Evaluation

Film Coursework Evaluation - Alfie Hudson

For my NEA project, titled 'Scarf Swing', I took inspiration by other short films I've studied, such as ‘The Fly’, ‘The Ellington Kid’, ‘The Swan’ and ‘Tight Jeans’, as my film has a light-hearted and comedic tone throughout the runtime of 4 minutes and 40 seconds. I was inspired by ‘The Fly’, as that short film revolves around the seemingly random Mise en Scene of the fly which disrupts the get-away driver. Being disrupted and annoyed by a fly is relatable, however the film puts it in an unlikely situation, a bank robbery, which makes the situation more humorous, as there's a clear binary opposition, a theory by Levi Strauss, between the relatable situation and the unrelatable setting. This binary opposition is used in my film, as the idea of looking after a scarf that belongs to your family is a relatable struggle, however the goofy and absurd action scenes coupled with this relatability gives the film a comedic tone. The Swan also has a mundane story with a strange twist, like ‘Scarf Swing’ and ‘The Fly’, as the film uses action and background gags, juxtaposed with the protagonist's ignorance, to create humour. My film has a relatable story about family mixed with fast paced action and over-the-top sound effects, inspired slightly by the 2010 feature film, ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs the World’.

The protagonist's obsession with retrieving an item of clothing was slightly inspired by ‘Tight Jeans’, which also takes a random everyday object and makes the film completely revolve around it, taking the characters to interesting places, either in a deep conversation about race and slavery, or into an action scene in a carpark. My story was also initially inspired by my own life, as around last year, I lost my scarf, so I had to borrow another one that belonged to a relative, and I wore it all day, including lessons, to make sure I didn't lose it. I think the decision to write and direct a film with a story like this will relate to young and sensitive people. 

I would consider my film to conform to Todorov's theory of equilibrium, as it is very easy to see where these tropes take place in the film. The protagonist wearing the scarf is the equilibrium, the antagonist stealing the scarf is the disruption, and the protagonist retrieving the scarf is a new equilibrium, further emphasized with the sneeze, as now the protagonist must adjust his week after getting a cold, making the protagonist's journey end in a slightly different place to how it started. The film also conforms to the three-act structure, as there is a clear rise in conflict when the scarf is stolen, and there is a clear climax and third act when the antagonist is defeated. 

Representation plays a part in my film as well, as Stuart Hall argued that representations can be constructed through Mise en scene and film form, and can show a filmmaker’s ideology, especially with the use of stereotypes. Stereotypes of teenagers can be found with the mise en scene of school bags, skateboards, bikes and hoodies. While most of the teenage characters are presented as mean and insensitive, the protagonist is presented as a kid who cares about his family and will stand up for himself. I think this brave and tenacious representation of a teenager can be emotionally investing, as it will make the protagonist more likable to viewers. It could be argued that my film also subverts the stereotypes of teenagers, as teenagers aren’t usually depicted with shotguns disguised as an umbrella, or strong enough to punch someone’s eye out, or skilled in combat. My film presents an ideology of the importance of family and keeping your promises to the people you love, no matter how difficult it is to keep. This theme is symbolized through the protagonist, as he fights henchmen and the antagonist to get his scarf back, and he is rewarded for his effort when he wins the fight. There is also a presentation of the ideology to be respectful to things that are personal to other people, as the antagonist is defeated at the end, to show that his ideology is wrong, and that he shouldn’t be able to get away with taking something so important away from the protagonist and his family.

My film is intended to appeal to audiences who enjoy slapstick comedies and action films, as my film uses tropes of the action genre such as a bike chase, intense music, weapons and a final battle in a rainy arena at night. The editing is intentionally fast paced, edited to the beat of the song that’s playing, which is a trope for action films, and the absurdity of the films story and scenarios, juxtaposed with the serious characters, is shown to be comedic, for example: the umbrella being used as a shotgun, and the scarf being used as a weapon. There are also conventions of the comedy genre, such as slapstick, goofy music and sound effects, snappy dialogue and a punchline before the credits. Despite the excitement and comedic absurdity, I attempted to give the film an emotional core, as the action wouldn’t be as investing and intense if it wasn’t for what’s at stake, the scarf, which represents the protagonist’s love for his family, illuminated to the audience in the first act when the protagonist is given the scarf. This appeals to people who enjoy wholesome films with themes of family. The conventions of action films, comedy films and emotional films make it easier to appeal to fans of these genres, therefore making it easier to make a profit. 

Even though I am proud of my film overall, there are many things I wish I did differently. Dialogue sounds unconventional because I didn't add ambient noise in the scenes where dialogue is used, so when the film's audio switches from the audio for the scene's recording to the dialogue audio, it sounds disjointed. In the first scene, I accidently broke the 360-degree rule, so I added a sound effect from the video game 'Metal Gear Solid' to make the scene appear more hectic, making the unconventional cut seem intentional, but I don't think it works very well and is still jarring. There is also camera equipment seen in the background in some shots in the first scene, and in the close-up shot of the protagonist's face, you can see someone moving in the reflection behind him. In the rest of the film, there are some shots where I forgot to tell the actor of the protagonist to wear his bag, and there are some shots where it disappears, but I don't think it’s too noticeable. The last mistake I can see is at the very end of the film, in the shot where the antagonist shouts "no!", his right eye was open, even though the character loses that eye, so I had to use an artificial shadow using Adobe Premiere Pro to mask the eye. 

There are many things I think went well for my film, I am happy of my music choice, and I can't imagine the film without the songs I used. The songs I wanted to use changed a lot while planning the film before I wrote the script, however the song that played during the bike chase 'Mushroom Hunting' was the only song I wanted to play for that scene. All the scenes were written with the specific songs in mind, I even sometimes synced up the sounds and actions of the film to the music that was playing, like the scene where the protagonist is getting ready for school, and I think it all worked well. I believe that I picked locations well, the empty carpark over-looking Leisure at night during the rain looked cinematic, and the flickering light above the antagonist was a coincidence that worked out.  

Link to my film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dSxIjjsDDI