Get Off My Land - Short Film Analysis

'Get Off My Land' is a 2007 short drama film where a supposedly lost man and women encounter a land owner who becomes more sinister than he first seems towards the end of the short film. This short film explores themes of crime,murder and class as we see the conflict between the two men intensify, resulting in a unexpected end to the film as the conflict suddenly turns very serious.

I thought cinematographer George Steel successfully created meaning in the first establishing shot of the two 'lost' characters as we immediately realise due to the medium close up on the mans white shoes that he is completely out of his comfort zone in the muddy countryside environment, this shot was key in foreshadowing the confrontation soon to come between the farmer who wasn't out of his comfort zone at all, this made clear by his costume. I thought the amount of sound used throughout the short was successful in creating suspense, during the confrontation apart from the dialogue and the faint noise of the wind there was silence in between dialogue between the two characters, this continued until a loud diegetic sound is put in place as a gun is fired. I thought this was done in order to shock the audience as the loud gun shot clearly indicates the dramatic increase in the severity of the situation as the farmers true character is revealed through his actions. I thought the time of day the short film was shot in was also effective in symbolising the death which occurred as we see the sun going down in one shot as the 'landowner' walks away from the women, I think the disappearing sun possibly reflecting her emotions as she is experiencing the loss of her undisclosed partner. Finally the long wide angle shot at the end of the short showing the birds fleeing the trees could be viewed as slightly ironic as the character who originally wanted to flee the situation (like the birds fleeing from the sound of danger) has just been killed, her death amplified by the non diegetic gun shot put in place. 

Understanding The Concept Of Audience- Film Trailers

All three of these trailers which promote three completely different films were constructed in order to inform and interest people and create an audience for the film when it is released in order for the various producers to make money as many people cannot help but go and see the film after watching the trailer. According to the uses and gratification theory many people are drawn into watch various genres of films for many different reasons,some being; entertainment,diversion,education,social interaction and personal identity. Film trailers always include their best shots in their trailers and continuously tease the audience with either important,thrilling or suspenseful moments captured during the film in order to provide the audience with enough information about the the film to decide weather it will satisfy their various needs/pleasures included in the users and gratification theory. 

From the outset the Shutter Island trailer will draw an audience due to the protagonist of the film being played by Leonardo DiCaprio, as Leonardo is a well loved actor world wide many people may be immediately drawn to watch the film in order to see his performance and converse about him or the film, either way his star power was why they originally took interest in the film, where as an unknown actor may not have the same effect. 

The Impossible quickly educates us by dating when the horrific disaster occurred immediately interesting many viewers as they want to be informed about these real life events which are developed during the full length film, including the dates of the disaster and informing the audience it is based on reality is enough to draw many people in as people naturally want to be educated about such important life changing events. The trailer also includes  ( in my opinion) the most dramatic scene in the whole film immediately shocking the audience leaving them sympathetically intrigued and desperate to find out what happened to the real-life family.

Lord Of The Rings provides the audience with a believably fantastical story due to the reality of the fantasy world being so well constructed through characters and various technical codes through out the long developed sequel. As this is the second trailer and already has a large audience due to the previously released books and film I thought it focused on making the trailer dramatic as possible, including many key moments that can be seen in the full film leaving the audience dying to see how the fantasy world changes in comparison to the first film. Made obvious by the trailer this film will allow much of the audience to become completely absorbed by the fantasy world as the sequel continues allowing many people to escape reality for a short amount of time, and completely forgot about their possibly boring day to day lives. 

Otherwise Engaged- Short Film Analysis

Otherwise Engaged is a short film which offers a comedic view on our modern societies  obsession with social media and documenting anything and everything on you're mobile phone. The short film is directed by Alicia MacDonald in her debut film and covers themes of  romance and obsession to deliver the clear message of how many peoples lives today are completely consumed by technology and various social media sites. 

I particularly liked the use of cinematography as they took a 'selfie' together and we got to see them through the eye of Meg's mobile phone camera. This was key in conveying the theme of 'obsession' with social media as immediately after the proposal the couple were determined to share the special occasion with their Facebook 'friends' rather than enjoying the special moment in reality, maybe even suggesting how people escape reality by focusing on how people see and judge them through social media. This obsession was made even clearer at the end of the short film as we see the couple both on their individual phones telling each other who had liked their post, emphasising how important they felt people liking this post was for them. The performance of both actors also added to the realistic outcome of the short film as both characters were clearly not able to 'enjoy the moment' of the engagement, we see this when Meg hypocritically tells her fiancé to 'enjoy the moment' while looking at her mobile phone and not even making eye contact with him on this romantic occasion, this made it evident of just how consumed people are by social media as she literally can't help but be on her phone telling people about her engagement, rather than spending this special moment naturally with her fiancé. 

Layer Cake - Weekly Film Analysis

Layer Cake is a 2004 British crime thriller directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, in his directional debut. The Film had a budget of $6.5 million and a box office of $11.9 million. This film may of also contributed to Daniel Craig getting the role of James Bond as he got the role 1 year after the release of 'Layer Cake',where he was very effective in the role of XXXX (an up and coming drug dealer). We can compare this British gangster film to 'Snatch' as I thought many methods of cinematography and editing were similar throughout both films, in further research I discovered both films were edited by Jon Harris explaining the similar editing style. 

