1. By Laurence Jones

2. What Is A Short Film?
 A short film is typically a film not long
enough to be considered a feature film.
 There are no official guidelines to specific
how long or short a short film can be.
 Short films are often made by independent
filmmakers for non profit, either with a low
budget or no budget at all.
 Short films can be professional or amateur
productions.
Laurel and Hardy

3. Conventions Of A Short Film
 Most short films consist typically of
around just 2 or 3 main characters.
 Most short films usually always have
a twist; twists can be cheap, yet
effective ways of creating something
interesting in a short amount of time.
 Short films are called “short films” for a reason.
They are usually 3-10 minutes in length but can be
anywhere up to 35 minutes long. Any longer and
the film would be considered a feature length film.
 Short films almost always have low budgets.
Tom Ridgewell, a
successful short film
filmmaker

4. History Of Short Film
 The very first films were presented to the
public in 1894 through Thomas Edison‟s
Kinetoscope.
 During the 1920s, short comedies were
especially popular, and typically came in a
serial or series.
 Comedians such as Laurel and Hardy,
Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton all
'graduated' from shorts to features.
 By the mid-1950s, with the rise of television,
live-action short was virtually dead.
The Three Stooges
Charlie Chaplin

5. Landmark Short Films
 The Birth of a Nation (1915): American
silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith
and based on the novel and play The
Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon. The film
chronicles the relationship of two families in
Civil War and Reconstruction-era America.
 Our Gang (1922): is a series of American
comedy short films about a group of poor
neighborhood children and their
adventures.
 Joe McDoakes (1942-1956): is the
protagonist of a series of 63 black and
white live action comedy one reel short
subjects.

6. Cinematography (from Greek: κίνημα, kinema "movements" and γράφειν, graphein "to record")
 Cinematography is the art of motion picture
photography.
 The cinematographer could also be referred to
as the film director's main visual collaborator.
 In the infancy of motion pictures, the
cinematographer was usually also the director
and the person physically handling the camera.
 Cinematography was key during the silent
movie era. With no sound apart from
background music and no dialogue, the films
depended heavily on the visual arts.
 Cinematographers are tasked with using
appropriate shots to put together and craft
scenes. They are essentially the director‟s
eyes.
A camera crew from the
First Motion Picture Unit
A scene from
Citizen Kane, 1941

7. Shooting with a DSLR
 digital single-lens reflex camera
 The ability to exchange lenses, to select the best lens for the current
photographic need, and to allow the attachment of specialized lenses, is
one of the key factors in the popularity of DSLR cameras.
 Early DSLRs lacked the ability to show the optical viewfinder's image on
the LCD display – a feature known as live preview. Live preview is
useful in situations where the camera's eye-level viewfinder cannot be
used, such as underwater photography.
 In 1969 Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith invented the first
successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a CCD (Charge-
Coupled Device). CCD would allow the rapid development of digital
photography. For their contribution to digital photography Boyle and
Smith were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2009.
Liveview mode
Cutaway of an
Olympus E-30
DSLR (RIGHT)
Diagram of how
a standard
DSLR functions
(LEFT)

8. Lighting
An
example of
dramatic
lighting in
the film noir
work The
Asphalt
Jungle
 In cinematography, the use of light can influence the meaning of a shot.
For example, film makers often portray villains that are heavily
shadowed or veiled, using silhouette.
 Techniques involving light include backlight(silhouette), and under-
lighting(light across a character form).
 Rembrandt lighting is a lighting technique that is used in studio portrait
photography. It can be achieved using one light and a reflector, or two
lights, and is popular because it is capable of producing images which
appear both natural and compelling with a minimum of equipment.
 Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television.
It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect.
Picture of a cat,
example of Low-
key lighting
A typical Rembrandt
lighting setup

9. Gravity notes
 Film centres around a council estate, a generally poor area; characters reflect this
through clothes and accents etc…
 The main protagonists of film are the main three boys who have gun
 The main dilemma is the gun and what to do with it
 Cause and effect
 Made in 2004
 Colin Hutton, director
 Subtext, during 2004 operation trident (gun crime control in london council
estates) was at it’s peak,this film may be a comment on how general youth treat
gun crime in poorer areas compared to other areas (mainly unfazed and
tolerant)
 Subtext could also say something about how a joke for one person can be very
serious to others, cause and effect etc
 Synopsis: set in and around an urban council estate, a group of young teenage boys
come across a firearm and fight over what to do with it.
 Genre: short film, drama, crime?, psychological, documenting life but not a
documentary
 IMDB description: Three boys power play with a gun. Gravity is a short film that deals
with the detached nature of gun violence, and how actions and responsibility are
often very disconnected
 The sky is shot throughout and is a reoccurring theme?

