Pitch

Short Film Analysis #3

Rare Exports Inc.

Rare Exports Inc. is a Finnish short film directed by Jalmari Helander that was made in 2003. The film is about just before the first snow of winter falls, where professional hunters begin their work hunting, catching and training Father Christmas'. "The long process of tracking, hunting and transforming this king of the forest into a finished product is a time consuming process, but the final outcome is a reason to celebrate."

The film is somewhat of a fantasty film while also being a dark comedy. The intended audience is likely to be of an older nature, eventhough the subject matter is of a childrens character. The form in which this traditional story is told suggests that the creator wanted to reintroduce this character to adults.

The narrative is quick and pacy and allows for the 7 minute film to flow naturally. A relative budget for a short film is clearly used as is shown in the props and effects in the film, however, it is unknown.

The short film went on to spawn a sequel and also be adapted into a full length movie which went on to score succes both commercially and critically winning awards and praise from critics a like.

Short Film Analysis #2

Sweet

Sweet is a British short film from 2000. The film is directed by James Pilkington starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. The film is roughly 10 minutes long and humorously documents the relationships of Pete Sweet (Fielding) and the imaginary sister of his mate Dave, Poppy and also Pete and Daisy and Stitch (Barratt), Pete’s best friend.

The budget used for the film was very small as Pilkington used friends as the actors and also used his contacts for the crew on the film. Pilkington even used his local pub, and his own flat as locations for the filming.

The film incorporates the conventions of a short film by using a simple narrative structure that has a beggining, a middle and a conclusion which resolves the issues addressed throughout the 10 minutes. It would be fair to say that the lenght of the film is that of an average short film which breaks up nicely.

Short Film Analysis #1

Saw

Saw is an Australian, short, horror film made in 2003. It was directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, who also starred in it. It was originally used to pitch their script for a full-length feature film Saw to various studios and actors.

Colleagues, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, had begun writing a script for a horror film, citing inspiration from their dreams and fears. Upon completing the script, Leigh and James had wanted to select an excerpt from their script, later to be known as Saw, and film it to pitch their film to studios and prospective actors. This excerpt became the short film Saw.

The reverse bear trap, which is seen in the short film around the head of Whannell, is actually a real, working, rusty bear trap making it exceptionally dangerous to use. The film was shot over 8 days for around $2000 (USD).

Documentary Analysis #3

Super Size Me

Super Size Me is an American documentary film, directed by and starring independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. The film documents this lifestyle's drastic effects on Spurlock's physical and psychological well-being, and explores the fast food industry's corporate influence. The reason for Spurlock's investigation was the increasing spread of obesity throughout the U.S., which the Surgeon General had declared an "epidemic," Also he chose to make the film following the lawsuit brought against McDonald's on behalf of two overweight girls, who, it was alleged, became obese as a result of eating McDonald's food.

The film was produced on a very low budget (around $65,000), which is evident in the shaky use of a single camcorder and also the quality of the sound throughout most of the film. However, this did not affect the success as the film, as it managed to make around $30,000,000 worldwide, making it one of the most successful documentaries of all time. Also the film won an award at the Sundance film festival and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

Despite its’ success the film has split critics, some citing it as a very powerful film with an effective message, while others are not so complementary. For example in the comedic documentary reply Fat Head, Tom Naughton, another documentary filmmaker, suggests that Spurlock's calorie and fat counts don't add up and criticizes Spurlock's refusal to publish the Super Size Me food log which includes all the relevant nutritional information.

The film features many of the codes and conventions of a documentary film. For example the film is full of graphics and animations showing various facts and figures relating to obesity in America and also the number of fast food chains in the country. Also the film features many interviews, half coming in the form of formal interviews with appropriate professionals, the other half coming in the form of vox-pops with the public giving their opinions on the matter.

Documentary Analysis #2

Catfish

Catfish is a 2010 American documentary involving a young man being filmed by his brother and friend as he builds a romantic relationship with a young woman on the social networking website Facebook. For the documentary, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost film Nev, Ariel's brother, as he begins a long-distance relationship with Megan Pierce, the older sister of 8 year old art prodigy Abby Pierce whom Nev befriended on Facebook, conducted over the Internet and phone calls and the film develops from there.

The film is shot entirely by handheld cameras, by Ariel and Henry. We know this because at various points in the film we see the cameras and also whenever the holder of the camera is moving we get the shaky camera movements. Also the filmmakers use a camera that is hidden away at one point in the film so that their subject does not know they are filming them. 

The film follows many of the codes and conventions of documentary films. for example the film features interviews, most of which are pre-planned interviews with only one or two coming as vox-pops. There is no voice-over, which is odd, however, in place of the voiceover is captions which give any extra detail with is necessary. Also, there is some music featured in the film at various points.

In an interview Ariel Schulman stated that some viewers believe Catfish to be a fake documentary, or a hoax. Among those on that list are fellow documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and comedian and actor Zach Galifianakis. The film also has critics opinion split with many questionning why the young filmmakers would choose to document the relationship that Nev is involved in so early on. However, well-known critic Roger Ebert referred to the questions as a "severe cross-examination" and also stated that "everyone in the film is exactly as the film portrays them to be."

Documentary Analysis #1

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures

 

This is a video diary style documentary by independant filmmaker Chris Waitt. The film is about Chris' "personal problems." His "personal problem" is the fact that he does not understand why his girlfriends keep breaking up with him, and also the fact he is worries his friends, and younger brother are settling down and having children, amongst other things. We know that it is a video diary style this as the events filmed take place over a period of time and there are cuts between scenes over different days/weeks.    

