Short film research - TIME (by Dani)

TIME

Kris Dayne 2012
Virgin Media Shorts

TIME explores the different people in a Café and their reactions when a suicide bomber reveals himself. The seconds tick until detonation and we see the reactions of each individual, who are from different walks and stages of life in this life changing situation.

Due to the fact that there is no dialogue throughout the short film, camera shots and angles are key as well as the use of slow motion which is why I find it so interesting and creative.

     Representation

-     The café is the only location in the short film, giving it importance in the representation of characters, as it allows for each of these social groups to be used for example; stereotypical representations of the builders, achieved through the use of costume and props. However the group of women are shown having a gossip which in some ways is a negative representation.

-     There are many social groups present in the film, each with relevance to the impact on the audience and to the emotion of the suicide bomber.

-     Social groups present are: A group of friends, builders, and a group of women chatting, a couple, and a family with a child.

    
     

     The waitress is the most important character in this film, shown by the many shots of her compared to the rest of the café who are just shown briefly. She if focused on a lot in the film and with a variety of shot types such as close up. I think she may represent his guilty conscience, shown through the shot reverse shot with her and him, allowing for dramatic reaction in the close up shots of their facial expression. In the shot reverse shot, the shots are mirrored in proportion and composition, yet his is an extreme close up instead of just close up, however this reinforces a connection between them, perhaps that she is his guilty conscience.

     Narrative

     The chronology of the narrative is linear to a certain extent throughout the short film; however, the use of a faded clock over the first shot of a man’s feet walking, conveys this idea of time and counting down as relevant from the offset. This shot creates dramatic effect for the audience as we question what the meaning of this could be, it is clearly of significance as it is in slow motion.

-    The plot is a key aspect in the way the audience percieves the story, as if it wasn't in this chronological order, it would perhaps be difficult to understanding, however the organisation of story events adds suspense, for example the foreshadowing of the clock at the start of the film.  

-     The closure of the film is highly significant as we do not see the outcome of the events in the story, did he or did he not set off the bomb? Leaving unanswered questions and creating an enigma creates an air of mystery in the film. Due to the fact that many of the characters in the cafe for example; the waitress could have been constructed as his guilty consciene, it raises questions; did he listen to his conscience or did he go through with it anyway?

     The film ends with an extreme close up of the waitress saying something to him, yet due to the lack of deigetic sound, we do not know what she has said. Whatever she says however causes him to smirk and trigger a flashback and the film ends, leading the audience to believe that whatever she said had a positive effect on his decision, reinforcing her role has his guilty conscience.




Genre

-   Although there is no clear genre in the film, as in short films it can be difficult to identify genre due to the length of the film, causing there to be aspects of many; for example areas of mystery, drama and thriller are present in the film. The enigmatic style of the film allows for their to be a sense of mystery and even thriller aspects. The drama is created through the use of characters in the cafe, as it is a normal everyday situation, turning bad and the genre of thriller is shown in the theme of the film. The theme of suicide and terrorism are explored heavily in this film which I believe would come into the category of a thriller. These genres cross over a lot for example there is an enigmatic quality to the thriller themes in this film; why has he chosen to end his life and that of several others in the cafe?

-    Genre theories such as that of Rick Altman are not relevant to this short film as there is no categorised genre, however aspects of Steve Neal's are significant in the reasons behind the film content. One area of his theory is that, genre is linked to their time and place in history, and says that film is reflective of the culture when it was made. A fine example of this is in Japan in the 50's, the monster Godzilla was created, after the atomic bomb had it, therefore the film explores the events that have/ are taking place and reflects some of these ideas in film. Steve Neal also believes that not only does film reflect cultural ideas but instead shapes them as well, which is difficult for a short film to do, however if this was a feature length blockbuster film, it would achieve that effect of shaping the values of time.

-    This theory is quite clearly relevant to my chosen film of study, as it captures aspects of our modern culture such as terrorism. Terrorism is a huge and serious problem in our society today and this film explores aspects of this, however concentrates on thoughts and feelings on the bomber at the time, why he chose this path of life and the reactions of others around him that it would also effect. This is backed up by John Fiske's theory that genre films 'embody the crucial ideological concerns of the times in which they were popular.' An example of one of these crucial ideological concerns that holds relevance today is terrorism which is explored in this short film.


Audience

-   Although this film has not won any awards it is shown across a range of places, as well as being shown on Virgin Media Shorts, it can also be watched on Youtube and Vimeo, perhaps giving an insight into it's target audience.

-    Like most other short films, the audience is widely internet based, therefore audiences must be internet users, maybe on a regular basis. This short film has a wide target audience due to it's widely explored themes and issues, providing for a wide demographic. I think that this targets spoecifically male Media students at either College or Univiersity or people that are interested in Media, as I dont believe there are age restrictions in the demographic of this film. Due to the themes and issues discussed I beleive that the psychographic is vital due to particular attitudes and perhaps cultures of the audience, some people may find this short film offensive as it portrays certain aspects of stereotype in the main male character.

    Media Language

    -    Due to the lack of dialogue throughout the short film, camera work and mise en scene
           are especially important in showing elements of character and the development of 
           themes. 

    -     Mise en scene is used to carefully construct each of the characters in the film such as
          the waitress, builders and of course the suicide bomber. Costume and props are 
          significant in constructing character and therefore exploring the different types of people
          present in the cafe, all from different walks of life, yet all in the same same situation at
          this moment in time.

    -    Each of these different characters are seen through the perspective of the suicide
         bomber, and the shots represent what he is looking at/ seeing, each of these shots are
         seen in slow motion, adding suspense to the film. He is looking around the cafe perhaps
         with regret to the situation he has got himself into, he is contemplating his decision and
         the outcome to each of these people if he makes the wrong choice. This is apparent due
         to the movement of the camera, it is shaky, presumably achieved with hand held.

    -    The significance of the young girl is clearly shown in this shot through the use of depth of
          field, for example she is shot in a shallow depth of field, giving the effect that she is the
          only person in the room as everyone else is blurred out perhaps because they are not as
          significant to his final decision. The shot is relatively long, reinforcing the importance of
          this character.

    Themes, Issues and Ideologies

    -   There is a few main themes and issues explore in this short film, terrorism and suicide
         shown clearly through the use of the main character; the suicide bomber. His emotion and
         feeling in his last minutes are clearly explored; his anxiousness is conveyed through
         camera shot, as well as mise en scene, for example he begins to sweat profusly conveying
         his anguish to the audience and the other people present in the cafe.

    -    This film deals directly with ideologies; although not dominant, in modern society such as
         terrorism, which due to the Media is so talked about and explored. However, this film
         explores the representation of the suicide bomber and not the aftermath, shown clearly by
         lack of closure at the end of the film. Showing more the importance and emotion of the
         character and their reasons behind it.