Notes on the technical aspects of a range of short film we compared, particularly those belonging to the comedy genre. We looked at mise en scene, camera work, sound, lighting and editing. These will be used to write a script w

1. Reviewed films
Late Bloomer - Short Film - Sundance Film Festival
Focus on one character.
Voice over narrating the events.
Featured music.
Recognizable villain.
Animation taking place.
Different angles and shots.
Jumping from one time frame to the other.
Effective use of lighting.
Struck - A Short Film
Focus on the main character.
Upbeat music featured in the background.
Reoccurring song motif, Over the Rainbow.
Effective use of music and lighting to create emotion.
Flashbacks.
Simple storyline.
Editing of the exposure and filter put on the shot.
Famous cast.
Shot of footsteps.
A Futuristic Short Film HD: "Memorize" Written & Directed by Eric Ramberg
Tension creating soundtrack
Genre suggesting titles - fantasy
Inspiration of iRobot
Fast paces editing
Effective use of digetic sound for intensive action
Great location scouting

2. Suggestive costume
Realistic prop guns
Effective post production effects, layering of the screen, 3D effects
Shaky cam
Slow-motion
Reaction shots
Pov of the robots
Good, naturalistic Lighting
Two shot
Close ups
Lack of dialogue
Titles at the end
Inbox - Short Film
Oriental music
Opening titles – colour scheme white and red
Music stops to create comedy
Focus on two characters
Cross cutting between two different places, events happening at the same time
Special effects, disappearing things
Fast paced editing
Montage, elipsis of a man dressing up very quickly
Fading between shots, suggesting a longer timescale
Zooming to raise the adrenaline
Sound of a ticking clock
Black out
Slow motion - happiness
Pov of a guy dancing with a bag

3. Pov of the bag
Slow motion - sad
Two shot
Shot reverse shot
Title at the ned
The Desk - Short Film
Straight into action – establishing shot
Deep focus on him, low focus on the background
Sad instrumental music suggesting of the genre, drama
Slow motion to show important of character
Continuity editing
The title the desk actually reveals the main point of the film
Bell ringing from one shot to the other, soundbridge
Change in music to create tension and ambiguity
Tracking or dolly, camera follows the character’s every move
Synchronous sound
Cutaway to another shot of the room number 111
Repetitive routine, he wakes up, goes to school, writes on the desk and so forth
Montage (30 rule) of the same shot but in different costume to suggest the passing of time
Effective use of lighting to create a mysterious setting
Crabbing shot of other classmates in the room
Two shot
Happy ending
Titles, white on a black screen
'The Ventriloquist' starring Kevin Spacey [OFFICIAL]
White titles on a black screen:
Name of the production company - Trigger Street Productions presents

4. Who’s film it is - Jameson First Shot
Introduction of the main character – the ventriloquist
Synchronous sound
Ambient sound – traffic, bird song
Empathetic sound
Establishing shot which reveals location
'The Ventriloquist' – fades onto the screen
Over the shoulder shot during conversation – reverse cutting (editing technique)
Humors dialogue
Close up or cutaway
Shot reverse shot – reactions
Hyper-real sound of a punch or non digetic
Soft focus on the background
Close up of a beaten face
Establishing shot to reveal a bench
A three shot: lady, puppet, Kevin Spacey
Hand held camera or arch shot of the studio
Mysterious use of lighting – high and low
Soundtrack – realization that the puppet doesn’t need his puppeteer to function
Loudness increases
Fade out
Long shot of main character waking up
Deep focus
Reverse zoom on an empty table or reverse focus
Shaky cam adds tension
Exterior shots
Continuity editing

5. Crabbing shot revealing character
Shot of a busy street with buses driving by at high speed
Two shot – long shot
Black out at the end – black outs signify one part of the story ends
Written and directed by
Produced by
Director of photography
Production designer; editor; costume designer; music composer; co-producer;
List slides
The Crush (2010) - The Oscar winning short film.
First shows production company- a purdy pictures production
Fades into first scene
Introduction to main character- teacher
Teacher writes love on the board- relates to story as a whole
Crabbing shot of teacher and students
Close up of students- diegetic sounds of students moaning
First intro to another main character- crabbing shot
Non- diegetic sound and slow motion- represents daydreaming
POV of student to teacher
Wide shot of teacher addressing students
Establishing shot of students packing up and leaving
Non diegetic sound of student daydreaming- shows film title next to the main character
Establishing shot of teacher and student alone
Close up on a ring
Camera follows the movement of the student
POV of student walking towards teacher
Two shot/ Over the shoulder shot of teacher and student conversation

6. Close up on student and teacher’s face- can see the reactions clearly
Two shot of both characters talking
Close up on the ring- shows her putting it on
Wide shot of student walking
Non diegetic sound- represents how the student is feeling
Establishing shot of the students family eating dinner
Close up on student’s reaction to parent’s conversation
Close up on father- shows his emotions
Two shot of mother and student talking
POV of father
Crabbing shot of the planner
Cut to another scene – instrumental music
Close up of the boots
Close up of the engagement ring – ambient sound
Irish accent – ‘’careful wee man’’
Low angle shot of the boy crushing the paper
High source of lighting
Cut to a close up of a gun
Minimal lighting
Proxemics – father in the foreground hiding the gun and the boy in the background lurking behind
the door
Over the shoulder shot – poster
Sound of the bell – introduction to school
Two shot of their profiles
Long shot of the classroom
Jump cut from a mid shot to a close up
‘’it’s a date son’’ – dialogue
‘’let the best man or boy win’’

7. Light illuminating his face
High angle shots - evil
Low angle shot – innocent, vulnerable
Sound of the engine
Wide shot of the evil child and the couple in the car
Long shot of an old bunker
Camera tracks the man’s movements
Slight low angle when framing the man and high angle when framing the boy – central
Framing: man’s back to the camera, boy central and teacher behind him
Slow paced editing
Extreme close up of the loaded gun
Editing increases until it reaches the climax
Close up to Ardle’s eyes and gun’s barrel
Slow motion
POV of dead man
Inaudible sound
Black out
Fading in
Low angle shot on Ardle – powerful, high angle shot on ex-fiancé
Close up of the ring being thrown on the floor
Long shot of the teacher and boy walking away - smaller
White titles superimposed on the background
WHEN YOU LOVE SOMEONE - Short Film
One main character
Isolated location suggesting of the isolation of the character, loneliness
Over the shoulder shot
Non-linear narrative – flashbacks

8. Popular music to convey the emotional state of the character
Hand held camera
Fade outs
APRICOT – short film by Ben Briand
A lot of pulling focus
A lot of jumping in and out from the main storyline
Sun flare
Documenting who he shared moments with
Marcel – the man
Shaky cam throughout the whole thing
Short term memory – camera, notepad, he doesn’t remember his first love and his first kiss
Flashbacks of childhood
Awake – short film
Amateur
Mysterious
Close ups