Short Film #1: The Ball
(2010)
Director: Katja Roberts
Issues;
Poverty, Disability
Themes;
Friendship, Communication, Aspirations, Innocence, Confidence
At the very beginning of the
short, there is parallel editing that occurs between the girl playing football
and the boy playing with his figurines, which creates the effect that the two
different scenarios create a connection between the two characters. This style
of editing already implies that the two children will meet as the future of the
narrative proceeds. This may also be interpreted through the graphic match of
the ball in both the shot of the boy playing inside and the girl playing out.
Alternatively, the parallel
editing and graphics match might represent the pair’s hopes and dreams of
pursuing a future in the field of sports, as it emphasises to the audience that
they have a shared interest. This supports the theme of aspirations.
The form of the film created
through the editing is conventional to social realism, because the characters
are set in tight spaces from the beginning. It somewhat varies from what is
conventional however, as the spaces in which are filmed are consistently closed
off and cramped. It may be suggested that the form reflects the low economic
status of the characters in the film and therefore their lack of opportunity in
the future. This editing supports the theme of poverty.
The incidental music, which is
downbeat, is mixed with the sounds of cheering and diegetic sound. These almost
contrast with each other and serves to give the effect that the children are
pretending and imagining their goals and the reaction that it receives, and the
music serves as the reality of their dreams, which makes the scene a little
less joyful. The children’s optimism reflects the themes of innocence and
aspirations.
The issue of low economic status
and poverty is emphasised in the dialect used in the little conversation that
is had throughout the film. The language used within the passing comments made
by the girls is extremely colloquial, although in a harsh way. The tone in each
of their voices suggests coldness and lack of respect for one another. This
supports the issues and themes surrounding poverty because the deficiency in
opportunities is evident in the rest of the film, and conventions of such
economic status include youth rivalry. The lack of dialogue also suggests how
antisocial the age group is represented to be also.
When the girl is playing football
behind the houses, the composition of the frame made through the camera work
shows a closed space. Towards the end of the path, there is a white space in
which the path may continue, where it is a little misty. This might represent a
goal that is far away, perhaps in a football sense but also in an aspirational
sense. White connotes innocence, and to the girl, this goal could be
interpreted as an exciting unknown. However, the more pessimistic view of more
matured people may see this as a representation of her clouded chances, as a
result of where she is from. This, again supports the issue of poverty, and the
themes of aspiration and innocence.
Moreover, some may interpret the
girl as viewed through a high angle as being from the boy’s point of view from
his window, although meaning can be inferred from it otherwise. The high angle
may support the closed spaces that she is portrayed in in that she is
restricted in her room to improve and grow as a sportsperson, largely due to
where she is growing up.
The low key lighting, which is
frequent throughout the film, bears cold and negative connotations, such as
isolation and further supporting the feel of an area with low economic status.
This supports the scene in which the protagonist is being called names by the
girls passing by. The cool colours emphasise the cold feel which is given to
allow the audience to emphasise the hurt and loneliness in which the girl is
capable of experiencing living in such deprived areas as hers.
The costumes that each of the
characters wear are conventional to those of people in poverty, as they are
casual sporting clothes which are inexpensive and easy to access. These clothes
are often associated with lower, working classes, who are of lower economic
statuses. This links with the setting of the back of the houses, as it appears
to be a somewhat rundown area in which it may be realistic for someone in
poverty to be living, which therefore supports such an issue.
The Ball can be applied to
Marilyn Milgrom’s The Script, as it
has a world, a character, and a problem. The world for this short is the
backstreets of a row of houses, whilst the character is the protagonist playing
outside with her football. Her problem is that she wants to contact the boy she
keeps seeing in the window, but has to work out how. Milgrom also states that
one of three things must drive the character through the narrative; a want, a
need, or an obligation. In this case, the girl’s want to talk to the boy is
what allows the story to progress. She also makes a point that it is important
to make the end of the film meaningful by choosing the best point of view to
tell the story from. In this case, the female protagonist shows the best point
of view, as she overcomes her problem to acquire a new friendship at the end.
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