame or throw up but we couldn’t because it proved hard when it came to filming. We also wanted to do some focus pulls on the camera but because we were using a standard compact camera, we didn’t have the option of doing so. The person we intentionally wanted to be the voice of our teddy later changed to another person as we came to a joint conclusion Alex’s voice matched the character of our teddy well. We changed the intro of our short film from outside to indoors as we would have had continuity issues; the teddy would appear outside the suddenly be indoors. We felt this didn’t work well. We needed to reshoot due to lack of footage, when we were filming we were convinced we had enough photographs but because our whole short film is in photographs, we should have thought through how much pictures we would need more thoroughly. When we are able to edit again, we will continue to finish our short film by filling in any gaps, adding a sound track and making titles and credits. Over the Christmas holidays we will take the time as an opportunity to take more photographs.
Thursday 18 November 2010
Edit- Week Three
We wanted to record our voice over first before we added more pictures so were knew how much space we had to contend with. Our teacher suggested auditioning more than one person for the voice over so we had variety of voices and then we could chose.
We spent the first lesson of this week getting a camera out and finding a room to hold our voice over auditions, Our first person was Sam Ab his voice was an excellent "teddy bear voice" it was mature and fitted the style of the bear we was using for the film, we spent the whole lesson going through the script; highlighting sections we wanted him to say differently.
The second lesson we uploaded the voiceover from the day before, we listened and edited sections before we held our second set of auditions for the voiceover. We chose Alex for my second voice, he had a lot of enthusiasm and gave a dramatic edge to the voice of teddy, we uploaded it and edited sections.
After listening to both it was a hard decision but we chose Alex for the teddy.
We spent the first lesson of this week getting a camera out and finding a room to hold our voice over auditions, Our first person was Sam Ab his voice was an excellent "teddy bear voice" it was mature and fitted the style of the bear we was using for the film, we spent the whole lesson going through the script; highlighting sections we wanted him to say differently.
The second lesson we uploaded the voiceover from the day before, we listened and edited sections before we held our second set of auditions for the voiceover. We chose Alex for my second voice, he had a lot of enthusiasm and gave a dramatic edge to the voice of teddy, we uploaded it and edited sections.
After listening to both it was a hard decision but we chose Alex for the teddy.
Edit - Week Two
We wanted a second opinion on the photographs we had already taken and if the style of the film was acceptable due some sexual references. We was told that the photographs appears too quickly and the pace was far too fast and the audience weren't able to focus and follow the story. So we changed this and slowed the pace down because we also had to think about how the voice over would fit into the rhythm of the film.
Edit - Week one.
When we uploaded our photographs we soon discovered we had no where near as much as we needed.
All together we took 360 photos, most of them we had to get rid of because of how they looked once they were uploaded. As we put them on the time line we had a shock that the whole film only came to 30 seconds. This meant we would need go out again and take more pictures and re-plan our film to bulk out what we already had. However we decided to do what we could with what we had and properly plan days to go out and take pictures.
On the thursday we decided to choose music for our film to save time at the end, we searched through soundtrack pro and found some tracks that would be suitable for the film. We had to think about the pace of the film and how in certain parts its "touching", we needed music that would emphasis this
All together we took 360 photos, most of them we had to get rid of because of how they looked once they were uploaded. As we put them on the time line we had a shock that the whole film only came to 30 seconds. This meant we would need go out again and take more pictures and re-plan our film to bulk out what we already had. However we decided to do what we could with what we had and properly plan days to go out and take pictures.
On the thursday we decided to choose music for our film to save time at the end, we searched through soundtrack pro and found some tracks that would be suitable for the film. We had to think about the pace of the film and how in certain parts its "touching", we needed music that would emphasis this
The Shoot- Day 3
This was our final day of the shoot, We had spoken on social networking site and discussed we wanted to take night-time shots so I arranged to take pictures separately and we would look at them the next day and discuss whether or not they would work for the film.
I used dim lightening and was given natural shadows by the darkness to create our "wifey" sexy photo-shoot, this in the long run saved us time because we wasted a lot of time the day before "creatively" planning. We spent the rest of the day perfecting our stop frame animation to make our photographs flow.
I used dim lightening and was given natural shadows by the darkness to create our "wifey" sexy photo-shoot, this in the long run saved us time because we wasted a lot of time the day before "creatively" planning. We spent the rest of the day perfecting our stop frame animation to make our photographs flow.
