Textual Analysis: Smokey Saloon

Smokey Saloon is a short film written, directed and produced by PJ Liguori and Louis Grant.
The story behind it is about a guy (played by PJ) who hears some bizarre noised coming from a cupboard and and decides to check them out. Upon exploring the cupboard, he finds himself in a saloon when he has to fight of monsters described as "shadows". With his trusty torch and a light switch he defeats the monsters and returns home. He goes to bed where everything is safe and sound... Or is it?

The thing that I particularly love about PJ's work is the lighting. Particularly in this film and in the actual saloon the lighting and smoke create a darker atmosphere. It makes the audience feel lost and out of place, as PJ is in this bar. The white light, often used to illuminate the faces of the characters, is almost moon-like. This gives a nigh time vibe , which is often followed by danger, as we a naturally scared of the dark.

When things in the saloon get dangerous and the monsters start attacking, the lighting appears to become even darker, particularly when he is surrounded. This is enforcing the idea that the darker lighting implies danger. Building on this idea, when PJ escapes and is safely in his home again, everything is brightly lit. However, when he turns out the light we hear the non-diagetic sound of someone pouring a drink, he turns over in his bed and finds "a tall glass of [their] finest" smokey drink, suggesting he's not alone.
The Bartender's red hair and black lip-piercing direct a feeling of anxiety to the audience. This is because red symbolizes danger and the black colour symbolizes death. In today's culture, typically a person with a black lip-piercing can be assumed to be rebellious. This therefore implies instability.
PJ's clothing is very heroic. It's similar to the style of the popular character "Indiana Jones". It makes the audience assume that he's the good guy in his film because he is wearing a style of clothing that  we associate with a good character.
The monsters are black, again, symbolizing death. They also have contrasting white eyes which appears unnatural are therefore offsetting, leading the audience to feel uncomfortable with them.

The sound used really aids in building the atmosphere. When PJ hears the non-diagetic, wind-like, sound of the monsters, a slight chime can be heard, again, non-diagetic. Throughout cinema, these chime sounds have been used when somebody realizes something, subconsciously telling the audience that the character has come to a realization.
When PJ opens the cupboard for the first time, before abruptly closing it, the sound of two keys on a piano or similar instrument are heard. This "buum buuuuum" sound is playful and catches the style and feeling of the film. Despite being dark and scary, this short film is humorous, fun and playful. This child-like reaction from PJ is then carried through in the non-diagetic sound as music begins to play. Resembling that which may be played on drums in a battalion, this gives the sense that he is going to war. He gear up in a montage of short cuts and gets ready to enter the cupboard.
As the cupboard opens, it creaks, possibly diagetic or non-diagetic as it could've been added in post-production for effect. More creaks are heard as he crawls through the dark passage way. These low sounds remind me of an old , unstable house. It's unsettling and when put with the echoed sound of his footsteps and the wind, makes for a chilling moment in this film.
The sound of the monster is semi-human. It resembles whispering and groaning, yet in an inhuman way. Because this is so familiar, yet unfamiliar, it's unnerving to the audience and can invoke slight fear.
When the bartender grabs PJ's arm and rants about how PJ's flashlight "won't work on [his] 'caperial' body" the music kicks in yet again. This time is high pitched and screechy, which is shocking and creates the mood of fear and danger. It then shifts into a more sad piece, suggesting that PJ's attempts to ward off the monsters are futile. The final shift is a build up to when PJ turns the light on. The music is fast paced and heart pounding. It real helps the audience feel the excitement of that moment in which PJ finally manages to win.
Also, the song in the credits really fits into the Western genre that this film partially fits into.

Especially in the montage scene, I feel that the editing really comes into play. The short cuts pf PJ gearing up, putting on his hat, vest, preparing his flashlight, wearing his goggles and grabbing his bag are fast paced and exciting, especially with the uplifting music. The close up of his face at the end of the montage as he slowly lifts up his head,checking his hat and revealing his eyes tells us that he's ready to face whatever lies in the depths of the cupboard.
As he crawls through the passage of the cupboard, there are lots of different shots of him crawling, some far away, showing how long he has to crawl for. Others are closer to him, giving a sense of the small space he is in.
Upon entering the saloon, there are reaction shots from the monsters as they turn to look at him. These are low angled, meaning the audience looks up at them, making them look bigger and scarier, implying danger and intimidation. This intimidation puts us in the same state as PJ, as when he asks the barkeep for a drink, the tone of his voice and body language tells us he's psyched out by these beings.
When the barkeep gives PJ "a hand" he is trapped. The close up camera shorts show this with a close up of the barkeep and then another of PJ.
After escaping and going into the bedroom, there is a medium-close-up of PJ putting down the torch and a glass from the bar. This implies that they'll be relevant later, which they are as soon as PJ discovers somebody has filled his glass with smoke.

