About a Girl

About a Girl was made in 2001, with a running time of 9 minutes 45 seconds. his short film was directed b! "rian #erci$al and written b! %ulie &utherford. About a Girl was created after the short film 'Gasman(, roughl! around the start of the new millennium. )owe$er, unli*e Gasman this short was set in the right time as it was filmed. he first shot in this short film introduces the main character which is a !oung +rotagonist. he micro element of camera uses a wide shot to connote the bad re+resentation of the en$ironment of which the! are li$ing in. he set decoration of the grim! walls co$ered in 'graffiti( and litter e$er!where also shows the social deca!. he costume of a worn out ding! +uff! coat connotes class and status. his tells us that the +rotagonist is in a lower class and could also be in a famil! financial crisis. he seasonal element of winter is communicating that the communit! is d!ing. he set decoration of rails connotes a t!+e of im+risonment, re+resenting the bars from a +rison cell. his is telling us that the girl is a +risoner within her own en$ironment of which she is li$ing in. ,n the bac*ground of the shot !ou can see the bro*en down and unwanted estate that is standing on its last strands. As the scene changes to the +rotagonist slouching on a +ar* bench alone outside a old +ub the camera shot changes to a medium shot, then suddenl! -ooms out of a close u+ to connote her loneliness. his connotes a serious issue of child neglect from her father. his also introduces the issue of bad +arenting. )owe$er, from the first shot, the camera made the audience thin* that the girl was with her father and not alone until the slight +an re$ealed her alone. he slight +an to trac* bac* wor*s well with the set design an he editing of a long ta*e, to em+hasise on her loneliness. .hile the +rotagonist sits on her own she sings a "ritne! /+ears song that mentions the l!rics of ,(m stronger than !esterda! his could foreshadow what is about to ha++en later on within the film. 0eanwhile, whilst the girl is singing !ou can hear bac*ground noise from the +ub of all of the men cheering about something. his shows the se+aration between father and daughter and that the sense of communit! is ha++ening somewhere else. he set decoration of mould! ancient chewing gum stuc* all o$er the bench tells us that the +eo+le li$ing there do not care about the sort of en$ironment that the! are li$ing in and are also wor*ing together to *ill the communit! without e$en realising. he! ha$e learnt from other +eo+le to litter and not care about what the! li$e in, this will +ast down in generations until there is a sto+ to it. he grass is $er! mudd!, mur*! and off colour, connoting the de+ression of what she is growing u+ in. he 1ictorian buildings in the far bac*ground are on there last leg and chimne!s connote that it is an industr!. All of the set decoration re+resents an in denial communit! that is run down. he micro element of editing is used well when the +arallel editing is +laced in to se+arate the shot of the girl being alone on the bench outside the +ub to her being on the bus with a grou+ of her friends. he colour +allet of warm colours such as2 +in*s and reds connotes that when she is with her friends it shows +h!sical attachments, her friends are her warmth, her onl! warmth. he colour +allet indicates lo$e and ha++iness. Also, the lighting changes from low *e! and dull to a $er! bright shot, connoting her ha++iness.