The Shoot- Day 2
I fully charged the camera up for the shoot today to save the problems from Day 1, We filmed the second half of the script however we encountered some problems with creativity, finding props for the party seen and “teddy being beaten up” caused us to stop for an hour to think about how we would film this. If we had thought about it before hand we could of properly story boarded this and brain stormed ideas about what props we had available. We also had problems trying to make smoke appear effective on pictures, we spent a long time blowing smoke onto the camera we wasted a lot of money on cigarettes we would of tested this method before the shot. Our pictures did not come out effective so we had to cut certain shots out of the film, this was a disappointment because we had planned for this, so we spent a lot more time thinking of how to fill the gap.
The Shoot- Day 1
We arranged to meet at 10-am due to bus times we was 10 minutes late but this didn't hold up our schedule because we allowed time for lateness. We had slight problems with our camera before we left, We weren't able to take out a SLR camera so we had to do with a compact camera so we decided to use Katie Louise's personal camera because it had higher mega pixels.
All the photos used for the films were taken in my house, we used this location because it looked urban and was convenient for the equipment. However we did have difficulty with the lightening because of the position of the my flat, it is shadowed with the flats above so it was hard for us to take pictures without the sun going in and out. We decided to do a bit each other spitting up the story board into 3 days, we had to take into account charging up the camera because the battery seemed to go quickly.
We overcame the lighting by attaching torches and small lamps to clothes hangers above the teddy by doing this also created shadows which gave our images depth. We found it really useful completing our story board CORRECTLY before going to shoot because we didn't get stuck and mess around not knowing what we was doing, we looked the story board for help
All the photos used for the films were taken in my house, we used this location because it looked urban and was convenient for the equipment. However we did have difficulty with the lightening because of the position of the my flat, it is shadowed with the flats above so it was hard for us to take pictures without the sun going in and out. We decided to do a bit each other spitting up the story board into 3 days, we had to take into account charging up the camera because the battery seemed to go quickly.
We overcame the lighting by attaching torches and small lamps to clothes hangers above the teddy by doing this also created shadows which gave our images depth. We found it really useful completing our story board CORRECTLY before going to shoot because we didn't get stuck and mess around not knowing what we was doing, we looked the story board for help
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Script
Teddy Script:
Teddy is sitting on a bench, with a small lunchbox next to him and a blackberry in his hand, focus on the facebook update: Teddy is on the bench alone again. The teddy then has a sandwich in his hand ready to eat it.
Harry: Hmm that was nice sandwich, cheese and pickle (nom nom nom – sandwich disappear which the nosie is being herd)
I don’t really feel like going home, life isn’t what it used to be. Liam; my best friend, well he always was, I suppose now he just see’s me as Harry the teddy that gets in the way. It wasn’t always like this mind you; I’ve been there for Liam when he’s needed me.
(Cuts to the scene of the Harry and the Sex scene)
Harry: Sophie was his first love; He would talk to me about his feelings for her and how he longed to have her, unfortunely I misunderstood what he meant
(Noises banging)
Harry: He clearly didn’t know what he was doing or how to treat a real lady but near the less I had to sit through it ‘ HUFFFF’ even covering my eyes weren’t enough
(Condom falls on his head)
Harry: Its not easy being a teddy
(Head falls down as if in shame)
Harry: I knew things were getting bad when he took me to a party, it wasn’t like previous ones I’ve been to where the girls and boys played pass the parcel and musical chairs, it was very dark and the girls and boys were dancing strangely together. I tried a sip of beer but it made me feel terribly sick
(Show a puddle of sick next to him)
My head was spinning, there was only one thing I remember though and that is a couple of Liam’s friends stole my blackberry now how will I update my twitter and facebook?
(Tear rolls down his face)
Harry: Harry loved to experiment with different things, I remember when he made a peanut butter and ham sandwich or when he washed his hair with fairy liquid but this time he wanted to experiment with something a little stronger
(Smoke gets blown in teddy’s face & his paw covers his mouth)
Harry: the smell was unbearable and it gave me a little cough but Liam loved it so I had to put up with it, I hoped it was a phase but it wasn’t
(Teddy drops his head and lays on the floor)
Harry: Liam seemed to have a lot of friends, he enjoyed his “hobbies” however I certainly didn’t and I couldn’t wait for Liam to grow up so we could get involved in mature activities but deep down I knew this was never going to happen
(Teddy looking at a picture of him and Liam)
Harry: But luck would have it my small prayer was answered, Liam wanted us to go on a trip to “Sophie’s” again her mother had gone away for the weekend and she was “lonely” so goodness knows why we had to go around
(Teddy in the rucksack half hanging out)
Harry: and then I saw her, she was beautiful, I’d only ever seen something that beautiful when Liam brought a home grown rose from nursery class, her paws looked so soft, her fur so sleek
(Close up of female teddy lying on the bed with sunglasses on doing a SEXY POSE)
Harry: Now here is a woman I would like to spend a little time with, but how to start
Hi I’m teddy, yes that’s right teddy bear ;) no no maybe I should try where have you been all my life? Nope that’s cheesy okay relax
(Teddy lies next to Female Teddy)
Harry: But I didn’t use any cheesy lines, I just planted a single kiss on her lips and she was mine
(Teddy kisses Teddy)
Harry: This meant it was goodbye Liam and hello Wifey!
