R33 - Short Film Analysis: 'Selfies Gone Wrong'

The film starts off with a black blank screen, with a deep sinister background sound as the black suddenly shows an over the shoulder shot of a girl's mirror reflection of her putting on make-up.  The screen suddenly turns to black again however it says "Headcheese Productions present" as the background music continues. It then shortly goes back to an eye level shot of the girl putting on lipstick, before going back to a black screen of the actress's name. 

With the same non diegetic background music, she is then presented in a side view in the car, where she has her phone facing her, whilst trying to fix her hair. She then lifts it slightly at an angle and poses to take a picture. This gives the representation of the typical modernised teenager, where from the title, it is obvious that the short film is aged at young teens.

The music suddenly builds up before it stops with a click, and the title "Selfies" cuts onto the screen. It pauses for a few moments, before fading to a wide shot of a lake where the girl is on the left, sitting on a bench taking more selfies. Where there is an eerie background music, opposing the sound effects of the bird tweeting. The hand held camera shot slowly zooms in onto the girl as she continues making new poses. 

A wide shot is also used in the next scene, presenting some shops on a street and a large black car driving through the frame. Like before, hand held camera shots are used giving the connotation that somebody is watching the girl wherever she is, or that they are spying on her. There are a range of shots used to present the girl as she continues taking selfies throughout the day. i.e. close up shots, wide shots, over the shoulder shots, mid high angle shots etc, as well as a panning shot to show the area around her. 

A fade is then used to present a messy room with dim lighting. Her messiness also gives the representation of her being a teenager, as that is what teenagers are typically linked to. She jumps onto the bed in a mid shot, allowing the audience to see her pyjamas, emphasising the comfort she has in that moment, solidifying the idea that she is at home in her own room. A high angle shot is used to show her phone, presenting the selfies she has taken during the day as she flicks through her gallery. Cross shots are used between the phone and her, as her facial expressions give the notion that she is impressed and pleased with her selfie taking. She then suddenly becomes curious in one of the pictures, and in a high angle shot of her phone, she zooms into the right side of her picture, illustrating a man far behind her. She then continues onto the next, and sees the same man sitting far behind her. A slow high pitched sound arises as she repeatedly goes onto the following pictures, seeing the same man behind her in almost every selfie. The background sound arises sharply, and there are more fast paced action shots with a non diegetic ticking sound, showing a selfie of her in her own house. The gap between her door seems to be dark as there is no light from outside, however the intensified music suggests otherwise and it raises anticipation. As she zooms in, the figure of a man is seen through the gap in the door, and the eerie orchestral music becomes louder. 

It then fades or a few seconds, and the film cuts to a black screen for the credits. The white font stands out against the black, making it clear for the audience to see the actors and actresses clearly. The same quick and sharp orchestral music is played until the credits end.