'The Ellington Kid' by Dan Sully - Candice Tyson

link to short film: http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/03/14/the-ellington-kid/


Summary: 
In a typical South London kebab shop, Nathan explains to Beefy why he really shouldn’t eat the burgers.
Genre: Dark Comedy

Representation

• 'The Ellington Kid' uses a number of representation- gender, age and race.
• The director chooses to use a white male character and a black male character as two friends sitting together in a restaurant talking about a past event that happened in the same restaurant they are eating at.
• The way the director chooses to use two friends of a different race shows that there are no racial issues like there used to be for example the apartheid that happened years ago.
• This particular two shot shown below presents how although they have different coloured skin they are both equal.

• Often in films the black race is represented more negatively for example in the short film 'Attack' the director uses a gang of black men to be seen as the antagonists and portrays them as trouble-making and evil for attacking a man for no good reason. However, in this short film the director has chosen to use a mixed gang of black and white breaking any stereotypes that the media has created in the past.

• Another representation I noticed the director presented was age. Dan Sully particularly represents the younger generation covering the 18-25 sort of age range. Sully choses not to give them a very positive representation as he puts them in dark and threatening clothing. He also makes them appear like dominating characters through the use of low angles. Lastly, the topic of this film is gangs and violence bringing up a common issue that a present in towns and cities such as London. The issues with gangs and violence brought up in the news gives the youth generation a negative stereotype and even more so these stereotypes are reinforced through films and short films like this one.              

                                            

Narrative

• This short film is out of chronological order as the director uses flashbacks to flash back to the past events being spoken about in the present. This is done to help the audience understand the story that is being told by the boy at the restaurant and to see the events through the eyes of someone who was there.

 The over the shoulder two shot on the left shows the frame we see before the switch into the flash back.

We as the audience are aware that it is a flashback from the dialogue 'you know that kid who go stabbed last month', there is then a very quick jump from the present scene to the flashback showing the event the white character had just mentioned.

The change in lighting and time of day also tells us as the audience that this is something that has taken place in the past. Not only that but also the mood of the shot contrasts to the previous frame showing these two events don't take place at the same time.

• I haven't found any narrative theories to support this particular short film.

Genre

• The genre for this short film is said to be a 'dark comedy' however this is a sub genre. In my opinion this short film would be a mix between a comedy and a thriller. The comical side to the short film is some of the dialogue used between the two friends at the restaurant, not only that but also the ending when the black male thinks he's eating a sandwich made from human meat.
• The contrast between the present and flash backs gives the two different types of genre. The present is light hearted and funny but the flashbacks are dark and tension building.
• The flashbacks fit into the thriller category as they some conventions of a thriller. For example-

Low Key Lighting-
this is and over the shoulder medium close-up of the black male that has been stabbed. The low key lighting creates a dark and scary atmosphere while the medium close-up reveals the shock and horror through the characters facial expression.

 Thrilling Music-
Before this frame there is a sound bridge that continues into this shot. The non-diegetic sound is of a low pitch and builds tension as the character runs away holding his wound. The non-diegetic sound creates suspense and also creates a negative vibe overall.

Flashbacks-
These contribute to the sense of time and space disorientation in the thriller and can often cause the audience to feel confused. Not only this but by using a flashback it gives us as the audience and insight on our characters past and maybe the experiences they have witnessed or experienced.

• Some of the present scenes fit in with the comical category, often with dialogue or the way they present the title at the beginning. For example-

The Title Sequence-

• It begins with the title and saying its 'based on a true story'. The font and colour is presented to set a serious tone with the bold black and white contrast with the capital font and clear spaced out letters. It is presented in a way any other film would however when it gets to the last part of the title sequence it says '(kind of)' which already gives us the clue this might be a comedy as its almost taking the mick.  

Light Hearted Mood-

• The characters talk casually showing their close friendship, also the lighting and atmosphere of the restaurant sets a positive mood. At the end when the white male character convinces his friend that the burger is made out of human meat the character spits it out and he laughs adding to the light hearted mood and ending on a good vibe.

Audience

• The audience for this particular short film I would say are people over the age of 16, my reason for this is the blood and violence we see in a number of shots. This may be quite shocking to individuals/children under the age of 16 and they may also find it disturbing.

• The gender this film targets would generally be males as I feel it is a short film that would interest more males than females as the cast is all male and also the overall topic of the crime and violence is something that is more likely to catch the eye of a male rather than a female that might look for a romantic comedy etc...

• The print screen shown above on the right is a shot of the website I found this short film on. The website is straight forward to use, the fonts are easy to read and everything is laid out in a way so you can easily find the title, synopsis, genre and rating etc... The general age for this website I would also say is 16+ as it contains articles and some more adult targeted films.

Media Language

 I felt the title sequence in this short film was used really creatively with a number of close-ups used in-between (examples of these on the left). The close-up of each action with the added diegetic sound effects works really nicely with emphasising the abrupt and quite strong actions of the chef.

The extreme long shot establishes where the next scene takes place in the 'Family Café & Kebab'. This shot straight away gives us an opinion of the restaurant- it looks cheap and a little neglected which gives us an idea of the people that may eat at this restaurant.
This medium long two shot of the black and white males I felt worked really nicely as an introduction to the two friends. Straight away you notice they are of a different race. You not only see them sitting together at the table but you also part of the surroundings showing the empty tables, this suggests its not a popular restaurant- what are the reasons for this?
This is a medium close-up that concentrates on the movement of the man that has been stabbed. This shot concentrates on his feet to emphasise the difficulty and pain he's in as he walks.



The previous shot is then followed by this medium close up of the victim, this shot concentrates on the facial expression of the male to reveal the pain and panic he is experiencing.

 This medium close up shows the chef in his restaurant with a smug look on his face as the gang walk in and threaten him and the other workers. The framing of this shot means we're not looking at anything else, just the facial expression he is showing.

 A medium close-up low angle shot is used to make the antagonist appear bigger and more dominating than the people working there and the victim that is laying on the ground.

 Another medium close-up is used, this time for the chef that has just locked the door of the restaurant. He stands at the door with a stern look on his face. The low angle then puts him into a high and dominant position in comparison to the antagonists.

Right at the end there is a almost a repeat of the diegetic sound we hear at the beginning of the short film of the chef sharpening his knives. This time it is a medium close up that starts at his hands and pans up to his face revealing the knowing and smug expression.

What I liked about this film

What I particularly liked about 'The Ellington Kid' the non-diegetic sound over not only the flashbacks but also the present scenes showing that the two are linked. I also liked the clever use of the sound bridge right at the beginning so we knew we were going into something dark and possibly scary. Some of the camera work was nice however I've seen nicer camera work in other short films I have watched.