Prop List
3 – Desk lamps
1 – Cardboard box
Glow sticks
Empty beer bottle
1 - Rack sack
1 – Condom
Blackberry mobile phone
Teddy Bear
Female Teddy Bear
Small lunchbox
Half a cheese sandwich
scramble eggs/sweet corn/baked beans - to make SICK
Friday 8 October 2010
Synopsis
A lonely teddy bear named Harry has to watch firsthand, as his owner Liam grows up and embraces teenage life. He is exposed to youth culture today such as partying, drinking and smoking. Harry finds himself in many unfortunate situations such as being robbed, being ill and feeling unwanted.
After witnessing and experiencing several alien activities, Harry learns to accept that he no longer fits in and Liam doesn’t need him anymore. It is his time to seek a companion of his own.
After witnessing and experiencing several alien activities, Harry learns to accept that he no longer fits in and Liam doesn’t need him anymore. It is his time to seek a companion of his own.
A tale of loniless told through the perspective of our greatest childhood companions.
Planning Sheet
| Monday 18th | Tuesday 19th | Wednesday 20th | Thursday 21st | Friday 22nd |
| Day off Give time for Extra Planning | Filming 10am to 2pm | Filming 10am to 2pm | Filming 10am to 2pm | Evaluation of Filming (Discuss If we need more filming) |
| - | Lunch break 1pm till 1.15pm | Lunch break 1pm till 1.15pm | Lunch break 1pm till 1.15pm | - |
| Text/Call to discuss work | Location: House | Location: House | Location: Park | |
| Pick up from Ashley: Camera – KL Tripod – CK | Katie-Louise Camera Carla Katrice Tripod | Katie-Louise Tripod Carla Katrice Camera | Katie-Louise Tripod Carla Katrice Camera | Katie-Louise Tripod Carla Katrice Camera |
Monday 4 October 2010
Tim Burton
Tim Burton was born on August 25th 1958. He is an aclaimed film director, producer and writer. His most famous feature length films include Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhand, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Batman Returns.
From a young age Tim Burton would make short films in his back yard using techniques such as stop motion. After studying at Burbank high school where he wasn’t a particularly good student, he went on to study Character Animation at the Calafornia Institute of the Arts.
After graduating, he was an apprentice at Disney where he made the short film Frenkenweenie, a 29 minute long film about a boy and his dog. It didn’t reach commercial release because it was said to be ‘too scary’.
Tim Burton is now working on a full feature length film, based on his short film Frankenweenie. It is due to be release in 2012.
Why are Short Film Festivals so successful & popular?
Film festivals allows a market for amateurs to screen the work they’ve created and it also allows the bigger companies to pick up talented individuals. They also provide an alternative for mainstream films and provide another option, something more realistic and non-conventional. The indie culture is a relatively new one and could be concidered ‘fashionable’ therefore others arelikely to follow.
Short film festivals is a way to create a buzz around you and be spotted. It also allows those who only have a small budget to screen their work.
London Short Film Festival
London Short Film festival is the most popular and pans out over 10 days. The 2011 festival will be its 8th. Over 200 short films are screened by un and coming aspiring film makers. These films are screened at the best London cinemas.
The 2010 festival reached locations such as Soho and the East End. It included an event at the Camden Roundhouse.
‘In 2003 Philip Ilson and Kate Taylor organised the first Halloween Short Film Festival at the ICA. This was formed as a continuation of The Halloween Short Film Club which Philip had been programming since 1994. In 2008 the festival became the London Short Film Festival and has been growing year on year to take in more films, live music, industry and training and diverse, high quality venues.’
In the 2010 festival plus tickets were sold, there were 42 events across 10 different venues over the 10 days and three quarters of the events sold to capacity.
The London Film Festival had eight media partners and 16 creative programme partners.
