The short film not only documents the love they both share for the water but its also raises awareness for the importance of mental health and the relationship it shares with sport.

It's a calm and cohesive short film that gets across what the club has done for the members from a mental health perspective. It shows how a fitness club benefits members in a totally unexpected way. 

The main thing I took from this film was the importance of the story you want to tell. It could have been made into a slick promo video but instead they chose to go from a more personal angle which is more impactful. 

It relates to the texts last week as there was a key focus on the importance and value of friends over family/romantic relationships, and this film certainly highlights this fact. 

It shows how you can find comfort in certain crowds and groups, and no all are equal to you. 

One of the things I liked a lot about this was that it didn’t have him explicitly saying how he felt, you could feel it from how he spoke to people and how close they were, as well as the use of lighting.

The only thing is sometimes it was a little confusing what it was trying to say with his chasing of the crowds, is he truly happy or is it just a fleeting feeling of being part of something? 

 

Keywords: Depression, loneliness, hope, discomfort.

 

Description: In this short film we see the representation of those who suffer with mental health related issues and their place within society. The short helps to raise awareness of these issues as well as the impact of societies expectations of the ‘norm’. The film creates a sense of peace for those who are able to relate to the issue raised also giving them a sense of hope to feel that things will get better.

 

Analysis: I thought this was an amazing short film that symbolically represented the feeling of mental health issues as well as the way that society views people with mental health issues. Although there is no narrator or form of dialogue, Ivy has created a great narrative telling a story that many people (including myself), may be able to establish a connection with. I feel that by not having a narrator or dialogue, she has left the short film open for interpretation so the audience can relate to it each in their own way. I believe that symbolism of the chairs and them being placed upside down, show how people view those suffering from mental health as not being ‘normal’ or the way that the perfect person is expected to be. Or I also see that this can symbolise how people feel when they are suffering from a mental health issue, they may be feeling out of place, discomforted or not at peace. The flying green object, to me symbolises a feeling of hope that things can get better, and the chairs can be stood the way that they should be. Ultimately showing that those who suffer with mental health issues will go through phases that are bad, but ultimately, we should have hope that things will get better for us and we can eventually live a life that is considered as normal to society. 

 

Keywords: Sadness, Depression, Hope, Struggle

 

Description: This was a portrait documentary type short film that directly spoke on mental health issues that children deal with even at a young age. It had the narrative voice over of the on screen character Terrance who told his story and battle with mental health issues.

 

 

Analysis: I felt that the use of this narrative voice enabled me as a spectator to feel as if he was directly talking to me, which encouraged feelings of empathy and aligned me with his perspective. This combined with the use of a non-diegetic soundtrack, further evoked feelings and emotions from me. I instantly connected with Terrance as a character as I was able to relate to his story in terms of his feelings that he experienced while battling depression. I felt that this was a great short film as the use of cinematography helped to create that feeling of feeling lost, depressed or even stuck within a cage. I feel that within mental health issues it is sometimes hard to match feelings with words and instead this can be done more effective through the use of visual imagery. I feel that it is important that short films are created like this to spread awareness of mental health issues that even young children battle with, and this connects to the objective that I have chosen for my short film. I want to be able to communicate the same issues surrounding children dealing with mental health issues with a lack of support.

Keywords: ordinary, friendship, quaint, 

Description: Through the lens of stop-motion puppetry, the audience gets a look at an average Friday night between two friends, showcasing the simple small bits happiness that make up a life. Whether it be watching videos online together or getting ready for a night out, Emily and Ariel highlight friendship in a genuine light.

Analysis: This film is fun and playful look into the funny, mundane moments that exist within a friendship. The combination of animation and stop-motion puppetry is unexpected, but creates a homey mood that is imperfect enough to feel real. Also, by animating the actual faces of Emily and Ariel onto the dolls, the film feels more expressive. What really makes this film impactful is how the closeness of these two friends is conveyed - they chat excitedly whilst on the toilet and are completely unafraid to show their silly side to each other. Any group of close friends could watch this and see themselves in Emily and Ariel, see the happy small moments reflected back at them. The quaint ordinary nature of this film is what makes it appealing - it draws attention the fun little moments we often overlook. 

Keywords: Funny, Satirical, Self-Care, Spa, Conversation, Family

Description: This film is based around a phone conversation the main character has with a friend. During the conversation where he talks about how well he is doing due to all his new self-care activities such as facemasks and spa treatments, humorous clips that illustrate what he is describing play. Towards the end the friend asks if he is doing this self-care to hide how sad he is over the passing away of his grandfather. The main character is trying to mask his true feelings by showing off how well he is doing to the person on the phone, hoping they will tell others too. 

Analysis: The video using amusing, satirical clips in between a phone conversation between two friends to poke fun at the self-care industry. The clips are warm toned with the backdrop of a spa to show the self-care routine being described by the main protagonist. The quick, funny sketches show how these acts do not cover up feelings of sadness. Towards the end, the person at the end of the phone asks if he is doing this to cover up the fact he feels responsible for his grandfather’s death. The clips then show the protagonist taking off the facemasks and looking upset. He is alone other than one spa employee who he pays which emphasises how lonely he truly seems. The politics of Self-Care by Clara Saez Calabuing argues that the move towards self-care and away from a social state causes a “shift in responsibility triggers self-blame”. The idea that self-care is unattainable to those with lower socio-economic status is also shown as the protagonist is so rich he can buy himself his own personal spa.

 Description: In this short film, Diana Chill shares the intimate and candid story of a girl suffering from bulimia who becomes a mother through illustrated visuals. Through a minimalist animation, the author depicts the experience of suffering the emotional and physical loss of an eating disorder.

 

Analysis: The film is presented as an illustration, which makes the film look very unified. The film is only in black and white, and although there are only two strong contrasting colours throughout the film, the audience can clearly feel the author's psychological journey with bulimia.

I really liked the way the illustrations were presented in the film because the author did a great job of showing us what it is like to live with bulimia and to be a mother.

In many cases, I think the visual format of the illustrations can better abstract what the author is thinking and describe in more detail what people are feeling.

Keywords: aging, accessibility, neighborhood, communities, built environment

Description: This film follows five older adults as they navigate aging within their home communities. Through intimate interviews, these adults discuss issues such as mobility, social pressures/loneliness, and financial struggles. We also learn about their family history, personal relationships, and views on the future.

Analysis: In her essay on Crip Time, Ellen Samuels discusses the ways in which disabled people navigate time differently than able-bodied people. This prompts a discussion on accommodations that must be made to recognize these differences, which is also applicable in the film I’d Rather Stay. The interviewees are all of varying levels of health, but each individual experiences some difficulty with navigating their neighborhoods in the way they are built. It is up to us to adjust these built environments to accommodate everyone so an active lifestyle is not something reserved for young, able-bodied people. 

By combining various interview methods (both mobile and immobile), the director allows the viewer to form a connection with the interviewees and to engage more closely with the material. I found that while I was concerned for the individuals and recognized that accessibility should be increased, I also was simply awed and heart-warmed by their positive outlooks on life and ability to enjoy daily activities despite the challenges.

 

Keywords: Doubt, Guilt, Community, Responsibility 

 

Description: This address the voice of doubt in your head that often pours negativity in your life, making you devalue yourself. We see this voice represented as a person that follows you around and no matter how much you try to ignore it, it will continually be there until you acknowledge that it is an issue.

 

Analysis: Later within the film we see that one person from the outside finally acknowledged that this person was following the main character Dan around and took a stand for that voice to go away. Others then followed to admit that they also knew that this voice was present. I feel like the short film addressed common issues within society, that people will recognise that a person is going through an issue however will see it as an issue that has nothing to do with them. People will tend to stand by and leave it to others to deal with rather than taking action. I think this is an important issue for the audience to recognise as I believe that as a community we should do more to support each other and should not ignore signs that someone is battling an issue in relation to their mental well-being. It also highlights that someone going through a mental health issue may not recognise so, until someone from the outside indicates the signs to them. This is also something that I believe should be communicated to society as man people suffering may not be aware that they are going through something different to other people and therefore may not seek the help that they need. 

Content Warnings - N/A

Keywords - Stopmotion, comedy, transformation, repetitive, non-sensical, everyday life 

Description - Follows Mr Pix who wakes up and follows the same routine everyday. This gives the false illusion of him having control of his life but his behaviour is so automated and mechanical it start to lead to a breaking point. Mr Pix realised he can change his routine and tries to escape this but things don’t go too smoothly…

Analysis - The initial narrative is very clear as it’s very relatable storyline. We can respond to each section differently. It’s very repetitive so can get quite boring showing the mundane feeling of life. It passively goes through the routines which shows us as people we refuse to change but a turning point can change this 

Through-provoking/visually stunning/very short

Analysis: Love, Death & Robots have tried their hand on metaphoric and philosophical stories several times but failed to capture these essences due to an excess of nudity and action. With Zima Blue, the thought-provoking story is crystal clear from the get-go, aided by good voice acting and crisp visuals. For once, this franchise utilized the short runtime by knowing exactly what it wants to tell. A clap worthy conclusion for the first set.

Keywords: Fashion, Promotion, Colour, Femininity

Description: A promotional video created by a cinematography student for their final project - A short film which narrative delves into the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. 

Analysis:  Promotional videos create a community for a brand, within that community becomes a care aspect for the morals behind the brand. It starts off with VHS flashing of a square room and a sans serif font which creates the start to the narrative to “PRIMM”. They use soft, warm colours with tones of pink, which creates a more feminine, approachable atmosphere which resonates within their clothing choices – the clothing contrasts due to their dark nature which makes them more striking. The video is complemented with a score that drives the narrative forward with its upbeat tempo and driving rhythm. Joined with the fast-paced editing, it makes the audience feels as if the video isn’t 1 minute long.  Overall, the feeling of the video creates a laid back, optimistic connotation to the brand.  

The care manifesto “care politics” relates back to this video as caring is deemed as a feminine role and so putting two men in a more feminine presenting atmosphere creates more of an approachable change to the way men care about fashion and a brand – it breaks down the “masculine” barrier so the role is more balanced. 

Keywords: family, trauma, relationship

Description: A woman cooks a meal for her and her husband, and one of the bao buns comes to life. This bao becomes the woman’s surrogate son, and she raises him until he grows up and begin to want his own space and life separate from her. The bao bun moves out, and the mother is distraught. The woman’s husband then brings in her real/human son, and as they reconcile we learn that the bao bun was a representation of the woman’s tumultuous relationship with her son, and how she had a lot of unresolved trauma from him leaving.

Analysis: The story between the mother and her son resembles what a lot of parents with “empty nest syndrome” deal with – the loneliness and abandonment that they feel when their children leave home, even if it is “unreasonable” of them to feel that way. I liked the way that food was used as a language to bridge the mother’s relationship with her son – when the relationship is strong, they’re sharing pastries on the bus, or cooking bao filling together; when it’s bad, the son is eating junk food in his room and slamming the door on his mother. I liked the way that this was explored through metaphor, with a whimsical premise acting as an emotional buffer between some pretty serious traumatic experiences.

^{Analysis: The film addresses a range of societal issues namely, climate change and the experience of some refugees as they witness the unravelling of their home and the lack of care they experience once they have arrived at their destination. The film navigates these issues through 2 cute, plushy polar bears which evokes empathy in the viewer that might not have been achieved if there were some stylistic changes and a more ‘realistic’ representation in terms of the characters. The message remains mostly implicit thought much of the film before the more hard hitting and explicit ending draws the message together in its closing moments. It is a message which asks the viewer to think more carefully about the experience of refugees and give that group/community the care and attention they deserve.}  

 

Content warning: The video could be upsetting in showing fear of one of the characters.

 

Bakery, Bread, Chosen, Consuming, 

 

The film shows the lifecycle of a fresh baked bun in a bakery from the making process to the consuming of it. During this journey you will be guided through this lifecycle by the emotions of the bun itself.

 

The film communicates a story in which food comes to live and starts to produce feelings which are really frightening at some point. The video is animated which makes it easier to watch at this frightening of the main character and shows the true humbleness of it. The video is accompanied with audio and sound effects that really set the scene and give you a good feeling. It also builds up tension with cutaways and a story which makes changes quick.

 

Content warning: This video shows intentional stunts to prove a point and may be heartful or seen as real accidents.

 

Bike lanes, Cyclist, New York City, Police, Fined, Safety

 

This film shows a problem of a cyclist in New York City who got fined for not cycling in a bike lane while it would not be the safest option for him because of obstructions that are caused by objects in its way.

 

The film communicates well by showing a problem that is not caused by the cyclist himself but where he gets taken responsible for. The storyline is well set up by beginning with the consequences of not applying the law while ending the film with the cause of the problem which is the authority (NYPD). This contradiction makes the frustration understandable for the viewer and shows the real problem behind the video.

 

 

Violence

Animal Death

Death or dying

Suicide

Swearing

Drinking/Smoking

Murder

 

 

Black Comedy

Drama

Absurd Violence

 

A doctor gives the main character news of the death of his wife. He catches a train the next morning home to Dublin. He sits across from an overly chatty boy who makes crude observations about his surroundings, such as pointing fun at a couple who are crying over the cot death of their new born. Upon further discussion, the main character, the crying couple, and the chatty boy have all experienced death recently, with the boy’s mother being murdered the night before. The boy’s crude words drive the woman to jump out of the train and kill herself. The train stops at the next station and the police talk to the occupants. The train continues and it turns out the boy lost his mother because he murdered her. A shootout ensues between the boy and the police, leading to his death. The man steals his gun and goes home to kill himself, overwhelmed by the constant presence of death in his life. First, he shoots his rabbit, so it doesn’t suffer when he’s gone, he then goes to shoot himself but is out of bullets. Now he must live with nothing left but these deaths.

