2. What is a short film?
A short film is a film that isn’t long enough to be considered a
feature.The Academy of Motion PictureArts and Sciences
consider a short film to be “an original film that has a running
time of 40 minutes or less including all credits”.
These typically have no budget or very little budget.They can
be funded by sponsors, non-profit organizations or funds from
the actual creators of the film.
3. Short film conventions
Non-conventional storytelling
Usually have underlying themes
Very few characters with very little back-story
Twist – without this, the film would be uninteresting.
Begin with relatable everyday situations
Have mysterious objects which aren’t entirely explained to
hold the audience’s interest – enigmas
4. Short film history
In the early days of film, short films were usually showed alongside
feature films.They were either second features, short comedies, 5-
10 minute cartoons or a newsreel.
In the 1930s, the distribution system changed in countries affected
by the Great Depression.The studios sold packages centred on a
main feature, a supporting feature, cartoon and little else. 2-reel
shorts went into decline as the double feature grew in popularity.
By the mid-1950s, because of the rise of television, live-action
shorts were almost dead. Short films had become a medium for
students and independent filmmakers.
5. Short film history
Animated shorts were more popular partially due to the
introduction of cheaper animation techniques, but it they
became less popular during this period.
Warner Bros, one of the most popular animation studios, shut
down its studio permanently in 1969.
7. Features This short film as a whole Particular shots and sequences
Genre (type of film) Drama
Storytelling codes and conventions Story progresses as the girl walks up the canal; told
mainly through flashbacks (maybe not in
chronological order, just to define character and
relationships)
Representations Working-class people; particularly young teenagers
Likely audience Festival-goers,
Locations Canal, field, pub, street
Character Fast-talking protagonist,
Intertextual references Struggles of working-class; mentality of “I’m still
gonna get a 99”
8. Cinematography
The establishing shot is a long shot of the protagonist
standing on top of a hill during sunrise, singing “Stronger” by
Britney Spears while doing the dance routine. Nothing is
currently in focus, and nothing is actually affected by light.
The only thing in the shot that isn’t black is the horizon. It
makes the protagonist more prominent.The camera is at level
with the subject (the protagonist) and is static for the entire
shot.
9. Sound – Task on this PDF
1. Music is never actually used, but some characters sing, including the protagonist who does it quite often.
2. “I’m not that innocent” is often repeated by the protagonist to foreshadow the ending, which really makes you question the harsh
reality of her life.
3.There are some shots that are silent which are cut between shots of the protagonist walking along the canal
4.The sound is almost always diegetic; the few examples of non-diegetic sound are at the end of the short film.The protagonist’s
singing of “Stronger” by Britney Spears is added to the credits.
5. Sound almost always gives the impression of being close to the protagonist.There are very few situations in which sound suggests
distance, but a particular one is when after the protagonist dumps the baby in the canal, the camera ascends while keeping the view
on the protagonist.You can still hear her singing perfectly clearly however.
6. No sound effects are used.The closest thing to that is playing the sound of the protagonist singing over the credits.
7. Sound is never used to bridge edits between scenes.
8. Sound is always synchronous in this short film.
9.The dialogue is easy enough to hear, but if you can’t understand the protagonist’s accent, it will be tricky to understand.
10.Very few sound effects are added to the film, if at all. Instead, either the sound ofThe Protagonist talking or silence is more
prominent that any other sound.
11.The protagonist sings “Stronger” by Britney Spears quite often.
10. Editing – Task on this PDF
1. When she’s walking along the canal and talking, multiple cuts are usually used so that words are strung together quickly with very
few/small gaps in-between.
2.When she’s walking along the canal and talking, multiple cuts are usually used so that words are strung together quickly with very
few/small gaps in-between. However, flashbacks are usually done in one continuous shot and when they’re not there are one or two
cuts.
3. Shots are edited rapidly together when she’s walking along the canal so it emphasises her pace of speaking. During flashbacks, if
there is a cut, there are usually few and they’re spread out.
4.The way that she looks at the camera while walking down the canal reminds me of Big Brother.
5.There are no other types of transition other than straight cuts.
This is probably because the editor wanted to emphasise how quickly she talks when walking along the canal.
6.There are no crossfade transitions in this short film.
7.The film cross-cuts between the protagonist walking along the canal and to different times in her life which explain her social
relationships with her mother, father and friends.
8.The film can be divided up by scenes where the protagonist is walking along the canal and when a flashback takes place.
There are quick edits which get rid of any periods of silence when she is walking along the canal and talking to emphasize how quickly
she talks. In flashbacks, there are hardly any cuts and when there are, the editing is not nearly as rapid as the canal cutting is.
9. Sound is not used for transitions.
12. Character is darkened by
lighting of the scene; plot
takes a darker turn from here.
Hand in strange pose;
character’s not taking
things seriously and
doesn’t understand
the power of the gun.
Character in
middle of shot,
centre of conflict
13. Visual motif of the
sky throughout
this scene;
He could very well hit
this object, could he
actually hit someone
with the gun?
1st person view while
pretending to fire the
gun; he may be
imagining this is a First
Person Shooter video
game and thus not
thinking about the
consequences of having
a gun.
14. Tom says “Just wait
5 minutes”, which
means that
something is going
to happen with
these three.This
establishes the plot
thread involving
the gun, and the
struggle to get it
under control.
There is a baby
using a swing here.
You wouldn’t t be
focusing on this
character much at
the beginning, as it
simply creates
background noise.
