Party Animal- Short Film Analysis.

Short Film Analysis – Party Animal

The short film begins with a sound bridge from the title ‘Party Animal’ to the main character Chris talking about how it feels to be drunk at a party. A medium close up shot is used to show Chris speaking which almost creates the style that he is having an interview with someone off camera. Having only Chris in the shot talking animatedly about being drunk is effective as the audience are able to build up a view of his character through his facial expressions and the positive and excitable way he talks about partying.

Through this interview-style scene the audience is able to learn about Chris, for example we now know that he enjoys getting excessively drunk frequently and he doesn’t think there is anything wrong with not being in control of himself if he is not harming anymore. This piece of information is essential to remember whilst watching the rest of the film because the more he parties the worse his life becomes which in turn shows that there possibly is something wrong with leading a life that revolves around partying.

To go from the first scene to the next, a cut to black is used and then the camera begins to pan right to introduce the next setting which is a house party.
Non-diegetic music is used as the camera continues to pan right at a medium shot length and show the audience everyone at the party doing stereotypical things e.g. playing beer pong and socialising. Low lighting is used to convey the effect of a typical party scene.

  Close up shots of various non-essential characters are used to add realism to the party scene. For example, a close up shot of a typical red plastic party cup is included as well as someone shouting to the music and someone dancing.  The party seems more realistic with the use of these shots as nothing is too far-fetched and most people can associate drinking and dancing with a party. 

As these shots are shown, the editing is sped up slightly in order to convey the effect of a wild and fast-paced environment. This is similar to what we are doing in our own short film Saving Grace when the two girls are getting ready for their night. We plan on having close up shots of them putting on their lipstick and shoes and when they are having drinks before they go to the club. Including these types of shots in our film is important as we are able to show the girls getting ready for a night out which sets the atmosphere, however it doesn’t take too much time as we are using fast paced editing.

Various medium shots of Chris partying with his friends are used alongside loud non-diegetic music to create a wild party scene for the audience. It also shows how recklessly drunk Chris is getting as the night progresses. This is similar to what we will be showing in our own film Saving Grace as it is important we show Grace drinking throughout the night.

After we see a final shot of Chris there is a cut to black to signal the end of the scene and then a POV out of focus shot of the sky to signal that Chris is hungover and has slept outside.

When Chris is woken up by his house mate several over the shoulder shots are used to show the audience that an attempt at a serious conversation is taking place between the pair, however Chris doesn't seem to understand how much he has (and is about to) lose because of his party life style. His house mate - who is represented as the complete opposite of Chris, is wearing a suit ready for work compared to Chris who is in last night's t-shirt, hungover wearing sun glasses- informs him he has been evicted.