I think this film is a macabre representation of how constant and imminent death is. Supposedly, the train represents how we are all heading in one inevitable direction, the grave. Regardless of if we go out guns blazing like the kid, quietly out the side of the train like the grieving mother, or completely out of your control or understanding, like the baby. Furthermore, it shows how we cope with death. The cramped nature of the train and close-up shots created a sense of intense involvement in the deaths of these complete strangers.

Home, pet, family, solitude eviction 

This short film is about a old man who lives in a Dump with his mystical pet called Otto when a man from the council tries to evict him saying it’s not safe to live there. He’s not willing to leave as it has been his home for years and Otto would not survive anywhere else. Otto is a big crater mad out of all the junk and garbage that has been deposited to the dump. They make it clear that they are not moving but the council man says that they have to go so Otto eats him.

This short film shows the strength of connection that they have with their homes and how they will kill to stay were they are. Along with this it also shows the connection between a human and pet and the different relationships that they can form. I really like the movement to this film as nowadays I feel like if the government/council wants you out of your home they will find a way to do it. Were in this scenario he takes control and dose what he what’s without any concern of anyone else’s thoughts.

Keywords:

Family, Living Space, Virtual Space, Isolation

Description:

This short film shows a typical Chinese family gathering for dinner, and how people are isolated by mobile phones even they are in the same physical space. The artist tried to visualise these isolations into raising or lowing levels. She also used graphics to indicate how individuals would immerse into virtual spaces. At the end of the film, these different levels of isolations creates a collection of visual captures for the isolation problem itself. 

Content Warnings: Children

 

Keywords: Babies, Dolls, Children, Caring, Parenting

 

Description: This film is an ad for dolls by Hazbro Brazil that actively encourages dolls for boys too. It puts a series of slow-motion clips of young boys caring for dolls by changing their nappies, feeding them, tucking them in to bed, reading them stories and working with other children to take care of these inanimate objects. There is a series of statements across the screen in an imperfect font to explain how caring for a doll can develop emotive, nurturing qualities in a child. It also questions how “if a girl can discover so much taking care of a doll, why can’t a boy”.

 

Analysis: The video has a warm, purple tone and slow-motion shots of children, mainly boys caring for dolls. The film raises the question that why boys should not also play with dolls if this helps them learn and develop into more nurturing human beings. Although ultimately it is trying to sell dolls, it subverts the stereotypes around gendered toys. 

 

This echoes the idea in Caring Kinships, the second chapter of the Care Manifesto by Care Collective, that we should challenge the traditional ideas surrounding childcare to take the burden off mothers and that we all have the capacity to care, not just mothers. Allows young boys to develop “empathy, responsibility, and affection”, which are traditionally seen as “female” traits which should be universal as everyone has the capacity for it and there is no need for it to be gendered. However, this chapter also argues that people have to have enough resources to be secure enough to be able to care for strangers, not just kin. This means we need a more caring state. 

 

This video could possibly make it seem as through you must have children and care for them as there is still shame surrounding mothers (or father) who cannot adequately care as there is stigma around caring outside of kin. However, caring is not restricted to your own children or family members as the idea of “increasing our circles of care” argues we should care for everyone regardless of differences. The act of caring for dolls is simply to develop these key skills and attributes.

 

Behind the seemingly gorgeous scene, there are some controversial social problems and imagination of the future. Among them: "the world's famous suicide resort, the golden arch bridge." "War is a problem that cannot be forgotten for the elderly." "In the process of continuous progress of the city, the problem of traffic congestion has not been well solved." "The progress of science and technology will make people travel through human time." "The cup of a junk food brand hinders the river and causes environmental pollution." "Poverty." "Forests will be replaced by cities." and so on.

Analysis: 
I think it is like a collection of social care issues. Almost every scene of MV is like a question thrown to the audience to make the audience think. For example, there is a scene of migrating elephants and a vacuum cleaner on the carpet, which represents human desire and ambition to force animals to migrate home.

^{Analysis: The film has an interesting art style which plays into the tone really well and compliments the irony and weirdness of the concept. It’s an example of care done wrong which can often happen when it come to institutionalised care and guidance counselling in schools. It’s impressively concise and the style evokes a sense of nostalgia while the conversation between the counsellor and the kid has an aggressively nihilistic tone.} 

 

Keywords: Last Words, Palliative Care, Nurses, Family

 

Description: In this short film, several palliative care nurses are interviewed in their uniform in front of a plain backdrop. They are asked about their patients last words and tell some stories of their patients last words before they passed away. Some are recipes, some are words to tell their families. The nurses smile, cry and laugh as they remember these memories they have of their patients.

 

Analysis: There is mixture of close ups and mid-shots of nurses who tell the story of their patients’ last words. At the end there is some back text on a white background which explains that most last words are heard by nurses, not by family members and that nurses give focus on giving their patients comfort in their last days.

 

This echoes the idea in Chapter Two of The Care Manifesto by The Care Collective on Caring Kinship as it raises awareness around the idea that family are often not the ones who hear last words but instead are nurses, friends and other carers. The current idea of care is surrounding a nuclear family and mothers but many of these last words are solely heard by these nurses.

Keywords: emotional, relationships, memories, affectionate

Description: Viewed from the overhead perspective of a guy’s bedroom, we see how his relationship with his girlfriend begins, unfolds, and eventually ends. 

Analysis: Because the perspective of this film is static, we the viewers are able to take closer notice of the changes that occur within the room (and the relationship) over time. For instance, we can see that as the relationship unfolds and becomes more messy and complicated, the room also becomes messier and messier. The mess starts off on the girlfriend’s side of the room and slowly migrates to the boyfriend’s side of the room; he begins feeling uncomfortable with how she has invaded his life. Later on, the roof starts leaking, but it only leaks on the boyfriend’s side of the room, perhaps done to convey the emotional turmoil that supposedly only he feels. I think what also makes this film effective is that it doesn’t end when the relationship ends. Instead, it makes a point to show the guy reordering his room and starting over, bringing us back to the start of the cycle. 

Content Warning: Weapons

Keywords: War, weapons, funny, true story

Description: Based on a true story, “War Dogs” follows two friends in their early 20s (Hill and Teller) living in Miami Beach during the Iraq War who exploit a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts.  Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living the high life.  But the pair gets in over their heads when they land a 300 million dollar deal to arm the Afghan Military—a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people, not the least of which turns out to be the U.S. Government.

Analysis: The satirical film rationalises the reality of modern arms dealership to highlight the exploitative and irresponsible nature of some of the most powerful armies in the world. It follows two military contractors whose perspective regarding the war in the Middle East was to get rich, indifferent to the devastating role their goods played in the destruction of Afghanistan. It grapples with the idea of responsibility and morality, with the main antagonist initially ignoring his own misgivings regarding the war in favour of earning millions to support his family before eventually coming to realise the severity of his actions. It prompts deeper consideration about the true reasons the government - especially the American government - can be so eager to go to war: to fund the weapons industry, to broaden power, or in attempt to seize assets. Often, the proffered reason for going to war (such as human rights violations) is the very last reason the government genuinely begin to engage in conflict. For what can have permanently life-altering consequences in those areas of conflict, is just a pursuit of power for those already in positions of exceeding authority. Those with the least to lose, lose it and those with the most, get more. In summary, it encourages us to question: why do they really care? 

Content Warning: Graphic violence, swearing and drug use

Keywords: War, trauma, irresponsibility

Description: Just out of high school, at the age of 18, Miles Lagoze enlisted in the Marine Corps. He was deployed to Afghanistan where he served as Combat Camera — his unit's official videographer, tasked with shooting and editing footage for the Corps’ recruiting purposes and historical initiatives. But upon discharging, Lagoze took all the footage he and his fellow cameramen shot, and he assembled quite simply the very documentary the Corps does not want you to see. COMBAT OBSCURA is a groundbreaking look at the daily life of Marines in a war zone as told by the soldiers themselves. More than a mere compilation of violence, the edit ingeniously repurposes the original footage to reveal the intensity and paradoxes of an ambiguous war from an unvarnished perspective.

Analysis: The film swiftly shifts the perspective of the US and Allies’ presence in Afghanistan as a heroic defence of human rights to a poorly executed operation that as we now know after the recent withdrawal and re-occupation of the Taliban was ultimately a failure. The film follows a group of marines blindly following orders sent from thousands of miles away, with often devastating mistakes made. The footage, captured using government funded equipment was shot at the discretion of the combat cameraman, who went beyond his assignment to shoot propaganda to document every aspect of life. It shows the dangerous extent to which propaganda can shift the narrative of true events - it’s irrefutable that after watching the “film-makers cut” of footage intended to secure funding for the occupation in Afghanistan that viewers would be uneasy about the efficacy of the US Army’s actions. It once again raises questions as to why the US Government were so insistent on remaining in Afghanistan when they were so obviously unsuccessful - doing little to actually protect citizens and in actuality endangering them more. It shows a complete lack of care from the marines - often at no fault of their own, desensitised to the violence - but the ultimate act of care from the cameraman in bringing the truth to light and enduring the threat of legal action from the government. 

Content Warning: N/A

Keywords: Photography, travel, landscapes

Description: Colbert Held is a former United States Foreign Service officer who has amassed a photo collection spanning 48 years and 17 countries. He did so to have a detailed, photographic record of all the landscapes he visited, a complete geographical archive of his own. What's particular about his collection is that it captured the Middle Eastern history that escaped documentation. Viewed now, photographs from the past reveal an evolution from an "older" way of living to modernity—or a look back to better times pulverised by current wars. Filmed by Jennifer Smart in collaboration with the Middle East Institute, this short documentary was inspired by Baylor University's Oral Memoirs of Colbert Colgate "Cokie" Held. 

Analysis: This short film chronicles a career of devotion to documenting the changing landscape of the Middle East: geographically and socially. The collection allows us to see how increasing Western involvement in the Middle East has impacted the terrain - often not beneficially, but detrimentally. While some may say that architectural growth and certain standards of living have been raised, others would argue that the communal aspect that was so central has been lost in the “developments”, losing along with it centuries of traditions and support networks. Conversely, other landscapes have been destroyed in conflict, that either directly involved, or was funded by Western powers.

Keywords:

Abstract, Movement, Balance, Relation, Life, Survival

Description:
This is a dance performance with acrobatic inspiration. Six performers are standing on a continuously spinning and tilting platform for the whole play. They have to find ways to defy the gravity: keep moving on themselves, lean on others, or fall; which implies the instability of individuals in life and human balances and counterbalances to struggle for survival. The artist describes his work as "a mankind in miniature".

Keywords: Kinship, Asia, overprotective

Description: The film talks about Chinese family cook a meal of baozi (steamed bun) for her and her husband. The steamed bun as a child, feeding and caring for it, as it enjoy the time spent with her. Eventually, the bun wishes to play with other kids, but his overprotective mother refuses to allow it. As the bun grows, he desires independence and leave the house with him new fiancee. The mother want to stop he, but did not work, so she eat him. The mother regretted it. In the end, these were her fantaseies, her son is fine. 

Analysis: The film is about doting in an Asian family. The mother thinks the child is vulnerable and has been protecting him. This is a very common Asian pattern of concern. This film does not directly use the image of the child, but uses Bun as the image of the child, and at the same time shows that the child is vulnerable in the eyes of the mother, and also shows the child's cultural background. The intent of this film is to show this relationship and hopefully improve it between parents and children.

Content Warning: n/a

Keywords: animation,illustration ,Sci-fi, feminism, Women's desire

Description: A day in the life of Tanya, a curious woman who has developed a taste for lab-made lovers.

Analysis: Inspired by the slug sex on YouTube, Sophie said about her feeling “The warm world of slug life kept me company from the sudden uprooting of my life and extreme sexual frustration that followed.” Just as the hegemony does away with aesthetic niceties, it also strips female sexuality of all romance and snaps it out of conventional gender dynamics. But Slug life shows a blunt expression of carnal thirst. Through Tanya who is horny and acts on with complete anatomy, thinking she doesn’t need a man, Sophie deals with the female’s natural and sensual desire in sex and tries to do their voice up. when it comes to the aesthetic drawn by the spray with pastel colours, the characters are grossly deformed, but their soft airbrush texture gives them a certain sensuality. The film raises the voices of marginalized people and creates her own world, revealing women's authentic and natural desires. And The most important thing is that they provide us with a space and point of care in itself. Like this, some use the Sci-fi genre in order to draw new world but it is the world already existed. I reckon this film has well achieved the point which narrator voices up and create a shelter her own. It gives me inspiration by considering a purpose of a contents and narrative like video or writing. Those contents is just the action of care itself.

Action, murder, mystery, dark comedy

This is a short film dark comedy about an ongoing case of a serial killer and the detective looking to solve the case.

I think that despite all the murder and blood in this film, its interesting to see how it represents and mirrors how detectives deal with these types of cases in real life. In Suki, the detective is shown as a man who is looking to solve the case in any way possible, even wrongfully convicting innocent people, just for the praise. It also shows how minorities are treated, the cop was interrogating random asian people to find Suki, but in reality they were innocent high school kids that perfectly fit the cultural stereotype by just being some mathletes team. It was a dark and funny commentary behind the gore that was shown in the film. 

Photography, social role, responsibility, documenting, identity.

Looking at Andre Wagner’s responsibility as a photographer, in his community and the importance of the honesty that plays into documenting the lives of others.

Wagner’s photographic practice is centred around community. He states that he’s very present whilst he’s talking photos, smiling and talking to those he takes photos of: ‘you gotta be able to put yourself in other people’s shoes’, ‘you’ve gotta be able to be affected by things that are happening in life’. 

