Muscle

‘Muscle’ is directed by Justin Ownesby. First of all the genre of this short film is a comedy, this is due to the narrative and the characters. The narrative of this story is a stereotypical ‘American dream’ in leaving the small town and going to the city in search of romance, however this all depends on an old muscle car.

This short film is shown the majority of the time as a level shot, which implies real life. The positioning of characters are varied

sometimes they are centre of shot, however the car is the main character in this short film as their trip depends on them repairing it. Shots and angles are varied in different positions. Close ups are used to portray the frustration from the car not starting, lots of medium and long shots are used to show the characters repairing the car meanwhile establishing the setting of a small American village due to the trees and house. The depth of field is usually the characters and the car as their hopes rest on them fixing it. The setting of a small village street suggests the characters want to get away from the quiet life. The lighting is bright, which shows the sunny weather and happy atmosphere which is typical of a comedy. There is no music during this short film just digetic sounds such as the car failing to start. This builds up the tension of the car being repaired as it is integral to their future.

Also the sound of birds tweeting and silence suggest the small village life is boring.

The two characters in this short film are presented as being a bit ‘geekish’. This is due to their exchange of dialogue talking about girls and ‘fantasies’ which seems like a stereotypical virgin that is seen in films such as ‘American pie’. The clothing is similar to most American boys with just shorts and a t-shirt which suggests the audience may be for the same age group. Also the

dialogue between the two is like many teenage Americans with casual swearing and words like ‘dude’ and ‘sweet’. Props such as the glass of water suggest that it is hot and hard work to achieve their dream. The comedy is mainly provided by the boy in the yellow, such as when he takes a ‘pee’ in the front garden bush, his ignorance to his friend is shown when he says a ‘your mom’ joke which is typical of teenagers. Once they have started the car we believe they have achieved their dream but like most comedies we laugh at their dispense, as the car breaks down within 10 yards of leaving.

The titles in the opening sequence are edited at a fast pace that suggest speed which connects to the car and the characters wanting to leave as soon as possible. The colour in the title above for example,

looks slightly like the freeway in America as the black suggests a road and the orange implies the sun. The font of ‘muscle’ and the titles are in bold white writing which is strong and masculine like

the muscle car which relates well. The institution is ‘state productions film’ which is not very well known but suggests an American institution because of the word ‘state’.