The film was produced by Warp X,  a British film production company that works in association with the larger independant prodcution firm Warp Films. Warp Films are best known for producing films such as Dead Man's Shoes and This Is England. It was distributed by Optimum Releasing who are known for classics such as Quatermass and the Pit, An Inspector Calls and more recently Joe Cornish' directorial debut; Attack The Block. Film4 and the National Lottery Fund also helped produce the film.

The film follows many conventions of the documentary stlye. For example, it features a voiceover, done by Chris Waitt throughout the film shedding further details on what is happening in the film. Also there are many interviews throughout the film, many vox pops with random people dwelling on the street that Chris Waitt has approached and forced into discussion as well as some pre-structured interviews, with Chris's mom and ex-girlfriends. There is also some music played over various sections, normall when Chris is narrating or in the or while he talks about his ex girlfriends.

The film is clearly and independant effort and is filmed off one camera. We can tell that it is independant and cheaply made as Chris often walks round carrying his sound equipment while he is followed by his cameraman, the camera work is often shaky and it would seem that tri-pods are not used at all during the filming. This gives the film a more realistic vibe and makes the audience believe that the situation is probably true.

Music Video Analysis #3

Ok Go - This Too Shall Pass

 

This Too Shall Pass is an alternative rock song by the 4 piece, Alternative/Indie-rock band OK Go and is the second single from their third studio album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. The release of the video was unusual as the band released 2 different ones. The first featured a live performance with the University of Notre Dames Marching Band, the second (this version) features a Rube Goldberg machine which was set-up to operate perfectly in time with the song. While the complexity of the second video was popular amongst fans and enabled a boost in live performances it did not help the sales of the album and shortly after the videos release, the band left their record label, EMI, due to difficulties with distribution and marketing and formed their own record label.

The Rube Goldberg machine video premiered on YouTube on March 2, 2010. Within a day of the video's premiere, it was viewed more than 900,000 times. The video achieved 6 million views within six days, which was comparable to the popularity of the of the bands earlier song Here It Goes Again showing the large fan base and audience that the band have.

This song is a fine example of an abstract music video as everything that happens in the video is totally unrelated to the song. The video features a 4 minute, 1 shot sequence that is played to the tune of the song; in one instance, water glasses are used to repeat part of the song's melody in the fashion of a glass harp. As the song and machine operate, the members of the band are seen singing alongside the machine at various points so there is some performance as there are some lip-sync moments. 

Music Video Analysis #2

The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony

 

The Verve were an were an English alternative-rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead singer Richard Ashcroft. Their commercial breakthrough was the 1997 album Urban Hymns from which this song comes from. This song was a worldwide hit for the band, who shortly after recieving this great reputation split up, getting into the Top 10 charts in 8 seperate countries.

The song was not only big for the right reasons however. As it is based on music from an Andrew Loog Oldham adaptation of a Rolling Stones song The Verve had negotiated a licence to use a sample from the Oldham recording, but, after a charge from the original copyright holders it was successfully argued that the Verve had used "too much" of the sample, as despite the song having original lyrics, the music itself is based on the Oldham track which led to a lawsuit. The matter was eventually settled, with copyright of the song reverting to Abkco and songwriting credits to Jagger and Richards. Clearly this was a sore note for the whole of the band, especially Ashcroft who, at the time said, "This is the best song that Jagger and Richards have written in 20 years." Also, Ashcroft even dedicated the song to Jagger and Richards at one of his live shows, responding to booing fans by saying "Don't boo man, as long as I can play this song, I'm happy to pay those guys a few bills." Thus clearly making this one of the most controversial British songs in the past 15 years.

 

The audience for this video would be fans of the 'Indie-Alternative' or 'Britpop' genres as this is what the band, The Verve, fall under. also fans of Richard Ashcroft would be likely to watch this as he is the lead singer.

  

This song is an 'Indie-rock/Britpop' song. We know this as it incorporates guitar riffs, drums and bass guitar.

  

This music video is of the performance form. We know this as it features Ashcroft who is lip-synching the song as he walks down the street, refusing to change his stride or direction causing him to bump into multiple passers-by and at one point even climb over a car. The rest of the band then join Ashcroft at the end and walk off into the distance which leads into the video for the next single from the album. The video was heavily inspired by Massive Attacks - Unfinished Symphony video as they feature the same general premise of the singer walking down a bustling high street.

Music Video Analysis #1

Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down

 

The Arctic Monkeys are a 4 piece English indie rock band from Sheffield. Arctic Monkeys are heralded as one of the first acts to come to the public attention via the Internet with many suggesting that they represented a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed as they prodominantly self-promoted their songs and gigs via the social networking site, Myspace, gaining them a large underground following of "Indie-kids".

  

When this song was released, on the 16 January 2006, Arctic Monkeys were still a relatively unknown band as it is only their second single, taken from their first album. Their main audience was the users of Myspace as this was the platform the band used for their music. Also, as the Arctic Monkeys are considered an 'Indie-Alternative' band their fans were fans of this genre.

  

The song itself is based on prostitution in the long abolished constituency of Neepsend in Sheffield. Neepsend was only a constituency from 1950-1955. Obviously as the song is about prostitution it tackles a very, very controversial issue. The song is from the point of view of one of the prostitutes potential suitors who turns her down and then observes the "scummy man" make his move. It starred Lauren Socha and Stephen Graham, 2 up and coming british actors. The music video used footage from a longer film, Scummy Man, a short film, written and directed by Paul Fraser, which used the same actors who appeared in the music video to tell the story of 'Nina', the nameless "that girl there" from the song.

This song is an 'Indie-rock' song. We know this as it incorporates guitar riffs, drums and bass guitar.

  

The music video is one of narrative form as the action in the video follow the lyrics of the song. The song is played over the video all the way through, and there is no performance in the video. It could be argued that some of the aspects of the video, the magician for example, are abstract as they do not seem to follow any narrative structure in the lyrics.