Short film analysis

The short film I found to do an analysis of is titled 'Love Sick'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFDAvcwDPTA

This is the first shot in the short film and it is a  medium close up of the first established charcater however it is clear to the audience she isn't the main one due to the voiceover that comes in. The medium close up shot is to see her facial expression as she appears angry and is shouting but no dialogue comes from her. By doing this, it is a good way to start the narrative without giving too much away at the very beginning. In addition, the voiceover that begins makes it evident to the audience what is going on in the shot and why she is angry. The background is out of focus but the audience can still see the outlines of the trees therefore suggest different settings to the audience for example, forest or park. This is done so that the main emphasis is on the character so the audience will instantly focus on her more as oppose to the setting.

As she continues to shout it goes to over the shoulder shot of her to establish another character. The audience now can see who the person is on the voiceover and gains a little more insight to the narrative. This is because at this point he is exmplaining how they're going to be 'together forever' however, you can clearly see they aren't with how she is yelling. The setting stays the same because it hasn't changed location and also wants to keep the focus still on the characters. Diagetic sound (music) has been playing since the beginning which relates to the romantic genre. It only stops for around a second when he comes to a realisation that it isn't going to be a happy ending with her.

Then it goes to a extreme long shot mainly because it's showing the titles, 'Love sick.' In addition, it subtley continues the narrative as it shows the girl walking away from him and also a new character appears, a child on his bike which suggests he has a role in the next part of the story. Also, the background setting comes into focus now due to it's main focus shifting to the titles and a change of shot. Therefore, shows them in a park and also, the child on a bike is related to the setting because it's what you would usually witness in a park. The titles 'Love Sick' have a short on screen duration of approximatley 3 seconds. It is a simplistic design as it is just capitalised, white text. A reason for this could be that if its duration was longer then it would interrupt the narrative too much as the voiceover needs to continue to make sense to the audience. However, there has been music playing continuously in the background from the beginning but quietly so it doesn't take attention from the voiceover which still plays during the titles. Furthermore, it is simple but because of the colour and it being capitalised it adds emphasis because the colour contrasts with the setting well which makes it stands out.

It progresses to the mans point of view now, as in this part it zooms in on the child character as it is representing the man walking along the path towards him. The child is pointing and laughing showing the man to be the inferior character as he has just been dumped. However, this is where the comedy aspect occurs as in the voiceover he sees the child as Justin Bieber. He is represented like him in the short film with his dress sense (hoody with the hood up) and long hairstyle.

It then dissolves into this scenario. By doing that, it shows a passage of time which is done to keep the narrative continous because it is not needed to show all his walk to get there. It is a long shot to establish a different setting, which is a tram station and the character is walking towards the camera to keep him the main focus. In addition in the voiceover he is just about to give up and this is where the music stops to emphasise this.

Also, the camera is situated in a slightly low angle which suggests that he is going to become a dominant character again and something good is about to happen.

This is where a new character is established, his new love interest. Even though there is other people around she is made to be the center of the audiences attention. This is done because her clothes are more nice and colourful than the others which makes her stand out more. Furthermore it goes onto a close up shot reverse shots of the two characters. The one of the man is done to show his drastic change in facial expressions as there is a possibility that his life is going to get better if he can get the girl. In addition, on the girls close up as she is walking onto the tram it adds a slow motion effect which is probably because that is how it is portraying how good looking he thinks she is and him falling in love as he refers to her as his 'girl of my dreams' in the voiceover.

 These 3 print screen images show that it has gone into his imagination now as he goes into daydream about his and the girls future together (what he would like to happen). It makes it appear like it's a home video to make it seem more realistic as it is to him. Each of these have a short duration and the transition is so they each enter from the right and exit to the left as another life event comes up on screen.

 This shows their wedding day and the couple emerge from what seems behind the camera. This is to show the spectators point of view to fit in with the home video style because possibly a family or friend is filming. The audience can also tell this because it shows them waving back 'bye' as though they are going on their honeymoon.

There is no voiceover in these apart from diagetic sound which again ties into the home video because it sounds as though it's being played and they're watching them back.

As he realises that the girl of his dreams has got away he attempts to chase after her. Again, it is quite comical because of his desperation running through the streets and calculating how much time it's going to take to get to the next stop. In addition, the background setting changes quite quickly to show passage of time and that he is running fast. Also, it shows examples of panning. This is so it can follow the man whilst he is running easily and keep the same shot.

As the scene progresses, writing comes up, 'massive shortcut.' This shows continuity because it is the same style font and colour as the titles at the beginning in 'Love Sick.' Again, it is good to use here because it contrast colours with the dark tunnel he is going to run through. It is done for comedy purposes because by saying it's a 'Massive Shortcut' it is implying sarcasm because when you look where he is running, it doesn't appear that it will make a big difference. There is a series of quick edits after to different angles of him running again to represent the fast pace.

There are various shots showing the child on a bike (as seen previously in the park) and the man. This is because he has recieved a set back of being run over by a car and his bike is his solution. When it is showing the child it is from his perspective and the childs movement is blurred. This could suggest that it is due to injuries as a result of being hit by a car. It then progresses to him stealing the bike, which may be purposefully done in the narrative as it shows him getting revenge for him laughing at the very beginning. It is also done in slow motion him riding off to represent this too as you can clearly see facial expressions as he finally gets a solution and revenge. Also to show this music is being fast and loud whilst there is no voice over to add emphasis to the situation.

He didn't get there in time but spotted her in a cafe as he was walking by. Without hesitation he walks in and offers her what appears to be a ring, to a stranger. In the backgroung the music sounds like bells which could represent marriage which in the future seem his intentions. It is a medium shot from a point of view of outside the venue, looking through the glass. This is so the audience can see the whole situation as it takes a turn for the worse again. In addition, you can see each characters reactions because there is currently no dialogue, the audience needs to interpret what is occuring from actions and expressions.

It then cuts to a close up of a new character, which appears to her boyfriend as he is definiatley angry at him. In addition it also shows his reaction to the situation. It does this purposefully so we can see it from the mans perspective and emphasise the emotions in the scene between each character. Also, the voiceover begins again and he does a repeat of what he was saying in the beginning. This shows continuity and a good way of using repitition as it's the same as what happened at the beginning in what he was saying whilst a character was shouting at him.

It cuts to him sat on a bench in the same setting as what he was in in the beginning, the park. He is still continuing the same speech as what he did at the beginning also and at this point making the Justin Bieber reference and feeling like theres no hope left. In addition, it is a shot from the back. This could have been done purposefully to show the two benches opposite each other, the other one being empty to represent the situation that he is lonely and doesn't have a partner.  

In this print screen, it is the beginning of the repeated narrative as she is his next 'girl of his dreams.' He is the main focus at the beginning of the shot and as she runs towards the camera he goes out of focus and she comes in focus so we can see her character and add emphasis that she is the next girl he is going to chase after. It also repeats the slow motion bit as it shows her slow motion running, again to repsent him falling for her.

His voiceover has more comedy lines in because he states "and just when I was about to renew my World of Warcraft membership" which is what stereotypically what he would do if he gave up on girls, which represent the comedy part of the genre. It also shows him coming to the realisation and running after her like he has done previously. In the background there is the bell music again, to represent love and marriage.

 It then progresses to the credits after showing the title once more. This shows that it has had continuity throughout as it has again, kept with the same style, font and colour for the text. Also, the music playing in the background is of the same genre that has been played at various times throughout but also relates to the romantic comedy genre. Furthermore, the bacckground when the credits are playing is of 3 images of the city which appears to where the short film has been set.

Here is the full version of the short film...