Short Film Analysis

The Black Hole

       

When the film starts you first see a black screen. The titles 'The Black Hole' then appear in bold white text which stand out again the black. An animation is then used on the screen which makes the scene behind the black screen appear after the circle gets bigger. 

The main setting for the film is an office. This is the first thing you see as the film starts however the scene is out of focus. But as the camera pans the room, you are shown a medium close up of an office worker dressed in a suit, which is typical office dress. As the camera gets closer to the man, you can see that he isn't happy and from the sound used you hear him sigh, but from then looking at his body language, you see him shrug, this suggests he could be exhausted from a long day at work.

You then go on to see a close up of the buttons on the photocopier, here you see him pressing the start button to make the printer go, however it doesn't. The camera then focuses back on the face of the man and you then follow his glare down to the printer again where he presses the start button many times before it starts. This is followed by a wide shot of the office and his stood at the printer to a close up of his feet and the bottom of the printer where you see him kick it which shows his frustration. The black dot can then be seen to be printed with the use of a close up. You are then shown him looking at what has printed and here it shows him to be quite confused, a reaction shot is then used which helps you see his facial features more clearly. 

A close up is then used when he lifts the printer lid, and he looks quite confused to see what's happening. You then see him check his watch and pick up his drink, the camera is then shown to be looking up at him through the black hole, but a wide shot is then used to show him throwing his cup down for it to then disappear.

He then lowers himself so that he can see the dot, and the use of a close up shows him to look around before actually putting his hand through it. After this medium close ups are used, this enables you to see the man in the office environment as well as holding the cup still with a confused look on his face. But it then shows you him holding up the paper and again putting his hand through, but this time a reaction shot has been used showing the man to have a grin on his face as he realises there is more he could do.

A medium shot is then used, showing the man stood by a vending machine with the dot held up the glass, the camera then switches to a close up shot and shows him with his hand through the hole. As he brings his hand back out a medium close up shows him holding his hand out with some chocolate in it, but his facial expression makes him looked quite shocked by what he's just done.

A close up shows him to then be quite smug after he's just eaten the chocolate he's stolen, but as the camera is focusing on his face, you see him to be looking round as if he's looking for something else to do. When you are shown the door, as a viewer you start to wonder what he could do until you are shown the safe. Many of the shots used from this point are close ups, showing him holding the money and the expressions on his face as he pulls more and more out. You are then shown him crawling into the hole and at this point it's important as you then see the hole fall from the safe door. This shot then goes into a wide shot, showing the hole on the paper leaning up the side of the safe in the middle of the office. The ending of this film then leaves you wanting to see more as it makes you want to see what will happen to this man.

Codes and Conventions of a Short Film

Codes and Conventions

There are different conventions that short films tend to follow. These are the amount of characters, a twist in the storyline, the budget, the length of the film, the situation and Todorov's theory.

Characters: During short films it's likely that only 2 or 3 characters are used. The reason being there isn't enough time to develop a deep storyline which would initially allow you to get more aqainted with the characters, however by having less, it's easier for a viewer to relate the the characters that are there.

Twist: A twist in a short film is important. This is because it enables the film plot to get more interesting whereas without it, it just isn't.

Budget: Typically a short film doesn't need a large budget and tends to stick to a small budget. The reason behind this is that many directors are independent and don't tend to have much money to invest. However by saying this, the concept of the film is then kept quite simple as there are few locations used and little actors who appear, which again doesn't matter when using a small amount of money.

Length: The maximum length of a short film is usually 35 minutes, however many short films tend to be between 5 and 10 minutes long.

Situation: To help allow viewers relate to the short film an everyday situation is normally used. But the concept is normally changed to keep the story interesting as well as keeping the viewer intrigued by what's going on.

Todorov's Theory: Torodov's theory is made up of five different stages. These are:-

1. A state of equilibrium where all is as it should be.
2. A disruption of that order by an event.
3. A recognition that the disorder has occured.
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
5. A return or restoration of a new equilibrium.

The five stages are used to make the film successful and understandable as there is only 5 - 10 minutes to tell the story.



Codes and Conventions of a computer game advert

The Sims 3

Genre:

The genre The Sims tends to come under is virtual world/ simulation. This is because you as the game player, has to keep these people alive by fulling all of the things they need. This includes food, showers and a job. 

Duration:

The Sims 3 TV spot advert is 31 seconds long. It has been made this way to give you an insight into what you can do when you are playing the game. 

Content:

When watching the game trailer you can see the different things you are able to do with your characters. It also shows you how the life of this character can be changed in different ways. You see this in the trailer when some of the characters are shown to have a clothes change, including one woman that goes from her maids uniform to a wedding dress and a pizza delivery boy that ups his game and turns into an astronaut. This could show the change in aspiration of a character as well. Other things you can see change are the weight of a character. On top of this though the trailer includes a voice over which is speaking over the action, informing you of the game that you can be about to play. 

Sound

The use of diegetic sound within the game trailer can be heard when the characters are cheering and talking to each other in the clip, by having this in the tailer you as the viewer are going to know what sound to expect when playing the game unless your already a fan of the game. As well as this Non-diegetic sound has also been used, this can be heard when the narrator is talking. This is a good thing to have included in the trailer as it tells you what to expect when playing the game as well as telling you whats happening in the clip, for example telling you of the jobs you can get in the sims, or even a person becoming fat or getting rich. The use of sound effects become important in the trailer also and this becomes apparent when one of the male charaters suddenly becomes fat, this action is accompanied by a strechting noise, which can be seen as comedic.

Editing
Editing is also important in the game trailer. To help it flow, seamless editing has been used, this means the story to the trailer isnt confusing buts simple as you are only shown a couple of settings throughout and this is all that is put together. However from saying this, you can tell that cuts have been used in part of the trailer. Disolve is another technique that has been used, you can see this when the clip goes from the sims in the city streets to a full shot of the sim city.

Mise En Scene

A lot of different things can be seen when watching the game trailer, this includes the location of the footage which is of course, Sim City. The characters of the game are then seen to be stood on a large hill over looking the city. These characters are then seen rushing down the hill into the streets of the city where you find out more about what the game has in stool for you as a gamer.
The costumes in the trailer are also a big part of it, some of the things you can see are people running around in their underwear, dresses both formal and informal, baseball caps, jeans and you even see people in their work outfits whether it was a suit, maids uniform, wedding dress, space suit, pizza delivery outfit, it is all shown the the consumer of the product. By doing this you are enticing people to buy the game, but potentially showing them more about it than they realise.
Props are also used. Throughout the clip you see the pizza box, a book, a television being stolen as well as a lamp. But each item can be brought by a sim in the game. 

Channel for broadcast:

Many game advertisements are shown on channels such as ITV, film channels and sometimes children's channels such as Nickelodeon. This means many people are going to see the trailer as its reaching a wide range of people. This is where the target audience becomes important. 

Target Audience: 

As the game has been created in America, the game ratings are different there to here. Initially the US game rating for The Sims 3 was T13 meaning that it was a game created that is suitable to teenagers. However when released as a British game, the rating is now 12. Ratings are used in many countries to ensure that the content of the game is suitable for a certain age. Other things that are included when looking at the target audience for the game are rating symbols, for the Sims both symbols for violence and sex have been used, this then suggests to the viewer or potential player of the game why it has its certain rating/target audience.