MIXTAPEShort film by Luke Snellin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J7Ak5uOMpI

An entertaining and light-hearted short film that depicts the romantic struggles of a boys young love and how the barrier is defeated through the power of music.

Director Biography•Luke Snellin is an English screenwriter and director working in film, television, music videos and commercials. He is known for his distinctive use of cinematography and music as well as often employing light hearted themes, romance and nostalgia.

•He has been featured as a new director in Shots, called "Markedly Talented" by The Telegraph, he was also named as one of Screen International's "Stars of Tomorrow" in 2010 and one of Broadcast's "Hot Shots" in 2013.

•His 2009 short film Mixtape (2 mins) was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Short Film and won the Virgin Media Shorts competition.

•Snellin has directed music videos for notable artists such as Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly, Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler, Young Rebel Set and Australian Music Prize Winners Cloud Control.

•Won 6 out of 10 awards he was nominated for different works and various film festivals.

Reception and AudienceThe film was very well critically acclaimed as it had won the Virgin Media Shorts 2009 Grand Prize, Purbeck Film Festival Best Film,  Landcrab Film Festival Best Filmand furthermore even garnerede a BAFTA short film Nomination.

The film has not reached tthe mainstream audiences,as it only reached around 3,200 views on youtube, however it has been has had popular standing in the short of the week website and a solid 7.0 rating on imbd.

The short film is very precise and smooth, getting straight to the point and keeping the audiences constantly engaged through its boyish charm.- anonymous reviwer

Setting:The short film starts off in a young boys room and never goes beyond the next house, showing the connection he has to the person in it. The small yet significant world the director creates is enough for a short romantic comedy to have an impact on the audience. The opening song already gives the audience what to expect as it is and old-school romantic which is translated onto the genre. The boys bedroom also reveals that he is the typical 80s kid with the recorder and the amount of posters in his room, however as they are not in focus we can only see his passion for music at the start.

Costume:The costumes are not very important in this short film as they do little to reveal something about the characters besides them being the typical representative of the 80s suburban American style, which is the time period in which the setting takes place. Setting:

Lighting:The lighting reflects the tone of the film as it its kept very bright throughout the short film, except the beginning when the audience was not aware of the main protagonist intention.

Editing:The editing is kept continuous until the dancing sequence is order to progressive the narrative of the story. Then it switches to parallel editing until the two main characters are in the same shot , in order to show their separate behaviors which are actually very similar to the song.

Short Film Analysis

Figure, expression, movement:Through this we learn a lot about the boys personality, as he shows he is a bit clumsy when he misses his pocket with the mixtape and reveals his shyness through his interactions with the girls mother through his facial expressions. We also get to see a surge in his confidence after he hands the mixtape over and at the end of the film when he believes a connection has been established with the girl. The dancing scene shows the behavior of two regular suburban kids to the music of their time, with them just having fun with it.

Music:The music is appropriate to the time period as it uses some of the biggest rock bands of the 70s such as The Kinks and Heart.The first use of music is diegetic as the character hears it through his headphones, and it is used to set the mood for the film and symbolize the completion of the mixtape made for the boy to win over his crush.The next use of music is non-diegetic as the boy dramatically turns around and exits his house, here it is used to inspire confidence in the boy and show the audience his determination. The music style of this song can also represent a classic showdown where he wishes to exit victoriously.The last song is used to signalize the relationship between the boy and girl, and how their bond is created through music. This is an energetic song through which both can relate to and the lyrics also shows us mutual wondering about the other.There are not impactful diegetic or non-diegetic sounds that are not part of the soundtrack.

Short Film Analysis

Camera work:The films starts off with a tracking shot behind the main character while he is listening to his music and working, and followed up by a close-up shot of him, so we can immediately get introduced to him, his surroundings and his preferences.The close up of the of the mixtape is there to signify its importance to the boy and to the film as it is the bridge that connects him to the girl.As the boy is leaving the house with the empowering music, the camera goes from close-up to medium shot tracking to show us the confidence of the boy through his facial expression and body movement. The follow up long shot takes away the confidence the audience had in the boy as he is just going next door, showing the comedic nature of the film. The long shot is also balances as the boy is right in the middle of the two houses which empathizes his journey and struggle.The sequences between the girls mother and boy is displayed through close-ups of both showing that they already have sort of connection and familiarity, however the nature of that relationship can be seen through the angles as he is portrayed in a high angle to show respect and she is in a low angle to show adult understanding of the situation. A medium long shot tracking out is used while he is on the bed to show his being pulled away from his magazine by the music he is hearing.Throughout the short film tracking shots are used instead of hand-held to show the stability of the characters, and because they are more genre appropriate and make the film much more light-hearted.A medium shot is used when he goes to the wall, as the audience can see the picture which is positioned first in focus so the sound of the music is visible as the picture is shaking, switching focus pulls from him to the image, with a eye-level angle so we can identify with the boys happiness.Then there is a high angle close-up of the girl so that the audience can immediately identify with her and also present her as vulnerable to the boys music and affection.The two of them are dancing in long and medium-long shots to show the freedom they have gained from the music , doing signature dance moves and even the girl moving in slower motion at one point.The last long shot is the most important one as they have been symmetrically placed in the shot with the wall symbolically separating them, as they had overcome the obstacle through music.

Short Film Analysis

Character analysis

Ben:• Romantic• Sweet• Clumsy• Nerdy, due to music

posters • Shy• Dedicated• Innocent• Boy next door

Lily:• Cute• Girl next door• Sweetheart• Understanding• Awkward as Ben is• Also innocent