The short film would show the lack of support the care system has when it comes down to people looking for help with loved ones needing to be placed into a care home. From watching the short film it would connect you to the feelings that the woman is the short film. The short film in my opinion would make you feel for the woman and show the normal struggles that families could be experiencing and the lack of support the care system can have for people and their needs. I think the short film would be quite sad but from this I feel that it would be more effective to the audience this way as it would have more of a lasting effect on the audience . 

Analysis 

I feel that the film would be showing that there is not enough support within the care system for members of a family who struggle with someone who has an illness. The film would be very effective in the sense of getting their point across and allowing the audience to understand the struggles that go on within families. I feel that the only thing within the film that is not successful would be that it doesn't give the audience a reason for why there is no help so that both sides of the story would be presented. The film would have taught me that there isn’t as much support within the care system as there is made out to be and that this needs to be shown and talked about. From the filming point of view, the things that I learnt would have been that music would have a big impact on how the audience would feel and how they preserve the film. Also the lighting within the film would be important as the lighting was dark and it sets the mood and tone for the film. The film wouldn’t have much of an impact if the lighting was bright. 

Keywords: Pet, Care, Understanding, Documentary

Description: Larry owns a pet turtle named Snowy, and he makes sure that Snowy is well fed and cared for. But despite Larry's conscientiousness in providing for his pet, somehow Snowy isn't thriving.

Analysis: This short documentary has a modest quirkiness on the surface, cataloguing the difficulties of a family's pet turtle. It entertains and charms, but as the film progresses, it gradually explores the idea of animal subjectivity, and what it means to be happy. There's a warmth in the interviews, stemming from the amiability of the subjects and emphasized by the upbeat, cheeky score and charming details highlighted in the images. The editing has a lot of fun with ironic and amusing cuts, capturing the ins and outs of Larry supporting Snowy. Larry has great affection for Snowy, even going out of his way to buy nightcrawlers and earthworms for Snowy in the winter, which Snowy has a tough time eating.

Keywords: funny, heartwarming, pets, family, happiness, documentary

Description: This documentary film follows the life of a family’s pet turtle Snowy and the ways in which they care for it. For years, Snowy has lived a lonely life in a dark basement and is only cared for by the father, which brings up the question: Is he happy or simply surviving? Through personal interviews, humorous anecdotes, and (brief) scientific discussions, we begin to consider what happiness means to various creatures, both animal and human.

Analysis: As Larry, the father and Snowy’s primary caretaker says, “You can be fine but you can always be better.” Although Snowy’s basic needs are taken care of, evidence shows that he may not be truly “happy”. His beak is broken and he lives in a small tank with little room to move around, making it difficult for us to believe that this turtle is really experiencing any joy.

Projecting human ideas of happiness onto animals is complicated, as we don’t truly know how or if animals experience happiness. However, it seems that generally “happiness” can be viewed as going beyond basic needs to provide some sort of excitement in life. By the end of the film, Snowy is brought into the sunshine more and gets a home upgrade with more room to move around. With these new, improved living conditions, we assume that Snowy is now much happier. He is at least experiencing less stress, but can we truly say that he is happy without actually knowing?

The short film stood out because it was animated and I found it more interesting to watch as it was something different to all the others listed. Within the film it would display the act of bullying and how it feels to be the receiver of being bullied. It would also show the impact of hw one person could make a change to your life in a positive way rather than negative. I feel that with the right people seeing the film it could have two different impacts one being if you aren’t being nice to someone you can see the effect you can have on them and two if you want to be open to new friends the joy and possibilities new people could bring to your life.

Analysis

I think the purpose of this film would have been to express the impact a person can have on someone's life whether it being a positive impact or a negative impact. Within the video I feel that it would represent both the positive and negative impact that someone can have within someone else’s life. I think that it would be a good thing to display as some people don’t know the effect that they can have on someone else and I think it would be good for people to understand it. 

From watching this film I can now see how one person can have such an impact on another person's life and the effect some people can cause. 

The thing that I would have been interested in within making the film would have been adding small quotations to help the audience understand the narrative more and to allow them to engage with the story. I liked that I viewed an animated film as it would have been different to the others I looked at and personally although there would be sad moments in the film I feel that because it is animated it would make the film be seen as less serious.

Keywords:

Music Video, Traditional Performance, Folk, Collage, Humorous

Description:

Liam Kua is a traditional form of ballad singing and spoken-word storytelling, which used to be very popular in Taiwan. The film sequences mainly feature three singers performing Liam Kua, which was often played in the streets. The most common instruments are the yueqin, a lute with an oval or octagonal body, and the daguangxian. Folk tales, gods, legends, and everyday life serve as the source for the contents of this music art form, the texts of which were mostly adlibbed. 

The animation “What Are You Singing?” is a creative project, a remake of this cultural craft made to attract young people. With the aim of entertaining, the design concept combines television, as an important present-day medium, and Liam Kua, which played a similar role in communicating news and gossip in former times. The television programme was thus adapted to the traditional art form: three musicians talk to each other by singing; everything is accompanied by written messages and elaborately handcrafted background images, which expresses a high degree of inventiveness and originality.

Within the film some of the clips I would describe as scenic, beautiful and possibly breathtaking to the right viewer. The history within the film is very interesting to hear how times have changed within the connection between horses and humans and I think that to document the history so it can’t be forgotten is a positive thing. Within the view some of the clips that are shown would be so powerful and freeing that in my opinion would engage the audience more into the film and be more invested within the history that creates these beautiful scenes for the audience. The voiceover within the film would make it more personal for the audience and would allow the audience to experience the feelings and connections that these people experience. 

Analysis

This film to me would have been most impactful in the sense of the way the film was created and the different clips that have been included within the film. The features that I liked within the film would have been the voiceover and the different types of videos that were included within the film. I feel that the aim of the film would have been to represent how peaceful it can be for people and I think that they would want to represent this to the audience. 

If I was to change anything within the film I feel that it could have included more history regarding the people within the film and possibly have shown more videos regarding them as I feel that some of the clips of the horses would have looked very similar and this could make the audience bored and not as invested within the film as they intended to be. 

Some of the camera angles within the film would have made the clips a lot more interesting and I feel that this would have made the film a lot more interesting and eye catching to the audience so this could be something for me to consider when creating my film. 

Keywords: animals, community, small town, heartwarming, documentary

Description: In 1993, a scruffy dog wandered into the small town of Rockford, Alabama. With less than 500 residents, this town was already a tight-knit community. As this dog remained in the town and wandered from house to house and store to store, community members began to care for him. He eventually became the “town dog,” was given the name Fred, and was loved and taken care of throughout his life by the entire town. Created after Fred’s death, this film is a story of community, loyalty, and care.

Analysis: The joy and pride that these residents have for their small town comes through clearly in their interviews. Interviewees discuss the community dynamics and how they have changed over the years. One resident talks about how the town’s school was once what held the community together, but after its closure those bonds weakened and were only strengthened again by Fred’s arrival. The residents have a definite fondness for Fred when telling stories about him, which also reflects their fondness for the community they have formed.

The B-roll included in this film really emphasizes the quietness and small size of the town, and reveals a bit of the town culture as well. It opens with a shot of a waving American flag at the town hall and goes on to show various small businesses. Views of quiet streets and houses give a sense of life in the town and allow us as viewers to envision this life interrupted and enlivened by Fred, the unexpected visitor. The inclusion of various photographs of Fred with individuals creates a sense of nostalgia and allows the viewer to connect with Fred even though he is already passed. 

 

 

Mental Illness

Suffocation

 

 

Experimental

Body-horror

humourist

 

Two fully clothed men sit wedged in a bathtub in a relatively empty room. One stranger sparks conversation by asking the other if he comes here often and that he is looking for “The Disabled War Veterans’ Recreation Centre”. The other man is obsessed with the plughole and keeps pointing towards it, grinning psychotically. He believes there is a tendril in the plughole. The two men become paranoid, and a tendril unwinds out of the plughole, engulfing the grinning man as black bile bubbles from his mouth, leading to his death presumably. The First man then gets out of the bathtub, put the dead man’s shoes in a store cupboard and leaves the room.

 

This short film is kind of a representation of the horror that can be created within our own minds. The grinning character is clearly experiencing some kind of paranoia and fixation towards a seemingly harmless plughole. Initially the calmer guy brushes it off and sees the absurdity in what he is saying, calling him a “speechless idiot”. However, this film shows how quickly paranoia can spread and soon he becomes equally transfixed on the illusive plughole. This film could also be a nod to the effects of childhood trauma as it is a pretty common childhood fear to be scared of the depths of water (despite the lack of water in the tub). 

Keywords: emotional, nostalgic, family, tradition

Description: This film shows the relationship of a Chinese-American mother and daughter over time and the role food and tradition has in their changing relationship. 

Analysis: Food is such a key aspect of cultural tradition and family relationships, so I think it’s a great focus for this film. As the film progresses, the daughter’s relationship with food is symbolic of her relationship with her mother and her culture - as she grows older, she doesn’t eat the food her mother prepares for her and increasingly spends less time with her. However, after her mother passes, she uses family recipes as a way to reconnect with her mother and forge a deeper connection with her own daughter. 

Keywords: Community, Skateboarding, War, change

Description: This short film documents the work of the charity ‘Skatistan’ in the Afghan capital Kabul. The film follows a group of children who have all been taught and given the space to skateboard in a country where there in no skate culture or history. This film unpack’s some of the children’s, family relationship’s whilst showing how Skateistan’s work has acted as a safe heaven for them to learn and build cross-cultural relationships in such an unstable country.

Analysis: This short film aims to show the hard work Skateistan have been doing to try make a better future for young children in such a war and poverty stricken country. The film aims to help you build these personal relationships with the young people involved by giving you insight into there lives and the reality of living in Kabul. The intro to the film is a cameo introducing you to the city whilst showing you the harsh reality of living there. The tone for the film is one of hope, it shows the educational support and skills these young people have been taught to help lead their community towards social change and development.

Hints at sexual themes/provocative language

Displays of aggression/violence

Partial nudity

Keywords

Friendship & Support Networks

Victory/Charity

Homophobia

Sport/Competition

Description

Shuttlecock is about the male need for competition and how this can become toxic. It comedically presents what happens when men compete, creating a rivalry between two badminton players at a charity tournament. The protagonist’s hubris is his masculinity, which is shown through his need to win. He struggles when a new player joins who has more technical ability and gains the admiration of his competitors. The protagonist takes this as a challenge, and instead of learning from the new player he degrades him as playing like a woman. He deals with his anger by isolating himself and smashing his racket. There is a final showdown in which the protagonist injures the new player and his futility and loneliness is exposed, at which he sinks to his knees.

Analysis

The film is intended to challenge views of masculinity by ridiculing the trait. It does this by showing areas of hyperbolic contrast. For example the protagonist treats the tournament as if winning was prestigious, however there is a huge sign by the court stating that it is a charity tournament just for fun. The protagonist is intentionally of muscular physique, accentuated by the training montage where he is shown doing push ups and smash shots, in comparison with his challenger who is scrawny but technically gifted. This is comedic as badminton is a sport much more about technique than physical prowess.

The main theme is sexuality, with homo-suggestive scenes early in the film when they are erotically describing barbecue foods whilst the camera pans up the new player’s body wearing only underwear. Another is when the new player de-escalates a conflict with the protagonist in the changing room, intimately showing him a backhand technique. This challenges the audience and protagonist’s fears of being considered homosexual as he believes this will outcast him from his friends. He repeats that badminton is all about smash shots and using lots of power. This is played into by the film’s title Shuttlecock, which is an intentional play on the word cock being the male genitalia, but can also be used to describe someone colloquially as an idiot. It may also relate to Peacock, a word used to describe someone who likes to show off, as peacocks do with their plumage.

Description:

The introduction of this short film is as follows: an elderly woman sits confused and lonely in a remote and abandoned nursing home. Haunted by memory, she will find out why she is there. Is she really lonely?

Analysis:

Should the elderly be supported by their children when they are old, or should they be sent to a nursing home to die alone. This is a question worth thinking about. Maybe we should pay more attention to the elderly in nursing homes. Some of them may have no children, and some children don't want to support them, so they are lonely.

 

 

Sexual content

Swearing

 

 

Love

Breakup

Reliance

 

This film is a prequel to The Darjeeling Limited. Jack has been staying at the Hotel Chevalier for a while, hence the messy room, friendly nature towards the reception staff and his lazy and defeated initial attitude. He receives a call from his ex-girlfriend asking what room he was staying in and accounces she will be there shortly. This causes him to frantically tidy his room, run a bath for his ex-girlfriend and tidy his appearance. They talk through the formalities and begin to get more in-depth into the common aftermath of a bad breakup. All the while almost having sex, despite them both acknowledging it to be a bad idea.

 

 

 This film is a visual representation of the brutality of a breakup. People breakup for one reason or another and then suddenly the tether between you snaps and you are no longer in each other’s lives, routines, plans. Even when its ‘for the best’, it doesn’t mean that either party are taking it well and it doesn’t change their reliance on each other. It shows that a relationship can be so integral to the structure of someone’s lives and – even when its unhealthy – it can cause them to lose all stability in their life and causes them to run. Sometimes to Paris, apparently.

Keywords: Psychological, Feminism, 

Description: Sigmund Freuds only major case history of a female patient is revisited with a feminist lens

Analysis: Hysterical Girl looks into “Dora” a woman who Freud worked with and claimed she was just “Hysterical”. It delves into what Dora would’ve felt at the time, challenging Freuds words and how one narrative might not be the right one. 

Exploring themes of Misogyny and sexual assault, Kate Novacks reimagines how a survivor’s words can be manipulated by a trusted psychologist who used his own insecurities to shape the way psychology is viewed. Using archival footage, “Dora” played by Tommy Vines, explains her account of events showing her distraught nature and vulnerability – the narrative she portrays is displayed factually, using short strong sentences. As the narrative progresses, her sentences become shorter and is accompanied by polyphony sound which builds tension as she feels unheard and dismissed. 

