'17 Seconds' - Student Made Short Film

'17 Seconds' is a student made short comedy film, it's only slightly over 3 minutes long and so I was interested to see how a storyline/narrative was carried out in such a short amount of time, which is why I have decided to research/analyse this short film.

I think the way the film starts works out really well, I like how it starts with muffled audio coming from an earpiece from the character we're introduced to first, the costume (smart suit) also works well and ties in creating a mise-en-scene where we can tell something mysterious and possibly dangerous is going on. I also think the title works very well as it correlates with a line the man through the ear piece is saying "you'll have roughly 17 seconds alone with her, will that be enough?".

One thing that doesn't work too well is the first characters acting (dark haired man), when he responds "it'll be more than enough" his voice isn't convincing, it is said in a much more light hearted tone than it should be for someone about to assassinate someone else. The quality of it could also be higher however seeing as it's student made this is excusable.

A key theme in this film is the dark haired man's weakness being the female. Each time he goes to assassinate her. he is distracted by her looks and his feelings. For example when she is crying he asks if she is ok whilst his mentor looks at him in disgust. However, it is this theme that makes the film a comedy as in the end, he looses out and ends up dead himself when his weakness becomes the woman's strength.

There are 3 key characters; Male 1 (dark hair), Male 2 (blonde hair) and the Woman, there is also another male character however he isn't of high importance in the narrative. I like that the director/producer has kept the amount of characters low as the film itself is very short so any over complications in it would distract the audience from the storyline.

The dialogue is straight forward and simple, with there being just an average amount. The dialogue is very important for this narrative as it shows the relationship between the supposed assassin and his mentor. Without the dialogue, it also wouldn't be as funny, therefore the amount and content of it works well.

There is only 3 locations, which is something that works very well seeming as this is such a short film; inside the lift and just outside the lift on 2 different floors. This is good as it means the focus is incredibly narrowed, showing the lift is the centre of the narrative (its a private place, where the woman will get on every day for exactly 17 seconds, making it a good place for the man to assassinate her).

The credits are right at the end with just one page, presented clearly and professionally.

The film is very short and sweet to understand there are 2 men trying to assassinate a dangerous assassin (ironic, however Robin Hood-esk), the man who is meant to commit the act gets distracted by the womans looks and feelings and doesn't end up hurting her, however just before he is about to, she gets him first - its the "you snooze you loose" and "don't trust anyone" message.

Overall, I do like the film, however it isn't necessarily my style. I think it was shot well and has a good backbone storyline however I personally don't enjoy comedies or violent as much as I enjoy more dramatic films, therefore I may take some inspiration from the simplicity of it for my final product however I don't want my own to be as light hearted or aggressive as '17 Seconds'.