Short Film Review 3 - "Cool Unicorn Bruv" (Ninian Doff)

Cool Unicorn Bruv is a short film created as an entry to the 2013 running of the 'DepicT!' short film competition.

 The short opens with a long-shot of two of the characters, one of whom is describing the features of a bike he intends to sell to his peer.
 We can immediately determine the setting by looking at the architecture surrounding them, and their strong accent; this short is set in London.
 We then see an over the shoulder shot of our salesman further describing the features of the bike; specifically a little bell that goes "ping".
 With the other character saying "I like that...", we cut back to the long-shot, this time they kneel down to better observe the lower portions of the bicycle. We then cut to a medium shot, with the potential buyer asks the salesman "What's with the shocks?", referring to the shock absorbers on the frame of the bicycle. The salesman responds by saying "Imported. The best. You can't even get 'em here!", the buyer then replying "Niiice!".

 We then hear the sound of horses hooves landing on pavement, to which the pair then turn their heads to above the camera. The horses hooves acts as a sound bridge, because we then get a motivated edit to a medium-long shot of a man walking a unicorn down the road.
 The potential buyer asks this stranger "What you got there?", we then get a shot-reverse shot in which the man replies "Its just a unicorn innit?!", to which the buyer replies "Oh yeah!".
 He stands up to get a closer look at the majestic beast and proceeds to ask questions such as "Can it fly and sh*t?", "Can  it go really fast?" and "Can it grant wishes?". The man gives answers such as "Nah that's Pegasus", "I can draw the energy out of the universe, ride the frequency of the cosmos and that, and travel the fourth dimension" and "Of course it grants wishes man, its a Unicorn". Our salesman buts in, stating "Yeah well this has got like, ten gears so...".
 The salesman is not happy with the appearance of this stranger, as it is distracting his potential customer from the transaction. He attempts to regain control of the situation by aggressively barking "Alright thank you... See ya later yeah?". The stranger leaves with "Alright. Safe".

 We cut back to the long-shot of our two main characters, with the unicorn exiting shot on the left. The salesman then asks his peer "So do you still wanna buy the..." during which his peer interrupts him with "Naaah!"; exiting shot.
 The short then ends with a long-shot of the man walking the unicorn down the road, with a pull-focus to the salesman who calls the man an obscene name.

 My favourite aspect of this short is the juxtaposition of these young, London men and the majesty of the mythical creature; you would not expect to find such an animal in a borough of London. The characters also seem to act abnormally calm during the interaction, as if unicorns are commonplace in the world.
 As well as that, I appreciate the great cinematography and acting throughout the piece, making it feel like a real TV-drama

Isolation - Evaluation

I think our short film ‘Isolation’ was fairly successful as it has an interesting narrative and shot types. The film opens with an establishing shot of the beach, the films’ location, before the actor comes into view. Later, shot types – such as a POV shot – are used to better display the feelings of the person on screen, adding to the tense atmosphere and making the audience feel more involved with the events of the film. The film cuts between shots of the actor on the beach and the actor screaming in a dark room, which I think is effective as it reveals what he is truly feeling inside even though he appears calm. These shots cut in more often as the film progresses. The film also doesn’t have any sound, apart from the wind howling, and static in the dark room shots. This gives an uneasy atmosphere to the film, as they are unpleasant sounds contrasting with the peaceful scene of the beach. This is also effective as it reveals the actor’s inner emotions.

However, I also think there were some flaws in the film regarding the shots and editing. For example, shot two is out of focus until the foot comes into view, which is quite disorientating. Shots twelve and fourteen also don’t make much sense when viewed, as shot twelve has the actor on the far left, and when it cuts back to the beach from the dark room in shot fourteen, he is on the far right. Finally, the time lapse in the final shot isn’t as effective as it could have been, as the camera is quite close to the actor’s face, which draws the attention away from what is happening in the background.

The Pre-Production Process

Assignment 1 Feedback Sheet

Isolation - Depict - Pre Production Paperwork

Isolation - Depict Entry - Final Video

Isolation - Depict Entry - Storyboards

Risk Assessment - "Isolation" - Depict!

Costume List - "Isolation" - Depict!

• Fake Blood:
   We may need fake blood for the shots set in the dark room. These shots are intended to reflect the mind of those with mental health issues, the blood represents how the subject is being torn apart from the inside.
  
• Dark Clothes:
   Dark clothes will help to reflect the tone of the piece; the beach is dark, the room is dark, their mind is dark, therefore their clothes should be dark.
  
• Thin Clothes:
   The clothes of the subject should be visibly thin, this (coupled with the cold, dark setting of Gorleston Beach) will make the subject look cold, and give the overall piece a cold, dark tone.
  
• Hair:
   The subject's hair should be messy, unkempt, and wild, this also reflects the subject's fragile, messy and wild mind.

Production Schedule - "Isolation" - Depict!

