Looking at two short films

To get an idea of what short films have been made already, I looked on the Virgin Media Shorts website and looked at a couple of short films to briefly analyse them. The two films: 'Basic Dave buys a phone' and 'Penni Jarr' were both tagged as comedies but they differ greatly.

Basic Dave Buys a Phone:

A screenshot from 'Basic Dave buys a phone'

This short film features only two characters: ‘Basic Dave’ and a mobile phone seller. The film is set at a market stall at what appears to be a busy market. ‘Basic Dave’ is looking for a basic phone but nothing the seller presents is basic enough for ‘Basic Dave’.  After being presented with five or so phones, ‘Basic Dave’ spots a children’s phone and enquires after it. He decides that he’ll take it as ‘it’s so simple, it doesn’t even work’ and so comedy is presented.

The film cuts straight to the scene between ‘Basic Dave’ and the mobile phone seller after a quick showing of the title of the short film and a sign for the market stall selling the mobile phone so the audience is immediately put into the scene. Also, the use of a hand held camera (coupled with the simple setting and small cast) shows that this film had a low budget and it also works by acting as the audience’s eyes. The fact that in some shots, the camera just moves between the two characters instead of cutting to different shots of the two characters makes the audience feel like they are there with ‘Basic Dave’ watching him try to find a phone to buy and so the experience of watching the film becomes more personal.

The film is short, with a snappy beginning that gets straight to the point and provides comedy to gain the interest of the viewer however, because there is something about this film that makes it come across more like a comedy sketch than a short film...

To watch 'Basic Dave buys a phone', click here.

Penni Jarr:

A screenshot from 'Penni Jarr'

This short film has only one character and is set in the house and surrounding area of the protagonist. Like ‘Basic Dave buys a phone’, the audience is introduced to the character and his situation very quickly. Within the first ten seconds, the audience is shown the title of the short film, the protagonist, his penny jar and a lot of overdue notices. This indicates that the protagonist is having financial troubles and immediately builds up an image in the audience’s mind of the lifestyle he has due to the money problems. The main character is then seen in a number of different locations, both inside his house and outside where he finds small change. Towards the end of the film, he uses the change to buy a bigger penny jar and it is insinuated that the whole film starts again.

The camera shots are all very still and steady unlike ‘Basic Dave buys a phone’ and so the audience feel distant from the character. The colours are slightly desaturated and dull and so represent the dull cloud of overdue notices that the character has to deal with. 

There is no dialogue in this short but there is a lot of foley sound which, I may add, is very bad indeed. It is very over the top and unrealistic and makes what appears like a professional looking short seem amateur. The short is tagged as a comedy but I, personally, didn’t find it funny, which just goes to show that a specific short film can never have a universal liking.

To watch 'Penni Jarr', click here.