Analysis 1 and 2

The Guilt:

Plot: Since his wife was murdered, Leo has only one idea in his head, spinning as an endless loop: revenge.

Budget: €60,000

Genre(s): Thriller

Written/Directed: David Victori

The meticulous creation of the complex shots throughout this short film gives it a unique style which is complementary to this film. For example, the image above shows the beautifully lit staircase which allows the audience put their attention to the bottom of the staircase showing the yellow-lit space, which not only adds a dynamic approach to this shot, but also shows the main character, Leo, at the bottom of the staircase. The cold blue of the marble staircase, in contrast to the golden lit floor which features the protagonist. The gloomy colours of this scene gives it a dark and moody scene, which may connote that danger lies ahead. It also suggests that the danger coming is set in this moody scene.

The opening typography of the short film is very simple, but the letter 'A' being cut in half on each letter of the title gives it a suspensive feel which is gaining my ever growing interest.

The next shot translates to 'fifth'. This later on becomes a major part of the story, but they have shown a teaser to the pinocle part of the story which is obviously unknown to viewers at this time. Again, they have used a cold and mysterious green-blue, which keeps to the films tense theme and colour convention.

The acting ultimately in this intense short is of a very high standard. The main character, played by Carlus Fabrega, excels in his very intense and challenging role. He makes this masterpiece come to life with his intellectual and compelling abilities he possesses as an actor.

Another point on colour, it seems when Leo (protagonist) and his wife are together, the scene is lit with this yellow, angelic glow. This colour is also shown in the first scene at the bottom of the stairwell. The yellow glow seems to be a symbol of warmth and and happiness, which evidently he got from his wife. As he walks up the tense green-blue colours of the stairwell, it almost annotates that Leo is leaving his comfort and warmth behind him. The scene expertly goes from the death of his wife to the tense atmosphere of Leo at the door of what only we can presume as the killer.

The room of the killer also matches the green-blue ambiguous colours of the stairwell shown in the first scene. The empty and drained colours signifies the killers dark and cruel world in comparison to Leo's, where he is firstly shown with a yellow glow. This scene also builds with the non-diegetic sound of the cruchendo of violins which ultimately leads up to Leo's gunshot. This creates a tense atmosphere for this scene which allows the audience to emerge themselves into two different worlds this film perceives.

The scene then finishes with a beautifully composed camera shot which starts as a medium close-up of Leo's face and begins to track Leo as he walks underneath the camera and we see him walk away upside down.

The story then goes on to show Leo's confusion of his predicament. A series of disjointed cuts, showing Leo crumbling after he's killed this man. There has been some added shake and blur to the scenes to give the audience an insight into Leo'a currant mind state at this point in the film. His mental disorientation is clearly shown and the montage of his disorientation comes to a pinocle end with a tense crescendo of straining violins and ultimately climaxes to Leo getting stabbed in the back.

The pace of the scene I believe makes the audience feel uneasy and compelled to whats going to happen next. As the audience were unaware if Leo is in reality or if its just an illusion. This allows the audience to feel guilty, conflicted and as weak and unbalanced of the protagonist.

This is personally, one of the best short films I've ever seen. It kept me thinking and constantly intrigued to what was going to happen next. I felt part of the story and closer to the character, which I don't normally feel in other shorts. I felt I was being carried through this psychological intense thriller. It felt more like a section from a feature film rather than a short. Overall, it was compelling, intriguing, intense and exciting. Everything you'd expect from a short thriller.

Soft:

Plot: When a Father and Son are independently terrorised by the same gang of youth's, Dad is forced to deal with fears that he hasn't had to face since leaving school, rediscovering his fear of confrontation at the worst possible time.

Budget: £50K

Genre: Crime/Thriller

Written/Directed: Simon Ellis

Instantly, the film starts off portraying the youth as criminals. The shaky camera movement coming from the effect of a mobile phone starts the film of with tension because the audience knows something bad's going to happen. The shaky camera movement starting this film of gives it a street feel, may connote that their be criminality in this film.

The colour scheme for this opening shot is very dull. This links with the common colour conventions you would associate with a low-class and rough looking area in England. We are instantly shown a teenage boy being punched which backs-up this stereotype of dull colour being associated with rough areas in the UK. 

We are then established into the main starting point of the narrative with a very nice looking high-angle shot of an estate in this particular area. This allows the audience to clearly see what kind of place this is and because of this the audience are already starting to establish various conventions which are typically associated with this kind of area. The film lingers on this high angle shot for quite some time which allows the scene to flow very naturally. 


They have used this medium shot of who we assume is the protagonist in this certain moment in the film. This shot reminds me a lot of the shot from Shaun of the Dead. It gives you that classic cinematic moment which is something I would like to incorporate into our short film. You can see that this type of filmmaking is classic trait of the UK's film industry, linking to films such as Shaun of the Dead who also have an almost exact mise-en-scene look to this place in England. 

We are shown cuts between the protagonist and the group of youths frequently which allows the tension to build because we are curious as to whats going to happen. 

The tracking shot of the protagonist continually gets faster as he rage begins to build from what has just happened to him. We also have flashbacks shown from the perspective of the protagonist to see how these actions have effected him.

Here is a mid shot they have used to show the distance between the father and his son. From the dialogue and expressions shown by both characters we can see that their relationship isn't very strong, and using this camera shot I believe shows the distance between the two of them in terms of their relationship as father and son.

Here, you can see they have used a medium close-up shot to show the fathers intimidation towards these group of youths. We are now beginning to understand the plot more thoroughly and how the protagonist is dealing with these groups of youths.



We again linger on this long shot to show the fathers intimidation and the overall disapproval of his son for not dealing with the situation. He is shown in this image to be very timid and weak looking in his stance. Compared to his son who is standing quite stern and confident.