Short Film Analysis.

Annabelle Derham

The short film I have chosen can be found at the link below. It has made it to a short list in a www.reed.co.uk competition

http://www.reed.co.uk/film/2012/film-competition-shortlist

After going to this website you need to click the film called Disconnected.

This short film is about a boy who is getting cyber bullied, through the film we are told his point of view on the person he is, this is a clever technique as the film has no speech other than him narrating his life. He shows himself in different situations constantly expressing the fact that he doesn’t fit in.

The film opens with the title of the film in bold capitals then the producers name on thinner capitals.

The following shot is the opening shot which is an extreme close-up of the the boys face as he wakes up, this is the person that we follow all the way through the film.

After the opening shot the extreeme close up fades to the back of the boy walking through a park, to begin with there is no noise, as the picture begins to become clear from the fade the back ground noise is faded in, we watch the boy walk a few steps from the back then we are taken by another fade to a medium close up of the boys shins and feet where we watch him walk a little further at this point we still don’t have much of an idea who this person is.

After these shots there is a location to a supermarket, we are shown the back of the boy as he walks through the isles , this gives the impression that we are following him and following his story this keeps the viewer interested as it gives the feeling we are going to find out more information.. As the boy walks along the narrator says ‘I am your 9/10 prefer the home brand, I’m the face in the crowd of glances… ‘ as he says this she shot moves again to him being stood on a busy street which his hood up as vehicles and people hurry past him as though he wasn’t even there.

(the boy runs his had down along the shelves as he passes the items) (The boy is in a white hooded jacket leant against the wall)

After this we are then shown another shot of the boy walking through a park of woody area, looking very similar to the one we were shown before, he then turns up at a party where is is then narrated ‘I’m a zero in your room of vital ones’ this is said just as he walking into the room where everyone is dancing, this making us think that this boy doesn’t fit in and is more of an outcast, however we still don’t have a reason for why.

(This is the boy walking to the party, (This the the boy entering the party)it could also show a passage of time)

As the boy tries to mingle he is given a funny look mainly by one girl but others start looking too after this point he leaves.

After the party ‘There I am nothing but here I am something’ is narrated, this is as the next shot is faded from the party to a Facebook page, this comment making us wonder what he means…

After the Facebook page shots there are various shots that are held on screen for just a few moments before fading to different shots, some of which are of the boys hands on his keyboard, an Xbox game, twitter page and Youtube page also a blackberry, which when he picks up shows abusive messages from another person at first he tries to defend himself but soon he gives in to the bully.

To the left are the abusive messages. These can be seen far clearer on the actual film.

After these shots various article headlines and titles are shown about Cyber Bullying, this is the point at which we as viewer can clearly see what is now happening and the rest of the film begins ton make sense, we see that at this boy doesn’t fit in and like most other boys he likes his computer and games console but through this the bullies are attacking him.

After these images are shown on the boys computer screen a shot of the party the boy has left is shown which then fades to a shot which pans slowly over his Xbox headset then remote until it gets to his keyboard. In between this pan images of his Xbox game, his phone and keyboard flash in for less than a second each. There is no speech at this point but we almost feel as though the music says enough as it is slow and quite sorrowful throughout, it gives the sense that these bullies are having great effect on his life and stopping him from doing the things he enjoys.

After the slow pan the shots start to speed up again and the camera is focused in a medium close up on the boys computer screen as social networking sites are brought up again. After this the camera is moved to an extreme close up of one side of the boys face who is wearing glasses, we can see he is looking at the computer as the reflection of it can be seen in his glasses lense.

A medium shot of the boy gaming is then shown again, while the boy (narrator style) is saying about power and feeding the cyber bully ect. A close up of 2 plug sockets is then shown.

A mix of various shots are shown like before fading quickly from one the another, however in this portfolio of shots we see someone digging up the ground with a spade. This doesn’t make sense until the end shot where we see a wire hanging out of the ground and all of the electrical items in the boys house are cut off and he is sat in darkness. At this point you almost wonder if the boy is the cyber bully this film leaves an unanswered ending making the viewer question what they have just watched.

Here is the wire sticking out of the ground.

The shot to the right is the boy sat in darkness.

The final shot is just a screen like the first but tells us that this is an entry for a competition.

I think that this is a great short film and lots of effort has gone in to getting the shots accurate and precise, the story is told by the boy himself but in a narrator style, I feel that this has been a fantastic way to show the story and given me inspiration for the short film I shall be making my self. If I had to critise the film I would say it is slightly confusing as watching it the first few times I thought that he was a victim of bullying however the more I watched it I began to feel as though the boy didn’t fit in so he was the bully and I think this may be reflected in my analysis.