Lex's Blog

The Operator The short film starts with the operator taking a call from a mother trapped in a fire with her son. What we hear completely contrasts with what we see; we hear the mother frantically trying to get to safety, screaming for help, contrasted with the operators calm voice in a quiet room. This contradiction makes the audience question what's going to happen to the mother and her son. As not much is happening visually, it draws our concentration solely on what we're hearing to the point where we feel part of the conversation. We see the effect the phone call had on the operator when the phone call finishes leaving the audience with silence. We see the operators face slightly frozen, trying to take in what she just went through. This silence is heavily broken by another phone call, now she has to repeat everything she's just done. 

The Arrival The 2016 short film 'The Arrival' starts with a lady walking into a cafe. We can hear the sound of children in the background which is obviously connected with the plot. We hear the lady saying she wants the door closed, she said this whilst thinking about the negatives of having a baby. With the sounds of children outside and her wanting the door closed, potentially she's trying to shut down the idea of having the baby. But then we have a change in lighting - it goes dark. After this, the lady begins having fun thoughts about the baby, suggesting that past the dark is light and good. The steady zoom in on the lady creates an urging pressure on her to make a decision before the potential father walks in. It also draws our attention on her, especially how she's directly in the centre of the shot.

The Fly The 2013 short film starts with a bright, flashing title 'The Fly', suggesting some annoying themes to happen. For the majority of the film we only see one character - the get away driver. What he acts like in the film contrasts what a get away driver should be - calm and collective; this is what creates humour in a film that has dark scenes because he's letting a fly ruin his whole objective. Although we never see what's going on behind the bank door, we hear everything, further increasing the tension in an already tense film. The actual robbery works well with the drivers anger because the closer the robbery is to getting complete, the more frustrated the driver is getting with the fly. The fast paced cuts also help create tension as it signifies the energy and built up anger of the driver.

Tight Jeans 'Tight Jeans' is a short film made in 2008. Instantly we know that it's set in London because of the opening score being very grimy, as well as the recognisable architecture. Each of the boys characteristics apply to the colour of their jumper - red=anger, orange=energetic, blue=calm/serious. These characteristics help give this film a sense of comedy despite quite a serious topic being discussed - the views on other cultures and races. The back and forth movement of the camera helps with the fluidity of the conversation as once they start talking there are few cuts. This is effective as the the dialogue plays a big role in this film as it takes place in only one location.