This is one of the short films that we have chosen for analysis, this short film is called "signs" and shows the struggle for a person who at the starts seems depressed and un happy with his life but of the course of the shirt film becomes much happier when he meets a girl working in the office next to the office he works out.
The target audience for this short film is set at working class people who have similar daily routines to the main character in the short film, This targets the working class people through the use of showing the depressive daily routines which they can relate to as there daily routines are very similar to the routines that are shown in the short film. The short film "Signs" also targets people who work in offices, this is because of the fact that the main characters in the short film work in a office and could relate to the experience that the characters are having in there office jobs. The office workers could relate to the daily routine that the character goes through as well, for example they could relate to the boring journey to work or even the board meetings that some office workers find boring as well. This could also target both males and females because both genders work in offices and could relate in the story that is being shown in the short film and they can relate to the situations that happen at work.
The codes and conventions that are used in the short film "signs" help to create the depressive feel to the beginning half of the short film, and the happy feel to the other half of the short film as well. For example at the beginning they use slow depressing music to help to create the atmosphere and to help represent the idea of a depressed worker going through a day in the life of the character, Just the music helps to create the depressed atmosphere and makes you feel for the character. The music can also relate to the second half of the short film where the man meets the woman character, the music is shown to help represent the idea that life seems to be getting better, which is generally what is happening when the guy meets the girl at the office. The lighting was also used in the short film. This was most effective when the male character was waking up for work, this was effective in the short film because of the fact that the dark room help to show the depression of the character. Which also represented the boring day that the character is about to go through at the office.
The setting is also very important because of the fact that it could also be used to show some sort of depression, for example the character seems depressed about getting up for work and starting a boring journey that would result in a boring day at the office, just the setting of the office makes some people feel depressed because it reminds them of there boring day if nothing actually good happens that day, and the office can be a boring place if nothing is actually happening.
The costume is also important code and conventions of the short film "signs", for example the main character wheres a grey suit, this can also relate to the representation of depression because the colour grey is dull which represents depression, this could represent the external depression of the character.
Camera angles- There were many different camera angles that were used in the short film sighns here are a couple of examples of camera angles that were used.
Mid Shots: Mid Shots were also used in the short film 'Signs'. Mid shots were used to show what the character was wearing, this links in with long shots as this also links into what the characters are wearing but in the short film 'Signs' there was not as many long shots as there were mid shots. As you can see in the Mid shot the cahracter is still wearing his work clothes, whcih look depressing which links in which links into the characters depression. This mid shot is also showing what the character is doing, in this case he is eating something but the sad and depressed facial expressions indicate how the cahracter is feeling throughout his day.
Extreme close up-, This is very similar to the close up/wide shot that I wrote about above, but instead of this being a wide shot/close up, this shot is an extreme close up which just focuses on the characters and is zoomed into to the characters face so that the background is blurred which indicates that the character is the main focus of the shot. This also indicates the emotions of the character in far greater depth than the close up/wide shot that was used in the short film. This extreme close is used to show that the charcater looks upset and slightly depressed which fits into the first half of the short film as the first half is depressing where as in the second half life gets much better for the charcter.
Two shot- This is another example of a shot that can be found in the short film 'Signs', This shot is called a two shot, this shot in this short film is used to show the two main characters meeting for the first time after sending signs to eachother from oppostie offices. This shot is very effective as it shows them coming together and highlights a turning point in the life of the depressed main character. This gives the short film the happy ending and makes you forget about the depressing feel to the beginning of the short film. The two shot is used alot more after this point to show the characters getting closer and the change in his life from depression to finding happiness.
Editing -At the begining of the short film slow paced editing was used, slow paced editing was used because of the fact that it helps to creat the depressive feel to the short film. Also as there are not as many short required as there would be for fast paced editing, it gives the audience time to understand what the character is going through and to understand the depression that the character is going through. This also makes it more emotional for the audience as they feel the emotions that the character is going through. Towards the end of the short film when the main character is running after the girl the pace of editing changes, it changes from slow paced editing to fast paced editing. The faced pace editing suggests to the audience that the main characters life is getting better and this is because of the fact that the main character will meet the girl that he has fallen in love with. Cross cutting was used in the short film when the main character was looking out of the window looking at teh girl in the opposite office block. The cross cutting is used to show that the characters are falling in love with one another, and this helps to show the audience there developing relationship.
The director of the short film was called Patrick Hughes, who has made severally short filmes including the lighter, the director and is currently working on his first feature film which is called Red Hill, The short film was written by three people, Patrick Hughes, Karl Fleet and Nick worthington. "Signs" was distributed by a distribution company called IndieFlix, which distributed the short film worldwide. IndieFlix is an online marketplace and distributor of over 2,500 filmfestival selected independent films The production company for this short film was Radical Media. The short film had two main characters portrayed by Nick russell and Kestie Morassi.
Dan
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