This film corresponds with the Care manifesto as care is dismissed and put down due to its connotation with women. Although Freud has done unspeakable things, he is still highly recognised and praised yet “Dora” was used as an example/objectified/looked down on for people to study rather than to be heard and listened to. 

Content Warnings: drug use 

Keywords: weed, smuggling, 60s, vivid

Description: An eccentric woman named Patty recounts her younger years of love, role as a flight attendent, and - most notably - how she smuggled hundreds of pounds of weed from the rural highlands of Jamaica into the US. In a field dominated by men, Patty emerged as a prolific dealer, transitioning from supplying locals to being part of the psychedelic backbone of Woodstock.

Her story is illuminated by Matthew Salton, who combines vibrant illustrations, b&w photographs, and large text to capture her trippy narrative. Patty’s voiceover directs the transition of visuals, and the resulting film is blissfully gripping.

Analysis: The film’s objective is relatively straightforward: a female drug dealer narrates her smuggling experience in the 60s. When contrasted to the dangerous and masculine impression of drug trafficking, Patty’s lighthearted — nearing naive — story is registered as pure entertainment. The visual style of jittering elements, subliminally intoxicating colors, and uncontrollable linework reiterate this point. 

While most scenes are only made out of two alternating images, I’ve learned that that’s enough to engross the viewer. By embracing a psychedelic perspective, this style also acknowledges that no object or material is static, especially plants and nature. It imbues them with life. I hope to carry this technique into my final animation, as I anticipate it to be an effective way to generate backgrounds.

While I am beyond impressed with the visuals and aesthetic of the film, I feel it breaches the limit of when ignorance is cute and entertaining. It fails to acknowledge that the narrator is a white woman who was lucky to be able to navigate the criminalizing terrain of international drug trafficking. The film neglects to mention the millions of people who are imprisoned for similar crimes, and instead turns the narrative into a spectacle. As the decriminalization of petty drugs is becoming more popular, it’s important to rewrite these substances and expose their underrecorded — positive and joyous — capabilities. However, we still need to expose the traditional perspective that continues to hurt our society, especially people most at risk of being imprisoned (minorities, low-income individuals, among others). 

Warning: Rasism

Key words: poverty, destiny, anger, money

Description: The film tells a story of two strangers who meet five times in their lives. They are growing up in different environments, families and cultures. They spot each other in various times in their lives, starting with playing together in the sandbox. Those meetings had a great impact on them and their future, the more that their meetings are not always friendly. At the end, those two people reunite. The Englishman is taking care of an Arabic businessman in the caring centre. This beautiful and touching movie has won several awards and was screened at festivals in 2017 and 2018.

Analysis: The film shows perfectly that you can’t predict who are you going to meet on your way. You should equally treat people. The director of the film wants to teach us that people should respect each other, no matter the culture, religion, or skin tone. The film brings up a problem of intolerance. This phenomenon can have roots in a reluctance cultivated from generation to generation. As the life goes on, the main characters are being taught lessons and at the end, when they are old, they unite in peace, respect and happiness. The racist man, thanks to the kindness of the second main character, changes. This act alters his life and the man dedicate himself to help and care for others. I think that the film communicates the ideas very well.  It’s not provided straight away, but it’s hidden under well-developed story. It’s altering the chronology to create a form of mystery and interest the viewer to watch the film till the end and find the answers and discover a conclusion. I feel like the typography in the film should be designed better. It seems like there are put randomly on the screen, without any logical margins or proper use of white space.

Warning: Drugs

Key words: carelessness, addiction, problems

Description: The film is about addiction and what addiction does to a human being. It’s showing the big role of self-care in human life. The human is represented by a bird, drugs by a juicy nectar laying on the ground, ‘being high’ after consuming drugs is presented as a yellow, saturated tint.

Analysis: The film show the importance of well-being. The human being should care for itself. Spotting drugs on your way could verify the strength of your mind. Trying them once can lead to addiction. If you do not care for yourself, you are falling deeper and deeper into the problem. The shots of endorphins are not worth in the long run. They are slowly getting rid of your energy and life. At the end there is nothing but sadness and darkness. The style of the animation is minimalistic which provides a variety of possibilities to explore the topic in an artistic way. Colours play the most important role in the animation. They highlight the states of mind that the bird gets while taking dangerous drugs and how the world looks right after and before taking them. The more bird is addicted the more desaturated is the world. Colour yellow points out the drugs and the drugged state of the bird. As time progresses yellow is present less and less, showing how much happiness the drugs brings. The animation signalise the ideas clearly in a minimalistic, but accurate way. Despite of a short screen time, it gives the essential and meaningful key issues related to drugs and self-care.

Key words: Kinship, stop motion animation, tailor

Description: The Name of the Plum Blossom is a mixed-media film that combines traditional hand- drawn animation, animated photo collage & stop-motion techniques. The director tells the story of her mother as a tailor and a remarried woman in 80s China, and how it influences her as a woman.

Analysis：This short film actually goes from introducing her mother's life to thinking about what would have happened if her choices were different. The visual elements in this short film are all mentioned from the narration and are not displayed obtrusively. And the transitions are nice too.

Watching home videos of strangers is like watching a movie in a language you don't speak. We need details and context to see the relationships unfold. In this short film, the director gives us the story behind the footage by recording their intimate conversations with her father and sister. Knowing Her is a memoir about the lost mother, a celebration of her life, personality and legacy carried on by the people who were the closest to her. It is deeply emotional to see a stranger's childhood memories on video as it recalls some forgotten memories from when you were a child. 

Keywords: tale, gift, eyes, past, future

Description: A tragic story of a girl who sees the past out of her left eye and the future from her right. Forever she remains trapped between these two irreconcilable visions, never able to experience first-hand the reality, and beauty, of her present world. 

Analysis: We don’t have to let nostalgia for the past and fear of the future spoil the pleasure of living right now. We need to live now. We can analyse the past, we can guess the future, literally, based on mistakes of the past, but we can’t forget it’s the present that counts for everything. It is for this reason that we often shut ourselves off because of our fears and live alone in our thoughts.

Keywords: grandma, boy, crime, feelings

Description: The plot revolves around a young boy (Angel) who is involved in several different schemes and criminal groups. He is faced with the decision of whether or not to commit a crime. Angel's encounter with an elderly lady further complicates his situation.

Analysis: This is a film about relationships between people. How even a minor act can have a significant impact on a person's life.

This film, in my opinion, touches on the subject of care quite a bit. It can be seen right from the start, when Angel agrees to drive the grandma to her home. 

This element of care continues to be observed throughout the film - the grandmother prepares a sandwich for the boy, the grandmother and the stories about her husband, etc. It is this feeling of care that helps Angel not to commit a crime and to continue live a better life. 

The cinematography as a whole aids in the creation of strong emotions. Footage that looks like it came from an old video adds to the ambiance even more. 

Keywords: animation, fictional, controversial, society's standards, discrimination, identity.

Description 

Being Pretty is a short animation part of a fictional series named after the city where it takes place, 'Autodale'.In Autodale, citizens are governed by robots which aspire to maintain a "pretty" society made of model citizens by liberating the city from the ugly ones. The ugly humans are being labelled and eliminated for the pretty citizens' well-being. The video depicts two children of 'pretty' parents watching an educational program on TV where a robot authority gives a speech to motivate children to keep being pretty and aspire to be model citizens like their parents. 

The film is an exaggerated description of our discriminatory and judgemental society toward specific categories of people who don't fit its illusory standards. Still, it's also addressing other issues such as gender stereotypes. The whole animation is purely in black and white, which gives a feeling of sadness and, combined with the background music, it also gives an intimidating impression. The timeline of the video is not clear, it looks like from the 50s, but it shows developed technology and robots so that it could be based in the future. I think it's because the video addresses a timeless, never-ending issue. The citizens' faces are all covered by white masks, which might symbolise their anonymity and loss of personal identity. Children not wearing masks could signify that they're not fully part of the "pretty" yet because they're still being brainwashed and not giving up on their own identity and personality. The animation ends with images of the "ugly" people being categorised with labels, transported away and killed for insane reasons, like being disfigured, being disabled, gay, divorced, fat and more. The last scene is fierce, and it's a description of the lack of care and isolation experienced by specific categories of people still happening today.     

Warning: n/a

Key words: illness, love, hairdresser, longing

Description: The Oscar-winning animated short film tells the story of a family in which cancer attacked the mother of a girl. She was a hairdresser, who was blogging hairdressing techniques. She was always styling her daughter’s hair. When her mother falls ill, the girl is asking her father to help her with the hair. Thanks to that they create a stronger bond and cheer themselves, and make a surprise for her mother. 

Analysis: The film is showing how the power of love can alter our lives. Despite of a bad health situation, the family members are still helping and cheering each other. The main message of the film – embracing and loving your natural hair - was wrapped around a great, funny story. The director wanted to draw attention not just to a case of self-care, but as well to a Crown Act, a law first passed in California that bans discrimination based on natural hairstyles. Due to that, the film goes beyond a usual understanding of love in the family. It is calling to respect and accept other people, in that case their appearance and their exterior. It shows how diverse people can be. The animation itself is smooth, hand-drawn and interesting. The story has a beginning, middle, and final part with conclusion and a killer scene. Thanks to a well-written story animation is not boring at attracts attention of the viewer from start to finish. The development of characters during the story can be noticed. The father that is learning for the first time how to create new haircuts and is paying more and more attention to his daughter. He is crossing his own boundaries. 

Michael Paul Smith is an American artist who’s craft is dedicated to creating models of 1950s America. His work went viral as people were captivated by his attention to detail. Later we delve into the deeper meaning of his work and how his previous trauma has influenced his work.

I think this film takes a look into Michael’s work and the deeper meaning into his models. He says that he has built these environments that he wants anyone and everyone to be a part of and enjoy but also states that his past traumas of being bullied still play a big part in his art. We go through his journey as an artist and watch his growth and progression in his work and discover how he turns his pain art that 

Dial I Ride follows a community bus service in rural south Wales and shows the lives of the elderly as they tell stories from their past and reflect on there lives. 

In Dial a Ride we get a chance to reflect on the lives of the elderly through a community bus service in a rural area. It shines light on their past as the documentary is narrated by their stories and you are left with a sense of warmth with each person. I feel the film is there to symbolise an appreciation for life, hearing all of the community’s stories is truly heartwarming and makes the viewer reflect on their own life in a deeper way, Its a reminder to appreciate all the things you have whilst also having an appreciation for things to come. 

2.     Keywords: crochet, detective, stop-motion, film noir (=cynical heroes, frequent use of flashbacks, existentialist philosophy

3.     The short film is about a crochet private detective that is trying to protect his loved ones. He offers to take care of the lady’s daughter, that works hard in a diner to provide for her family, while her husband is out gimbaling and barely shows up for his family.  The detective goes out of his way to the casino, where her husband lost all the money and he shoots him. As a hit-man and a detective, the crimes he committed were for justice, but he has connections in the police department, which keep him safe from facing jail time. The main character is committing crimes to make justice and take care of his close ones.

4.    This film communicates the care that this detective has for his loved ones, but also the care for justice, even though he is making justice himself. He takes criminals and kills them as a payment for the crimes they committed. He is helping society by killing them, showing that he cares about the safety of others. This can be argued, since nobody should take law in their own hands and make justice because they don’t agree with their actions. I think this can be an example of care taken to an extreme, but since the story is about a hit-man, this is expected. He is not only a hit-man that gets paid to kill people, but he kills criminals with the purpose to keep the society and his close ones protected. At the end of the film, he has a call with the local police, showing the fact that he works on both sides (his own justice and the law itself), keeping him safe from going to jail for doing what he thinks is right.

Movie Trailer

 

n/a

 

Family Drama

Poverty

Life

Community

 

This is a very poetic film made in black and white, of up close-up and wide shots. It narrates stories of two different women and how they intertwine, one of them works for the other one as a maid. One woman (the mom and owner of the house) struggles at keeping her marriage and life together, while the other woman also struggles with life but she is still working for the mom. Both of their lives are falling apart, but they deal with it differently based on their economic situation.

 

This shows a relationship between the domestic workers in a household with the person who hires them, and how it is completely one sided. The family can grow attachment to their worker and they can all get along like friends, but the second she makes a mistake that could all go away, she will get fired and go back to looking for jobs while the people that hire them are still living a comfortable life. Some people think this might be exaggerated and unreal, but it is a culture shock. This is part of the culture in Latin countries, it is normal for middle and upper-class families to hire a maid that stays/lives in the same household, cooks, cleans, and takes care of the kids. In this film it is shown how the mom isn’t very present or involved in her kids’ lives, she is fully absorbed with her own and it shows how it affects her children.

Movie Trailer

 

n/a

 

Family Drama

Poverty

Life

Community

 

This is a very poetic film made in black and white, of up close-up and wide shots. It narrates stories of two different women and how they intertwine, one of them works for the other one as a maid. One woman (the mom and owner of the house) struggles at keeping her marriage and life together, while the other woman also struggles with life but she is still working for the mom. Both of their lives are falling apart, but they deal with it differently based on their economic situation.

 

This shows a relationship between the domestic workers in a household with the person who hires them, and how it is completely one sided. The family can grow attachment to their worker and they can all get along like friends, but the second she makes a mistake that could all go away, she will get fired and go back to looking for jobs while the people that hire them are still living a comfortable life. Some people think this might be exaggerated and unreal, but it is a culture shock. This is part of the culture in Latin countries, it is normal for middle and upper-class families to hire a maid that stays/lives in the same household, cooks, cleans, and takes care of the kids. In this film it is shown how the mom isn’t very present or involved in her kids’ lives, she is fully absorbed with her own and it shows how it affects her children.

