Beat You from 15SecFilms on YouTube
This is another example of a 15 Second Film. It's titled 'Beat You' and follows 2 men - one of which that has an obsession with winning and being the best at aspects of everyday life. Until he finds something he's not the best at - fighting.
The film does not follow a journey in the logical sense. Like my previous example ("Sounds of New York") we do not see the transitions between shot to the next literally (e.g. someone is at work, they get in a car, they get home) but we feel a journey through the feeling we get from the film. The repetitive use of the sound "Beat you!" builds irritation, leading to a climax at the end of the film - he loses and gets punched in the face.
15 seconds is all that it takes to explain this story. It's a montage of different, but very similar events happening at different times in different places. The time constraint has strengthened the film, as it squeezes a repetition into a short amount of time, which makes it more irritating but also funnier. I find it interesting how in just 15 seconds the creator has managed to get me on the side of the guy that keeps on losing and to sympathise with him.
This film is less focused on intriguing and interesting cinematography, but still looks good. The shots are more kinetic - they are off-tripod mostly and focused on the movements and actions of the actors more than the location they are in. A lot of the shots are wide, with quick pans that incorporate 2 shots into one take, rather than cutting from one to the next. There's a lot of shift in focus, from one actor to the next, which you can see below.
The initial focus on the actor slowly sipping his drink quickly allows us to then acknowledge the contrast to the guy next to him who's practically inhaling his drink. Within under a second we understand what's going on, so this amount of time is all we need.
Movements by the camera allow for longer shots that are not boring. They are paired off with some shorter, quicker shots, and this allows for some short pauses and breaks in the pace of the film. At 7 seconds in, the 2 men are at urinals, and the camera pans to enhance what's supposed to be a funny moment.
This has led me to think about transitions, and how they can be used to suggest time passing or links from one shot to the next. Whilst I am unsure about using longer shots and pairing them off with much shorter shots to make up my 30 cuts, I am interested in using techniques like 'whip-pans' to create a tense, fast paced feeling for my film. If I can secure a clear understanding on each shot, the use of a whip pan may enhance my film and allow me to fit a lot of meaning into my 15-20 seconds.
Sound effects are used in this film alongside dialogue (which is mainly the repetitive use of the phrase "Beat you!"). Mainly, the sounds are diegetic.
Diegetic sound: Sound who's source is visible on screen. E.g. the sound of television show when there is a television that is on, the sound of an alarm clock going off if an alarm clock is in the shot/scene.
Non-diegetic sound: Sound that's not actually there or has not been implied to be there. This could be mood music, a narrators voice or added sound effects (particularly those that don't really make sense - e.g. a children's TV show, someone jumps and there is a "boing" sound).
There is an example of non-diegetic sound at approx. 14 seconds. It is only heard for the duration of the shot - so less than a second - but it is not implied and is rather obvious that it's not coming from "within that scene". It's a type of mood sound-effect - it suggests annoyance and anger, where the feeling may not have been so clear if it were not there (e.g. how much understanding can we get from someone turning their head?).
From this 15 second film I have begun to think about camera work and how I can use it to create transitions which then have an effect on the pace of my film. I've also started to further think about sound and how it can be used not only to build a sense of environment and iterate what is on screen but also to portray a feeling or meaning that is either not clear enough on screen or would work well if it was enhanced further (e.g. comedic effect).
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