'Office Space' by PJ Ligouri
Media Language
The film opens with an off-screen sound of a clock ticking. An MCU of an alarm clock appears and then a hand coming down to stop its ringing. The lighting is low key and judging by the time on the clock, it's the early morning. This is followed by a CU of a kettle being turned on and someone doing up their tie. The quick frequency of the shots establishes a routine for this individual, who is currently concealed by restricted narration.
It then cuts to a slow pan of a young man sitting at a desk, which the audience can only assume to be the same person in the first series of shots. His expression is blank with mild dissatisfaction. The music is mainly made of non-diegetic static sounds and the odd musical note, which makes it very disconnected. This could mirror the man's disconnection with his job.
He is then confronted by another character who starts yelling at him. As he does, we learn more about the young man; he's lazy and inconsistent with his work, and his head is in the clouds most of the time as he draws 'silly little doodles'. Due to what the man says, he gets this a lot. This is shown as the young man returns home and slumps on the couch, clearly tired.
The office setting is slightly desaturated, giving it a dull atmosphere. This changes as it cuts to the living room, the lighting being much darker signalling a change in time and therefore creating an ellipsis.
The young man goes through his post and stops on a holiday brochure. The camera cuts to a CU and a 'choir of angels' Foley is added to suggest something good has happened, and could possibly alter his life in some way. He smiles and writes something down in his notebook. This creates an enigma for the audience.
It cuts to black and the routine from the beginning of the film is replayed, again establishing a routine. The young man returns to his office and seems to be even more distant as he begins his work, his expression solemn. He looks out the window, clearly distracted. The audience can assume he's got the holiday brochure on his mind.
He is lectured once again by his boss, but his dialogue quickly dies down to a muffle as the young man ignores him. The sequence continues as it did before and when the young man returns home, he is much more eager as he rubs his hands together. The music has changed to stringed instruments, possibly showing that he is more comfortable here and feels much more at peace. His facial expression shows excitement and readiness. The camera pans over the table to reveal multiple objects and the young man working and piecing them together, shown by a series of LSs and MCUs.
The morning routine is shown again and the young man arrives back at his office. This time, the CU of his facial expression and small smile hints to the audience that he is thinking about something and something different is going to happen. He takes the paper, but he doesn't pick up his pen. Instead, the camera suddenly cuts to a MS and he begins folding it. The boss comes in as usual, but the young man isn't there.
At this point, the music changes to stringed instruments again. It's very atmospheric as it cuts to the young man standing out in the open. He throws the paper aeroplane and as he watches it go, his expression and body language show deep satisfaction and comfort. After he confronts his boss only by placing a hand on his shoulder, he returns home.
He is then confronted by another character who starts yelling at him. As he does, we learn more about the young man; he's lazy and inconsistent with his work, and his head is in the clouds most of the time as he draws 'silly little doodles'. Due to what the man says, he gets this a lot. This is shown as the young man returns home and slumps on the couch, clearly tired.
The office setting is slightly desaturated, giving it a dull atmosphere. This changes as it cuts to the living room, the lighting being much darker signalling a change in time and therefore creating an ellipsis.
The young man goes through his post and stops on a holiday brochure. The camera cuts to a CU and a 'choir of angels' Foley is added to suggest something good has happened, and could possibly alter his life in some way. He smiles and writes something down in his notebook. This creates an enigma for the audience.
It cuts to black and the routine from the beginning of the film is replayed, again establishing a routine. The young man returns to his office and seems to be even more distant as he begins his work, his expression solemn. He looks out the window, clearly distracted. The audience can assume he's got the holiday brochure on his mind.
He is lectured once again by his boss, but his dialogue quickly dies down to a muffle as the young man ignores him. The sequence continues as it did before and when the young man returns home, he is much more eager as he rubs his hands together. The music has changed to stringed instruments, possibly showing that he is more comfortable here and feels much more at peace. His facial expression shows excitement and readiness. The camera pans over the table to reveal multiple objects and the young man working and piecing them together, shown by a series of LSs and MCUs.
The morning routine is shown again and the young man arrives back at his office. This time, the CU of his facial expression and small smile hints to the audience that he is thinking about something and something different is going to happen. He takes the paper, but he doesn't pick up his pen. Instead, the camera suddenly cuts to a MS and he begins folding it. The boss comes in as usual, but the young man isn't there.
At this point, the music changes to stringed instruments again. It's very atmospheric as it cuts to the young man standing out in the open. He throws the paper aeroplane and as he watches it go, his expression and body language show deep satisfaction and comfort. After he confronts his boss only by placing a hand on his shoulder, he returns home.
The original sequence of unlocking the door and putting the kettle on isn't shown, and the camera cuts straight to the young man in his living room. He removes his tie and throws it aside, which could suggest that he is finished with his job and doesn't want to do it anymore. The camera is positioned in a low angle shot, giving him power in this situation. Whilst this is going on, the music is constantly building up to a crescendo. The low key lighting also adds a dramatic effect, casting shadows on one side if his face.
Here, he makes a reference to a specific short film by placing crackers and cheese into his suitcase. The music is accompanied by a euphoric choir, and as he pulls off the sheet, the audience can finally see what he's been working on. When the rocket is revealed, trumpets are added to the music to help build the crescendo.
