Thursday 22 September 2016

Nathan Wilkins - "Post-It" analysis

Post-It is on YouTube and was directed by Michael Evans.


The opening of the film introduces us to the main protagonist, Elroy, through an eye level tracking shot of him walking with the prop of a large closed cardboard box shown by this mid shot. This shot establishes the character and sunny outdoor setting, along with beginning to raise questions for spectators about what's inside the box.

The gentle non diegetic piano soundtrack introduces the upbeat and cheerful tone to the short film. The 'Post-It' theme is established through a brief title sequence of close ups on text which has been added in post production. These graphics are complimented by non diegetic scribbling sounds with animations to suggest they are being written down. Parallel cutting is used to alternate between title screens and moving images of Elroy.

Elroy is introduced to the female protagonist, Claire, as he approaches a bus stop and stands by a bench with her on. This is our first introduction to his interactions with other people, and his body language facing away from the bench suggest awkwardness. This is emphasised through a long shot at eye level with composition that keeps Claire and the bench in the centre of the frame, with Elroy awkwardly on the edge.

We cut to a medium close up of Claire for her dialogue, where expresses a bemusement to the fact he's "not sitting down". This introduces Claire as a more extroverted and outgoing person, as her facial expressions reinforce this confusion as to why Elroy would choose to stand up when there's "plenty of room". The close ups and shallow depth of field used also allow spectators to focus on her friendliness as she smiles when questioning Elroy's actions. This kindness is reinforced through dialogue when Claire says she's "not intimidating". Elroy's shy personality is shown through is mumbled dialogue as he complies and sits down next to her.

Shortly after he sits down, Elroy is questioned on what's in his box. This comes as a relief to spectators, as it's a question we have wanted to be answered since the opening shot. Eventually he gives in and tells Claire that it contains lots of stationery as well as "a stack of Post-Its". Elroy's spiritless facial expressions shown at eye level medium close up and his monotone dialogue suggest that he didn't want to tell her what's in it due to the dull nature of what's inside. Claire then manages to make the situation more interesting, as she makes a joke about the box not containing a human head. This shot reverse shot sequence highlights their reactions to each others dialogue, with Elroy becoming happier and growing in confidence thanks to Claire's enthusiasm. The dialogue begins to flow better and the awkwardness fades away, as demonstrated by the subtle increase of the frequency of cuts. After the initial long shot where the two of them seemed so distant, they are now presented as much closer together both metaphorically and in actuality.

As their conversation continues, Elroy begins opening up about his life after an initial unbalance of Claire doing the majority of the talking. He says how the box belonged to his mother who passed away, and the happy memories he has of her writing kind notes on Post-Its. Claire is shown in reaction shots when Elroy discusses his past, and she expresses contentment through these continued medium close ups. The repetition of these shot types and eye level angles within the shot reverse shot sequence, with eyeline match being kept, allows for seamless continuity so that spectators are just concentrating on the compelling dialogue which drives the narrative.

Elroy claims that "half the time (he) can't stand people" unlike his mother who could "find something nice to say about pretty much anyone". Claire then encourges him with confident body language and dialogue that he "could do that", to which he replies "no I can't". This doubtfulness is shown at an eye level 2 shot to show her conflicting reaction to what he's saying, as she appears to belive in Elroy more than he does himself. At this point in the film, he is still restricted by the way he somewhat hides behind the prop of this box. This is a signifiant prop as it's used not only to show Elroy's timid personality early on, but goes on to be used to progress his character into a more outgoing one, when he uses the Post-Its from inside to bring joy to people.

A third character is introduced when a man comes and sits inbetween Elroy and Claire. He is introduced as a bold and dauntless character, who is wreckless in his body language as he squishes quickly onto the bench. Elroy initially expresses a dislike to what the man has done, with aggrivated facial expressions shown at a medium close up with shallow depth of field focussing just on his face. He is presented very differently to Elroy, with a chequered shirt and facial hair, with gelled hair and glasses. These different attributes are to emphasise the contrasting characters, and suggest that this could be someone Elroy was referring to when he often "can't stand people". This character helps demonstrate Elroy's progression through the film after his conversation with Claire, as rather than getting annoyed at the man's actions, they are shown writing kind notes about him. These notes such as "nice shirt" are shown at a close up to allow spectators to read them and understand their significance in Elroy's develpment throughout the short film.

Elroy and Claire then go around town sticking these notes of kindness on all varieties of people. Mid shots are used throughout the ending to capture the jubilation and laughter of people as they recieve these compliments, as well as Elroy and Claire who feel great about what they're doing. There is an emphasis on Elroys reactions, as his progression as a character seems to be complete.

In my own short film, I would like to use the idea of character progression in similar ways to Elroy, as we empathise with him throughout and enjoy seeing him come out as a better and more fulfilled person.

No comments:

Post a Comment