Genre Evaluation

“Choice”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoVbY0xWwCU
Plot: The main character is a hacker who steals money from criminals and wires hundred
on millions of pounds into different accounts but unfortunately his last job went badly
wrong and he is kidnapped with his girlfriend and he has given the choice to either have
him killed or her killed. The genre of the short film is action/thriller and we can tell due to
the micro aspects used by the director to ensure that we feel it as an audience e.g. we have a
clear villain in the film and a hero or a sort of an antihero as he is doing criminal activities
but we as an audience root for him and props such as guns which are prevalent in the
action/thriller genre and camera shots used such as close ups and extreme close ups of
protagonists further highlighting that this is a crime/thriller genre short film.

Mise en scene
The lighting used throughout the video is mainly low key lighting which is mainly a
connotation of an crime/thriller films as it is usually dramatic and full of mystery, this is
very useful in this case as it provides the film with a dramatic effect and tones and secondly
conveying a dark /brooding atmosphere and mood subsequently guiding the audience eyes
to where you want them to be , therefore fitting with the conventions of the crime genre
 The props used in this short film

are used to further reinforce that this short film is a crime/thriller, the main prop is a gun
used which is a connotation of crime and is a convention of violence and murder, this prop
might have been used to show to the audience that the main character is in danger. Another
prop that is used in this short film is a computer where all the hackings and money wiring
take place; the computer might have been used to show to the audience how smart the
main character is.

Theory
This film does not fit the

Todorov theory as it leaves the audience with a cliff-hanger, the Todorov theory starts with
an equilibrium which is where all is as it is supposed to be but this film starts with the main
character being restricted and bound down and his life threatened which doesn’t follow the
first part of the Todorov theory. The second part is disruption of equilibrium which is when
the main character has a gun pointed to his head and the gunman asks him to choose
between his life and his girlfriends , the next step is attempt to repair the disruption which
does not happen in the film and lastly we are left we a cliff-hanger with the audience
wondering if the main character will repair the equilibrium and everything will go back to
normal. But on the other hand, the film does follow the Strauss binary opposites theory,
Strauss believed that many narratives in media forms such as films contain opposing main
characters for example, this could be good vs. Evil and these two extremes are well
represented in this short film with the audience seeing the main character as the “good
guy” and rooting for him and the gunman and the other character seen as evil as they
threaten to kill the main character or his girlfriend giving him an impossible to choose
from.

Editing
The pace of the short film gradually increases as the film progress, fast pace films keep the
audience on the edge of their seats, another piece of editing that is used in the short film is
shot-reverse-shot this is used in this movie to be dramatic and is used to build up a climax
There is a sot reverse shot when the camera shows the lead actor and the gun pointing at
his face, this goes on back and forth for a while and this creates a tension as the audience
doesn’t know what is happening and there is tension as we the audience don’t know when
the shooter is going to shoot the main character, the tension is also matched by the pace of
the short film increasing and the music in the background being dramatic and building up
as the movie increases
The short film uses a montage to highlight visual design of his job, this is done by editing
together a variety of shots e.g. shot of him typing of the keyboard, close shot of his face
concentrating and shots of the screen , this is an important technique in editing where it
helps to create even a dramatic and meaningful piece this is done in order to create a sense
of realism and making the audience relate to more to the protagonists making them
understand what he does for his job.

state is that he is scared and fearing for his life. There also an eye line match which shows
us what the lead character is seeing, we see the gun pointing at him and the vision is blurry
which directly shows us that the lead character vision is also blurry maybe because he has
been hit this makes it more realistic. We also see a flashback of an event that happened
earlier in the story the director might have used flashbacks to reveal some important truth
about a character's past that otherwise the reader might not have known. The flashback
shows us that the main character life is being threatened if he fails one more time, this
makes sense and shows the audience why the main character has been stressed every time
we saw him on screen and how he got to the situations he is at now with a gun pointing to
his head.
“The Jump”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui_3E5KZ-74

Plot: The short film is about a young man

who receives an anonymous package at his front door with directions on how to make a
time machine. He creates this time machine and installs it in a suitcase, he then does a test
run by going to the past in year 0015 and into the future, he then time jumps to the year
2014 a year before his mom died to try and save her but he fails. The genre of the short film
is adventure/thriller this is reinforced through the use of certain micro aspects, the
narrative used in this short film fits well with that of most action/adventure films, it follows
propp narrative theory which he believed were most commonly used in adventure films
such as” Hero seeking something” in this film the main character is looking for a way to
bring back his mother by time travelling to the past and the ”donor who prepares to give
the hero something to aid them” even though the donor is never shown a mysterious
person sends the hero a package which shows him how build a time machine.

