'Snap' By Manolo Celi - Short Film Research - Sam Swinson

'Snap' By Manolo Celi - Short Film Research - Sam Swinson

About the Film (Director, Release date, Overall plot and Issues):

This short film is a 4 minute short that was created by Manolo Celi. It was released in 2006. I found this short film on YouTube which is a video sharing platform.

This short film follows a young photographer through some very unexpected events. The protagonist does this by borrowing other people's camera and pretending to take pictures of them and then running off with their camera. The chase that follows has many twists and turns and unexpected things. The audience are kept on the edge of their seats as music build up. During the chase both the protagonist and the character chasing him seem to change which means that the protagonist has performed this multiple times. The suspense builds up to an unexpected ending where we find out all the pictures the protagonist was taking during the chase were for an art exhibition.

This is an exciting and suspense driven comedy that keep the audience interested in the action through both enigma and the tense non-diegetic background music.

Concepts:

I will be applying 3 media concepts to this short film. I will apply:

• Genre
• Media Language
• Audience

Each concept will be colour coded to make it easier to see where I have applied each concept to the short film.

Analysis:

Genre:

• It is very hard to match short films to a certain genre because they can often show no signs of a certain genre or they can show signs of multiple genres.
• I think that 'Snap' is a comedy thriller short film:
• This is because it has comedy elements, for example, the non-diegetic background music during the chase is a fast paced guitar and drum soundtrack (Figure 1) that keeps the audience on edge because it adds suspense, but, the way that it is edited to the camera work makes it seem humorous to the audience.

Figure 1

•  Additionally, in the later part of the chase, the non-diegetic music slows down then picks up the pace again which adds to the comedic effect (Figure 2).

Figure 2

• Also, the film shows signs of a thriller because near the end of the chase through the use of Barthes Action Code the audience can predict that something is going to happen because the protagonist has stopped running and  non-diegetic background music changes to thriller music which adds tension to the piece (Figure 3). 

Figure 3

• Then the music crescendos and then the protagonist says the dialogue "I ran out of film" and then the is a fade to black (Figure 4).

Figure 4

• Rick Altman's Theory of Genre can be applied to this short film:
• Specifically, the Semantic part of Altman's theory can be applied to the comedic part of the film:
• Setting - this film is set in a bright place that is open and it is set during the day (Figure 5). The colour of the shots is very saturated and represents a warm and happy or comedic element to the film. This style of setting chosen is often used for comedies.

Figure 5

• Camerawork - all of the shots in the film are either eye level angle (Figure 6) or a slightly low angle. This is often used to comedies because it means the characters are portrayed in such a way that means no character is better than another and they are all equal. 

Figure 6

• Sound - the non-diegetic sound in comedies is often used to place emphasis on certain things. This is done in the film, for example, when the person chasing the protagonist runs through the children's skipping rope the non-diegetic background music crescendos and then it stops as there is a mid shot of the young girl putting her hands on her hips and smiling (Figure 7). This puts emphasis on what happened and makes it more humorous for the audience.

Figure 7

• Lighting - the lighting in the film is very bright and the colour is very vibrant, for example, the protagonist's costume includes a bright red shirt (Figure 8).

Figure 8

• Props - through the piece all the props used are very calm, for example, there are no knives used when the person is chasing the protagonist . The chaser gets hit with lots of water from a bucket (Figure 9). This means that the audience can find certain things funny because there is no danger to the character.

Figure 9

Media Language:

• This short film is constructed very well in terms of the good use of camera work, mise en scene, sound and how it is all edited together, for example:
• The start of the film is put together very well because it shows the people involved in the photo shoot getting everything ready. This is a foreshadow of everything that will happen in the chase. There is a series of cuts between long shots and close-ups of different people setting up the props for the photo shoot (Figure 10, 11 and 12). This is paired with mysterious non-diegetic background music that adds suspense and enigma because the audience is questioning what is going on. This is clever because it on its own is just a series of random people doing certain things, but, as the chase unfolds we see that all the preparation is connected.

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

• On top of this, I think the chase scene is edited very well.
• For example, during the chase, there are some seamless transitions. 
• This means that the audience can't see the transition.
• Figure  13 is a wipe transition from a mid shot of the chaser's legs as he runs to a mid shot of his upper body.
• This is good because it makes the film flow together better and makes it easier for the audience to understand the plot.

Figure 13

• Additionally, the camerawork is edited to the sound very well, for example, in Figure 14 the protagonist stops running to hide behind a wall and the non-diegetic background music slows down in pace. Then as the chaser comes back into sight and starts chasing the protagonist again the non-diegetic music build back up as the chase continues.
• This adds tension to the film and keeps the audience in suspense because with Barthes action code they may think that something id going to happen.
• This keeps the audience intrigued in what is going on in the film and keeps them on the edge of their seats.

Figure 14

• Furthermore, there is a good use of slow motion in this film.
• For example, when the chaser runs through the paper artwork slow motion is used on a mid shot of the character to emphasise the character breaking the art (Figure 15).
• This slow motion is used for comedic effect and adds humor to the film.

Figure 15

• Additionally, slow motion is used near the end of the chase as well.
• As the protagonist is running he jumps in the air and turns around to get a picture of the chaser getting hit by the water.
• There is a sequence of different slow motion shots as he is in the air including a mid shot, long shot and a close-up (Figure 16, 17, 18 and 19).
• Match on action is used when the protagonist hits the shutter button.
• The slow motion and match on action have a great effect on audience because the slow motion is a contrast to the fast pace of the rest of the film and it adds tension and suspense because the audience wants to know if the protagonist gets the shot and gets away.

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Audience:

• I found this film on YouTube when I was searching for short films and this is a comedy/thriller short film.

• Demographic:
• I think that the target audience for this short film is young males.
• This is because it has a chase scene with humor and most of the characters in the piece are males.
• Psychographic:
• This is a film for people that like thrill ride films that include comedy to keep the audience interested.
• Also, it is for people that are interested in photography because it takes an unconventional way of taking interesting photographs.
• On top of this, it is an original idea and approach to a short film that the audience may find inspirational with the surprise twist at the end.
• The target audience would find this film pleasing for a number of reasons:
• The film takes an interesting approach to a short film with an original idea.
• It keeps the audience on the edge of their seats and keeps them intrigued in what is happening.
• There are no boring parts to the film because the whole film is full of action.
• The comedic elements of the film are emphasised, for example, with slow motion.
• Awards:
• I could not find if this film has won any awards 
• However, it was made for the 'Florida Industry Incubator' contest.
• Production Team:
• Director - Manolo Celi
• Writer - Julio Onde

Short Film On YouTube:

Inspiration (relating this research to my short film):

What in particular you found inspiring, or CREATIVE about the use of the concept in the film?

I liked lots of aspects of this short film and found lots of parts of it inspiring in different ways:

• The whole film is very inspiring because of the way to approaches the comedy genre and the way it approaches the style of a short film.
• For example, the editing to change the protagonist's clothes and change the chasers connotes this chase has been done multiple times. This is clever and I will see if I can implement a way for editing and mise en scene to connote meaning like this.
• Also, the non-diegetic music was a perfect fit for the short film and the way it was edited to work with the camerawork would not be seen by most of the audience, but, keen viewers would pick up connotation like an emphasis on the humor. I will try to think carefully about my choice of non-diegetic background music so that it can connote meaning.