Research Evaluation - About a Girl

Short Film Analysis - About a Girl

What I have learnt for my film

This film was effective in connoting meanings and feelings though production techniques such as cutting and camera movement. From this, I have learnt that cuts and editing is effective in connoting meaning, which I will use in my film for the dream sequences.

Research Evaluation

Area 1:

How to make a short film - learning form similar examples - primary research.


Sources used

About a Girl - Short Film


Description of sources used

This film is about a young girl and her strenuous life, and dreams of escaping, in a working class society. Throughout the film it cuts from the girl's description of her life to the harsh reality of it.

Camera

Shot Type and Angle
The most common shot type in the film is an eye line match. This is to show the audience that even though the girl/protagonist is young and apparently unfortunate in her surroundings, she is intelligent and isn't to be pitied. This contrasts with the infrequent shots when she isn't the main focus (mum using scratch card behind her, the end shot etc.), which highlight the struggles she faces against all parts of her life. This results in the audience developing a close relationship with the character, as they feel protective but also equal to her - a bond similar to a close friendship, which makes the message of the film more effective as it feels like the audience is close to the character.
Confusion is also achieved when tracking the girl, as the angle used is always slightly canted it changes the audience's perspective on the character, again connoting that she isn't all that meets the eye, and could also connote that as she only appears to be equal to the audience (through eye line shots, which is helped by the canted angle as it makes her appear taller as more of her is in the shot), but is actually only pretending to cope with her surroundings, which was connoted buy her dreams of forming a band.

Movement

When the protagonist is talking to the camera, the movement is always a side/back track, handheld, moving at the same pace. This is used to give the appearance that the girl is having a conversation with the camera and so the audience (which is supported by the acting, as the character looks at the camera multiple times as if in conversation), again supporting the idea that the character is equal to the audience. In addition, the lack of forward tracking in the film is used to create confusion, as the audience doesn't know where the character is going. This transitions power to the character, as she is constantly aware of the situation (which is shown in the end shot), connoting to the audience that she is more intelligent than she shows. However, the infrequent long shots show the isolation of the character more clearly (although it is hinted at with her dysfunctional relationship with family), which makes the idea of the character talking to the audience (through camera work) feel more worrying - she has no one to talk to and confide in, so she has to talk to an imaginary entity (the audience).

Editing

Non-continuity editing is used throughout the short film, mainly in the form of jump cuts to emphasise the point of the protagonist. For example, jump cutting from the girl talking about the image of the band, to her actively doing this, proves to the audience that the girl is honest, although the obviously unlikely success of her band contrasts with this honesty, reminding the audience that the character is still just a young girl with big dreams.

The character talking to the camera, before jumping to the event she was talking about, gives the idea that the character assumes prior knowledge of the event. As a result, this editing technique connotes to the audience that the character is actually talking to herself, as the audience only shares experiences that the girl has, no other character. This is also supported by the frequent, jarring cuts to other topics of conversation which mimics a typical train of thought.

Sound

Sound is purely diegetic, with no sonic bridges or other editing techniques. This is effective in creating jarring cuts between scenes, which creates confusion for the audience and gives the protagonist control, again connoting control and maturity to the character.

What I was hoping to get from this.


From this source I was hoping to gain knowledge of how to successfully carry out non-linear editing in a short film, as well as learn more about how to implement narration, a key part of my film, as a central part of a narrative.


Brief summary of what I gained through my research

This film was effective in connoting meanings and feelings though production techniques such as cutting and camera movement. From this, I have learnt that cuts and editing is effective in connoting meaning, which I will use in my film for the dream sequences.

Reliability of the sources used

Very reliable, as the film is award winning and respected.