Mise en scene
 The lighting choice in this short film is

very compelling as it not only follows the genre of the movie being adventure and sci-fi, but
it also reflects the mood of the main character. When the movie starts the lighting is very
high-key which reflects the mood of the main character as he is exited of making his first-
time machine and throughout the film and the actions that follows it the lighting remains
high key which follows the conventions of adventure/sci-fi movies , but near the end of the
movie when the main character fails to save his mother in the past . when he arrives at his
house the lighting is low-key and dark which contrast the high-key colour it was at the start
of the movie , the low key colour reflects the mood of the main character as he is sad and
sorrowful of not being able to save his mother and the colour black has connotations of
death and sadness which also reflects mood of the main character.
 The main prop of the short film is a suitcase

which the main character uses as a time machine, the choice of this prop slightly goes
against the conventions of sci-fi time travelling films as it is a suitcase and not a proper time
machine. This short film has two different main settings which are the main character home
and a field where some of the action takes place, Setting is important as it creates both a
sense of place and a mood and it may also reflect a character’s emotional state of mind.

Editing
The short film has a lot of short cuts, this has been done purposefully to increase the pace
of the film and keep the audience edge of their seats, the pace of the film is also quiet fast an
example of this is when the protagonists is getting chased through the forest this is done
purposefully to make the audience feel more involved in the chase

Sound
The sound throughout the film is mainly diegetic such as the sounds of the protagonist
makes when building his time machine by using this it adds more realism to the scene, the
music reflects the mood of the main character and the atmosphere, at the start of the film
the music is upbeat and energetic which sets up a cheerful atmosphere for the audience,
but when he starts building his time machine the music intensifies and becomes more
serious. At the end of the film when the main character loses his mother, the music becomes
sadder with piano music setting in, this choice of music is perfect as it reflects the main
character mood fitting with the conventions of the genre. The timbre of the music playing
in the background changes in different situation at the start it was very warm which
reflected the mood of the character but near the end it becomes cold again reflecting the
mood of the character. Non diegetic sounds are also added in the film to enhance the
tension and making it more pragmatic for the audience such as the sound of missiles being
fired at the character in the future timeline.
Theory
This short film doesn’t follow the Todorov Theory and directly goes against it , the Todorov
theory starts with an equilibrium which is where all is as it is supposed to be and the
second part is disruption of equilibrium which is when the main character is under fire
when he time travels to the future and the second one is when his mother car crashes , the
next step is attempt to repair the disruption which does not happen in the film and lastly
we are left we a cliff-hanger with the audience wondering if the main character will repair
the equilibrium and everything will go back to normal.
“The Black Hole”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk

PLOT: A sleep-deprived office worker

is working late at his work office and while at work he discovers a piece of paper with a black hole on it
that enables him to pass through walls and vending machines. The Man finds the safe and tries to steal
the money for himself. The film of this short film is crime/comedy and we can tell through the
conventions incorporated by the director through the movie in the form of deviant/illegal activities in
the film the main character attempts to steal money from the company he works for, but the serious tone
of the movie is diluted with comedic elements of the film

Mise-en-scene
The setting that is shown in the film is a typical work office setting. By using a very average, everyday
setting this enables an audience to relate to the setting while also making the setting more believable.
This setting also creates a sense of normality of the situation which highly contrasts the black hole that
the worker finds. The setting is a believable setting as most people in today society go to or work in an
office, the office is a familiar setting with almost any type of audience.

The main actor is a typical man that works in the office, from his clothes which are ragged and tattered
the audience can easily tell that he is tired physically , emotionally and maybe he is just tired of his job in
general as it is boring and very repetitive e.g. printing off papers, you can tell that he doesn't have a really
important role in the office as he only wears a tie, a white shirt a more important figure would be more
representable and maybe wear a suit .

