'Post It' - Profesionally Made Short Film

The professionally made short film below is called 'post it', I really enjoyed watching it and so decided to analyse it as part of my research into short films.

This film's narrative is very touching, it works well because it shows a relationship/friendship building between Elroy and Claire slowly as a short film should, rather than cramming the entire formation of a relationship into a 7 minute film. There's a comedy element to this film too as the two characters joke, for example when Claire apologises as she assumes Elroy lost his job and when they stick a post-it note on a man and he runs to try and beat him up.

The only thing that doesn't really work is that at times the sound effects are overdone and slightly unrealistic, for example when Claire throws a pen. Also the music could have been happier and more upbeat as the pair go round handing people post-it notes, as the music used was quite relaxed for that. Also, at times it seems almost over-acted and un natural however this isn't too noticeable.

The themes throughout this is breaking barriers and forming a friendship, Claire seems forward in talking to Elroy where he seems more reserved, but she teaches him to be kinder to people and talk to those he wouldn't normally talk to. Another theme is that Claire seems curious as she asks Elroy many questions which he almost finds agitating.

There's only two key characters; Claire and Elroy. The dialogue between them is the perfect amount as there's also good breaks between them talking. There's also just two main locations, the workplace Elroy walks out of and the bench he sits on. Theres eight other locations that feature in the film for about 5 seconds each in a montage as the pair spread their kind messages on post-its.

Overall the film is really easy to understand, its all about being kind and trying to make people feel better. Its simple and a nice watch, so I enjoyed it. I want my media product to be similar to this in that its light hearted yet carries a heart warming message, so I will definitely be taking some inspiration from this short film.

Breathe Me - Student Made Music Video

This is a student made music video to the song 'Breathe Me' by Sia.

The narrative in this video is very strong, there's no live performance and its 100% focused on the storyline.

The narrative appears to be about bullying, the majority of the video is in black and white, representing vulnerability, showing a girl sitting alone while a group of 3 stereotypical 'mean girls' laugh at her - however 1/3 (girl C) seems uncomfortable with her friends actions. The story escalates showing how feeling alone can lead to serious issues such as self harm, it is at this point when girl C sticks up for the victim - however the damage is already done as the victim then results to overdosing - showing and carrying an important message that you shouldn't wait until its too late before you help someone.

Towards the end however there's a really powerful message, all the events are played in a 'rewind' mode and it takes us right back to the beginning where no damage has been done yet. The video is now in colour and the 'mean girl' who felt uncomfortable immediately leaves her friends to join the victim, this changes everything and no damage is done. I believe this is incredibly important showing the audience that one little act of good will could change someone's entire life - to be nice as you never know who is going through an inner battle.

None of the video is lip-synced and there is no live performance, which is fitting due to the seriousness of the narrative.

There are 5 key characters in total; the victim, the 3 mean girls and the girl who helps the victim right at the end - however she only features for a few seconds. There's 4 locations in total; school canteen, school toilets, the victims home toilet and the victims home hall. There wasn't an excess amount of characters or locations, everything was in moderation and necessary in order to tell the story well. There are no credits in this video.

There's a certain simplicity to this video with the small amount of locations and different scenes that happen to be long takes, some of the shots are simple whilst some are more artistic for example the close up of the blood. However, the focus of this video seems to be to deliver a message rather than to look good, and I like that. Although I did enjoy this music video, should I make my own, I would prefer it to be a little bit less deep and disturbing, and more enjoyable to watch - however I would like for it to contain a positive message.

Change Your Life - Student Made Music Video

This student made music video is student made to the song 'Change your life' by Little Mix.

The narrative of this video is very strong, and it fits very well with the message of the lyrics. At the beginning we see a happy teenage girl playing with some toys and see her walking through town. As she's walking through town we're introduced to 3 'mean girls' who we later see putting on make up and straightening hair - acting more mature. We then see the girl getting bullied by these mean girls and ending up throwing away all her things as she's trying to fit in.