he +rotagonist goes inside a sho++ing centre to s+ra! herself with +erfume. his shows us that she is too +oor to afford her own, so she will go out of her wa! to use tester +erfumes. his also con$e!s the social rotting of the communit!. he micro element of editing is used well when the 3um+ cuts are em+lo!ed to cut one scene to another b! using the e4act same angle but in different locations. ,n this scene the +rotagonist is narrating a stor!. As she doesn(t ha$e an!one to tal* to, we are her audience this is called a solilo5u!. he +rotagonist uses dramatic monologue to +ull the audiences attention into the film. )owe$er, this is also connoting that she is 5uite a dramatic character, somewhat of a drama 5ueen. All the wa! through this scene the editing of 3um+ cuts is still being encoded, this is distancing us. he director uses this t!+e of editing to show the bro*enness of the +rotagonist(s life and no sense of cohesion. his also shows her state of mind which is dis3ointing and foreshadowing what ma! ha++en later on within the short film. he 3um+ cuts also adds in high energ! showing that +ubert! has hit her and connoting what +oint of life she is in at the moment. he micro element of set decoration has been added to con$e! the rotting of communit!. /ho++ing trolle!(s, and em+t! cans of drin* ha$e been thrown into the canal which connotes that the societ! ha$e lost their esteem of the +lace that the! are li$ing in. the! don(t care about their area being dirt! and the! wor* together on ma*ing it useless and cluttered. he wide shot of the +rotagonist sitting on the bridge shows her loneliness and that she is alone. he rotting, dar*ness and the litter in the canal s!mbolises the dar*ness and danger in her life, also in the communities. .ith her sitting on the edge of the bridge ma*es the audience feel tension and sus+ense of what she is about to do. he reason for this is that this camera shot could be lin*ed to suicide, which s!mbolises death. he +rotagonist is sitting dead in the middle of the camera shot. herefore, this ma*es her being the main focus of the shot. he girl has a strong attitude towards both +arents, this shows that she disli*es them. )owe$er, she sa!s it in a wa! where she wants them to be together again. /he wants to ha$e a normal famil!, to be su++orted and lo$ed b! both of them as she should be, as an! other famil! would do. he +rotagonist throws a +lastic bag that she has been holding into the canal. /omething comes out of the bag to re$eal that it was a dead newborn bab!, still attached to the umbilical cord. 6nce the girl has thrown the bag into the canal the lighting starts to get better and brighten u+. Also, the colours start to brighten u+ to $i$id, warm colours. /he then starts to sing the same '"ritne! /+ears( song that she was singing in the beginning of the film. /tronger than !esterda! this lin*s to her life. he +rotagonist then tells the audience that a +erson she *new threw her dog into the canal which was to ne$er be found, the bod! still remains un*nown. he girl had clearl! ta*en +ersonal ad$ice from this +erson that had corru+ted her mind. his shows us that she didn(t care about the cruelt! of what had actuall! ha++ened to the dog and that she wasn(t emotionall! affected b! it, this was out of her touch of emotions. he bab! that had been thrown into the canal re+resents the dead communit!. herefore, this ma*es us as* oursel$es the 5uestion of 'is life reall! worth li$ing, or is it better ending u+ in the bottom of a dirt! canal7

he theme of nature $s. nurture has been em+lo!ed within this short film as it ma*es the audience thin* about2 how ha$e !ou been educated and who b!7 .ho brought !ou u+, and how !ou beha$e. Also, b! nature it shows the +h!sical mind and bod! coming from what !ou in inherited. his also con$e!s that the en$ironment ma*es !ou who !ou are. he bab! being thrown into the canal connotes the deca! of generations as the ne4t generation is alread! dead in the canal. )owe$er, we don(t *now whose bab! it was. ,f it was the girls, did her +arents ma*e her do it, or did the! e$en *now about it7 )owe$er, she sa!s girl got dead good at hiding things from her tells the audience that it is her bab!. he editing of 3um+ cuts ha$e been em+lo!ed !et again here to show before, ne$ertheless the audience are uncertain of when it was. his is used to add some confusion about the stor! and to get the audience thin*ing. he micro element of camera is used will in this shot of a high angle. his shot is a high angle of the girl loo*ing dee+l! into the canal. his s!mbolises 'what lies beneath( the secrets of the canal, we don(t *now what is hidden, the dar* is the un*nown. As the camera mo$es in, the ri$er gets dar*er and she gets smaller connoting her isolation within the situation. he girl then turns her bac* to the canal, refusing to ac*nowledge what she has 3ust done. /he doesn(t care and is denial with reference to the dialogue she s+ea*s still going to ha$e a 99. his scene is $er! dar* and gloom! the re+resentation of how a horror film would loo*. 6nce the +rotagonists wal*s awa! the lighting gets $er! dar* and gloom! once again but onl! on her side. )owe$er, the other side is still lightened u+ with $ibrant colours. his connotes that she is still in the dar*ness and that there is a whole canal se+arating them.