callum analysis

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Callum Short film analysis

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Page 1: Callum analysis

Callum

Short film analysis

Page 2: Callum analysis

Michael Van De PutThe Director has been working towards producing ‘Rage’ and ‘Angry face’ as follow up shorts to ‘Callum’. He has also produced his own website called ‘Broken Hearted Youth’ where his triptych will be posted. Through the use of collective identity, the director has attempted to present his audience with the challenges faced by the youth of modern society, including how young people should not be generalised as everyone has their own difficulties and deal with things in different ways. Furthermore, this allows the audience to develop a connection with the characters as they may face similar issues in their own lives and can therefore, relate to the back story. This is what he wanted to create, when he decided upon directing three emotionally grabbing short films. Alongside this, Claude Levi Strauss’ theory was made apparent through the creation of ‘Callum’ whereby a clear use of binary opposites is used between Callum and the group of boys. The Director aimed to make Callum first of all look weak and shy, but make the group of boys look strong and loud to show how difficult it was for Callum to deal with the tragic event that he witnessed. However, this is quickly transformed towards the end of the short film when Callum gains the courage to open up about what he saw at the train station, of which the audience will recognise as brave due to the fact they earlier view the ‘strong’ group of boys threatening him about if he was to go to the police. This therefore, presents the main ideas of what the Director is trying to promote through his triptych as he wants to have direct effect on the ‘broken hearted youth’ in modern society.

Page 3: Callum analysis

Due to the fact ‘Callum’ is a short film, there are few main characters used throughout. This is due to the fact it is only 14 minutes long, meaning there would not be enough time to introduce too many characters. In regards to the Directors short film, the audience gains a deep understanding of Callum’s personality as he is and only glimpses of the other characters used throughout. This includes the police, his family, the group of boys and the teacher, of which all have an input in the end result of the short film but are unknown by the audience. Another reason for the use of few characters, includes the low budget of the short film, due to the fact Michael Van De Put is an independent director without a sufficient backing in terms of funding. The Director has sustained a low budget by only using three different locations of which include; the train station, the school and a house. Using simple locations avoids the director having to spend out on where to situate a scene, also saving time of which could be used for deciding upon ideas and filming. Moreover, the duration of the short film also has a large effect on the outcome of the film, as the Director has to get all ideas within the space of a short 14 minute viewing. This is one of the most important things that the Director had to think about when filming in order to effectively get his messages across to his audience.

Even though it can be difficult to distribute and execute a short film, due to the lack of budgets, the Director still ended up winning a range of awards for his short film. Thus, presenting how effective the Director was in presenting his main ideas in such a short time.

Page 4: Callum analysis

Narrative The Director created a twist with the way he presented different events throughout the course of the narrative of this short film, this is made evident right from the beginning as the audience can see that something tragic has occurred. This is signified through a place of remembrance at the train station, whereby bunches of flowers have been left. This quickly engages the audience into the film, as the suspense encourages them to want to know more about the situation and how it came about. Thus, using one of Barthes's codes which includes creating an enigma for the audience as they will eventually be told why the flowers were based there and what the young male’s, known as Callum, involvement was in the situation. The audience gradually realises that the short film is based upon Callum’s perspective and what he has to experience, of which he shows throughout the course of the film through his actions, rather than speech. This also further presents Callum’s personality and how he finds it challenging to deal with louder people because he is more of a gentle and quiet character. This is made evident where the more rowdy group of boys approach Callum and use offensive language, and he reacts by turning away and looking upset. The Director has successfully captured the Zeitgeist of the 21st Century, as he has produced a short film involving an issue in modern society for young people. This includes the fact that unconfident young people may find it challenging to fit into society, due to the more outspoken and confident people. Michael Van De Put was able to show his audience the divisions of modern society and how it may be more difficult to speak up in difficult times due to external factors.

Page 5: Callum analysis

The Director then decided to transfer from the train station, to the school, whereby the audience is able to see a number of students’ facial expressions, through the use of a reaction shot, of which are all upset and shocked, apart from one of the members of the ‘confident’ male group who slyly looks to his side to see Callum’s reactions. This has a large effect on the audience as they will want to know what’s going on and whether he has any involvement with the train-track death. This quickly transfers into a flashback shot which presents a high heeled shoe on the platform at the train station, which further presents that the person who was killed was a girl and that she liked to get dressed up. As the short film continues, we learn that Callum is restricted as to the actions he takes due to his lack of confidence. This is made evident when another flashback is used to show the night of his ‘girlfriends’ death, and also ensures the narrative continues so the audience gets to see the end result of the enigma and what the film has been leading up to. Callum ends up sat at the train station with his hood up, which could present that teenagers in modern times are more hidden of any issues, and he gradually builds up the courage to walk towards the group of boys terrorising his girlfriend, known as Joanna. However, the use of a subjective camera shot soon presents how difficult Callum finds it to confront the group of boys, due to the fact he did little to try and prevent the situation occurring, which is another reason why Callum does not want to speak up about what he experienced.

Throughout the duration of the Directors short film, the audience can clearly recognise the challenges faced by Callum, representing a young person in modern society. For this reason, most camera shots include himself to present his reactions to different situations. These include firstly, in the opening scene, whereby the camera focuses on his reaction to another character placing flowers along the side-line of the train station amongst a number of other flowers, whereby a mid/ long shot allows the audience to see that Callum is upset by the fact he looks down at the floor and frowns, of which presents his anger for how the situation turned out. Due to the fact there is a wide range and number of different flowers and pink teddies placed along the side of the train track, suggests it was a popular girl and that many people were affected by her loss.

Page 6: Callum analysis

Throughout the course of the short film, Callum and the group of ‘confident’ young males maintain the same school uniform outfit to represent how each action that occurs is based around one of the main settings used throughout the short film. However, one boy stands out from the group of young males, as he constantly wears his uniform incorrectly with his top button undone and also a diamond earing in one ear. This particular young male is also the main person that harasses Joanna at the train station, which by looking at his costume and constant attitude could present how he has had problems of his own or may have been bought up in a difficult household. This factor further represents the fact that short films try to maintain a similar setting and costume throughout due to the low budgets of independent producers like that of Michael Van De Put. Therefore, this is something the Director would have thought of before the end filming of the product.

The Director decided upon introducing the short film with Callum announcing “I’ve always been taught to believe that when we leave this world, it’s the start of something new”, this immediately grabs the audiences attention as they will want to know the purpose for the statement. The short film then begins with the dramatic sound of a train racing past Callum as he stands along the side of the train track in his school uniform, in order to create an initial effect on the audience as they may put two and two together. After this short section of the film, the Director moves on to the scene at the school, where dialect is used when the police explain to the students what has happened and what they can do to help. This dialect is used throughout the course of the short film in a range of situations, including the scene whereby Callum and his family sit down to eat dinner, but before doing so Callum’s mum leads them in prayer in memory of Joanna, which presents them as a Holy family as she also wears a necklace with a silver cross on. Alongside this, when Callum begins to eat his meal, his father immediately says “wait for your mother”, which shows how his upbringing may have been a reason for his insecure and shy personality, whereby he has been taught to respect, but has not had the opportunity to develop by himself to be independent.