During these sessions we looked at a number of short films and were asked to evaluate them through the use of these questions;
1. Identify the themes of the film. What is the director's primary aim?
2. Describe what you consider to be the film’s main focus
3. Did you like/dislike the film and why?
4. Was the film successful/unsuccessful in dealing with its subject matter and why?
5. Was there an element within the film that particularly stood out to you?
6. How does the films form (structure and style) relate to its content?
7. Discuss x2 techniques used in the film which you found interesting
8. Was the sound appropriate to the approach/style/subject of the film?
Steel Homes
1. Identify the themes of the film. What is the director's primary aim?
2. Describe what you consider to be the film’s main focus
3. Did you like/dislike the film and why?
4. Was the film successful/unsuccessful in dealing with its subject matter and why?
5. Was there an element within the film that particularly stood out to you?
6. How does the films form (structure and style) relate to its content?
7. Discuss x2 techniques used in the film which you found interesting
8. Was the sound appropriate to the approach/style/subject of the film?
Steel Homes
While watching this short documentary the first thing that strikes the audience is the starkness and clinical feel of the piece, this is portrayed through the distinct lack of vibrant color, the use of lengthy shots and lack of quick edits. The sometimes ghostly voice-overs of those people who use these 'steel homes' adds to this somber mood. The form that the director has chosen to take on definitely relates to the less than positive content, the long shots and the bleak coloring connotes a sadness that is reflected though the interviews of those involved.
It's interesting that the director has made a conscious decision to only tell the stories of those people who have somewhat sad emotions tied up with the objects in storage. The use of shots and framing suggest that the director intended for his work to seem almost observational and not want to interfere with those they are documenting, the audience never once witnesses direct contact between the film maker and those being filmed. While the use of the interview voice overs juxtaposes this theory, its also reminiscent to that of the voice over contained in nature documentary's, suggesting the director is taking a look at human behavior, just as directors of natures documentary's do with animals.
If we take this into consideration then I believe the documentary does well in dealing with its subject as not only does it effectively shed light onto these often hidden lives, but does it in such as way that the audience are led to question the behavior of the people we are subject to view.
Christmas with Dad
The documentary stood out for the reason that its content was a window into quite an unfamiliar world, the stark representation of the family environment was in places quite shocking and sometimes even uncomfortable to watch. This was made possible through the directors ability to capture a lot of natural moments of the family dynamic, from watching the footage not one of the shots or sequences has a 'set-up' feel to it, this helps shape the way the audience reacts to it and adds to the shock value.
The way all the shots are hand held and somewhat 'jerky' is symbolic of the messy environment and really helps get the audience to feel like they are really there, amongst the chaos. The use of sound is also used to achieve this 'messy' quality through the loud, overlapping voices of the eight children. Throughout the documentary we get a soundtrack of household conversations and noises that gives every shot a sense of busyness and disorganisation.
Non diegetic music was subtly used in places, reminiscent of hand cranked music boxes that seem to appear around Christmas time that each play a different festive hymn. This gentle yet sorrowful music was used in the opening sequence, played on top of a montage of juxtaposing bright and colorful Christmas lights. Perhaps a metaphor for the family quite desperate struggle during this supposed happy time of year.
Overall I liked this documentary for the way it played with the audiences emotions and perceptions. Its hard not to take an objective opinion of the Dad in the initial parts of the documentary, however as the narrative evolves and certain elements are revealed I believe the audience are left feeling guilty for the way they originally perceived what they were watching
Salaryman 6
The first thing that strikes the audience are the carefully composed wide shots, the static style of the shots are highly reminiscent of photographs, a reference to the automated camera the protagonist wears around his neck throughout the film. This not only adds to the narrative thread, but warps the audience perceptive of the characters world, just as he himself seems to have a warped sense of reality. The color palette of the film is also significant as the level of desaturation is reminiscent of the characters mood as well as emphasising the mundane.
There are many underlying themes dealt with in this work, the main ones being repetition and a sense of insignificance. The repetition of many of the shots and the way in which they are framed and the strong angles connote both these, as well as a sense of entrapment. All the frames
I believe the subject matter was dealt with well, the cinematography relates directly to the theme and all aspects of this film re-enforce the mundane, the repetitive or the robotic tendency of both the characters behaviour as well as the world he lives in.
If we take this into consideration then I believe the documentary does well in dealing with its subject as not only does it effectively shed light onto these often hidden lives, but does it in such as way that the audience are led to question the behavior of the people we are subject to view.
Christmas with Dad
The documentary stood out for the reason that its content was a window into quite an unfamiliar world, the stark representation of the family environment was in places quite shocking and sometimes even uncomfortable to watch. This was made possible through the directors ability to capture a lot of natural moments of the family dynamic, from watching the footage not one of the shots or sequences has a 'set-up' feel to it, this helps shape the way the audience reacts to it and adds to the shock value.
The way all the shots are hand held and somewhat 'jerky' is symbolic of the messy environment and really helps get the audience to feel like they are really there, amongst the chaos. The use of sound is also used to achieve this 'messy' quality through the loud, overlapping voices of the eight children. Throughout the documentary we get a soundtrack of household conversations and noises that gives every shot a sense of busyness and disorganisation.
Non diegetic music was subtly used in places, reminiscent of hand cranked music boxes that seem to appear around Christmas time that each play a different festive hymn. This gentle yet sorrowful music was used in the opening sequence, played on top of a montage of juxtaposing bright and colorful Christmas lights. Perhaps a metaphor for the family quite desperate struggle during this supposed happy time of year.
Overall I liked this documentary for the way it played with the audiences emotions and perceptions. Its hard not to take an objective opinion of the Dad in the initial parts of the documentary, however as the narrative evolves and certain elements are revealed I believe the audience are left feeling guilty for the way they originally perceived what they were watching
Salaryman 6
The first thing that strikes the audience are the carefully composed wide shots, the static style of the shots are highly reminiscent of photographs, a reference to the automated camera the protagonist wears around his neck throughout the film. This not only adds to the narrative thread, but warps the audience perceptive of the characters world, just as he himself seems to have a warped sense of reality. The color palette of the film is also significant as the level of desaturation is reminiscent of the characters mood as well as emphasising the mundane.
There are many underlying themes dealt with in this work, the main ones being repetition and a sense of insignificance. The repetition of many of the shots and the way in which they are framed and the strong angles connote both these, as well as a sense of entrapment. All the frames
I believe the subject matter was dealt with well, the cinematography relates directly to the theme and all aspects of this film re-enforce the mundane, the repetitive or the robotic tendency of both the characters behaviour as well as the world he lives in.