1.      Trigger warning: self-harm

2.     Key words: poetry, illustration, self-love, awareness, anxiety, understanding yourself

3.     A lot of people struggle with depression, anxiety, abandonment and self-harm. This film touches on all of these subjects, brings awareness, but also teaches you how to cope with this by practicing acts of self-love. While people feel alone, we have to realize that there is a community within ourselves too, which we have to care for. Humans are complex creatures and sometimes, we will find peace within ourselves. There are both good and bad days and on bad days, we need to listen to the community within ourselves and care for that. Sometimes, nobody will be able to care for us how we want them to, so we need to learn how to do it ourselves.

4.    Caring for ourselves is crucial in living a healthy life and I don’t mean to say that it’s always going to be a face mask and a bowl of healthy food. Sometimes, it will be just realizing what we need. The exercise of self-love that was used in the film is a very good one that help people practice self-love on a deeper level within themselves. Sometimes, it is good to be lonely, even though we might not want that, just to practice listening to our own needs that only we can provide for ourselves. Sometimes self-love is not even a physical act, but a mental realization that needs to occur, in order to feel self-love. Realizing that sometimes the thoughts are wandering too far and trying to stop spiralling is an act of self-care too. The lesson of this short clip is that we need to listen to ourselves and take care of the life within us, but also embrace being alone as it is the best way to focus just on your own needs. 

Description: In the video, a book fixer from Beijing explained the work of ancient book fixers. They restore damaged manuscripts with precision and care. Watch this video to learn about the delicate art of fixing ancient Chinese books, which is gradually disappearing.

Key words: Intangible Cultural Heritage，Disappearing，Traditional Culture，Handicraft

Analysis：There are many traditional cultures and crafts in China that are quietly and slowly disappearing. Generation after generation of craftsmen or cultural inheritors are in urgent need of people's attention and concern. The ancient book restoration skills in this video have allowed more damaged manuscripts to be restored. Without the work of ancient book fixers, few precious ancient book manuscripts would exist today. These skills are the crystallization of people's thinking and inheritance. The loss of these fine arts and crafts is a pity for humanity.

Key words: Music，Environment，Arctic，Protection

Description: In 2016, composer Ludovico Einaudi performed his original work "Arctic Elegy" on the Arctic Ocean, calling on everyone to protect the Arctic. On a floating platform in front of the glacier, Einaudi performed an original composition composed for the cause, turning the voices of the 8 million people seeking Arctic protection into music.

Analysis：Environmental protection has always been a hot topic that people pay attention to. As an artist, using his own abilities and methods of appeal to let more people hear the voices of advocates and environmental protectionists is very successful and distinctive. The combination of piano and glacier is amazing, the combination of melodious, breathtaking melody and arctic makes the combination of the theme of this piece even more shocking. Music can attract people, and it is a medium that allows people of different fields, professions, and personalities to reach a consensus, and Ludovico Einaudi makes his repertoire call for people to pay attention to the Arctic, which is a beautiful way.

Key words： LGTB+，Family，Festival， Acceptance

Description: J&B Brands made this short video about Christmas: a story of acceptance and respect. There is no discomfort or rejection in this story, or an inability to celebrate with their families. When the little boy who finally put on makeup appeared in front of everyone, the hugs and smiles from his family made this festival full of warmth and emotion.

Analysis：It is most people's wish to celebrate festivals with their families and get their understanding, respect and blessings, but in many cases in real life it is counterproductive. This is an idealized story because in reality many trans or LGBT+ people are not respected by their families. This short film shows how important it is to the family to respect, understand and support the LGBT+ community.

Keywords: farming, Korean immigrants, cultural difference, life, semi-autobiographical story, and family love

Description:  A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. However, this family are struggling with American life. For Jacob as the breadwinner of this family, he failed to harvest crops continuously. when it comes to Soon-ja as the grandmother, she doesn't adjust to America and is struggling with her son's son. Soon-ja accidentally sets fire to the barn containing the family's produce while they are away. Jacob rushes in to save the crops. As the fire grows out of control, they realize they need to save each other and leave the barn to burn. Meanwhile, a distraught and confused Soon-ja wanders off into the distance as David calls out to her. David runs after her. David and Jacob lead her back home.  Later on, Jacob meets with a water diviner to find a spot for a well, marking it with a stone to signify their intention to stay on the farm. Jacob finally harvests crops called Minari that had grown successfully.

Analysis: This movie portrays the struggles that immigrants face when trying to adapt to a new environment, reminding me of the importance of caring for immigrants. In one scene, Jacob's son, David tells his grandmother, Soon-ja, that she is a "real" grandmother, implying that grandmothers should bake cookies, not swear, and not wear men's pants. Despite being a typical American grandmother, Soon-ja embodies the traditional Korean grandmother, prompting me to consider the reasons behind David's stereotypes. I believe that attending American schools and assimilating into American society leads David to reject his Korean culture continuously. Meanwhile, Soon-ja, who spends most of her time with her family and has no other social connections, feels socially isolated. Therefore, I think that we should provide care and support for those who experience homesickness for their hometown and want to share their culture with people in the country where they have immigrated to foster respect and understanding for cultural differences. As our society becomes more diverse, it is essential to appreciate cultural variety instead of sticking to one culture. When it comes to the interesting method in this film, the film director's use of longer shots and minimal coverage allows viewers to examine the details in the background and gain insight into character development or growth.

Analysis : I think each episode shows a ‘small death’ of another part of Anne Marie’s innocence. By the end of the film she seems defeated and she doesn’t care anymore. i really like dreamlike quality of how it’s shot, especially in ‘holy cow’, you see the girls stroking the grass, rubbing leaves on themselves to get grass-stained knees, this together with the bright sunlight leaking into the shots feels really reminiscent of how you half-remember those visceral childhood memories. 

 

Keywords: motherhood, loneliness, love, growing up

 

Description: An animated film centers on a Chinese Canadian mom suffering from empty nest syndrome that gets another chance at motherhood when one of her steamed bun (bao) comes alive as a lively boy. Bao were then raised as a child, feeding and caring by his mother. Eventually, Bao grows and desires increasing amounts of independence that creates tension between the two of them that gradually separates them from each other. 

 

Analysis: Bao truly is about a mother’s love, and a mother dealing with their child growing up and moving on in life.  As Bao grows up, he shows signs of rejecting his Asian heritage despite his mother's overprotectiveness. This is something that many second-generation kids might think about, especially if they go to a mainly white school, there is a pressure to conform and “be white” in order to conform better. Bao brings his fiancée home and declares his intention to leave. She eats Bao out of desperation as she tries to stop it from going, and cries over what she has done. Her biological son, who resembles the Bao, enters as the mother sobs in bed, demonstrating that the Bao's central idea was a metaphor for the mother's bond with her son. Many Asian immigrant parents rarely or never say "I love you" to their children. They say "I love you" by taking care of you and making sure you are fed, using food as a love language symbolism. Preparing all food for Bao is mom's way of saying "I love you", and that love is being rejected. The love between a mother and her child and where the line gets crossed between love that is nurturing to love that is destructive. It’s about that fear parents have of no longer being relevant in their child’s life. It’s about being possibly replaced. The most touching lesson of the film is that love means to let go.

Keywords: life, emotions, family love, and Disney 

Description: Inside Out: To summarize, the movie "Inside Out" portrays the struggle of a young girl's five core emotions as she copes with a major life change, caused by her family moving to San Francisco. Initially, Joy leads the emotions in guiding the girl through this difficult event, but the stress of the move causes Sadness to become more prominent. When Joy and Sadness are accidentally transported to the far corners of the girl's mind, the remaining emotions of Anger, Fear, and Disgust take over in her conscious mind. As a result, the girl argues with her parents and leaves the house, but ultimately realizes that embracing Sadness is necessary for resolving the conflict with her parents.

Analysis: This movie reminds me of the importance of emotional care and emotional expression in the other word. Emotion expression would possibly be a good tool to resolve conflicts between other people sometimes and also your conflicts inside. I think some people are hiding their feeling while living in a society, which impacts their bodies. For example, when someone is sad and wants to cry, if they don’t cry and shallow their feeling coming their way, it is not good for them because they end up boiling it up one day, thus staying unhealthy mentally and even increasing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. When it comes to the one of interesting methods of making a moving image in this film, the film director made five core emotions like disgust, anger, and so on animation characters which are intangible and do not exist in that way in reality. I think This unique approach captures the audience's attention and interest.  

Keywords: comedy, true story, tragedy history, and American court 

Description: I can speak: To sum up, Ok-Bun, an elderly woman famous for filing complaints at the district office, discovers that Min Jae, a civil service officer, is good at English and asks him to teach her. While studying together, Min Jae learns about Ok-Bun's heart-breaking past. Ok-Bun wishes to learn English to fulfil her friend Jeong-Shim's dream of testifying at the comfort women's public hearing in Washington D.C. Both Ok-Bun and Jeong-Shim were victims of the Japanese Military during World War II. Although Ok-Bun has prepared what to say for the public hearing, she finds it difficult to speak due to the pressure she feels in unfamiliar surroundings. When people start to question her behaviour, Ok-Bun sees Min Jae in the audience and is filled with courage to testify against the atrocities committed by the Japanese Military.

 

Analysis: This movie tells the story of comfort women who were treated as sexual slaves by the Japanese military, and its message is the importance of caring for these women. The main character, Ok-Bun, travels to the U.S to testify at a comfort women’s public hearing in Washington D.C. She says "I am not hiding anymore," which shows that she had previously hidden the fact that she was a comfort woman, possibly due to negative attitudes towards them in Korean society. Unfortunately, even today, some people in Korea believe that women who were raped must have flirted or received payment, which can lead to victims of sexual abuse being unfairly stigmatized. What's even worse is that the Japanese government has not yet apologized to these women for their suffering. Many of the victims have already passed away, and the Japanese government may be waiting for all of them to die so that the proof of their wrongdoing will disappear. For these reasons, these women need to be cared for and their voices need to be heard. In terms of directing, it is interesting to note that this movie contains both tragic and comedic elements.

 

Keywords: animation, music, environment, transport, individuals

 

Description: This video is a stylised animation of a woman singing the song ‘Just the Two of Us’ on a London bus, before she asks for directions and interacts with the filmmaker’s ‘character’ who compliments her on her singing. Artistic shots of other passengers on the bus reacting to the singing are also shown. The short film uses real life audio from this interaction, and is brought to life through a colourful and fun pink animation. 

 

Analysis: This short film creates an atmosphere that feels strangely familiar and comforting through the use of real life diagetic audio combined with warm colourful visuals and illustrative animations. This creates a feeling of comfort in the audience as the audio of the bus is something most London locals will hear on a daily basis, but it is romanticised alongside the animation which makes this real sound feel more dreamy. I think this is a clever way to express how this woman’s singing made the filmmaker feel, as the animation can communicate the warm dream-like feeling visually. This film inspires how to communicate a feeling in a more experimental way, through using visual effects or colour. I think the fact that the characters are illustrated in an almost ugly but artistic way using shapes and a doodle style makes them feel more human because the viewer has to imagine the detail to create the real person in their head. I think that this video is very effective in capturing a moment that has meant something to the filmmaker and giving the person who she only saw fleetingly a spotlight to show what it meant to her. 

 

 

 

 

2.     Keywords: 

 

Capoeira, voguing, spirituality, identity, personal expression, liberation, self-defence, resistance, rebellion, trans rights, LGBTQIA, freedom

 

3.     Description 

 

This short film takes us through futuristic, ancestral, multi-disciplinary artist: Puma Camille’s explorations in movement. She’s a Brazilian capoeirista who feeds voguing into a new dance style where she explores spirituality through merging acrobatics with martial art dance. For those who don’t know, Nowness explains that Capoeira’s roots are traced back to the Engolo tradition of Angola which is “a movement-driven style of ritualistic combat – capoeira developed as a route to personal expression under the weight of colonial oppression and a means of cultural preservation for those distances from their natural environment. From its origins in 16th century Brazil, the once-outlawed art form grew into a symbol of liberation, combining the cultural influence of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians, and Portuguese settlers in a poetic means of disarmament and self-defence”. This short film shows PUMA’s incredible ability to perform these two performance styles as one whole. 

 

 

4.     Analysis 

 

It takes us through Puma’s story where she talks on top of beautiful footage of herself dancing, the colours and music bring the whole video to life but more importantly her dancing makes us feel pride and warmth. I struggle to find ways in which the video is less successful, it’s very powerful and moving. I think the video links with some of the writings from earlier on in the week as it touches subjects such as getting familiar with who we are internally can give us a powerful spirit that can change the world. Expressing yourself is so important for a better world, and Puma does it in such a creative and beautiful way. She never felt comfortable growing up and struggled with expectations of being a man and having to be masculine around her friends. Through dance and community, she found a safe space to express herself and encourage others to fight for their freedom and acceptance in society too. 

 

Content Warning: n/a

 

Keywords: volunteering, kindness

 

Description: This short film was created to promote volunteering during World Kindness Day. Mr Indifferent features a very serious and selfish man who takes no interest in others and only worries about his own concerns. In the first scenes, the man allows the elevator doors to shut right as a woman’s rushing to get in. He doesn’t even flinch when he sees a little girl’s balloon slip out of her hands. The man offers no assistance or concern when another man’s grocery cart rolls away from him and ignores a woman who’s gathering signatures for a good cause. A man who doesn't care for anyone unexpectedly has a change of heart when he saves an old woman's life.