London Short Film Festival has received praise from many major print publishers.
Some are listed below:
A London bastion of cutting-edge short films and multimedia’ - The Times
‘The festival that mixes short film, music and fun in equal doses’ – Guardian Guide
Shane Meadows
Born in 1972 in Staffordshire, Shane Meadows is a self-taught film maker
Shane Meadows had plans to become a criminal mastermind after he dropped out of education after completing his O-Levels. After being taken to court for stealing a breast pump from Boots and being humiliated, he learnt that the criminal life he set out for wasn’t for him. Instead he decided to put his energy into filming.
After gaining an interest in film, Shane Meadows worked at the Intermedia Film and Video Ltd in Nottingham where in return he was allowed to borrow filming and editing equipment for his work. It was then he began to get his family and friends involved with his filming projects. Shane made many short films which gradually began to impress his friends due to their uniqueness and quality. Then, he started to produce short films on a more regular basis.
Shane soon began to get frustrated with the fact there was nowhere to screen his and other short films. Shane and his friends decided to successfully set up their own film festival called ‘Six of the Best’ which was screened at their local cinema every couple of months. Six of the Best soon turned into ‘Flip Side’ which is an international video festival.
Shane Meadows first gained seriousrecognition in the film industry after making the short film ‘Where’smy money, Ronnie?’. This very short film led to him being given the oppertunityto film a Channel 4 documentary called ‘King of the Gypsies’.
Still working at Intermedia, Shane made another video called Smalltime which was later to be titled Left. This film won many European Film Festivals and led to him being able to make his first feature length film Twnetyfour seven.
After Twentyfour seven he made the ever so popular This Is England which was a hit.
Although Shane makes feature length films, he still returns to short films and helping aspiring film makers break into the industry.
Silver Films Production Company
Founded in 1996 by Janey De Nordwall, Silver Films is a production company. Silver Films Production Company is recognised for being able to reach out to the audience of their video. They have produced a number of award winning short films including About a Girl which is directed by Brian Percival.
Some of Silver Films videos are used to market good causes such as fundraising. Their latest short film is being used by a major charity as well as being screened at major film festivals. This short film is ‘Gardens with Red Roses’.
Their films have high production values. Their short films provide narrative and aim to tell a story as well as touching an audience.
As well as producing five award winning short film, Silver Films Production Company have made their first feature length film. This film is based on the novel Nalda Said by Stuart David.
Silver Films Production Company was joined in 2006 by Commercials Director, Richard Oliver who has gained recognition for his individuality. He, as part of Silver Films has produced award winning TV commercials for overseas.
Silver Films Production Company has a aptitude for producing high quality short films which are distinctive.
The History of Short Film
Short film has revolutionised the film industry. With every new advancement in film, there has been a short film that sparked it off.
1985: First short film publicly exhibited. This film is called ‘La Sortie de l’Usine’ by Lumiere a Lyon.
This was very short due to technically restrictions. It wasn’t until 1910 when films got longer that the term ‘short subjects’ was coined.
La Sortie de l’Usine was a big deal as its technology was a scientific breakthrough and reflects history.
‘Short subjects’ became quite popular amongst audiences because people could go to the cinema and see three to four films rather than just one. This was important at the time as there were few forms of entertainment for the masses.
1930’s Hollywood block-booking.
Big Hollywood Studios forces small production companies to sell their shorts and which they turned into feature length films.
Supreme Court of US declared block-booking illegal but the damage to short film had been done.
The classical narrative- 90 minutes or more feature film
More profitable for film exhibitors- two hours turnover of film
Invention of TV- Mass medium
Short Films were aired until the 1960’s
1980’s short film reinvented however, they were much darker and grittier. No longer about commercial success but about content and conveying a message.
1985: First short film publicly exhibited. This film is called ‘La Sortie de l’Usine’ by Lumiere a Lyon.
This was very short due to technically restrictions. It wasn’t until 1910 when films got longer that the term ‘short subjects’ was coined.
La Sortie de l’Usine was a big deal as its technology was a scientific breakthrough and reflects history.
‘Short subjects’ became quite popular amongst audiences because people could go to the cinema and see three to four films rather than just one. This was important at the time as there were few forms of entertainment for the masses.
1930’s Hollywood block-booking.
Big Hollywood Studios forces small production companies to sell their shorts and which they turned into feature length films.
Supreme Court of US declared block-booking illegal but the damage to short film had been done.
