Textual Analysis: Film 6

*The Little Things*

This is a documentary style short film focusing on the life of an eight year old girl called Ella. The sequence opens with an extreme close-up of the little girl assumed to be Ella herself. The backing audio track is very upbeat music creates an uplifting atmosphere/positive mood. This is then followed by multiple sceneric shots that establish the setting as well as having connotations of happiness also, e.g. the extreme close-ups of flowers are associated with summer and the joy that it brings. As the music is quite fast paced and upbeat, the footage consists of multiple short clips that follow one another to portray the everyday adventures life of Ella. Although the audience is not yet aware of her name, it is evident that she is the main focus of the documentary due to her prolonged screen time and consistent presence throughout.

Much like many other documentaries (and short films of other genres), the use of a hand held device causes the film to appear very realistic and therefore more emotionally arousing; if the audience feels they are a part of the narrative, they are more likely to actively engage themselves within the text.

The backing track comes to a halt at about 1 minute into the sequence, as the narrative changes in tone and becomes more formal and less idealistic. We are then introduced to Ella herself as she speaks directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall and addressing the camera through her speech; another backing track is then added which is much faster in pace and higher in pitch, appearing more fun and somewhat childlike.

Ella then introduces the audience to her siblings and they too are featured on screen through the insertion of photographs and home videos; these are interlinked through a white fade in order to ensure continuity throughout.

At times it is difficult to understand what is being said by the other siblings, however it can be inferred that due to the documentary focus on Ella, this is not of great importance to the plot nor the audience's interpretation.

The credits and the title sequence appear on a black screen, most likely because it would obstruct the image and be hardly legible against the brightness of the footage if placed over action.