In the bridge of the song we see the girl get help and find the courage to stand up to these bullies through her sister which is very fitting considering the lyrics here are "you're not alone".

Due to the fact there's a very strong narrative to follow, there's no lip syncing, instead it is all focused on acting and making the story raw and relatable to anyone experiencing a similar situation.

There's 9 locations: the victim's bedroom, the bullie's bedroom, the girls family room, town, classroom, school café, school field, school hall and the school office. However if I categorize the locations to those in school there is 5 locations (counting all school locations as one). There are 4 key characters, the victim, and three bullies - all of which are girls. There's also no dialogue in this video and there are credits at the end of the music video when the screen goes black.

I really like how powerful the message is in this music video due to how focused the narrative is, the fourth wall isn't broken and without lip syncing the producers have managed to portray the message and story amazingly. I also like the way this was shot, and the fact the actors were very professional (eg, no laughing or giggling due to shyness). If I make a music video I would want it to have some deeper meaning to it - just like this music video, so I shall definitely take at least some inspiration from it.

SLSP - Student Made Music Video

This is a student made music video to the song 'She Looks So Perfect' by the band '5SOS'.



The narrative/main idea of this story is that the boy likes the girl and wants to be with her. The majority of the music video is him daydreaming about her and following her around the school campus. There is then a live performance where the boy is singing on a stage with a mic to the girl which then goes back to the storyline of the boy seeing/following the girl before cutting to a different location (funfair) where parts of the song are lipsynced and others aren't. In terms of narrative/live performance this video is very balanced which is a good thing.

Parts of this narrative are comedic, for example the boy daydreams that the girl was flirting with him, and a few seconds later she comes up to him speaking the lyrics of the song "you know you look so perfect standing there" to which he responds "me?" this is quite funny, adding to the appeal, and is the only dialogue in the music video.

There's two key characters all together, the girl and the boy. This is all that's needed as the narrative itself is the process of a relationship, seeing eachother, meeting eachother, flirting, dating and finally becoming a couple. The credits are right at the beginning when theres a tilt/establishing shot from the sky down to the campus, where the producers of this video title the song with the artists name and then there is also one right at the end.

There's 6 locations in total; outside campus, inside campus, a performance room, the school library, a park and a pool with the hall leading up to it.

I do really like this music video, its really well made and edited with a variety of locations and scenes as well as a balance between the narrative and live performance taking over the video. Its also quite light hearted which is very fitting with song, and is something I think would definitely appeal to a younger teenage audience.

'Incase' - Professional Music Video

'Incase' is a professionally made music video by Demi Lovato.

The narrative of this video doesn't really follow through with a story, its purely a video of her singing/recording the song 'Incase'. It's almost a documentary style music video where we can see the process of making and producing the song, giving it an element of purity and realness. I really like this effect as it fits in well with the live performance element of this song as it is recorded there and then.

There are shots of demi passionately singing into the microphone for the majority of the video, there are also shots of the pianist as well as more arty shots for example of the lyrics or the piano, making the music video more aesthetically pleasing. I think the fact it is filtered in black and white makes it more simple, showing her pure emotion as she sings, which is an effect I think is really fitting with the song.

The key characters therefore are just Demi herself and the pianist with no dialogue except for the lyrics as well as there being just one location; the studio. There is also no credits, the only text comes at the end of the video stating who has the rights to it.

I really like the simplicity of this video, I think its nice to see a genuine music video that's more about live performances rather than a story where the artist is acting and essentially miming. As I have mentioned, I also really like the black and white in the video as it adds to the simplicity, leaving us to purely focus on the lyrics and Demi's voice.

If I make a music video I would definitely consider including some genuine live performances rather than simply miming, just like Demi has, I think doing it this way gives the video a lot more raw emotion - which I am a big fan of.

'Dumb' - Professional Music Video

'Dumb' is a professional music video by the singer 'Tich'.

The narrative is that the girl (tich) split up with her boyfriend but regrets it and she tries to get him back by going to a dating night where she knows he is, but he refuses to take her back. The idea is that she is 'dumb' for breaking up with him in the first place. The two key characters are tich (the girl) and her boyfriend. There is no dialogue in this video at all except for the lyrics.