There were various ways cinematographer Ben Davis gave the film a unique effect, as many different shots were used in order to portray how XXXX reacted to different situations but also was important in emphasising key scenes during the film. In the scene were XXXX commits an important murder in order to possibly save his own life there is a unique shot used where as he goes to fire the gun it zooms out ,and then back into the two characters, I thought this technique produced suspense in the scene as we were unsure if the protaganist would go through with the murder. Minimal sound was also used in this scene as we only could hear the trickling of water coming out of the hose pipe until the gun was fired,  the diegetic sound of the gun was also very sudden mirroring the cinematography which was used shocking the viewer. Both micro-features were very effective as they portrayed the character XXXX was indeed capable of murder and that this event was possibly insignificant to him, I thought the quietness of the silenced bullet possibly mirrored the insignificance felt by him as he knew he had to go through with it in order to save his own life. We later go on to find out this was not the case as his views on the situation changes leading to a complete contrast in cinematography and editing as instead of the slow calm feeling portrayed by the murder scene we see short fast clips as he finds out the truth resulting in complete chaos. 

In Conclusion I thought the use of micro-features was key in showing us how the protagonist XXXX reacted to certain situations and how they truly effected him, they also allowed suspense to be created through sound and cinematography making the film interesting to watch and creating important suspense, leaving the audience un-sure what could possibly happen next. Finally I thought the performance of Daniel Craig was outstanding as he created a convincing character who at first seemed like a genuine business man with an ordinary goal of becoming rich, but as the story becomes more complicated and he becomes all to involved in the 'Layer Cake' his performance adapts to this, leaving the audience with a strong insight about the dangers you may face as you become involved in 'The Layer Cake' in reality. 

My Brother The Devil- Film Analysis

'My Brother the Devil' is a 2012 British social realism written and directed by Sally El Hosaini, the film shows the life of two Egyptian brothers named Mo and Rashid who live in Hackney, East London. I thought the film displayed themes of prejudice due to ethnicity,age,love,family and sexuality. The Film also covers the main theme of 'living with crime' in modern day society as the older brother Rashid (who is originally highly involved in crime) try's to escape the life of crime as one of his friends is killed bringing him realisation of how serious and dangerous his lifestyle has become. We watch him attempt to prevent his brother following in his footsteps as he undergoes major predjudice from his former gang because of his sexuality.

Mis en Scene was key in conveying the change in the relationship between the two brothers through out the film, we begin with both characters wearing vibrant colours (pink and blue t-shirts) possibly representing how their relationship is positive as they are communicating and getting a long. As Mo finds out Rashid is homosexual we see the film become darker and pathetic fallacy is used to symbolise the deterioration of their relationship. In terms of cinematography many shots are used to again show how the brothers relationship changes through out the film. At the end of the film the two are captured in a warm looking environment with the flats behind them, i think this shows how even though they may not be able to immediately escape their reality due to lack of money (shown blatantly by the high rise flats) ,their relationship has improved and they now feel able to carry on with their lives as brothers due to Mo excepting Rashid's sexuality, shown by the warm comforting environment.

In conclusion i thought the micro features used in the film were very effective in delivering the message of self acceptance as we see the brothers finally make peace at the end of the film, and that Mo completely respects Rashid for who he really is. I thought as we saw the two brothers sitting facing different directions at the end of the film , it showed how even though there might of been differences between them ,they were both willing to accept each other for who they were, the close relationship of the two was also shown in the composition of the shot as they were positioned next to each over, symbolising their close brotherly relationship.  

Short Film Plan- Classmates

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The Selfish Giant- Film Analysis

The Selfish Giant is a 2013 Drama with aspects of Crime and Social Realism, released in 2013 by  Artificial Eye, Film4 and The British Film Institute the film explores the life of two young male protagonists (Arbor and Swifty) who take up illegal work as they are excluded from school in an attempt to improve their poverty stricken lives. I thought the main themes of the film were friendship,exploitation and poverty.  Micro features are used throughout the film to give us a clear insight into what life is like for two young boys who attempt to improve their families financial situations by firstly collecting scrap metal and then cutting more valuable cables as the 'Selfish Giant' allows them to become more involved in this dangerous illegal line of work.   

We immediately see Arbors anger expressed as he repeatedly hits the bottom of his bed at the start of the film, this short scene is filmed in a close up angle allowing the audience to see the genuine rage Arbors character experiences, in juxtaposition to Arbors frantic rage we see Swifty introduced as quite a calm character as the close up also features him holding Arbors hand in attempt to calm him down. This gives us the impression that they possibly have almost a brotherly friendship as Swifty knows exactly how to control Arbors anger and obviously cares for him as he repeatedly comforts him until he eventually becomes calm. This later on becomes ironic as Swifty again trys to help Arbor but in a different situation, the close up of the two holding hands is again used possibly symbolising their friendship and how Swiftys compassion for Arbors angry personality was never going to benefit him. 

Mis en scene was also key in allowing the audience to gain a perspective on the harsh, grim reality some people have to face, for example we see that Swiftys family have to eventually sell their sofa in order to pay rent, this clearly shows that they are experiencing poverty as their living room is now bare as the sofa was their only remaining possession. Dirty old looking clothes are worn by both protagonists on a day to day basis, this connotes their families obvious lack of money, and may even show how hard the two boys are willing to work (collecting scrap metal) in order to try and improve their families situations. 

In conclusion I thought the mis en scene gave us a clear image and allowed us to gain a perspective on what live is like for many people experiencing poverty in England (Bradford), the overall performance of the two boys also made the film all the more realistic as local dialect was used. Finally I thought The Cinematography used throughout enhanced the emotion felt in the believable friendship between Swifty and Arbor as various shots were used, like the close up of Swifty comforting Arbor in his moment of rage at the beginning of the film.