SHORT FILM ANALYSIS

The Picnic
A short film about a boy named Geoffrey who likes a girl named Sofia, and has a connection to her through his sister who knows the girls brother. The boy tries several different things to try and impress Sofia however none of these work. The sister and brother of the two organize a picnic for them, and they arrange for Sofia to meet her “brother” however, it turns out that Geoffrey is waiting for her with the picnic. She turns him down and walks away so Geoffrey suggests that his younger sister and Sofia’s brother have the picnic instead, and they are the ones that fall in love at the end, unexpectedly. This is shown in linear narrative.
No music is used in this short film, so it doesn’t add much emotion or atmosphere to it, different scenes are made obvious; such as the library as we are shown a librarian in the back ground, bookshelves and tables with students who are studying. A simple kitchen is used and bedrooms are also made obvious as in these scenes we are only ever shown the actor sat on the bed, we are not shown any other part of the room, this keeps focus onto the character and makes it simple. When texts are sent, close up, high angle shots are shown, so it is obvious to the audience what’s happening. When the younger brother and sister of Sofia and Geoffrey are packing the picnic, the film makers have edited this scene so it is short, still shots of the two; this gives a nice effect as it doesn’t make the process of it seem long, it’s quick and to the point and we are shown that the two do like each other and it is shown very quickly, which is necessary for short films.
Most of the camera shots are close ups or medium shots, this keeps it simple and it doesn’t make the scene too fussy and again, keeps a focus on the actors and what they’re doing. Over the shoulder shots and long shots are used in the scene when they are waiting for Sofia once they have packed the picnic; it makes us feel more involved in the scene.
This was a good example of a short romance film; it has given me ideas of what to do and what I can do to improve my ideas.


Retail Romance
Just like “the picnic” this short film is purely about a guy after a girl, however we don’t find out their names, background etc this keeps it a fast paced film and we have no connections with the characters. We are first shown the boy throwing a card into a bin and putting a pink bag with name “Amaze” we are then shown his routine of eating his tea alone, by showing us one table matt, one plate, and one set of cutlery. This is shown by short shots of him doing these things, si we are not shown the full thing so the scene isn’t too long. This then cuts to him being and work and after this it goes back to him putting a different card into the bin and another pink plastic bag into a draw full of the same bag. The routine is shown over again but the shots are shorter than before; a camera shot of the girl is merged into another shot of the boy which shows us he is obviously thinking of this girl. His routine is then repeated again but even faster, so it is obvious he has a specific routine, a shot is then shown of him at work waiting at the counter and looking up at the clock he then smiles when he sees that it is 5:10 so we assume this is when he finishes work. We see him leave work and walk into a card shop which is obvious that is the one he regularly visits; however we can see that he is looking over at the girl who is at the serving counter and there is a mid view shot of her so we are able to see what the boy is looking at. The camera shot then blurs showing us the boy’s thoughts and his thoughts of the girl making innuendos to him which is quite comical. However this soon changes back, and he goes and buys a card off her, again. The clip of him shown at work is used again and him looking at the clock and he goes back to the card shop, however the girl is talking to another costumer about a party that was going and this boy writes down the location and we then see him buttoning up a shirt and putting on a tie. He enters the party and the girl comes up to him and they start to dance. Different shots of close ups of peoples feet, and people drinking etc makes it obvious that he is at a party, the music also changes from slow music to upbeat music. This is shown in a linear narrative. The editing is done very well as we can see his every day routine but it is shown very quickly and the repletion can also highlight the amount he tries to get this girl.
The locations are set in very simple places, the card shop would have been a card shop because of the amount of cards and wrapping paper that was displayed however it was very small and obviously local to them. The restaurant he works in is also a restaurant so the people filming may have had a connection to this. A kitchen and a hall are used which will be easy to get hold also. Disco lights are used for the party and all the actors are dressed up and dancing. The boy throughout the short film is wearing casual clothes for work and dresses up for the party.
All the scenes were done well, however the ending was a bit confusing. I really liked how they edited the repetition and how they showed this.