Textual Analysis

Short Films
Guinness Advert
‘Player taking a free in hurling’

The short film I have chosen to analyse is a Guinness advert in which, you can sense the pressure on this hurling player as he prepares to take a vital penalty. As he surveys the other team's brutal beasts, looking like evil extras from the Lord of the Rings, making the viewer wondering if he will successfully make the shot to win the game. As the advert progresses you get to see flashes forward of the tam celebrating in the pub after, drinking Guinness and having a good time, therefore even though you do not get to see him take the shot you know he was successful.

The camera shots and movement throughout the advert are really well thought out and have a get effect on showing the audience the player’s emotions such as, his tension, fear and then happiness. There are several close ups throughout the advert, the ones that stands out to me are; when the both players (the protagonists and the oppositions) eyes are shown, resulting in us feeling more involved in the game, seeing the player’s fear and the oppositions aggression, throughout the advert these close-ups get more intense and faster, as soon he will be taking the shot. There also are several close-ups of the ball, which is used to draw our attention to the game; this is done so that we as the audience understand the story. A shot that I think is really interesting and works well for the advert is right at the beginning, where the camera is placed at a mid shot, you get to see the player standing in the rain in the middle of the pitch waiting to take the shot, it really attracts the eye and is almost used as a establish shot for the audience, and also a chance to meet the protagonist, there is no movement from the camera – it remains steady, just to watch him preparing for the challenge. Another camera movement that really caught my eye was used a few times throughout the advert, where there is a tracking shot of the oppositions’ crowd, this is when they look like evil creatures, the camera is lightly below them, a high angle shot, giving them status, creating the audience to feel the fear too.

Mise-en-scene also really plays on the protagonists emotions, for example there is a total contrast of time and place to where a dog is sat in the middle of an empty, lifeless, light and pleasant village, the sound also quietens, I feel this is telling the audience of the players state of mind, at that moment in time he is so focused on scoring that it feels like he is the only person there, peaceful and ready to go. It then quickly goes back to the high pressured shot of him back on the field. The mise-en-scene of these shots are as I said a complete contrast from the team in the pub and the lone dog shot. On the pitch the surroundings are dark and wet giving off a cold effect, the costumes worn by the fan whilst they look like evil Lord of the Ring type characters are harsh and scary, playing of the fear of the protagonist, he is seeing them in a different light as are we. Whilst the team are in the pub after the game, the atmosphere then is a total change from harsh, dark and fearful to a welcoming, friendly environment. I believe there is such a contrast from pitch to pub to give the audience the feel that when drinking Guinness, it too is welcoming and friendly – a social drink.

Representation in this advert is to believe, to believe that by drinking Guinness it will help you to achieve a challenge or a goal. In this advert, from the start is shows the player looking nervous and frightened by the prospect of not scoring, however as the advert progresses and flashes of him with Guinness he seems to become less fearful and start to believe in himself.
Throughout the advert the sound and the lighting changes with the flash-backs of the player on the pitch to all of them in the pub after the match. Whilst the match is in play, the lightening remains dark and dull, playing on the man’s fear once more. However, when they are in the pub the colours are much warmer and welcoming, soon after this you get to see a pint being poured where the colour is a warm brown, as I said before making Guinness seem like something to look forward to, a happy and welcoming drink. The lighting in this advert is also a reflection on his mood and mind set.

There is no dialogue from the protagonist at all, which I think was a really clever thing to do seeing as, you in a way from watching the advert, start to get the feeling as if you are him, playing on that pitch. At the beginning of the advert there is the commentator’s voice (both diegectic and non-diegectic) as you get to see him and also hear him, as the advert progresses the voice becomes a little distorted, this also adds to the player’s tension. The non-diegectic background music is a real help for setting the mood of the advert, as it increases in pace and volume as the advert draws to a close, just as the game has.

There is many cut shots, and jump shots throughout the advert which increase in pace as the advert progresses, they gets choppier as the adverts goes on, again emphasising on the fact he is going to be taking his shot soon, upping the tension. Slow motion has been used to show emotion from the player, other players and the crowd, the use of this could be a metaphor for Guinness - Guinness takes time to brew, as does scoring a goal, perfection takes time. The pouring of the Guinness fading in and out towards of the end of the advert is used to show the product. It has been put over a frame; therefore you can also see what's going on in the background, in the pub and during the game, so that you can still see the story taking place.

To conclude, I feel this advert has been designed very cleverly to emphasis the representation, to believe in one’s ability, also that the product itself has been made to look very classy and welcoming for an alcoholic beverage, the editing and camera angles are what makes this short film work, therefore Guinness looks respectable and enjoyable.

Work In Progress

This short film is certificated as an 18.

In this short film there are a lot of Jump Cuts between two particular different scenes.

There is use of lighting to show the difference in each scene. There is flashing lights for the rush and fast paced scene, where as the light in the other scene is very soft and romantic there is a use of red lights.

There is also music which goes with each different scene slow paced for the romantic scene and fast paced for the dark scene, which helps to set the atmosphere.

During this short film, you see the people come out of a door along a corridor, to me it seems like the boss is having an affair with the sectary, later on you see that they are in separate rooms in a hotel. His room is all messy compare to hers which is neat with her pyjamas all folder at the end of the bed, they also sleep on the different sides of the bed.

I love how the colours protray the mood, for example during the affair the colours are dark and red and after they are back to normal everyday colours - just like every day life.

A Day At The Beach

This short film is certificated as a PG.

In this short film at the beginning all you hear is sound.

As soon as the sound is on the screen you can tell what type of genre this short film is – war.

Within this short film the main theme is time. The soldier goes through a family on the beach. Its showing what happened on same beach in the modern time and the past during the war.

There is not that much dialogue at all during this short film, its mostly silence and sound of the bombs and guns going of. This short film you see how the characters feel and go through, and does all this through the use of music and imagines.

I thought this short film was brilliant.

The Glossy Magazine

This short film is certificated as a PG.

In this particular short film, it is about a girl copying her older sister.

The colours which are used in this short film are the blues and greens. It is all about childhood how the child is innocent this is showed through water in the scene, as water is pure and innocent as the child.

Not as good as the other short films yet has a good protrayal of what life is like for a girl growing up.

The Boy With Blue Eyes

This short film is certificated as a 12A.

In this short film it is about a little girl and how she is being treated badly at home, you find thisd out as the film goes on.

There are lots of different shots used within this short film for example, panning of the grass at the beginning of the film. lots of low angles and really powerful establishing shots.

There is non-diegetic music to set the mood, not much talking at all from the character, from a narrator.

We really liked this short film as you did not know what was happening, which we would like to do with our own short film, and how the short film does not make sense at all, also the narrative of the short film was fantasy and really power again with hardly any use of dialogue, really good!