'Takeout Robbery' by Thomas Ridgewell
Media Language
Genre
This short film is clearly a comedy with a surreal twist. The use of phones as characters gives the plot a humorous atmosphere and plays with the stereotype in thriller films; phones are always used to communicate hidden messages and threats. Of course, mobile phones are incapable of communicating themselves as they are inanimate objects, so this adds surrealism on top of the comedy aspect.
Using Rick Altman's theory, the semantic and syntactic codes can be identified.
Narrative
- Low key lighting - dark atmosphere
- Dialogue - amusing, contrasts atmosphere, changes tone to change the mood
- Costume - red, bright colour, stark contrast to setting
- Shot types - cuts to CU to suggest change
- Props - phones, establishing characters
- Fight scene - high frequency of edits, quick changes of angles
- Shot types - close ups, restricting, isolated
- Sound effects - gunshots, iconographic of 'mystery thriller'?, amusing
- Change of location - much darker lighting, sinister
- Music - tense, antagonist is close by
- Sound effect - door opening, classic sound, 'scary', daunting
- Zooming - dramatic, amusing
- Low key lighting - establishes character, sinister
- Dialogue - puns, contrasts mood
- Handheld movement - tense, anything could happen
- Lots of edits - cuts make it seem more rushed
- Final scene - funny, total contrast
- Screen size - enlarges, less intense
- Puns - 'case', 'served', ironic and amusing
Genre
This short film is clearly a comedy with a surreal twist. The use of phones as characters gives the plot a humorous atmosphere and plays with the stereotype in thriller films; phones are always used to communicate hidden messages and threats. Of course, mobile phones are incapable of communicating themselves as they are inanimate objects, so this adds surrealism on top of the comedy aspect.
Using Rick Altman's theory, the semantic and syntactic codes can be identified.
Semantic
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Syntactic
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Sound
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Mise en scene – typical ‘takeaway’ setting, red shirt (contrast?)
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Handheld camera – unstable, action taking place
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Dialogue – amusing, classic ‘cop and robber’ script
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Mobile phones – amusing, surreal, mocking
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Switching angles – disorientating, mirror’s man’s fear, fast edits
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Music – low, monotonous, threatening
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Facial expression - 'over the top'?, funny
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Lighting – low key, sinister, matches action
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Gun – off-screen, diegetic
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Narrative
The different roles can be shown using Vladamir Propp's theory, but only a few as there are limited characters.
Hero - Phone Cop
Villain - Phone Robber
Helper - First 'phone cop'
It's starts with the pizza guy and he is the first in trouble, so the audience quickly assume he's the hero. The voice on the phone, which is later discovered to be the phone itself, is clearly the villain.
As the fight scene begins, the first phone cop turns up but is then killed, though since he helped try and defeat the villain, he can be labelled as the helper. The second phone cop is briefly introduced, but not long enough for him to be labelled.
When the scene changes, the supposed hero finally meets the villain face-to-face. There is then a plot twist and the second phone cop is revealed. He then kills the villain, making him the hero and the pizza guy the false hero.
Todorov's theory can also be applied here, because this short film has a traditional linear structure. It starts off with the equilibrium, where the pizza guy is taking orders. Everything is normal and as it should be.
The disruption begins when the villain answers the phone and asks for all the money. This goes on for a while as the characters are developed and some action happens (someone's 'mother' is shot).
The third stage, the confrontation, is typically the longest stage. It contains the fight scene, the death of the first phone cop, finally meeting the villain and his eventual death, which leads on to the penultimate stage.
In this case, the resolution stage is very short, because it only takes a second for the phone cop to kill the villain.
At this point, the new equilibrium emerges and everything is almost normal again, due to the fact that the pizza guy now has to stay with the phone cop, possibly for questioning.
It's starts with the pizza guy and he is the first in trouble, so the audience quickly assume he's the hero. The voice on the phone, which is later discovered to be the phone itself, is clearly the villain.
As the fight scene begins, the first phone cop turns up but is then killed, though since he helped try and defeat the villain, he can be labelled as the helper. The second phone cop is briefly introduced, but not long enough for him to be labelled.
When the scene changes, the supposed hero finally meets the villain face-to-face. There is then a plot twist and the second phone cop is revealed. He then kills the villain, making him the hero and the pizza guy the false hero.
Todorov's theory can also be applied here, because this short film has a traditional linear structure. It starts off with the equilibrium, where the pizza guy is taking orders. Everything is normal and as it should be.
The disruption begins when the villain answers the phone and asks for all the money. This goes on for a while as the characters are developed and some action happens (someone's 'mother' is shot).
The third stage, the confrontation, is typically the longest stage. It contains the fight scene, the death of the first phone cop, finally meeting the villain and his eventual death, which leads on to the penultimate stage.
In this case, the resolution stage is very short, because it only takes a second for the phone cop to kill the villain.
At this point, the new equilibrium emerges and everything is almost normal again, due to the fact that the pizza guy now has to stay with the phone cop, possibly for questioning.
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