Case Study 1: One Man's Loss
Director: Philip Sansom
Title: One Man's Loss
Date: 2013 - Published on YouTube On February 11, 2014
Genre: Slice Of Life
Target Audience:
This film is targeted towards all age groups as it delivers a general message about how you should treat others. It tells a story that I believe people of all ages should find interesting and enjoyable.
Number of characters: 3
- Homeless man/ vagabond
- Rich man
- Rich man's girlfriend
Narrative Structure: Linear
Camera Techniques:
The film uses a wide variety of camera techniques in order to capture and emphasise elements of each character such as power and status.
Examples:
Example 1: Wide shot of vagabond
Genre: Slice Of Life
Target Audience:
This film is targeted towards all age groups as it delivers a general message about how you should treat others. It tells a story that I believe people of all ages should find interesting and enjoyable.
Number of characters: 3
- Homeless man/ vagabond
- Rich man
- Rich man's girlfriend
Narrative Structure: Linear
Camera Techniques:
The film uses a wide variety of camera techniques in order to capture and emphasise elements of each character such as power and status.
Examples:
Example 1: Wide shot of vagabond
The use of a long shot allowed us to see the vagabond's entire body and therefore the clothes is wearing. In this shot he is shown wearing old, and dirty clothes. This was done to give the audience a better idea of who this character is.
Example 2: Mid shot of vagabond
In this shot we can see the vagabond as he pushes a shopping trolly which hold his belongings. The use of a mid shot allows us to so the kind of clothing he is wearing, as well as any props he may have been carrying. In this particular shot, we can see that the vagabond is pushing along a shopping trolly full of his belongings which suggests and gives the audience the idea that he is a vagabond (person who wanders from place to place without a job or home).
Example 3: Mid shot of rich man in his car
The use of a mid shot allowed us to see what kind of clothes the man featured in the shot is wearing. This was done to give the audience an idea of what this man is like. In this shot, the man is shown to be wearing a suit and sunglasses, which suggests that he is quite well-off.
Example 4: Birds Eye View of the rich man in his car and the vagabond.
This shot, shows the rich man who is well dressed in his convertible as he drives up to a poorly dressed vagabond who is crossing the road. A Birds Eye View shot was used as it allows the audience to see a clear contrast between the two characters.
Editing:
The film starts off with with many shots which use cross cutting to show the three characters featured in the film as they start their day. As well as that, this film features a lot of dialogue and there for a lot of editing was done when it came to showing interactions between people such as cutaways and shot reverse shots.
Sound:
The film starts off with non-diegetic sound (a backing track). This was done as we were shown the rich man as he travelled through the city in his car. Soon after we hear more non-diegetic sound in the form of a the slow and sad backing track. This was done as we are introduced to the vagabond in order to add to the mood and make us feel more sympathetic towards him.
Later on in the film, diegetic sound was used in the form of dialogue. This was done as the dialogue used was relevant to the scene and helped the audience understand what was going on.
In addition, the film also ends with non-diegetic sound in the form of a backing track. This was done as the lyrics to the song actually fit with what had just happened in the previous scene - the music complimented the footage and added to the mood.
The short film One Man's Loss follows the story of a vagabond who is mistreated by a rich man he had ran into while travelling. Soon after this had happened, karma had struck and the rich man ended up losing a set of expensive clothes, his girlfriend and his car to the vagabond.
Mise-en-scene: How characters are represented through mis-en-scene
The characters in the film can be represented/split into two groups; the rich and the poor. This is shown in many different ways throughout the film. One way in which we can tell this is through costume/clothing. The vagabond is seen wearing old, ripped and dirty clothes which suggests that he is poor, and the girlfriend of the wealthy man is seen wearing a very cheap and simple dress.
Another way in which we can tell how characters are represented is through the use of location. Throughout the film, there was not one point where we see the vagabond inside a building, let alone a home or shelter.
As well as that, we can also tell how the characters are represented through the use of props in the film. For example, at the start of the film, the vagabond is shown to be pushing along a shopping trolly filled with what we can assume are his belongings. This suggests that he is poor as he is literally travelling with everything he owns in a single trolly.
Lighting:
The lighting in this short film was very good and the lighting used in each scene matched/suited the camera shot or location so there weren't any shots that looked out of place. However I did expect to see a bigger difference in lighting when showing the rich man and the vagabond in order to emphasise on how different they are in terms of status.
What do I like about the film? / What ideas can I take?
- I like the way in which they used different camera shots, e.g. Birds Eye View to show the contrast between characters. In my short film(idea 3) I plan to use similar techniques such as a split screen in order to show a contrast between my characters.
- I also like the idea itself and how it delivered a message to the audience. I plan on doing the same by making use of extreme close ups and props to do so.
Mise-en-scene: How characters are represented through mis-en-scene
The characters in the film can be represented/split into two groups; the rich and the poor. This is shown in many different ways throughout the film. One way in which we can tell this is through costume/clothing. The vagabond is seen wearing old, ripped and dirty clothes which suggests that he is poor, and the girlfriend of the wealthy man is seen wearing a very cheap and simple dress.
Another way in which we can tell how characters are represented is through the use of location. Throughout the film, there was not one point where we see the vagabond inside a building, let alone a home or shelter.
As well as that, we can also tell how the characters are represented through the use of props in the film. For example, at the start of the film, the vagabond is shown to be pushing along a shopping trolly filled with what we can assume are his belongings. This suggests that he is poor as he is literally travelling with everything he owns in a single trolly.
Lighting:
The lighting in this short film was very good and the lighting used in each scene matched/suited the camera shot or location so there weren't any shots that looked out of place. However I did expect to see a bigger difference in lighting when showing the rich man and the vagabond in order to emphasise on how different they are in terms of status.
What do I like about the film? / What ideas can I take?
- I like the way in which they used different camera shots, e.g. Birds Eye View to show the contrast between characters. In my short film(idea 3) I plan to use similar techniques such as a split screen in order to show a contrast between my characters.
- I also like the idea itself and how it delivered a message to the audience. I plan on doing the same by making use of extreme close ups and props to do so.
Some useful detailed here James, you have considered the technical aspects carefully as well as the narrative structure (to an extent). A little more on how this research could be used for your own ideas would be good to see and useful for you to consider.
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