Short film analysis- 2
- 1. ‘WHAT’S ONYOUR MIND?’ SHORT FILM ANALYSIS A2 Media studies Annika Laws -Walsh
- 2. This first shot shown, is a point of view shot which introduces what the topic of the film will be based on - social media. It’s a view that many individuals are able to notice nowadays as social media has become so big and become a part of people’s daily life’s.This shot also explains the title of the film (‘What’s on your mind?’) which is a phrase used for the social network Facebook which essentially used to encourage users to share what is on their mind as a status to their friends. This is how the protagonist is first introduced. From this particular shot the audience can very easily acknowledge that the person who was scrolling through social media was this man as the director used mise en scene by including part of the computer in the shot.The use of low key lighting was very efficient and set the setting. Low key lighting informs the audience that the time of day is at night as the only light coming through the shot is emphasized to be only from the computer screen. The slow motion point of view shot from the screen to what is aside the computer creates a humorous scene.This is because, it shows a nice expensive looking meal that has been shared on social media and the man then looks to his left comparing his meal and looks disappointed.This may be intentionally to either be sad or funny and that depends on how the audience reacts. However, this point of this shot is to emphasize how things are publicized on social media – only sharing the perfect things in life and this continues throughout the narrative.
- 3. Another character has been introduced to the audience, this one being the girlfriend.The audience were able to tell that the character was not alone from the use of digetic sounds. In the background of the shots before hand we hear munching which is clearly recognized as someone eating for example a packet of crisps. From this shot and the ones before is it also clear that there is television on, this informs the audience that the man was not alone as he was concentrating more on his laptop than what relating to what the audience can hear in the background. From the facial expressions and the use of proxemics, the audience can tell that their relationship is not intimate and is probably not working well as they aren’t stereotypically showing affection that the audience are aware with as it’s part of the reality world. This is a close up of what the protagonist is typing up onto his profile.The phrase typed ‘Sushi with my girl tonite!!! <3’ will be shared with people who are known as his friends on social media. Posting this as his status, is informing the audience that he is publicizing false information about their relationship, yet, his social media ‘friends’ don’t know that.The audience see the behind the scenes of his social media life and his reality. He is pressured to post only the ’perfect life’ on social media which is relatable for many people watching in the real world as well.The type of sound used in this shot is synchronous sound, as the words are being typed onto the screen we hear the keys on the laptop keyboard being pressed in time with the letters typing.This makes the scene more realistic and also engages the audience within the film - making it more interesting to listen to sounds they are aware of from their daily life's. This again shows the contrast between his virtual and real life.The first shot shows how his day at work went which was bad as no one was paying attention to his presentation that he probably put a lot of effort into.The scene then continues to show that as soon as he came home he went to social media straight away to post that his presentation actually went well, to show his followers that his life is ‘perfect’. Showing an extreme close up of the computer screen showing ’13 likes’ also emphasizes that people believe anything on the internet world.
- 4. This film contains no dialogue, so the narrative is told through the use of camera shots and the actors facial expressions.This is a great example of how the audience are able to understand what has happened through the meaning of the actors expressions. Between the girlfriend and boyfriend we see that they are both surprised to see each other, possibly because he is coming home early as she isn’t fully dressed suggesting she has cheated on him, as the camera then moves to a man who isn’t fully clothed.The relationship status is then explained in the next shot which is referred back to the social media updates phrasing ‘finally single’. The split shot is used to emphasise on the location the scene is in, which is in the man’s office – a professional work environment.This is a successful way of telling the narrative to the audience as they are able to somehow relate to the character. In this scene we see the relationship between the two characters understanding that the man who is angry with him is his boss.This is to show that ever since the man has broken up with his girlfriend that things haven’t been going so well.The scene then continues to him leaving the office with everyone leaving him. It is emphasised in films that when someone is fired from their job they pack up a box of their things with people staring.
- 5. From this point the audience have understood the storyline – that he has become addicted to sharing the ‘perfect’ life on social media, which is a complete lie.The first screenshot shows just his profile, of status’s that have received numerous amount of likes, which is what people can become obsessed with when having accounts links to social media. In the second shot we see his eyes aren’t ‘awake’ his tie is undone which is suggesting that he is tired and isn’t coping well with being addicted to social media.The audience then see what has happened with the girlfriend – we see that she is a lot happier as she posts a happy picture with the guy she got caught with.The caption “My new love" also shows that they are now in a new relationship, showing that it was very easy for her to move on, which makes the protagonist even more depressed and worthless.
- 6. The last few shots are ending the storyline at 2:22.This shows that this product is following the conventions of a short film as they are typically a ‘snap short narrative’, catching the audiences attention for a few minutes that isn’t long so that they don’t become uninterested.The close of up the man typing immediately informs the audience that he is posting another status on his profile, however, we as the audience do not see what he is typing in the moment so it leaves the audience interested in what he could possibly be lying about now. However the next shot shows what he has posted ‘My life sucks…’ which is a relief for the audience as we understand that he now sees that his like isn’t that perfect life at all and that what he was doing wasn’t helping him mentally.The next shot then continues to a close up of someone else who was possibly interested in his ‘social media life’, changing his/her settings to not be able to see his posts anymore because he is typically shown to be boring to follow now.
- 7. ”What’s on your mind?” Short Film by Shaun Higton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y&feature=youtu.be