Name(s):	Natalie Sillitoe, Erin Wilson, Lewis Danson, Olivia Wright
Production                                                                           title:	Isolation
Production dates:	13th-17th November
Date & Time	Activity/Scene	Personnel, equipment & Props Required
13th November 11:45-1:45	Dark Room shots/4,8,10,13,17	Fake blood, college camera.
14th November 2:10-3:40	Dark Room shots/ 19,21,23,25,27	Fake blood, college camera.
14th November 3:40-5:00	Beach Shot/1,2,3,5,6,7,9,11,12,14,15,16,18,20,22,24,26,28,29	Black thin t-shirt and black jeans for actor, college camera.
16th November 11:00-11:45	Coffee Shop shot/30	College camera.
16th November 11:45-1:15	Coffee Shop shot/30	College camera.

Initial Ideas Post - Depict! - "Isolation"

Isolation is a short film depicting the feelings of those experiencing mental health issues.

 The piece is surreal in nature, not aiming to give a realistic representation of the feelings of isolation.

An unnamed subject wanders along an empty beach; they look stoic, and calm, but inside they are being torn apart.
 They proceed towards the sea, the waves lapping at their feet. They wander out into the water, they stop and stare, they kneel down.
 They drop their head into the water, attempting to drown their self. They realise they are not strong enough to do it, and jump out.
 They stare at the camera, dripping with water, looking stoic and calm.
 They stare at the camera, with the world playing behind them, looking stoic and calm.


Cut in and out of this piece will also be quick shots of the subject in a dark room, thrashing around, yelling out. This is intended to represent their inner emotions, the fact that they are being torn apart inside.
 It also contrasts against the calm, and quiet scenes of the subject on the beach, representing that what they show on the outside is not necessarily how they feel on the inside.

As mentioned before, this piece is intended to represent the feelings of isolation that people feel when they experience mental health issues.
 The shots of the beach will need to be empty, except from the subject (representing the feelings of loneliness), the sky will need to be dark, and cloudy, and the colours will need to be dark, and cold (giving the scene a cold feeling).

Shot List - Depict

Shot	Location	Narrative (What Happens)	Type of Shot	Sounds/Music
1	Gorleston Beach	Shot of beach	Establishing shot *shot pans slightly to right*	Wind
2	Gorleston Beach	Subject wanders into shot from left	Long shot (of beach) *shot zooms out slightly*	Wind
3	Gorleston Beach	Subject’s foot appears from outside of shot, disturbs some stones/sand, pauses, and then proceeds forward	Close-up of subject’s feet	Wind
4	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera	Close-up	Interference, faint yelling
5	Gorleston Beach	Subject walks across shot (to right)	Long shot *shot pans to right (slower than subject walks)*	Wind
6	Gorleston Beach	Subject stops on sand, turns towards the water, and proceeds forward	Close-up	Wind
7	Gorleston Beach	Subject stops before water line, waves creep up towards feet, wave hits subject’s feet	Close-up of subject’s feet	Wind
8	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head cocked to side	Close-up	Interference, faint yelling
9	Gorleston Beach	Subject wanders out into water	Close–up of subject’s feet	Wind
10	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head cocked back.	Close-up	Interference, faint yelling
11	Gorleston Beach	Subject (seen from behind) walks out into water)	Mid-shot	Wind
12	Gorleston Beach	Subject stops in water, stares out into sea, then drops to knees	Mid-shot	Wind
13	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head cocked back, lifting hands up to head	Close-up	Interference, yelling
14	Gorleston Beach	Subject kneeling in water, staring out to sea	Mid-shot	Wind
15	Gorleston Beach	POV of subject’s view out into the water. Shot then tilts forward and down, implying that subject is ducking head under the water	POV	Wind
16	Gorleston Beach	Subject dunks head in water	Mid-shot	Drowning noises
17	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head thrashing, hands held up to head	Close-up	Interference, yelling
18	Gorleston Beach	Subject drowning them self	Mid-shot	Drowning noises
19	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head thrashing, hands held up to head blood seeping out of mouth	Close-up	Interference, yelling
20	Gorleston Beach	Subject drowning them self, slowly lifting head out of water	Mid-shot	Drowning noises
21	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head thrashing, hands held up to head blood seeping out of mouth	Close-up	Interference, yelling
22	Gorleston Beach	Subject drowning them self, slowly lifting head out of water	Mid-shot	Drowning noises
23	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head thrashing, hands held up to head blood seeping out of mouth	Close-up	Interference, yelling
24	Gorleston Beach	Subject lifts head out of water	Mid-shot	Drowning noises begin to subside
25	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head thrashing, hands held up to head blood seeping out of mouth	Close-up *shot slowly zooms towards subject’s mouth*	Interference, yelling
26	Gorleston Beach	Subject lifts body out of water	Mid-shot	Drowning noises disappear
27	Dark room	Subject is dimly lit, staring at the camera, head thrashing, hands held up to head blood seeping out of mouth	Close-up *shot slowly zooms towards subject’s mouth*	Interference, yelling
28	Gorleston Beach	Subject kneeling in water, staring out into sea	Mid-shot	Wind
29	Gorleston Beach	Subject stares at camera as it zooms out	Close-up *zooms out*	Wind
30	EN Coffee Shop	Subject in exact same position as last shot stares into the camera as it zooms out. Subject is at normal speed, while the background around is playing at 4x speed	Close-up *zooms out*	Public ambience