Analysing short films

One Small Step

Characters

The two main characters in this short film are a father and a daughter. Their names are Chu and Luna. This allows the audience to focus on the two characters and their lives. Luna watches a rocket launch up to space and wishes to become an Astronaut from an early age. And Chu completely supports her and cares for her dearly. We do not ever know what has happened to Luna's mother. 

Sound

There is minimal sound in this short film and no dialogue however, we still understand the characters through their body language. Such as here Luna is refusing the dumpling that her dad has made for her and is more focused on studying to improve her grades. Soft music is played throughout. The only other sounds used would be rain, Luna crying, the TV, the sewing machine, etc. This means that the audience feels like they are getting the relevant information they need to understand this short film - despite the lack of sound. 

Budget  

The budget is smaller than a full-length feature film. This means that they must plan things out wisely. However, despite the smaller budget, there is still the same amount of arduous work being put into this animation. In no place would the audience feel like it is missing something while watching it. Because it is a short film it ensures that there is more detail and work being put into it, the duration makes it easier to watch back and make sure everything is perfect. 

Twist 

Lunas fathers' sudden death. While she was too busy trying to improve her grade she slowly started to spend less and less time with the person that has cared for her since the day she was born. And the time she realizes all this is after his passing. This makes the audience feel sympathy for Luna. 

Genre 

The genre is clear to the audience, it is an animated short. The change in colour schemes suggests that it is a drama. And the themes are Innocence, love, grief, acceptance, and accomplishment. 

Emotional

The main emotions portrayed in this screengrab are joy, nostalgia, and relief. The audience knows that the character is feeling this because of the use of flashbacks, which are all of Luna's good memories with her dad. Also, by using lighting and sound. 

 

Don't Peak

Characters 

The only main character in this short film is the girl shown above in the screenshot. We focus on her enjoying herself playing video games on her console. It seems like it is trying to tell the audience that there is nothing more to this than that - however, the lighting and setup of this short film prove otherwise. 

Niche 

She is alone in her room playing on her console. This doesn't really seem that niche per se. However, she is not playing the usual Call of Duty or FIFA on a PlayStation. She is instead playing an open-world game that is relaxing on her Nintendo Switch. - Nintendo is a huge company so it could be said otherwise that this is niche. However, the game itself I would say is niche compared to the previous ones I have mentioned above. As, if I were to tell someone if anyone knows COD or FIFA someone at least must have heard of it from that circle even if they don't play games. The same could not be said about Nintendo's fairly new game - Animal Crossing New Horizons. This could have an impact on the audience as short films are also part of a niche audience, this could mean that the fans of Animal Crossing also come upon this and get a better meaning. 

 

Storyline

The storyline of this follows the usual conventions of a horror short film. It uses good lighting, sound effects, and cinematography. this makes the viewer feel familiar with this work. Possibly making it easier to understand and enjoy. 

Twist

 

Whatever she was doing while in the game would happen in real life in her own bedroom. For example, if she turned her light on or off it would go on or off or when she opened her wardrobe and closed that would also happen in real life in her bedroom as well. She at first thought that this was quite intriguing, however, later she heard something near the dark room and gets scared, eventually, a blurry picture of a tall slender man-like figure can be seen near her doorway. The figure turns invisible, jumps on her bed, and gets underneath the bedsheets. She is shocked by it and tries to hide. She looks to see if the figure is still there and then there is a jump scare shown, catching the audience off guard.  The unknown creature then devours the girl and leaves behind her console. This makes the audience go from being neutral/happy to being unsettled to being scared. 

Sound

There is no dialogue. Both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are used. The music used here is eerie and unsettling, it's a little louder at times making the audience feel emotions such as surprise, anxiety, uncomfortable, etc. 

Bhatti

Budget

The budget for this is low. There are no extravagant details or CGI. However, it is still good at storytelling. The cinematography and dialogue are good. Despite the budget, it still uses all the basic conventions of a short film. Due to the simplicity of this short film, it is easy to understand for the target audience and makes it seem like it is a situation that could happen in real life. 

Niche

This short film is a niche in the sense that there are few short films about a boy who is independent and works hard to make ends meet. The boy wears simple clothes and does mundane tasks in his daily life. It is something that the mainstream media would not be interested in. Bhatti makes the audience feel empathy and realize it is never anyone's fault for where they are just because of the cards they have been dealt with. 

Emotional 

It is impactful to see that the boy had been put on the spot by some uncle on the train when all he was trying to do is sell some books to make money. It could also anger some audiences or feel pity for the boy because no one else helped but just looked at the situation with a blank face. 

Twist

The old uncle on the train forces the boy to read the book he is holding aloud. When the boy finally gives in and starts to read Gulzar's poem which is a theoretical and intellectual poem. Uncle is shocked by the fact that such a young boy who doesn't look like he has any wealth can still learn to read a grown-up's poem so well at an early age. This tells the audience that it is not good to be judgemental as they were not given the option to choose and are making the best of what they have. This event makes the audience feel empathy for the intellectual little boy. 

Characters 

There are a lot of people in this short film but a limited number of main characters. There are only three significant characters here that are needed to understand the short. Which is the boy named Bhatti, his friend, and the uncle on the train. We get an insight into Bhatti's life from the beginning. This has an impact on the audience. As they get to see the character face conflict and their emotional development.