*this film could not be embedded, however you can find it on facebook if you type in the title*
Storyline:
This Oscar winning short film is a touching representation of what it’s like to have a severe stutter. The film begins with Greenwood, the protagonist, on the phone to the customer service line at ‘Umbrella broadband’, trying to tell them about his bill, however his phone gets hung up before he finishes his sentence. The main story within this film is a love story between Greenwood and the girl Ellie, who he has been messaging for over 6months and they arrange to meet up online. However, Greenwood is too nervous as he doesn’t know what she will think of his stutter but when they finally see each other from across a road, he notices her using sign language as well as him.
The story ends with the protagonist smiling at the girl, which I believe is an emotional, but positive representation of people with that specific disability.
Enigma Codes:
The title reveals a lot about what the film is going to entail, however, there are still some enigma codes raised within the narrative of the film:
- How does Greenwood pull through his stutter?
- Will Greenwood meet Ellie?
- Will she ever reply to his Facebook message?
- What will happen next?
- Will the date go successfully?
- Will Ellie mind about Greenwood’s speech impediment?
Mise-en-scene:
The mise-en-scene varies throughout the film, as there is no specific lighting or props that appear in every scene. However, the most significant object within the film is the laptop, as it brings the protagonist’s together towards the end and during the film. At the beginning of the film, the phone is very important as it reinforces his disability through the customer service assistants hanging up on him as he took too long to speak.
Furthermore, the lighting varies through the different scenes, therefore at night, the lighting is minimal and low-key, with warmer tones. This represents the time of day and reinforces a homely atmosphere, as the protagonist is portrayed to be more comfortable when he is at home. On the other hand, during the day the lighting is natural and high-key, which highlights the protagonists image more, especially when he’s outside. The protagonist is represented as an awkward character; this is reinforced when he is in high-key lighting, as his facial expressions are portrayed clearer and present him as a person out of his comfort zone.
The protagonist wears casual clothes and dresses to suit his age, gender and ethnicity (stereotypically) throughout the whole of the short film. This subverts from the stereotypes of people with a disability, as there is no obvious social or medical model involved. It is also reinforced by the fact that when another character walks past him, they don’t know about his disability until he starts using sign language.
Cinematography:
The camera work within this film is reinforces meanings and representations of character movement and thought, which emphasises the sympathy towards the characters, especially the protagonist, from the audience.
The use of the extreme close up of the protagonist at the very beginning brings us, as the audience, closer into his disability and makes us feel on edge as he struggles to speak. It is also at that point when the audience is encouraged to feel sympathy towards the character, as we feel more engrossed into his situation right from the very start of the film.
Furthermore, there are many points in the film that put us, as the audience, into the protagonists place. For example, when there is a medium shot of him sitting down at his desk, then the foley of the computer showing he has a message, which is when the camera pans over to the computer and then follows with a medium shot of him sitting at the computer. The significance of the pan onto the computer instead of cutting from one shot to another is that the camera, almost, follows the eyes of the protagonist so we can see the computer sitting there, isolated and we are put in the shoes of the character. The isolated computer makes the audience feel as if it has a whole life inside it, which it does, because Greenwood’s conversation with Ellie is all stored on there and that is a superior part of their online relationship.
Editing:
There are very long takes of shots within this short film, especially when the protagonist is being portrayed through his stuttering moments. At the very beginning there are 3 shots of him saying ‘I am calling about my bill’; the first one lasts roughly 9 seconds, the second one and third one’s last 3 seconds each. The longest shot is to represent his disability as a slow process of speech, which helps the audience to sympathise with the character, as we feel sorry for him because the lady on the phone hangs up before he gets a chance to finish his sentence. It then quickly cuts to another extreme close-up shot of the same thing happening (his mouth against the phone), which only lasts 3 seconds before it cuts to a close up of his whole face. The fast transition from long takes to short takes reinforces the contrast and difference between his slow and fast speech, as the short takes have voice overs at normal speed of what Greenwood actually wanted to say.
As well as shot length, the transitions are also a significance within the editing, as they are varied, whereas in most films there are usually just cuts. Fade-to-black is the most commonly used transition within this short film, which is because there are many temporal shifts to represent the protagonist, Greenwood, waiting for Ellie to reply to him. The shift in time prolongs the last thought, or movement of the protagonist, which emphasises the significance of that thought; it also builds up tension for the audience, making them question whether he will actually go on a date with Ellie etc.
Sound:
There is one main orchestral, non-diegetic score throughout the whole film, which is occasionally interrupted by foley or dialogue. The orchestral score consists of a piano, which is played in a major, yet, somber toneandemphasises how the protagonist, Greenwood, feels uncomfortable with his verbal disability. It also reinforces the typical conventions of the romance genre, as that is the most-used type of score within that genre.
Furthermore, the protagonist’s non-diegetic dialogue is represented mostly in the form of a voice-over,which is supposed to be what he is thinking. This reiterates the fact that he struggles to speak, therefore the only way of getting across his thoughts to the audience is through what is going on in his mind. Towards the end, there are layers, upon layers of voice-overs from what the protagonist is thinking before his first meet up with the girl he has been messaging. This emphasises how he is feeling nervous and there are many things he wants to say, yet, he won’t be able to clearly say it to her, so he thinks it over and over again.
Lastly, the diegetic foley within this film is crucial in creating the atmosphere within each scene. For example, the sound effect of the message sound on the computer instantly sparks the protagonists movement, as he waits for a reply from the girl. This could also be a symbolic code, as it is a symbol that marks the character’s thoughts within each scene and portrays the fact that the message is about the next moment in time; meeting up with the girl.
Narrative Structure:
The narrative structure is linear, however the temporal shiftmakes the narrative less tedious, which can be the affect of some linear narrative structured films. Although, it doesn’t necessarily fit Todorov’s narrative theory, as the narrative begins with the disruption; the protagonist’s stutter on the phone with the broadband lady.
The linear structure is overridden by the actual narrative, as the context allowed more room for sympathy from the audience. The sympathy is created through many aspects of the film, however the fact that the characteristics of the protagonist is that he’s shy and quiet (due to his condition), draws an emotional connection between the audience and him, as we naturally feel the need to help him and understand his disability. This then entices the audience in to the film through the emotional connections and sympathy.
Genre and Audience:
The audience for this short film in my view, are mixed gender, aged between 18-30. The reason for these ages is due to the fact that the protagonist is also a young adult, as well as the majority of the characters in the film. Therefore, the specific situations, like messaging on Facebook and finding a new love is relatable for the younger generation of adults.
Furthermore, the socio-economic status of the target audience would be C1 or C2, as the setting for where the protagonist lives appears to be a block of flats in London, however he has a skill required job, therefore the target audience watches this to gain comfort within how they live. As well as this, the psychographics for the target audience would be Explorers (students) or Reformers (social awareness), because the protagonist appears to be young and exploring life, trying to get through with his verbal disability, which is aspiring for young students to watch and take in as they create their life choices.
The genre of this film appears to be quite difficult to distinguish, however I believe it has qualities of a social realism, as it includes a character with a social issue and verbal disability. As well as this, there is a lot of diegetic sound, therefore it creates more of a realistic atmosphere for the audience to experience.
Ideas Improvement:
This short film has really helped me to create a basic idea of what I want to do for my own short film. I have decided to do a social realism, however the narrative structure may include either flashbacks or I’ll have cross-cutting and parallel editing between two different scenes.
At this moment in time, I need to speak to one of my teachers about what I’m going to do, as I haven’t got a clear plan.
