Short Film Research: Push to Enter/Drama

 Hello! Continuing my research of short films, I decided to watch the short: Push to Enter by Anthony Nicolau. This short is a mere 11 minutes, but in those 11 minutes the story and emotions portrayed on screen take viewers on a relatable journey. The film is about a delivery man going through the monotony of day to day work and interacting with rude people. He is given an opportunity to better his life when he discovers keys a customer has left in their door, but could he betray his morals? This journey of morality and desperation both the main character and viewer go on display the talents of director and creator Nicolau. With intense shots showing the main character's intrusive thoughts the audience is truly shown rather than told about the internal battles the character is battling.

Internal battles are a large theme in drama films as it often relatable to real people, which arises emotion in viewers. Like in this film for example, struggles with morality because of desperation is an issue many people have dealt with throughout life. Relating to audience and addressing real, serious issues is common in drama films. 

This film uses close ups, long takes, and close/claustrophobic framing to exemplify character and internal feelings of the main character. These are common camera angles and shots used in the drama genre and really create a personal, emotional connection between character and viewer. There is also very natural and plain mis-en-scene used throughout this film. This creates realness to characters as it is just a workman in his uniform doing his job in the busy city of New York. This realness is used in drama films for viewers to relate to characters and create a more emotional reaction to events that take place in the film. 

Some other example films with similar conventions in the drama genre are, Saltburn and Whiplash. These films also create an emotional journey following real characters through internal and external conflict. 

After researching this short film I now know more about how to display internal battles within a character and how important this element is to a dramatic film. Going forward with creating my group and I's own short film I will better be able to use conventional mis-en-scene and cinematography elements for the drama genre. This short film taught me a lot about the importance of showing not telling and took me on an emotinal journey with the main character. I hope to learn even more as I continue my research. 




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