Pre Production: Understanding realistic story telling methods: The Cage (2017)

Following on from the research into realism as a story telling method, I came across an amazing short film on Vimeo that perfectly illustrates the style that I wanted for my short film. 

The Cage (2017)

https://vimeo.com/205212005

Written & Directed by: Ricky Staub

Content

• What I loved about this short film was the way in which you're able to really understand the pressure that the main character faces when he has to make important decisions about his life just by his actions and expressions. This piece is far from being dialogue heavy, you rarely hear the main character talk but when he does, it serves a purpose and is ver. But this story isn't being told in a conventional way as there is a clever use of a voice over. His father is in prison, giving him advice on how the choices he makes could seriously impact his life. It was very poetic in the way it was done because the images matched the things he said but not in a direct way. 

We are first greeted with an image of a young boy in deep thought, followed by a voice over from what is revealed to be his father in prison. This is then followed by a montage of young boys riding through a an urban setting. The reference of death matches the voice over's reference as the coffin is shown. These are subtly inserted but are effective because it allows the audience to understand the setting within the first 30 seconds of the film. 

"You think you can survive these streets? They want you? They gone' take you."

This style of storytelling is consistent and continuous throughout the film. Thus making it very poetic in nature because you are left to make the connection between the speaker's words and the images shown. Before seeing this film, I had not considered the use of 1 speaker telling the story, its an idea that would be foreign to me but after seeing this, I am considering incorporating this method also. However, since I haven't finalised my story I am unsure who I would want as the main speaker telling the story. It would have to make sense to the narrative and not just done for the sake of it. This highlights the importance of a good script because the quality of the film would be brought down if what the main speaker is saying has no meaning or does not correlate to the images.

Visuals

• From the very start of this film the visuals are strong and dynamic. The character is seen to be in deep thought at the start and so the audience is now aware that this character is significant to the story because you are up close and personal with them. This is consistent throughout the entire film as we are always up close to the character as he illustrates his emotions. This allows the audience to really connect to the character more, i think it was necessary to do this especially since you don't hear the character talk much, therefore what he has to say is shown physically not verbally.

• The use of juxtaposing special effects to further highlight the characters feelings and mental state was a beautiful example of how you can enhance a realistic story with methods that aren't real. At the start, when the character is conflicted between his lifestyle choices, it is clear that he felt trapped. This scene further illustrated this and allowed a greater perspective within his feelings.

Towards the end, what was once thorns has now blossomed into roses. At this point, the character has now made his choice to follow a better path and he is no longer being held back by what was stopping him. Again, I find this to be a beautiful representation and clarifies to me that you don't need to be scared to try something new to express emotions. When relating this back to my film, it was my plan to further enhance the character's feelings of depression and borderline anxiety with the use of post production effects and experimental sound design. So by seeing how they have chosen to express the character's feelings, I will continue to think about more ways I can really allow the audience to feel what my character feels. 

• Another one of my favourite moments within this short film is the turning point for the character's appreciation for his surroundings and his family. He stands back in awe of the local parade before greeting his mum with a warm embrace. I love the emotion showed in these shots, to me, you can really feel what he feels as this is a big turning point for the character. 

In this final scene, you can see him say "I love you mum" but you don't hear it. This to me is even more effective because it allows you to imagine it even more. It means that you focus more on the raw emotion between the two characters instead of what is being said. In relation to my short film, I will like to illustrate the connection and development between two characters. This film has inspired me to think about how I would show the raw emotion between them.

Sound

• What I noticed about this was the use of diegetic music to tell the story. It really enhanced the scenes and fit with the narrative style of the film. In comparison to the previously mentioned 'Fish Tank" which took a more realistic approach and had barely any non diegetic sound track, I thought both of those styles fit the narrative so it shows me that there is no right or wrong way to illustrate a "real" story. I need to go with what fits my narrative/ narrative style. 

Final Thoughts

There are many things that make this film a very beautiful one, I personally love the character development and the raw emotion that the actors/actresses give. It is a simple storyline but one that I think a lot of people could relate to due to its urban nature. I loved the fact that they didn't have a typical black male who choses the life of crime then ends up in a bad situation. I personally feel as this adds to the stereotype when this is not always the outcome for everyone. I love the fact that they show it is okay to have feelings, it is okay to be conflicted and get into bad situations but its important what you do about it. It shares a similar theme with my idea in that sense because I too would like to illustrate how choices can affects to not only yourself but those around you.