"SOFT" VS "WASP"

Soft vs Wasp

SOFT:

Mise-en-scene:

In the short film, “Soft”, it tells a story about a father and son who get targeted by a group of teens. The main prop within the short film is a mobile which is used to video some of the events that happen in the film. The mobile phone is used to show how young teens use it for negative purposes. In the opening scene it shows a video of one of the main characters being attacked by a group of teens. So from the start the director has produced a negative connotation for when we see a mobile phone in the film. Then at the end of the video when the father and son try to do something about it, the teens then bring out the mobile phones, again showing that something bad is going to happen. The director, throughout the whole film, uses the phone to indicate to the audience that something bad is going to happen. By also showing negative clips throughout the film foreshadows the events to come later on in the film. From the clips the audience can tell that it is going to end in some sort of fight.

Editing:

In the middle part of the film it there is a sequence of short video clips shown in flashes. Whilst the father is walking away from the altercation with the teens it shows flashes of videos. This has been used to join the two events together suggesting to the audience that the father is not done with the teenagers yet. You could also say that by joining the father, son and teenagers together suggests that the father and son just become as bad as the teenagers at the end of the film due to their actions they carry out. Also the flashes between the father and the teenagers are very fragmented. The videos are shown in quick burst. This suggests that the father is feeling some sort of anger and that something is building up to end dramatically.

WASP:

Mise-en-scene:

The location in which the film “Wasp” is set in is a rough estate in London (Dartford). The director is using the film to show poverty in London, which some of the audience may not have really noticed before. The setting is important to the film as it shows that even places in London are in poverty and it also backs up the plot of the film. The main character “Zoe” is shown to be a struggling mother in London who can’t even afford to feed her kids properly. This makes the audience aware of issues people face. One other reason why the location is important is that it is shot on a big estate, which shows that poverty does not just affect a small amount of people but large groups all over London and England.

Cinematography:

Within the short film “Wasp” the director uses different camera angles to show different emotions throughout the film. One example of this being when “Zoe” and “Dave” are in the pub talking to each other. The camera angle that is used is a “close up” on both of their faces. This shows to the audience that the two characters are fully engaged with the conversation and that the mood/atmosphere is positive. The director zooms in on their facial expression showing the two characters smiling. This shows the audience that although she is trying to manage looking after her kids she is still enjoying being with “Dave”. Although this could suggest to the audience that she has forgotten about her children which could give the audience a negative perception of the mother. Towards the end of the film when “Zoe” to her kids, it zooms in on her face to show how worried she was that her children could have been in danger. This shows to the audience that although she has made some mistakes she still cares about her children and her facial expression shows this.

In “Soft” and “Wasp” they use different micro-features to show emotions. I “Soft” they portray anger and frustration, but in “Wasp” they portray happiness but also sadness. They both are able to show the characters emotions which tell the audience about the atmosphere of the film and how the characters are reacting to a certain event.