That’s why the
ending has such an
impact on the
viewer.
In the background of the shot, there is a big building with
a lot of windows, probably hinting that this could be a
council estate.
16. Two and Two
Two andTwo is an Iranian short film directed by Babak Anvari.
Set in a classroom, it makes a statement about the
“absurdness of dictatorships and tyranny – and the resilience
of the human spirit”.
17. Synopsis
A teacher walks into a classroom full of male students wearing white shirts.The PA
system comes on and the Headteacher announces that 2+2=5.The class begins to do
maths, with the teacher telling the students to repeat “2+2=5” until one student, raises
his hand, saying “But Sir, surely two plus two equals four?” to which the teacher replies
“You have been told that two plus two equals five.You will not question this. Do you
understand?” and the student sits down. Another student stands up and questions the
teacher’s logic, refusing to believe the sum. He continues to say that two plus two equals
four, asking other students how they don’t see it.After silencing the student, he briefly
leaves the classroom.The teacher gets back and brings the three top students with him,
all of which have a red band on their left arm.All three say that two plus two is four.The
teacher tells the student walk up to the board and do the sum “correctly”. After a
reluctant pause, the three top students raise their arms, as if brandishing rifles.The
student writes 4 instead of 5, and then turns to face the three students who kill him.They
carry the student out of the classroom and the teacher begins to write 2+2=5 on the
board while telling the other students to write it down. One student writes 2+2=4 in his
notebook.
20. Mise En Scene – 3rd Picture
The rubbing out of the
blood is a metaphor for
the past being erased for
the benefit of those in
power.
The blood signifies the
idea that fascists will
simply reject anyone with
an opinion different to
their own.
21. Cinematography
The camera’s position depends almost entirely on which character is
speaking. When the teacher, for example is speaking then there will usually be
a mid long shot of him while he talks. When a student stands up, there will be
a mid shot of them.
Camera movement is almost always panning across the classroom.
Sometimes there are tracking shots of characters, and in one case, the PA
speaker.
22. Sound – Part 1
1. Music is only ever used during the credits.
2. No song is ever sung during this short film.
3.When there is silence, it’s usually between lines of dialogue. However, there are
moments where it is used to establish tension.
4. Sound is often diegetic, except for when a ringing ear sound is used after a
student is shot and at the beginning, when you can hear the class talking despite
the fact that there is no current shot.
5. After a student is shot, the sound of ringing ears is played.This gives the
impression of being close either the teacher or one of the “top” students.At the
title sequence of the film, you can hear the sound of the class talking, but it’s
suppressed.
6. Sound isn’t used to create any particular meanings.
7.The sound of characters talking often bridges cuts, particularly when there is
conflict.The sound of ringing ears also bridges 3 quick cuts.
23. Sound – Part 2
8. Sound is usually synchronous, but the sound of dialogue often bridges cuts, it
often draws focus to whichever character is talking. In some cases, it’s not that
there’s a completely different activity happening on screen, it’s just that you can’t
see it.
9.The dialogue is always understandable except for the title sequence and the
point at which a single student decides to cross out the 5 in 2+2=5 and write 4.
Sound is suppressed at both of these points. In the title sequence, it’s suppressed
because the camera gradually draws itself away from a blackboard to show the
class conversing. At the ending, the sound is suppressed so that the focus is on a
single student, and their resilience.
10.When a student is shot, the sound of ringing ears is played so it makes the
death more believable and shocking to the audience.
11.The only repeated sound would be the class continuously repeating the
answer to 2+2 at the end of the film.
24. Sound – Part 3
11.The only repeated sound would be the class continuously
repeating the answer to 2+2 at the end of the film. It was used to
establish the monotony of the new regime forced upon the class.
12.The filmmakers use the suppressed sound of the class and
gradually make it more clear while drawing the camera back from
a blackboard to give a greater view of the scene.They also
suppressed the sound of the class while the camera focused on a
single student correcting the sum presented by the teacher to
highlight his own resilience, and the resilience of the human spirit.
The sound of ringing ears is used to make the death of a student
more effective, and it does manage to shock the audience due how
barbaric it is.
25. Editing – Part 1
1. Every single shot changes with simple cuts.Towards the end, when
the teacher is getting students to answer the sum 2+2, the shot changes
a few times when the students say five.
2.The editing pace is quite slow throughout, except for when the
students brandish their “guns”, at which point there are two quick cuts
back to back to create a sense of urgency.
3. Editing is never so fast that it creates a montage.
4.The editing doesn’t remind me of any other films or television
programs.
5.There are no other types of transition.
6.There are no crossfade transitions in this short film. It
7. Cross-cutting is never used, as it all takes place during a single lesson.
26. Editing – Part 2
8.The film can be split up into sequences
these 3 sequences. Horizontal lines indicate
how long the sequences last, and diagonal
lines indicate which one comes next. In the
1st sequence, cuts are somewhat far and few
between and are used to call attention to
certain elements of the scene (students,
teacher, etc). In the 2nd sequence, editing is
slightly quicker due to the confrontation
between the 2nd student and the teacher.
Cuts are increasingly used after most
sentences after the three “top” students
come in, as the tension increases. In the 3rd
sequence, cuts are sometimes used after a
character speaks a full sentence.
27. Editing – Part 3
9. Sound is often used to bridge cuts. Dialogue is often used to
bridge cuts, especially during conflict between characters.
Also, the sound of ringing ears is used at one point to bridge
quick edits to establish urgency.