The classical narrative- 90 minutes or more feature film
More profitable for film exhibitors- two hours turnover of film
Invention of TV- Mass medium
Short Films were aired until the 1960’s
1980’s short film reinvented however, they were much darker and grittier. No longer about commercial success but about content and conveying a message.
Short Film and the Internet
BBC Film Network and Coffee Shorts are just two websites the internet has to offer full of short films. The internet alone has allowed the short film industry to grow and stay alive. The internet makes Short Film accessible to by anyone. It allows people to support indie film makers and watch short films that have won awards.
Allowing aspiring Film Directors to upload their short films on the internet allows them to gain recognition and also helps them get an audience for their work. Watching Short Films on the internet are also free of charge which means anyone can watch them without leaving you out of pocket.
Short film being on the internet will also open up the eyes of those who didn’t think they would like it. They will be enticed by the fact they can be very quirky, not predictable and that there is something for everyone.
Coffee Shorts in particular only upload by invite only, good, award winning Short Films so you can always expect quality when you go onto their website. Over time, Coffee Shorts has become one of the best known independent short film channels and has many of the best short films around. BBC Film Network tend to accept amateur work as well as widely recognised ones.
Both BBC Film Network and Coffee Shorts screen indie documentary films, short film animation and experimental short films.
Without the internet, short film would be harder to get around. It would be too expensive to put on TV or at the Cinema. The short film industry wouldn’t be the same.
Avante Garde- Maya Deren
From French ‘Avante Garde’ translates to ‘Ahead of the Crowd’. It is cutting edge or experimental.
Maya Deren is a famous ‘Avante Garde’ director. She made her films during the 1940’s and 50’s.
Her films have an anti-mainstream stance within her films and she promotes the idea or artistic licence and creative freedom.
‘Meshes of the Afternoon’ is one of her most famous Avante Garde films. It was made in 1943.
· You interpret the film in your own way as if it were poetry.
· The film has a circular narrative as it tends to repeat itself a lot.
· The film uses technique such as slow motion when the woman is running.
· The film seems like it has influences through dreams. Everything seems disorientated and non-realistic which indicates she could be dreaming herself.
· Imagery: Knife, Flower, Grim Reaper, telephone etc could represent confusion between happiness and sorry.
· The first shot appears quite sinister as a shadow appears to pick up a flower from the floor.
· The key that the main character produces from her mouth could represent that the answer comes from within herself.
· From watching the short film I felt that the main character was suicidal.
· The grim reaper has a mirror for a face. Could this be representation of her?
· The soundtrack sounds like humming or tribal music- sacrificial.
Preliminary Task- Continuity
The brief:
- A character opening a door
- Crossing a room to sit down in a char opposite another character
- They exchange a couple of lines dialogue
- Match-on-action
- Shot-reverse-shot
- 180 degree rule
Film as creatively as possible!
For this task I worked with Kai and Samantha. All three of us agreed the canteen would be the best place to film as it was empty due to people being in class, there were doors that we could use for the match-on-action and there were chairs we could use to use for the dialogue, shot-reverse-shot and 180 degree rule. We started setting up the camera right away and decided our roles. I was to be on camera and Kai and Samantha would be acting in the scene.
The camera was set up fine by me and Samantha and I filmed the first sequence the match-on-action of Kai walking through a door. I filmed each shot a few times so we would have options when it came to editing the footage. Filming the match-on-action went well. I then thought it would be a good idea to play with the shutter speed and slow Kai down as he is walking towards his chair. We did this because it was a technique we had just learnt and wanted to try before it came to doing our short films.
Other match-on-actions we did included Kai grabbing his chair to sit down, Kai rubbing his head and him kicking Samantha off her chair. Whilst filming the conversation I stuck to the 180 degree rule and shot-reverse-shot.
Overall the filming was successful and we had no problems or technical difficulties.
When it came to editing, all was well. We had a few problems of which we overcame. This included cutting the match-on-action perfectly. When we uploaded the footage we realised that the tripod was in view of one of the shots and so were our exercise books. We should have cleared the filming area before shooting or watched the footage back critically after filming.
Sometimes Kais position had changed when doing an over the shoulder shot of Kai and Samantha in conversation. For example, in over the shoulder shot of Samantha, Kai’s hands are down but when the camera reverses its shot Kai’s hands are up. For future reference I should always make sure to tell the actors to do everything just as they did before and to memorise their exact movement.
Neither Kai nor I knew how to use Photoshop on the day Samantha was absent. This proved a problem when creating the titles.
Overall the filming was successful and we were happy with the result.
