Wednesday 15 September 2010

short film analysis

An Ode to Modern Democracy and The Hairdresser; http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p007qsdh



This short clip shows a skilled hairdresser, cutting the prime ministers hair. The clip is narrated by the hairdresser throughout, and she is deliberating whether she should give the prime minister a bad haircut. She talks a lot about  democracy and history, and she wants to make history by not giving the prime minister the specific style, and instead giving him a ridiculous cut. This is shown at the end of the clip, as  the hairdresser begins to fully shave his hair, making it a lot shorter than he would have wanted. This is surprising as a viewer as the hairdresser is actually ruining the prime ministers hair, this is surprising because although she was debating to herself whether to do it, and she even visually imaging the prime minister with a outradious hairstyle, to really put it into action seemed a drastic approach to something that would get her seriously in trouble.    



The hairdresser in this clip is shown to be living an average life, thus why she wants to make a name for herself. the mise en scene shows a clear separation and contradiction in the social class of the two individuals. The clip shows typical stereotypes of a working class hairdresser, she has her hair tied back in a ponytail, she is chewing gum while she is working, and when talking her attitude seems blunt and to the point with him. In terms of verisimilitude, there is clear visual indiction that we are in a hairdressers, there are scissors, hair brushes, chair and various equipment which gives the audience an instant understanding of the setting. Clothing is also another interesting contradiction, the hairdresser is seen wearing very casual clothing, she is shown wearing leggings, saddles with plasters on her blistered feet, large looped earing and a clear use of make up, this backs up the suggestion that the clip is showing a working class woman, who is shown in an seemingly unlikely and surprising situation cutting the prime ministers hair, who looks sharp and well-groomed wearing a clean, expensive and spotless suit.

The narration is an interesting aspect of the film which I believe works well. Throughout the clip, it uses a voiceover to describe her feelings inside her head as she is cutting his hair, this gives the audience a better understanding of her background and feelings towards things, and it also has a effective usage as it keeps the audience guessing throughout as to what she is going to do. Although, the pace of the film is seemingly slow, the effect evidently helps to continuously grip the audience until the end.

There is a clever use of animation used it some parts of the film. This type of effect showed a range of media technical aspects, which would be interesting to experiment with when creating our film. In this clip, they use the animation to enhance the amount of protection given to the prime minister with animated police men with 'ten inch thick walls'. This type of animation suggests that the prime minister is seen to be untouchable, therefore this adds to the temptation of the hairdresser to ruin his hair when his guard is down.



Establishing shots to make the audience aware of the location being inside the prime ministers house and the hairdresser has come to him to set up her equipment. In the film many mid shots are used of the hairdresser as we focus more on the narration. It also cleverly changes focus on some panning shots to change the attention of the audience from the hairdresser to the prime minister. At the end a birds-eye-view panning shot is used to take us away from the action as the hairdresser finally snaps.

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