short film research: Double Happy/ Drama

  If I had to pick one feature that distinguishes Double Happy, it is its keen observation of children—their shy gestures and bold dares, as well as the strange sociology of their group dynamics—the constant and fluid shifting of in-group and out-group designations achieved and enforced through secrets and put-downs. Even when you care, you can wind up stomping on each other at this age due to basic inexperience, fear, and carelessness. Rory likes Rebecca, and we get the impression that she reciprocates, yet Rory is a misfit, and the crises this produces can be seen on Rebecca's face.  While he has a thoughtfulness and talent for craft that will serve him well and make him interesting later in life, he currently has companions, particularly the other lad, Des, who are attempting to tear him down in order to demonstrate supremacy. It all adds up to an amazingly clear and nuanced image that Daud is able to create, as Rory's denigration is built up slowly and methodically both emotionally and physically, causing his wrath to boil over and lead to its fatal misdirection.  Rory spends the day in the park with a few friends. He likes Rebecca in a genuine, puppy dog way that is so obvious that he makes no attempt to deny it when pressed. It's her birthday, and he's planned a great surprise for her, but when her other friends tell her about a party that she isn't invited to, she becomes suspicious.  The emotions and actions in this short film are way more intense than the ones in Mutt and Traitor Knight.  For example, in this film, there is a fighting scene and a store fire that is caused by a character.  The most common sound used in this film was diegetic sounds, along with all the other drama shots I watched.  As you can see diegetic sounds are used a lot in dramas in order to add emphasis on actions happening on camera.  Another sound used in this short film was dramatic music.  When Rory throws the firework into the lady store, dramatic music is playing in order to increase the audiences attention and emotions.  An important camera shot that I noticed was an over the shoulder shot.  The use of this shot was to give one character more power.  For example, an over the shoulder shot was used when the Indian lady was yelling at them for stealing.  Having the camera over Des's shoulder helps to belittle the Indian lady, which shows a power struggle between racial groups.  An important camera movement that I found in this video was a pan movement.  This pan movement was used when Rebecca goes back to see Rory, and sees the store on fire.  The use of this pan movement helped to show the location of the scene as a whole.  The audience got to understand that Rebecca was there to see the store burning.  A common editing technique that was used in this film was reverse shots.  Reverse shots are very commonly used in dramas since there is usually a lot of dialogue going on between characters.  Another editing technique that was used was jump cuts.  As the Indian lady is running to grab her baby to escape the fire, jump cuts are used in order to show the action without making it a continuous shot.  An element I liked in this film was the store fire.  The baby that was in the store during the fire added an extra touch to the audience to make them feel mixed emotions.