10. Drama The use of certain shots
and sounds create a
tension, which dramaticizes
the film as a whole
The narrative of this film
allows the audience to see
what other characters are
unaware of
After the gun is shot, the three
boys run off screen and the
camera pans over to the baby
to find him dead
Teenagers interested in
gun violence and
interested in day to day
life on poor estates
You can tell that the estate
used for filming is quite a
deprived area due to the lack
of people caring when the
gunshot is heard
For the filming, a run down
council estate was used
To emphasise the “roughness”
of the estate, the backstory of
the gun was that the kid just
found it on the street
The characters are depicted
as young, bored and working
class
You can see that the
characters are bored because
there‟s nothing for them to do
in such a rough place
Perhaps a
reference to
operation trident
Gun crime
The film represents
poor
neighbourhoods
It‟s filmed on a
rough looking,
deprived estate

11. Mise En Scène
The cloudy and overcast sky
foreshadows a troubled plot
The figure is silhouetted, this
emphasises the gloom
surrounding the character and
his fate
Much like About A Girl, the
opening shot is of a silhouette
against an overcast sky

12. Mise En Scène… continued
There is contrast in the lighting as
the top of the shot (the sky) is
brighter than the foreground, this
emphasises how “dark” it is on the
ground
Despite the contrast in the light
and dark there is also a shared
uniform of grit between the
foreground and background
There is a
novelty about
an urban
landscape, the
landscape is
very urban and
industrial in this
film. Industry
generally
connotates
machines and
machines are
lifeless,
unthinking and
are ultimately
un-loving…
…Just like the people who inhabit
said council estate

13. About A Girl notes
 Film centres around a council estate, a generally poor area;
characters reflect this through clothes and accents etc…
 The main protagonists of film is a teenage girl
 The main dilemma is the strained relationship and general neglect of
the girl
 Case and effect
 Made in 2001
 Brian Percival, director
 Subtext commenting on child neglect
 Subtext could also say something about how children can make
jokes of very serious things, perhaps because of a child‟s natural
ability to be light hearted
 Synopsis: set in and around an urban council estate and canal in
Manchester, a girl talks about her life and reveals that she wants to
move to London and become a singer when in reality she has a very
poor and almost opposite existence to the one she describes
 Genre: short film, drama, psychological, fictional documentary

14. Drama The use of certain shots
and sounds create a
tension, which dramaticizes
the film as a whole
The narrative of this film
leaves the audience to
read between the lines
At the end of the film the girl
throws away an aborted baby
but in the film it doesn‟t state
that it‟s a baby in the bag
People interested in run
down areas
The area of Manchester is
really poor and her family is
divorced and un-forgiving
For the filming, a run down
council estate was used
To emphasise the “roughness”
of the area, there are mainly
tower blocks which can be
linked to rough parts of town
The girl is depicted as young,
bored and working class an
neglected
You can see that the girl is
neglected as she hides her
pregnancy and is left out side
the boozer while her dad gets
drunk
The film represents
poor
neighbourhoods
It‟s filmed on a
rough looking,
deprived estate

15. Mise En Scène
The brick wall emphasizes the
grit and harshness of the
urban environment
She is looking down, this has
a connotation that she is
feeling sad or depressed
Her clothes show that she is
quite young and “chavy”
and/or poor
Her earrings suggest that she is
perhaps trying to act/look older than
she is in order to fit in with the rough
world that she inhabits

16. Mise En Scène… continued
Urban/ industrial landscape
has connotations of poverty
and neglect, which almost
runs parallel of the girl‟s life
Grey skies are a pathetic
fallacy and comment on how
dreary life is for the characters
Grass isn‟t very
green, “the grass
is greener on the
otherside”
The dad is in the middle of a football match, presumably when he's
supposed to be spending time with his daughter, this shows that he
is a careless father and probably doesn‟t care too much for his
daughter as he‟d rather spend time playing football
The girl is on her
phone, mostly
uninterested in
the match, this
reflects how she
aspires to get
away from boring
Manchester

17. Mise En Scène… continued
Urban/ industrial landscape
is in decay and is quite
dilapidated, this has
connotations of how the
girl‟s life may be in ruin
Litter in the canal expresses how toxic and lifeless the water is,
the greyish brown of the water shows that the water is heavily
polluted, this has connotations to how unhealthy and desperate
life is in the area
The girl is
looking at her
own reflection,
this
connotates
that she is
perhaps
reflecting upon
her life and
general
surroundings

18.  The editor for About A Girl has chosen to use very dramatic
shots, perhaps to emphasise the drama in the film. A good
example of this is the penultimate shot, which is taken
underwater and shows the baby in the plastic bag. This scene is
very hard-hitting and unravels the innocence of the film, which is
slowly chipped away at throughout the entirety of the film.
 Another example of a dramatic shot used in the film is the
opening shot which shows a silhouette dancing against a
clouded sky. The fact that the figure is shadowy creates a
gloomy presence about them, also the cloudy sky has
connotations and foreshadows of a clouded and troubled plot in
general.
 The editor for Gravity has also chosen some very dramatic
shots, these include the opening shot which a silhouette against
an overcast sky backdrop. This is extremely similar to About A
Girl. Another example includes the transition scene from when
they shoot the gun to where the kid is on the swing, this scene
works very well.
Editing

