Drama Short Film Analysis 1

Starting with the drama genre, I shall use Youtube to find some short films from both award-winning filmmakers and other students in order to see the varying quality of production. This will help me to determine how a drama film is either a success or a failure. My goal is to evaluate the short films according to their specific features, these will be Dialogue, Camera Shots/Angles, Editing, Sound, Mise-en-scene, and Ideology/Themes.
 

PASSING

This is a very professional example, and I am impressed with how the story is both simple yet emotionally complex. It juxtaposes the two main characters (an old man and a young man) on their approaches to love but concludes with a sense of understanding between the two. 

In summary, an older man is buying his wife a small plant and a card for their anniversary, when in comes a younger and far more upbeat man, who charms the shopkeepers as well as some of the customers. The old man feels undermined as he watches the gentleman purchase a big balloon, a large boquet of flowers and a card. Under his breath he mutters 'just wait thirty years buddy' since he believes that the young man is being overly sentimental. Both men buy their gifts and leave the store. On his way back the old man stops suddenly, clearly spotting something. The camera moves along and reveals that the younger man is a widower, buying those items to take to the cemetry where his partner lies in peace. The old man feels guilty for judging him and upon reflection thinks about how lucky he is to have shared a long life with the person he loves. This is enough to make him turn around, implying that he is going back to the shops.

Dialogue

In terms of dialogue, there is very little. There is basic small talk between the young man and the other customers of the shop, as well as a brief sub plot of the women at the kiosk swooning over the younger gentleman and his sentimental affection. The young man is depicted as polite by wishing the shopkeepers a good day and also kind-hearted when he asks a young child for her opinion on the balloon. In contrast the older man is only given one line, 'just wait thirty years buddy,' which makes him comes across as sarcastic and cynical, implying that he is tired of over the top gestures of affection.

Camera Shots/Angles

Although the short film is quite basic, the camera shots and angles are quite dynamic. I found that many of the shots were trying to frame both of the main characters in opposing ways.  

• Focus Pulls:A frequent camera technique noticeable in this film is the use of pull or push focus. The very first shot is a close up of some of the boquets in the florist shop, which then uses push focus to bring the background of the frame into focus, showing how busy it is and establishing the colourful atmosphere. The second time this occurs is when both men are in the shop; the old man is in the foreground holding his plantpot and then there is another push focus to juxtapose him with the young man and his more vibrant bunch of flowers in the background. In the next shot there is a pull focus back to the older man. The final time this occurs is towards the end when the old man spots the younger man in the cemetery. The shot is a pull focus from the old man in the background to the young man in the foreground.  The significance of these focus pulls is that is helps to contrast both of the men at the same time, demonstrating that they are two sides of the same coin.
• Panning Shot:Another shot worth mentioning is the closing panning shot. As the old man walks off it pans to the right, showing the young man stood firmly by his partner's grave. I find this memorable because it captures how the old man has undergone a change (personified by him walking back to the shop) but also captures how the young man remains fixated in his beleifs (personified by his unchanging stance in the graveyard).
• Tilt Shot:Closing the short film with an upwards tilt is fairly conventional in a drama film because it acts as a slow drift away from the characters, often focusing on a blank sky which then fades into the credits. It also occurs earlier in the shop, when the camera tilts upwards from behind the card shelf to reveal the young man sorting through them.
• High Angle Shot: The shot where the younger man picks a balloon is done from a high angle, which provides both a clever bit of editing as well as an immersive shot. At first the screen is purple, but then it moves to reveal that the purple screen was simply a close up of a balloon. From an editing perspective, this transition enables the viewer to identify that the story has moved forward from when he was picking a card. And from a cinematographic perspective it provides engagement and a change from the grounded shots that had been used previously.
• Over the shoulder Shot: In order to establish a sense of intimacy and interactivity, the over the shoulder shot is used to highlight how two individuals are communicating. The camera focuses on one of the characters but is positioned behind the shoulder of the other so that interaction is implied. It can be seen here when the young man is talking to the shopkeeper.

Editing

The editing here is fairly straightforward, since the drama is slow paced. Slow cutting is used to establish a domestic situation where everyday life is taking place, which helps to create an atmosphere of tranquility. I think you could also point out that the short film uses match cuts, such as where the old man is walking past the graveyard. There is a mid-shot of him contemplating returning to the store, and as he turns around there is a match cut to a longer shot showing him walk off.

I would say that there is evidence of parallel editing here. Even though both characters are in the same location the film cuts to them at different times to show their contrasting approaches.

Diegetic/Non-Diegetic Sound

The non-diegetic sound is evident in the jovial soundtrack. However the score it used to signify the change in emotion. You'll notice the piano keys go higher when the young man is shown in the cemetery, which evokes a melancholy connection. This short film is much more reliant on the use of non-diegetic sound than diegetic sound, because the soundtrack is noticeable from the start until the very end of the film. Background chatter, dialogue, and natural sounds are all included to emphasise the civilised atmosphere of the neighbourhood, while the soundtrack determines how the viewer should be feeling. 

Mise-en-Scene

I think the brightness of the film is something that has been edited heavily in post-production. The gradient and the colour scheme are very evocative, contributing to the scenery of the botanists. The flowers, the balloons and the cards are synchronised in conveying a bright, busy tone. It immediately sets a vibrant and engaging tone for the scene. Worthy of note is the contrast in the two character's t-shirts. The young man wears orange, which is quite a neutral and harmless colour, whereas the older man wears purple, a colour associated with envy. These distinctive contrasts (not only in brightness but in colour connotation) help to assert the juxtaposition of the two men. 

Probably the most important element of mise-en-scene is the cemetery. There is no dialogue or exchange of any sort to tell us, but by visualising the graveyard it helps us to put together the context from what we've seen before. It clarifies the purpose of the story. 

Ideologies/Themes

This short film is an exploration of love, in my opinion. It explores love from three very individual perspectives. Firstly, there is the older man. His beliefs on love are that less is more, when you've been together a long time materialistic gifts are unnecessary. The second perspective is our initial interpretation of the young man. Charming and over the top, we look at love as an expressive emotion, conveyed through the purchase of excessive materialism. But then both ours and the older man's judgement are subverted with the twist at the end, which brings us to the third perspective. It looks at love as an immortal concept not to be taken for granted. The short film ends with both men and the viewer having a clear and compelling understanding that love should never be undermined. 

I also believe that the film is about judgment. As the viewers we are led to follow the old man's beliefs, thinking that the younger man is just showing off with unnecessary displays of affection and making us pity the minimalist approach of the older man. However by the end of the narrative we reflect on this change of perspective, and like the old man have a somewhat guilty conscience for making a premature judgement. 

Review

When I watched this short film I had to write about it. It is under four minutes long and yet cleverly presents a complex drama with a twist, using minimal dialogue and settings. Very little actually occurs on screen, a lot of the story is conveyed in the subtext and how we as the audience respond. I love how the colour scheme establishes a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and I feel that even though the two characters don't meet, their is a sense of foreshadowing and understanding between the two. I think that this example is very professional and an inspirational piece of filmmaking.