Friday 1 October 2010
The Stairwell- Shane Meadows
A micro-short film shot by British film director Shane Meadows on a mobile phone
- The first of the two characters is introduced from behind which builds tension and curiosity in the audience.
- There is dim lighting on the characters face which seals the their identity from the audience, further increasing curiosity.
- The camera remains steady and the music is quite sinister which leads the audience to believe something big is about to happen.
- The journey is being shown through creative shots such as hand held and birds eye view.
- The second character is being introduced, as was the first in dim lighting to not reveal the character too soon.
- The lighting on the first character becomes lighter to indicate something is about to happen.
Steal Away- Tube Tales
The title is introduced with upbeat music and the title of the film appears on money. The hand that reaches for the money has many rings on it. First impressions suggest this film is about a robbery. The first couple of shots are shown from the driver’s point of view; this makes the audience feel more involved in the action. There is a crucifix hanging in the car which gives a religious connotation and it could be significant in the film. The diegetic music is coming from the car and gets louder and the narrative moves along. The action in the film takes place very quickly, unlike in a mainstream film.
The briefcase is stolen by two characters who appear to be working as a duo. The woman appears to be ‘common’ due to the tattoo on her lower back. A loud gunshot sound can be heard and it is highly exaggerated, this makes me realise it is a significant part of the film and is important. Slow motion is used after the gunshot so we can see the woman’s reaction. At the end of the tunnel she is in, there is a bright light, this could symbolise something good about to happen. We soon see the male character running around the corner and then they both run off together. Where they are running appears dark and grimy. The dark lighting of this location could mean dark times lie ahead.
Their next location looks abandoned and generally like somewhere they are not supposed to be. When they open the briefcase, red dye is sprayed on the money which means it can’t be used anymore. They still appear to be excited, in particular the woman. This shows that they are quite childish and only did it for the thrill. The red dye could reveal blood, anger and love. They don’t seem bothered by the fact they can’t use the money. They use water in the fire bucket at the platform they are to wash themselves. They are cleansing themselves; another religious connotation. They then start kissing and embracing each other on the empty platform. A white tube train pulls up so quietly you don’t notice it until it’s visible. The train appears to be empty but when the two characters get onboard it is in fact full with a preacher onboard. There is a certain irony about a priest being on the train after they’ve done something bad. In my opinion I believed the white train represented heaven and the priest and person washing the passengers feet were more religious connotations.
The saying ‘Money isn’t everything’ is shown through the man who’s washing feet refusing money. The bible the priest is reading from is red which could mirror sins being committed and blood being spilled. A drunken bunch of men come onboard, more sinners. The man washing feet got knocked onto the floor by a drunken man the train. Michel, the main male character goes to help him but the woman holds him back. He offers money to apologise but the feet washer refuses as if to say ‘money can’t fix everything’. Steal away is being sung in the background; Michel then offers the feet washer his seat and washes his feet. The preacher heels the feet washers’ nose; a miracle performed in the bible. Michel appears to be a good person but the woman he’s with seems otherwise and is clingy. The feet washer after touches Michel’s face and the lights begin to flicker which I believe represents passing. From this I got that the feet washer was an angel and has shown that there’s good in every bad.
The ‘angel’ and Michel smile and make eye contact, it also seems as though no one else on the train realised the lights were flickering. When we next see the two main characters in full view, we see that the red dye from their clothes has vanished and from the money as well. It seems as if they had been given a last warning and that is the last crime they can commit. When exiting the train, the woman gives a homeless person some of the money they had stolen.
A Mothers Tear Short Film
The beginning titles are shown with no audio so it automatically grabbed my attention. The titles were in the colour red so I got the impression it could relate to blood, anger and love. The lettering also dropped like blood or a tear which instantly links with the film title. From the introduction credits the theme of death was already upon me before the film had even started.
I liked the pathetic fallacy at the beginning where it was raining heavily whilst a woman was crying. She was also behind a window whilst crying which gave me the impression she felt trapped for the reasons she was crying.
The narrator addresses the audience directly which made the film more personal and engaging. When the narrator says the word ‘bang’ we see blood appear on the window and start to drip as it had done with the title’s lettering. This revealed the storyline; her son had died.
The short film is base on real life events and is relatable to its target audience, which are young people. The film has a cause/purpose and has been made by people who have been affected by it or seen it happen; this makes it more realistic.
There is no dialogue throughout the film and this allows the audience to focus on the message and the emotional aspect.
There are close ups of tear drops throughout the short film. The victim’s blood appears as tears and it connects all those involved and those affected together.
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