 

Analysis: A believable change of the main character from an Indifferent guy to a caring guy. He starts to do all the things that he haven’t for his past life, by doing all these things, he realizes that his life is much happier. He decides to show other people how satisfying helping others can be by doing what the old woman did to him. Loving others, showing kindness and compassion is what we need in our lives the most. Even if we don't know one another, we still need to look after each other and have each other's back. In a world where everyone is indifferent towards their kind (or even other kinds) it's going to be hard to live. As the nature of water is to stream, the nature of human being is to love and show affection. Small bits of help may be much bigger to the person you are helping. Somewhere, sometime, someone is thinking of you for the small favour you did or simply witnessed you being kind to a being. Cause our kindness and our love is the legacy we leave behind after our bodies are long gone six feet under and our souls are millions and millions of light years away.

Content warning: Death 

Keywords: Parent, grief, overcoming challenges, mental health,

Description:

David Alexander explores the 24 hours surrounding his fathers passing.  Filmed in one take, Phoenix explores his feelings and emotions in the wake of his fathers death

Analysis:

This short film explores and explains the feeling associated with grief and the passing of a close family member. it is filmed entirely in black and white which likely represent the film makers feelings in the wake of his fathers death. The entirety of the film is shot underwater, with the narrator only making his way to the surface after explaining his feeling of being reborn again. The title ‘Phoenix’ is a link to the mythical creature, who once has lived a long life burns itself to ashes and is reborn from said ashes. I think the film explores the idea of rebirth, not only for the deceased but also for those around them. The narrator explains how after his fathers death he felt lost and like a newborn baby, reborn again and seeing life for the first time. I feel as though this film can be linked to care as the death of a family member is a time when care is needed most, especially for young people who may be experiencing death and grief for the first time. I think this film communicates the theme of grief (and in some way care) effectively as it visually portrays the heaviness and loneliness that accompanies death. 

Keywords: family, grief, pet, loving, hope

Description:

“Archie is devastated to learn of the death of his beloved aunt. He makes the long journey to the home she's left him in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and a new day brings renewed hope for Archie and his dog.” This short films explores feelings of loss whilst also coming to terms with a new beginning.

Analysis:

This short film explores grief in a way that is lighthearted and enjoyable to watch. The film portrays grief as a way to explore and reminisce on memories of loved ones whilst accepting a new beginning - perhaps a new beginning that honours the home and belongings of the deceased love one. The characters in the film don’t have any dialogue which makes the film even more moving as most of their emotions are shows through facial expressions and body language. The characters are felted which takes away from the heaviness that is usually associated with grief, the felted characters are also really cute which makes for a really sweet short film. Care can be felt throughout this short film in different ways. You can tell Archie cares for his deceased aunt and that she cared for him through Archies family photos. You can also feel the care between Archie and his dog as his dog acts as a support for Archie, accompanying him on his adventure. I think this film communicates the theme of care really effectively as it visually portrays hope and a fresh start with the help of a close family member/ friend (Archies dog).

Keywords: City, single take, visual,  happiness, embrace 

Description:

C’était un rendez-vous is an 8 minute 1976 short film by Claude Lelouch. The short film consists of a car speeding through the streets of Paris in the early hours of the morning, about 5:30am, driving past various empty landmarks and tourist attractions. The car is never seen as the camera is attached to the front of the car and the film ends with the driver, whose face we never see, getting out and embracing a woman. Claude Lelouch is driving the car himself and only two people on the streets of Paris were expecting him, Élie Chouraqui, his first assistant, was waiting with a walkie talkie in the Rue de Rivoli, behind the archway exiting from the gardens of the Louvre palace, meaning to assist the driver at the only blind junction (archway) - although the walkie talkie failed, luckily the traffic flight was green and no pedestrians were in the way. The other person who knew about his arrival was Lelouch's girlfriend Gunilla Friden. He'd told her he'd arrive within ten minutes at the Sacré-Cœur and asked her to appear upon his arrival and is who he can be seen embracing at the end. 

Analysis:

This short film is shot in one continuous take which I really like - it creates a very homemade style video. The only audio is the sound of the car which highlights the speed in which the car is going. Shot in the early hours of the morning, the streets of Paris are almost empty, with landmarks and tourist attractions eerily empty. I think the emptiness of the city and the dusk lighting make for somewhat comforting short film as it’s a viewpoint of a city we don’t often get to see. The film can be somewhat linked to care as at the end the driver embraces a women, making it seem like the driver is speeding to see her. The woman looks happy to see the driver and vice versa. I think this short film is really cool with a sweet ending. 

 

Content warning – Features talks of Greif, Suicide and Loss

Loss, Greif, Emotion, Love, Care.

 

A conceptual short film based around grief. The film uses a fusion of painting and animation to make a visually impactful reel. Using multiple different scenes, the film maker creates movement using different iterations of each scene. The story line features lots of different emotions one feels when experiencing grief with someone that they deeply care for. A perspective that is sometimes forgotten as all the support usually goes to the one dying and not the few left behind. A collaboration of everything raw and real and the desperate measures in periods of grief. 

 

The use of paint rather un-traditional. This may raise the question of why to any audience. I believe the use of paint to be a metaphor for the way in which grief is something that can age and fade over time when in the light as opposed to staying the same when locked away in a dark space. I think this is a powerful embedded message within the short film that creates a consistent and concise message. The message being portrayed Is an important one as in situations of death people see it as a patch of sadness and don’t necessarily offer the support needed to those individuals that are left after caring for someone sick for months/ years. This film bringing that into the light using first person within the film showing how dark and desperate grief can make you. A short film about the forgot ones within grief. I also love the interesting take it has on care. Because people see care being a massive pilar of strength and support, however this has flipped the penny and showing the way in which caring for people can make you vulnerable and if anything more susceptible to being hurt. 

 

Keywords: action, compassion, emotions, kindness

 

Description: In the commercial titled "Thai life insurance: Unsung hero", conveys a valuable message to the audience instead of selling their services directly to us. It depicts a story of a man who helps people, animals, plants and the world simply because it makes him feel better when he gives to others. He gets nothing in return, he won’t be richer, he won’t appear on TV, still anonymous and not a bit more famous. What he does receive are emotions, he witnesses happiness. Reaches a deeper understanding. Feels the love. Receives what money can't buy. A world made more beautiful. This commercial will takes on a journey of recognizing it’s not about being well known that matters, it’s about being someone worth knowing.

 

Analysis: This commercial wants us to know that our life matters to them and they will take care of us whenever we need them. It is an advertisement for compassion, understanding, and a short film towards the promotion of good deeds since there are fewer and fewer of them in the world. Despite the concept and the scenario being fairly simple, the emotional response it triggers in the audience is extraordinary. The main hero receives nothing but judgment and disapproval from his fellow citizens. It seems that everyone around him is taking his help for granted, but he does not notice. Closer to the apex of this simple story, the reason for his obsession with doing good is revealed that he sees happiness through his own eyes and experiences true joy when helping others. It is a feeling the modern society urges its members – every one – to forget. Making people obsessed with benefits for their own sake, acquirement of personal material wealth, careerism, and various other strategies are contributing immensely to the extinction of people like him. The “unsung hero” finds relief, perhaps even reaches enlightenment, in making the world a better, safer, and more kind place.

The short is also shot in a more square (4;3) aspect ratio that is uncommon for professional looking films. I think it’s used well here and gives the film a more intimate and personal feel.

Analysis: The film very quickly draws you in and is efficient at conveying the storyline without any dialogue. I was especially impressed by how sad and emotional the second half of the film was, given that the characters were only introduced a few minutes earlier.  

The film uses stop frame animation that looks completely flawless and captures the knitted materials the characters are made out of very well:) 

-Nothing

 

2.     Keywords

-Experimental, existentialism, ageing, non-narrative

 

3.     Description 

-       The film depicts a man struggling up a mountain and quickly switches between images of the man, distorted film reels and an infant crying. The films director Stan Brakhage is an American avant-garde filmmaker who is known for his experimental use of film through scratching, collaging and multiple exposures. He is also known for exploring themes of birth, mortality and the universe. Brakhages work has also been heralded for its impact in the avant-garde and experimental film world for challenging the idea that film has to center around narrative and can’t be viewed as a piece of abstract art.

 

4.     Analysis 

-       It terms of the meaning of the film it is open to many different interpretations and is intentionally left ambiguous to allow the viewer to draw their own conclusions. Similar to abstract art the films purpose can be seen as a means of invoking emotion in the viewer and from that reveal aspects of the human experience. Brakhage’s films often have themes of mortality, birth and innocence which can all be found in this film. Having said that I feel that one potential interpretation of the film is that it depicts the human struggle and the vulnerable nature of our experience in the universe. I feel the film is an effective in broadening the scope of filmmaking as well as creating a film that can be relatable to people of all walks of life by appealing to a broad interpretation of the human experience. In terms of how this film relates to care there aren’t many parallels though I feel this film can offer many techniques and methods for evoking emotion which could help reinforce a films narrative.

Keywords: nature, wilderness, erotism, fantasy, animation

Description: In the wilderness of a forest, as two creatures meet, a courtship display begins where attraction and seduction meet danger. A fantasy animation with a vibrant aesthetic, showing the ways of how nature works.  

Analysis: The use of vibrant colors in this animation really takes you on a journey and the seamless transitions keep your interest until the end. The visualization of the experience of sex and the feelings that emerge from it, is really interestingly done. The hunt with the bunny first confused me, but afterwards made more sense as the animation showed the way nature works. From the hunt to the danger, to attraction leading to seduction and seduction coming to a climax. The pace and the transitions captured this journey quite well, making this short film really interesting to use as visual reference for this project.

 

Keywords: love, family, race, relationships, environment

 

Description: This short film focuses on the individuals and relationships within a black community, narrated by a poem which talks about how their relationships have improved their lives in a place which they feel is not made for them. A kind of self care, lifting you up and sharing experiences, the film explores how you can find a new home in people, and how relationships are what makes life worth living.

Analysis: The film uses a collection of different scenes of different people in a black community who have a variety of relationships, such as a husband and wife with their children, a group of friends, and a young couple. It focuses on the warmth and joy in these relationships through candid feeling shots in multiple locations such as young girls skating in the park and a couple hugging in their house. The film feels intimate and has a calm joy to it, which is emphasised by uplifting yet slow music and the thoughtful voiceover. There are frequent shots of people which are taken from a long angle, which evoke a feeling of importance and strength and emphasise the theme of feeling that the relationships they have build them up. Use of slow motion also adds to the reflective and calming feeling. The colour palette of the film is all natural colours, and there is frequent use of green, brown, white and blue. This creates an atmosphere that feels calm and focuses on the people in it because there are few distractions. The natural colours also suggest that perhaps the relationships featured in the film feel pure or ‘natural’.

Keywords: documentary, care, growing up, motherhood, love

Description: When her only son moved away to go to college, like many other moms, Czesława found herself an empty nester. But when her son came back home for Summer break, he discovered that his mother had adopted a baby squirrel. This is the true story of director Tom Krawczyk, his mother and Duduś the squirrel. Krawczyk captures the bond his mother built with the wild animal and how also this new family member has to leave the nest at some point to live its life outside the house. 

Analysis: 

With Krawczyk managing to disappear behind the camera, it allows the short’s participants: his mother, his step-father, Duduś AND Louie the Cat, to go about their days in the most normal way. It’s impressive how it managed to capture the emotional bond with sincerity, never feeling performative for the camera or trying to manufacture moments. Santangelo’s edit brings an extra layer of entertainment to the film, mixing humor and pathos, and painting a perfect picture of motherhood, until accepting, as devastating as it is, that once more she will have to let him go too. My Duduś is nine minutes of pure, honest love with Czesława and her small furry child at the center. Not only is this short film about care; showing love by taking care of someone, but is a great example of how to make something emotional without it being fake or too much. It is just a really cute and enjoyable short film and a great metaphor for motherhood.

Keywords: Family, estranged relationships, documentary, animation

Description: While away for a year, a father and his daughter remained close by sending each other letters. This correspondence meant that they didn’t drift apart and allowed them to be vulnerable with each other, while separated physically. Now estranged, filmmaker Diana Cam Van Nguyen tries to mend her strained relationship with her father, by going back to that medium that allowed them to be so emotionally honest in the past.

Analysis: 

The voice-over allows the filmmaker to be raw and authentic with her own story. As all the dialogue in the film stems from those letters, the emotional power of the correspondence drives the film and gives it momentum, while the visual style adds an undeniably effective depth to the film. There is cleverness, humor and playfulness in the construction of the images, as the animation recreates the physical and emotional environments she is in, especially when it describes her childhood. The story in combination with the visuals work really well, making it emotional but still light and well-paced. I think the combination of real images and the use of animation and stop motion is a really interesting style, which I will definitely keep in mind while moving forward. 

description :
"Save Ralph" is a powerful and moving short film that uses stop-motion animation to address the issue of animal testing. The film tells the story of Ralph, a character who represents the innocent animals suffering in the cosmetic industry. Through its emotional storytelling and impactful visuals, "Save Ralph" aims to raise awareness and inspire action.

Analysis:
"Save Ralph" impressively employs stop-motion animation to create a visually compelling and emotionally resonant narrative. The film's attention to detail and careful craftsmanship make Ralph, the main character, come alive and instantly connect with the audience's emotions. Ralph serves as a symbol of the countless animals that endure cruelty in cosmetic testing.

The film cleverly combines humor and heart-wrenching moments to engage viewers while delivering its powerful message. By showing Ralph's daily life alongside interviews that reveal the reality of animal testing, "Save Ralph" creates a strong emotional contrast. It effectively highlights the unnecessary suffering animals endure in the cosmetic industry.

