Short Film Research - Cluck

CLUCK

MISE EN SCENE

Lighting is a big feature of Mise En Scene used to great effect in the short film 'Cluck', The opening scene we see is of the top half of a dog's toy which happens to be a chicken hence the name Cluck. His background is white which looks to have been brightened in the editing process,this helps the audience understand the overlapping shot which is a fade of Cluck flying through the air, because of the bright white background in the opening scene we can distinguish that this is a dream of the chicken.

We also see a black and white cut scene of a dog chewing meat in a garden, the black and white lighting is used to show that it is a horrible place with little happiness and life.

Props are also used in this cut away as we also see broken and ripped toys around the garden, this shows the death that has previously befallen the garden.

CAMERA

The majority of the shots used in the film are close ups on the chicken toy Cluck, although his expression is always the same it appears different with the music in the background, if the music is happy like when he thinks about flying then his open mouth expression makes him look as if he is enjoying himself however if the music is dark and gloomy like when he comes face to face with the dog for the first time then  his face looks as if it is shocked and scared even though it is actually the same, so together with the use of music the close ups show the chicken toys expression.

There is also a tracking shot used in the film when the chicken is being purchased and is sitting waiting in the trolley being pushed around, we can see his setting in the background, a supermarket.

SOUND

The non diagetic music is very triumphant and represents the chickens desire to follow his dream and fly, there are several sound bridges used especially when we cut to scenes of the chicken supposedly flying in the film, the triumphant music carries on to the shot and creates a happy feeling.

EDITING

There are a substantial amount of editing techniques used in the short film 'Cluck', first of all there is a fade scene where at first we see the chicken hanging on the shelf waiting to be purchased and then we see an overlapping fade shot of the chicken flying, which because of the enhanced saturation of the white background confirms to the audience that it is a dream of the chicken to fly. 

The titling sequence is also another editing technique, the title 'Cluck' is in a yellow font with orange outlining this is to resemble the stereotypical colours of a novelty cartoon chicken

Cross cutting, which is when different shots are used to show different events happening at different locations at the same time in the film, are used to show the chickens future home which is with a terrifying dog who destroys every toy he has.

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REPRESENTATION

Life/death. This chicken represents the extent his is wiling to go to to achieve his dream of flying, he is willing to metaphorically die so that he can finally experiance what is feels like to fly which he succeeds in doing.

AUDIENCE

The target audience for this film could be many age categories, the fact it is a comedy implies that a wide audience can view it as there are no real restrictions, The films main character is a chicken so there are no real restriction as to how young you can be to watch it.

NARRATIVE

This film uses a linear narrative as the plot progresses slowly and there is no other information needed. Using the theory of Bordwell & Thompson, the story ends with the chicken laying on the ground. The director has made this so we assume the rest of the story is that the chicken carries out a life of abuse and violence from the dog. This film doesn't aply to Todorovs 5 stages.

GENRE

The film Genre is a comedy, there are several syntactic codes used to establish this, one being the fact that the main character is a rubber chicken toy.