Genre: Mock-umentary

Textual analysis of: The Internet, the truth behind the conspiracy

The mock-umentary clearly follows several conventions of a documentary but constantly features a comical effect throughout, undoubtedly giving the impression of a mock-umentary and therefore fulfilling its main purpose. The clip shows several establishing fast-forwarded shots and close-ups to establish the scenes in which the mock-umentary is taking place and focussing upon the subject it is concentrating on. The clip also features individual interviews further focussing upon the subject of the internet, again a common convention of a documentary/mock-umentary. The exaggeration of certain storylines and topics clearly emphasises upon the comedy factor within the clip making the intention of entertainment and amusement clear.


Treatment of a short in this genre: Local tennis fanatic believes he can be the best player in the world yet his lack or ability and experience state otherwise. Crew of cameras follow him in his everyday life to discover the training he goes through. There are interviews with his parents who state that they try and support their son in his dreams but end up arguing other whether that is the best option of whether they should tell him the truth or continue supporting him.

Genre: Drama

Genre: Comedy

Textual Analysis of: The Purge: The Morning After


The Purge: the Morning After from Johnny Ray Gill on Vimeo.

This dark-humoured comedy is based upon the well-known thriller phenomenon, The Purge. In the film every crime is deemed legal one day a year in order to encourage crime prevention throughout the remainer of the year; this short focuses upon the possible issues that are dealt with the following day. Through the several different shot types, the attitude and personality of the characters is captured by showing their emotions to their surroundings and the conversation topics. The men wearing bright pink aprons automatically creates a comic effect due to their 'manliness' being played down by a predominantly stereotypical feminine colour. The dialogue between the three characters and the laidback approach to what usually would outrage and disgust people, for example, when Elmer tells how someone wearing a mask broke into his house, tied him up and proceeded to murder his entire family, Dan's reply, through a yawn, is simply "that sucks", displaying a sign of dark-comedy. The way Dan denies that the person who was involved within the crime is him, even though the security footage clearly shows his face, adds a large factor of stupidity on both his character denying clear evidence and for thinking that Elmer would believe him. The hypocritical views displayed by Elmer regarding disability are again shown when he tells the female character not to let her "disability define" her, yet when she replies with something along the lines of "I will define you with an ass-kicking", Elmer responds with "You cannot kick me cause you are paralysed", with the emphasis on the word "paralysed". Overall, the sensitive topics drawn upon in this short are transformed into a dark-comedy mainly down to the professional acting of the three main characters.

Treatment for a short in this genre:
Storyline/narrative: two unlikely best friends and flat mates, one incredibly smart yet socially awkward (Tom) and the other pretty dum (Dan) but a social butterfly, sharing a flat. Each character attempts to encourage the other to try activities that they are interested in, for example, Tom tries to take Dan to a sci-fi convention, and instead of paying attention to Tom's interests, Dan simply tries to pick up numbers from the girls also attending the convention and when Dan attempts to set Tom up with a girl at a speed-dating event at a local pub, he just stands at the bar being blunt with every person that approaches him.
Setting: Urban city, surrounded by everyday locations, such as shops, cafes and parks etc.
Characters: Tom - incredibly smart and socially awkward, does his best to avoid most social events other than those linked strongly to his 'geeky' interests; Dan - lacks most general knowledge yet proves to be a hit with everyone he meets and seems to have gained the reputation of a 'ladies man'. Dan regularly attends social events such as parties, pub crawls and gigs.

Genre: Documentary

Textual analysis of : 'A Man Who Delivers'

A Man Who Delivers clearly follows the typical conventions of a short in a documentary genre as it includes a voice over throughout and informative information into the 'real' lifestyle of a drug dealer. The documentary however does not include individual face interviews that are typically used in documentaries. The editing shows real text messages exchanged between the drug dealer and their clients, providing the audience with an even further insight into the life between the main focus.

Genre: Romance

Genre: Horror

Genre - Horror

Textual Analysis of: 'Lights Out'

'Lights Out' follows several typical conventions of a horror short and is a simple yet effective short film. The classic childhood fear of being scared of the dark is used as the basis for a terrifying story line. The camera angles consists of a mixture between medium to long shots to show the mysterious character along with the main character to emphasise how physically close the two of them are; further suggesting that the two of them will come face-to-face. The other shot type used is a close up to show the shocked and terrified expression on the main character's face as well as to show the face of the mysterious character to terrify the audience as it terrifies the main character. The framing of the shots either include just the main character or the mysterious being both to be in the centre, but when both of them are in the same shot, the main character is seen to be directly in the middle, suggesting that not only is she the main focus of the audience but also to the mysterious character lurking in her flat. The editing consists of a mixture of short paced and long paced editing, the short paced representing the quick thinking and hysterical mind activity going on inside the main character's head and the long paced editing showing the gradual movement of the mysterious being as it slowly grows closer and closer to the main character. The mise-en-scene is rather stereotypical within this short film as it follows the typical story line of a helpless young female alone whilst being watched by an unknown figure. The classic example of switching the lights on and off can be closely linked to a fear many people had when they were young, by re-switching on the light to make sure no one was around. The surroundings within the short film are very basic, making sure the reader pays attention to the characters within the clip only and to feel the full force of also coming face to face with the mysterious figure as the main character does, opposed to being distracted by the surroundings. The sound in the clip is additionally rather basic, consisting of only music to build tension, leading up to climatic point where the main character, and the audience, come face to face with the unknown being, leading them into an even more dramatic situation of being scared and anticipating the inevitable themselves. The other use of sound is the diagetic screams that occur often from the shock and scare from the main character in their terrifying revelation of discovering the mysterious figure.