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Short Film Ideas: 3

Time travel is something which, while it interests me, is something that also annoys me. The concept itself is fantastic, but it's peoples' generic ideas around it that I find tedious. The usual ideas around it are going back in time to win the lottery, preventing or changing a major disaster or going back to embarrassing moments in your life and changing them. These ideas may seem practical when applying them to the real world, so long as you don't create some kind of paradox and stop yourself from being born, but they are still boring. We've seen them 100s of times.

My idea comes in as something less mainstream. The basis of the story is that somebody has the ability to time travel, there's no science behind it, they just do. This is person A. Person A has a group of friends, among these people are best friends, close friends and people they know but are more of an acquaintance than a friend. One of these acquaintances is person B.
Person A travels back to when person B was a child, at the point in their life where they are a toddler and probably can't read. Unseen, person A picks up their favorite toy and writes a completely random word on it... Like "cabbage". Person B probably won't think too hard about why there's this random word written on their toy at this point in their life, but maybe they'll question it later.
Again person A travels back to another point in person B's life. This time B is a bit older, say starting school. Naturally, B's parents have bought them new school supplies, including a nice pencil case. Person A, again unnoticed, grabs the pencil case and writes the word "cabbage" on it. B will probably dismiss this as one of their school friends doing this and probably won't connect it to their childhood toy. To them, it's just somebody messing around.
B is a teenager now. Lots has changed since they were little and they've started dating. They've been on a date with the person of their dreams and have been given a love letter upon ending the date. B is overjoyed. Perhaps they skip home and are filled with excitement to get home and open this card. They get home. The  anticipation is killing them. They open the card. "Cabbage". A's clearly behind this, not that B knows. B is confused and maybe a bit upset. The next day they see the person that gave them the card. "You know that card you gave me? D-did you just... Did you just write 'cabbage' in it? Nothing else?" Clearly an embarrassing moment in their life. The person they went out with laughs at them. Maybe the other kids laugh at them, maybe they nickname B "cabbage". This is certainly memorable for person B. At this point they begin making links wit this key word cabbage, but can't really piece anything together.
Years pass, Person B has gone to university and has student accommodation or is possibly renting a flat. They're happy and feel like this is the start of new and exciting. Upon entering their room, they notice something scratched into the wall or a bedpost, not very big, but notable at least. Again "cabbage" . Suspicious, but there's still not enough pieces for B to put anything together.

B has been at Uni for quite a long time, they've made friends and are going out for a drink with them. At this gathering, the friends of B invite some of their old friends. This is it, this is the moment in B's life where they finally meet person A, not that they know. At this chronological point in time A and B are sitting at a table full of people. They're opposite each other. A pulls out a fancy Moleskin notepad and scrawls something down on it. They pass it to B. B ponders at it and then looks up at A. "Cabbage?".

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Short Film: The Difficulties, Benefits and How it works

The time limit is something which can lead to drawbacks and benefits. To tell a story or communicate a message is a short amount of time is something that may prove difficult. However, does the short film mean it's a compressed feature film? Or a something more independent? I suppose that it depends how you look at it. It would be challenging to compress a feature film and therefore prove easier to build something that works into the smaller space. 

With difficulties in some areas often comes benefits in others. The short time means less work when compared to a feature film. And instead of having to forge 100s of pages of script, it'll bro baby just be 10s of pages. Which should be easier, assuming the same amount of effort is used throughout each page. The shoots should be shorter too, meaning less stress on the actors and crew, meaning most of the process is a lot lighter than a larger film. Shorter screen time means shorter editing time too, again making short films easier and less painstaking to create. 

As opposed to the technical difficulties and benefits of short film, let's talk about the more business-like side of it. Most creator of short film don't usually generate much revenue from them. Often, they're shown at film festivals with little or no pay, or they're broadcast online with the hopes of going viral. Despite not creating much income, if the film is well received and producers and companies like it, they may well pay the creator to direct and create a feature film for them. So short films can be used to gain publicity. Of course, this is a rare case, as many people that view the content aren't trying to discover and hire film makers, but are instead just wanting to view a short film. But it does at least give creators some kind of foothold in the industry which can lead to bigger and better things.

From the technical side, to the business side, and now straight into the creative side. A shorter time allows more artistic freedom. It carries less of a burden to the creator as they don't have to make a film that lasts too long. It gives them a more open opportunity to create what they want because they don't have to stretch their creativity over a 40 minute period, which can prove difficult. Sometimes a shorter time is better because they is not time for the audience to loose interest.

The film maker can be more unique and risky with a shorter film, as there is often less at risk because of the lower budget. It allows new ideas to be tested and samples that may be put to use in a bigger film too. This gives a chance to branch out to a less mainstream audience and attract new viewers too.

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What is a Short Film?

A short film is normally considered to be a film that too short in runtime to be a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits"

I think a short film is both similar and dissimilar to the traditional feature feature-length film. It has the ability to tell a story, yet it seems to be courageous with the ability to be more experimental. Perhaps due to the (normally) lower budget. However, sometimes a big producer is able to fund the film, increasing the budget widely and usually increase the quality.

As with any kind of film, there isn't really a limit to what can be done within a short film, other than the time limit. This makes them easily adjustable and open to new or different ideas.

-BW