NEA evaluation

1. Evaluation Evie Stylianou 4121 Alleyn’s School 10802
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According to the ‘Academy’ criteria, a short film has a running time of 40
minutes or less’. However, it is often thought that ‘less is more’1, and that the
best short films are ‘crystalline creations of precise prismatic intensity’2,
suggesting that their success derives from a succinct story, focusing on a
single idea or emotion. ‘The Operator’ makes use of a single idea based on a
specific phone call to an emergency services operator, using conventional
cinematographic close-ups to create an intense off-screen space, whilst
‘Echo’, explores grief through the prolonged effects that death can have on a
family.
I drew upon a similar emotion in my film, ‘Dear Tony’, following a cancer
patient (Grace), on her physical journey to the park, and her metaphorical
journey in rejecting treatment. ‘Dear Tony’, suggests that the film can be read
as a ‘visual letter’ to her tumour, creating an intimate bond between Grace
and the audience through literal storytelling. It also shapes the important link
between the written and visual spaces, enabling the use of visual metaphors
throughout.
Genre is defined as a set of characteristics that distinguish different films from
each other, which has developed into a ‘repertoire of elements’. Within short
films, it is more effective to borrow across genres, denying audiences feelings
of familiarity and comfort, in order to evoke emotion in the short window of
time. ‘The Fly’, borrows from the (dark) comedy and thriller genre. The
comedy stems from a getaway driver’s exaggerative measures in removing a
fly from his car, whilst the thrill derives from the heightening of minor sounds,
such as windscreen wipers, building tension for the spectator.
1 Dave Sproxton of Ardman Animations
2 Gareth Evans, ‘In Short: A Guide to Short Film-making in the Digital Age.’ (BFI
publishing, 2002).

2. Evaluation Evie Stylianou 4121 Alleyn’s School 10802
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In ‘Dear Tony’, the script itself is vital in classifying its genre, drawing upon
elements from literary genres such as dark comedy at the beginning, before
transitioning into a tragedy at the end. The dark humour is seen where Grace
is casually sitting at breakfast talking about how she would ‘kick him [Tony] in
the balls’, which is a strangely uncomfortable, yet humorous reaction from a
cancer patient. The fact that the film ends with Grace revealing her decision to
reject treatment, expressing how she ‘doesn’t want to be weak in her hospital
bed anymore’ and would rather ‘watch her [mum] from the sky’, embodies the
very nature of tragedy, and works to create a dichotomy between the first and
final acts of the film.
In a filmic sense, I borrowed elements from the documentary genre, breaking
the fourth wall and mimicking talking head interviews. The narrative explores
Grace’s personal journey, which the audience uncovers through the film’s
exploratory eye, much like the performative documentary mode. Her character
is introduced using these techniques, immediately breaking the fourth wall to
address her audience. This builds an intimate connection between them,
including the brief title sequence’s superimposition to show Grace at the end
of her journey. Breaking the fourth wall is also used in the tracking shot of
Grace walking, continuing the sense of intimacy, and can be likened to many
mid-shots from the short, ‘About a Girl’.

3. Evaluation Evie Stylianou 4121 Alleyn’s School 10802
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Todorov explains the notions of propriety, of what is ‘probable’ in a film and
‘therefore appropriate.’3 Due to my topic being raw, I had to be careful when
incorporating humour, ensuring an appropriate tone. I used static
cinematography and a subtle soundtrack to do this, allowing the words to
carry the narrative. The immediate use of voice over, playing over a black
screen instantly stitches together the visual and audio mediums,
foregrounding the non-diegetic voice over that runs throughout the film. Grace
packing her bag in her room, provides an intimate setting for the personal
information that she is about to reveal and sets up that she is about to embark
on a journey. The journey motif runs throughout, enhanced by the use of jump
cuts between different locations (as seen below), allowing editing to directly
shape narrative. This amplifies the pace of the film, capturing a sense of
constant movement, driving the narrative forward concurrent with her
physically, and mentally, moving forward in her journey. ‘Echo’, uses a similar
motif of movement and transport with shots of a bus, train and bicycle acting
as a constant reminder of what happened, whilst also conveying the
emotional journey of grief. This selection of different transport imagery can be
likened to the use of different locations, in ‘Dear Tony’.
3 Essays, UK. (November 2018). Critical Analysis of Genre in the Film Industry.
https://www.ukessays.com/dissertation/examples/film-studies/hollywood-
genre-film.php?vref=1

