A2 Short Film Analysis

Over the next 3 blog posts, I will be analysing 3 different short films mpoo ade by other A2 media studies students. In this update, I will be analysing an excellent short film called 'Networked' by Jack Thompson. Before you begin reading my textual analysis, you can watch this well-made film below:



What is this film about?

This film is about a teenager who comes home from school with his friends. He gets home and goes onto his computer. He receives a message from a facebook friend that has an attachment to a page, that which you like, you will die. The teenager likes the page out of curiosity, thinking that its a joke. He then dies, and at the end he is joined by two other friends that have died before him; the teenager forwards to message to other friends and the deaths continue. Its said to be inspired by Simon Hynd's 2002 Short;' Virus'.

Camera Work

In the opening of the film we see lots of shots of the teenager, as he gets back to his house. There are a number of wide shots used to show the surrounding area of the teenager, but the shot is partially covered by something, and this gives us the idea that someone is watching him throughout the whole film because they are watching him from a distance, covered by something to avoid detection. An excellent shot that gives us this idea is the shot of the boy's face from behind the screen as he browses facebook. It gives us a really strong impression that someone or something is watching him and is going to cause trouble. 

Editing

In the scene when the teenager is using facebook, there is a heavy use of quick cuts between the behind the screen close up and shot from the side of the room; that looks like the viewpoint of something sinister watching him. This use of quick cuts between these two shots cause us to feel like the tension is ramping up. The speed of the cuts between the two shots reflects the intensity of the situation. 

Sound 

There is a constant background non-diegetic sound that plays through out the whole film. This constant noise represents the idea that there is something lurking around the teenager and its always there; its never going to go away. This sound gets progressively louder until the boy is attacked by the unknown force.