SHORT FILM ANALYSIS 2 - LOSERS

By Daniel Da’Costa Brewster

LOSER – FUTURE SHORTS

This short film is a drama, it is very emotional and is about the harm caused by bullying. The film goes into detail of bullying and shows it from different angles and different aspects of other people lives. However near the end of the film the bully is then challenge by someone commenting on the facebook status ‘Don’t be a bully. LOSER’

This changes the whole look of things as we perceive the people that are being bullied to be the loser through natural stereotypes however it is the bullies who are the loser. It sends out a strong message to the audience that being a bully isn’t something to be proud of and that standing up for yourself and defeating the bully as a unit is more of an achievement.

FIRST FRAME IMPRESSIONS

Although it isn’t a very clear image, the first shot is a Facebook chat, the online social networking site.

Write a comment suggests that there is going to be cyber bullying which is one of the most common types of bullying out there. We hear the sound effects of the keyboard to help solidify this point. The shot then reveals the text LOSERS

The screen then cuts to black and we hear some non diegetic score music, this style of music indicates that there is going to be a montage, which entices the audience to watch on and gets them interested into the film.

FILM ALAYSIS The montage shows three males,

they’re all in respective location which show the Mise-en-scene of the film.

They’re all perceived as ‘LOSERS’ in modern day society. 1. An overweight male 2. Nerd 3. Skinny male. With all these so called losers in the shot the non diegetic music of clapping indicate that these people aren’t really losers and that they shouldn’t be put down by the normal bully that they may receive in their ordinary day to day lives.

The quick chop and change from each shot, show a different victim which means that if one person is being bullied in the world, what is to say that thousands of others aren’t being bullied aswell. This gives the audience a chance to feel for the characters, feel upset and sympathetic towards these characters.

FILM ANALYSIS This shot shows a woman failing in her performance, the reason this shot is

effective even though it is a standard medium shot is because it shows the effort she is putting in and the failed attempt to perform her move, this ultimately gives the audience a clear indication that these are the losers in which they’re talking about within the film.

FILM ANALYSIS The definition of loser is; “a person or thing that loses or has lost something,

especially a game or contest” however in this context is seen to be someone who isn’t cool or accepted in society.

The narrative here is beginning to develop, the failings of all these people who are classed as losers in the film are all trying to achieve something and are failing within their attempt, at this stage we only know the title of the film and the series of people failing from the montage, this connotes to the audience that something bad is going to happen however the non diegetic score music almost gives them a hope, it is building up which means that times are expected to change.

However the changing room scene ( bottom right ) shows a medium shot of the football team celebrating as the music is getting more intense it shows there is still hope.

FILM ANALYSIS• These shots are all accompanied with non diegetic dialogue in the form of voiceovers to express words in which they have been accustomed to in terms of bullying.

•The cinematographer uses a range of close ups and medium shots to show victims. In the background the bullies use explicit and abusive words to verbally attack these people and gives the audience a clue in the problems young teens are facing today.

•Also these shots make the audience connected with these victims and also the fact that they’re getting bullied will annoy the audience and get them angry which will ultimately ensure they will watch on.

FILM ANALYSIS The editor blurs out this shot and uses non diegtic dialogue in the

form of laughing to show the bully is enjoy what he is doing, the choice to blur out the shot may connote to the audience the formality of the unknown being there is no reason for people to bully other people but it still goes on.

This shot shows a bully punching the lockers which suggest that he has no remorse, the audience depict this from the loud noise that he is making, this ambience sound is aggressive and connotes to the audience that bullying is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

The laughs in the background mean that people are seeing these acts of bullying and are not doing something about it, them laughing is encouraging the bullies to continue, which makes the audience angry and feels for the victims.

FILM ANALYSIS ‘Hahaha SOO gay’ this shot again reverts back to the

Facebook chat and continues to show that bullying over the internet can have the same impact or can even be worse than a bullying in person.

Innocent people are effected by this and it brings the audience into play as they will want to help, however they will be powerless and cannot do anything to stop it, because Cyber bullying is something which most likely isn’t going to stop anytime soon.

The use of strongly worded replies mean that even though they’re replying to the bullies they’re still continuing what they’re doing and are not going to stop.

FILM ANALYSIS As the intense music gathers speed, the editor makes the montage quick

until it comes to a stop. The music is then cut and the cinematographer uses a extreme close up to highlight the girls eye which thus create a relationship with the audience and really make them upset and angry at the fact that people are being bullied.

The diegetic song of her crying really enforces the emotion which she is expressing and the distress she is going through.

The choice to cut the music there work really effectively as it helps bring out the diegtic sound of the young female girl crying and the music cutting shows the crying to be a significant part in the film and shows that people are effected by the bad things which people say whether it be online or face to face, again bring the audience into play as they become attached to the characters.

SUMMARY To summarise this film I think that this film was used for educational

purposes, it serves best in school where it can educate young people about the effects of bullying and how that it can really effect people in the wrong way and force them into emotional corners where they cannot get away from.

The music and the smart editing help create a relationship between the audience and the characters, that alone make it a good film as, because the film engages the audience the film can really sway their opinion for the better of society.

The Mise-en-scene is very good in the film as it shows bullying from every aspect, a lot of bullying people believe are from the so called Nerds but bullying can happen anywhere and to anyone.

The fast paced music and the quick cuts help to build an upsetting atmosphere which allows for the audience to feel that they know the characters and are willing to help stop bullying.