4. Evaluation Evie Stylianou 4121 Alleyn’s School 10802
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Narrative focuses on the fact that stories are told in a cause-effect way. It
could be argued that all narratives derive from Aristotle’s ‘beginning, middle,
end’ structure, which has been developed via Todorov into ‘Syd Field’s
Paradigm’, suggesting that every story is set up, before being disrupted by a
confrontation that eventually ends in a resolution. Whilst the narratives of
many modern films fit into this structure, the way that the story is presented to
the audience can differ. ‘The Ellington Kid’ utilises a frame narrative, with the
kebab shop encompassing the imagined flashback of the supposed ‘attack’.
Whereas, the narrative of ‘Dear Tony’ occurs in one day, and is presented
chronologically. However, they can both still be seen to conform to the ‘Three
Act Structure’, highlighting their conventional narrative forms.
A sense of unease is introduced from the beginning, when Grace is at the
table with her grandma. In this sequence, continuity editing is broken, with the
sudden disappearance of the orange juice carton, working with asymmetric
framing, to create a sense of disorientation.

5. Evaluation Evie Stylianou 4121 Alleyn’s School 10802
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The journey motif is furthered through increasing average shot lengths
towards the end of the film, capturing a calm, stillness as she comes closer to
revealing her decision. This sense of serenity is enhanced by the soundtrack,
which slows down when she is in the park, reflecting her inner peacefulness.
The use of voice over also helps to advance the narrative, with Grace
discussing topics unrelated to cancer, such as the meals eaten on death row,
showing how she is not letting her disease consume the conversation, much
like how she is not letting her disease determine how she spends the rest of
her life.
These static shots feed into the film’s clinical aesthetic, which is reflected in
pale background tones, allowing my use of the colour green to stand out. The
tones are similar to those found in ‘The Arrival’, which similarly captures a
woman’s internal struggle, in this case, deciding whether to keep her child. In
both ‘The Arrival’, and ‘Dear Tony’, cold muted tones are used to reflect the
serious mood. I attempted to create a sense of discomfort by replicating the
clinical feel of a hospital, and as the film progresses, these tones are replaced
with the colour green, acting as a visual metaphor to signify her moving away
from her treatment.
Her bright green costume stands out against the cool tones, creating an ironic
contrast with how she is feeling inside, feeding into the dark humour at the
beginning. This adds to the verisimilitude, as the contrast between the pale
tones of her skin, and the bright costume, make her appear more ill. As the
film progresses, I attempted to increase my use of the colour green in the
mise-en-scene, acting as a visual metaphor for how she is slowly coming to
reveal her decision to reject treatment, and essentially allow the forces of
nature to take over. ‘The Arrival’ similarly transitions in tone, but to darker
tones when she is coming closer to her decision.

6. Evaluation Evie Stylianou 4121 Alleyn’s School 10802
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Visual metaphors are continued in the tube station sequence, which lacks
natural lighting when the dialogue starts to become more intense, enabling
the film to become physically and figuratively darker as she reminisces about
her life in hospital. The use of white surfaces in the tube station reflects the

7. Evaluation Evie Stylianou 4121 Alleyn’s School 10802
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clinical aesthetic of a hospital, with ‘Stockwell’, creating a visual binary
opposition between the word ‘well’ and Grace, who appears unwell.
‘Dear Tony’ elicited my preferred, emotive response from an audience, who
suggested that this was heightened by the soundtrack. Some audience
members questioned the breaking of the fourth wall, suggesting that it would
have made more sense to continue this throughout. However, I ensured them
that it is continued throughout, with the camera following Grace through the
park, which is positioned behind her instead. This shows how she is now in
control of the space, working to reflect how she is also in control of her future.
I also showed my audience two possible endings, one closing on Grace’s
mother, and one on the sky. Everyone said that they preferred the second
ending for being more ‘moving’.
‘Dear Tony’ adopts a chronological narrative, driven by the use of jump cuts. It
borrows from genres of dark comedy, tragedy and performative documentary,
and uses microelements, such as mise-en-scene, to convey meaning and
evoke the intended sympathetic response.
Word Count: 1494.