Short Films "This is the life" by Craig Dean Devine

This is the Life from Craig Dean Devine on Vimeo.

The title always comes at the beginning of a short film. The first shot we see is a establishing shot in the kitchen. The shot was done very cleverly as it is shot like the camera man is sitting at the table. This shows their family life but it also designed to make the viewer feel like they are there thus engaging the audience straight away.


Close up on the mothers face shows emotion and from what we can see she is very tired and stressed out. The term kitchen sink realism is associated with this short film as it is a British film about white working class people. This short film does not follow all the conventions of a short film as it has similarities to documentary style films. Throughout this scene a handheld camera is used as this gives the illusion that you are there.

As the sister tells the brother that their dad is coming back home the camera zooms into a close up of the boys face and you can see that he is not very happy. Straight away this tells you that the dads and sons relationship is not very good or is not as strong as the daughters as she is very excited about the fact that their dad is coming home. Non diagetic sound of slow, melancholy music appears at the end of that scene and overlaps to the next scene. This is known as a sound bridge.

Long shot of the brother waiting for his sister outside the school is shown. We then see a loving relationship between the brother and the sister as she pushes him on a trolley all the way home.

Close up of dads face smoking a cigar. The expression on his face shows that he doesn’t recognise them properly. This gives the audience the indication that he has been gone away for a long time. Over the shoulder shot is shown of the girl running towards her father in excitement. The same cannot be said for the son though as he just watches. A medium shot of the girl hugging her father is show.


Here we get to see where they live and from what you can see they are not very rich as there are piles of rubbish outside their house. Low angle shot of the boys face and as the dad comes over to hug him a close up is shown of the dads face which shows emotion and you can see the dad is crying as he has missed his son.

Low angle static shot is shown of the family eating dinner in their living room. There is awkwardness between the dad and the son at they keep looking at each other. They are not used to each other’s company. Shot reverse shot of father and son talking as he is late to pick up his son. There is another indication that the father has been gone for a while as he says he forgot where the school was.


The dad goes to a shop to buy some crisps. However the way he eats the crisps indicates that he was at a place that doesn’t have these snacks. Maybe the dad was in prison? Next the dad lets the son drive his car and the music starts to kick in. This mainly happens when happy things occur. Over the next few scenes we see the family bonding again.


Later we see the father in a room that seems to be a probation officers room. However this may not be the case and it may be any room. But the low angle shot creates this illusion and it was done very cleverly. At the end we see father and son having a friendly boxing match and the title emphasises that being with his family is the most important thing. This film is about a man and his son reconnecting.  Craig has a very Shane Meadow (This is England) style.

Johnny Cash "Hurt"

The feel that I get towards this song is that it is very depressing and melancholy. Johnny Cash has a deep fascinating voice in which he makes the audience feel his pain.

Video ideas (what could be)

• Young Johnny Cash doing drugs
• In a chair with a guitar
• Black and white

Real Video

• MLS of Johnny Cash performing in a house by himself
• Close up of his face (shows old age)
• Mainly performance video but also narrative
• Shot of the American flag (symbolises that he had lived the American dream and also that he is a american icon)
• Clip of House of Cash Museum Closed (symbolises that his fame has died out)
• Cash sitting in a thrown chair with antiques in the room.
• Black suit (known as man in black, iconic)
• Closes piano (symbolises the end of his career)
• Opens piano (remembers memories as a star)
• Archive footage of young Johnny Cash on a train (Home video)
• Everyone goes away’ shows picture of his mom (worships her)
• Broken gold record on the floor (not a big deal to him. Fame is nothing if you don’t have people to share it with)
• Shown in prison (got on well with prison people as he felt he understood them)
• Shot of him saying ‘stay away’ (could be referring to the devil)
• Visits his old house (old memories)(he was once just a normal person)
• Shows loads of food on the table (like last supper)
• Pours red wine on the floor (like last supper and for his dead family + friends)
• Shaking when spilling wine ( old age, Parkinson)
• Wife standing over his right shoulder (like his guardian angel)
• Moves hand when he says ‘goes away’ (symbolises his friends + family have gone away e.g. dead or left him)
• Feels he has been sacrificed by the critics
• Montage of him happy and sad 
• Archive footage of him when he first shot to fame (ends on a good memory)

"Tyson" Documentary

The following is what I have gathered from watching the opening of the documentary “TYSON” which was directed by Jason Toback. The documentary is about the life of legendry boxer Mike Tyson and how he grabbed the attention of the whole world when he became the youngest ever world champion. The documentary features archive footage alongside a real interview with Mike Tyson discussing the ups and downs of his life.

First of all we see the credits come up. The colours used are very important here as they are contrasting colours such as red and blue. The colour red could represent the in ring aggressive boxer everyone knows him as and the blue could represent the calm Mike Tyson that people don’t see everyday.

We next hear non-diegetic sound which is the famous “Rocky” theme music. Straight away this will give away to the audience that this is a boxing documentary as the audience will have previous knowledge of theme tune.

 Later we see archive of Mike Tyson staring down his opponent (shows powerfulness and contrast to how he is outside of the ring). This very clever as he wanted to start the documentary off with a bang and instantly grab the attention of the viewers rather than slowly introducing Mike Tyson at his prime.

We then sequence of split screens with a number of freezes as Mike Tyson delivers shots to his opponent. The screen freezes each time Tyson delivers a killer blow. This increases the intensity of the punches and emphasises how hard the punches were. Also as one screen freezes another one starts showing Tyson landing punches while a transition allows the scene shown on screen to change.

Throughout the whole archive footage we hear a commentator commentating while we hear non-diegetic sounds of fans screaming. This is done as this adds to the whole realism of the fight and shows that he had huge support from the fans.



Next we see the title come up on the middle of the screen. The font is very thick and sharp and is very masculine. It has a fiery colour to it which could represent burning rage within him or that he has a fiery personality.



Next scene we split screens of Mike Tyson as talking over himself which may represent his mind set which is he is that he is caught up in two thoughts. It also could represent that Mike Tyson has split personality. We see Mike Tyson on the beach with heavy waves. The waves symbolises the personality of Tyson as he has two sides to him. The fiery aggressive side and the calm side and like the waves he is unpredictable as he may be calm like the waves but can explode with rage at any time.

Archive footage of where Mike Tyson grew up and then goes back to Mike Tyson on present times. This is a contrast to how he was living when he was a child to how he is living now. Location of the interview is mainly in what it seems to be Mike Tyson’s apartment. From what you can see it is not a very big apartment which shows that he has lost most of his money but is still well-off.



 

Another location is the beach where you see the sun set. This could symbolise that the sun has set on his career. It also shows that he is reflecting on his life. Finally this documentary does not follow al the conventions of a documentary as it is not common to see split screens and transitions in a documentary.