The colour used in the film is dull a grey and black around the edges with only the light bit in the middle
where the main actor was , the director might have purposefully used this dark grey colour to create a
mood of loneliness and also the dullness and boringness of his job for the actor also using the dark
setting adds to the dramatic side to the short film which we will later see in the film. The lighting used in
the film is very dull and dark, it mainly low-key lighting, the dull and dark lighting might show the time
of a day which is probably set at night. The dark and dull lighting adds to the factor that the actor is alone
late in the office to anticipate that something might happen to him, this is something that used in a lot of
horror movies.

The director has used equipment that you would typically find in an office, such as one of the main
focuses of the short film, the photocopier making the scenery more believable and relatable to the
audience.

Editing
From the photo copying machine, the editor has cut from close up of the character to an overall view of
the office, this is to highlight that he is completely alone in the office. When the character is at the photo
copier, the editor uses the cutting method. It is then cut to the character pushing the buttons on the
machine , This is done purposefully by the director show the audience that the main character is tired
and tetchy. In the final scene uses lots of different shots but the editor has added fast pace to it, to make
this final scene more intense as to whether he will get away with it.

Sound
The diegetic sound of the photo copying machine is the first sound heard, so this can also be implied to
the audience that this main prop in the machine. The second diegetic sound that is heard is a
supernatural type sound, a bit like a whooshing sound, we are then introduced to the black hole. When
he goes to the vending machine, the sound of the chocolate wrappings is very loud, this is done to show
the audience what the black hole can do. Secondly Non-Diegetic sounds are also used in this short film
for example the muffle sound of the black hole , when the character puts his hand through it done on
purpose by director to highlight the mysteriousness of the black hole to the audience , the muffle sound
is almost alien like almost illustrating that the black hole is out of this world and potentially dangerous
foreshadowing what could happen to the character in the future to the audience also the use of this non-
diegetic sound adds a sense of mystery and uneasiness to the audience.
Cinematography
The main protagonists is first introduced to the audience with a medium shot which introduced us to the
main upper body of the main character , from what we can see he seems apathetic and not interested in
his work , you can tell this by his body language as he appears to be sleepy and tired which is reinforced
by his actions such as him yawning. The use of medium shot is useful as we can tell a lot from the
character just by his appearance, he seems to have a shabby appearance we can tell by his tie being
undone and his shirt looking scuffled which links to the character being tired.

The director also tends to use a close up shot when the black hole appears for the first time, this is done
purposefully as close shots are used to show the emotions of characters from the close up shot we can
see the surprised and confused face of the character. The director also uses a low angle shot almost to
show the audience that the black hole is watching him and waiting for him to do somethings with it , by
using the low angle shot it almost symbolically show the authority and power that the black hole has
over the main character without telling the audience almost foreshadowing what is going to happen.

in this final scene the director uses different type of shots such as quick paced shots used to build
tension , Close up shots and medium shots.

Theory
This short film fits the Todorov theory, as in the equilibrium the man is in his office bored and
photocopying paperwork where all is it should be and a normal work environment , the disruption of the
story becomes apparent when the black hole appears and towards the end of the short film the man is
locked inside a safe which can be seen as a crisis but due to director narrative choice we as the audience
are left with a Clift hanger , the film mostly follows the Todorov theory until the third act of the film
where instead of returning to a restoration or new equilibrium we are left with a Clift hanger, the
director choosing a Clift hanger defies the conventions/expectations of drama/thriller short films as
most of them follow the Todorov theory and ends with a new equilibrium.

The short film also fits another theory brought up by Claude Levi Strauss narrative theory of binary
opposites , at the start of the film the character can be seen as a good character despite his lack of
enthusiasm he can be seen as a dedicated worker who is staying late behind to get work done , how
ether after encounting the black hole this changes as it he can be seen as becoming bad being influenced
negatively by money and greed leading him to steal and break the law. The character can also be seen as
the villain of the story after a theory put up Vladimir Propp as he has the tendencies of Villains in stories
such as greed. The use of Strauss Narrative theory is effective as it deceives the audience by changing the
motives of the character, this makes the audience more engaged and invested in the story.