During the month of August Virgin Media Shorts ran their annual short film competition, searching for the 'the next big thing'. They allowed short film makers to upload their work for the public to review and judge. The top 10 films will have their work shown in cinemas worldwide and one lucky winner gets £30,000 to make their next film with money-can't-buy mentoring from the British Film Institute.
I have watched a lot of short films uploaded onto the Virgin Media Shorts website and have decided to analyse a few of my favorites below. (Click film titles for link to video).
Escape
The first film which really caught my attention was Escape by Dwright. The first shot introduces the audience to the landscape, which appropriate to the title, is an empty forest. We then see a young girl with a distressed look on her face slowly walk forward, forests are often a symbol of the unconscious which could hint at the narrative to come. The first sequence uses a lot of sepia colouring, the trees and forest floor are all dark brown which makes the girl stand out, this lets the audience know we should be focusing on her character and that the diegesis will be about her. As the girl walks forward the previous walking shot is played over the top which gives the scene a surreal feeling. So far I would probably say based on the isolation of the character and dark colours being used the genre of this short film would be a thriller. The camera work is handheld and shaky which makes the audience feel like somebody is watching the isolated character. When the girl starts running through the forest the slow drumming music which was played quietly at the beginning picks up which puts the audience on edge. The character then runs into a black cloaked figure and the scene suddenly flashes which shocks the audience and makes them apprehensive about the scenes to come. Throughout the rest of the running scene the shot is intercut with over-exposed footage of the girls previous life, posing questions to the audience and making them think about who this girl is and what she is in fact running from. At the end of the scene it becomes apparent that the hooded character was in fact the girl herself. Altogether I enjoyed this short film and thought it was edited very well to make the scenes thrilling and I liked the use of the hand-held camera as it put the audience amongst the action and got them involved with the story.
Apple Juice
I really enjoyed the short film 'Apple Juice' by Johnnyruff as although the concept is very simple this short film is very well put together. The scene starts with a close-up of a young girl drinking from an apple juice carton, the shot is very vibrant and gives the film an immediate sense of fun. We then see a young boy looking longingly at the carton and then at the fridge, the shot of the young boy looking inside the fridge is from his point of view, looking up at the fridge which is comical as everything seems huge and out of reach. All of the first sequence is silent apart from the shot of the young girl laughing as she hands the boy the empty carton and watches him try and drink it, this again adds to the fun of the film and relaxes the audience. Soft happy music starts playing as the young boy then proceeds to walk up to a huge apple tree, all through the opening the colours are very vibrant and effervescent which captures the audiences concentration, the use of close-ups on key elements of the scenes also draws in the audiences attention and makes the diegesis easy to understand and follow. When the boy returns with the apple and drinks the juice through the straw the animated facial expression used by the young girl adds comic value to the film. Altogether this short film is very simple but beautifully captured and makes the audience feel content all the way through.
My life with(out) her
The short film 'my life with(out) her' by rjmoir is very cleverly done. I chose this film as one of my favorites as the editing is very dynamic and I can take inspiration from the contrasts displayed. The use of split screens all the way through (although hard to follow the action sometimes) is effective and engaging for the audience. One screen shows the mans life with his girlfriend and one without, its interesting to watch each screen and how different each activity is. The shots also match up with the music being played which ties the whole sequence together. The camera work is very smooth and interesting to look at and every shot is different and intriguing.
The first film which really caught my attention was Escape by Dwright. The first shot introduces the audience to the landscape, which appropriate to the title, is an empty forest. We then see a young girl with a distressed look on her face slowly walk forward, forests are often a symbol of the unconscious which could hint at the narrative to come. The first sequence uses a lot of sepia colouring, the trees and forest floor are all dark brown which makes the girl stand out, this lets the audience know we should be focusing on her character and that the diegesis will be about her. As the girl walks forward the previous walking shot is played over the top which gives the scene a surreal feeling. So far I would probably say based on the isolation of the character and dark colours being used the genre of this short film would be a thriller. The camera work is handheld and shaky which makes the audience feel like somebody is watching the isolated character. When the girl starts running through the forest the slow drumming music which was played quietly at the beginning picks up which puts the audience on edge. The character then runs into a black cloaked figure and the scene suddenly flashes which shocks the audience and makes them apprehensive about the scenes to come. Throughout the rest of the running scene the shot is intercut with over-exposed footage of the girls previous life, posing questions to the audience and making them think about who this girl is and what she is in fact running from. At the end of the scene it becomes apparent that the hooded character was in fact the girl herself. Altogether I enjoyed this short film and thought it was edited very well to make the scenes thrilling and I liked the use of the hand-held camera as it put the audience amongst the action and got them involved with the story.
Apple Juice
I really enjoyed the short film 'Apple Juice' by Johnnyruff as although the concept is very simple this short film is very well put together. The scene starts with a close-up of a young girl drinking from an apple juice carton, the shot is very vibrant and gives the film an immediate sense of fun. We then see a young boy looking longingly at the carton and then at the fridge, the shot of the young boy looking inside the fridge is from his point of view, looking up at the fridge which is comical as everything seems huge and out of reach. All of the first sequence is silent apart from the shot of the young girl laughing as she hands the boy the empty carton and watches him try and drink it, this again adds to the fun of the film and relaxes the audience. Soft happy music starts playing as the young boy then proceeds to walk up to a huge apple tree, all through the opening the colours are very vibrant and effervescent which captures the audiences concentration, the use of close-ups on key elements of the scenes also draws in the audiences attention and makes the diegesis easy to understand and follow. When the boy returns with the apple and drinks the juice through the straw the animated facial expression used by the young girl adds comic value to the film. Altogether this short film is very simple but beautifully captured and makes the audience feel content all the way through.
My life with(out) her
The short film 'my life with(out) her' by rjmoir is very cleverly done. I chose this film as one of my favorites as the editing is very dynamic and I can take inspiration from the contrasts displayed. The use of split screens all the way through (although hard to follow the action sometimes) is effective and engaging for the audience. One screen shows the mans life with his girlfriend and one without, its interesting to watch each screen and how different each activity is. The shots also match up with the music being played which ties the whole sequence together. The camera work is very smooth and interesting to look at and every shot is different and intriguing.
