SHORT FILM RESEARCH - THE ELLINGTON KID

SHORT FILM RESEARCH - The Ellington Kid

The Ellington Kid - Dan Sully - 2012

Genre:Crime drama/ black comedy 

Narrative:Two boys sit in a kebab shop where one tells the other of an urban legend about a stabbing in that very kebab shop.He even hints that the kebab meat is human. As the boy tells the story, the action is played out on screen.

Audience:The viewer is not positioned with one character or group. We are kept separate from the action as if we are looking in. It is a restricted perspective as we have no idea what will happen. This gives the action a more mysterious feel which mirrors the urban legend this man is narrating. The action mirrors what the narrator is saying and therefore we only see one side of the story.

Microelements:

• Cyclical narrative
• Close ups on knives and gore
• Slow motion running down the tunnel
• High angle shots of the Ellington Kid to make him seem vulnerable

Representation:

• Gang culture 
• The nature of gossip and urban legends
• Stereotypes of the teenage gang members 
• Stereotypical "dodgy" kebab shop owned by foreign people

Aspects I liked:

• Cyclical nature of the narrative, how it begins and ends with the same montage of shots
• Title cards to create a comedic element to the narrative
• The action going along with the voiceovers really allows for the viewer to feel the tension in the scene and brings the story tale element to life
• How engaging the action was that the viewer forgets it is only a story and not actually happening in real time

Aspects I disliked:

• The gory nature of the stabbing as it makes the film quite hard to watch, however it does highlight the reality of knife crime
• The forced acting of the two boys in the kebab shop at the start and the end

Aspects I may develop:

•  The cyclical nature of the narrative which sparks questions at the start of the short which then are hopefully answered at the end. This keeps the viewer gripped.