19.  The reoccurring sound that is used over and
over in Gravity is the sound of the rusty swing
swaying. This is the first thing we hear and it
is also the last thing we hear, this helps build
a relationship between beginning and end.
 The sounds mostly consist of dialogue in
About A Girl, the girl talks about her life
through soliloquy. She can also be heard
singing. The fact that the director focuses on
her singing in some of the scenes reinforces
that the character desires fame.
Sound

20. Comparisons between the two
filmsThe two films are very similar, both centre around the death
of an infant. Both are fundamentally built around the
concepts and themes of poverty, child negligence and
what children do to entertain themselves. About A Girl is
driven by it‟s documentary-esque narrative and how the
main protagonist bounces a monologue to herself. Gravity
follows a different style of narrative, progressing just like a
normal drama.
Both films are shot and edited in similar ways. Gravity has
very dramatically shot scenes; heavily focusing on the
firearm and the characters' reactions towards it, whilst
also capturing the scenery and backdrop of the deprived
area that the story is set in. About A Girl is extremely
similar in that respects, that it too emphasises on the
poverty. About A Girl also employs a documentary-style-
spin, this helps create a backstory and understanding into
the character's life.

21. My Short Film – The Big Shave
/ Viet „67 (1967)
 The Big Shave / Viet „67 alternate title.
 Six-minutes in length.
 Written and directed by Martin Scorsese.
 Scorsese has been noted for his depiction of violence and liberal use of
profanity in many of his films, he has also been noted for his collaborations with
actors Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Leonardo DiCaprio.
 Many film critics have interpreted the young man's process of self-mutilation as
a metaphor for the self-destructive involvement of the United States in the
Vietnam War, prompted by the film's alternative title.
 The music accompanying the film is Bunny Berigan's "I Can't Get Started",
recorded in 1937.
 This was one of Martin Scorsese‟s first films he did in college. His career is long
and very successful, some of his best films include :
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Goodfellas (1990)
Gangs of New York (2002)
The Departed (2006)
Shutter Island (2010)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

22. Analysis of The Big Shave
This short film is extremely bloody and graphic, and overall quite hard hitting.
Firstly we are familiarized with the environment; the bathroom is unusually
up kept and pristine but becomes increasingly messier and bloodier, this
could have connotations to how America is a strong country at the
beginning of the Vietnam war and how the country is a mess by the end of
the conflict. Then we are introduced to a young man who enters the room
and proceeds with shaving. As the film progresses the shave becomes
increasingly more violent and the man starts bleeding profusely, until
finally he slits his throat.
The accompanying music is very upbeat and is an oxymoron of what
message the film conveys. The overall message of the film is a hint
towards the Vietnam War, and how the war is similar to America
metaphorically “slitting their own throat”. Bunny Berigan's "I Can't Get
Started“ dynamically has a crescendo and the song grows louder and
more aggressive as the music progresses, this complements the mood of
the film as the film also grows increasingly aggressive and violent.
The film is edited to accommodate shorter clips of film. There are mainly close
ups of certain objects such as the sink basin, the plughole, the man‟s
hands etc… this establishes a level of detail within the film.

23. Reverse
storyboard
stills

24. Mise En Scène
The main
character is
young, physically
strong, white and
American, which
may mean that he
is the physical
representation of
America at that
time during the
mid 60s
He is looking into the
mirror; that may have
connotations that this
film is about self-
reflection
The main character is also quite well groomed and
physically maintained, this could be a reference
towards how militarily formidable and democratic
America is

25. Mise En Scène… continued
The basin goes from being shiny and
pristine to being bloodied and messy
The contrast in
the white of the
basin and the dark
of the blood could
suggest
connotations of
segregation and
the fight for civil
rights within
America during
the 60s
The blood is a
deep red, the
colour red has
connotations of
communism. The
blood could also
represent the
spread of
communism and
the US‟s attempt
at stopping the
domino effect in
south-east asia

26. Mise En Scène… continued
The repetition of
shots where the
character takes
his shirt off
enforces the
connotations of
America being
stripped of
innocence in an
ever-changing era
of social
revolutions…
…Or perhaps the
repetition of shots
could suggest that
the character is
struggling to take
his shirt off, his
shirt being a
metaphor for the
upheaval of the
worsening
situation in
Vietnam and
amongst youth
and the peace
movement

27. bibliography
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Scorses
e
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Shave
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_film
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_stooges
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_chaplin
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_scene
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematograph
y
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dslr