'Virus'- By Simon Hynd

This short film is a well made psychological thriller. Although short, it contains all the necessary ingredients which make a successful horror film.

http://independentshortfilms.org/169/independent-short-film-virus/ (6.09 mins)

Interestingly, there is no dialogue between any of the characters. No sound track or non diagetic music/ sounds are used. The long edits at the start help to set the scene and introduce a feeling of unease and tension. The gate closing down is an interesting technique as it acts as an almost swipe transition. The panning of the camera around various settings again help to establish the setting and create a sinister feeling- we know from the outset that something bad will happen. The interesting shots through the security camera implies that someone, or something is watching us. Finally, we are introduced to a character through the security camera. The fast edits allow us to learn that this is his office, and he is working, and that it is late at night as no one else it there. Again, the night time setting reminds us of the horror soon to approach.

As the file is downloading, shots of what's going on around the man are interspersed with shots of a close up view of the computer screen as we see the progression of the downloading file. This is a clever technique as we are constantly being forced to come back to the file...which we assume is the 'virus'.

As we see the man's girlfriend on the screen, unlike him, we know something bad is going to happen. The silhouette of the person coming out of the floor behind her confirms the genre of the film- horror. Clearly, this is not suitable for children.

The crane shot of the man looking at the computer while frantically calling Amber shows him to be weak and vulnerable and we know he will not be able to save her. This is confirmed by the extreme close up of the blood stains on Amber's keyboard.

The fact that both characters get nose bleeds underlines that both of them will most probably die as there is no way of escaping their fates.

The mirror shots of the character with a person standing uncannily behind them adds to the feeling of tension. The diagetic sound of the dial tone as the phone hangs down from its cord signals that all is over and both characters have been killed by this unknown 'virus'. The moving of the mouse which selects 'all' suggests that there is no end and makes us aware that the 'virus' in in fact in the computers.

The wide range of shots and angles used in this film all add to the ever increasing sense of foreshadowing. The USP is the genre and the impeccable transitions throughout.

9/10

'The Invisible Man' - made by Amancay-Tapia-Montes

The film is posted on Virgin Media Shorts and takes a look at colonialism from the point of view of a London illegal immigrant.

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/films/entry/338326/the-invisible-man (2.20mins)

The film opens with a non diagetic soundtrack of upbeat Mexican music signifying a different ethnicity. The sound bridge of the man taking allows us to hear his foreign accent as he talks about his life and the difficulties he is faced with.

A range of camera angles and shots are used- over the shoulder shots, point of view shots, jump cuts etc, to make the film more interesting to watch. Again, this is obviously a very low budget film yet acts almost as a video diary to capture the struggles immigrant are faced with.

It follows the typical documentary style film as it has captions of different buildings and at the end through a few sentences, gives us an update on the immigrant focused on in the film. It's a non fiction text which adopts the conventions of a video diary to present the material. This is a very moving and powerful story and is a good way to draw attention around the issue.

The narrative voice is of the immigrant speaking to us, and the USP (appeal) is the story he retells to us and its controversial quality. I suppose the genre of the film is a drama as it dramatises a real life issue to make it more appealing and interesting. The representation is of ethnicity and the unfairness around different cultures. I would say the film is targeted to illegal immigrants, but also people who are interested in the subject.

It is not the best of short films as it is very basic and simple. The choices about the editing, pace and narrative structure and very deliberate and are crafted accordingly. There are a number of interesting edits- over the shoulder shots, pans, tracks and extreme close ups- which help to highlight the narrators feeling of segregation and abandonment. The pace is more or less the same the whole way through, there are no particular long of short edits which are noticable.

5/10

A2 COURSE: SHORT FILMS

'About a Girl'-Directed by Brian Percial.

In 2001 it won the BAFTA award for Best Short Film. It also won an award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. for Best British Short, the Turner Classic Movie's Short film Award prize at the London Film festival, and the JURY prize at the Raindance film festival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL2z8Qzn1dc (9.52mins)

The opening shot of the film is of a silhouette of a young girl singing 'Stronger' by Brittany Spears against a skyline of clouds on a hill. Throughout the duration of the film, there is no soundtrack or non-diagetic music, only the dialogue between the characters, the young girl talking self consciously to us, and the diagetic sound of the world around her.

The interesting juxtaposition of shots of her talking to the camera in the present tense and flash backs into the near past is extremely effective as it paints a more in depth, detailed picture of who this girl is. It is difficult to pin point the exact genre of the film as the narrative consists only of this girl. As her monologue continues, we begin to feel almost uncomfortable as her upbeat way of talking does not match some of the terrible things she explains and suggests has happened to her- domestic violence, poverty and family troubles.

The film as a whole is very low budget, not fussy as only four of five locations are used, however the narrative is highly captivating. Perhaps the most impressive shot is at the end, of the low angle shot of the bloody bag opening with the baby falling out.

I would say the film is aimed at a more mature audience of about 16-20 years old- possibly girls due to the poignant ending. The representation is of regional ethnicity yet also perhaps age. The deliberate omission of the girls name forces us to not be so connected with her and reminds us at the end of how many girls there are that go through such horrific experiences such as this young girl's.

The USP (appeal) is the young girl, her dreams of fame and the picture she paints of her troubled life. It attracts us as it is very real and extremely honest. It also highlights how the lives of every day people can hold such mystery and horror.

9/10