The majority of this music video is lip synced, the fourth wall is constantly broken with tich singing directly to the camera however there are some parts where she directly speaks to her boyfriend for example "you don't know my mind, but then again nor do I". There are some parts where theres no lip syncing for example when she's getting ready or finds the speed dating leaflet.

The second verse contains a lot of point of view shots across a dinner table showing the couple (with tich singing to him), I personally really like this effect it brings more meaning to the song and is creative and different, it also helps the audience see the reality of the situation and how the two feel about each other in their facial expressions. In the second chorus there's no lip syncing, it has a more comedic side showing tich just meeting different men and dressing up in a wig in the hope her ex boyfriend won't think its her.

There are 3 locations in this video, (1) the bedroom   (2) the dating bar and (3) outside the boyfriends house. I think these 3 are enough as different parts of the room are shown for example in the bedroom they're filmed talking on the bed and then tich is shown getting ready on the dressing table. Everything is relevant with no extra random shots.

Towards the end with the final chorus, there are very fast paced cuts of tich singing to the camera from all of the different locations. I also really like this effect as it shows she still means what shes been saying (through the chorus), confirming that after all, she really does think she made a mistake.

There's no dialogue outside the song but there's credits right at the beginning titling the song.

I really like this video, without being overly creative like Little Mix were with Black Magic, it represents a real situation and tich herself is the real character, its relatable, yet fun and quirky alongside having a good narrative. I like how upbeat and light hearted it is however I can imagine myself having a more meaningful narrative if I was to make a music video.

'Black Magic' - Professional Music Video

Black Magic is a professionally made music video by the girl band 'Little Mix'.

There is a very strong narrative in this music video, the idea is that four unpopular girls are struggling to find love. They're quite nerdy and everyone see's them as unattractive and therefore un-interesting. We see this as 'Perrie' thinks her crush is waving at her, when really he's waving at the prettier girl behind. 'Jade' then finds a spell book where they perform some 'Black Magic' and suddenly they are transformed.

The shot then cuts to the four girls 're-invented' as they step out with fashionable clothes and flawless makeup with magic dust coming off them. They grab the boys attention and embarrass the girl with their magic who once embarrassed them. They then help the unpopular boy attract the girls attention. The narrative is essentially about transformation by 'black magic' and confidence.

There are 6 key characters all together, Jade, Perrie, Jesy and Leigh-Anne (little mix), the lover and the popular girl.

The majority of the video is lip synced, the first two introduction lines aren't as the girls fall over, however when the first verse properly starts each little mix girl/character lipsync's the part they sing in the song. When it comes to the chorus, for the first half they all sing it together as they sing the chant (the idea is that the chorus is the chant) but for the second half each one of the girls show off their magic power, for example Perrie turns her hair purple and Jade makes her glasses float, then they all look at each other in amazement as they levitate. When the second verse starts it returns to the norm, each girl lip-syncs their part of the song however the second chorus is the girls demonstrating their powers in front of their school mates and gathering a lot of attention due to their new flawless looks.

For the bridge of the song the four girls are standing in an outwards square breaking the fourth wall no longer in character, they're singing to the camera (lip syncing) as a live performance whilst there are some short shots of all the boys in the hall looking at them in awe. Finally for the last part of the song they use their magic for fun, stopping a lecture and starting the party, lip syncing until the end. There is no dialogue.

There are credits at the beginning of the video showing the title and characters and at the end showing it was made by 'Director X'. There are 5 locations in the whole video: outside on campus, the library, one of the girls bedrooms, the school hall and a class room.

I really like this music video. I think it is so creative, fun and energetic and I really like that each of the girls play a character and there is a clear storyline. I also like the balance between live performance, lip syncing and the narrative where the four girls are acting. On top of this, I love the different types of camera movements and shots the producers used, and whatever my brief I choose (music video, short film or children TV show), I will definitely take some inspiration from this.