Research Tasks - 5 - Keira

'Eight' - Stephen Daldry - 1998

• Genre = Social realism. Camera work uses no strange angles or framing etc., straight forward, filming the action, wants the audience simply to view what's happening and feel as though they could be watching it in real life rather than a film. The shots when he's alone playing on the beach combine the use of closer shots (for example, medium close up when he is shouting 'My name's Jonathan, and I am eight!' He is placed to the right in the frame in order to give him space to shout into.), so that we can more clearly see the emotions on his face and begin to identify with him as an audience from the beginning, and extreme long and long shots to show the amount of space around him and put the setting into context. He is placed to the right in the frame in order to give him space to shout into. There are close ups on action (e.g. a tape being put into a tape player) to clearly and effectively demonstrate to the audience what is happening by unavoidably drawing their attention to it. The editing uses conventional continuity rules in order to make the film flow so that the viewers can get lost in the story rather than noticing changing shots. The décor of the house and objects within it were minimalistic which suggested they were of working class (typical of a social realism). The facial expression and body language of the actors was subtle and believable, making for a more realistic film.
• I found the cinematography particularly interesting, as I noticed a change of brightness and colour between scenes in which the audience are provoked to sympathise for the boy (these were more dimly lit with bland colours - predominantly the beach and when sitting in the dark at the dinner table) and the ones in which there was a happy emotion communicated (these used bolder colours - particularly noticeable in the montage where he is considering what jobs his father could have had and there is a use of a bright red fireman's truck etc.) I think this was done to communicate the comfort a child can find in their imagination even when there are other factors that could hinder their happiness (in this case, the tragic death of his father). The final shot was a good example of a realistic view of his life and aimed tp make the viewers (who have had time to identify with the boy) feel sad and sorry for him. It is an extreme long shot, and the boy is sitting on the beach, facing away from the camera and towards the sea. The distance between the camera and him gives the audience the feel like they are watching him, making them feel more involved in the story. Not only this, but his placement in the centre of the frame creates vast space either side of him which, again, highlights how alone he is (perhaps not in his head, but certainly in real life) and makes his longing for his father amplified.
• Like many of the shorts I've watched, Eight's narrative structure brings the story back to where it started at the beginning - at the beach, the boy by himself. The difference with this one is that nothing has changed in his life; there have been no great revelations or alterations. The audience feel like we have been taken on a short exploration of this boy's life, and have delved much deeper into his thoughts than in any short I've previously watched. An advantage of this is that as viewers we are more involved and care more about him as an endearing character; a disadvantage would be that we are left feeling somehow incomplete, as though the story didn't fully come to a close.
• The use of voice over was the first noticeable difference in this short's sound to the others, I think it worked well and helped to clarify what was happening in each shot rather than having to explain it using dialogue in the action (which in turn probably meant shorter scenes and more could be fit in). As previously mentioned, this helped to further the identification with the audience as he acted as our guide, showing us his thoughts and feelings. Soft non-diegetic music was used underneath certain parts, in particular when he mentioned his dad specifically, and I felt this worked well with the words to heighten the emotion of the moment. The most interesting point in the sound work for me, however, was when the boys set up their own football pitch on the sand and the tape was played of an England football match for the boy to play along to. It was edited in such a way that when the camera was on the main boy (Jonathan) the sound was crystal clear and loud as though it came directly from the game, but when the camera was on the other boy it was more crackly and quiet (how it would have actually sounded coming out of a tape player). To me, this symbolised him imagining it was really happening and being able to visualise what it would be like if he was on a real pitch playing for England. It was another clever insight into the boy's mind which we may consider using a similar technique to in our own short film.
• I think this film was about loss, and depicted people's different ways of dealing with it (the mother seems to be in grief, refusing to let football be watched or talked about in the house; whilst the boy chooses to look at the positives and consider all the brilliant things his dad could have done). This is communicated through the change of lighting and colour when representing the different views, and by the energy of the boy's body language and clear passion for football. Although it is never directly stated how his dad died, there are plenty of clues in the voice over that we can assume it was to do with the crowds at football matches - possibly based, therefore, on a real historical event. It also may have been Daldry's aim to spread awareness about these kinds of tragedies. The costumes used (in social realism style) are entirely appropriate to each character and the boys wearing football uniforms is representative of the 'boys being boys' attitude at the time that the film was made. Particularly nice is the home made t-shirt of Jonathan's for which he has simply used marker pens to draw on a football shirt pattern. This is a highly sympathetic representation of the working class and the struggles that they can face, shown through the eyes of a young boy who's passion and determination is heart warming, as is his childish innocence.

By Keira Smalley