Name of Creator: Simon Ellis
Duration: 4.00
The premise to this short film is to show that everybody lies and how easy it can be to lie, especially when it isn't face to face. The film doesn't use physical actors, merely their diagetic voices. Presented with a black screen, the non-diagetic sounds of the phone dialling tone, tell you these conversations are taking place over the phone. On screen, the words pop up in time to them being said, only on occassion the words on screen differ from those being spoken; flashing or getting bigger or smaller as the volume or intensity of the conversation changes. The text tells the truth, representing the persons mind and telling the audience what really happened, whilst the physical voices lie, demonstrating the unconcious decisions we make every day about written text being more official than our own spoken word, purely because we assume when something is written, it's final.
Telling LiesName of Film: The Girl Chewing Gum
Creator of Film: John Smith
Duration: 9.00
Within the 9.00 minutes not a whole lot really happens, but what does happen aims to intrigue and make you think. One moment you think you understand what's going on, and half way through it twists and throws everything you believed right out of the window.
The short film is in black and white, filmed in a continuous shot placed on a seemingly random street in 70's London; ocassionally panning around to view a cinema queue beside the camera. As people begin walking in the street a voice is heard, predicting everyones movements as if he were the director of a film. Soon enough small details in his descriptions become far too accurate for a real director. So maybe you start to think he's simply non diagetically narrating a recorded piece to seem diagetic. Even once the joke's up he still continues to narrate, going into excrusiating detail over the buildings, and at times making things up and assuming certain characteristics about people based on stereotypes. One point in particular involves an alarm that has been going off in the background the entire time, but not until it's been taken completely out of context do you notice it and instantly change your views on those walking past.
the film plays on the idea of control, appearing to have a strong influences from George Orwell's book '1984'. Questioning what we believe to be happening and when it may be taking place. Frequently messing with both the audio and the visuals on several occasions, makes for a bizarre and oddly facsinating piece of film.
The Girl Chewing Gum
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