The voice acting, featuring talented actors, adds depth and authenticity to the characters, enhancing the film's impact. Each voice performance captures the emotions experienced by Ralph and the other animals involved. The dialogue is informative and poignant, offering valuable insights into the issue of animal testing.

Key words: Sexuality, Race, Emotion, Care

 

Key words: family, growing up, sexuality, home, university

 

Description: A young man returns home after dropping out of university and must have a tough conversation with his Dad about why he left. The film explores the tensions of family and the undeniable familial love that cannot fade even when somebody gets hurt. It touches upon how it feels to grow older and make the wrong decisions but learn from them.

 

Analysis: This film explores the tensions but unconditional love that take place in many families. The film is shot in a 4:3 aspect ratios which means that there is a greater focus on characters as they dominate most of the shot, even when at a wide angle. This allows the audience to empathise more with them and to see their emotions more clearly. The film begins in an arcade and then moves outside by the beach when the Dad asks the son why he has come home. This switch happens when there is suddenly clarity and the elephant in the room has been acknowledged – we move from a noisy place with lots of distractions to somewhere where the conversation is the main focus. Again later in the film, one the main conversation has been had, they move to a car which signifies a movement in the situation and that it will keep moving for a while before it settles. Alongside this use of setting to give subtle emphasis to the emotional placement in the dialogue, colour is also used to signify the tone of the scenes. Bright and colourful when they are pretending to get on, natural tones when all is laid bare and they have an argument, and then dark and cosy once the main conversation has been had and they begin to warm up to each other again. These uses of symbolism add to the overall tone of the film and are something that I would certainly consider when making my own film.

 

2.Keywords: transgender, gender identity, transphobic, neighborhood

 

3.Description: It is a short film about a transgender woman (Chole) who finds out that her neighbor (Penny) is transphobic. The film delves into some of the modern depictions of transphobia and explores friendship, solidarity and conflict between two very different women. At first, Penny doesn’t like Chole, even hate. Penny can’t understand Chole. She thinks they are different totally and Chole can’t be a real woman. But after Penny saw Chole’s live and violence from partner, she understood her as a real woman finally. Created by an entirely trans cast and crew.

 

4.Analysis: This film is a focus on transgender people. Transgender people are faced with discrimination, violence and other harm in their lives. This film helps the audience to understand transgender people correctly and tries to show people that transgender people are also normal people and are not special. Sometimes, they need protection too. I think its disadvantage is that Penny's attitude changes too quickly before and after. This may be due to the length of the film. The film is mainly narrative shots: close shots and medium shots. Mostly close shots, showing their conversations. I read “Wings For the Ship” in this week, the are similar. It talks about transgender’s love and violence that the writer as a women faced and Jordan as a man (and as a woman in the past) faced. Trans and trans, their love is a kind of care. This text also mentions violence, so I think violence is one of the easiest and most widely practiced harm that people do. 

Keywords: Short film, psychological drama, grief, haunting, atmospheric

Description:
"Requiem" is a captivating short film that delves into the depths of grief and explores the emotional journey of its protagonist, portrayed brilliantly by Bella Ramsey. Through haunting visuals and a captivating performance, the film takes viewers on a deeply introspective and atmospheric experience.

Analysis:
"Requiem" showcases the power of visual storytelling to convey profound emotions. The film effectively captures the overwhelming nature of grief through its cinematography and atmospheric setting. The use of lighting, color, and sound design creates a haunting and somber atmosphere that draws viewers into the protagonist's emotional turmoil.

Bella Ramsey delivers a compelling performance, immersing herself in the role and portraying the complexities of grief with depth and authenticity. Her nuanced expressions and subtle gestures communicate a profound sense of loss, allowing viewers to empathize with her character's journey.

The film's strength lies in its ability to convey the universal experience of grief through visual metaphors and symbolic imagery. The use of symbolism and surreal elements enhances the storytelling, creating an ethereal and thought-provoking narrative. Through its non-linear structure, "Requiem" explores the fragmented nature of memory and the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies the grieving process.

Keywords: Dolls, fantasy, stop motion, innocence, quirky, irony

Description: My favourite short film from Jan Švankmajer, satirise the Nature of Society and the Death of Innocence. This short film uses a lot of metaphor and arcane repetition, and the whole video is eerie and creepy, so if you feel any discomfort, make sure you exit this video in time.

Analysis: The reason I like Jan Švankmajer is I can always get something new from it every time I review his short films. He is so good at using intentionality and absolute master of stop-motion animation. His works are classic both in terms of picture and content, and I especially like his creative ideas, such as how to make dolls into pieces of paper, how to use dolls to represent a man-eating society, and how to use knives to represent self-destruction.

Keywords: future, technic, anti-utopia, friend, loneliness, interpersonal communication

Description: The story happened in the future world. Super VR can help people find their true virtual friends, enrich their life anytime, anywhere, and fulfil all their fantasies. 

Analysis: That’s the anti-utopia short anime I found during high school. At that time, I was confused by my interpersonal relationship. I didn't know how to face my friends and build equal relationships with them. At this time, I saw this short film and realised that I was actually lonely; I have been looking for friends who really fit me and make me comfortable. If I can get the technique in this film, I will definitely use it. But I cannot get anything from it, just avoiding social dilemmas and ending up alone. Technology itself is not right or wrong, everything depends on how humans use it.

Keywords: Music video, Dream, The confusion of life and the persistence of dreams, Virtual Signer (Vocaloid), Japanese

Description: A story about an artist who examines himself, struggles with life, and chooses between dreams and reality.

Analysis: That’s an animation music video from my favourite composer and illustrator. I love the gorgeous changing and the use of colours by this illustrator, the music style from this composer with funny melodies, and the virtual singers with interesting voices.

Keywords: Christmas, twist, emotional

Description: An older man dates a mysterious guest on Christmas Eve. After enjoying a lovely meal, they dance along with the music. In the end, as the change of perspective, this man is dancing with nobody. He imagines that he is dancing with his deceased wife. True love never ends, it’s what keeps people moving forward. Finally, he steps out of sadness and joins the ballroom dancing party.

Analysis: The structure of this short film is fascinating. It begins by setting the scene at Christmas, a time of warmth and togetherness. From the first viewpoint of the main character, it is clear that he takes this date seriously with a series of actions of decorating the room and preparing the dinner. 

Then, the camera shifts, and we enter the perspective of the person, the main character is dating. Without too many editing tricks, it is only through his subtle expressions and gestures that we can feel his love for this mysterious guest.

The intimate social dance makes us wonder about the relationship between the guest and the protagonist. But as the camera and the perspective change, it becomes clear that this is all in the main character's imagination. There is no such guest. The main character is lonely and isolated against the warm Christmas decorations.

The camera stops at a photograph with the message ‘even if the music stops, keep on dancing. I love you, Sonia.’ The mystery is solved. The main character is remembering his deceased wife. 

It is a very simple film with no fancy editing techniques, but it is very moving.

This episode has been selected not because of it's plot necessarily, but more as a showcase of the series. I found the character's design satisfying to look at, and was easily replicable as a child, inspiring me to make Klay men of my own. I also enjoy the characters anatomy considering their slightly awkward figure and how the artist managed to differentiate characters while keeping the entire show in style and providing consistent entertainment at a low budget. I think this series is interesting to explore due to the relationship between the  budget and the animation, and how something which would normally be considered cheap or inappropriate, such as using pencils for swords, or a book as a cave, added to it's appeal while allowing the artist to continue working at a low budget, making klay world "sustainable" Also, the artist typically uses fresh clay, which affects the animation in that the characters seem to droop or tilt in certain scenes, which though it appear awkward also gives these clay characters a living feeling.

Mentions of a car accident, illness of a child

Keywords: Kindness, commute, empathy, slice of life, summer

Description:

The film follows two bus drivers throughout the week. They have various interactions with their passengers, including chasing a small child who repetitively vandalises the windows, trying to convince people to give their seat up for a pregnant woman, and accusing a passenger of not paying the bus fare. However, the bus drivers showcase acts of kindness from these interactions; they personally return a lost box of crayons to the young vandal, stop the bus to find a seat for the pregnant woman, and pick up the dropped items of the passenger who was wrongly accused. The last line of the film translates to: 'To the drivers who work from the crack of dawn to the late hours of night to help us on our journeys, we sincerely thank you.'

Analysis: 

The film depicts the very ordinary, daily lives of those who take the bus. Though there aren’t any major plot points, the interactions people have with each other during their short journeys to work, school, or home present a comforting experience. The main theme is a famous Korean song from the 80s, which sets a nostalgic and heartwarming backdrop for the film. For most, their daily commutes are repetitive and tiring, but this film strives to highlight the hard work of bus drivers who make peoples’ journeys shorter and more comfortable. The colour palette stays light throughout, and we don’t linger on one character’s story (aside from the two drivers) for more than a few minutes. Like on a bus, new stories come and go with each stop. 

 

Description: This is a romantic story between a young rich girl who has suffered from leg problems and a little window cleaner boy on a skyscraper in New York in 1950. This story happened in winter, the girl and the boy made many lovely things out of snow and gave them to the girl.But one day, the boy fell from the window. In order to save the boy, the girl overcame her leg problem and stood up.Finally they had a happy ending.It is an animated short film, and the colour and painting style of this animation are very comfortable to watch.

 

Analysis: The style of this short film is healing, and the story is an idealized content.Most of the entire short film is based on warm colours, such as pink and purple, these colours will give the audience a strong visual effect and feeling.The background of this short film also reflects some absurd "conditions" for love in contemporary society, such as family, wealth and so on.These absurd conditions make many contemporary young people feel fear, anxiety and some negative emotions about love.Perhaps the creator wants to reduce the impact of the absurd conditions through this short film, and at the same time, the creator also wants to give some encouragement and hope to vulnerable groups such as the disabled.

Key words: Crime, deadpan, dark comedy, revenge, bizarre

Description: Three siblings live in a tent after their house is overtaken by hamsters, indirectly caused by the careless act of a famous celebrity, Lee Hyori. They get by by selling ‘blood letters’, written with the real blood of one of their brothers, who suffers an illness which causes his nose to bleed excessively. One day, they are hired by Lee Hyori, who wishes to write an apology letter in blood. It is revealed that she has cannibalised her neighbour in an act of revenge. 

Analysis: The literal Korean title of this film translates to ‘Human Scented Lee Hyori’. The phrase ‘human-scented’ refers to when people of a certain status (eg. Celebrities) show a relatable, humane side of themselves in comparison to their superstar personas. However, throughout the course of the film, it’s revealed that Lee Hyori is ‘human-scented’ due to the fact that she has literally eaten a human body. The bizarre plot points of this film are effectively showcased through deadpan humour, quick cuts, and morbid imagery. Though on the surface, it’s a silly and unbelievable story, the film explores issues like the responsibility of celebrities and how they need to take care in their actions and words to avoid having negative impacts on those who live more ordinary lives. Additionally, the deeper meaning of ‘blood letters’ and how they are made in an act of deathly determination, often requiring one to wound themselves to draw blood. The irony of an apology letter made from nosebleeds suggests that the apology is not genuine at all, highlighting the vapid and performative aspects of Lee Hyori’s character. 

Content Warnings: References to abuse, violence, suicide, deportation

Keywords: Stop motion, animation, trust, love, growing up, chosen family

Description: After losing his mother, a young boy is sent to an orphanage with other orphans his age where he begins to learn the meaning of trust and true love.

Analysis: The film is about learning to trust and love others, the people you didn't grow up with but who could become your (chosen) family. The film is designed as a children's animation, but the theme of the film is quite heavy. This combination works well because like the childlike animation, a child has an innocent and honest appearance and there can be more depth in it at the same time. Because it is about a child you get a glimpse into the head of a child again which feels touching and familiar.

Description: The girl wakes up from bed and walks into the toilet, sees a boy in the mirror who turns into a girl, and the girl breaks the mirror. Sits down and cries.

Analysis: This short film is only 40 seconds long and uses stop-motion animation and consists of two colors. Pink and blue, I think the colors were chosen due to the popular stereotype that boys use blue and girls use pink. The use of color makes the film richer and causes the audience to think in one more direction. People with gender cognitive disorder are still a minority in the public eye, and more needs to happen to bring awareness to the diversity of the world. This group in particular is not hurting anyone and should not be harmed.

- Painting, Documentary, Super 8, London 

- Short film following Danny Fox around London and his studio, promo for his exhibition in 2015. I think the filming is really beautiful and gives a small insight to his life, peering behind the scenes of the artist. Showing his studio and surroundings that inspire his work, interacting with people and slowing down.

Keywords: fragments, reality, life, afterlife, end of life, goodbye, death, association, imagination, without judgment, detail, phase, display 

Description: Ecorce is a short film about the senior years of life spent in a retirement home. How we spend our final years on this planet is something we’ll all have to consider at some point. The one thing no one hopes for, is to end up in a retirement home, yet thousands do. Ecorce is a 15-minute short film that blends a sketchbook animation style with an observational documentary approach.

Analysis: Ecorce presents an honest and detailed account of the last phase of life, often spent in nursing homes. The film shows short fragments that show the reality of growing older and being at the end of your life. It's a observation without judgment and with room for association and interpretation. It is a close-up of a life that still feels far away for many of us and a phase of life that is seen as something that will never happen. The images are slow, detailed and give an honest insight into the world of retirement homes.

Keywords: Animation, School-bullying, Child abuse

Description: A quiet boy Noah is bullied by his classmates. The protagonist Raquelle tries to help him and seeks help from her teacher. Unfortunately, her classmates found out that she was informing on the teacher. After that, she began to be isolated by her classmates. The internet was full of insulting attacks on her and Nolan. She tries to connect with Nolan, sending him, 'are you okay?' They eventually become friends and move on from the violence in school.

