1. A state of equilibrium- when everything is fine.
2. A distruption of order- an event that happens which distrupts things.
3. A recognition that the disorder has ocurred- characters react to the event.
4. An attempt to repair the damage- characters set out to find a solution to return to equilibrium.
5. A return or restoration of a new equilibrium- characters succeed and equilibrium is restored, the characters have grown after their story arch.
Films
Batman Dead End
Director: Sandy Collora
Heavy incidental music, the sound of an orchestra hit on an empty (black) screen with titles slowly appearing in the centre of the screen, a compilation of someone putting on the ‘Batman’ outfit that we know to be the Batman, still with incidental music and a voice over from what sounds like a police radio talking about “trouble in Gotham City” and “The Joker once again escaped from Arkham Asylum.” We never see the face of the actor playing Batman as he is getting ready by putting on the classic Batman gear all of the shots in the opening of the short film is medium close up shots so we never reveal his face leaving a layer of mystery over the opening.
Establishing shot of a building we can assume is ‘Wayne Enterprises’ to set the location of the short film (the shot was clearly archive footage possible taken from one of the Christopher Nolan Batman films) we see a few forward tracking shots following Batman and the Joker as they run through the alleys of Gotham City, there is a use of shots which transition into each other, a close up shot of Batman as he lands into a puddle so all of the water splashes around him leaving his cape laying around him on the floor, to an amazing crane shot showing him crouching on the floor and seeing his cape almost into the Batman symbol, with orchestral music playing as he slowly rises up bringing the cape up as he rises.
We see a lot of shot reverse shots between Batman and the Joker as they fight and speak to each other about the Joker’s face and calling the Batman “Daddy” because the Joker believes that the Batman created him because without Batman, Joker wouldn’t have anyone to fight so without each other their lives would be pointless.
Through a twist of events we see the Joker being snatched by a Xenomorph (Alien from the Alien’s Saga) we see an extreme close up of the Joker’s knuckle duster as it falls to the ground, we then see a Xenomorph rise up from behind Batman from an over the shoulder shot from Batman’s front. We then see an extreme close up of Batman fighting a Xenomorph as we see Batman struggling with the Xenomorph we see the three iconic dots of the Predator’s shoulder cannon, and we hear a blast noise as the camera swaps showing the Predator for the first time.
There is a fight between Batman and the Predator, this shows the conventions of a short film extremely clearly by having the equilibrium of Batman fighting the Joker and taking him back to Arkham something any Batman fan knows is the normal situation in Gotham, we then have the Twist where we see the Joker being killed by a Xenomorph something unknown to the Batman universe causing distress to the characters in the film, we continue with the un- equilibrium of the Predator being introduced into the mix and finally the equilibrium at the end when the Predator is defeated by a heavily beat up Batman, but then questioning the conventions there is another twist as more Predators appear from nowhere clearly turning off their cloaking device. This is a good example of a short film as it mainly sticks to the conventions of a short film with all of the twists etc. It also doesn’t give us a back story on any of the characters but this could be because most people know the story surrounding Batman and the Joker but it keeps to the convention of short film by keeping the story short and full of action.
NA nananananana Batman!
Signs
Director: Patrick Hughes
Signs is a love story in which the two lead protagonists have no dialogue, the story is told through signs that they write to each other and the visual images.
The film starts with sad, slow incidental music, the ambient sound of an alarm can be heard as the main character, Jason, wakes us. The camera is looking down on him from directly above as he lies there, it emphasises how pathetic he feels. The film cuts between different shots of his morning routine, the music remains sad. He wears a suit, which is used to show how he blends in with everone else. On the way to work we see a point of view shot of Jason looking at a woman, this shows the reason he is not happy, he is alone.
When Jason reaches work we can hear ambient office sounds (phones ringing and general chatter). We then cut to Jason's lunch break where an over the shoulder shot shows Jason looking at another woman, as she approaches him we see him smile, but then he is disappointed she walks straight past, this emphasises the reason for Jason's sadness. We are also shown a meeting at work, where Jason looks very bored.
Jason then arrives home, we hear his mother leave an answering machine message where we find out his name and a little backstory of his life, as he gets into bed. The morning routine sequence is repeated to emphasise how mundane his life is. When Jason arrives at work he notices a woman in the building across from his, we are shown a point of view shot of him looking at her, and then a shot from the point of view of her room which shows how smitten he is. The woman then notices him looking and begins the sign writting, the camera flicks between their points of view as they converse through the medium of written word. We discover the woman's name is Stacey.
