First Experimental With Photoshop

Textual Analysis of the Short Film "Bitch"

I am analysing the short film “Bitch” directed by Dom Bridges. The genre of this short film is comedy having the generic conventions of having a public setting, unusual music, a twist towards the end etc. This film was found on YouTube on the Futre Shorts channel a film festival company funded by the UK Film Council. The target audience of the film would be somewhere between the ages 15-30 because of some strong language used.

The storyline of the short film “Bitch” is about a man who wants to buy a tin of tuna in a supermarket and comes across an old woman who tells him he looks like her dead son. She then tells him to say “goodbye mum” as it would mean a lot to her and as she leaves the man does this only to find out when he goes to pay for his tin of tuna he is also charged the old woman’s shopping. The narrative is linear as it is shown in a chronological order and is concentrated on one scene and not cut with others making it clear for the audience watching to understand what is going on in the short film.

The main types of shots used in the short film “Bitch” are wide shots, long shots, close ups and medium close ups. Wide shots and long shots are used in order to show the setting and action taking place in the film in order for the audience to understand where the characters are and the situation they are in. Also the close ups and medium close ups are used to show the body language and reactions on the characters faces of what is going on in the scene for example when the old woman says “O lord” showing the reaction of the mans face seeming to be confused. Editing is also used for example the deep focus of the old woman and man when they are talking show them clearly and the scenery behind them blurry in order for the audience to concentrate on their conversation. There are also reaction shots after the characters dialogue which is a convention used in a comedy genre film. An eye-line match is also used when the old black woman shows a picture of her supposed dead son who looks Chinese to the man who looks nothing like him to create humour for the audience.

Mise-en-scence is selected and contrasted in order to create a realistic environment and atmosphere for the audience to watch in for example the costume of the old woman wearing a stereotypical woollen coat. The acting style is one of the most significant things in this short film in order for it to be humours for the audience watching and without it would make it less appealing for the audience to watch. I think that there is an encoded message in the short film “Bitch” being that do no underestimate old people being boring, dim and dull as this short film challenges this stereotype as the old woman outsmarts the middle aged man into paying for her shopping.

To conclude this short film is an effective short film as camera shots, editing techniques and mise-en-scene is used effectively to create humour for its audience and also having a twist at the end stereotypical of the comedy genre. It also challenges the stereotype of old people being boring, dim and dull making it more interesting and humours for the audience watching.

Introducing Myself

Hello my name is Sagar and I am a student at a sixth form school studying media studies. I am working in a group of four including myself with Justin, Arjun and Seb in producing a short five minute film as apart of our A2 coursework. We are thinking of doing an idea about a group of friends who go camping in the woods and that are killed off by a killer.