Short film analysis

Curfew:
Opening with a panning shot up towards the telephone majority of the setting is in low-key lighting however it has a red undertone towards it with the flooring and the phone being red this appears to be a common colour as we see a bloody hand emerge and pick up the phone cutting to extreme close up shots of a blood covered razor, cigarette, to eventually a bird eye view of the main character "Richie". As the colour red has a common appearance in the short film it means that it holds importance or it creates the setting and the aura of the scene, the  colour red is commonly used to be associated with: Love, Lust and also Danger, the audience is left in the dark until the bloody hand appears and we see Richie in the bath and it appears that he is trying to end his life. Him being on the phone with his sister almost acts as a lifeline as she gives him a reason to live and do something being her daughter. When Richie and Sophia meet they appear to hold the same facial expression and body language as a shot reverse shot is used going between Richie and Sophia, Richie looks run down, dirty and malnourished as he is extremely pale and has sunken in eyes and faces but Sophia appears lively and young with the colour in her cheeks but both look frustrated and un-bothered and they don't want to be in the same room together. Whenever the two enter a new location together, from Richie's perspective it appears to be very distorted as it becomes blurry, quiet and it focuses with the uses of extreme close up on people and certain objects, this could expand and verify how uncomfortable Richie is to be in public and everything worries him. Sophia soon takes an interest into Richie when he talks about his past and he shows a common interest in a game that she plays however its almost as if she interrogates him to find out what kind of a person he is, he soon becomes protective over Sophia as the two appear closer and their body language towards eachother change and they appear more relaxed in eachothers company. When he comes home its the same setting and dark atmosphere as it was in the beginning with him trying to die until his sister yet again rings him and uses Sophia as a reason for him to carry on, it almost appears to be a cycle as he ends up in the same position he was in from the start to the end of the day in the bath tub ending his life.
About a Girl:
The whole entire of the short film has a documentary feel towards it as its mostly hand held camera shots as it follows the girl towards the canal and as she tells the story of her life towards the audience. As she describes what her life is like we get a small glimpse of her family and what she goes through but they are all establishing shots as it focuses on her and the people she is with leaving room for the atmosphere, her outlook on her life varies and change dependent on who she is with and where she is. With the use of the hand held camera emphasises the importance  of the girl and the story she tells is a load of gibberish but leads up towards a small meaning and a metaphor towards the ending. The dark lowkey lighting in the opening its surrounding the young girl leaving her as a dark silhouette could be meaning she has a dark side or secret towards her that she plans on hiding, she is isolated on a field in the middle of nowhere which could contribute towards loneliness she experiences at such a young age. When she is shown to be seen with her father we see a constant separation and distance between the two emphasising the difference in interests and personalities, she wears a white coat throughout the short film which shows symbolisation of her innocence and her being a young child compared to these adult men and influences surrounding her. Also with the long shot of her father and the girl herself expands on the metaphorical distance in there relationship, as there are not close in a physical and pyschological way. There is a continuing theme of distance between her parents throughout the film with mid long shots with her and her mum as the girl is more in front but the mum is behind more focused on her scratch card than her children, this could show that she values money other than her children and chooses not to show or have a strong relationship with them especially the oldest.
Swimmer:
The short film holds a Film Noir feel and holds elements in relation towards with the classic black and white but also with the lack of dialogue. The film almost has an artistic feel towards it as it doesn't have set amount of scenes or work but it all just flows together, it doesn't have a story line or purpose, with the visual style and effects shots have different focuses to them and tend to be shot in slow motion unless it cuts towards the swimmer, this tells the audience that the swimmer is the key importance throughout the film and the things surrounding him is what he sees and almost what he dreams of having or its the reality of the outside world in comparison to being in the water. Adding to the slow motion effect used in editing it could also create a visual representation of what it feels like to be underwater and how flow and dream like it is especially to him, its and insight towards the swimmers feelings and attitude towards swimming, it constantly holds a dreamy and cloudy element and almost an etheral feel, the slow motion and unfocused shots creates a fuzz and imagination for the audience and as if we see the world in the swimmers eyes as the world above him is also shot at a low angle, everyone and everything is above him literally and phsycologically. The film is an outlook of the swimmers life or what he see's, feels and thinks, with the diagetic dialogue from the couple, young boys and the people around the canal and we here the splashing of the water but that appears to be the loudest and its played as a constant throughout the film. The camera tends to be held at a low angle when looking outside the river, looking at the surroundings as we are able to see the world at his pace and eye level. Bird eye view shots are also included and used throughout and it makes the surrounding area and lake twice the size as the swimmer, expanding on the little importance and how irrelevant he appears to be to others around him and he isn't well known, it almost belittles him a little bit, suggest he is extremely insignificant compare to those who are on land.




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