It cuts to the inside of the rocket. His clothes have now changed and his shirt and suspenders have gone, replaced by a jumper and jeans, giving him a much more casual look. He presses a few buttons, a Foley of beeping and whirring is added for effect. He slams the control panel and the rocket begins to shake as it readies to take off, a diegetic voice of a countdown added in the background over the top of the engines. This continuously builds up until the shaking stops and after he gets his bearings, sees his had reached space. This is confirmed as it cuts to an LS of the rocket hovering in outer space.
He slumps back against the wall of the rocket, clearly happy to be free of his boring and repetitive job. The title now makes sense and is almost ironic. The credits appear and the music accompanying them is calming. The moral of the film could be addressing the fact that everyone wants to escape one day and leave their normal life behind and just go adventuring.
Narrative
This short film is clearly following a linear plot; all of the events are in chronological order. Using Todorov's theory, the five stages can be identified. The equilibrium is shown at the beginning of the film, when the young man is seen in his office for the first time. This is his usual life routine, so everything is currently normal.
The second stage, the disruption, is slightly different in this sense. As the disruption is usually seen as a bad thing, this particular case shows that it will have a positive impact on the main character. The holiday brochure is shown and through sound and mise en scene, it hints that this is the positive disruption.
The confrontation stage is hazy, but it still can be identified. It is shown when he is seen making the rocket and when he throws the paper aeroplane off the building, signalling his departure from his job.
The resolution and new equilibrium are almost one stage together. The resolution could be seen as the rocket blasting off and the new equilibrium being him finally in space.
Roland Barthes' theory reveals all the action and enigma codes in the short film, and there are a lot of them.
The first obvious action code is the holiday brochure. This indicates a clear change in the story and hints that something is going to happen.
The next is the young man in the process of making the rocket. Obviously this is significant because he is preparing for something the audience don't know about yet, so they can expect something.
The last few action and enigma codes are folding the paper aeroplane and music. When the young man begins to fold the paper, something is definitely changing about his routine. The music then changes from disconnected static noises to a full on orchestra, changing the mood and atmosphere of the whole short film.
This short film is clearly following a linear plot; all of the events are in chronological order. Using Todorov's theory, the five stages can be identified. The equilibrium is shown at the beginning of the film, when the young man is seen in his office for the first time. This is his usual life routine, so everything is currently normal.
The second stage, the disruption, is slightly different in this sense. As the disruption is usually seen as a bad thing, this particular case shows that it will have a positive impact on the main character. The holiday brochure is shown and through sound and mise en scene, it hints that this is the positive disruption.
The confrontation stage is hazy, but it still can be identified. It is shown when he is seen making the rocket and when he throws the paper aeroplane off the building, signalling his departure from his job.
The resolution and new equilibrium are almost one stage together. The resolution could be seen as the rocket blasting off and the new equilibrium being him finally in space.
Roland Barthes' theory reveals all the action and enigma codes in the short film, and there are a lot of them.
The first obvious action code is the holiday brochure. This indicates a clear change in the story and hints that something is going to happen.
The next is the young man in the process of making the rocket. Obviously this is significant because he is preparing for something the audience don't know about yet, so they can expect something.
The last few action and enigma codes are folding the paper aeroplane and music. When the young man begins to fold the paper, something is definitely changing about his routine. The music then changes from disconnected static noises to a full on orchestra, changing the mood and atmosphere of the whole short film.
Audience
For this particular short film, the director actually has a set demographic on the website YouTube. He can upload his films and videos and instantly get feedback from his subscribers; it's easy to see who it is.
His audience is mainly teenagers, due to the fact that the younger generation is known as the 'digital age'. He himself is quite young, but the style of his videos is very much directed at a younger audience; they are surreal, fantastical and, more often than not, quite funny.
Because he mainly makes these types of films, his demographic is going to be a specific age. This will most likely be 15 to 20, and because the internet is open to everyone, their gender will be mixed. Their classes will range from C to A, but it also depends if they have access to the internet.
The psychographic information can easily be deduced. Because this film can only be found on the internet, the audience clearly like spending time on there. They obviously like this specific filmmaker's films, so they would subscribe to see more, therefore their interests include short films and internet browsing.
For this particular short film, the director actually has a set demographic on the website YouTube. He can upload his films and videos and instantly get feedback from his subscribers; it's easy to see who it is.
His audience is mainly teenagers, due to the fact that the younger generation is known as the 'digital age'. He himself is quite young, but the style of his videos is very much directed at a younger audience; they are surreal, fantastical and, more often than not, quite funny.
Because he mainly makes these types of films, his demographic is going to be a specific age. This will most likely be 15 to 20, and because the internet is open to everyone, their gender will be mixed. Their classes will range from C to A, but it also depends if they have access to the internet.
The psychographic information can easily be deduced. Because this film can only be found on the internet, the audience clearly like spending time on there. They obviously like this specific filmmaker's films, so they would subscribe to see more, therefore their interests include short films and internet browsing.
Maisie - this is very good analysis. Well done! You have understood the need for colour, terms, theory and detail. Can you add comments to each to take ideas forward? Eg what you have liked, felt inspired by etc? Can you create a tab in add a gadget for labels on the front page?
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