Analysing Short Films- THE FLY

SHORT FILM- THE FLY (2014, WILLIAMS)

Olly Williams’ The Fly—a breezy, bloody, and quickly paced dark comedy about a heist getaway driver and his tempestuous relationship with an annoying little fly. Playing out almost like a slapstick silent film of old, there’s a certain joy in the dark inevitability of the situation. We know things are going to get out of hand, but it’s joyous to see just how far Williams is willing to go with his story. The Fly is a short that relies heavily on the physical performance of its lead actor (Jack Doolan). Fortunately, he delivers—punchlines land through movement, not dialogue. It’s impressive how much information is conveyed with little to no talking. More specific, it’s proof that sometimes the simplest and most effective comedy comes from physical pain. “I wanted to make something that had people hooked and entertained from beginning to end. Short film is a very hard medium to keep people interested. When you sit down to watch a short you don’t have the luxury of a feature audience who knows they’re settling down for the long haul. I see audience’s attention waning so fast at short film screenings and I wanted to make something that grabbed the viewer by the balls (in a friendly way of course) and didn’t let go.” (Olly Williams)

Of course, it’s worth noting the accomplished production values. Visually, the film looks phenomenal—with an assured directorial style and precise shot compositions (The Fly took home the Roger Deakins Award at the Plymouth Film Festival). Beyond the physicality of the actor, Williams has a knack for conveying information with simple camera moves, such as the slow dolly towards the bank door as our hero impatiently waits.

representation

- of anger issues and a short temper. We see how actions have consequences. It also shows what irrational things can do.

narrative

-  three act structure but the ending is left to your imagination with police sirens being heard. 

micro elements

-sound- police sirens alert the audience that there's a limited time. Throughout we can hear the fly as well, fly's typically make an annoying humming sound which allows us to relate to the man in the car. As we can hear it too, we can kind of sympathise with his rash decisions. 

-mise-en-scene

costumes- he's wearing very normal looking clothes to blend in as he's a getaway driver and doesn't want to stand out. Robbers have blood on them which shows the severity of their heist.
props- the gun, the car, the fly. The gun is an irrational tool to use when getting rid of a fly so adds a comical value to it. 
location/setting- the whole thing is shot in the car which is quite small. It lets us see how silly the man is being and how quickly he loses his temper. It allows for there to be a better concentration on the fly and the man's actions.
composition of shot- the fly is in focus most of the time to reiterate how it is there. 

-editing- at the beginning there's a blank screen and we hear the action before we see it. In moments where the action is more intense, such as when he's trying to get the fly, the editing pace gets faster to mimic the situation.

-performance- Facial expressions play a big role in this film as we can see the rising tensions. Anger is portrayed really well and we can see through body language the intensity of the frustration. 

-cinematography- There are lots of close ups that allow us to see the man's anger in more detail. The size of the fly is also emphasized and allows us to see how something is so small yet causes such a big reaction. 

meanings/ messages 

- There's very serious consequences considering a fly is something so small and obsolete