The incidental music becomes more happy, showing how Jason is happy something new is happening in his life, the morning routine is shown but with Jason in much higher spirits. We then see a montage of Jason and Stacey bonding, playing noughts and crosses with their signs, and drawing silly faces. We are also shown a meeting that Jason is in, Stacey is writing to him and he is having a good time in there, this narrative echo contrasts from the start and shows the effect the relationship has had on Jason, he is happy.
Jason is shown writing a sign, asking if Stacey wants to meet him, we are shown a close up of the sign, emphasising it's importance, as well the point of view from Stacey, showing how nervous he is. Stacey is then asked away for work while Jason is not looking and when he turns around she is gone.
We cut to Jason infront of a bathroom mirror, the camera is placed behind Jason so that we see his back and his reflection, the scene is a parody of the cliché in films when somebody talks to themselves in a mirror or practices a line. In this one he practices different ways to reveal the sign asking her to meet him. We are shown a medium close up of Jason's face, showing his nerves.
The next day the incidental music picks up even more, Jason barges past people in an attempt to get to work, a handheld camera is used in places to emphasise his rush. When he arrives at his desk and looks across, Stacey's belongings are gone and a new person is moving into her office, a reaction shot shows Jason's sadness.
The incidental music gets sad again as we see Jason return home and go to bed, followed by a repetition of the morning routine from the start, emphasising his sadness. As Jason sits at his desk as he did at the start, a sun glare hits his face, it is Stacey trying to get his attention, the light coming in may represent Stacey as the light in his life. It turns out that Stacey was only promoted, and Jason finally asks her to meet, she agrees and we see Jason rushing down to meet her, a handheld camera is again used. When they finally meet in the street Stacey hold a sign up saying "Hi" and we cut to the black, and the title card is shown.
The Black Hole
Director: Phil and Olly
The movie begins with a title card with the black screen is the background dispersing in a circular shape, which anchors with the word "hole" in the title. The camera tracks diagonally towards an office worker, we can tell he is an office worker as he is in a shirt and tie, standing in front of a copying machine. He looks tired, his rolled up sleaves and loose tie emphasise this. We see a close up of the worker pressing the on button of the copier and then a close up of him kicking it.
A medium close up of a piece of paper coming out with a perfectly round, pitch black circle in the middle is shown, followed by a reaction shot of the man, he is confused by the circle and how it printed when there was nothing in the copier. We hear ambient sounds of the copier working.
The man then takes a drink from a plastic cup and throws it down on the paper, the cup goes into the circle on the paper. The man then looks confused once more, a point of view shot from within the black hole shows the man looking into it.
The man then reaches into the black hole and we hear a strange sound as he puts his hand in and pulls the plastic cup back out. Discovering the power of the sheet of paper, the man quickly takes it over to the vending machine, the camera tracks forward as he approaches it. A close up is shown as the man reaches into the black hole (now put against the vending machine) and pulls out a chocolate bar.
A close up of the man's face shows him noticing a door that says keep out on it, he uses the black hole to open the door and then approaches a safe within the room and begins to take money from it using the black hole. The cutting speeds up as the man gets more and more excited by the money, he eventually climbs in to the safe completely and the black hole falls off the safe, trapping him in there. The safe is then shown head on as the camera jump cuts away, zooming out. The ambient sound of the copier can still be heard as the screen cuts to black.
- Small amount of dialogue.
- Focused around one character.
- Twist or climax at the end.
- Only a few locations.
- Begins with "A *director's name* film"
- Ends with credits.
- Title cards used.
Magazine Adverts
Anna Karenina
Killer Joe
The Watch
- Name of movie is usually the largest font.
- A picture which hints at what the movie is about.
- When the film is out.
- Where you can see the movie.
- Copyright small print.
- The logo for the studio that made it.
- The cast.
Double Page Spreads
Ted
Brave
The Master
Conventions of Double Page Spreads
- The name of the movie.
- Information about the movie, eg. age certificate, plot, run time, cast, date of release.
- Picture from movie- along with a caption for the picture.
- An overall verdict.
- A website for the magazine.
- Page number.
- Issue number.
- Where you can watch it.
- Uses puns.
- Review text is around the pictures.
Excellent evidence of Textual Analysis using great images, screen grabs etc
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