Researching into existing student made short films

Creativity:

This short film is showing something which I have never seen. 

Setting/Location:

The whole short film is set in a school, and the main parts of it are set in the teacher's classroom. This  setting was obviously relevant to the story as it is all about a teacher being paid by students in order to get good grades. I think however this film could have included different locations to make it more interesting and to add some differentiantion in the film. 

Costume and props: 

The costumes used in this piece suit the different characters which makes the piece more realistic. The teacher wears a white shirt and black trousers, something which a teacher would actually wear. The student is wearing normal everyday clothes that an American teenager would naturally wear to school, which also gives the overall realistic theme in this film. The props used in this film also suit to the realistic aspects. Regular school objects are present throughout such as the teachers computer. This film also has the story of students paying for their good grades, therefore the envelope of money which the main character hands over to the teacher complements the overall storyline. 

Genre:

I think this short film could be under the category of 'mystery', the students don't know how to get their good grades unless they ask other students and the myserious elements come from the head teacher as she's convinced something is going on between the teacher and pupils however she has to catch them before she can undertake further action. The ending of the film shows how the main character framed the teacher by handing over the money to the headteacher when she catches them during the exchange. 

Editing: 

This film has a linear narrative, which is shown through the editing process. The sense of time passing throughout this film shows the development of the storyline and how the issue shown in this film has been happening for a long time.

Camera shots, angles and compostition:

The relevant details are shown through close up shots, for exmaple the envelope of money. 

Creativity:

I think this short film was a creative piece, as they started with a simple idea of homlessness and developed it to make it something unique but meaningful. 

Setting/Location:

This short film is set between the park where the homeless man is sitting and the house in which the little boy lives at. The setting was used as a contrast between two lives, one being lonely and the other being full of happiness on christmas day. The contrast was made by the use of props, as well as the conditon of the settings. The park was cold and frosty, whereas the little boys house had lots of warm tones in it to make it seem 'homely' and loving. 

Costume and props:

Similar with the locations, the costume and props were also used as a contrast between two completely different lives. The old mans costume consisted of dark colours perhaps being a representation of his dark and lonely life whilst he's living on the streets. As well as this, the old man is wearing a thick coat, a hat and has a blanket pulled tight over his lap, therefore emphasisng the freezing conditions which only increases the viewers sympathy for him as we can see how he is trying to keep warm. The little boy is also wearing a thick coat and hat however he has a warm place to go home to whereas the old man is stuck outside. The props used in this short film also emphasise the little that the old man owns compared to the little boy. In the scenes where the little boy is at home, we can see the christmas decorations, the presents, the candles, whereas all the old man owns is his clothes he's wearing and the newspaper he's reading, and even the newspaper looks as if it is old. 

Genre:

Labelling the genre of the film is difficult, it's an educational piece telling the viewers about homelessness and how we can make these people's lives a little easier with just some company. This short film was also realistic, as homelessness is a current issue which our country is faced with. 

Editing: 

The editing of this short film was done to again, create the contrast between a happy and safe life and a sad and lonely one. The film was edited into a linear narrative and by splitting between two different locations, showing one after the other, allows the viewers to see how different the two characters lives are. 

Camera shots, angles and compostition:

The camera was shooting from the boys point of view and how the film was showing how he felt when he saw the old man. When the little boy was at home, close up shots were used to put an emphasis on what the little boy had in his life compared to the very little that the old man had. As well as this,  when the little boy first saw the man he was up on the slide meaning that a high shot was used to show what the little boy could see and when he got from down the slide a lower shot was used to show his point of view. When his mum came and pulled him away from the old man a close up shot was used so that we couldn't see the mums face and her body was out of focus, this could have been used to show how the little boy wasnt paying attention to his mum as all of his focus was on the old man. 

What you liked/didn't like:

I personally liked the whole short film, i thought the concept was good and the cinematography reflected the overall message of the film well. I think it's important that homelessness is made aware off and this film did this succesfully.

Casting:

I think the creator of this film casted it well. I thought it was effective how they had the contrast between young and old and the connection the two characters had. The small cast added a sense of focus to the short film, viewers only have to follow the friendship which was formed between the little boy and the old man.

Sound:

In this film, no dialogue was used, which i think worked better than if they were to use dialogue. At the start of the film, diegetic sound was used for the surroundings, we were able to hear the birds singing and the breeze blowing, this could represent how open the old man is to the outside, these sounds don't seem to distract him whilst he's reading her paper therefore implying that he has been homeless for a long time and has just gotten used to these sounds. As well as this, non diegetic sound was used in the form of a news bulletin regarding homelessess, this straight away set's the topic for the short film and give's information and statstics on homelessness, this makes the piece more relevant as we know it is somehting currently in the news. Finally, music was overlayed over the top of the short film which added to the mood of the short film, the music was gradually rising which eventually led up to the ending of the film which was inspiring and showed that sometimes it's the little things that matter.