Analysis: This is a realistic animated short film. But the author visualises the sadness and depression experienced by the victims of school violence. The purple slime is first seen on Noah. After the main character suffers the same isolation as Noah, she is surrounded by purple sticky slimes. Even though I haven't suffered from school violence, I could feel the protagonists' hopeless situation at this point.

As the purple slime grows and immerses Noah, we can feel the depths of despair he has fallen into. And then Raquelle sends 'are you okay?', a simple phrase, but for Noah, it is a salvation, a ray of light in the abyss. In the end, Noah and Raquelle become friends, become each other's salvation, and the purple sticky liquid disappears.

Children are born into a world surrounded by the possibilities of communities. Talking together is one way to make community. A disappointment in a community does not mean the end of life. There will always be someone who understands and cares for you.

Key words: tarot, metaphors, myths 

Description: In this mixed media short film, you are taking through an artists interpretation of 22 tarot cards based on Derby and the Country’s history and legends. 

Analysis: The structure being based on the original tarot such as The Fool, who we loosely follow through the film. The lack of sound bar white noise really focuses you into the film. Artistically it is all in black and white, with old drawings and etches being cut out and moved, which is heavily reminiscent to the intro of Monty Pythons Flying Circus. I think it feels mystical while communicating a sense of spirituality that is key to tarot. From this film I learn how important visuals are to communicate a story and that it doesn’t have to rely solely on narration. Additionally, I think it links to care because tarot is sometimes viewed as self care, and evokes a similar feeling to the reading of the ‘erotic’ that was looking at earlier this week.

Key Words: learning disability, community, family, support, independence, mental health 

Description: In this short the filmmaker is showing the progress of his sister living in an assistant living home with other people with learning disabilities. It shows the community of care that is set up for her, how they all care for each other and her gaining more independence. 

Analysis: I think the film provides insight into how beneficial assisted living can be to individuals with learning disabilities as it enables them to gain independence within a community that cares for them. It highlights how people with learning disabilities can also struggle with their mental health, which I don’t think is perhaps talked about a lot. The films switches between interviews with Gene (who the films focuses on) and people who are part of her system of care, linking to some of the texts explored earlier in the week that talked about how care and community are synonymous - and that people thrive the most in a good community, as is proven by Gene in the film. 

Key Words: Monogamy, polygamy, relationships

Description: The short film focuses on polygamy in a documentary style, using puppet mice as the speakers. The mice are voiced by people from poly relationships and they discuss their experiences in poly relationships, how they have been judged in the past and why they believe poly relationships works for them.

Analysis:

Irony lies that people are judgemental of others in polyamorous relationships because they think they love less as they cant just love one person, when actually it arguably shows a larger amount of love and care for more than one person romantically. On the subject of care it shows polygamy to almost be small community of care within the relationships. I think it also demonstrates a selflessness to engage in these types of relationships. As the film is through the lens of puppet mice, it prevents the viewer from judging the actual people who are talking, hopefully meaning they are able to understand the film more. It also keeps the film lighthearted as it feels slightly humorous, especially with the jokes to do about mice, which engages with viewer more.

 

2.Keywords: missing, family relationship, live

 

3.Description: This is an animation film which won over nine awards in festivals and a nomination for the 95^th Academy Awards in the category of Best Animated Short Film. A father and his child live on the cliffs of a snowy mountain, and they make their living by parachuting every day to the town at the foot of the mountain to sell ice. They both depend on each other and miss their wife/mother, who has died, daily. But the ice was melting and as their house was about to collapse, they chose to jump together in their arms. In the end, they didn't die, and they landed softly with fond memories of their wife/mother.

4.Analysis: The most attractive thing for me about this animation is the drawing style, a mock pencil drawing effect, with a simple line-based drawing of the characters. There is not too much color overall, but the reds, oranges and yellows that represent the characters are highlighted. Contrasts between warm and cold are used in the colors of many scenes. In this animation, the characters do not speak and there is no narration, only background music. So, editing and composition play a very large part. The film does not directly express the main idea but uses various metaphors and allusions to do so implicitly. This makes requirements on the audience, requiring a degree of comprehension and association, even requiring repeated watching of the film. The film uses hats to represent their memories, giving close-ups of them during their jump, the softness of the hats just corresponding with the tenderness they feel for each other. The film gives close-ups of ropes and thermometers to suggest time, temperature, and the changing emotions of the characters.

 

2.Keywords: city, creative editing

 

3.Description: It is a short film made by a university student filming and producing. All the work was done by one person. It is used to introduce and spread the beauty of the city of Wuhan to everyone. It shows the main buildings, food and people of the city of Wuhan. With creative transitions.

4.Analysis: This film has nothing about Care, it's mostly about the city. I was attracted by its transitions. Most of the transitions are the shapes of the subjects in the before and after frames bridging up. The editing is matched by the rhythm of the background music, which is cheerful, so the video's images change quickly. But it doesn't confuse people because the transitions are smoothly linked.

 

2.     Keywords: 

 

Love, personal experiences, poetic imagery, ecstasy, eroticism, difficulty

 

3.     Description 

 

This stunning short film reminds us about love and how we don’t talk about it enough in some ways. Directed by Camille Summers-Valli and Wessie du Toit, they closely focus on five different people, and film them in a very intimate way. Using analogue filming and placing their individual voices over the clips, they have created an intimate, poetic, and beautiful short film. All that is…  takes us through the subject of love and shows the doubts, the excitement and the struggles that come along the way. 

 

 

4.     Analysis 

 

It’s an opportunity to look deeper into people’s feelings and understand where they’re coming from. The film highlights the importance of coming to understand one another by questioning everyone with what love means to them or if they have experienced love. From different perspectives and different experiences, it really shows the viewer how everyone goes through such different lives and how some who might not have been born into love, found it elsewhere along their journey.  It reminded me of Bell Hook’s book ‘All about Love’ as with this short film, we’re shown what real love is and not a flawed understanding of what love is. Our idea of Love has been shaped by films, books, music etc… and this is a definition of love that needs to be changed. Experiencing, living and being part of community, in any form, such as friendships, family and any other community one feels part of, is where and how we learn how to love. This video, just like Hook’s book, shows that through communication, sharing and honesty, one can grow and love.   

Fear - Protection - Attachment - Transition 

The transition in the short film will show the development of a child’s growth. The mother will portray a role in how mothers will have to come to accept their child’s choices.  The short film will follow the mother entering different stages of the child’s life. Each stage will have the mother wondering about the child’s whereabout and finding her son in bad scenarios. You’ll identify the mother will question’s the son’s choices and will find ways to prevent it to get anything worse. In the end, you’ll see the child has grown into adult and has left which has made the mother sadden to his disappearance because she comes to acceptance that she’ll not be protecting him anymore. 

Where are you is created in a way to try to understand the dedication and commitment a mother will do for their child’s safety however it also gives you insight on how mothers vigorously live in the child’s life until she notices their child will not their safety and guidance. I’d say looking into this perspective, it gives you insights on how the mother is affected by the child’s growth. She’s noticed that she’ll not need to protect her child at all times and will eventually have to let her son go however that protection and love will not go at all. I’d also say the director behind the film wanted to pay some tribute to parents that are willing to take care for their child but to also raise a child. 

Time, pain, loss and regret 

A Coddling mother is brushed off when she invades her daughter’s life. The mother is pleading quality time with her child but her daughter is disregarding her wish because she’d rather be occupied with work or go out with her friends. One day, the daughter gave in and said during the evening they’ll have a girls night in. The daughter arrives home and sees her mother collapsed on to the floor. The daughter and the father are waiting for the mother and they’ve received news that the mother is dead. The daughter burst into tears and argued with the father because she then found out the mother only had a week to live. She then received a letter from a mother that wished to spent the last week with her daughter. 

The relationship between the mother and the daughter in the film is highlighting a normal conventional relationship with your daughter or son. A parent wanting to spend quality time her child as the child does not want to. Watching through this, I’d say I felt disheartened by this because it was insensitive for the daughter to push her mother way. It shows a perspective on how sometimes we don’t see how our parents love us or just want to talk. The mother’s loss has now probably left the daughter with regret and now understanding why the mother invaded her privacy. This film contributes to many things about a mother and daughter but also teaches you about regret and time. People are only in regret until something has been taken away. 

Content warnings: N/a

Keywords: nature, polarity, calmness, memories

The film is really simple but charming, just snapshots of a trip and music to guide you through. I think the film is about the differences between the times they spent in rural places vs more urban ones like the city, and had quite a nostalgic feel to the way the clips were filmed. Whilst not really about care, I think it just had a really nice charm to it and I felt inspired by the way they synced the music with the video clips and graded the colours in the shots.

I think the video doesn’t really have much of a deep purpose beside documenting the authors memories of a trip, but it was something I think everyone can relate to and the places almost seem like places I’ve been too as well. Maybe it could have benefited from telling more of a story, but that might not be appropriate if this was just the story of their trip and nothing else happened there. I did think that some parts were really great when the music starts to become louder at times that show really beautiful places in nature and the connection the author felt to these places.

 

Keywords: family, love, Parallel Universe, Spiritual crisis

 

Description: 

A story of reconciliation with life that revolves around the family of Evelyn, who lives a life of failure and busyness, with conflicts between her family and tax problems with her laundry. She is confused as to why she has made what she believes to be the right choices but is still having a bad time. It is not until Evelyn gains the ability to travel between universes that she experiences these amazing things while resolving conflicts and finding the answers she wants by interacting with various people along the way.

Analysis: 

This film contains a very rich variety of content. In terms of format, it is not bound by any one genre and the presentation ranges from 3D to 2D. Many of the sequences are edited in quick succession to give the impression of a 'multiverse' explosion of information, which is also a great way to get the audience in the mood. In the second half of the film there is a quick cut to a close-up of Evelyn in the multiverse, with loud music, both of which work well with the intensity of the main character's emotions. A silent sequence is linked at the end of this segment, and the communication generated by the mother and daughter who turn to stone is replaced with subtitles. It is interesting to note that, at a time when the intensity of the emotion gives the viewer a sense of impending explosion, the film breaks this inertia by linking to a completely silent sequence.

N/A

2. Keywords 

- Kinetic Typography

- Scattered

- Repetitive

- Minimal

3. Description

This motion graphic features numbers which emerge from the centre and fill the canvas. Imagine water draining into a plug hole, this motion is repeated.

4. Analysis

I have chosen this film as I like the visual elements and the way kinetic type is used. My film will follow a similar structure as it will be purely typographical. The use of numbers within thus film has prompted me to look at information graphics surrounding care within this project.

It begins with a mother pulling rambutans out of the tree and her son playful targets arrows the mother. He giggles as she sighs and she continues to collect the fruits out of the tree and then she notices her son disappears somewhere. She looks over and see her son standing over a man on the floor with a few arrows in his chest. A young boy has seen the scene and rans away. The mother wanted to stop the young boy but she stepped over the fruit which pricked her. She then looked over at her son and cried. She picked her archery in fear and pointed over the boy. 

A mother and her son find themselves pushed to ethical extremes when they stumble upon something sinister during a regular day of foraging. You’ll identify the mother targeting the arrow towards the young boy is highlighting that she’s willing to kill to protect her son. Looking at this, I understood the challenge she had to make. Her son did not intentional kill the stranger but she knew her son would still have to face the consequences of this crime. This short film was impactful but simple. The director behind this animation was able to create a story that automatically led with some sort of enigma because the action behind the mother started a conversation through the film. In comparison, the other films I’ve seen it takes quite significant time to understand the concept behind the film but in this film, it was straight-forward to understand the concept of the film. 

 

Keywords: Cup, Struggle, Work, Home

 

Description: The video depicts a woman making herself a cup of coffee. It then shows her spending the rest of the day trying to think of ideas for an unknown project. This persists through the film until she spills her coffee which prompts her and idea to write.

 

Analysis: In this short film the mug may represent her unchanging state of creativity, with no new ideas, as the mug stays in one place throughout the film. The diegetic sound of the clock ticking symbolises the main character running out of time. In the video when she spills her coffee, this could represent her ideas being able to flow out, as this event is the one that prompts her ideas.

 

Keywords: Family, Birds, Community, Home

 

Description: The video shows bird eggs at the beginning being lost. Other birds work together to gather these eggs again and make a new home for them. These eggs then hatch and go into the new world to explore and explore themselves. At the end of the videos the birds all gather to their original home where they all hatched from, they transform the home and make it theirs.

 

Analysis: At the start of ‘Together’, the shots of the birds and the egg separately signify individuality. Followed by the clouds forming and the contrasting shot of the lighting, implies rising action and a disaster from the event as we see the bird eggs being displaced from their original nests. Facial expressions of other birds witnessing this can imply worry and panic.

In the video the creators have each of the birds styled in a different medium and colour. This shows their individuality and differences to each other.

The eggs are gathered in a rigid, rock-like home or nest. The colours of the nest being plain and grey on the outside and dark on the inside may suggest coldness.

The weather may reflect the mood of the upcoming scene where the birds leave their homes.

Towards the end of the film, we see the birds all gathered again in their original nest. The final shot of them flying in the sky can represent and symbolises community and family.

 

Keywords: Knitting, Cliff, Obsession, Craft

 

Description: A women sat on a cliff knitting a really long scarf. When the scarf gets too long it starts to hang over the cliff and drag her down, but she keeps on knitting. She gets so persistent that she starts knitting her hair into the scarf when she has no yarn left. The scarf eventually drags her down when she realises it’s too late. She climbs up the cliff again with her knitting needles and her hair ripped, then tosses the needles of the cliff. She sits back down in her original seat and starts playing with the scissors.

 

Analysis: The starting short of the animation is lit with very low-key lighting which them switches to a much high-key lighting which displays clearly the change in time and implies how long the woman has been working on her knitting project.